War of the Worlds by H.G.Wells
Paradis | October 17, 2009
War of the Worlds, written by H G Wells in 1898, was a post Apocalyptic tale of a Martian invasion. Now more than a hundred years old, this masterpiece about the possible extinction of the human race, deals with a theme that humans have been wondering for many years. Is there life on other planets?
Well, in this book, there are, and they are technologically advanced, and they have landed on Earth. The Martians are evacuating their own planet because its resources are depleted, they no choice but to find another planet to live on, and they arrive in England, just outside London to be more precise, and go on a 15 day siege, a rampage of destruction, it seems nothing can stop them as they spread fear and death across the planet.
At first the Martians go about their business, leaving the Human’s alone, taking no notice of them, but soon they turn hostile as they kill a big crowd of people with their deadly heat rays, as the Humans gather inquisitively around the Martian craft. The Martians are weak under Earth’s higher gravitation, they enjoy the oxygen rich atmosphere on Earth and use100 foot tall tripod, rapid moving machines to get around.
The Earthlings put up a brave fight, but seem powerless against the might and force of the more advanced aliens, but as we all know, Human’s are known for their fighting spirit, and if there is a way, they will find it, and in the end, the answer lies right under their noses (No pun intended). These pesky little invaders are not so tough against Earth’s bacteria and germs, and eventually they fall prey to the common cold and capitulate.
The novel begins with the voice of a narrator relating to it’s readers that ‘No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man’s…’ This opening sentence is enough to make you want to continue already, as Well starts to unwind the story for you. A story that was way ahead of it’s time. When you think that this was written in 1898, I guess it is even more fantastic, as Wells talks of Martian enemies and world domination by alien blobs, with tentacles, weilding lasers. What imagination this man had.
The War of the Worlds has been translated into many languages, and has inspired many film makers and novelists, and has experienced a dramatic success, becoming one of the most influential science fiction books ever written. It has also spawned many comic books, radio, film, stage, and even computer games, and on Halloween night in 1938, Orson Welles took the step of broadcasting a version of the novel, adapted and written by Howard Koch, on the radio to six million listeners, and we later learned over one and a half million of those people believed what they were hearing was a real invasion, live on the radio, such was the fear that the tale evoked in peoples minds. What happened that night that made all those people panic? Why did they believe the broadcast to be the real thing? H G Wells instilled fear into his readers, but Orson Welles’ prank instilled almost mass hysteria into his listeners.
Personally, I like this book a whole lot. It is old, it is a classic, and it is good. It may not the best book you will ever read, but it is certainly one of the most influential and well remembered. Full of philosophy and intrigue, culminating in good triumphing over evil. It speaks volumes about the arrogance and ignorance of mankind. At the time of this story’s emmergence, Britain was enjoying the fruits of a large Empire, it was considered a successful and powerful country, yet here, Wells paints a picture of incompetence and stupidity amongst our fellow men.
The back cover tells: ‘They came from outer space, Mars to be exact, with deadly heat rays, and giant fighting machines, and Earth will never be the same’. This is the father of Science Fiction books, and a very important one too, written in great detail, that you can’t fail to take in the atmosphere and the fear as the aliens land, kill and begin their take over of Earth. You will think about this story for a long long time. If you have never read this (Where have you been?) I suggest you get hold of a copy and settle yourself in a corner and read it. You can pick it up very cheaply these days. You will be pleasantly surprised by this detailed, yet simplistic tale.
Paradis
