[Author’s note: I suppose that this is one of the first science fiction novels that most kids read. War of the Worlds is fairly straightforward but it contains many complex elements that only appear upon a second reading and a careful consideration of the text. As always spoilers from here after so stop reading now if you don’t want to know.]
Many people consider this one of the first true sci-fi novels ever written even though the works of Verne predate this and the true first science fiction novel was Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Still the idea of aliens beings making contact with humans and traveling through space to invade Earth was original.
H.G. Wells, the writer, was a partly self-taught scientific enthusiast. He read and studied several different topics and fields although he never really mastered any. Later in life, Jules Verne reproached Wells for his sloppy research of scientific topics. In some ways Wells was more the writer and Verne more the scientist.
Wells was also affected by the radical politics of his family. His father was a radical freethinker and encouraged Herbert to explore different political systems. Wells himself was greatly influenced by socialist and Darwinist writings at the turn of the century and this can be clearly seen in some of his writings.
War of the Worlds itself began as part of the discussion that Herbert was having with his brother about a news article describing the massacre of the Tasmanian native population by British colonists. Wells wondered how humans might fare if a superior civilization treated the British empire as they treated the native Tasmanians.
The story itself is told from the narration of a witness to the invasion. A series of gas explosions on the planet Mars is noted by telescope and garners no more attention. But then a series of cylinders begin landing on Earth. These cylinders release the Martian walking machines which begin slaughtering everyone in their path. The British army is powerless to stop the invaders.
The narrator is forced to flee from town to town as the Martians employ all manner of advanced weapons including heat rays, poison gas, and the walking machines.
The narrator gets cut off and finds himself trapped behind the lines. He and another survivor hide while some martians pass by. The martians are capturing and gathering up humans. The narrator’s companion eventually goes mad and is captured by the martians who drain his blood.
The narrator escapes and travels to London. He notices that the martians are spreading some sort of red weed all over the landscape. They are turning Earth into a second Mars. But as he reaches London he finds that the martians have died. The invaders could not handle the microorganisms of the Earth and are killed off. Humanity barely escapes being conquered and is left suitably chastened by the experience.
The novel is of course a metaphor that tries to portray the British Empire from the perspective of the conquered. Beyond this however there are other sub-themes.
Wells realized that science and modern industry would forever alter warfare. The age of precision made machines made it possible to turn out high-quality weapons in large quantities. Science meant that new forms of warfare were being invented and deployed before their implications could be fully realized.
The third theme that Wells considered dealt with Natural selection. Wells was a devoted Darwinist and in an age when the theory of evolution was being hotly contested he saw this as a perfect opportunity to expose his audience to this idea. The technologically superior martian invaders had not evolved to deal with the simple bacteria of earth whereas the humans had and by dint of their evolutionary advantage they had come out the winners. Survival of the fittest.
War of the Worlds began our continuing obsession with the planet Mars. Writers from Burroughs to Moore can trace their works almost directly back to this novel and it can be argued that it has also influenced space exploration. Currently most of our offworld research is focused on this planet and on the possibility of making this our first home off the Earth.
It would be fitting if the first offworld settlement were to be named after Wells.
Recent Comments