A new War of the Worlds begins as Martian tripods return to Earth in volume one of ‘The Martian Diaries’, a continuation of the H.G. Wells classic book. The terror of the coming of the Martians is all but a distant memory, a bad dream that has faded with time. All George wants is a quiet suburban life – but at breakfast one morning his newspaper reports the shocking discovery of a Martian cylinder, found intact and unopened on a Welsh mountainside, and carefully transported to London. Could it be from the first alien invasion – and after more than seven years are there Martians still alive inside?
After more than one hundred and twenty years The War Of The Worlds is still very much at the heart of the science fiction genre. Having long felt that author H.G. Wells left questions unanswered in his story, I decided in 2015 to create my own continuation, told by his original characters. I wanted to suggest reasons why the Martians invaded our planet and bring the story full circle, and so ‘The Martian Diaries’ was born.
As I have been composing music for most of my adult life I knew I wanted to include my own musical compositions and create an audio experience. I wrote volume one ‘The Day Of The Martians’ quite quickly and recorded the narration by British actor Harry Preston, then added my music and sound effects. That first book in the trilogy is based around a second Martian invasion in 1913, some years after the Martians first invaded Earth in ‘The War Of The Worlds’, and in some ways it foreshadows WWI.
I knew I wanted to write an authentic continuation, so I have used H.G Wells’ astronomer Ogilvy as a key character with unique knowledge of why the Martians were so intent on invading our planet. He keeps a record of all events concerning the Martians right from the first invasion, which I have set in 1906 as Wells is not specific in his book. Ogilvy’s documents later become known as the Martian Diaries, and are a definitive record of all aspects of human knowledge of the alien invaders.
In the first part of volume two, ‘Lake On The Moon’, Ogilvy becomes the central character and we learn how his own back story is linked to the original alien invasion and how he came to survive the near-fatal heat ray blast in ‘The War Of The Worlds’. The Red Weed left behind by the Martians mutates and by 1919 it has caused a terrible plague that begins to spread worldwide. When no effective cure can be found, Ogilvy is convinced that the solution to the pandemic lies with the Martians and their superior technology. He has evidence that the moon is where the answers lie and insists that a manned lunar mission is the only way to save the human race from extinction. Twenty five years later, in volume three, ‘Gateway To Mars’, a direct descendant of one of Wells’ original characters is one of fourteen astronauts who must seek out the vital Martian technology that Ogilvy believes the Martians are hiding on the moon. If that quest fails, an onward trip to Mars is the final hope for mankind.
‘The Martian Diaries’ project has become much larger than I ever envisaged, and whilst volume one is an action packed, fast paced two hour audio, book two is more than double the length and a much darker tale. Volume three is twice as long as book two and is divided into three parts: the first is set in 1945 and covers the vital mission to the moon, the second is based on Mars in 2129 and the final part is on Earth in the early 2130s. Volumes one and two are available as audiobooks and ebooks and volume three will be out as an audiobook in 2023. The whole trilogy will be released as physical books soon afterwards. In late 2020 I was surprised and honoured when the first two books were jointly recognised with five awards at the Los Angeles Science Fiction Film Festival 2020 – Audio Drama category.
To me there is something timeless about The War Of The Worlds, and in the many tribulations of the characters I believe we find the essence of survival and hope. I can only trust that The Martian Diaries trilogy continues this theme and my story delivers the unexpected, bringing ‘The War Of The Worlds’ to a satisfying conclusion in a way that entertains listeners, readers and the many fans of ‘The War Of The Worlds’.
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