Rating: 
Summary: The Thrill Never Fades
Review: I read War of the Worlds more than 20 years ago, and have seen it come back in many forms, including musically accompanied audio tapes. I never get tired of this timeless story. I was highly disappointed in the movie version, as I wanted to see Martian Fighting Machines that walked about on 3 legs (Perhaps George Lucas had this in mind when he created Imperial Walkers). I was more pleased then as now with the images that the book stirred in my mind. The narrative style, written by a Victorian-age author about a Victorian-age circumstance, is well worth reading. My only disappointment with the book is that the end was anticlimatic. It would have been more thrilling if Wells had said that the Martians had been weakened to the point that mankind could rally and finally expunge them. Still, it is a study in human arrogance, contrasted well with the valiant spirit of those who sacrificed themselves in fighting the Martians so that others could escape. All in all, a very moving book, and well worth your time.
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Summary: A race of aliens with very human characteristics
Review: Many people who have heard of "The War of the Worlds" may have seen the movie without reading the book. The movie was set in Cold War America, with martians that flew in what looked like greenish manta rays. The book was set in Victorian England, and the martians looked like towering tripods. In both versions however the premise is the same: Earth invaded by a superior alien intelligence. HG Wells wrote about humanity's ego and complacency being crushed by a highly developed lifeform."The War of the Worlds" has been interpreted as an allegory of imperialism. Just as the British took over other countries to make them part of the Empire, so too is the Earth being taken over by the Martians. They even bring their own plant life with them, the "Red Weed". The Martians see us as vermin, trying to wipe us out with heat rays and poisonous black gas. Thats's what makes the story so much fun. It is frightening in a cosy sort of way. We read the story in a safe, comfortable room, while the narrator talks of all the death and destruction he sees. An interesting point that Issac Asimov once brought up was that if alien intelligence did exist, their advanced evolution would also mean they would be emotionally superior to us. They would not act like barbarians, as war is a primitive thing. When people write alien invasion stories, they are really saying something about us. We are destructive and aggressive by nature. Our history has been one long story of conquest, slavery and even genocide. So HG Wells has put a little bit of us into his Martians. Both metaphorically (as imperialists), and literally (as food).
Rating:
Summary: Hard to hate creatures with such cool toys
Review: I don't know if H.G. Wells can take all the credit for pioneering modern science fiction, but his 1898 novel "The War of the Worlds" is certainly a revolutionary stroke, apparently the first conception of what a hostile extraterrestrial invasion would be like. The invaders here are Martians, who, as Wells describes, are superevolved beyond humans, having had to sharpen their intelligence and develop superior technology in order to survive their planet's cold climate. Looking with jealousy towards their larger, warmer sunward planetary neighbor, they have decided to take over Earth, where they can build a new civilization. Meanwhile on Earth, astronomers, their telescopes pointed towards Mars, notice strange luminous flashes on the surface of the red planet; these, it can be surmised, are the Martians launching their interplanetary spacecrafts towards their target. A few months later the crafts land in the English countryside one at a time; it turns out the Martians have traveled in gigantic cylinders which contain all their equipment, including their land vehicles--tall walking tripods with rotating control centers that look like hooded human heads--which evidently are stored in parts and need to be assembled. These machines have weapons that deploy "Heat-Rays" which roast anything on contact and dense black powder which poisons the air and water. With these undeniably cool toys, the Martians have no problems advancing towards London and decimating every living thing in their path. Undiplomatic and incommunicative with earthlings, the Martians are cold-blooded killers with possibly the ultimate goal of enslaving the human species for labor in their colonies. The Martian beings themselves are described as vaguely globular, tentacular monsters that are mostly brain and little else, creatures seemingly borrowed from the distant future of Wells's imagination in "The Time Machine." What I found most original and bizarre about them was Wells's description of their machinery, which does not use wheels or any kind of angular mechanism, but rather complex systems of sliding parts on curved surfaces--in other words, their mechanisms approximate biomechanisms. Their cleverness is indeed formidable, but their information about Earth is lacking in one important area which causes their downfall. The human characters in the novel are hardly worth mentioning, especially the narrator, which is probably why he doesn't have a name; he is used simply as an eyewitness to relate the events. The Martians and their incredible machines were the only things that really drew my interest because Wells is at his best when he invokes the horror of the unknown rather than the realities of human behavior. Upon its first appearance, this novel must have struck many Victorians as distastefully grotesque, the idea of a cataclysmic war (at the dawn of the century that invented the cataclysmic war) the willful nightmare of a madman; but Wells was a visionary if not the most elegant writer, and visionaries sometimes shock us.
