The War of the Worlds
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4.2 • 347 Ratings
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Publisher Description
The War of the Worlds is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells, first published in 1898. It is the first-person narrative of the adventures of an unnamed protagonist and his brother in Surrey and London as Earth is invaded by Martians. Written between 1895 and 1897, it is one of the earliest stories that detail a conflict between mankind and an extraterrestrial race. The novel is one of the most commented-on works in the science fiction canon.
The War of the Worlds has two parts, Book One: The Coming of the Martians and Book Two: The Earth under the Martians. The narrator, a philosophically-inclined author, struggles to return to his wife while seeing the Martians lay waste to southern England. Book One also imparts the experience of his brother, also unnamed, who describes events in the capital and escapes the Martians by boarding a ship near Tillingham, on the Essex coast.
Customer Reviews
Great book - but outstays its welcome
WotW is a must-read for any fan of Victorian fiction, although it must be stated that Wells’ imagery is never as attention-grabbing as Dickens’, and the many attempts at horror all fall short of the experience gained from reading ‘Dracula’… WotW beats both those books even if it is in one category only: having a truly fascinating storyline which is made even more so when you appreciate that this book, which predicts many of the inventions of the 20th Century, was written over 120 years ago
One critique must be stated, however: this book may be a page-turner for the first 12 chapters, I found that the second book outstayed its welcome, leading to a third act which is, to quote a certain video game review, “bloated”.
I just love this book.
This book is a beautiful read. The language and perspective pulls you into the story - until you hit a word that has long since fallen out of common usage.
I have read it many times and hope to read it many more.
War of the Worlds
To me personally I think the book was pretty good and I think I would recommend the book to someone else.
Finlay Morgan