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j_rowley's review against another edition
3.0
I did enjoy the story, but my problem with it was I was unfamiliar with the countryside and some of the place names so I had no idea of how extensive the takeover was or whether fleeing from the martians would be difficult. England is small. How long could it take you to get to the coast? I know this was before cars were prevalent, but the communication had to be better.
So understanding the terror when the author described what was happening was real enough, but the urgency sometimes lacked due to so much depending on you knowing the surroundings.
Was interesting to see that it was nothing the humans did that exterminated the martians.
So understanding the terror when the author described what was happening was real enough, but the urgency sometimes lacked due to so much depending on you knowing the surroundings.
Was interesting to see that it was nothing the humans did that exterminated the martians.
kleonora's review against another edition
3.0
Verdict: This may be first iteration of a now-familiar paradigm but it still has a few shocks and surprises up its sleeve. Certainly better than that Tom Cruise crap.
In my review for The Time Machine I commented on how incredible it was that this ancient book which has spawned so many of our now familiar sci-fi elements should still read as fresh and inventive. I’m afraid I cannot bestow similar praise upon The War of the Worlds. I’m afraid it’s just a case of H.G. Wells being a bit too ahead of his time. After all, this is a man who lived in a world before the invention of airplanes, much less spaceships. (A fact that might explain why Martians prefer to do their interstellar travel by space cannon rather than more conventional UFO methods)
I found that the book dragged a bit, especially at the beginning. Wells is not a ‘story based’ writer, in that the plots in most of his books are fairly thin and linear. The brilliance comes from the scenario, the big idea that the book is based around. Perhaps Wells’ contemporaries had to take a little longer to understand the implications of life on other planets coming to Earth, but as a 21st century nerd I’m pretty familiar with the subject. I’ve seen numerous movies, TV episodes of varying budget and quality, and read a stack of books on the subject of alien invasion, most drawing in no small way from this very novel. I therefore came into War of the Worlds already very well versed in this particular ‘big idea’.
Oh the aliens are from Mars? Well duh. They have a heat ray? Makes sense. Tentacles? Kind of obvious. Wait what’s this? They’re experimenting with some sort of rounded…no. It can’t be. It is! My God, the Martians are building some sort of saucer shaped flying machine! And so on. I’m sorry but these are just not new ideas to me and Wells, you have no one to blame but yourself. If you hadn’t been such a goddamn visionary your source material might not have been the subject of wholesale plunder. This, of course isn’t really a valid criticism to lay at Herbert’s feet, but its all I have. I didn’t enjoy reading this as much as my past Wells’ forays and, as far as I can tell, the fault lies with the fact that it has so completely permeated scifi that I found it rather dull at points.
But I did like it, definitely. Though I’ve absorbed many fictional accounts of space invaders, never has one been so quaint. I’ve already mentioned the adorable terror the people of London had that the Martians might actually make a machine that could fly. Beyond that though, you have people fleeing in dog carts and hackney carriages. The artillery’s guns are on wheels and dragged about by horses. Normal people can afford to live in Zone 1. Truly, this is sci-fi like you’ve never seen it before; in Edwardian sepia.
Also, once Wells is satisfied you’ve overcome the shock of envisioning space folk arriving on Earth, the story actually returns to our nameless narrator and picks up in pace a bit. We meet The Curate and The Artillery Man. Though their responses to pressure do not live up to (cannot live up to) Montgomery’s Bank Holiday they are, nonetheless, interesting character studies.
I especially like the Artillery Man, keen to go feral, form a new city underground from the sewers and tube lines, amass a collection of whatever advances they can glean from the Martians and then, eventually, steal a Martian machine and wipe them all out. Naturally even grand plan starts with digging a ditch in Richmond. Also, ditch digging is thirsty work and this abandoned champagne isn’t getting any fizzier. Hey, you ever played poker? I dunno what Whatshisface got so uppity about. I would totally have chilled with the Artillery Man.
It may not be my favourite, but I was always going to enjoy this book because it’s all about London. Nowadays, thanks to the hubris of Hollywood, it’s always the bloody Whitehouse that’s first on the ET hit list, but Wells’ Martians had it right. They knew right where they wanted to be; Woking. And from there, onto London; Greatest City on the 3rd Rock from the Sun and really the only place worth invading. As you may have deduced I am rather enamoured of my adopted hometown and am almost physically unable to dislike books that name checks places I know.
War of the Worlds, especially towards the end, (I have no great knowledge of Chobham) was a veritable disaster travel-log of places I’ve lived and wandered. Ole Whatshisface even ends up in Regent’s Park standing on Primrose Hill, a locale down the road from where I currently reside. Needless to say, I was thrilled and considered the conclusion a stirring success. I was even pleased by the sappy happy epilogue. An exuberant 3.
