H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds spawns novel sequel after 118 years

Author Stephen Baxter promises that his follow-up, The Massacre of Mankind, will tell an equally terrifying tale

The invading Martians as seen in the 1953 film version of ‘War Of The Worlds’ (Rex Features)

The Martians are marshalling a fresh invasion force – and this time they’ve learnt from their mistakes. A newly-written sequel to H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds, published 118 years after the original story, will join the catalogue of classic fiction given fresh life by contemporary authors.

Publishers Gollancz announced that Stephen Baxter, an award-winning author who has collaborated with Terry Pratchett, has been chosen to write a new sequel to one of the most influential science fictions works ever published.

First published in 1897, The War of the Worlds has spawned half a dozen feature films, a famous Orson Welles radio drama which created a national panic in the US and a hit record album and stage production adapted by Jeff Wayne.

Baxter promises that his sequel, The Massacre of Mankind, will tell an equally terrifying tale. Set in late 1920s London, the Martians return, and the war begins again. But the aliens do not repeat the mistakes of their last invasion. They know their vulnerability to microbial infections caused their demise last time. They target Britain first, since this nation led the resistance but “the massacre of mankind has begun.”

An ‘honoured’ Stephen Baxter says Wells was the ‘daddy of science fiction’ (Rex) (Rex Features)

Baxter’s previous works include, The Time Ships, an authorised sequel to Wells’s The Time Machine, to mark the centenary of the original’s publication.

His credentials as a leading science-fiction writer, who has previously collaborated with Arthur C. Clarke and Pratchett, will help satisfy those wary of another sequel which could taint the legacy of a story which touched on evolutionary theory, scientific advances and Britain’s imperial adventures. The novel is believed to have inspired the liquid fuel science which resulted in the Apollo 11 moon landings.

The temptation by publishers to resuscitate popular fictional characters has led to eight authorised James Bond novels since Ian Fleming’s death, penned by authors including Sebastian Faulks and William Boyd and Anthony Horowitz, who also wrote The House of Silk, the first Sherlock Holmes addition to have been written with the endorsement of the Conan Doyle estate.

Baxter said: “HG Wells is the daddy of modern SF. He drew on deep traditions, for instance of scientific horror dating back to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and fantastic voyages such as Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels.

“And he had important near-contemporaries such as Jules Verne. But Wells did more than any other writer to shape the form and themes of modern science fiction, and indeed through his wider work exerted a profound influence on the history of the twentieth century. Now it’s an honour for me to celebrate his enduring imaginative legacy, more than a hundred and fifty years after his birth.”

Gollancz commissioning editor, Marcus Gipps, who bought the world rights to The Massacre of Mankind, said: “Steve has a great track record of collaborating with other authors, from Arthur C. Clarke and Alastair Reynolds to Terry Pratchett. I’ve seen early material from this remarkable new project, and can’t wait to unleash Steve’s new Martian terror upon the world.”

Gollancz said it will publish a hardback (£20) and e-book (£19.99) on 19th January 2017. The film rights to the novel will be eagerly contested. The 2005 version, directed by Steven Spielberg, took $600m at the box office and became the highest-grossing film starring Tom Cruise at the time of its release.

* This report originally referred to Steve Baxter's new book as an 'official' sequal to H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds. It has not, in fact, been authorised by the Wells estate and our report has been updated to reflect the position. 9/12/15