The War of the Worlds

Publisher Marketing: The narrative opens in an astronomical observatory at Ottershaw where explosions are seen on the surface of the planet Mars, creating much interest in the scientific community. Later a "meteor" lands on Horsell Common, near the unnamed narrator's home in Woking, Surrey. He is among the first to discover that the object is an artificial cylinder that opens, disgorging Martians who are "big" and "greyish" with "oily brown skin," "the size, perhaps, of a bear," with "two large dark-coloured eyes," and a lipless "V-shaped mouth" that drips saliva, surrounded by "Gorgon groups of tentacles." The narrator finds them "at once vital, intense, inhuman, crippled and monstrous." They briefly emerge, have difficulty in coping with the Earth's atmosphere, rapidly retreating into their cylinder. A human deputation (which includes the astronomer Ogilvy) approaches the cylinder with a white flag, but the Martians incinerate them and others nearby with a Heat-Ray before beginning to assemble their machinery. Military forces arrive that night to surround the common, including Maxim guns. The population of Woking and the surrounding villages are reassured by the presence of the military. A tense day begins, with much anticipation of military action by the narrator. Review Citations: Audio File Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy 12/01/2008 pg. 33 (EAN 9780792750000, Compact Disc) Kliatt 07/01/2006 pg. 56 (EAN 9780753124703, Compact Disc) Wilson Fiction Catalog 01/01/2006 pg. 971 (EAN 9781590171585, Hardcover) Wilson Senior High Core Col 01/01/2007 pg. 831 (EAN 9781590171585, Hardcover) Wilson Fiction Catalog 01/01/2010 pg. 976 (EAN 9781590171585, Hardcover) Wilson Middle/Junior Hi Catalo 01/01/2009 pg. 1039 (EAN 9781590171585, Hardcover) Wilson Senior High Core Col 01/01/2011 pg. 1084 (EAN 9781590171585, Hardcover) Ingram Advance 06/01/2005 pg. 101 (EAN 9780141441030, Paperback) Ingram Children's Advance 07/01/2005 pg. 71 (EAN 9781416903680, Paperback) Library Journal 08/01/1995 (EAN 9780192828262, Paperback) Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2001 pg. 102 (EAN 9780688131371, Hardcover) Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2002 pg. 102 (EAN 9780688131371, Hardcover) Library Journal 05/01/2001 pg. 133 (EAN 9780786407804, Library Binding) Reference and Research Bk News 08/01/2001 pg. 239 (EAN 9780786407804, Library Binding) Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/1991 (EAN 9780679810476, Paperback) Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2006 pg. 65 (EAN 9780679810476, Paperback) New York Times Book Review 12/16/2007 pg. 16 (EAN 9780486295060, Paperback) Entertainment Weekly 07/29/2005 pg. 74 (EAN 9780425050750, Mass Market Paperbound) Contributor Bio:  Wells, H G Often called "the father of science fiction," British author Herbert George (H. G.) Wells' literary works are notable for being some of the first titles of the science fiction genre, and include such famed titles as The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Island of Doctor Moreau, and The Invisible Man. Despite being fixedly associated with science fiction, Wells wrote extensively in other genres and on many subjects, including history, society and politics, and was heavily influenced by Darwinism. His first book, Anticipations of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress Upon Human Life and Thought, offered predictions about what technology and society would look like in the year 2000, many of which have proven accurate. Wells went on to pen over fifty novels, numerous non-fiction books, and dozens of short stories. His legacy has had an overwhelming influence on science fiction, popular culture, and even on technological and scientific innovation. Wells died in 1946 at the age of 79.