The Massacre of Mankind

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Stephen Baxter: The Massacre of Mankind

English language

ISBN:
978-1-4732-0509-3
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4 stars (1 review)

It has been 14 years since the Martians invaded England. The world has moved on, always watching the skies but content that we know how to defeat the Martian menace. Machinery looted from the abandoned capsules and war-machines has led to technological leaps forward. The Martians are vulnerable to earth germs. The Army is prepared.

So when the signs of launches on Mars are seen, there seems little reason to worry. Unless you listen to one man, Walter Jenkins, the narrator of Wells' book. He is sure that the Martians have learned, adapted, understood their defeat.

He is right.

Thrust into the chaos of a new invasion, a journalist - sister-in-law to Walter Jenkins - must survive, escape and report on the war.

The Massacre of Mankind has begun

2 editions

The Martians return in an authorized sequel to the original.

4 stars

An interesting 'sequel' to the classic H.G. Wells book. Keeping to what is known at the time about the solar system and the information about the Martian invasion from the book, Baxter weaves a fascinating tale about the next Martian invasion and how it affects mankind. However, the book feels overlong: the resolution to the Martian invasion feels forced (bacteria play a small role here) and the ending hints at future problems in store for mankind.

Written after the end of the second invasion (so you know mankind survives), the story splits the tale into the viewpoints of people who are related (directly or otherwise) to the original Narrator of the Wells' tale, with the main viewpoint being a woman journalist who is in the thick of the invasion. The second Martian invasion is anticipated by the world and the British are prepared for it; or so they think.

As …