War of the Worlds: Retaliation

*The Martians have a plan to end all of humanity.*

***War of the Worlds: Retaliation*** (2017) is a science fiction/alternate history novel by Mark Gardner and John J. Rust. Its most notable feature is that it was the first Novel published after the H.G. Wells world-wide copyright expired on December 30, 2016. Conceived as a sequel Wells’ 1898 classic The War of the Worlds and initially published as an indie project, Severed Press acquired the worldwide English paperback and electronic rights in May 2017. The story takes place in 1924, 26 years after the original Martian invasion, and is told from alternating points of view, including that of the Martians and prominent historical figures such as George Patton, Erwin Rommel, Charles de Gaulle, and Georgy Zhukov (as written by Gardner and Rust.) The sequel, *War of the Worlds: Firestorm*, is expected to be published by Severed Press in the first quarter of 2018.

## History

In a January 2017 interview in Bards and Sages Quarterly, authors Mark Gardner and John J. Rust gave a brief history of how *War of the Worlds: Retaliation* came to be. It started with a novella-length fan fiction piece by John J. Rust posted online in 2012. Rust and Gardner work together in broadcasting, and Gardner proposed that they rewrite Rust's novella into a full-length novel. In 2014, the writing duo started rewrites and expanded the story. The final draft was complete in 2015, and they started soliciting traditional publishers. In December 2015, an "authorized" sequel was announced to be underway, written by Stephen Baxter. In a January 2016 radio interview, Gardner said that interest in War of the Worlds: Retaliation dried up instantly. After an unsuccessful campaign on Amazon's Kindle Scout, Gardner and Rust decided to self publish. Fellow author, James Rollins, wrote an endorsement for the story:

"Rust and Gardner's sequel to the H.G. Wells' novel of a Martian invasion, *War of the Worlds: Retaliation*, does the original story full justice, while bringing their own skills to bear as the writing pair take the battle to Mars, bringing along a bevy of historical figures from World War Two. It's an exciting rollercoaster of a ride, with sudden twists and heart-stopping drops—and one I wouldn't mind riding again."

## Proposed sequel

On April 16, 2017, author Mark Gardner announced on his blog that Severed Press had acquired the worldwide English-language paperback and digital distribution rights. Also in the same post, Gardner announced that Severed Press would produce another sequel by Rust and Gardner. During Phoenix Comicon, in an interview with Bleeding Cool, John J. Rust announced the name of the next novel would be entitled, *War of the Worlds: Firestorm*, and that it would take place 20 years after the events in *War of the Worlds: Retaliation*. On September 01, 2017, Mark Gardner announced on Twitter that he and Rust were half done with the draft of Retaliation, with an expected publication of first quarter 2018. On October 16th, 2017, Gardner blogged about the sequel. Also in the same post talked about the Chinese and French editions.

## Translations

The Spanish edition (978-1542839631), Guerra de los Mundos: Revancha, was translated by James Lupo, and released on January 30, 2017 by Babelcube for digital & Article94 for paperback. The German Edition (978-1544730240), Krieg Der Welten: Vergeltung, was translated by Frank Dietz, and released on March 15, 2017 by Article94 for digital and paperback. The Italian edition (978-1547074341), Guerra dei Mondi: Rappresaglia, was translated by Roberto Felletti, and released on June 2, 2017 by Babelcube for digital & Article94 for paperback. The Portuguese edition (978-1975882235), Guerra dos Mundos: Retaliação, was translated by Antonio Eduardo, and released on September 3, 2017 by Babelcube for digital and Article94 for paperback.

Portuguese EditionItalian EditionSpanish EditionGerman EditionEnglish edition (indie release)