Book Description:
H.G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds (1898) is a groundbreaking science fiction novel that imagines Earth’s invasion by a superior alien force — the ruthless Martians — and humanity’s desperate fight for survival. Set in Victorian England, the story follows an unnamed narrator as society collapses around him in the face of advanced extraterrestrial technology: heat-rays, chemical weapons, and towering tripod machines.
Blending thrilling adventure with sharp social commentary, Wells uses the Martian invasion as an allegory for British imperialism, exposing the fragility of civilization and the arrogance of human dominance. The novel was one of the first to depict a full-scale alien invasion and has influenced generations of science fiction writers, filmmakers, and thinkers.
Vivid, suspenseful, and eerily prescient, The War of the Worlds remains a cornerstone of speculative literature and a haunting reflection on technological power and human vulnerability.
