H. G. Wells (1866–1946)

As I recently decided to wipe the slate clean and consider all of the books in my home library unread, I started where my love of reading began: H.G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds". I first read this book in late elementary school after I finally convinced our school librarian to let me read some of the books from the adult section. I recall picking this book out as I had mistaken it for a historical book about World War One or World War Two. I have no idea how I managed to read the complex phraseology and diction in this book at the age of nine or ten. The fact that I managed to chop through the prose wilderness now that I am almost 26 is still just as impressive I think as this is a book full of dense and twisting wording that will easily lose a reader that isn't completely dialed in with their focus.

This is definitely not a book intended for someone who is looking for a light read. The language jumps from overwhelming deep philosophical torrents interspersed by scenes that give you just enough time to come up from air. When the action gets heavy, the writing style imparts a sense of chaos that confounds the reader which matches the character's sense of confusion. The imagery is picturesque often times leaving little for the imagination to fill in as Wells has done that for you already with his ample descriptions that blend the narrator's "as it happened in the moment" perspective with "after the fact" reflections. Although I very rarely read sci-fi works as I prefer more realist styles of fiction and nonfiction in general, I could not be helped but be impressed by how contemporary certain parts of the book feel especially when I remembered that this book was written during the same time that my native Southland was going backwards in time with Jim Crow legislation.

This book for me fits firmly in the four star category. If it didn't have the nostalgia factor and the "H.G. Wells" name on the cover it might have been received more coolly, but I also wanted to be forgiving as well as I don't read enough sci-fi to judge it fairly compared to its alternatives. It is also worth being lenient as it is a trailblazing pioneering work in a genre that was still working out some of its kinks so it would be wrong to assail the prototype by comparing it to its offspring. Overall, it is a worthwhile read that is not too long so no time was wasted reading this book. This is my first book review and rating so maybe a future me would have a different rating but I doubt it. I think there is probably better sci-fi works out there, but it serves as a good ambassador for explorers like me who want to dip their toes in the water when it comes to this genre.… (more)