The War of the Worlds

The War of the Worlds is a 1898 science fiction book by H. G. Wells. It is about Martians attacking Earth. It has inspired movies including War of the Worlds (2005 movie).

A 1938 radio broadcast version by Orson Welles frightened many people, who thought it was real even though a warning at the start said it was fiction.

Plot
The book is set in Britain at the turn of the 19th century and is told by a first-person narrator. The Martians are jealous of Earth’s more livable environment and launch themselves to Earth in capsules fired from cannons. They easily defeat the human military with their giant war machines, aircraft, poison gas, and heat rays. The narrator travels through the now ruined Britain and encounters invasive alien plants, Martian robots, and the Martians themselves-- who are strange slug-like beings with tentacles who feed on human blood. Eventually, the Martian invasion is stopped when the Martians become infected by Earth germs that they have no immunity to and die.

Category:1890s books
Category:Science fiction books
Category:Books by H. G. Wells