The War of the Worlds

The War of the Worlds is H. G. Wells's masterpiece of science fiction—the novel that invented the alien invasion genre.

When strange explosions are observed on the surface of Mars, few Earthlings suspect the truth. Then a "meteor" falls on Horsell Common in Surrey, England. From the massive cylinder emerges a creature—"a big greyish, roundish bulk, the size of a bear"—followed by a towering, three-legged fighting machine armed with a heat-ray that incinerates everything in its path. The Martian invasion has begun.

The unnamed narrator witnesses the destruction firsthand, fleeing across a terrified England as the Martians lay waste to London with their black smoke and deadly machines. But the invaders have not counted on Earth's smallest defenders: the microbes and bacteria that cause disease, to which the Martians have no immunity.

First published in 1898, The War of the Worlds is both an exciting adventure story and a brilliant work of social commentary. Wells inverted the colonial narrative of his time, imagining technologically superior beings doing to England what Europeans had done to indigenous peoples around the globe. The novel's depiction of the Martian tripods, heat-rays, and black smoke has become part of our cultural imagination.

Wells was a visionary writer who also predicted the invention of the tank, the atomic bomb, and the airplane. His novel remains one of the most influential works in all of science fiction.

This audiobook is based on the 1898 public domain text. Produced and narrated by Qingye Wuchen, with AI assistance.

© 2026 HongMei Zhou (Lydbog): 9780466387785

Udgivelsesdato

Lydbog: 29. april 2026