Baxter is one of the most prolific British science fiction writers and a serial collaborator (with Arthur C Clarke and Terry Pratchett so far). This time around he dares a doorstopper of a sequel to H G Wells' War of the Worlds and it's a humdinger, both revisiting the bloody events and taking the battle between humanity and the aliens one devastating step further. It's 14 years after the initial invasion which was defeated thanks to the action of human germs and signs are that a new invasion from Mars is about to happen. But, having absorbed some of the alien technology, humanity is complacent and doesn't realise the enemy has since adapted and learned its lesson; the results prove horrific. Narrator Walter Jenkins and his journalist sister-in-law are in the front lines. Chilling and captures to a tee the spirit of Wells (whose estate approved the book), this is large screen technicolor sci-fi in overdrive. Splendid entertainment. ~ Maxim Jakubowski
Simon Spanton's view...
Stephen Baxter is not just a best-selling and influential SF writer (both in his own right and as a collaborator with the late Sir Terry Pratchett), he is also an acknowledged expert on the SF of H.G. Wells and author of The Time Ships, the authorised sequel to The Time Machine. So the natural choice then to write this, the authorized sequel to perhaps the single most influential SF novel of all; The War of the Worlds.
Baxter does eminent justice to the task. Setting his story in the 1920s he posits a world and a history changed by the first Martian invasion. WWI happened but Great Britain did not take part, taking its own path in a nervous world under a harsh Fascistic regime. Utilising some characters from the original and with a knowing take on our history tells the story of the new global invasion from the perspective of a Suffragette woman. She brings her own take on the events Wells describes and provides a focus from accounts from around the world as many countries attempt to fight off this new, stronger and better prepared invasion. Baxter is a master at reflecting Wells as a prose stylist and also provides a dark and sometimes brutal updating fitting to the harsher age. Massacre is a fitting sequel to Wells’ masterpiece and provides new angles that will take readers back to the original. Needless to say fans of Wells will love this but this is a great read for anyone who loves gripping visions of global peril. ~ Simon Spanton
The awe-inspiring follow up to The War of the Worlds, which expands H.G. Wells' classic story while remaining true to his vision,/h3> 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. Read what everyone is saying about The Massacre of Mankind: 'I'm pleased to say [Stephen Baxter] has done a great job of expanding on H.G. Wells' original story . . . makes the Martians' return feel like a genuinely global event' Goodreads reviewer, ? ? ? ? ? '[Baxter's] love and respect for the original shines throughout and without spoiling any of the epic storyline, he takes the storyline to dizzying new heights' Goodreads reviewer, ? ? ? ? ? '[A] smart and authentic sequel. It is a major accomplishment which honours the original, and I highly recommend it' Goodreads reviewer, ? ? ? ? ? 'What a sequel! Hats off to Baxter for this incredible official follow-up to HG Wells' classic 'War of the Worlds'. A masterpiece!! As haunting and brilliant as the first' Goodreads reviewer, ? ? ? ? ? 'Baxter has a brilliant scientific mind and a vivid writing style, which makes this masterpiece all the more special' Goodreads reviewer, ? ? ? ? ? 'A very cleverly thought out sequel to Wells' original, expanding on the ideas of that book, but remaining true to the original' Goodreads reviewer, ? ? ? ? ?
