The War of the Worlds

"...and slowly and surely they drew their plans against us..."

The War of the Worlds is an early science fiction novel first published in 1898 by HG Wells. It was notable for being the first story about an alien invasion, involving a species of large brain-like creatures from Mars invading Victorian England using massive tripedal fighting machines armed with heat rays and chemical weapons. The invading Martians, while able to quickly defeat the British military's attempt to repel them, eventually succumbed to Earth's diseases. The story itself focuses on an unnamed survivor of the invasion who observes the destruction and effects on the English countryside wrought by the invading Martians. The story of The War of the Worlds is primarily a criticism of 19th-century Imperialism.

Being the first well-known story to involve invaders from space, The War of the Worlds is commonly referenced thematically or storywise in fiction relating to alien invasions. As it is well known, The War of the Worlds is the subject of the occasional versus or RAR! scenario on SD.net's forums.

Film Adaptations

• The War of the Worlds (1953, Byron Haskin)
• The War of the Worlds (2005, Stephen Speilberg)

External links

• [Librivox recording of The War of the Worlds http://librivox.org/war-of-the-worlds-solo-by-h-g-wells/]