The Great Martian War: Invasion

By: Scott Washburn

Narrated by: Ray Greenley

Following the initial Martian invasion of England, President Theodore Roosevelt tries to prepare the United States for the potential of another Martian incursion. As the possibility of a stronger invasion is increasingly clear, the US government tries to mobilize nations to share information and technology to defend humanity. Newly minted ordinance officer Andrew Comstock has been placed in charge of developing new technology that has to be tested on the fly in a race against time if humanity is to survive.

©2016 Vincent Rospond (P)2016 Vincent Rospond

Invasion Review

This is great. Forget Star Wars. This is taking up my time. My favorite part was when the used the Dynamite bombs to take that tripod down. This is getting good and I can't wait to see the next book in the series.

Exciting follow up to War of the Worlds

TARGET AUDIENCE: This is a follow up to the War of the Worlds by HG Wells. The author does a terrific job in keeping to the original story. Although it is a Sci-Fi, it is a book that would be especially well received by the Young Adult audience. Just the kind of book that I would refer to my teen sons to read.

PROFANITY AND SEX: None. Well written and tasteful.

STORY: On the second attempt at an Earth invasion they are much more prepared, landing their invasion force throughout the world, but focusing on areas which have low populations. This story chronicles the invasion site in the American West. Unlike the original book by HG Wells this book also gives the unique view of the Martians.

NARRATOR: This narrator is amazing, and is a perfect match for this book. He particularly does well with YA books, and books with multiple voices. You never lose track of who is speaking. Well done.

OVERALL: Absolutely loved this book, just sorry that the next book has not yet been released.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Well read, great story

What made the experience of listening to The Great Martian War: Invasion the most enjoyable?

Well written, well read. Good and well developed characters. The story follows HG Wells concepts closely. In that context it is a logical and well thought out sequel.

What other book might you compare The Great Martian War: Invasion to and why?

It is difficult not to compare this with the original, I think it holds up pretty well.

Have you listened to any of Ray Greenley’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have listened to all of Ray's books, this may well be the best.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Got a real kick out the the conversation with Nicola Tesla. Looking forward the use of his static machine against the Martians.

Fun, but the opposite of Wells' vision.

War of the Worlds is probably my favorite story of all time. It's all about the folly and hubris of man. This book is a heroic pulp adventure novel about good guys vs. bad guys. I'm secure enough in my love of the original to sit back and enjoy this one. You have been warned.

Interesting take on a War of the Worlds sequel

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Great Martian War: Invasion?

A moment that stands out in my memory is when Rebecca takes her grandfathers gun and pumps a Martian full of hot lead until she's out of bullets.

Have you listened to any of Ray Greenley’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have listened to other Greenley works and he brings his characteristic showmanship to this title as well. He brings the many different characters to life and I could especially empathize with them during times they were terrified or enraged.

Any additional comments?

I think this was a very interesting take on the concept "What if War of the Worlds was only the beginning and they came back later to finish the job?" The story has a good pace and I find myself curious to find out what will happen in the next installment.

Engaging extension of original War of the Worlds

I must admit to being a bit confused when this started with Theodore Roosevelt as President. I was thinking of the radio broadcast from the 1930s. However, that was a broadcast adaptation of the original H.G. Wells’ novel, The War of the Worlds, which was written in 1897 and set in England. Recognizing that, this story fit right in as a sequel following the events of the original war.

This story is set in the United States in 1907- 08. It ranges from President Roosevelt and his advisers in Washington, to a teen farm girl running from the Martian machines in Arizona/New Mexico area. These characters are connected through the primary character, Andrew Comstock. Andrew is a quickly rising young officer who is involved with bringing the new weapons, tanks and armament, from the labs and factories to the battle field. One of the most interesting elements, I thought, is the point of view shared through the Martian characters which is set up as an effective hook in the prologue.

The early portion of the story focuses on the United States attempting to prepare for a second invasion by the Martians. Interestingly, the author also shows the thoughts of the Martians reacting to the wins and losses during the first wave of the invasion. The weaponry issues, failures and successes, are fitting for the time and totally believable.

The storylines of the characters are natural and engaging. The characters, human and alien, are developed with relatable personalities and none of them are one hundred percent heroic. They manage sometimes to stumble into successful maneuvers. Sharing the battle from the view of the Martians evoked some compassion even while still presenting them as the enemy.

The story moves briskly, first with backstory development, then progressing with good action. This is an engaging continuation and enhancement, based on the original story by H.G. Wells. It has an appropriate closing while leaving more battles to be faced in the next book. I plan to continue to see what happens next.

Audio Notes: Ray Greenley does a fine job narrating. He provides good, varied voices for the characters and conveys the fear, arrogance, awe and other emotions through the performance. The narration voice fit the time period nicely. Listening to this enhanced my enjoyment of an interesting story.

I received this audio title from the narrator for an unbiased review.

The Great Martian

What did you like best about this story?

The plot has engaging characters, suspenseful plot, exciting battles. I can't wait for many many sequels. It's a great addition to the War of the Worlds universe. Great audiobook.

I received a free copy in exchange for my review from AudiobookBoom

love the all quiet on the martian front history

bases on all quiet on the martian front game. I loved getting more background and having a story to follow along with

Made me feel like a kid again

So This is ridiculous. Elements of steam punk, historical fiction and a sequel noone asked for. Except I'm glad it was written.

It was like turning out a saturday night b-movie during a blizzard. How would Theodore Roosevelt react to an alien Invasion? Probably something like he did in this book. It just was so well done.

"I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator."

Good enough to read the whole trilogy! Maybe?

This book was good enough to make me want to de what happened and read the whole trilogy. The setting and battle strategy were original and compelling. I especially liked how he sometimes, wrote from the Martians point of view .
The narrator was good with some voice changes, but it wasn’t strong acting. My main gripe was that the charecters were pretty flat and the plot was a bit slow. Though he introduces Super Weapons, with Tesla and Edison in the first book we don’t see them in action until the third book. Speaking of historical figures and facts, it often feels like the author is just name dropping. The historical figures Theater actually participate in the plot appear as cartoonish simplifications. For example, Teddy Roosevelt is a never say die fighting man who yells “Bully!” A lot.
But a fun read and a good sequel to the original story set in America
Ps. Though mentioning other events around the world this sexual is like The movie “ Independence Day,”. In that it is very American.