The War of the Worlds

I'm continuing my quest to read the ‘NPR - Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books,' and my next pick was War of the Worlds.

Despite its brevity, I must admit it took me longer than expected to finish, as it unfortunately became quickly ‘boring.' I believe much of the book's success stems from Wells' vision and courage in 1898 when he wrote a book of this nature. However, I can't say it has aged well.

While I haven't read other books by Wells, I can't help but feel that his writing is somewhat ‘basic.' There were numerous repetitions, like the absurd use of the pronoun ‘I' and expressions like ‘to and fro.'

It's not all bad, though. The story is infused with philosophical meanings and morals. At times, the book can be quite beautiful, offering moments for deep reflection. Also, being told in the first person, much of the book feels like we are sitting by a bonfire, listening to Wells tell a ‘scary' story.

However, there are some notable omissions, such as what happened to his cousin and how he was able to find the narrator's wife, but the narrator clearly wanted a happy ending, so there's that.

I feel conflicted about recommending this book. On one hand, it's a classic that must be respected for its achievements and the story it tells. On the other, the writing style and the narrator's way of over describing certain details can easily become old and boring.

It's a good quick read that is like an average person re-telling a series of events that happened to them. If I have one criticism it is that the chapters with the main character's brother felt like they were filler and his part ends abruptly. I am going to assume he survived if our narrator is able to tell about what happened to him during the Martian invasion.

Ultimately this book is very fitting for its time and I enjoy the use of the storyteller style of narrator.

I suffer from the curse of being incredibly young, so I recently discovered that I've yet to read any Wells. In all of my years of being a science fiction fan, I've never read any text by the father of the genre. My first step in fixing this problem was War of the Worlds. This Victorian novel which is one of the first incidents of an alien invasion story was more fascinating than engaging. It suffers from pre-cinema pacing but I found the scientific knowledge used to explain the aliens absolutely charming. The most noteworthy thing we learn from the aliens in this book is the power of flight! I found the anti-imperialism themes very interesting, especially how they were tied in with environmentalist ideas. It's interesting that the first alien invasion story is designed to bring attention to how we have mistreated plants, animals and other human beings in the past with our powerful drive to acquire more and more land. My only complaint is that the ending goes against these themes. The aliens are brought down by the fact that they never discovered the wheel or germ theory, thus proving that human beings are advancing at just the right speed, and are rightfully the good guys.

The first classic I picked up for the 2015 Classic Challenge was picked with another classic in mind. I read The Time Machine in sixth grade and was thinking how I enjoyed it but how little I remembered of the classic. I decided it would be better to read something I hadn't read before so instead of a repeat in the classic category I would stay with the author. The War of the World by H.G. Wells is a classic that has created a rememberable radio show and epic movies but as any creative work they are nothing like the book.

I was surprise when I learned this novel is a sharp satire about British Imperialism. There is a comparison Wells makes about not judging the Martians to harshly and remember how ruthless our own species have been. He mentions, “The Tasmanians, in spite of their human likeness, were entirely swept out of existence in a war of extermination waged by European immigrants.” It is a theme that never goes away. It will always remain a classic. It is surprising that a novel label Science fiction a hundred years ago now reads stockily realistic. Much of the Martian's science, Heat Rays and Gas, that destroys Victoria England seem very real reading today.

If you decide to pick up this classic don't expect an action sequence every few pages. Action is few and far between the narrator questioning the human race and the self.

This books reads as a historical account of an alien invasion. There is too much location name dropping, over-detailing and overall coldness in the narration that takes all the appeal of an inter-world battle.

Surprised that the book was not very good. Prose is solid, but the boring story is solely about survival. It is interesting that the content largely differs from the movies and Jeff Wayne's musical version. Will still read a few more Wells books though, but his success is down to 2/3.

I certainly didn't expect the way the story went, given that I was primed for it only by the movie Tom Cruise starred it as well as the mass hysteria triggered by a radio station by just reading this book.

I liked reading it; it has a pleasant flow and it's all from a narrative point of view (seems like the recent classics I've read all do this). I guess with the author being from an age where airplanes weren't invented yet, it's hard to surprise me in terms of technological marvels. Still, the actual story involves quite a few other elements than just mere alien invasion. It's like in the movie as well, where it's more about what happens to us humans, our society, and our relationships with each other. There's also that imperialism undertone; probably understandable seeing that it came from a period of European expansion and colonialism.

The parts where the protagonist interacts with other humans and how each dealt with this catastrophe are some of the best parts of the book, especially the artilleryman - reminded me of Hellgate: London (the computer game).

One of the more memorable lines I liked from the book is this: “This is not a war any more than it's a war between men and ants.”

One of my most favorite books of all time!

“‘Aren't you satisfied it is up with humanity? I am. We're down; we're beat.' I stared. Strange as it may seem, I had not arrived at this fact–a fact perfectly obvious so soon as he spoke. I had still held a vague hope; rather, I had kept a life-long habit of mind.”