Audiobook · read by volunteers
War of the Worlds
H. G. Wells (1866–1946)
Read by Stephan Möbius, Chris Goringe, Peter Yearsley, Joseph Morris, Kara Shallenberg (1969-2023), Mike Shapiro, Tony Gray, Kristin LeMoine, Chip, Kathleen (Kathy) P. King · 27 chapters · 6 h 43
About the book
The first strange light falls on Mars, and a few astronomers notice it. Then something comes down on the Surrey commons, a cylinder that opens slowly, and what climbs out is not human. Soon enormous machines on three legs are striding across England, and the narrator, an ordinary man trying to protect his wife and find a way through the chaos, discovers that civilisation can be undone in a matter of days. H. G. Wells wrote the book that created the template for every alien invasion story to come, and it is as chilling and as thoughtful as ever. Twenty-seven chapters, divided into two books, are shared by ten LibriVox volunteers over nearly seven hours of dread and wonder. The first great invasion story. Tripods, smoke and a world on the edge.
Introduction
H. G. Wells, who lived from 1866 to 1946, was an English writer who combined scientific imagination with sharp social observation. The War of the Worlds appeared in book form in 1898, after a magazine serial. At the time there was a great deal of speculation about life on Mars, thanks to astronomers who believed they could see canals on its surface, and Wells used that atmosphere to create a story that felt both plausible and terrifying.
The book is narrated by an English gentleman, who describes the events of a violent and fast-moving Martian invasion in the plain, reportorial language of someone who has seen it all. The tripod machines, the heat-ray and the black smoke are among the best-known images in science fiction. The book is also widely read as a satire on imperialism, asking its readers to imagine what it would be like to be on the receiving end of a technologically superior invader.
The influence of the novel has been immense. It has been adapted into comics, television, films, a musical and several radio dramas, the most famous being the 1938 broadcast by Orson Welles, which is said to have frightened some listeners into believing the invasion was real. It remains an early milestone of science fiction and a model for the invasion story.
This recording has twenty-seven chapters in two books and runs for about six and three quarter hours. It is shared among ten LibriVox volunteers. A thrilling, thoughtful listen from one of the founders of the genre. It remains one of the very few books that can claim to have created a whole genre, and its questions are still ours.
Public domain
H. G. Wells died in 1946: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text