mrears0_0's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
Spoiler
stars for the Martian death on Primrose Hillandipants's review against another edition
4.0
I've somehow managed to go my entire life without reading this book, seeing any of the many adaptations, or even knowing any of the major plot points from cultural osmosis — I knew "Martians invade" and that was about it — so I went in almost entirely fresh, which is rare for me with a piece of literature this well-known. It pretty much lived up to expectations; I was definitely invested in the plot and anxious to know what would happen next. Like a lot of classic sci-fi, Wells isn't shy about making his real-world points, but he does it elegantly, dropping in descriptions of the natural world continuing on, oblivious to the massive disruption to human activity, and making the parallels to real-world imperialist exploits clear.
There were a few drawbacks, such as Wells' propensity to get a bit lost in the weeds every so often with specific details about the Martians' physiology or machinery, but it wasn't too terribly frequent. The one major weakness to me was the ending, which felt like a pretty significant deus ex machina and honestly felt like it undermined the gravity of the rest of the story a bit. It also seemed more than a little ironic, given. Overall though, it was a very interesting and worthwhile read.
There were a few drawbacks, such as Wells' propensity to get a bit lost in the weeds every so often with specific details about the Martians' physiology or machinery, but it wasn't too terribly frequent. The one major weakness to me was the ending, which felt like a pretty significant deus ex machina and honestly felt like it undermined the gravity of the rest of the story a bit. It also seemed more than a little ironic, given
Spoiler
how germ warfare in the real world was deployed to devastating effect by the colonizers against indigenous people, rather than the other way aroundphngtrnreads's review against another edition
Easy fast-paced read for a classic but that ending was really silly.
mawar12's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A really fast paced and exciting read. It's one of the classics that you can actually read fast and have a great exciting story.
isabellarobinson7's review against another edition
4.5
Rating: 4.5 stars
"The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one."
The very definition of an invasion story, The War of the Worlds is a tale that has outlasted a century, inspiring the science fiction genre in so many ways, and it does not look to be dying out any time soon. The War of the Worlds seems to be one of those incredible books that can transcend any platform of entertainment. I have not watched the movie with Tom Cruise yet (book before movie as always), but from what I can tell, it has nothing but positive reviews, [Edit 29/10/21: I just read this for the second time. I watched the movie not long after my first read, and was kind of annoyed that they changed it to America and basically disregarded Wells's original story] and it has also been adapted into an album way before the movie. No joke. My dad has it on LP and I listened to it today, however long that took.
I did not rate H.G. Wells' other book, The Time Machine, very highly (2.5 stars I think), but now I am thinking that may have just been because of the format in which I read it. I listened to the audiobook for The War of the Worlds, and enjoyed it much more than I think I would have if I had physically read it, like I did with The Time Machine. But if I had listened to The Time Machine audiobook, I probably would have given it a higher rating.
Classic scifi is classic scifi. It really is just a fact that older scifi novels are not going to have very layered characters, nor will there be as much character development as there is in today's literature. During Wells' time, a scifi book was about just that - the science fiction elements that make the genre what it is. While the lack of actual character names in H.G. Wells' novels does irritate me sometimes (seriously, we have the narrator, his wife, his brother and an Artilleryman in The War of the Worlds, and the time traveler and the narrator in The Time Machine), the one dimensional nature almost every single character has and the utter absence of any kind of villainous motivations (the simple fact that the Martians are Martians seems to be enough of a reason to attack Earth), I understand that I live in a different time to the publication of this novel, and things are bound to change with the transition between cultures.
And one last thing: "Ulla!"
"The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one."
The very definition of an invasion story, The War of the Worlds is a tale that has outlasted a century, inspiring the science fiction genre in so many ways, and it does not look to be dying out any time soon. The War of the Worlds seems to be one of those incredible books that can transcend any platform of entertainment. I have not watched the movie with Tom Cruise yet (book before movie as always), but from what I can tell, it has nothing but positive reviews, [Edit 29/10/21: I just read this for the second time. I watched the movie not long after my first read, and was kind of annoyed that they changed it to America and basically disregarded Wells's original story] and it has also been adapted into an album way before the movie. No joke. My dad has it on LP and I listened to it today, however long that took.
I did not rate H.G. Wells' other book, The Time Machine, very highly (2.5 stars I think), but now I am thinking that may have just been because of the format in which I read it. I listened to the audiobook for The War of the Worlds, and enjoyed it much more than I think I would have if I had physically read it, like I did with The Time Machine. But if I had listened to The Time Machine audiobook, I probably would have given it a higher rating.
Classic scifi is classic scifi. It really is just a fact that older scifi novels are not going to have very layered characters, nor will there be as much character development as there is in today's literature. During Wells' time, a scifi book was about just that - the science fiction elements that make the genre what it is. While the lack of actual character names in H.G. Wells' novels does irritate me sometimes (seriously, we have the narrator, his wife, his brother and an Artilleryman in The War of the Worlds, and the time traveler and the narrator in The Time Machine), the one dimensional nature almost every single character has and the utter absence of any kind of villainous motivations (the simple fact that the Martians are Martians seems to be enough of a reason to attack Earth), I understand that I live in a different time to the publication of this novel, and things are bound to change with the transition between cultures.
And one last thing: "Ulla!"
opimenta's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
«But he was one of those weak creatures, void of pride, timorous, anaemic, hateful souls, full of shifty cunning, who face neither God nor man, who face not even themselves.»
filesm's review against another edition
4.0
Ok this was fire but def not as engaging as The Time Machine. If I read this when it came out tho (BEFORE AIRPLANES WERE EVEN INVENTED) it would have blown me away, I think some of the troupes have just become so well established that at the beginning it was predictable. This also made me realize if we don’t have google maps in the apocalypse I’m fucked because I have no idea what direction anything is.
forseti's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
andrewkerndc's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0