For those readers who have been hiding from Martians for seventy years, Wells' book was a classic account of an invasion of Victorian England, which saw the industrial, Imperial might of England defeated by fighting machines, until they are defeated in turn by one of literature's greatest deus ex machina. Baxter's follow up is set a few decades later in an alternate history shaped by the Martian's presence in the solar system, and the likelihood that they will return. The course of history has been diverted from our own timeline. World War One did not happen, Britain is in close alliance with Germany, and is a near dictatorship. Secret government projects exist to plan for the next alien arrival, but most people live in a hard, oppressive and grim world.
But Baxter's follow-up takes Wells' context, but sacrifices the original author's ability to tell a tale sharply and briefly. Baxter's work is overlong, bloated and disjointed. He attempts to tell the story of the Second Martian War as a sort of Victorian steampunk alternate history morality tale.
The problem is that it all hangs together rather badly. There is a structural problem. Halfway through the book Baxter takes a break to suddenly introduce dozens of new characters to discuss the impact of the invasion on America, Australia, South Africa, China and the Ottoman Empire. Most of these are rapidly discarded (similar to how he discards characters in earlier chapters) and all the stories do is to tell of more destruction. It is likely that Baxter thought these stories might add colour (and it is at least good that places in the Global South get a mention) but unlike say Stephen King, who can add real depth to his wider stories with such bit parts, Baxter just adds to the book's bulk, without adding to the story.
A bigger problem though is that its hard to care about the characters. They are too one dimensional. Baxter simply cannot give his readers people who you identify with. Simply giving people long back stories is not enough. They disappear from the page and are instantly forgotten. He seems more interested in telling his alternative history (and being clever by inserting real historical figures into new situations) but even this feels contrived. The idea that the Russian Empire would leapfrog Western industrial capitalism by avoiding Revolution is incredibly far-fetched. But even that is not as far-fetched as the laughable deux ex machina that Baxter offers to end the Second War. At least HG Well's one was believable.
Overall this is a weak book, that relies too much on its original source material and seemingly clever nods to the reader. Don't bother, especially if you enjoy HG Well's original.
Related Reviews
Baxter - Raft
Baxter - World Engines: Destroyer
Baxter and Reynolds - The Medusa Chronicles
Morgan & Palmer-Patel - Sideways in Time: Critical Essays on Alternate History Fiction
Pratchett & Baxter - The Long Earth
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