BOOK REVIEW - THE WAR OF THE WORLDS

In keeping with trying to keep things fresh on here, I decided that I would do my first book review.  For the first one I wanted to review one of my favorite stories of all time - H G Wells The War of the Worlds.

The book was written at the end of the 19th Century and the story is set in this period of history.  The story begins with the unnamed character who Wells writes in the first person and is a journalist by occupation witnessing the strange eruption of gas on the surface of the planet Mars.  At the time little attention is paid to the events until some time later a cylinder lands on Horsell Common in southern England.

It becomes apparent that this is an alien transportation craft and shortly after the cylinder opens the Martians attack the large crowd that had gathered along the edge of the Common.  Using what Wells describes as a 'Heat-Ray' many are left dead.  The story develops with the Martians leaving the Common using gigantic tripod war machines that sweep the company of soldiers sent to put down the crisis out of existence.  The journalist tries to get back to his wife in Leatherhead after he had taken her there for safety but gets cut off by the Martian advance.  For about two weeks he wanders the ruined landscape meeting an Artillery Man who survived the massacre at Horsell Common and a Curate who has been driven insane by the events that have gone on.  The book is a tense tale of survival and horror and the mind numbing effects of a hostile and technologically advanced force invading and occupying the country.

Wells writes the book in the first person narrative for the most part.  The only time he deviates from this format is to tell the account of his brothers fight for survival in London.  By using this method of story telling the book comes across as a more factual account.  Wells does not go into any great detail about events that happen outside of his or his brothers own personal experience and this really does add weight to the story telling.  It is easy for the reader to become immersed in the horrifying events as they unfold and Wells vivid descriptions of the violence and horror the Martians unleash on the population is terrifying.

Wells does not spare the rod when detailing the effects of the Heat Ray or the Black Smoke that the Martians use as a means of chemical warfare in order to clear vast areas of population.  He also describes the Martians ghoulish eating habits which come across more horrifying than their advanced technological assets they have at disposed of people.

When you consider the time that this book was written, it contains many intelligent observations and a good deal of scientific dialogue.  It is easy to forgive some of the inaccurate science when dealing with the matters of space and Mars, after all when the book was written man was still struggling with the concepts of flying and knowledge of the planets of the solar system was in it's infancy.  However the idea of the Heat Ray can clearly be related to the modern day laser or microwave technology and the Black Smoke would see it's real world counterpart deployed on the battlefield in World War 1 with chemical weapons being used on a large scale.

Again, by using scientific descriptions of the Martian technology and biology, he expertly draws the reader in, but the real impact of the book is more of a social commentary as opposed to a mere work of science fiction.

Wells' main point and one that he hammers home on many occasions is that the Martian invasion is no more horrific than the invasion of the Europeans in other countries and the annihilation of many primitive races and cultures at the hands of the more technologically advanced races.  He also draws a parallel to the Dodo when he says that the arrival of European settlers were probably dismissed by the Dodo as a threat to their whole existence as the apathy of the people was to the Martians when the first arrived.

He frequently questions the readers feeling of horror and outrage against the Martians which he juxtaposes against scenes when the Martians are committing acts of genocide.  It grounds the reader making an almost credible defence of the Martian indifference to the atrocities they are carrying out.  It is quite unique to read a story where the narrator who has seen so much mind bending trauma can be rational enough to argue convincingly that humans have no right to feel indignant about the whole thing.

What is also interesting is that this book was written at the height of the British Empire.  Victorian Britain at that time was the super power in the world.  The prospect of this Empire being threatened and swept out of existence would have been abhorrent to the population and reading a book such as this must have filled them with fear and dread.  It is clear that Wells draws comparisons between the Martians and the British Empire and it serves as a commentary on the way with which seemingly more advanced races view other less advanced with disdain and a lack of compassion.

I could go and cover more themes, but I don't want to give away much more of the book for those who have never read it before. 

