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5.0 out of 5 stars
Why it's still in print a hundred years later..., Oct 12 2006
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
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
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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