The Reading Warehouse

This freshly edited and newly typeset edition features a large 7.44"x9.69 page size and is printed on heavyweight bright white paper with a fully laminated cover featuring an original full color design. Also included in this volume are page headers and an introductory biographical sketch discussing Wells' life, work and continuing literary significance.

This tale involves the theme of humanity coming into conflict with strange alien societies, in this case the invasion of the earth by hostile Martians. Wells would revisit this theme, in the context of the encounter between human explorers and the native inhabitants, in The First Men in the Moon. A common theme in the science fiction genre, these tales by Wells represent two of the earliest and most influential such stories. But unlike so many of the similar stories that have followed, Wells did not posit either the innate superiority of humanity or man's scientific achievements as the earth's salvation. Rather, Wells' story portrays humanity as more or less at the mercy of forces beyond its control, reflecting an underlying fear that scientific discovery and progress might not make man the unchallenged master of the universe after all.

Herbert George Wells (1866-1946), was born to shopkeepers who had previously been employed as domestic servants. When an injury ended his father's income as a professional cricketer, Wells' parents, on the brink of poverty, apprenticed him to a draper, but he was dismissed after a short time and subsequently became a "pupil-teacher" in a system where older students helped teach younger students. Despite having little formal education, Wells, a voracious reader, won a scholarship to the Normal School of Science in London where he completed courses in biology and physics, but left the school in 1887 after failing geology and losing his scholarship.

Best known today for his science fiction works, Wells' first published book was a biology textbook in 1893. With the publication of The Time Machine in 1895 Wells began a long and successful writing career. The next several years saw the publication of The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man, The Island of Doctor Moreau, The First Men in the Moon and many other works ranging from humorous social commentary novels to non-fiction and political polemics. In 1920, he published his landmark Outline of History, which became the model for "outline" texts in a variety of disciplines.

Over time Wells' works became increasingly political, contentious and argumentative and only his early science fiction novels are widely read today. Those novels provide insights into the science and society of Wells' day and are interesting for their prediction of future events and scientific developments. Wells' science fiction tales are also very entertaining and easy to read. Many of his story elements, like time travel, hostile aliens, mutant creatures and space travel, became common themes in science fiction

In literary circles, Wells' comic novels, virtually unknown to readers of today, are considered outstanding examples of 20th century British literature, and Wells' work is regarded as one of the best examples of pre-World War I liberal optimism. Yet Wells' social optimism is tempered, particularly in his science fiction works, and he clearly voices a sense of dread of science and technology gone out-of-control that runs through post-Victorian British thought.

Wells is often referred to as one of "The Fathers of Science Fiction," and "science fiction" today might look very different without Wells' contributions.