History

War of the Worlds is a novel by H.G Wells.

"An English astronomer, in company with an artilleryman, a country curate, and others, struggle to survive the invasion of Earth by Martians in 1894" - amazon.co.uk

At the height of the British empire at the end of the 19th Century, where Britain was seemingly indestructible, Aliens invade Earth from Mars. Showing in reality how utterly helpless Britain truly was against any force that was superior. The Martians used their advanced technology and fighting machines and gained control of the earth within days, while the British military was helpless and could do nothing to stop it against the advanced forces of the Martians. There is little or no mention of any other countries in the stories, but that is because British was the most powerful country in the world and colonized ¾ of the world, so once Britain had fallen then the rest of the world had as well. The Martians gain control over Britain and most importantly London within days. And mankind had been defeated and faced nothing but extinction.

This Novel was one of the most controversial pieces of literature of its time. Not only did it show the British Empire, while at the time of publication was still very strong, in a light of vulnerability, it also showed how civilization itself is very fragile and how events can easily collapse it. Not to mention the Science behind the Novel. This was one of the first true Science Fiction Novels, drawing upon things like bacteria, which at the time of publication was only a theory. H.G Wells in arguable his best work, tells a controversial story, bringing up matters such as the very nature of civilization and incorporating new science into fiction, therefore creating a new genre.