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War of the Worlds, The (Mass Market Paperback)

by H. G Wells (Author) "NO ONE WOULD have believed in last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than..." (more)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (148 customer reviews)
Price: CDN$ 5.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details
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Product Description

From Amazon.com

This is the granddaddy of all alien invasion stories, first published by H.G. Wells in 1898. The novel begins ominously, as the lone voice of a narrator tells readers that "No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's..."

Things then progress from a series of seemingly mundane reports about odd atmospheric disturbances taking place on Mars to the arrival of Martians just outside of London. At first the Martians seem laughable, hardly able to move in Earth's comparatively heavy gravity even enough to raise themselves out of the pit created when their spaceship landed. But soon the Martians reveal their true nature as death machines 100-feet tall rise up from the pit and begin laying waste to the surrounding land. Wells quickly moves the story from the countryside to the evacuation of London itself and the loss of all hope as England's military suffers defeat after defeat. With horror his narrator describes how the Martians suck the blood from living humans for sustenance, and how it's clear that man is not being conquered so much a corralled. --Craig E. Engler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This edition of Wells's much disguised attack on British imperialism includes a scholarly introduction, a biographical preface and chronology of the author's life, maps of the Martian landing sites, and explanatory notes. A lot of extras for the price.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
NO ONE WOULD have believed in last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinized and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinize the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

148 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (148 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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5.0 out of 5 stars Why it's still in print a hundred years later..., Oct 12 2006
By Mark Wakely (Lombard, Illinois) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

H.G. Wells wrote War of the Worlds as a warning to the complacent, world-dominating British citizens of his era to not take the status quo for granted. The arrogance of some British politicians in particular rubbed Wells entirely the wrong way, particularly their sentiment that the British had an 'obligation' to 'civilize' the world (read: colonize) for its own good. Well's book was a rock thrown at that attitude-on-a-pedestal, and although he didn't knock it down, he made his point- and in spectacular fashion. In one way, the Martians *were* the conquering British, with their superior weapons and baffling ways that must have seemed incomprehensible to the natives of Africa and other areas colonized by force. Wells' dark tale was also a warning that even the British- despite their firm belief in their world destiny- could be squashed like so many bugs by an indifferent cosmos that didn't give one whit about the British (or anyone else's) false boast of superiority. In the end, though, it's a hopeful book- just as the Martians died off because they weren't biologically suited to live in this world, Wells also foretells the end of the British Empire because the British (alien) way was not the native way of life in the colonies, suggesting that the British wouldn't survive there long; the natives would eventually prevail. And they did. On top of all that, it's rousing entertainment that can be read just for its drama and suspense.

And that's why it's still in print a hundred years later.

-Mark Wakely, author of An Audience for Einstein
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5.0 out of 5 stars Top of his game, Aug 30 2006
By Loki Xombi "Nox" (Alberta, ED Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
I've said it before, so I'll say it again: Wells was way ahead of his time.

