Giving You A War of the Worlds Adaptation USA

Growing Interest in Adaptation

The Last Days of Thunder Child is a War of the Worlds adaptation on sale in the USA and to be sold in the EU from August 2016, seventy years after the passing of the great H.G. Wells - the master science fiction writer of the late Victorian age.

Fascinating new perspective.

The pastiche story goes aboard the battleship/ironclad and the readers sees the Martian invasion unfold via the crew's perspective. At first, just rumour and speculation from semaphore stations. The plucky battleship is destined to confront and fight the alien invaders, as in H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds the old retro sci-fi story. Today it is more of an alternative history as well as Science Fiction. It could also be a steampunk story due to its Victorian setting. It all makes for a fun read of Victorian battleship verses alien invaders from Mars.

The story offers two lines of adventure: 

1. The noble Scottish Captain McIntosh and his crew aboard HMS Thunder Child as they cruise around the channel into the North Sea and up along the south east England coastline.

2. On land, the shy and reserved English Albert Stanley, a minor administrator from the Ministry of Defence - the messenger who brings HMS Thunder Child's last minuet orders. Instructions that stop the ironclad going to the salvage yard.

The Final Outcome

The adaptation story has the alternative history - retro science fiction - steampunk feel about it. Readers can purchase the novel in paperback or on Kindle download USA.

War of the Worlds Fans

Have you ever enjoyed H.G. Wells War of the Worlds, an all time classic Science Fiction story written in 1898? It tells of a Martian invasion that begins in Britain in the County of Surrey just South West of London. Close to a town called Woking. In fact, if you ever visit the town there is a statue of aMartian tripod in the shopping center. If you have read this story, you will know of the ironclad H.M.S. Thunder Child that is forced to defend the paddle steamer full of refugees. Do you wonder what it would be like to join the crew a few days before the event? You could follow the brave men on their terrible journey around the coastline and up the River Blackwater to Maldon and the final confrontation with three Martian tripods? 

From Mars, the meteorites shot through space bound for Earth and conquest over all lifeforms that live there. The Martians were unfeeling towards mankind as humans are to sheep or other lesser creatures.

The meteorites land in fields and woodland. After a time, there emerges the terror of mankind. Colossal tripods, before which, humanity flees as the onslaught of the fighting machines begins. People are destroyed by heat rays and black toxic gas. Those that survive are forced to flee the persuing devestation.

Aboard H.M.S. Thunder Child, the crew are blissfully unaware of the savage terror. Only the new Captain knows and only upon the journey, at sea, do the crew begin to learn the unbelievable news from semephore stations.

Fear grips the population and hordes of refugees make for the coastline to flee the country. Their world is gone and only death and destruction follows. Ships of all nations and sizes must aid the mass evacuation...

Amid all of this, the mighty little ironclad, H.M.S. Thunder Child must play her role to the full and rely on the bravery of a small crew.

Great Retro Brit Sci-Fi Post Apocalypse Reads.

During the 1940s to 1970s, I think Britain had a fabulous crop of sci/fi writers. As a youngster, I read many and was enthralled by some of the stories. Especially John Wyndham, who I think wrote three marvellous books. They are The Midwich Cuckoos, The Chrysalids and The Day of the Triffids. Yes, he did write other fine stories as well, but I loved these particular three.

   

I thought the writing was splendid and I was totally gripped by each story. As a youngster, I liked The Chrysalids best. However, over a period of time, The Midwich Cuckoos as gained stronger prominence in my mind.

During my youth at school, we had a great English lit, teacher and she would often have the class reading allowed during the lesson while the rest of the class followed with their own copy of the book. Sometimes she would read for a bit and then she would single out a pupil to read. Gradually working round every pupil during the different English lit: lessons. We did two of John Wyndham's stories during that course. The Day of the Triffids and The Chrysalids. It was an all-boys school and our teacher was female and not very strict, but she was able to get every adolescent boy's attention because of the way she had us reading and understanding these stories. She would pause now and then to explain characters and observations on the way the writer picked up on human themes. I don't think any of us wanted the bell to ring. By the end of the course, every boy lost his inhibition of reading allowed in the class.

                            

From these stories, I went on a mad journey of post-apocalyptic tales. I was captivated by them. John Christopher's The Death of Grass, George Orwell's 1984 and the original Daddy of them all, H.G. Wells, War of the Worlds and The Time Machine. I used to buzz with delight and my mind was working over time. I suppose I was a bit of a Geek for these type of stories.

      

Another author who seemed to do nothing more than write stories of various types of post-apocalyptic Britain was Edmund Cooper. He was probably a little pulpier than the others but he still did a lot of stimulating and far-fetched things that flicked a switch with me. Novels like: Who Needs Men, All Fools Day and Five to twelve. Two of these tales caused a stir with fem groups. Another good tale is The Cloud Walker. They always seemed to be about humankind trying to pick up the pieces after the world is destroyed.

Twelve to five and Who Needs Men caused controversy among feminist groups.