oward the end of the 19th century, scientists observed huge jets of incandescent gas erupting from the surface of Mars. The phenomena occurred every night for 10 days, then stopped as mysteriously as they started. Popular theory held that meteorite showers or volcanic activity were the cause, at least until the first spaceships fell on English soil.
The Martians initially landed in Horsell Common, where their cylindrical craft buried itself deep in a sandpit. Among the first to arrive on the scene were an astronomer named Ogilvy and a philosophical writer of some small importance. They stood witness as the first Martian emerged, a bulky gray thing about the size of a bear with skin like wet leather and tentacles instead of hands. Although horrific in appearance, the Martians seemed to pose little threat, as their movements were severely hindered by Earth's gravity.
However, when Ogilvy organized a small expedition to communicate with the aliens, the harmless oddities proved themselves to be deadly menaces. The Martians wiped out Ogilvy's party with a heat ray that set people on fire, and soon after that they unleashed a devastating war machine that strode across the countryside on legs 100 feet tall. Even as England mobilized to destroy the creatures, more war machines rose up from the once-innocuous pit and began laying waste to the surrounding land.
English troops sent to destroy the Martians were summarily wiped out, and as the invaders began their advance on London, new Martian ships began arriving with reinforcements. Although humanity managed to win a few small victories against the Martians, there were hundreds of defeats for every success. London quickly fell, and soon, it seemed, the rest of the world must follow.
One man's brilliant story
When it was first published 100 years ago, The War of the Worlds introduced the concept of aliens as monstrous invaders pitted against humanity in a struggle for survival of the species. A far cry from little green men, the Martians depicted here were an age-old race that was slowly being forced to flee a dying world. As Wells put it, "To carry warfare sunward is, indeed, their only escape from the destruction that, generation after generation, creeps upon them."
Of course, in 100 years Wells has had more than his share of imitators--not to mention the movie, TV and radio spin-offs--and what was once an original concept has since become a hackneyed idea. However, The War of the Worlds is still a compelling read, a tale not only of invasion, but also of disaster and survival. Part of the reason the story holds up so well is because Wells focuses on the human drama of the war as much as he does the science fictional aspects of the invaders.
Wells uses a single narrator--the unnamed philosophical writer--to relate details not only of the Martians' first appearance, but also of the panicked evacuation of London, and the devastation left behind after the Martian attacks. It's these passages that bring the story to life, gripping eyewitness accounts not only of the monstrous aliens but also of the monstrous acts committed by humanity as it scrambles for survival. As the narrator laments, "It was the beginning of the rout of civilisation...."
Although The War of the Worlds has lost a bit of its punch over the years--and some readers will find the story rather slow-paced in parts--it remains noteworthy not only because of its historical spot in the science fiction field, but because Wells crafted a fine story that makes the unreal seem terrifyingly substantial.
