Fun if not entirely true to the book ...

Rating: 8/10 (23 September 2008)

I have the unabridged audio CD for War of the Worlds from Blackstone Audio and it's very enjoyable. While this isn't true to the book, it is quite fun. The technology was state-of-the-art back then and, while you can see the strings for the martian machines, I still think it provides an enjoyable, if not nostalgic romp. Frankly, I enjoyed this more than Spielberg's newest retelling. Though, that could be from what he did to the main characters. While the special effects of the newer version are lightyears ahead of the original, I found Spielberg's recasting of the aliens as having planned this millions of years ago and putting the machines deep within the earth just plain dumb and removing one of the spookier elements of the book (and original movie). The Orson Well's radio broadcast is also provided and is a hoot.