At the end of the 19th century Wells was already conceiving the possibility that we are being watched by entities whose intelligence is far superior to our own. And though those beings may be more advanced, they regard our form of life as being a simple setback to be quickly removed. Our solar neighbor, Mars, sends its children down to earth to being the decimation of the human race. In the opening of the novel, large metallic pods crash on our soil, and from their craters, emerge as massive tri-pod walking machines. These tri-pods go about the business of burning all of civilization to ashes. They spew noxious gas that suffocates those that inhale it, and fire concentrated lasers that scorch the earth to dust. Within a few days, all of England is turned into a smoking ruin by these walking terrors.
The novel is set in the perspective of a young philosopher/writer (whom is never given a name) as he travels across England and witnesses the horrible destruction and transformation of his home country, trying his hardest to stay clear of the death-machines. It was interesting to read something from the perspective of someone who has no name, and to read about his terror, not only over the ruin of England, but the destruction of organized society. No man made creation, no human endeavor, nothing our earthly minds can construct is able to save us from the death that walks on 3 legs. You actually get to watch a man's mind turning towards hopelessness and insanity.
In the end, the invaders are destroyed by the tiniest of organisms our planet has to offer. The moment they introduced themselves into our environment, they had lost the battle. Wells may have been attempting to show his audience that we can never be to confident in man's resourcefulness, and never to become to high on our ideas of superiority over this world.
This was, and is a good lesson to learn and keep close to heart. I definitely recommend this book to any sci-fi fan out there. It's a one of a kind, and the parent of it's genre.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Original and Unbeatable! Still The Best!, July 20 2005
By Kevin Mills (Richmond, VA) - See all my reviews
Written in 1898 by visionary author H.G. Wells, "The War of the Worlds" stands today not only on its own merits as a thrilling, terrifying work of the imagination, but as the granddaddy of all the extraterrestrial-invasion fiction that has saturated the media of this century. One is even tempted to proffer the possibility that, had it not been for Wells's seminal work, we may not have witnessed the UFO phenomenon that has manifested itself throughout the past 50 years or more. "The War of the Worlds" involves the abrupt landings of the Martians, fleeing their dying planet, in England, and their immediate campaign to subjugate human beings whose blood they need as sustenance. Through the use of fearsome weapons such as poison gas, and a heat-beam (Wells anticipating the laser) that incinerates everything in its path, the Martians( hideous octupi-like creatures, and their miraculous machinery) reduce much of London and the surrounding areas to smoldering ruin. This mass destruction Wells narrates in horrifying detail through the first-person of his protagonist, a writer-philosopher. In addition to serving as our eyes as civilization is apocalyptically laid to waste, the philosopher gives voice to the socialist Wells's views on humanity's vain view of its preeminent place in the cosmos, as well as to use the Martians' seemingly unstoppable domination as a way of comparing it to the British Empire's treatment of its subjugated populations. For all who have thrilled to the writings of Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Bradbury, as well as the films "The Thing", "Invaders from Mars", up through "Independence Day", we may give thanks to "The War of the Worlds", the progenitor of the hundreds of excitingly imaginative invasions of our paltry little planet. Give the book a shot. Pick up a copy! In addition to War of the Worlds, another book I'd like to recommend, is The Losers' Club: Complete Restored Edition by Richard Perez, a non Sci-fi novel I stumbled on by accident on Amazon and really love.
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 		 Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Original and Unbeatable! Still The Best!
Written in 1898 by visionary author H.G. Wells, "The War of the Worlds" stands today not only on its own merits as a thrilling, terrifying work of the imagination, but as the... Read more
Published on July 5 2005 by Kevin Mills

5.0 out of 5 stars Original and Unbeatable! Still The Best!
Written in 1898 by visionary author H.G. Wells, "The War of the Worlds" stands today not only on its own merits as a thrilling, terrifying work of the imagination, but... Read more
Published on Jun 25 2005 by Kevin Mills

4.0 out of 5 stars Hard to hate creatures with such cool toys
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,... Read more
Published on July 7 2004 by A.J.

4.0 out of 5 stars War of the Worlds: ground breaking sci-fi
H.G. Wells, is one of the first the introduce readers with the idea of aliens from mars taking over the earth, and triggered many writers later to write books involving martians... Read more
Published on Jun 11 2004 by bus driver

3.0 out of 5 stars A little too retro "Sci. Fi." for me.
In "The War of the Worlds" Martians come down from space and start their conquest of our home Earth. Read more
Published on May 16 2004 by James Sefcik

5.0 out of 5 stars "...this world was being watched keenly and closely..."
We are in 1898 England. Yep we see something happening on the surface of Mars. Later what looks like a meteor comes to earth. Read more
Published on May 13 2004 by bernie

5.0 out of 5 stars The one that started it all.
Welcome to the book that has influenced all other Alien Invasion.
Although now written over 100 years ago the concepts and much of the Alien technology is still being used... Read more
Published on April 9 2004 by Anthony Sullivan

5.0 out of 5 stars The war of the worlds
I would recommend this book because it was exciting, keep you interested to see what would happen next, glad the humans got control back of Earth.
Published on Mar 25 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Classic Story, Desiring More Character Development
"The War of the Worlds" is a gripping sci-fi classic detailing the devastation of London and environs during a Martian invasion, told in the past tense by an unnamed narrator... Read more
Published on Feb 12 2004 by Lloyd Sakazaki

5.0 out of 5 stars So real it's scary
What makes this book so great? It's not the plot or the characters... it's the believability of the story. Read more
Published on Feb 1 2004 by T. C Gerlach

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