A shooting star seen in the skies over Victorian Britain heralds an alien invasion. The Martians, in need of resources, have been shot from Mars via a large space gun and also have landed in Southern England, where they quickly overwhelm its inhabitants. As the fight for Earth begins, our unnamed narrator problems to return to his wife amidst the fighting and devastation. Perhaps one of the most widely-read and influential science-fiction books, The War from the Worlds touches on interplanetary travel, evolutionary theory, English imperialism, and the anxieties and prejudices of Victorian occasions. First serialized in 1897, it’s been adapted many times, most famously by Orson Welles and business in the form of a prank radio news alert in 1938 that caused stress among listeners.