Add BookmarkThe War of the Worlds
“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 and yet as mortal as his own.” Thus begins one of the most terrifying and morally prescient science fiction novels ever penned. Beginning with a series of strange flashes in the distant night sky, the Martian attack initially causes little concern on Earth. Then the destruction erupts—ten massive aliens roam En... (show more)
“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 and yet as mortal as his own.” Thus begins one of the most terrifying and morally prescient science fiction novels ever penned. Beginning with a series of strange flashes in the distant night sky, the Martian attack initially causes little concern on Earth. Then the destruction erupts—ten massive aliens roam England and destroy with heat rays everything in their path. Very soon mankind finds itself on the brink of extinction. Wells raises questions of mortality, man’s place in nature, and the evil lurking in the technological future—questions that remain urgently relevant in the twenty-first century. (show less)
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Overall a very good book, with a couple of strange issues that keep it from being a 5.
The opening paragraph is now a classic, known to almost any fan of sci-fi, and an utterly amazing piece of writing. Much of the story follows in the same trend, with some truly ground-breaking ideas about martians, and invasions. This book literally created the "invasion from outer space" genre, and did a damn fine job of it too.
However, there are some parts that are less than satisfactory. The... (show more)Overall a very good book, with a couple of strange issues that keep it from being a 5.
The opening paragraph is now a classic, known to almost any fan of sci-fi, and an utterly amazing piece of writing. Much of the story follows in the same trend, with some truly ground-breaking ideas about martians, and invasions. This book literally created the "invasion from outer space" genre, and did a damn fine job of it too.
However, there are some parts that are less than satisfactory. The only real issue that I found with the book was the author's absurdly detailed descriptions of locations and the city geography of turn of the century England. There were paragraphs devoted wholly to names of districts or streets in London and the surrounding countryside. It was strangely reminiscent of trying to read a map and make it into an interesting story.
Despite that strange shortcoming, the book is well worth reading, and should be high on the list of any fan of sci-fi or anyone looking to read an interesting late 19th century look at a possible future. (show less)Already read
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La historia de la novela transcurre en Londres a principios del siglo XX, y comienza con una cita de Johannes Kepler, seguida por una introducción dada por el protagonista, un escritor de artículos de ciencia especulativa (cuyo nombre nunca es mencionado), en la visita a un observatorio en Ottershaw por la invitación de un "notable astrónomo" llamado Ogilvy. Allí son testigos de una explosión en la superficie del planeta Marte, parte de una serie de sucesos de ese tipo que despierta... (show more)
La historia de la novela transcurre en Londres a principios del siglo XX, y comienza con una cita de Johannes Kepler, seguida por una introducción dada por el protagonista, un escritor de artículos de ciencia especulativa (cuyo nombre nunca es mencionado), en la visita a un observatorio en Ottershaw por la invitación de un "notable astrónomo" llamado Ogilvy. Allí son testigos de una explosión en la superficie del planeta Marte, parte de una serie de sucesos de ese tipo que despiertan mucho interés en la comunidad científica. Un tiempo indeterminado después, lo que se cree un "meteoro" aterriza en el campo comunal de Horsell, cerca de Londres. El narrador tiene su hogar cerca, y él es uno de los primeros en descubrir que el objeto es un cilindro artificial lanzado desde Marte. El cilindro se abre, y salen los marcianos: voluminosas criaturas similares a pulpos gigantes que comienzan la creación de mecanismos extraños en el cráter de impacto del cilindro. Una multitud de humanos se mueve hacia el cráter y son incinerados por el rayo calórico.
La novela fue adaptada por Orson Welles en 1938 para crear un serial radiofónico que en su momento creó gran alarma social. Welles cambió algunos aspectos del argumento, incluso el lugar del primer aterrizaje marciano: Grover's Mill, Nueva Jersey. Se emitió como noticiario de carácter urgente, lo que provocó escenas de pánico entre los ciudadanos de Nueva Jersey y Nueva York, que creyeron que se estaba produciendo una verdadera invasión alienígena de la Tierra. La ingenuidad de un público que aún no conocía la televisión contribuyó al éxito de la propuesta de Wells, que, sin embargo, debió pedir disculpas públicamente a los radioyentes. (show less)
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Classic book. Although I did enjoy the films based on it, I still wish they'd stuck to the original setting of the book rather than modernising it.
Gary Pryke about 1 month ago -
Who were the Martians?
What was this book really about? Was Wells making a Darwinian argument about the eventual future of mankind, it's technological capability, and the potential for ultimate folly in over-specializing our species to a narrow range of tasks? Was he urging for the violent overthrow of the current order, and it's replacement by a fully mechanized, rationalized society devoid of the cultural silliness that obstructs the advancement of mankind? Was this a liberation tale, meant to drum up European sympathy for the non-Europeans that had been colonized using more advanced technology and moral arrogance? Is this a cautionary tale about the fragility of man's station in the natural world, the moral being that, despite our progress and massive technological achievements, our smugly arrogant claim to the throne of the natural order can all be undone in a heartbeat by the simplest of God's creations? Or taking that one further, is it a critique of the 19th century's increasingly rational/material and decreasingly mystical/spiritual mode of thought, that man is not free of God, but has merely forgotten his place in the scheme of things?
What do you think?
Adam DeBruler about 1 year ago
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