REVIEW: The Day of the Martians – H.E. Wilburson

Genre: Sci-Fi, Historical

Reviewer: Scott

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About The Book

A New War Of The Worlds Begins as Martian Tripods Return To Earth!

Winner of 5 awards in the 2020 Los Angeles Science Fiction Film Awards, Audio Drama category, together with volume 2 Lake On The Moon.

The terror of the coming of the Martians is all but a distant memory, a bad dream that has faded with time…. All George wants is a quiet suburban life but at breakfast one morning his newspaper reports the shocking discovery of a Martian cylinder, found intact and unopened, and carefully transported to London. Could it be from the first alien invasion, and after more than seven years are there Martians still inside – alive?

By teatime George learns even worse news – vengeance seeking Martians and their tripod fighting machines are already on their way back to Earth. The countless numbers of their projectiles have formed a huge green comet and invasion day will be just before Christmas.

The first attack by aliens was enough for any lifetime, but who would expect to be involved with two? How can our planet survive this new invasion and will George and his wife escape a second Martian apocalypse?

The Day Of The Martians continues the iconic Mars novel by H.G. Wells, in this exciting, unmissable action adventure – the first volume of The Martian Diaries science fiction series.

If you’re a fan of The War Of The Worlds don’t miss this award-winning 3 part continuation. Start the ebook today or check out the action-packed audio version featuring original music and sound effects.

The Review

Remember War of the Worlds? You probably weren’t around for the first run – the original book was published in 1898 after being serialized in Pearson’s Magazine in the UK and Cosmopolitan in the US.

But most of us have heard the radio serialization that freaked out a nation. In 1938, it was dramatized on radio by Orson Welles, and many people mistook it for an actual Martian invasion.

The story has seen half a dozen feature-film adaptations, and now writer H.E. Wilburson is taking a hack at it with a couple sequels.

Unlike many later adaptations, “The Day of the Martians” is written firmly in the style of the original. It’s a bit strange at first – how stories were written in the eighteen-nineties is way different than how they are written now. But once you get into it, it’s kinda retro and cool.

George just wants a quiet suburban life with his wife Laura, ten years after the attacks in the initial series, but when someone discovers a leftover Martian cylinder in Wales, he knows he has to see it for itself. With Laura in tow, he gets in to see the alien artifact, and then sets off to see where it was found.

In the meantime, astronomers spot a new fleet of Martians heading for Earth, sparking fears that the aliens have figured out how to overcome the bacteria that killed off the first invaders. I won’t give away the rest, but suffice it to say there’s a daring plan that the Earthlings hope will save the day.

This is a fun dip back into a world that thrilled me as a kid when I first heard the Orson Welles version. There’s a cool audio version of this one too, apparently, if you’re so inclined. It’s also a quick read at just 75 pages (though the sequels are a bit longer. Looking for a little sci-fi nostalgia? Pick up a copy of The Day of the Martians, and enjoy a blast from the past!

The Reviewer

Scott is the founder of Queer Sci Fi, and a fantasy and sci fi writer in his own right, with more than 30 published short stories, novellas and novels to his credit, including two trilogies.