The War of The Worlds

Absolutely terrific, but not quite five stars.

There are so many immersive sections:

• Hidden in an upstairs bedroom while watching the village come to blows

• Caught up in panicked traffic fleeing London while unable to break the flow

• Stuck in a destroyed house and watching the aliens assemble themselves, through a keyhole view.

  
  

The concept is terrifying, back in a day when aliens came in capsules from Mars. A time when everyone scoffed and let others deal with it, reliant on morning newspapers while neighbouring towns got frazzled and burned.

Unfortunately, there are sections where it relates events from the ‘brother's’ perspective, which could have used a bit of revision due to the way the narrative explains events from a third-party viewpoint.

It's still a fabulous read though and so much better than The Invisible Man and The Time Machine (also by H.G. Wells), who has such an easygoing and pleasing writing style.

I enjoyed the vision of invasion and destruction a lot. A timeless classic.