wyrmbergmalcolm's review against another edition
1.0
I’m not the greatest fan of the original H. G. Wells story, it’s not aged well and the story is very dry in the telling. I had hoped that these different authors could inject some life into it. Unfortunately, for the most part, they chose to stick to Wells’s narrative style without bringing any new material to the theme. This became really repetitive and I only kept going in the dwindling hope that the next story would be better. The one stand-out was told from John Carpenter’s point of view as he thwarted the Martian’s efforts on their home turf (which was why they sent such a small army). If you enjoyed the original, this may be for you, but otherwise give it a miss.
otherwyrld's review against another edition
4.0
When I reviewed [b:The War of the Worlds|8909|The War of the Worlds|H.G. Wells|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320391644s/8909.jpg|3194841] a while back I bemoaned the fact that the action was set in one small corner of England, and that there is little mention of what is happening in the rest of the world. This collection of short stories tries to rectify this by showing events from a wide variety of perspectives. The literary conceit here is that each story is written by a modern Science Fiction author in the style of someone who would have been alive at the time of the Martian invasion. On the whole its a pretty good collection, though I can't say with any certainty if the writers here manage to accurately depict the voices of the person they are writing about. The following notes are brief guides to each story, with title, persona and author in that order.
The Roosevelt Dispatches Teddy Roosevelt Mike Resnick - one of the weaker stories, it tells in letter form about Roosevelt' s encounter with Martians in the jungles of Cuba. It certainly sounded like Teddy's bombastic style, but I was rather hoping that the final letter would be "I regret to inform you..."
Canals in the Sand Percival Lowell Kevin J. Anderson - Percival Lowell is determined to welcome friendly Martians by providing them with a sign that they would be welcomed. Lowell comes across quite poorly in this one and it is something that leads to his death in the Sahara. Well written though.
Foreign Devils Guangxu Emperor and Empress Dowager Cixi Walter Jon Williams - one of the best of the stories, combining political intrigue in the court of the Chinese Emperor, with the Martian Invasion seen by the Emperor as a means to rid them of another foreign devil in the form of the Western powers. Powerfully written.
Blue Period Pablo Picasso Daniel Marcus - Picasso is a fish out of water here as he unfortunately was in Paris at the time of the Martian invasion rather than in his native Spain. Bit of a dull story as he uses his experience to paint something different from hos usual style, and that's all he does.
The Martian Invasion Journals of Henry James Henry James Robert Silverberg - rather a departure in that this story actually has H.G.Wells in it, and ends up with Henry James rather than Wells writing War of the Worlds.
The True Tale of the Final Battle of Umslopogaas the Zulu Winston Churchill and H. Rider Haggard
Janet Berliner - rather an odd little story which tries to combine the mysticism of Haggard's African stories with the more realistic tone of Winston Churchill, and doesn't quite succeed.
Night of the Cooters The Texas Rangers Howard Waldrop - the Martians land in Texas. The Texans shoot them. The end.
Determinism and the Martian War, with Relativistic Corrections Edwin Hubble and Albert Einstein
Doug Beason - Albert Einstein becomes a superhero and single handedly downs a Martian fighting machine with a rope, in a play copied from The Empire Strikes Back. It's a pity that this story misses the point that Wells was making, in that humanity is helpless against the Martians, and that humble bacteria saves us instead of our own might. Otherwise this is an entertaining story.
Soldier of the Queen Rudyard Kipling and Mohandas K. Gandhi Barbara Hambly - Kipling and Gandhi make a rather odd couple as they try and keep India safe from the Martians by using guerilla warfare. Another story that uses the invasion as a background for social change, and does it rather well.
Mars: The Home Front Edgar Rice Burroughs Kevin J. Anderson - possibly the only failure in the whole book, this story tries unsuccessfully to marry the conflicting stories of Wells Martians with the Barsoom of Burroughs. It's entertainingly written and the style is accurate, but it just didn't work for me.
A Letter from St. Louis Joseph Pulitzer Allen Steele - the story of the Martian invasion as it might have been told by a reporter at the time. The story is not really about Pulitzer though, and his fate is well deserved.
Resurrection Leo Tolstoy and Joseph Stalin Mark W. Tiedemann- this one rather amusingly consigns Stalin to anonymity whilst painting Tolstoy as the hero of the hour, as he struggles to save as many peasants as possible from both Martians and starvation.
Paris Conquers All Jules Verne Gregory Benford and David Brin - this one suffers from being the second story set in Paris, especially given here that the Martians don't destroy the Eiffel Tower, they which rather lessens the impact of the story. Jules Verne really doesn't play much of a role her, which is a pity.
To Mars and Providence H. P. Lovecraft Don Webb - does well to imitate the style of Lovecraft, who is still a child here, but ultimately a silly story that strays too far from the original.
Roughing it During the Martian Invasion Mark Twain Kevin J. Anderson and Jodi Moran - a bathetic story of an elderly Mark Twain trying to capture living Martians in a dead New Orleans.