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Summary: The very first - a classic in every sense
Review: Okay folks, this is it. The very first alien invasion novel and it's 101 years old this year. That's right, over a century. Yet this is still a wonderful book to read. Sure, we know there aren't any real Martians. Put that aside. The straight forward Victorian narrative style is odd and strangely formal by today's standards. But that's part of what sets the scene. Here is a book that has all the basic elements of the genre - and Wells got them right the very first time. Better, in fact than most modern writers. There aren't any heroic moves we can make to save ourselves. There's no good-looking guy that defeats the Martians through cleverness and clean living. The Martians are centuries ahead of us technologically and we're going to lose. Period. Is that realistic enough for you? How about a writer that predicts tactical battlefield lasers, chemical weapons, armored mechanical fighting vehicles, interplanetary spaceflight and computer controlled robots up to ninety years ahead of reality. Pretty impressive stuff that STILL hasn't come to pass in some cases, even though we can understand such things now. Imagine someone who takes a horse-drawn carriage to town conceptualizing battlefield lasers. That's what Wells did when he wrote this novel. But most of all this book is there for its commentary on humanity - Victorian imperialism and lack of humility, the arrogance of invulnerability just waiting to be burst. Watch a cultured society crumble in the face of harsh reality. Watch us devolve into elemental things once more, as we learn what it means to be dominated as we have dominated other, less advanced cultures. Wells' book was meant as a commentary on English Imperialism and arrogance, but that lesson still has relevance today, whether you apply it to superpower politics or global environmentalism. Take the time for this book. It's worth it.
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Summary: The War of the Worlds
Review: I was a small boy when I saw George Pal's production of "THE WAR OF THE WORLDS "(Paramount,1953),directed by Byron Haskin.I was thrilled,then.A couple of years later,I read the "Classics Illustrated" adaptation of the novel(actually,the brazilian version of that comics series called,in portuguese, "Clássicos Ilustrados"),and,suddenly,I was enraptured by the sheer magic of H.G.Wells' imagination.IN 1960,I saw MGM's "THE TIME MACHINE",directed by Pal.More magic.After that,I started to read the original science fiction novels(or 'scientific romances'as this novels were called in Wells time)and short stories written by Wells(still in portuguese translations).Time goes by,I became a museum professional here in Brazil,and,in 1977,I was the Curator at a Rio de Janeiro art museum of an exhibition of the original drawings(illustrations)made by the brazilian painter and illustrator Henrique Alvim Corrêa(1876-1910)for a luxurious belgian edition of "The War of the Worlds"("LA GUERRE DES MONDES",L.Vandamme,1906)After the exhibition was over,the older son of the artist,still alive then,and a dear friend of mine,gave me,as a gift,one of the treasures of my small art collection,his copy of the beautiful and amazing poster,created and signed with a monogram by Alvim Corrêa,advertising that marvelous designed "Belle Époque" book.The poster is litographed and depicts one of the martian machines destroying a section of London or a Surrey village with its deadly heat rays.Incidentally,the Alvim Corrêa's drawings are being shown at Seattle's SCIENCE FICTION MUSEUM AND HALL OF FAME,since October30th,2004.
In 1977 too,I read for the first time in english,"The War of the Worlds".Now and again,I reread the novel.Always with pleasure.Herbert George Wells will be,forever,a source of inspiration for me.
Rating:
Summary: Taking Care Of Things
Review: In Southern England at the turn of the twentieth century, astronomers notice strange activity on Mars. Later, "cylinders" land in Surrey. These turn out to have been fired from Mars, and contain the vanguard of an invasion force. As the Martians begin their conquest, reaction to the invasion ranges from blind panic to resistance - will humanity survive?
Well's classic is of course dated now, but it remains an interesting read and still poses questions about the nature and future of humanity. It's really a novel about the reactions of the humans rather than sci-fi war book: the battles scenes are few.