In my review for The Time Machine I commented on how incredible it was that this ancient book which has spawned so many of our now familiar sci-fi elements should still read as fresh and inventive. I’m afraid I cannot bestow similar praise upon The War of the Worlds. I’m afraid it’s just a case of H.G. Wells being a bit too ahead of his time. After all, this is a man who lived in a world before the invention of airplanes, much less spaceships. (A fact that might explain why Martians prefer to do their interstellar travel by space cannon rather than more conventional UFO methods)
I found that the book dragged a bit, especially at the beginning. Wells is not a ‘story based’ writer, in that the plots in most of his books are fairly thin and linear. The brilliance comes from the scenario, the big idea that the book is based around. Perhaps Wells’ contemporaries had to take a little longer to understand the implications of life on other planets coming to Earth, but as a 21st century nerd I’m pretty familiar with the subject. I’ve seen numerous movies, TV episodes of varying budget and quality, and read a stack of books on the subject of alien invasion, most drawing in no small way from this very novel. I therefore came into War of the Worlds already very well versed in this particular ‘big idea’.
Oh the aliens are from Mars? Well duh. They have a heat ray? Makes sense. Tentacles? Kind of obvious. Wait what’s this? They’re experimenting with some sort of rounded…no. It can’t be. It is! My God, the Martians are building some sort of saucer shaped flying machine! And so on. I’m sorry but these are just not new ideas to me and Wells, you have no one to blame but yourself. If you hadn’t been such a goddamn visionary your source material might not have been the subject of wholesale plunder. This, of course isn’t really a valid criticism to lay at Herbert’s feet, but its all I have. I didn’t enjoy reading this as much as my past Wells’ forays and, as far as I can tell, the fault lies with the fact that it has so completely permeated scifi that I found it rather dull at points.
But I did like it, definitely. Though I’ve absorbed many fictional accounts of space invaders, never has one been so quaint. I’ve already mentioned the adorable terror the people of London had that the Martians might actually make a machine that could fly. Beyond that though, you have people fleeing in dog carts and hackney carriages. The artillery’s guns are on wheels and dragged about by horses. Normal people can afford to live in Zone 1. Truly, this is sci-fi like you’ve never seen it before; in Edwardian sepia.
Also, once Wells is satisfied you’ve overcome the shock of envisioning space folk arriving on Earth, the story actually returns to our nameless narrator and picks up in pace a bit. We meet The Curate and The Artillery Man. Though their responses to pressure do not live up to (cannot live up to) Montgomery’s Bank Holiday they are, nonetheless, interesting character studies.
I especially like the Artillery Man, keen to go feral, form a new city underground from the sewers and tube lines, amass a collection of whatever advances they can glean from the Martians and then, eventually, steal a Martian machine and wipe them all out. Naturally even grand plan starts with digging a ditch in Richmond. Also, ditch digging is thirsty work and this abandoned champagne isn’t getting any fizzier. Hey, you ever played poker? I dunno what Whatshisface got so uppity about. I would totally have chilled with the Artillery Man.
It may not be my favourite, but I was always going to enjoy this book because it’s all about London. Nowadays, thanks to the hubris of Hollywood, it’s always the bloody Whitehouse that’s first on the ET hit list, but Wells’ Martians had it right. They knew right where they wanted to be; Woking. And from there, onto London; Greatest City on the 3rd Rock from the Sun and really the only place worth invading. As you may have deduced I am rather enamoured of my adopted hometown and am almost physically unable to dislike books that name checks places I know.
War of the Worlds, especially towards the end, (I have no great knowledge of Chobham) was a veritable disaster travel-log of places I’ve lived and wandered. Ole Whatshisface even ends up in Regent’s Park standing on Primrose Hill, a locale down the road from where I currently reside. Needless to say, I was thrilled and considered the conclusion a stirring success. I was even pleased by the sappy happy epilogue. An exuberant 3.
bibliograph's review against another edition
How can you rate a classic? One of my favorite lines was in the beginning: “Few people realise the immensity of vacancy in which the dust of the material universe swims.”
donnie2books's review against another edition
3.0
I've directed and acted in the staged radio version of this play twice.
I read the book and most everything I can find on this radio broadcast and the history of it.
The book is entirely different. It was published in 1897 so you really have to expect that the mode of communication from one town to the next, armed forces, no TV or radio, etc.
So if you do sit down to read this classic, be prepared. There is no Tom Cruise in this story.
In addition, there is a lot more narration so do keep that in mind.
With that being said, I thought it was a good read but not one of the classics I'd be in a hurry to re-read.
I read the book and most everything I can find on this radio broadcast and the history of it.
The book is entirely different. It was published in 1897 so you really have to expect that the mode of communication from one town to the next, armed forces, no TV or radio, etc.
