Do you ever feel like you are being watched? In this innovative and imaginative book by H. G. Wells, written at the end of the nineteenth century, this question leads to a series of shocking events that leave humanity scarred for ever more. In his opening paragraph Wells introduces the idea that men were being studied, just like bacteria under a microscope, by extra-terrestrial life, and in fact this idea foreshadows the end of this fascinating book.
The story is written like a journalistic report by a scientist who witnesses the Martian invasion, from the time that the first mysterious cylinders crash into the ground south of London, until the time that their hold upon humanity is quashed. He describes in vivid detail the ghastly emergence of the Martian being from the cylinder; the way it destroys curious onlookers and the emergence of Martian destruction machines. As Londoners and the people of the nearby villages flee in confused terror, the narrator manages to stay hidden in an abandoned building and watches in dismay as the Martians begin to take over.
I don’t want to give away too much of the plot but the story was gripping in its descriptions of the indiscriminate destruction of civilisation and the feeling that humanity was no longer the master species. It is incredible to think that HG Wells imagined all of this in the time before space travel and modern telescopes! Though the plot itself was fast paced and gripping, I found that at times I struggled to understand some of the old-fashioned language, so I would recommend this book for 12 and over. However, the range of language used was amazing and made the descriptions all the more powerful. Overall I would rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.
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