The War of the Worlds is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells. It is one of the earliest stories that detail a conflict between mankind and an extraterrestrial race. The War of the Worlds has two parts, Book One: The Coming of the Martians and Book Two: The Earth under the Martians. Monsters from Mars land in the south of England near Woking and cause devastation, death and mass panic with their sophisticated weaponry, until they are defeated in an unexpected but plausible way that owes more to Nature than humanity.