Thanks to NetGalley and Crown for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Release Date: Available Now
464 Pages
Synopsis: 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 to be little reason to worry. Unless you listen to one man, Walter Jenkins, the narrator of Wells’ book. He is sure 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.
I read The War of the Worlds when I was ten with my father, and I remember the first question I asked was: “But Dad! What if the Martians come back?” What can I say, I had an overactive imagination. Seriously though, the story completely captivated me, and I always wondered what would happen if someone wrote a sequel to the 1898 H.G. Wells classic, and finally someone has. There is no doubt that Stephen Baxter put a lot of time and research into The Massacre of Mankind, but at almost 500 pages, it buckles under its own weight.
Picking up in 1920, 14 years after the first Martian War ended, narrating this time around is journalist Julie Elphinstone. She’s the sister-in-law of the anonymous narrator of the original, identified here as Walter Jenkins. I really liked her as the main protagonist, despite being somewhat annoyed at the constant name dropping of famous historical figures. Seeing events unfold through Julie’s eyes kept me thoroughly engaged for the first 1/2 of the story, but as time went on, the pace slowed down, and not even clever alt-historical events like WWII, and figures like Winston Churchill could make up for it.
I think this story would have been much more successful if it had been edited and cut by about 100-150 pages. The alternative history takes time to set up, which was fine, but then there’s a lot of new characters introduced in addition to the originals and when you factor in the historical figures, it gets to be a little much.
The action scenes start out exciting, but become repetitive. The overarching theme is, we attack, they kill us, we attack again. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Well before I reached the anticlimactic end, I was skimming sections of the story.
There are moments in The Massacre of Mankind that make it a worthy sequel to the Wells classic, but in the end I’m sad to say it doesn’t completely measure up. I do give kudos to Stephen Baxter however for masterfully replicating the narrative style of the original and showing a meticulous attention to detail that’s truly admirable. If you’re a fan of The War of the Worlds, you may still want to try this. I would recommend re-reading the original in order to maintain a sense of continuity.
beetleypete said:
It looks like something I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up, and I love the retro cover too. But taking on such a classic comes with responsibility, and based on your fine review, I am unsure about this one.
Best wishes, Pete.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
In the interest of full disclosure Pete, while The Massacre of Mankind is receiving decidedly mixed reviews, there are some positive ones. If you do decide to try it I would love to know your thoughts.💁🏻
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Em said:
I haven’t heard of this one before! I don’t know if it’s for me, but I really enjoyed reading your review!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thank you so much Em!😊
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Carrie said:
This one would really scare me to pick up and try if you are saying it’s slow and a bit too long I would probably end up with an even worse rating on it.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I really wanted to give this a better review Carrie.
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raistlin0903 said:
I am a pretty big fan of War of the Worlds in all it’s many forms. Did not even know there was a sequel to this one. Even though it sounds that this novel isn’t a complete winner I might check this one out anyway. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this one 😀
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
As you’re a fan of the original Michel, I definitely recommend checking this out.😊
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fragglerocking said:
From your review I would think a sequel to War of The Worlds needs to be so much better than this one sounds. I once read a ‘sequel’ to Gone with the Wind, and though a good effort, left me thinking that when a book becomes such a classic, it’s best left on it’s own.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I read that Gone With the Sequel and remember being disappointed. I think you’re right. It’s probably wise to leave the classics alone.
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Reads & Reels said:
I would have loved to read this had I not read your review. Such a shame it doesn’t live up to its cover
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Please don’t let my opinion stop you. There are some positive reviews of this on Goodreads.😊
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Michelle Morrison said:
I read War of the Worlds a long time ago, I’m going to have to revisit it. The concept sounds interesting, but classics like War of the Worlds are a tough act to follow. Sequels in general usually aren’t as good as the original in my opinion, and there are a lot of reasons for that.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I think it’s terribly difficult for a sequel written by a different author, to live up to the original. That said, I thought Baxter did a great job at capturing the same tone and narrative as The War of the World. I honestly think if this had been edited so it was about 150 pages less, that would have solved most of the problems.
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KrystiYAandWine said:
Man, I can’t even imagine trying to write a sequel to War of the Worlds. Talk about tough shoes to fill! I think 3 stars is a pretty good rating for anyone trying to follow that honestly. LOL. What a beautiful cover!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Stephen Baxter is a well-respected author, and I honestly think if his editor had just insisted on cutting 150 pages or so, it would have been a 5 star review.
And that cover is awesome isn’t it?😊
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KrystiYAandWine said:
That definitely makes sense. I’m always curious about the editor author relationship and how they come to an agreement on a book before it’s published. It would be fun to learn more about it. 🙂
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Lelia T said:
Maybe the original book has been enjoyed for so many years because, in a current paperback edition, there are only 94 pages 😉
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Definitely Lelia. I’m positive if this had been shorter I would have enjoyed it more.💁🏻
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Lashaan (Bookidote) said:
Someone who decides to do a sequel to a classic is definitely someone very ambitious. I’m glad to see this wasn’t a complete disaster though. I’ll definitely have to try The War of the Worlds someday soon. Great review, Kim.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Lashaan!😊
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mlbradford said:
GEE WHIZ!
Fallen behind w byhook AGAIN!
And u’re covering SF as well!
I knew of this sequel, but am undecided – HG Wells is a fave, and besides, th original WotWs is long overdue a reread
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
No worries Brad. I know you’re busy. If you do decide to read it, I’d love to know what you think. I think this just needed some more editing, but there was a lot that I enjoyed. And thanks for the link!💁🏻
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mlbradford said:
Cool, just put my brand New Post up – cleared some faults w my writing and getting back on track! More awesomeness to follow as w head into th Fall!
Cheers!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Sounds awesome!☺️
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