[[quoteright:260:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/global_dispatches_5626.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:260:Cover of the book]]
''War of the Worlds: Global Dispatches'' is a 1996 {{Anthology}} novel, edited by Kevin J. Anderson. It is a tribute to ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds''.

The novel contains 18 stories from different authors, each of which envisions a famous individual's reactions to the Martian invasion and the impact of the invasion on a different part of the world. Several of the stories tie into other works of fiction.

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[[folder: The stories, in order presented: ]]

* ''The Roosevelt Dispatches'': UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt encounters a Martian in the jungles of Cuba, and after killing it takes precautions against other Martians coming.
* ''Canals in the Sand'': Percival Lowell tries to get the Martians attention by constructing a huge network of canals in the Sahara, identical to the canals on Mars.
* ''Foreign Devils'': the Martians invade China. The Guangxu Emperor uses the disarray to get rid of both the European powers and the treacherous Prince Tuan to seize control over China again, turning it into a super power 50 years ahead of time.
* ''Blue Period'': Creator/PabloPicasso witnesses the Martians attack Paris, and their appearance greatly inspires his later work.
* ''The Martian Invasion Journals of Henry James'': a retelling of the events from Wells novel, from Henry James’ point of view (who, in this reality, becomes the writer of “War of the Worlds”)
* ''The True Tale of the Final Battle of Umslopogaas the Zulu'': While in Africa, UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill meets Umslopogaas, the famous Zulu warrior from ''Literature/KingSolomonsMines'', and watches him battle the Martians.
* ''Night of the Cooters'': The Pachuco County Sheriff's Department fight the Martians in rural Texas, successfully repelling them.
* ''Determinism and the Martian War, with Relativistic Corrections'': UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein gets involved with the Martian war when the train he is riding in is attacked. When he gets locked up in one of the Martians fighting machines, he learns that time passes much slower inside than outside the machine.
* ''Soldier of the Queen'': aided by UsefulNotes/MahatmaGandhi, [[Literature/TheJungleBook Mowgli]], and the local population, the British colonists in India fight back against the Martians.
* ''Mars: The Home Front'': [[Literature/JohnCarterOfMars John Carter]] visits Earth again and tells his nephew, Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs, a tale about how he encountered, and fought back against, the Martian invaders, here called Sarmaks, on their own planet.
* ''A Letter from St. Louis'': During the attack on St. Louis, reporter Arthur Barnett meets with [[UsefulNotes/PulitzerPrize Joseph Pulitzer]] on board his personal train.
* ''Resurrection'': Creator/LeoTolstoy and UsefulNotes/JosephStalin join forces to help refugees of the Martian war in Russia.
* ''Paris Conquers All'': another story focusing on Paris. When the Martians seem to develop an interest in the Eiffel Tower, Creator/JulesVerne comes up with a plan to set a trap for them.
* ''To Mars and Providence'': during the invasion on Providence, the young Creator/HPLovecraft makes a shocking discovery about himself and the reason the Martians invaded Earth.
* ''Roughing it During the Martian Invasion'': Creator/MarkTwain encounters the Martians when the ship he’s on arrives back in America in the middle of the invasion.
* ''To See the World End'': 10 years prior to the invasion, Creator/JosephConrad meets an African woman named Sililo, who predicts the world will soon end. When the invasion starts, Joseph and his family flee to Africa to meet up with her again.
* ''After a Lean Winter'': in the polar region, where the Martians manage to survive for much longer due to the lack of bacteria and their natural resistance to cold temperatures, Creator/JackLondon and several other surviving humans manage to capture a Martian and force it to fight against their dogs.
* ''The Soul Selects her own Society: Invasion and Repulsion: A Chronological Reinterpretation of Two of Emily Dickinson's Poems: A Wellsian Perspective'': an essay discussing two recently discovered poems that appear to be written by Emily Dickinson during the Martian invasion, despite the fact that she had died over a decade earlier.

----

!!Tropes associated with the book as a whole
* AlternateHistory: the Martian invasion greatly affects historical events. Both China and India manage to shake off colonial tutlelage and become independent 50 years earlier than in real life. China also remains a monarchy. Russia becomes a stable Constitutional Monarchy and Stalin, who never rises to power in this reality, remains an obscure revolutionary. Pulitzer is killed by Martians before having had a chance to endow the UsefulNotes/PulitzerPrize. And in this universe, it is Henry James who wrote “The War of the Worlds”.
* AlienInvasion: naturally.
* MoodWhiplash: the stories vary in tone from serious to comedy.
* RedSkiesCrossover: The various stories feature multiple real life and fictional characters dealing with the Martian Invasion, but they are all confined to their own stories. They never meet, and their actions don't impact the other stories.
* {{Retcon}}: in his own novel, Wells makes it pretty clear that there were only 10 Martian Cylinders, and seven of them explicitly land in England. (Three go unmentioned, but it's implied they all landed in Britain.) Here, there are more than 10 cylinders and they land all over the world. Also, in Verne’s story the Martians have two sexes just like Earthly life forms while in Wells’ novel they are genderless.
* SeriesContinuityError: officially, the 18 stories and Wells’ novel are supposed to take place in the same universe. However, they greatly contradict both Wells’ original novel (like the exact date the invasion took place) and each other (in Picasso’s story the Eifel Tower is destroyed, while in Verne’s story the tower is a vital part in bringing the Martians down). A foreword supposedly written by Wells tries to handwave this away by claiming the chaos caused by the Martians made it impossible to correctly keep track of the date (and also notes that Picasso and Verne apparently refuse to speak to each other due to their conflicting accounts).

