The War Of The Worlds
The War Of The Worlds by H.G. Wells
I tend to use the word classic a lot in my excitement for older sci-fi, but The War of the Worlds really is a classic. A literally masterpiece written during a time when a lot of sci-fi concepts hadn’t even been thought up, much less articulated in such a precise and entertaining manner.
H.G Wells War of the Worlds follows the events of a Martian invasion as our unnamed narrator talks us through the ongoing events, his eye witness accounts, and his theories of what’s taking place. We follow his escape from his home to relocate his wife, and going back into the danger zone. We learn about the Martians and their frightening machines from his exposure to both, and hear about the Martians mannerisms as they run rough-shot over London and the surrounding area––If you’re unfamiliar with English Geography this book doubles as a guide too.
Seeing as the book was written just before the 1900’s the experience of the invasion feels even more helpless. There’s no great weapons to defeat the Martians. No air support. No tanks. Just artillery guns and a train line. The idea that no one even really knows what’s happening seems impossible now, but with no social media or TV at the time all the information about the invasion was told to the masses in unreliable newspaper articles. The idea of an invasion taking place while people are completely unaware of it, or in disbelief of its truth, only racks up the tension within the book.
Despite the book being well over a hundred years old the language used is mostly simple and easy to follow. It more had me thinking how some words really should to be brought back into modern vocabulary rather than constantly looking up what everything meant. The first person viewpoint feels unique and interesting, with the accounts of his brothers exploits adding some pace when needed.
I loved the presentation of the invasion from start to finish. The flashes of light from Mars. The canisters landing in England. The slow unveiling of the Martian and their deadly heat ray. The black smoke and red plants. Everything feels dangerous and suspenseful.
The chapters of the Narrator stuck in the house with the curate are some of my favourite, along with his brother getting caught in an old-school traffic jam. I also enjoyed when the military man went over what life under Martian control would look like––and his role as a breeder lol.
The most harrowing part for me was after the Curate dies, and in a particularly disturbing scene the Narrators tries to justify his role in his death. For the first time I had a bit of doubt over the Narrators likeable, which added to the complexity of the book and the difficulty of the situation we was in. He even states we can make up our own mind––I’m still unsure.
The War Of The Worlds is an absolute classic in every sense of the word. It’s a staple of the genre and a template for so many films and books which followed. H.G Wells writes the book in a factual way which is engaging, and at times, humorous, as everyone tries to work out what the hell is going on and why.
I loved the presentation and writing. The concept is amazing and everything comes together well. The pace is decent although obviously slower than some modern work considering the time it was written. I think it’s one of those books that as a fan of the genre you should read no matter what, but I think most will really enjoy the experience.
