In H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds - Martian tripods attack Earth

A dramatic picture of Martian tripods wrecking havoc upon the Earth. Mankind appears doomed before the onslaught and nothing the human race possess can thwart the genocide.

However, mother Earth comes to the rescue with microscopic bacteria, which most animal life on earth has immunities to. The Martians do not, and eventually, the aliens begin to die of a disease. The dreaded red weed also begins to perish as Earth's green foliage begins to reclaim the planet.

It is a close call, but the remnant of human civilisation can rebuild again after coming too close quarters and near extinction from the Martian invasion and the mechanical fighting machines - huge great tripods that fire death rays and spew poisonous gas to sterilise areas they walk over.

The story takes place in 1898 at the end of the nineteenth century when Great Britain had a vast empire and ruled much of the planet's surface through it huge navy. This sea force is redundant when the Martians fall upon the land from the sky. Within days the superpower of the day is obliterated and its people reduced to a huge rabble of fleeing refugees.

H.G. Wells published his written science fiction work of; The War of the Worlds, in 1898. It was a smashing success and has been translated into many languages. He, of course, wrote many other great works, including; The Time Machine and The Invisible Man, to name just a few.

He was a person of strong opinions where human behaviour was concerned, during the age of empire. He realised how fragile mankind really is and that we often tampered with things we do not understand.

I can’t help thinking he was very pessimistic concerning the human race and lacked faith all the more as he grew older. The Second World War seemed to be the icing on the cake of his dour view towards mankind. This is understandable during such an eventful and dreadful time.

I can’t help believing that H.G. Wells saw so many bad things in collective human behaviour, but neglected the often better qualities of our species. He was right on a great many things, but not all of the time.