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circelink's review
4.0
It was as good as I had hoped it would be, I love how the subtext in HG's books seem to always come back to social structure and the imbalance we seem to have yet find a way to escape ourselves, not to mention he can turn a good phrase or image when he wants to!
museofbookmares's review
2.0
The writing was gorgeous at times, but it was so dreary to read. I'm not a huge sci-fi fan.
This book definitely deserves its place as a classic, but I won't be rereading it.
This book definitely deserves its place as a classic, but I won't be rereading it.
missy_reading's review
4.0
I have to say I didn't know if I would really care for this book when I picked it up but I have been wanting to get into more sci-fi and because this is the pick for the S'more Sci-fi book club I thought I would give it a chance.
This one man's recounting of when Martians from Mars invaded Earth.
I found this to be a little cheesy in some parts but ultimately I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the story and I enjoyed the narrator. I think for the time that this was written in it could have been horror fiction because they didn't know like we do today that there is no living life on Mars.
If you are someone who wants to try some vintage Sci-fi I would totally recommend.
This one man's recounting of when Martians from Mars invaded Earth.
I found this to be a little cheesy in some parts but ultimately I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the story and I enjoyed the narrator. I think for the time that this was written in it could have been horror fiction because they didn't know like we do today that there is no living life on Mars.
If you are someone who wants to try some vintage Sci-fi I would totally recommend.
meganium's review
4.0
This was a phenomenal exploration of an alien invasion. The Martians are brilliantly horrific and interesting, and the book brings to light questions most people don't ask when they think of humans being dominated by another race. The ending is beautifully sculpted, with sufficient foreshadowing. I also loved the point of view, with the coupling of the narrator in his tale and in his present as he tells it. Still think 'The Time Machine' is my favourite Wells novel thus far, but this was still a brilliant book that I really enjoyed.
elenanoelle's review
1.0
I had to read this book for school and it is the only time I have ever used cliff notes. I just couldn't get through the book. I typically love classics but the plot was dull and the story was hard to follow. The only way I can describe the writing is Augustus Waters and a 5 year old boy sat down and wrote a novel on a whim. I know that it was written in the 1800's but come on.... It sounds ridiculously formal. The style of writing also takes away from the plot which was insanely boring and was hard to follow.
Needless to say, I hated this book.
Needless to say, I hated this book.
caterinaanna's review
4.0
The War of the Worlds is, I agree, a much stronger story than [b:The Time Machine|2493|The Time Machine|H.G. Wells|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41PRHZqppUL._SL75_.jpg|3234863]. The way in which it shows different reactions to the crisis - all ultimately futile - and demonstrates the power of nature in its well-known ending has not dated at all. OK, so we are no longer worried about technologically advanced Martians, but is it ultimately thanks to Wells that plenty of precautions will be taken before any Martian soil samples are sent plummeting back to Earth?
bionicjulia's review
4.0
An entertaining read with an ending that I guess was satisfying. Throughout the book, I couldn’t help thinking about how the story would be different in today’s world with social media and increased population density in major cities. 🤓
adamdavidcollings's review
4.0
An absolute classic of science fiction. We take alien invasion stories for granted these days, but when people read The War of the Worlds for the first time, they were experiencing something absolutely new. It is impressive to think that this book was written in the nineteenth century.
There is a lot of action in this book, and the description gave me vivid pictures in my head. I really did enjoy the clash of alien technology in Victorian England. I'd actually like to see a movie adaptation that keeps the story in its original setting.
The big weakness I found in this book was the characters. All the characters in this book, including the protagonist, were blobs. Only the most insignificant characters even had names. We would care much more deeply about the plight of these people if we knew more about them.
The ending might be described as deus ex machina (in a very literal sense) but it was well foreshadowed so I didn't have a problem with it. Actually I really enjoyed the end of the book.
The edition I read included an introduction by Orson Scott Card, which really opened my eyes to the themes of the book, and made me think as I read the novel.
All in all a great sci-fi story that deserves its place as a classic and forefather of all alien invasion stories.
There is a lot of action in this book, and the description gave me vivid pictures in my head. I really did enjoy the clash of alien technology in Victorian England. I'd actually like to see a movie adaptation that keeps the story in its original setting.
The big weakness I found in this book was the characters. All the characters in this book, including the protagonist, were blobs. Only the most insignificant characters even had names. We would care much more deeply about the plight of these people if we knew more about them.
The ending might be described as deus ex machina (in a very literal sense) but it was well foreshadowed so I didn't have a problem with it. Actually I really enjoyed the end of the book.
The edition I read included an introduction by Orson Scott Card, which really opened my eyes to the themes of the book, and made me think as I read the novel.
All in all a great sci-fi story that deserves its place as a classic and forefather of all alien invasion stories.
rbiddy's review
4.0
I really liked the way the Martians were "defeated" - aspects like that, as well as the discussion of how gravity would affect them, were nice touches.