!!Tropes associated with ''The Roosevelt Dispatches''
* CoolSword: the Martian in this story carries a portable heat ray generator that looks like a sword.
* EpistolaryNovel: the story is written as a series of letters from Roosevelt to various people, the bulk of the story being a letter written to F.C. Selous.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: how the Martian eventually dies; his sword that generates the heat ray falls into the water, firing a heat ray directly at him.
* RasputinianDeath: the Martian that Roosevelt encounters is very powerful and hard to kill, even without having a tripod at his disposal. It takes several shots from Roosevelts rifle to weaken him, but he doesn’t die until he gets hit with his own heat ray.

!!Tropes associated with ''Canals in the Sand''
* EpicHail: what Lowell attempts to create in the Sahara in order to summon the Martians. He succeeds.

!!Tropes associated with ''Foreign Devils''
* FromACertainPointOfView:
** The Chinese have a different view of the siege of the Legation, as those inside are firing on anyone who approaches, even official parties attempting negotiation.
** The Emperor was deposed with the help of his mother, who had been told he was falling under foreign influence. He tells her he was just asking for some advice on their constitution from the Japanese ambassador.
** The Emperor orders Prince Tuan to commit suicide, but the latter [[JustJokingJustification always pretends it's a joke]].
* OffWithHisHead: The Emperor personally does this to Prince Tuan and all others who oppose him in order to secure his reign.
* PuppetKing: The Guangxu Emperor starts out as this. Officially, he is the leader of China, but in reality prince Tuan has all the power because of his many allies and formidable army. The Martian invasion, which cripples Tuan’s army, provides the emperor with a chance to finally take back power however.
* UnusualEuphemism:
** The reference to the Emperor having an orgasm actually refers to his epileptic fits.
** The Emperor offers to demonstrate to Prince Tuan a swordfighting move called "The Dragon in Flight from Low To High". Which involves cutting off Tuan's head and retaking control of China.

!! Tropes associated with ''Blue Period''
* MonumentalDamage: The Eiffel Tower and The Notre Dame both suffer this fate


!! Tropes associated with ''The Martian Invasion Journals of Henry James''
* POVSequel: we get to see the same Martian invasion of England as in Wells’ original novel, but from Henry James’ POV.

!!Tropes associated with ''The True Tale of the Final Battle of Umslopogaas the Zulu''
* [[AbsurdlySharpBlade Absurdly Sharp Axe]]: Umslopogaas battle ax can cut through the metal of a Martian Tripod.
* TheAtoner: Umslopogaas, who believes he brought the Martian invasion upon his country because he destroyed a sacred black marble block.
* OutOfCharacterMoment: Churchill considers Umslopogaas’ destruction of the above mentioned black marble block to be this for the zulu warrior.
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: Umslopogaas doesn't survive his battle with the Martians,.

!!Tropes associated with ''Night of the Cooters''
* AmericaSavesTheDay: A downplayed example; they don’t save the entire Earth, but the Pachuco County Sheriff's Department manage to fight back and quickly destroy the Martians' first Tripod, because they immediately resort to MoreDakka.
* CurbStompBattle: After a tough fight against the first Cylinder and its Tripod, they kill the second Cylinder's inhabitants before they even get a chance to crawl out of the thing.
--> There were one hundred eighty-four men and eleven women all standing behind the open end of the thing, their guns pointing toward the interior. At the exact center were Sweets and Luke with the other courthouse cannon. This time there was one can of powder, but the barrel was filled to the end with everything from the blacksmith-shop floor—busted window glass, nails, horseshoes, bolts, stirrup buckles, and broken files and saws.

--> Eyes appeared in the dark interior.

--> “Remember the Alamo,” said the sheriff.

--> Everybody, and the cannon, fired.
* ShownTheirWork: Three cylinders land in Pachuco County - exactly the amount Wells never specifically mentions in the original book.
* StuffBlowingUp: The cylinders landing in Texas are nearly all blown up with tons of dynamite.

!!Tropes associated with ''Determinism and the Martian War''
* BigDisasterPlot: Einstein is involved in a train crash caused by a Martian tripod.
* YearOutsideHourInside: Einstein discovers that all Martian Tripods have an emergency mechanism that can seal off the head and slow down time inside in order to stall time if a wounded Martian has to wait for help. When Einstein accidentally activates this device, he gets trapped in the tripod for 7 hours, and when he finally gets out, two and a half weeks have passed outside the tripod[[note]]Which means that time was slowed down to the point that for every hour that passed inside, 60 passed outside[[/note]].

