The War of The Worlds, H. G. Wells
The War of The Worlds, H. G. Wells
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The War of The Worlds

Author: H. G. Wells

Narrator: Roger Arnold

Unabridged: 7 hr 2 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/02/2026


Synopsis

No one believed the invasion would come from Mars—until the first cylinder fell on Horsell Common.

When strange objects begin crashing into the English countryside, curious onlookers gather to witness what appears to be an extraordinary astronomical event. Then the cylinders open.

The beings inside possess intelligence far beyond humanity’s own. Armed with devastating Heat-Rays, poisonous black smoke, and towering three-legged fighting machines, the Martians sweep aside military resistance and turn familiar towns into burning ruins.

Caught in the destruction, an unnamed narrator struggles across a collapsing England, desperate to survive and reunite with his wife. Around him, order gives way to panic as roads fill with refugees, cities empty, and human civilization appears powerless before an enemy that views mankind with the same indifference humans show lesser creatures.

Yet the invaders have entered a world whose smallest inhabitants may prove more dangerous than its armies.

First published in 1898, H. G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds helped define modern science fiction and established the alien-invasion story for generations to come. Both a gripping survival narrative and a provocative reflection on empire, technology, and human vulnerability, it remains as urgent and unsettling as ever.

Narrated by Roger Arnold.

About H. G. Wells

Herbert George Wells, better known as H. G. Wells, was a novelist, journalist, sociologist, and historian who wrote over 100 books. His novels are among the classic works of science fiction. His works, which go beyond ordinary adventure stories, are thought-provoking, forcing the reader to examine the future of mankind.

Wells was born in Bromley, Kent, in 1866. His father was a shopkeeper and a professional cricketer until he broke his leg. Wells studied biology at the Normal School of Science in London and later taught in several private schools. In 1893, he became a full-time writer. He married one of his brightest students, Amy Catherine, in 1895.

Wells earned his reputation with a string of science fiction novels, including The Time Machine, The Island of Dr. Moreau, and The Invisible Man. In 1938, his realistic portrayal of a martian invasion in The War of the Worlds caused a panic across the United States when it was performed as a radio broadcast by actor Orson Wells. His science fiction stories have since become some of the most filmed works of all time.

Between the two world wars, Wells lived mainly in France. Beyond his literary career, he was the president of an international peace organization (PEN) from 1934 to 1946. In this capacity, he had discussions with both Stalin and Roosevelt, trying to recruit them to his world-saving schemes. However, he later became disillusioned with the cause of peace when global war broke out for the second time in a generation. Throughout the Second World War, Wells lived in his house on Regent's Park, refusing to let the blitz drive him out of London. He died there on August 13, 1946.


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