The Last War by H.G. Wells - Book Report/Review Example

According to Wells, it is man's destiny to somehow harness a science that will duplicate the power and intensity of the sun. Nuclear power! The breakthrough comes quickly enough when Holsten figures out how to discharge the inner power of the atom in 1933. Benefits galore spring from the wonders of atomic power. Unfortunately, humanity also starts constructing new weapons incorporating the new technology. Then the wars begin, destructive wars concerning millions upon millions of soldiers going head to head across the entire world.

It's only a matter of time before the atomic bombs start dropping. Wells complicates things (and increases the deadly carnage) by making his atomic bombs devices that soldiers can throw by hand as well as drop by plane. Even worse, the warheads don't simply level cities; they continue to blow up for years afterward, burrowing deep into the ground and spewing enormous amounts of flame and radiation. Millions, if not billions, die in these atomic fires. Paris goes up in flames, as do Berlin, London, and most other big metropolitan centers around the world.

In one instance, bombs dropped on the dams in Holland unleash floodwaters that kill hundreds of thousands in a few hours. Unleashing the power of the sun leaves civilization tottering on the brink of utter annihilation until a spark of sanity saves us at the last second. "The Last War," manages to put forth some gripping scenes of war. Wells describes the destruction of Paris in a gripping, memorable point, down to the effects the explosion and radiation have on the human body. He invents an element, Carolinum, to fuel his atomic devices.

The core of the bomb reacts when introduced to the open air, so a soldier or pilot must pull out a plug before throwing or dropping the warhead on enemy troops and cities. The design of the bomb is absolute malarkey, but it's still amazing that Wells could visualize such devices and their ultimate use as a weapon as early as 1914. Scientists knew a bit about radiation and the power hidden in the atom before and during this time, but the real breakthroughs came in the 1930s, exactly the time in which Wells foresaw the beginning of the nuclear age.

Sadly, the good parts of "The Last War" disappear under an avalanche of socialist agitprop. Wells can't resist slamming the capitalist system early on in the book, blaming it for creating conditions that lead to all-out nuclear conflict. Wells shows us the advances civilization has made without the threat of conflict hanging over its head. What's wrong with that Nothing, except most of it resembles Soviet dogma of the 1920s through the 1950s. Conclusion:Unfortunately, by this time, H.G.'s fiction writing ability was in steep decline, and the best of his fiction was long behind him.

The Last War: A World Set Free focuses less on the war than it does on humanity's embracing of socialism. Indeed, the book is less a work of science-fiction, than a polemic for socialism. So, am I saying that this book was no good, and you should avoid it Well, I'm afraid that I am? In this story, Wells does not show a good grasp of where the world was headed, as the following quotation will show, "For long decades the combative side in human affairs had been monstrously exaggerated by the accidents of political separation.

" In point of fact, militarism, hatred, and murder stretch in an unbroken line from the Nazi Storm Troopers of yesteryear, to the suicide bombers of today. The Last War" is notable for its prophetic qualities (never mind that the atomic bombs are thrown by hand), but in parts, the book can be rather dry. The story doesn't move at the same pace as "The War of the Worlds" or "The Time Machine", for example. Since the end of World War Two and the beginning of the Cold War, the glut of post-nuclear scenarios that followed has been more willing to portray the full horror that such a conflict would bring.

In "The Last War" there is a feeling of detachment, the sense one gets from reading a history book.