So if you do sit down to read this classic, be prepared. There is no Tom Cruise in this story.
In addition, there is a lot more narration so do keep that in mind.
With that being said, I thought it was a good read but not one of the classics I'd be in a hurry to re-read.
shereadsceaselessly's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. I knew this, but I didn't KNOW this, until I re-read his 1898 novel, [b:The War of the Worlds|8909|The War of the Worlds|H.G. Wells|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320391644s/8909.jpg|3194841]: [a:H.G. Wells|880695|H.G. Wells|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1515507862p2/880695.jpg] was eerily and impressively ahead of his time.
I'll admit, [b:The War of the Worlds|8909|The War of the Worlds|H.G. Wells|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320391644s/8909.jpg|3194841] was hardly an easy read. The dispassionate and overly formal style of writing/reporting constantly dragged me back to a long ago time and place almost as foreign as Mars itself. His "speculative philosophy", as he put it, interweaving themes of colonialism and the subjugation of humankind as a whole, was evidently political in its foundation. But it was fascinating to recognize he also set the stage for 20th century speculative and science fiction. As a sci-fi junkie, I am grateful for his ingenious contribution to this genre.
Especially remarkable were artilleryman's imaginings, which are remarkably familiar to any reader of 20th century speculative or science fiction. The artilleryman posits a Martian-controlled future, where humans survive underground (figuratively and literally) and carve out a rebellious life. He envisions humanity playing the part of an inferior or even insignificant race to the alien overlords, until such time we can develop the perfect opportunity to overthrow them. Fast forward A CENTURY, and we've got Skynet's Terminators bearing down on us.
So often I find myself searching for this week's (this minute's?) next great read, but what I need to be doing is seeking out more of the classics to add to my reading list. Each novel surprises and enlightens me in ways I never expected, and enriches my appreciation of those contemporary works I voraciously consume.
I'll admit, [b:The War of the Worlds|8909|The War of the Worlds|H.G. Wells|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320391644s/8909.jpg|3194841] was hardly an easy read. The dispassionate and overly formal style of writing/reporting constantly dragged me back to a long ago time and place almost as foreign as Mars itself. His "speculative philosophy", as he put it, interweaving themes of colonialism and the subjugation of humankind as a whole, was evidently political in its foundation. But it was fascinating to recognize he also set the stage for 20th century speculative and science fiction. As a sci-fi junkie, I am grateful for his ingenious contribution to this genre.
Especially remarkable were artilleryman's imaginings, which are remarkably familiar to any reader of 20th century speculative or science fiction. The artilleryman posits a Martian-controlled future, where humans survive underground (figuratively and literally) and carve out a rebellious life. He envisions humanity playing the part of an inferior or even insignificant race to the alien overlords, until such time we can develop the perfect opportunity to overthrow them. Fast forward A CENTURY, and we've got Skynet's Terminators bearing down on us.
So often I find myself searching for this week's (this minute's?) next great read, but what I need to be doing is seeking out more of the classics to add to my reading list. Each novel surprises and enlightens me in ways I never expected, and enriches my appreciation of those contemporary works I voraciously consume.
darthval's review against another edition
3.0
I can see where way back when this book was super scary and exciting. However, while conceptually rich, in today's terms it fell kind flat. It spent more time hinting at action and destruction rather than portraying much in the way of action scenes.
I do have to give credit where it is due that this story laid some serious ground work in terms of science fiction. H.G. Wells was definitely ahead of his time. In fact, this story reads much more as if it could have been published much later than 1898.
I do have to give credit where it is due that this story laid some serious ground work in terms of science fiction. H.G. Wells was definitely ahead of his time. In fact, this story reads much more as if it could have been published much later than 1898.
maewinchester's review against another edition
5.0
*Spoilers*
The story was really interesting, as were the characters. The book was a little boring towards the end and just seemed to end a little abruptly, but I still enjoyed it.
I liked some of the characters, and was on the edge of my seat at times. I wish the movie from the early 2000s was more like the book. I didn't like the end when he kind of just happened across his wife and barely talked about her. The main character was so worried about her, then when he found her it didn't feel like a super emotional reunion, though she did almost faint into his arms.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story and would recommend it. I do wish the story was a bit longer though towards the end.
The story was really interesting, as were the characters. The book was a little boring towards the end and just seemed to end a little abruptly, but I still enjoyed it.
I liked some of the characters, and was on the edge of my seat at times. I wish the movie from the early 2000s was more like the book. I didn't like the end when he kind of just happened across his wife and barely talked about her. The main character was so worried about her, then when he found her it didn't feel like a super emotional reunion, though she did almost faint into his arms.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story and would recommend it. I do wish the story was a bit longer though towards the end.
boronguyen's review against another edition
4.0
There are sparks of fascinating sociological effects of the event but overall a rather bland, solitary experience.