Customer Reviews

The Second War of the Worlds

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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?