Why You Should Read The War of The Worlds
The War of the Worlds is one of the most well known and iconic works of H. G. Wells. It follows the protagonist as he learns that aliens from Mars have started invading Earth, bringing powerful weapons that terrorize all of the U.K.. He narrowly escapes several encounters with the aliens and goes on a very interesting journey.
One thing I liked about the book is the creativity that Wells uses to describe the Martian invasion. The Martians arrive in cylindrical capsules blasted to Earth from Mars, creating flashes that were detected before they first landed. They use a variety of weapons against humankind, most notably the heat-ray. While describing the Martians, the main character writes "Many think that in some way they are able to generate intense heat in a chamber of practically absolute non-conductivity. This intense heat they project in a parallel beam against any object they choose by means of a polished parabolic mirror of unknown composition..." (Wells, 21). This heat ray is used extensively by the Martians to destroy entire cities, mounted on gigantic tripod based war machines. They also use many more types of creative technology, including canisters that release an inky non-diffusing poisonous gas containing an unknown element. Overall, the different types of Martian technology presented in the book are very captivating and entertaining.
The book contains no lack of detail, each scene can be vividly pictured in your head to the point that you can imagine yourself in the shoes of the protagonist. For instance, take this small portion of the description of a mass panic in London after the war machines arrived there. "My brother stopped. For the main road was a boiling stream of people, a torrent rushing northward, one pressing on another. A great bank of dust, white and luminous in the blaze of the sun, made everything within twenty feet of the ground grey and indistinct, and was perpetually renewed by the hurrying feet of a dense crowd of horses and of men and of women on foot, and by the wheels of vehicles in every description" (Wells, 89). It is not hard to imagine the mass hysteria of the millions of people on a stampede, rushing to escape the city, shrouded with the toxic black smoke and flaming buildings scorched by the heat-rays. There are also many other vivid scenes such as this one scattered throughout the book.
In conclusion, The War of the Worlds is a very well thought out and interesting book, and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in science fiction. You will find that the imagery and unique ideas presented in the book will keep you reading until the very end, where Earth is saved after the Martians are wiped out in a very simple but easy to overlook way.
Citations: Wells, H.G, The War of the Worlds, William Heinemann, 1898
This seems like a very interesting book and I would love to read it although I don't usually go into the science fiction genre. By the way you describe it, it is clear why War of the Worlds is a well known and iconic book.
ReplyDeleteThe technology presented as you describe it is very interesting to me. Wells isn't like some authors who don't really explain what technology is used in the story. I can see why this story is so popular as the author leaves no stone unturned in terms of detail.
ReplyDeleteThis book seems very interesting. I really like books that describe the setting and feelings of the characters in detail, so ill have to check this one out!
ReplyDeleteOne of my two favorite pastimes is speculating about invasions and warfare, and speculating about military technology. Since it seems like the book described has both a large-scale invasion and new technology, I think it will be very interesting to read. Although the book is relatively old in my view, this might be a good book for me to read in the future.
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