The War Of The Worlds (Dover Thrift Editions: Classic Novels)One of the most famous science fiction stories ever written, The War of the Worlds helped launch the entire genre by exploiting the concept of interplanetary travel. First published in 1898, the novel terrified readers of the Victorian era with its account of an invasion of hostile creatures from Mars who moved across the English landscape in bizarre metal transports, using deadly heat rays to destroy buildings and annihilate all life in their path.