The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
Title: Krieg der Welten
Original title: The War of the Worlds
Author: H. G. Wells
Language read in: German
Published: 1898
Translation published: 1974 "Der Krieg der Welten"
Number of pages: 338
The cover is actually a bit darker, e. g. the dust is really more orange/reddish than pink. Cover photo: Copyright Denis Scott/Corbis
Introduction from enotes.com:
H. G. Wells’s science fiction masterpiece The War of the Worlds was originally published in Pierson’s magazine in 1897 and was issued as a novel the following year. A century later, it has never been out of print. The story has become an integral part of our culture, frequently retold in graphic novels and films. In 1938, it became part of one of the greatest and most horrifying media events of all times. The Mercury Theatre on the Air, headed by twenty-three-year-old Orson Welles, broadcast over the radio an adaptation of the book that was so realistic that it caused widespread public panic, mob violence, and looting. Until the night of that broadcast, few people realized the power of broadcast media to make whole populations feel powerless when faced with breaking events.
Like the radio program, much of the novel takes its power from appearing to be real. Wells, who had an intense interest in science from an early age, created his Martian invaders with a strict sense of the laws of biology and physics. They are not super beings, but bodiless heads, barely able to move because the atmosphere of Earth is so much thicker than that of their own planet. Still, their advanced intelligence gives them the power to create powerful weapons, such as Heat-Ray guns that can level whole towns; tripods with hundred-foot legs, that give them mobility; and even flying machines, which, in 1898, were beyond human technology. Humanity has entered into space exploration since this novel was published, and many of the specific details are no longer of concern. But there will always be uneasiness about the unknown and curiosity about what might happen when people of Earth contact lives from other worlds.
I think I should first say that I read the book in German, because even though I can read, write and understand English pretty well, I wasn't sure if I would be able to understand the slightly old-fashioned version of English that is used in the book. Of course the German used in the translation is also old-fashioned, but at least it was German and thus - for me - easier to understand.
Now for the book: Even though a full-blown invasion of Martians takes place in the book it is, from the perspective of the ever-unnamed narrator, fairly uneventful. Of course there's destruction and death all around, but somehow, and I believe that might be due to the factual tone of the narrator, the horrifying events hardly touched me. I couldn't really relate to the person telling the story and maybe that was why the latter failed to really draw me in.
The story gives you a bit of an idea of the level science was at at the time, and that was definitely interesting. We are talking about a world that didn't even know Penicillin yet, which is one of the most basic antibiotics to us.
All in all, the book didn't knock my socks off, but it wasn't a waste of time either - that would be too hard a judgement. It had interesting moments and I would have liked to know more about the Martians themselves and their technology.
If you don't have a problem with stories told like factual reports and like science fiction mixed with slightly old-fashioned language, this might just be the book for you.
Original title: The War of the Worlds
Author: H. G. Wells
Language read in: German
Published: 1898
Translation published: 1974 "Der Krieg der Welten"
Number of pages: 338
The cover is actually a bit darker, e. g. the dust is really more orange/reddish than pink. Cover photo: Copyright Denis Scott/Corbis
Introduction from enotes.com:
H. G. Wells’s science fiction masterpiece The War of the Worlds was originally published in Pierson’s magazine in 1897 and was issued as a novel the following year. A century later, it has never been out of print. The story has become an integral part of our culture, frequently retold in graphic novels and films. In 1938, it became part of one of the greatest and most horrifying media events of all times. The Mercury Theatre on the Air, headed by twenty-three-year-old Orson Welles, broadcast over the radio an adaptation of the book that was so realistic that it caused widespread public panic, mob violence, and looting. Until the night of that broadcast, few people realized the power of broadcast media to make whole populations feel powerless when faced with breaking events.
Like the radio program, much of the novel takes its power from appearing to be real. Wells, who had an intense interest in science from an early age, created his Martian invaders with a strict sense of the laws of biology and physics. They are not super beings, but bodiless heads, barely able to move because the atmosphere of Earth is so much thicker than that of their own planet. Still, their advanced intelligence gives them the power to create powerful weapons, such as Heat-Ray guns that can level whole towns; tripods with hundred-foot legs, that give them mobility; and even flying machines, which, in 1898, were beyond human technology. Humanity has entered into space exploration since this novel was published, and many of the specific details are no longer of concern. But there will always be uneasiness about the unknown and curiosity about what might happen when people of Earth contact lives from other worlds.
I think I should first say that I read the book in German, because even though I can read, write and understand English pretty well, I wasn't sure if I would be able to understand the slightly old-fashioned version of English that is used in the book. Of course the German used in the translation is also old-fashioned, but at least it was German and thus - for me - easier to understand.
Now for the book: Even though a full-blown invasion of Martians takes place in the book it is, from the perspective of the ever-unnamed narrator, fairly uneventful. Of course there's destruction and death all around, but somehow, and I believe that might be due to the factual tone of the narrator, the horrifying events hardly touched me. I couldn't really relate to the person telling the story and maybe that was why the latter failed to really draw me in.
The story gives you a bit of an idea of the level science was at at the time, and that was definitely interesting. We are talking about a world that didn't even know Penicillin yet, which is one of the most basic antibiotics to us.
All in all, the book didn't knock my socks off, but it wasn't a waste of time either - that would be too hard a judgement. It had interesting moments and I would have liked to know more about the Martians themselves and their technology.
If you don't have a problem with stories told like factual reports and like science fiction mixed with slightly old-fashioned language, this might just be the book for you.