The War of the Worlds

 The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
2002
Weight: 6 oz
Method of Disposal: Donating

If you plan to read the book and have not already, I give away the whole story below!

I read this because it was a classic.  I have read about it many times, but I have never read it.  It seemed like an easy fix to take this short novel to the bath and try to get away from work for a bit.  It was surprisingly good.  I guess what I mean is that, of course, it was well done and that is why we still read it all the years later, but it was also just good even though I had no interest in reading a book about aliens from Mars attacking England.  I enjoyed it and felt compelled to keep reading it despite that being the premise not in spite of it.

As in most English Classics, the women characters are never fleshed out humans and always leave much to be desired.  They had me for a moment with the ladies in the carriage, who the narrator travels with for a bit.  I could see them clearly when they were overcome by a gang of criminals, rescued by the narrator, and then returning the favor be wielding a pistol.  That decisive woman with a gun intrigued me, but that potential storyline never grew to be anything to write home about, and the narrator's wife is even less of a person and not featured often.

The description of the Martians tearing through the countryside, then into London, and battling ships at sea was something to imagine!  The English army failing to defend the country at every turn.  Not because they were not a strong human army, but because the Martians were such a formidable foe.  Then, the best part of all, the thing that finally killed the aliens was the bacteria that humans had been fighting off for ages.  Most excellent conclusion!