"No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. With infinite complacency men went to and fro over this globe about their little affairs, serene in their assurance of their empire over matter. It is possible that the infusoria under the microscope do the same."
The unnamed protagonist witnesses strange spaceship landing near his home in Surrey - at the moment nobody connects this with strange explosions on Mars some time ago - while amused locals swarm the area and poke at the metal cylinder, what eventually emerges out of it are dangerous Aliens who continue to kill, burn and destroy everything on their path. Simultaneously, we follow the protagonist in Surrey (where the landing happened) and his brother in London (where initially citizens don't grasp the seriousness of situation).
Dear reader, you might wonder why am I reading such apocalyptic novel in stressful times as these but in fact I always loved H. G. Wells, was planning to explore some more of science fiction genre, needed something gripping that would help me with pure joy of reading and - last but not least - I actually don't remember ever reading this before. There were zillion adaptations but I don't care for them, this is the real thing. And its right up my alley, since I was always annoyed with naivety so predominant during my childhood, where media praised Aliens as friendly and wise - you know, they will come and make this planet suddenly peaceful and loving - the unknown species might as well be some giant insects ready to gorge on whoever they find on planet Earth. I genuinely believe that life forms here very possibly reflect life forms somewhere out there, but in a changed size or shape - so rather than a gentle, friendly E.T or wise Yoda, I expect Aliens might come as cockroaches or octopuses. H. G. Wells shared my opinion, because his Martians are definitely not here to teach us how to be kind and wise - they suck the blood out of us and burn everything on their path. Interestingly, this is not your typical adventure novel with a heroic character winning the fight - everybody here is relatively selfish, inconsiderate or simply mad with fear. People are looting, breaking into empty houses, stealing horses and trampling each other in panicking crowds. I find it all surprisingly realistic, dark and very gripping.
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