The Day of the Martians by H E Wilburson

A new mission from Mars threatens Earth in this exciting sequel to H. G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds.

It’s been ten years since the first Martian invasion, when the blood hungry, tripod traveling aliens were defeated by bacteria. The narrator from the original novel is now living in martial bliss with Laura, when he reads that Ogilvy (yes, the chances of anything coming from Mars is a million to one, that Ogilvy) has a Martian exhibit at Crystal Palace that includes an unopened cylinder, discovered in a mountain in Wales. When our hero travels to the exhibition to investigate, he discovers that another invasion has launched from the red planet, and this time the stakes are even higher.

Superbly narrated by Harry Preston, with further prologue and epilogue narration by Terry Thompson, and atmospheric background music reminiscent of Jeff Wayne’s The War of the Worlds, this is a well produced audio book that is a delight to listen to.

There is no doubt that H.G. Wells wrote books with exceedingly clever premises. The Martian invasion, the invisible man, the time machine, and the island of Dr Moreau have all captured, and stayed with, the public imagination for good reason.

However, much as I enjoy the adaptions of his work, I am not a fan of Wells’ didactic prose, his apparent distain for humanity, and his ideological mouthpieces masquerading as characters. Up until now, Jeff Wayne’s musical was my favorite version of The War of the Worlds. In that vein, The Day of the Martians is a most worthy successor.

Written in mind of our superior scientific knowledge, and with a more kindly view towards women, The Day of the Martians introduces an invasion plan that is both clever and diabolical. I cheered when familiar characters appeared, handled with much more compassion and humanity than in the original novel.

At a little over 2 hours run time, this is a quick story to listen to, extremely entertaining and well produced. I look forward to listening to the second part of the trilogy.

I award The Day of the Martians…

The Day of the Martians is available from many different places, including Amazon Audible and ITunes IBooks.

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