H. G. Wells: La guerra de los mundos: Clásicos de la literatura (2015, e-ArtNow)
188 pages
English language
Published July 11, 2015 by e-ArtNow.
The ultimate science fiction classic: for more than one hundred years, this compelling tale of the Martian invasion of Earth has enthralled readers with a combination of imagination and incisive commentary on the imbalance of power that continues to be relevant today. The style is revolutionary for its era, employing a sophisticated first and third person account of the events which is both personal and focused on the holistic downfall of Earth's society. The Martians, as evil, mechanical and unknown a threat they are, remain daunting in today's society, where, despite technology's mammoth advances, humanity's hegemony over Earth is yet to be called into question. In Well's introduction to the book, where the character discusses with the later deceased Ogilvy about astronomy and the possibility of alien life defeating the 'savage' (to them) nineteenth-century Britain, is he insinuating that this is the truth and fate of humanity? It's up to …
The ultimate science fiction classic: for more than one hundred years, this compelling tale of the Martian invasion of Earth has enthralled readers with a combination of imagination and incisive commentary on the imbalance of power that continues to be relevant today. The style is revolutionary for its era, employing a sophisticated first and third person account of the events which is both personal and focused on the holistic downfall of Earth's society. The Martians, as evil, mechanical and unknown a threat they are, remain daunting in today's society, where, despite technology's mammoth advances, humanity's hegemony over Earth is yet to be called into question. In Well's introduction to the book, where the character discusses with the later deceased Ogilvy about astronomy and the possibility of alien life defeating the 'savage' (to them) nineteenth-century Britain, is he insinuating that this is the truth and fate of humanity? It's up to you to decide......🏳🏴🏳️🌈
La verdad es que leyéndolo con 37 años la historia no me sorprendió, me aburrió bastante. Quizá leyéndolo más joven... Eso no quita que leyéndolo/escuchándolo en su momento tuviera que ser mucho más interesante.
Gustatu zait erakusten duen irudimenagatik, pentsa 1898an idatzita dagoela, eta bereziki gustatu zait protagonistaren sakontasuna edo anaiaren pertsonaia Londresen gertatutakoa garatzeko. Baina heldu da momentu bat, non bukatu nahi nuen. Espekulazio biologikoaren inguruko zatiak nahiko astunak egin zaizkit (dagoeneko aipatuta eta azalduta zeuden gauzak behin eta berriz ekarriz). Bukaera ere ez da nire gustukoa izan, beste gauza bat espero nuen...
This is interesting from the perspective of being an early 'space opera'. Beyond that it was quite pedestrian.
It is perhaps unfair to compare science fiction from 1898 to its modern equivalent, but some of it holds up remarkably well. I'm going to say that this book is not terribly well written by today's standards, and probably the only reason it made a splash in the literary world is because it shocked the Victorian sensibilities of its target audience. Which, let's be honest, were Britons living in and around London at the turn of the last century. Wells could not have predicted that this story would one day have worldwide appeal. Told in the first person, it is heavy on the place name dropping and light on the character development. It is essentially destruction porn, describing the ghastly deaths of innocents and the obliteration of landmarks. The David to the Martians' Goliath turns out in the end to be both recognizable and prescient. But the end is not …
It is perhaps unfair to compare science fiction from 1898 to its modern equivalent, but some of it holds up remarkably well. I'm going to say that this book is not terribly well written by today's standards, and probably the only reason it made a splash in the literary world is because it shocked the Victorian sensibilities of its target audience. Which, let's be honest, were Britons living in and around London at the turn of the last century. Wells could not have predicted that this story would one day have worldwide appeal. Told in the first person, it is heavy on the place name dropping and light on the character development. It is essentially destruction porn, describing the ghastly deaths of innocents and the obliteration of landmarks. The David to the Martians' Goliath turns out in the end to be both recognizable and prescient. But the end is not particularly satisfying.
J’avais essayé de lire ce classique de H.G. Wells il y a quelques années et je n’avais pas réussi à aller au bout. Je viens de terminer ma seconde tentative, avec succès cette fois. Si je comprends ce qui a pu me rebuter à l’époque, j’ai plus de mal à comprendre comment j’avais pu passer à côté des grandes qualités de ce roman. Certes, le rythme est un peu lent, mais le récit est tout de même captivant et offre une réflexion sur la question de l’impérialisme, qu’il soit strictement britannique ou plus généralement occidental.
Pour mémoire et comparaison, je laisse ci-dessous ma critique lors de ma première lecture inachevée :
Je n'aime pas ne pas terminer un livre que j'ai commencé. C'est comme un double échec, échouer dans le choix du livre et échouer dans la tentative de le lire malgré un début difficile. "La Guerre des mondes" est …
J’avais essayé de lire ce classique de H.G. Wells il y a quelques années et je n’avais pas réussi à aller au bout. Je viens de terminer ma seconde tentative, avec succès cette fois. Si je comprends ce qui a pu me rebuter à l’époque, j’ai plus de mal à comprendre comment j’avais pu passer à côté des grandes qualités de ce roman. Certes, le rythme est un peu lent, mais le récit est tout de même captivant et offre une réflexion sur la question de l’impérialisme, qu’il soit strictement britannique ou plus généralement occidental.
