War of the Worlds Sequel; Day of the Martians

A sequel to H.G. Wells’ first contact story from the nineteenth century, “Day of the Martians” has more in common with the original “The War of the Worlds” than the famous Orson Welles broadcast in 1938. Go gentle into that good night and leave your expectations at the door.

Wells and his War of the Worlds

Herbert George (H.G.) Wells is a seminal author in science fiction. Having been active as a writer between the time of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” and the pulp era of science fiction’s history, Wells was a known socialist and futurist best known for his stories: “The Time Machine” (1895), “The Island of Doctor Moreau” (1896), “The Invisible Man” (1897) and “The War of the Worlds” (1898). To say Wells was prolific for his time is perhaps stating the obvious. However, his works would be considered novelettes and novellas in today’s publishing market.

It’s clear that author H.E. Wilburson took several pages from Wells’ playbook, including the use of a two letter first name pseudonym. The writing style, at least listening to it, is reminiscent of Wells’ work.

The Day of the Martians Plot and Sounds

It might be semantics, but this an audiobook with background music and the occasional sound effect. Often times the sounds are a detriment to the pacing which can feel dragged on by the narrator.

The narrator sounds like he’s reading an epistolary novel. That is, a story told in letters and diaries after the fact. A pre-cursor to found footage trope common in modern audio drama. It’s a weird blend of being in the present moment and having the main character recount events that have happened. Nowhere is this more apparent then the end, which uses an old storytelling trope modern audiences will hate as it feels like a cheat.

The series is called “The Martian Diaries” and the epistolary nature of the first book is hinted at with the narration, but not made clear until the very end. This is a second contact story and as strange as that sounds, the story isn’t doing anything new. Still, for an H.G. Wells homage and sequel to his first contact story, “Day of the Martians” works on that level.

7/10 Stars