The War of the Worlds: Timeless Classics

Written by H. G. Wells and Joanne Suter

Narrated by Saddleback Educational Publishing

Victorian England is riding high. People are so prosperous and smug they imagine themselves the masters of the universe. Then the unthinkable happens: England is attacked by Martians! Panic erupts as the countryside goes up in flames. Is there no way to stop the ghastly, machinelike creatures and their deadly heat rays?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Saddleback Educational Publishing
• Release date: Jan 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781612475264

H. G. Wells

H.G. Wells is considered by many to be the father of science fiction. He was the author of numerous classics such as The Invisible Man, The Time Machine, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The War of the Worlds, and many more. 

Reviews for The War of the Worlds

[Giovanni Peluyera · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

it was great I really recommend it :)
:) ??

[eclecticdodo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the Daddy (Granddaddy?) of all alien invasion stories. I had to remind myself that while it seemed unoriginal in places, it is in fact the original that more recent books have copied. Martians land on earth just outside London and begin a program of domination. Eventually they succumb to bacterial infection so humanity is saved through no action of their own. Some of the alien technology is truly prophetic, e.g. the heat-ray (laser). And the examination of human reaction under such dire circumstances was fascinating. The language is rather dated, but for me that added to the charm.

[quantum_flapdoodle · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The classic tale that is now legendary for causing a panic as a radio play many years later. Wells was fascinated by the "canals" on Mars, and that shows in his story of Martians attacking the world. One place where this story has an edge on so many of the genre is the way Wells manages to use an obvious scientific fact as a resolution to the story. So often science fiction contains much more fiction than science.

[kale.dyer · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A brilliant science fiction novel that captures well the tension in Europe of the time. With our current scientific knowledge it is relatively easy to pick holes in the plot but provided you can suspend your disbelief you are in for an enjoyable read.

[dylanwolf · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The grand-daddy of Earth invasion stories has HG Wells typically marrying the mundane and parochial with the fantastic. How his characters struggle to throw off the shackles of their prejudices and preconceptions. Wells is acutely aware of the limitations of man - he seems to me to marvel at the precociousness and naivety of our human endeavours. The magnificence of the scientific crusade is exaggerated by the impossibility of us ever living up to it. We are at once incompetent and irrrepressible. It seems a wonderfully pragmatic and optimistic viewpoint. Hurray for HG Wells, even if he does invent the bain of so many sci-fi stories, the anti-climatic deus ex machina ending.

[gagirl101 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved this book. Bit slow and lengthy at times but a great plot and great theme to it. Hardcore sci fi right here. :)

[shanaqui_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Got it in a book sale one summer when I was quite young -- nine or so, I think -- and scared myself silly with it. Never quite got up the courage to revisit, since then. I remember liking it a lot, but I also remember the nightmares about alien invasions.

[nursebob-254919 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Truly a classic from one of the grandfathers of science fiction, but one which hasn't aged entirely well. It is an exciting premise delivered with a frankness (death and destruction) I usually associate with more contemporary writing. However the non-stop mentioning of place names---towns, roads, hills, forests, intersections, suburbs---ad nauseam eventually grates, as does the very long passages describing the narrator's wanderings. The visuals of a blasted landscape ring clear though, and the sometimes dry philosophizing occasionally hits a nerve as when a disillusioned soldier envisions a glorious future for mankind in which dog eats dog and only the fittest survive. I'm glad I read the source material but I think I'll stick to the movies.

[beauxarts79 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Reads not like a novel but rather like a documentary work. An extended report. A testimony. Thus, the voice is hauntingly compelling. There are moments when the story is terrifying, and I can imagine feeling this more so as a late-20th-century Briton. The denouement leaves something to be desired, but overall this is a page-turner with philosophical gravitas.

[judygibson-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great story!

[rosands-494665 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved the book. It was so exciting. Couldn't put it down. 5 Stars

[booklove2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Finally read this alien classic.  It's odd that SO many place names are mentioned constantly to be tedious (probably to seem more real, to ground it in England) while none of the characters even have names (probably to generalize it for the world.)  But this doesn't seem to make sense either, since it seems to want to do opposite things.  The chapter missing from the serial was my favorite - can't imagine the book without it.  I liked the book!  It seems very ahead of 1898 and I swear I had a so-vivid-it's-still-memorable dream that was just like the aliens with the Heat-Ray --but that is probably because this book is just one of those things that is so entrenched in the culture at this point.  Another Wells/Verne checked off so I can start reading all the steampunk.Book #124 I have read of the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die.

[bodagirl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Martians being eradicated by bacteria is so incredibly plausible after the pandemic.

[p_s_patrick · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Better than his Invisible Man, but not as good as his Time Machine (which still rates as one of my top Sci Fi stories). Here the earth is invaded by Martians, and we hear the tale from the point of view of one survivor. I thought the end was good, and made sense from a scientific point of view (though a few other details were a little bit more difficult to accept). Tedious in some places, but overall worth reading, as it was such an influential contribution to the genre, and is quite good in places.