Pour mémoire et comparaison, je laisse ci-dessous ma critique lors de ma première lecture inachevée :
Je n'aime pas ne pas terminer un livre que j'ai commencé. C'est comme un double échec, échouer dans le choix du livre et échouer dans la tentative de le lire malgré un début difficile. "La Guerre des mondes" est un classique de la science-fiction, si ce n'est LE classique de la science-fiction. J'ai tenu bon jusqu'au début de la deuxième partie, sans enthousiasme après m'être passablement ennuyé pendant toute la première partie. J'ai finalement renoncé après avoir longuement insisté, au début de la deuxième partie. Je passe peut-être à côté d'un grand classique, mais je n'ai pas réussi à entrer dans l'histoire ni à m'attacher aux personnages. Triste.
This is generally considered the very first work of science fiction. It was written before the Wright Brothers ever flew an airplane - at the time of writing, hot air balloons were the only way to get airborne. Yet, the author not only writes about life on Mars travelling to Earth on rocket ships, but also that the Martians had the ability to build giant mechanical robots and aircraft. It's an absolutely amazing work of future prediction when you think about when it was written - and still an entertaining read today.
Although the famous Orson Welles radio production relocated the story to the United States, the original story takes place just outside London, England. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the origins of science fiction and speculative literature.
This book is impressive.
It is over 100 years old and works, in many parts, like a mixture of a war report and the diary of a Victorian explorer out in the wilderness. The descriptions both of the Martians and their technical devices is amazingly detailed.
The titel, though, is a bit misleading, I feel: There is no actual war between extraterrestrial invaders and humans defending Earth. Humankind (or, more specific, Englishmen) get into a few short skirmishes before being overrun by the superior machinery of the aggressors. Also, as far as the narrator knows, there is no underground resistance forming below London. In the end, humankind is saved by bacteria which the Martians have not been prepared for. In that, they share the fate of some of the South American indigenous tribes faced with Spanish germs.
The book is, as said, over 100 years old - but still many …
This book is impressive.
It is over 100 years old and works, in many parts, like a mixture of a war report and the diary of a Victorian explorer out in the wilderness. The descriptions both of the Martians and their technical devices is amazingly detailed.
The titel, though, is a bit misleading, I feel: There is no actual war between extraterrestrial invaders and humans defending Earth. Humankind (or, more specific, Englishmen) get into a few short skirmishes before being overrun by the superior machinery of the aggressors. Also, as far as the narrator knows, there is no underground resistance forming below London. In the end, humankind is saved by bacteria which the Martians have not been prepared for. In that, they share the fate of some of the South American indigenous tribes faced with Spanish germs.
The book is, as said, over 100 years old - but still many thoughts seem surprisingly modern, such as the conclusion of the narrator that humankind must have learnt to treat other, lower creatures (i.e. animals) in kinder way after the experience of Martian "human-hunting" and what would have developed from that had the invasion been successful. These undertones as well as the stories of some of the people the narrator meets serve to balance the rather positive picture of humankind painted in contrast to the Martians.
Even though all seems well in the end, the narrator isn't convinced: He still can't forget and feels that the threat from outer space is hardly gone.
As a fan of modern science fiction and fantasy, I wouldn't choose to read The War of the Worlds for pleasure. 19th century British prose is long-winded, and the narration is very introverted. Most of the story is just the character detailing the events that happened to him and his reactions to them. Very little of the action was in scene, and the conversational manner made the story feel almost latent. But, this story's effect on Science fiction cannot be ignored, and though the telling is a but dry, the actual story is good.
Fantastic sf novel which is nothing at all like most invasion stories. The exquisite part of the novel is the narrator's style. Wonderful.
Another amazing 18th century sci-fi featuring a Martian invasion acting as a metaphor for the damage of European colonialism on native peoples. I’ll admit, this is a bit of a naff cover compared to the imagery within, no?
Écrit en 1898, le livre raconte l’arrivée incongrue de martiens près de Londres, la panique de la population, et tout ce que cela implique : angoisse, inconnu, menace, mort…
Impressionnant de se dire que bien avant que la science commence à évoquer la vie ailleurs, que la littérature commence à imaginer la possibilité de voir des martiens, un auteur a raconté une invasion !
Absolument innovant si on pense au contexte et à l’époque, et le livre est d’autant plus angoissant que les moyens de communication et les connaissances d’alors sont bien maigres par rapport à aujourd’hui.
En plus, ça ressemble tellement à certains de mes vieux rêves récurrents que c’est un bonheur ! lol