I love this book because of it's depth.  It is not a long book in particular yet manages to pack an awful lot into it's pages.  It has stood the test of time as the themes of the book are still relevant today.  The Steven Spielberg movie version in 2005 showed that it could still be applied to a modern day culture and so it still does provide a tense and scary read.  This story provided the blue print for the alien invasion genre yet tellingly, in my opinion, very few match the original story.  I think it is the factual way it is written and presented that elevates it above it's counterparts.  It's well worth reading if you have not done so already.

NEXT REVIEW ON HOLD. WHAT I AM READING ETC.

I had originally planned to spend today creating my next video review on You Tube.  For those of you who have not seen this channel it is under the name A1dy74.  Anyway, I was not able to do this thanks to the fact that I have still not recovered from a throat infection I came down with three weeks ago.  The throat pain and swelling have gone, but I have been left with a heavy case of catarrh which I cannot seem to shift at the moment.  Not only is it affecting my voice but it has also gone into my ear making hearing a bit difficult at the moment which is driving me mad.

There is really no point in doing a video review at the moment because no matter what I do the voice will not comply and I have no desire to waste my time doing something that I know will not sound right.  Speaking of video reviews, I really enjoy doing them.  I know there are many people who have issues with You Tube - I do as well, but what it is good is that You Tube and sites like it give the average person a platform to try and be creative and be able to put that creation out there for others to see.  The same can be said for these blog sites.  It is one of the good things that the Internet has afforded people and long may it continue.

I am currently reading two books at the moment.  Under the Dome by Stephen King and Decision Points by George W Bush.  Now before you say anything, am not a Bush supporter or anything like that, but I do like to read these type of books.  Obviously you are not getting the unblemished truth, anyone thinking that would have to be mad, but I am interested in what Bush thinks and what he claims his motives were.  You also get an insight into part of his personal life as well as what he was thinking with regards to the war of terror - again it is more what he wants people to believe as opposed to the whole truth.  I seriously doubt that the whole story would be allowed to be printed anyway as I am sure there would some national security issue that would prevent it.

Under the Dome is a cracking read.  I really do love Stephen King's writing style and story telling.  At times it is almost as though he writes in the book in the dialect of the books setting which really helps the reader get into the mind of the characters.  He also the master of building tension, not just through any supernatural events but more critically the way the characters interact with one another.  It is easy to dismiss King as a horror writer but frankly this is well wide of the mark.  He has written a whole range of books covering many different genres and that way of thinking does him a huge disservice.  In Under the Dome King wastes no time in establishing the event of the Dome cutting off a small town in America from the outside world and this works brilliantly to start the tension building.  You just know that the town will start to tear itself apart and already the main culprits have been identified.  However you just know there will be some sort of curve ball thrown into the mix at some point.

Under the Dome is the first novel I have purchased as a digital download for my iPad.  I am enjoying the contrast between reading a physical book with Decision Points and a digital book.  I must say it is easier reading the digital book and it's great knowing you can store many books in a single place saving space but I am from the old world as well and actually owning the physical book just feel right somehow.  It is probably just me but owning a book requires a degree of looking after if you want it to remain in good condition.  I don't know, I guess some habits die hard.

Back on the gaming front I have just got stuck into Fable 3 today.  I got it for Christmas but I wanted to try and finish up some other games that I had first before I started it.  So far I really like it.  I have always enjoyed the Fable world and game play and this builds well on what the series has established so far.  I am looking forward to losing some more hours in the land of Albion.

I have also spent a good few hours on DC Universe Online on the PS3.  I think it is safe to say that this game proves that MMO's are viable on consoles, though I would not be holding my breath if you are one of those who think that World of Warcraft will be coming anytime soon.  Although DC Universe Online does have depth to it, it certainly isn't on the level of World of Warcraft and the all important control interface is also extremely important.  There is no way I could envision playing a World of Warcraft with a joypad.  Things get frantic enough using the keyboard and mouse.

Finally I have been re-watching the X Files on DVD.  I have just started with season 1 and despite the passage of time I still love the show.  I would go as far to say that it is the best television series that I have ever seen.  I love the characters, the stories - everything!

Anyway I am off for more Mulder and Scully action.  Catch you all later.