Post by Morgan Sierra on Apr 1, 2011 22:37:57 GMT -6
Book Review: The War of the Worlds
Author: H.G. Wells
Publication date:1898
Reviewed by Morgan Sierra
The War of The Worlds is the famous 1898 novel by H.G. Wells that first popularized the idea of an alien invasion of Earth. The fictional story takes place in then turn of the century England as a young philosophical writer becomes an unwilling witness to a war between the inhabitants of Mars and a virtually defenseless human population.
An explosion of light on the red planet marks the beginning of the invasion as a hollow metal cylinder filled with Martians is fired towards the Earth. Several others follow and the invasion is on. They crash into the Earth near a rural village in England and out crawl several octopus-like creatures with bulbous leathery bodies and slithering tentacles. They quickly begin assembling their weapons of war which include huge three-legged metal walking machines, called tripods. In each of these machines rode a Martian with various deadly devices at its disposal, such as a heat ray that can incinerate virtually anything it touches, and a deadly "black smoke" that poisons the air killing people instantly.
The English army mounts a defense but they are hopelessly outclassed, especially since in the late 1890s their armaments were nothing more than bullets, bombs and cannons. These primitive warriors were clearly no match for their space-age antagonists.
The narrator of the story spends his time running and hiding from the alien invaders, avoiding numerous potential pitfalls and engaging in several narrow escapes as he attempts to get back home to his wife, while all around him death and destruction ensue as England is ravaged and destroyed almost beyond recognition. Along the way he meets several interesting characters, such as a curate (priest) whose faith in his religion causes him to go insane when faced with what he believes are demons from the darkest pits of the netherworld, and an artilleryman who manages to survive the earliest battles and begins implementing a plan to rebuild civilization underground and continue fighting a war of terrorism against the Martian conquerors.
After surviving numerous close calls, such as having one of the huge metal rockets practically land on top of him, and another incident where an ailing Martian machine practically boils him alive when it turns its heat ray on a river that he was swimming across, he manages to make his way to London where he finds the city desolate and empty. On the verge of despair, both he and humanity almost surrender to the invaders.
The story has a somewhat happy ending. At what seems to be mankind's darkest hour, the invasion is miraculously repelled, albeit with the help of some microscopic allies.
************************
This was actually an interesting book, although since the story takes place more than a hundred years ago it is now totally outdated. If any aliens were to invade today in the manner in which these creatures attempted to do so they would not last more than five minutes before they would be obliterated from the face of the planet. Their weapons and methods would be crude compared to today's advanced technology, and would seem almost prehistoric in comparison.
Still, looking at it from a historical point of view the book is entertaining. It gives a pretty good depiction of what life at that time was like and how people back then likely would have responded to an invasion. I am sure that the people who were alive in turn of the century England would have found the idea of murderous Martians both fascinating and horrifying at the same time. And in spite of its ancient origins the story has had a pretty large impact on modern society's perception of both UFO and alien folklore.
The War of the Worlds is an important book for a variety of reasons. It was one of the first books to deal with the subject of an invasion of Earth by aliens from another planet. It popularized the term Martians and helped conceive the image of the "ray gun" which since has become the science-fiction writer's preferred weapon of choice for alien invaders. In fact, the Martian's "heat ray" is very similar in appearance and effect to modern day laser beams and may have helped to inspire the development of laser technology.
It inspired other things as well. Robert H. Goddard, the "father of the rocket," was so motivated by the story that he spent his life attempting to design and build rockets and missiles that could travel into space. His work eventually helped to put men on the Moon.
Another thing that H. G. Wells book played a part in was the infamous War of the Worlds radio broadcast of 1938, in which actor Orson Welles (not related) produced a made-for-radio play, complete with sound effects and dramatic "news updates," that was so convincing that it caused thousands of people in the northeastern part of the United States to flee their homes in terror thinking that an alien invasion was really underway. The resulting panic, which clogged highways and jammed telephone switchboards for days afterwords, very likely played a role in convincing the government that the general population could not handle the truth about a UFO landing or any type of subsequent alien contact. The aura of secrecy has dominated the military and has shaped their policies of dealing with the public ever since.
Since it's publication over a century ago, The War of the Worlds has been reproduced many times in movies, television shows, plays, magazines, video games, newspapers and comic books. The original 1898 book is the one that started it all. If you have nothing better to do you might consider reading it some day. And the next time you are out stargazing late at night, look up at Mars and see if you can't keep from imagining that something might just be looking back.
