Genre: Science-Fiction, Classic
"Thirty-five million miles into space, a species of Martians set eyes on planet Earth. With their own planet doomed for destruction, the Martians prepare to invade. Their weapons are ready and their aim is ruthless. The war of the worlds is about to begin."
Duhduhduh! The story-line of this novel, aliens taking over the world, is very intriguing and exciting. It makes even more sense if you read the introduction by Orson Scott Card, who wrote Ender's Game. The introduction offers important insight by Card at the purpose and value of science fiction and why Wells wrote this book.
Even though I enjoyed the idea of the plot, I think Wells could have made it even more exciting and real to the readers. This could just be my bias from reading so many contemporary works. But sometimes I was a little bored by the novel, and aliens taking over the world should not be boring! It was also difficult to follow at times because the narrator takes you all over and around England, mentioning all of these towns I hadn't the foggiest idea of; a map would have made it clearer.
Also, the reader never knows the narrator's/main character's name (at least not that I was aware of). And how can a reader be close to the characters if they never know his name? It frustrated me, just a little. It's also an intrusive narrator, so be aware of that.
Overall, I was disappointed by this work and give it a 3 out of 5. But if you enjoy science fiction, you should still read it since it is a building block of the genre. I recommend it for 14 year olds and up. Be aware that it is quite different than the movie with Tom Cruise (which is an excellent movie, in my opinion).
What I learned: Humans are not as indestructible or powerful as they might think/wish. Beware of pride!
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