| Genre | Scientific Romance |
| First Published | 1898 |
| Republished after 1960 | Yes |
| Currently in Print | Yes |
| Availability | Very Common; 1st edition very rare - big $$$ |
| Number of pages | about 200 (varies by edition) |
| My rating | 5 stars |
Perhaps Wells' greatest science fiction masterpiece.
I have nothing very much to add to the huge volume of literature already written about "The War of the Worlds" except to say that all the hype about this novel is true. The 1950's film of the same name is a terrible adaptation, and serves as a spoiler for the ending for the novel.
Concepts explored that were more or less innovative/original:
The first appearence of an alien:
"A huge greyish rounded bulk, the size perhaps, of a bear, was rising slowly and painfully out of the cylinder. As it bulged up and caught the light, it glistened like wet leather... Two large dark colored eyes were regarding me steadfastly. There was a mouth under the eyes, the lipless brim of which quivered and panted, and dropped saliva..." (The War of the Worlds, 20-21)
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Last modified on Thursday, 12-Aug-1999 14:46:45 EDT