Author: H.G. Wells
Publication date:1898
Reviewed by Morgan Sierra
The War of The Worlds is the famous 1898 novel by H.G. Wells that first popularized the idea of an alien invasion of Earth. The fictional story takes place in then turn of the century England as a young philosophical writer becomes an unwilling witness to a war between the inhabitants of Mars and a virtually defenseless human population.
An explosion of light on the red planet marks the beginning of the invasion as a hollow metal cylinder filled with Martians is fired towards the Earth. Several others follow and the invasion is on. They crash into the Earth near a rural village in England and out crawl several octopus-like creatures with bulbous leathery bodies and slithering tentacles. They quickly begin assembling their weapons of war which include huge three-legged metal walking machines, called tripods. In each of these machines rode a Martian with various deadly devices at its disposal, such as a heat ray that can incinerate virtually anything it touches, and a deadly "black smoke" that poisons the air killing people instantly.
The English army mounts a defense but they are hopelessly outclassed, especially since in the late 1890s their armaments were nothing more than bullets, bombs and cannons. These primitive warriors were clearly no match for their space-age antagonists.
The narrator of the story spends his time running and hiding from the alien invaders, avoiding numerous potential pitfalls and engaging in several narrow escapes as he attempts to get back home to his wife, while all around him death and destruction ensue as England is ravaged and destroyed almost beyond recognition. Along the way he meets several interesting characters, such as a curate (priest) whose faith in his religion causes him to go insane when faced with what he believes are demons from the darkest pits of the netherworld, and an artilleryman who manages to survive the earliest battles and begins implementing a plan to rebuild civilization underground and continue fighting a war of terrorism against the Martian conquerors.
After surviving numerous close calls, such as having one of the huge metal rockets practically land on top of him, and another incident where an ailing Martian machine practically boils him alive when it turns its heat ray on a river that he was swimming across, he manages to make his way to London where he finds the city desolate and empty. On the verge of despair, both he and humanity almost surrender to the invaders.
The story has a somewhat happy ending. At what seems to be mankind's darkest hour, the invasion is miraculously repelled, albeit with the help of some microscopic allies.
************************
This was actually an interesting book, although since the story takes place more than a hundred years ago it is now totally outdated. If any aliens were to invade today in the manner in which these creatures attempted to do so they would not last more than five minutes before they would be obliterated from the face of the planet. Their weapons and methods would be crude compared to today's advanced technology, and would seem almost prehistoric in comparison.
Still, looking at it from a historical point of view the book is entertaining. It gives a pretty good depiction of what life at that time was like and how people back then likely would have responded to an invasion. I am sure that the people who were alive in turn of the century England would have found the idea of murderous Martians both fascinating and horrifying at the same time. And in spite of its ancient origins the story has had a pretty large impact on modern society's perception of both UFO and alien folklore.
The War of the Worlds is an important book for a variety of reasons. It was one of the first books to deal with the subject of an invasion of Earth by aliens from another planet. It popularized the term Martians and helped conceive the image of the "ray gun" which since has become the science-fiction writer's preferred weapon of choice for alien invaders. In fact, the Martian's "heat ray" is very similar in appearance and effect to modern day laser beams and may have helped to inspire the development of laser technology.
It inspired other things as well. Robert H. Goddard, the "father of the rocket," was so motivated by the story that he spent his life attempting to design and build rockets and missiles that could travel into space. His work eventually helped to put men on the Moon.
Another thing that H. G. Wells book played a part in was the infamous War of the Worlds radio broadcast of 1938, in which actor Orson Welles (not related) produced a made-for-radio play, complete with sound effects and dramatic "news updates," that was so convincing that it caused thousands of people in the northeastern part of the United States to flee their homes in terror thinking that an alien invasion was really underway. The resulting panic, which clogged highways and jammed telephone switchboards for days afterwords, very likely played a role in convincing the government that the general population could not handle the truth about a UFO landing or any type of subsequent alien contact. The aura of secrecy has dominated the military and has shaped their policies of dealing with the public ever since.
Since it's publication over a century ago, The War of the Worlds has been reproduced many times in movies, television shows, plays, magazines, video games, newspapers and comic books. The original 1898 book is the one that started it all. If you have nothing better to do you might consider reading it some day. And the next time you are out stargazing late at night, look up at Mars and see if you can't keep from imagining that something might just be looking back.