# The War of the Worlds



## Hasscraft (Jul 18, 2005)

Hey,
I read the War of the worlds book by H.G. Wells. 
I have seen the movie and actually to my surprise liked the book much better. It may have been hard to follow at some points but i would strongly reccomend it to any of you love-to-read readers.
Any other books that i might try that are classic?
Let me know
thanks


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## Arbitrator (Jul 18, 2005)

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has made himself known with his ingenious literature and creation of the fabled Sherlock Holmes. This is, without doubt, classic literary reading and I, myself, enjoyed it greatly, seeing as I had to do an assignment on it. And I have yet to do it.  

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. To begin with, who would _not_ want to go to bed at night singing "Fifteen men on the dead man's chest-- Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!" And then there is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde which deals with matters just as seriously, though is still quite an enjoyment.


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## bobothegoat (Sep 20, 2005)

starrwriter said:
			
		

> I liked the movie better. The book ending was a bit too grim -- humanity gone and the earth populated by creatures that look like horseshoe crabs. Ugh!



I thought that was what happened in the Time Machine, not War of the Worlds. :?


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## Posterus (Sep 20, 2005)

I'm actually in the process of reading War of The Worlds. I like the book much more so than the movie. I think that the book has this surreal quality to it that the movie didn't have. In fact, I think that the movie was too IYF by comparison with the book, too spectacular and destructive, but of course, it was a movie. I like how in the Tom Cruise/Steven Spielberg movie they had Morgan Freeman almost quoting the first lines of the book to the letter. That was nice.


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## WriteStuff (Oct 8, 2005)

I haven't read War of the Worlds yet but, I have plans to do so in the near future.  You did however ask for other classics that are good and here are a few:

1. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
2. Dracula by Bram Stoker
3. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
4. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

These are all pretty good although a little philosophical and slow at times, but usually that's how a classic is.


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## Chalks (Dec 24, 2005)

I love H.G. Wells.  

He's always so depressing though.  The first time I read his books/stories, I was surprised at how dark they were.  I actually thought "The Invisible Man" would have an happy ending.  Ha!

I actually think I enjoyed the movie War of the Worlds more than the book though.  It modernized the story a tad bit, and made it more "real" to me.


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## Mike C (Dec 31, 2005)

Chalks said:
			
		

> I actually think I enjoyed the movie War of the Worlds more than the book though.  It modernized the story a tad bit, and made it more "real" to me.



Yeah, In books you have to rely on your imagination to make it real.


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## IJS (Mar 8, 2006)

Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Hemingway, John Steinbeck - all fantastic classic writers.


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## simon woodhouse (Mar 14, 2006)

I thought the Martians in the book were far more threatening than those in the film. The film didn't work for me because mankind had a lot more weapons to fight the invaders with, whereas in the book, once the Thunderchild had gone that was it for us. 

Why didn't they make the film a period piece? I think there are two reasons for this. Tom Cruise would have had to adopt an English accent, and let's face it, he's not much of an actor even when he plays the same character in each film. Also, as a period piece, it might have been harder to adapt the story to take place in America, where most films seem to be set these days.


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## Omni (May 28, 2006)

I enjoyed the book, well up until the end. Horrible ending if your seeking entertainment.


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## Hodge (May 28, 2006)

Why? What's wrong with the end? A brilliantly simple solution to such a problem. Honestly, who thinks about the bacteria and viruses that live all around us?


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## blademasterzzz (May 29, 2006)

The end IS brilliant. Once I read the book several years ago, I actually spend the next week or so thinking about how well the end fitted, and how passing and clever it was. I've rarely seen books finished this well.


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