To See the World End Joseph Conrad M. Shayne Bell - a third story about a conquered people using the invasion to throw off the shackles of their fellow men, this is a profound story and one of the best in the book.
After a Lean Winter Jack London Kevin J. Anderson - good use is made of the cold of the far north in this story. The fight between the sled dogs and a Martian is nasty and just what probably would have happened.
The Soul Selects her own Society: Invasion and Repulsion: A Chronological Reinterpretation of Two of Emily Dickinson's Poems: A Wellsian Perspective Emily Dickinson Connie Willis - sorry but this one did nothing for me, no matter how well written it was. Rather an odd way to end the book.
This edition rather oddly misses a story about Nikola Tesla, which I would have liked to read. Otherwise this was a good collection.
The Roosevelt Dispatches Teddy Roosevelt Mike Resnick - one of the weaker stories, it tells in letter form about Roosevelt' s encounter with Martians in the jungles of Cuba. It certainly sounded like Teddy's bombastic style, but I was rather hoping that the final letter would be "I regret to inform you..."
Canals in the Sand Percival Lowell Kevin J. Anderson - Percival Lowell is determined to welcome friendly Martians by providing them with a sign that they would be welcomed. Lowell comes across quite poorly in this one and it is something that leads to his death in the Sahara. Well written though.
Foreign Devils Guangxu Emperor and Empress Dowager Cixi Walter Jon Williams - one of the best of the stories, combining political intrigue in the court of the Chinese Emperor, with the Martian Invasion seen by the Emperor as a means to rid them of another foreign devil in the form of the Western powers. Powerfully written.
Blue Period Pablo Picasso Daniel Marcus - Picasso is a fish out of water here as he unfortunately was in Paris at the time of the Martian invasion rather than in his native Spain. Bit of a dull story as he uses his experience to paint something different from hos usual style, and that's all he does.
The Martian Invasion Journals of Henry James Henry James Robert Silverberg - rather a departure in that this story actually has H.G.Wells in it, and ends up with Henry James rather than Wells writing War of the Worlds.
The True Tale of the Final Battle of Umslopogaas the Zulu Winston Churchill and H. Rider Haggard
Janet Berliner - rather an odd little story which tries to combine the mysticism of Haggard's African stories with the more realistic tone of Winston Churchill, and doesn't quite succeed.
Night of the Cooters The Texas Rangers Howard Waldrop - the Martians land in Texas. The Texans shoot them. The end.
Determinism and the Martian War, with Relativistic Corrections Edwin Hubble and Albert Einstein
Doug Beason - Albert Einstein becomes a superhero and single handedly downs a Martian fighting machine with a rope, in a play copied from The Empire Strikes Back. It's a pity that this story misses the point that Wells was making, in that humanity is helpless against the Martians, and that humble bacteria saves us instead of our own might. Otherwise this is an entertaining story.
Soldier of the Queen Rudyard Kipling and Mohandas K. Gandhi Barbara Hambly - Kipling and Gandhi make a rather odd couple as they try and keep India safe from the Martians by using guerilla warfare. Another story that uses the invasion as a background for social change, and does it rather well.
Mars: The Home Front Edgar Rice Burroughs Kevin J. Anderson - possibly the only failure in the whole book, this story tries unsuccessfully to marry the conflicting stories of Wells Martians with the Barsoom of Burroughs. It's entertainingly written and the style is accurate, but it just didn't work for me.
A Letter from St. Louis Joseph Pulitzer Allen Steele - the story of the Martian invasion as it might have been told by a reporter at the time. The story is not really about Pulitzer though, and his fate is well deserved.
Resurrection Leo Tolstoy and Joseph Stalin Mark W. Tiedemann- this one rather amusingly consigns Stalin to anonymity whilst painting Tolstoy as the hero of the hour, as he struggles to save as many peasants as possible from both Martians and starvation.
Paris Conquers All Jules Verne Gregory Benford and David Brin - this one suffers from being the second story set in Paris, especially given here that the Martians don't destroy the Eiffel Tower, they
Spoiler
try to mate with itTo Mars and Providence H. P. Lovecraft Don Webb - does well to imitate the style of Lovecraft, who is still a child here, but ultimately a silly story that strays too far from the original.
Roughing it During the Martian Invasion Mark Twain Kevin J. Anderson and Jodi Moran - a bathetic story of an elderly Mark Twain trying to capture living Martians in a dead New Orleans.
To See the World End Joseph Conrad M. Shayne Bell - a third story about a conquered people using the invasion to throw off the shackles of their fellow men, this is a profound story and one of the best in the book.
After a Lean Winter Jack London Kevin J. Anderson - good use is made of the cold of the far north in this story. The fight between the sled dogs and a Martian is nasty and just what probably would have happened.
The Soul Selects her own Society: Invasion and Repulsion: A Chronological Reinterpretation of Two of Emily Dickinson's Poems: A Wellsian Perspective Emily Dickinson Connie Willis - sorry but this one did nothing for me, no matter how well written it was. Rather an odd way to end the book.
This edition rather oddly misses a story about Nikola Tesla, which I would have liked to read. Otherwise this was a good collection.
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