The War of the Worlds (Everyman's Library)

From the planet of war they came to conquer the Earth The night after a shooting star is seen streaking across the sky, a cylinder is discovered on Horsell Common. Fascinated and exhilarated, the local people approach the mysterious object armed with nothing more than a white flag. But when gruesome alien creatures emerge armed with all-destroying heat-rays, their rashness turns rapidly to fear. As the rays blaze towards them, it soon becomes clear they have no choice but to flee or die. Soon, the Martians begin a sinister invasion of the world. Destroying all in their path with black gas and burning rays, they brutally make their advance, feasting on the warm blood of still-living human prey. The forces of the Earth, however, may prove harder to beat than they at first appear