Of course the invasion happens in England - a natural setting perhaps for an English writer of the time. Also Great Britain was at the height of its imperial power. Note that the 1953 Hollywood version transplanted events to the USA (I'll bet Spielberg's version will do the same), as did the truly execrable "Independence Day". Invaders from space always target Earth's dominant power.
Despite being at the height of its power, Great Britain was also (paradoxically) aware of imminent decline: economic and military challenges were becoming more threatening. The purpose of the Empire was being questioned. One could read this uncertainty into "The War of the Worlds" - the Martian invasion exposes British vulnerability.
There are even wider themes than that: humanity's care (or lack of care) of the planet; the old religious theme of God punishing humanity for its failings, and so on.
Wells's ending is sudden, but clever. Again, not surprisingly for the time, it's very Darwinian, but it does tie in with the theme of humanity's care for itself and for the planet are of paramount importance - and indeed is a much better resolution than a lot of flag-waving.
G Rodgers
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece of science fiction
Review: In 1898, H.G. Wells wanted to find out what it would be like if an intelligent race of Martians turned the tables by conquering and colonizing the Earth. The result is a gripping account of The War of the Worlds through the eyes of reporter in search of his family in the mid of extraterrestrial chaos. The poetic opening of the novel takes the reader directly to the Victorian world with its typical ponderings about the nature of society. The image of aliens studying Earth like scientists studying transient creatures that multiply in a drop of water is extremely powerful. Imagine the effect it would have had on any imaginative person living in the tumultuous end of the 19th century. The "Panic Broadcast" in 1938 of the radio play adapted by Orson Welles, gave the popularity of the book a major boost, when thousands of Americans fled for the non-existent alien attack.
Even now, more that a century after its first publication, the story still lives on and maintains its popularity. Whereas the narrative sometimes tends to be pompous and belittling for the modern reader, the strong ideas and compelling storyline offers more that enough food for thought. Compared to other major works of its time, Wells succeeded in composing a refreshing plot that keeps the reader hooked until the end. The convincing description of Earth under attack, depicted in situations like the brave battle at sea with the Thunder Child, widens the setting of the story to global proportions. At the same time this contrasts strongly with the personal struggle of the protagonist when hiding in a claustrophobic hiding place and seeing his friend being devoured by the aliens.
Joy and despair. Pain and hope. Every emotion is interwoven in one of literatures most important works of science fiction. Although probably not the initiator of the genre, The War of the Worlds certainly has had a tremendous influence on what the Sci-Fi turned out to be. No fan of the genre can allow skipping this masterpiece.
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Summary: Good Science Fiction is Based Firmly on Fact.
Review: H.G. Wells crafted his pioneering science fiction in a time when taxis were drawn by horse, indoor light came only from candles, and when far less was known by the general reader about astronomy and astrophysics. It was an era when the fiction of science and the fact of science were more easily interwoven. Even in our Speilberg-wise, video game era, when wars are intergalactic, as opposed to merely interplanetary, Well's seminal work fascinates us, even if it doesn't chill us. In fact, the scientifically literate reader should be able to anticipate the defeat of the Martian invaders based on general knowledge and Well's own foreshadowing.
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Summary: Incredible Book - Not for kids
Review: I just finished reading "The War of the Worlds" for a high school book report. I found it a very captivaing story, it is highly detailed. And although myself, as a teen, had to use the dictionary more than a few times, H.G.Wells chooses his words brilliantly.
The most interesting aspect of this story is the point that H.G. Wells was not actually trying to tell the future. We was dipicting the present (or rather his present, the late 1890's). At that point there was a race to colonize Africa and in this story Wells is trying to show us the perspective of the Natives: Minding their own business and then a mess of higher intelligence with better technology invades their home. There is no spectacular war of technology at the end of the book because that's not the way it went down in Africa.
Although a massive attack and triumphant victory in my opinion would have made for a more exciting ending, it was an awesome book nonetheless. I don't however recommend it for children. The language is very advanced and as you can see by a couple of the other reviews kid's prefer a bit more action in their sci-fi. To truly appreciate this book one needs to have some understanding of the era in which it was written. When you are able to compare it, even to modern life, it makes for a captiviating, thought-provoking story. Happy Reading.
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