The War of the Worlds

Front Cover
AD Classic, 2008 - Fiction - 148 pages
This edition includes artwork by Warwick Goble, commissioned by Pearsons Magazine in 1897, artwork by Alvim Corrêa for the L.Vandamme 500 copy limited edition in 1906 and cover art by Frank R. Paul, commissioned by Amazing Stories in 1927. "The War of the Worlds was the first science fiction story to treat extraterrestrial aliens realistically." - Isaac Asimov 1974 AD "The daring conception upon which this story hinges is not a mere bit of invention. The War of the Worlds is, as Mr. Wells has himself said of it, "the story of possibility, a piece of realism." Whether or not we agree with the author as to this, there is no denying the strange air of reality with which he has contrived to invest this astonishing narrative of the invasion of Earth by the inhabitants of Mars. It is a wonder story for "grown-ups," and one of the deepest interest and most fascinating style. It shows, more than anything, how helpless man's most formidable engines of war become when matched against forces of which we have had no previous knowledge." - Harpers Brothers 1898 AD

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About the author (2008)

H. G. Wells was born in Bromley, England on September 21, 1866. After a limited education, he was apprenticed to a draper, but soon found he wanted something more out of life. He read widely and got a position as a student assistant in a secondary school, eventually winning a scholarship to the Royal College of Science in South Kensington, where he studied biology. He graduated from London University in 1888 and became a science teacher. He also wrote for magazines. When his stories began to sell, he left teaching to write full time. He became an author best known for science fiction novels and comic novels. His science fiction novels include The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Wonderful Visit, The Island of Doctor Moreau, The Invisible Man, The First Men in the Moon, and The Food of the Gods. His comic novels include Love and Mr. Lewisham, Kipps: The Story of a Simple Soul, The History of Mr. Polly, and Tono-Bungay. He also wrote several short story collections including The Stolen Bacillus, The Plattner Story, and Tales of Space and Time. He died on August 13, 1946 at the age of 79.

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