H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds is a science fiction novel about a Martian invasion of Earth, where technologically superior Martians attack Victorian England with heat rays and tripods. The story is told from the perspective of an unnamed narrator trying to survive the devastation, witness the breakdown of society, and escape the invasion with humanity's fate hinging on its own survival. Ultimately, the Martians are defeated not by human military force, but by Earth's terrestrial bacteria, which are deadly to them.