The War of the Worlds book review

The War of the Worlds is a science fiction novel written by H.G. Wells in 1898 that was based on the 'The Victorian Age' in Britain during the times of Imperialism and Industrialisation. These factors as well as Wells scientific background had influenced on the themes and characters in his story.

For most part of the story, the plot flows in a chronological order. The story begins with the dying planet of the ancient Mars civilisation which seeks to invade earth. What happens to the narrator is the focus of the story, from the time he takes his wife to Leatherhead for safety and the narrator's journey through the towns of Weybridge, Shepperton and Putney Hill and until the Martians deserted the bacterial earth. Wells uses colour to emphasise the change in the setting. The change in vegetation colours from Earth's green (represents human life) to the Martians red (red represents pain).

English: Alien tripod illustration by Alvim Corré...

English: Pylons from Hag Hill An afforestation of ...

Interior illustration to H. G. Wells' novel The Wa...

On the other times, the story is narrated by his brother who tells of the escape from London.

The War of the Worlds captures the reader with its imaginative plot and the experiences of real life. This kind of structure has influenced much of science fiction that occurred after Wells.

Wells uses irony throughout the book to portray the themes in a creative way rather than telling the reader. The narrator points out in chapter 8 of book 1, the irony in that, on the urge of British collapse, the people continue to have social order. This is compared with the British collapse with Germany in the later World War One that was to come, yet Wells had written this book only in 1898 and his ability to predict conflict makes him the 'father of science fiction.' His stories will be inspired by not only his generation of...