#101. THE WAR OF THE WORLDS By H G Wells

Published : 1898
Pages : 175
Overall Mark : 7/10

"No one would have believed in the lastyears of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligence greater than man's... intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against it."

H. G. Wells' masterpiece, The War of the Worlds, is an essential work of SF : the first and gretest alien invasion novel.

H. G. WELLS (1866-1946)
Born in Bromley, Kent, Herbert George Wells was apprenticed to a draper before becoming a teacher-pupil at Midhurst Grammar School and winning a scholarship to study under T.H. Huxley. Through his trail-blazing works of science fiction, his prophetic imagination and his championing of socialism, science and women's rights he became a hugely influential figure of international renown.

VERDICT
In spite of being well ahead of its time, and paving the way for all science fiction literature in the years following, this story isn't that impressively written and can at times get a little repetitive and boring. Despite this weakness Wells does still manage to drag out what could otherwise be a few pages of scenery into an entire novella and comes up with some ingenious visuals.