A review by wai
The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

adventurous challenging dark slow-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This is an interesting book and it's easy to see why H.G. Wells is a classic in science fiction literature. It's incredibly novel for the period of time that it was written and intensely imaginative given their level of technology and scientific knowledge. I was also surprised because I didn't realize how much horror and suspense was involved. Even for a short book it is rather slow going, largely because of the limitations of the narrator - there is a large amount of running around, and a large portion of the book detailing weeks of hiding. which is realistic but not necessarily compelling. The narrator is also not the most likeable character. He exhibits minor prejudices common with the 19th century but not necessarily excessive, just occasional mentions of women as weaker than men, as well as some ableism as he meets other characters that are so terrified they "descend into madness" and how they are weak for that. This is why I only rate it 3.75 stars, because otherwise the concepts that Wells introduced into the scifi genre are really compelling and interesting, particularly the demise that the Martians meet. Plus the fact that there is a relatively happy ending (for the narrator at least) is a nice ending contrast to the rest of the tone of the novel, which is largely meant to cause the fear, anxiety and panic that the characters were feeling. 

All in all, a great read for a scifi nerd but may fall flat for people not interested in this genre. 
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