[ragwaine · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was entertaining, though I wouldn't say brilliant, obviously ground breaking at the time. The narrator of the story wasn't as much a hero as an observer who was occasionally brave. Wells does a great job of instilling dread in the reader (definitely would have been even better if I didn't know how it ended) and I really like the philosophy of how the human race was to survive and eventually overcome the alien menace over time. I always remember it was "Chicken Pox" that did the aliens in, but I didn't hear that virus specifically mentioned in the book, so I guess that was just something they added to one of the movies.

[ecataldi-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I know, I know - a classic that I'm just now reading. Prior to this I had only ever seen the Tom Cruise film adaptation! Better late than never. The fact that this was written when it was - before electronics and technology as we know it was incredible. It set the tone for science fiction as we know it. The parts I didn't love were the constant name dropping of towns (If I saw the word Woking one more damn time...) and the slow build - sometimes on the point of boring drudgery. Overall though it's a fantastic piece of literature - even if my lazy ass brain had to struggle through parts of it. It definitely made me want to watch more film versions if nothing else.

[amerynth · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

H.G. Wells' science fiction classic "The War of the Worlds" actually holds up fairly well, despite all of the years that have passed since he wrote it. (Mostly in the fiction department -- the science not as much, but it's still all tolerable.)Our narrator is on the front lines when the Martian invasion of Earth begins and gives a first-hand account of humanity's struggle. It's an enjoyable and quick read.

[ladycato · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is my classic read pick for May 2020. It bears little resemblance to the 1950s movie version I so loved as a kid--pretty much only the heat ray and the twist ending. I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed the book. It's an intense read. Wells nailed the human psychological aspect in how people responded in different ways to the alien attack. I also enjoyed how steeped the book is in the Victorian era in which it was written. It adds a lot to the drama when you must rely on bicycles, horses, trains, ships, and telegraph wires. A classic still well worth reading over a century after it was written.

[ikeman100 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Well written but for more pessimistic then I expected. There is a general feeling of hopelessness and death in Wells' stories. Not the optimistic possibilities of Jules Verne stories. A sad Victorian fate seems to run through this entire tale. "Life sucks and then you die", seems to be a running theme in Wells' novels.

[jhemlock-1711 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If you can forget about the films and take this in for what it is then it comes out pretty darn good. Wells was possessed of an incredible imagination. This is nothing short of brilliance.

[liivin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What an imaginaton! Love all his books.

[stahl2ricco · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

“the Martians are coming!”And they have Heat-Rays and Black Smoke to kick some English tushies! And they do!But as exciting as this all sounds, this book is rather boring. It's mostly about running and hiding and being frightened out of one's mind. No "war" to speak of. But lots of histrionics. Lots. I really wish I could have smacked the narrator's face. Lots. Also, the localities are very casually mentioned, and as I'm not familiar with those places, it made no impact on me whatsoever. In fact, the listing of places became a big part of my boredom. Where is he running? Then where? Ah, who gives a damn. In fact, I rooted for the Martians! Dang.

[jigarpatel-6 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Published in 1898, three years after his famed debut The Time Machine, Wells presents a first-person account of a Martian invasion. By today's standards, the narrative feels detached. But the characterisation and concept shine. You meet a brave woman, an overwhelmed curate, a weak soldier. These very human interactions are just as welcome as descriptions of aliens and a London falling to pieces. A strong and thoughtful ending. Recommended.

[jonfaith · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

There isn't much use for the Humilation game in my regard, there are always blind spots and blank areas. I read this one today over three hours, pausing to admire its technique. It is a prescient novel, much as critical opinion concurs, one I find so haunting in its reach.

[wordsampersand · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I liked this quite a bit. Familiar with the story, of course, thanks to various other dramatizations, so it was nice to finally read this. The second half is quite eerie.

[jon1lambert · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Arresting cover design, illustration 'a scene from George Pal's Paramount Technicolor production War of the Worlds, designed by Al Nozaki'...Green Martian invaders on garish yellow and red background.

[hopeevey · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

While I've listened to the radio play, and watched the old black and white movie based on Mr. Wells' novel, this is the first time I've actually read it. I very much enjoyed it.

Victorian novels in general seem to strive for verisimilitude. This one does as well, and succeeds. It's very believable.

The movie and, especially, the radio plays also had a strong quality of verisimilitude. They're both set in the US, with slightly different specific actions, but the changes are there to suit the different mediums.

Like [book:Time Machine], War of the Worlds touches on some very large issues of both the nature of humanity, and where humanity could go. Much to my surprise, neither novel is too heavy handed about it. It really is a natural out-welling of the story. I can't tell if the philosophy or the plot came first.

Now I'm craving both the movie and the radio play :)

[browsers_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Only four stars, but...signed by Gorey is a keeper. Love these illustrations.

[booklover3258 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It's been a while since I've seen the Tom Cruise movie adaptation, which was good when reading the book. I enjoyed the story about Martians invading earth. Very descriptive and felt very anxious while our main character fled and escaped barely from the aliens. The thing I didn't like were the notes explaining to me where all the places where by London or near London. I really didn't need a geography lesson nor did I care. Besides that irritation, it is a good read.

[robertbruceferguson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Gorey illustrated War of the Worlds!* I don't review FAMOUS works already reviewed a "million" times over. I review the obscure.