The Martian War: A Thrilling Eyewitness Account of the Recent Invasion As Reported by Mr. H.G. Wells is a 2006 science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 novel by Kevin J. Anderson

Kevin J. Anderson

Kevin J. Anderson is an American science fiction author with over forty bestsellers. He has written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and with Brian Herbert is the co-author of the Dune prequels...

 (under his Gabriel Mesta pseudonym). It is a retelling of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds

The War of the Worlds

The War of the Worlds is an 1898 science fiction novel written by H. G. Wells.The War of the Worlds may also refer to:- Radio broadcasts :* The War of the Worlds , the 1938 radio broadcast by Orson Welles...

; similar to Anderson's past work, War of the Worlds: Global Dispatches

War of the Worlds: Global Dispatches

War of the Worlds: Global Dispatches is a 1996 Bantam Spectra science fiction anthology, edited by Kevin J. Anderson. It is a tribute to H. G...

, it recounts the Martian

Martian (War of the Worlds)

The Martians, also known as the Invaders, are the fictional race of extraterrestrials from the H.G. Wells novel The War of the Worlds. They are the antagonists of the novel, and their efforts to exterminate the populace of Earth and claim the planet for themselves drive the plot and present...

 invasion from a variety of viewpoints, and ties into Wells' other work.

In the book, Wells himself is the main character, who witnesses the Martian attack alongside his fiancée Jane, Thomas Huxley

Thomas Huxley

Thomas Henry Huxley PC FRS was an English biologist, known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution....

, and Percival Lowell

Percival Lowell

Percival Lawrence Lowell was a businessman, author, mathematician, and astronomer who fueled speculation that there were canals on Mars, founded the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, and formed the beginning of the effort that led to the discovery of Pluto 14 years after his death...

. The British government brings them together with Dr. Moreau

The Island of Doctor Moreau

The Island of Doctor Moreau is an 1896 science fiction novel written by H. G. Wells. It is told from the point of view of a man named Edward Prendick who is shipwrecked, rescued by a passing boat, and then left at the ship's destination by the crew along with the ship's cargo of exotic animals...

 and Hawley Griffin

The Invisible Man

The Invisible Man is a science fiction novella by H.G. Wells published in 1897. Wells' novel was originally serialised in Pearson's Weekly in 1897, and published as a novel the same year...

, who help develop a strain of cholera

Cholera

Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...

 to be used against the Martians. Wells travels to the Moon to help free the Selenites

The First Men in the Moon

The First Men in the Moon is a 1901 scientific romance novel by the English author H. G. Wells. The novel tells the story of a journey to the moon undertaken by the two protagonists, the impoverished businessman Mr Bedford and the brilliant but eccentric scientist Dr. Cavor...

, who have been enslaved by the Martians, before joining forces to end the Martian menace once and for all.

The premise bears a deal of similarity to the earlier The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume II

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume II

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume II is a comic book limited series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill, published under the America's Best Comics imprint of DC Comics...

: both involve a group of literary figures being brought together by a secret agency of the British government to fight Wells' Martians; both end the invasion by using a biological weapon produced by Dr. Moreau, and The Martian War uses the same first name given to the Invisible Man by the creators of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. II (in the original book, the Invisible Man had no first name; LOEG author Alan Moore

Alan Moore

Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...

 gave him the first name 'Hawley' as a reference to Hawley Crippen

Hawley Harvey Crippen

Hawley Harvey Crippen , usually known as Dr. Crippen, was an American homeopathic physician hanged in Pentonville Prison, London, on November 23, 1910, for the murder of his wife, Cora Henrietta Crippen...

). Anderson had previously written the novelization

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (novel)

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a 2003 steampunk/adventure novel by Kevin J. Anderson. It is a novelization of the script of the movie of the same name, written by James Dale Robinson, which itself was based on the comic by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill.-Background:In late 2002, Anderson...

 of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen film

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (film)

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a 2003 superhero film adaptation loosely based on characters from the comic book limited series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore, who is also famous for Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell. It was released on July 11, 2003, in the...

.