War of the Worlds: Retaliation

By: John J Rust, Mark Gardner

Narrated by: Samuel E. Hoke III

1898: Martian tripods lay waste to Earth's cities. The world's armies are unable to stem the tide of destruction. When all hope appears lost, common bacteria kills the alien invaders. From the ashes, the human race uses the technology left behind by the Martians to build new, advanced weapons.

1924: Armed with their own spaceships, tripods, and jet fighters, the nations of the world are ready to take the fight to Mars. George Patton, Erwin Rommel, Charles de Gaulle, and Georgy Zhukov lead their troops in battle across the red planet to end the alien menace once and for all. But the Martians have one last, desperate plan to try, and if successful, it could mean the end for all humanity.

©2012, 2017 John J. Rust and Mark Gardner (P)2017 Article94

Critic reviews

"Rust and Gardner's sequel to the HG Wells' novel of a Martian invasion, War of the Worlds: Retaliation, does the original story full justice, while bringing their own skills to bear as the writing pair take the battle to Mars, bringing along a bevy of historical figures from World War Two. It's an exciting rollercoaster of a ride, with sudden twists and heart-stopping drops-and one I wouldn't mind riding again." ( New York Times number-one best-selling author James Rollins)

Character reveiw

So the Martins have been exterminated. Everyone is pursuing their destiny. With the exception of Zhukov. I really enjoyed some of characters. Epically Patton, Rommel and the arrogant french man Charles de Gaulle. It looks like WWI is going to between Japan and Russia.

1920s War Lords take it to Mars

Starting in 1898 with the final throws of the Martian invasion, humanity is at a breaking point. However, the human bacteria prove deadly to the Martians and on mass, they die, leaving their advanced technology for the humans to scavenge. Skipping ahead to 1924, the world leaders have decided it’s time to take the fight to Mars and a massive invasion is launched.

I’m a fan of HG Wells’s works, including the original War of the Worlds. So of course I was thrilled to dive into a novel that told a story of what humans did afterwards. How does a failed Martian invasion change the course of humanity’s history? Gardner and Rust give a decent answer to that question.

I think this book would have extra interest to those who have studied WWI. There’s plenty of European and North American names to recognize in this novel such as Charles de Gaulle, Rommel, George Patton, and so on. You don’t have to be particularly knowledgeable about any of these historical figures to enjoy their characters in this tale. I was a bit surprised that the Asian countries weren’t represented at all. Also, since it was a world wide Martian invasion in 1898, I was initially hopeful to see how that great leap in tech affected many of the countries in Africa and South America. Alas, those continents are barely mentioned.

There’s plenty of great tech in this tale. First, I really enjoyed that some tested and true war machines of WWI were in this book, like the Fokker airplanes. There’s also some brand new vehicles made especially for the Martian invasion. However, I did notice that the physics of Mars was skimmed over when it came to actual battles.

Now, let me get out my little polished soap box. There is exactly 1 female character (Nurse Hill) in this entire book and she doesn’t appear until the last hour of the story and she isn’t plot relevant at all. There’s a few other ladies mentioned as wives or mothers. This pains me. Here we are in this fascinating science fiction novel that’s essentially about the survival of the species, and the women aren’t present. Sigh…

OK, so moving on. I loved that we got a look into Martian society through the Martian characters. Their society is suffering from stagnation and the inability for their leaders to admit that there’s a real threat coming from Earth. I really enjoyed watching the various Martians struggle with this.

The pacing of the story is good with strategy, reflection, and action all well intermingled. I never suffered from battle fatigue nor did I feel that the story bogged down here or there. As an aside, I liked that Hitler was receiving psychiatric help and was an exceptionally minor character in this book.

I received a free copy of this book via The Audiobook Worm.

The Narration: Samuel Hoke was a very good fit for this story. He performed several different accents as needed and was consistent with them throughout the story. Each character was distinct.

War drama in an alternate-history

Where does War of the Worlds: Retaliation rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 100

What did you like best about this story?

Really enjoyed the Earth's revenge against the Martians

Have you listened to any of Samuel E. Hoke III’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No I have not, Samuel E Hoke III is ideally suited to this war drama

Any additional comments?

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Good premise and story, disappointing narration.

This book was voluntarily provided to me, free of cost, by the author / narrator / publisher. I'm leaving an unbiased review for the book.

I loved the premise of the book from the get go. The Independence Day 2 movie was a huge let down, so I was hoping this book would live up to the promise. And for most part, it did. The action sequences are well written and draws the listener in. The narrator's raspy and bass-heavy voice was a little distracting though. I get that they were going for army big-wig effect with that voice, but after a while it gets irritating. Nonetheless, once I got used to it, the rest of the book was alright.

Hell yes, its time for payback.

Should be a movie!!!
It was cool seeing the aliens side of the war. Great space battles down to the last minute.