The Second War of the Worlds [Hardcover]

George H. Smith (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Daw (1976)
• ASIN: B000KRR39O
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,679,313 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting premise with some fatal flaws, October 13, 2002

By 

JEB (Laurel, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Second War of the Worlds (Paperback)

Before I say anything else, I want to emphasize that there ARE some good points. The heroes are likable, and it is generally well-written throughout. The basic concept- Martians attack a world of magic- is also very intriguing. Considering all this, the book is well worth buying. HOWEVER (there had to be a however, right?), there are some flaws.

1) A certain Napoleon of Crime is mentioned in an important role in the book but never visibly appears.
2) A small part in the middle consists of a character reading from THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (in other words, space is filled by quotes from the book).
3) Lastly, the final battles in the book occur "off-stage," and the reasons they are not seen directly are annoyingly similar. It's as if the author either wrote too much for his page requirements or nearly missed his deadline.

So, the good (4) and the bad (2) average to an "OK" rating of 3.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An inspired sequel diminished by inferior writing, November 13, 2011

By 

Mark Klobas (Tempe, AZ, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Second War of the Worlds (Paperback)

H. G. Wells's 1898 classic The War of the Worlds has long served as fodder for other writers, from Garrett Putman Serviss's Edison's Conquest of Mars to Alan Moore's more recent The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 2. George H. Smith's novel is firmly in this tradition, albeit with an interesting twist: having failed in their invasion of Earth, the Martians now set their sights on Earth's parallel world Annwn, a planet technologically similar to Earth but one in which magic enjoys a presence as well as science. Aided by a group of worshipers, the Martians inoculate themselves against the microorganisms that frustrated their previous attempt and prepare for an assault on a much larger scale. Alerted by a few figures from Earth, a small group of Annwnians mobilize to thwart this new effort, but it's a race against time with a cool and calculated foe - and one determined to learn from their mistakes the first time around.

Smith's novel benefits from both the novelty of its premise and the infusion of a number of interesting ideas, particularly his inspired concept of pro-Martian humans working for the destruction of their own species. The chapters describing the battles between the humans and the tripods are also excellent, conveying a sense of tension and excitement in many ways even better than Wells did in the original. Yet before readers can get to them they must wade through a considerable amount of tepid dialogue and poor characterization, particularly of the main female protagonist Clarinda McTague, whose jealousy-driven anger detracts from the story whenever she appears. The addition of a certain English detective and his medically-trained sidekick is even more questionable, especially as the conceit of disguising their identities wears thin quickly. Together these factors drag down this otherwise imaginative novel, one that squanders an otherwise interesting departure from Wells's famous work.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Try try again...., December 31, 2003

By 

Michael Valdivielso (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Second War of the Worlds (Paperback)

The Martians, having failed to invade Earth try to invade another parellel Earth, called Annwn. But Earth has sent help, in the form of H.G. Wells' book, Dr. Watson AND Mr. Sherlock Holmes! Forewarned is, after all, forearmed. With such knowlewdge, added to such devices as airships and a diving ram (a sub with a ram)how can they lose?
Well, it turns out the Martians on Thor, the fourth planet in Annwn's system, have figured out the little germ problem after their scouts died out on Earth, have a better cannon (which does not misfire), oh, and they ALSO have gotten help from Earth in the form of Earthlings who think the Martians are Gods.
So what happens when both sides are forewarned?