In prep for this summer’s mega-budget Tom Cruise/Steven Spielberg collaboration (perhaps you’ve heard of it?), I finally read H.G. Wells’ THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, now available in a handsome edition from Modern Library.

It was a much easier read than I expected it to be, having been written in the 19th century (and having found some of Wells’ short stories to be difficult to navigate). While essentially a first-person here’s-what-happened and here’s-what-I-did type of story, it’s undeniably influential even if it’s also undeniably repetitive. Bonus: No Scientologists figure in Wells’ original tale of Martians arriving – and attacking – our fine planet.

As with other classic novels, I always prefer the Modern Library editions. They’re handsome and well packaged with supplemental materials, this one including an engaging and reverent introduction from sci-fi master Arthur C. Clarke, no less.