admin reviewed The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
Review of 'The War of the Worlds' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
This book was a pleasant surprise. I did not know what to expect from this book as I've never watched the movie. What surprised me the most was how long ago this was written. It was written in the late 1800's. I never realized that. Growing up, I always thought this was written in the 30's or something like that. This just astounds me. It's incredible to me to think that H.G. Wells had so much imagination in the 1800's to think of such a story. Admittedly, I don't know how prevelant the concept of aliens are.
What really intrigued me about this book was how it ended. These huge giant Martian monsters are wiped out only due to their own biology not being able to cope with Earth's environment. I never saw that coming. When I think about it, it would be totally plausible. What I'm surprised at is …
This book was a pleasant surprise. I did not know what to expect from this book as I've never watched the movie. What surprised me the most was how long ago this was written. It was written in the late 1800's. I never realized that. Growing up, I always thought this was written in the 30's or something like that. This just astounds me. It's incredible to me to think that H.G. Wells had so much imagination in the 1800's to think of such a story. Admittedly, I don't know how prevelant the concept of aliens are.
What really intrigued me about this book was how it ended. These huge giant Martian monsters are wiped out only due to their own biology not being able to cope with Earth's environment. I never saw that coming. When I think about it, it would be totally plausible. What I'm surprised at is how the reverse didn't happen as well. Think about all the different bacteria and viruses on Mars!
Everything else about this book is very typical science fiction. Of course, there is the scene where a man loses his mind during the apocalypse. People are largely in disbelief during the onset of the invasion. Masses killings. The military trying their best and pretty much failing at killing aliens.
I don't want to say this fell flat for me but it was a pretty average book. That doesn't mean the significance of it is lost on me. I can imagine this made a big splash back then. And H.G. Wells is a very good writer. Definitely worthy of being a classic!
First sentence: No one would have believed, in the last years if the nineteenth century, that human affairs were being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their affairs they were scrutinized and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinize the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water.
Last sentence: And strangest of all is it to hold my wife's hand again, and to think that I have counted herm and that she has counted me, among the dead.
