War Of The Worlds: The Anglo-Martian War of 1895
Dark Series Book 9
Paperback | Kindle Edition
Written by Mike Brunton
Illustrated by Alan Lathwell
Osprey Publishing
Release Date: November 17th, 2015

“This is a history of that short, cruel, and genocidal war, reconstructed from the perspective of the surviving human defenders…. There are no Martian accounts or documents of any kind about the Invasion. Not a single recognizable account or record was ever recovered from the Cylinders or the Martians’ remarkable machines.”

Osprey Publishing, whose tomes usually delve deeply into military history with such works as Railway Guns of World War II, and Vietnam: A View from the Front Lines, has another less non-fiction subset of their company. Osprey Adventures combines the real and unreal into a fun little book, complete with glorious illustrations, and tons of factual fiction. Their Dark Series has produced their next book, War Of The Worlds: The Anglo-Martian War of 1895 by Mike Brunton.

Written from the perspective of Great Britain once again (as exemplified by the excerpt, and much like the 1898 novel-first serialized in 1897), War of The Worlds has George Herbert Wells as a war correspondent (and an unpatriotic one at that). It is broken down into 5 chapters and 2 Appendices: “The Hunter” and “Winston Churchill’s Martian War.” The Intro and subsequent 4 sections give a true twist to the story of the Martians’ invasion of England via giant cylinders, and one man’s adventure through the chaos.

This 80-page gorgeously designed novel emphasizes the military strategy employed by both sides during the battle, and really makes you feel like this could really happen. Quite enjoyable, especially with the beautiful art by Alan Lathwell, every aspect of this book is quite detailed, including full descriptions of the red weed, the servitors, the cylinders, and the Martians themselves — “rotund sacs of brains, with hideous gargoyle faces, and huge, unearthly, luminous eyes!”

This is definitely worth checking out. I had a hard time putting it down, and I already knew the whole story. If you enjoy this sort of unique concept, also check out Osprey’s Bug Hunts: Surviving and Combating The Alien Menace and The Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow.

Official book Synopsis:

On one terrible night in August 1895, the world changed for ever. Southern England became the landing site of a group of mysterious grey cylinders that came hurtling down from the stars. Nobody could have guessed that these strange objects would herald the most desperate and important conflict in the history of mankind. The war pitted man against machines from space and no quarter was asked for or given on either side. The outcome would be decided by the smallest of things…
This is the essential guide to the Anglo-Martian conflict of 1895, offering unique comparison of the two belligerents, English and alien. It looks at the forces available to each and evaluates their respective tactics and strategies. Finally, it tells the full story of those fateful fifteen days, punctuated by the best and worst possible human experiences. It is a story of hope and despair, courage and terror, victory and defeat.