The War of the Worlds is an 1898 science fiction fantasy novel written by H.G. Wells. The story follows an unnamed protagonist who attempts to survive during an invasion by an army of Martians with superior technology as they transverse the English countryside.

I remember reading this in the early days of my youth and quite enjoying it, though going back in I didn’t really remember much of it. Still, the War of the Worlds is a classic that stuck with me. When the 2005 film adaptation was released it reignited my interest in the book. And as much as I loved the movie, I wanted to see the difference between the two as well as how well the book has aged.

Story:

The story follows our unnamed protagonist as he navigates the world in a collapsing society brought on by an invasion of aliens from Mars. There’s a reason that this book has stood the test of time and remains relevant in our culture today. The overall story is well written and ops to take different approaches to the narrative and tone. The story is split into two parts: the first being the invasion itself and the second being the aftermath and humanity’s struggles under Martian rule. I really dug both parts as they illustrate different aspects of the conflict. In the first half, we see the collapse of society, how the technology of the time made communication extremely limited and the aftereffects of such. The later portion shows us the great lengths people will go to survive and the toll that it can take on their psyche. We see many of these concepts reflect in the conflicts of society today. The pacing was good, and the tone felt like it shifted when it needed to shift.

The aliens themselves are fleshed out through the observation of our main protagonist. They’re interesting in detail and how they and their technology maintain an enigmatic yet terrifying presence. There’s always the danger of encountering the aliens. Perhaps the only issue I had was with the characters, especially the lead. There seemed to be a strange disconnect in a way. Although we get good thought-provoking dialogue, they don’t feel fleshed out. We don’t learn anything much about them outside of their observations and reactions to the invasion. We don’t learn about how they got there, or motivations outside of the immediate threat (though out main lead trying to find his wife is a believable motivation. Hell, we don’t get to know much about his wife or his brother. Yet, despite this, we get incredible insight into the lead character’s thoughts and feelings, as well as that of the other characters he meets.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Production:

There’s a reason that this book has stood the test of time and remains relevant more than a hundred years after its release. I’ve come to appreciate Wells’ talent as a writer. I appreciate that he can be direct but keep nuances effectively interwoven. He’s very descriptive but to me, makes it more interesting. He does touch on some strong themes, comparing the aliens’ conquest in two very human yet distinct ways. The first being the conquest of another’s land for their resources, which humans have done seemingly forever. And the second being “higher” life forms dominating “lower” ones. An example of this is when the protagonist compares humans to the Martians as ants to humans. Then there’s how Wells addresses the description of the aliens and their technology. It is a product of its time with so much of the technological and scientific information being inaccurate or outdated, but the way that is written feels so well thought out.

Rating: 4 out of 5

The Verdict:

In the end, The War of the Worlds is a great read and it’s not hard to see why it’s impacted pop culture so much. There are flaws here and there but the overall reading experience aren’t affected. It’s a solid read that has themes, both personal and societal, that still have relevance to this day. The War of the Worlds gets 4 out of 5. A definite recommend for fans of science fiction fantasy, or those who appreciate good literature.