The War of the Worlds

I know, I know - a classic that I'm just now reading. Prior to this I had only ever seen the Tom Cruise film adaptation! Better late than never. The fact that this was written when it was - before electronics and technology as we know it was incredible. It set the tone for science fiction as we know it. The parts I didn't love were the constant name dropping of towns (If I saw the word Woking one more damn time...) and the slow build - sometimes on the point of boring drudgery. Overall though it's a fantastic piece of literature - even if my lazy ass brain had to struggle through parts of it. It definitely made me want to watch more film versions if nothing else.

The Massacre of Mankind

The idea of this is awesome and the fact that they got permission from the H.G. Wells estate is insanely cool. It takes major chops to write a sequel to a beloved sci-fi classic that is over 100 years old. Thankfully Stephen Baxter seemed to fill the shoes quite well, writing a fun sequel that, while it is not as great as the original, surely stands up to it. In this new take the aliens have learned from their previous mistake and they've come back to Earth to make humanity pay. It's been nearly two decades since the invasion and Earth has gone right back to the way things used to be, no one even giving a second thought to the aliens returning someday. Walter Jenkins is convinced that the first invasion was just a scouting mission and that they will one day return, unfortunately he is proven right. A fun follow up to a classic.