!! Tropes associated with ''Soldier of the Queen''
* EnemyMine: the Martian invasion forges an alliance between the local Indian population and the British colonists.
* TheStoic: Gandhi. While the others are panicking about being hunted and eventually captured by the Martians, he remains calm and instead studies the Martians.

!!Tropes associated with “Mars: The Home Front”
* AnotherStoryForAnotherTime: the story is cut off after John Carter and Kar Komak escape imprisonment from the Sarmaks, with Kar Komak going back to Helum to warn the navy while John Carter continues his search for Dejah Thoris. What happened afterwards is only briefly mentioned, but it’s stated John Carter and his allies eventually triumphed and defeated the Sarmaks.
* BadassArmy: the Sarmaks on Mars are eventually defeated by a massive alliance between the forces of Helium, the Red Martians from many cities and nations, the black First Born, and the Green Martians from both the Thark and the Warhoon tribes.
* CrossOver: between ''Literature/WarOfTheWorlds'' and ''Literature/JohnCarterOfMars''.
* HeroesFightBarehanded: John Carter and Kar Komak escape their cell by overpowering the guards, even though the guards are armed and they are not.
* LuredIntoATrap: when John Carter and Kar Komak go after Dejah Thoris, they discover her abductors left one of their fliers behind with the destination compass already set for their home location. Upon arriving there however, the two men are immediately captured. Turns out the Red Martians abducting people for the Sarmaks always leave behind clues and other evidence of their crimes in order to lure more unsuspecting victims to the pit.
* TheManBehindTheMan: the Sarmaks (the invaders from Wells’ novel) play this role in the story, since John Carter only encounters the Red Martians working for them while the Sarmaks remain off screen.
* TheMole [[spoiler: Bas Ok, the old Red Martian John Carter meets in his prison cell, eventually betrays Carter to the Sarmaks]].
* TheParalyzer: the Red Martians working for the Sarmaks have a weapon that fires a paralyzing ray.
* {{Pastiche}}: the story has the same style as a typical Barsoom novel from Burroughs; it begins and ends with a narration told from Edgar Rice Burroughs point of view, while the bulk of the story is told in first person from John Carters point of view.
* SaveThePrincess: Dejah Thoris is abducted once more, forcing John Carter to rescue her.

!!Tropes associated with ''A Letter from St. Louis''
* ApocalypticLog: the story is presented as a letter written by Arthur Barnett while he hides in a barn for the Martian invaders, which was found on his body after the invasion ended.
* CodeName: Joseph Pulitzer uses the code name Andes.

!!Tropes associated with ''Resurrection''
* JustifiedCriminal: Tolstoy and Stalin are forced to raid the abandoned homes of nobleman to find enough food for the people in the refugee camp at Tolstoy’s estate.
* HonorBeforeReason: Major Sekhim, who doesn't approve of the foraging expeditions because it’s [[NobleShoplifter technically stealing]], even though this is an emergency situation and the refugees are left with no other options.
* WarRefugees: thousands of them gather at Tolstoy’s estate and the village next to it.

!! Tropes associated with ''Paris Conquers All''
* BizarreSexualDimorphism: Male Martians have 3 arms and legs, females have 4.
* DanceOfRomance: the Martian tripods perform one around the Eiffel Tower
* ThePowerOfLove: The Martians literally fall in love with the Eiffel tower, making it a perfect tool to set a trap for them.
* SeriesContinuityError: Martians are sexless and constructed [[TripodTerror giant tripedal robot exoskeletons]] as war machines. They are not, in canon, MechanicalLifeForms and do not fall in love any more than a bacteria does.
* ShockAndAwe: the Martians in Paris are defeated by electrocuting the Eiffel Tower, and the Martians climbing it, with dozens of improvised batteries.

!!Tropes associated with ''To Mars and Providence''
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Lovecraft discovers [[spoiler: he is one of the godlike horrors the Martians had invaded Earth to escape]]
* EldritchAbomination: The Martians themselves, but also the godlike horrors that once populated Mars. The latter are so horrible that the mere thought of their return is what drove the Martians away from their home planet and forced them to invade Earth.
* FusionFic: ''War of the Worlds'' set against the backdrop of the Franchise/CthulhuMythos.
* GoMadFromTheRevelation: Downplayed: The shock of his discovery causes Lovecraft to forget the whole event, and later in life he has become one of the skeptics who claims there never was a Martian invasion.
* GrandTheftMe: It is revealed that prior to the invasion, the Martians telepathically send some of their scouts to Earth where they took over human bodies, but some forgot their true identity and stayed behind on Earth. It is suggested Lovecraft might be one of these scouts, which is why the Martians spare him on their first encounter. [[spoiler: He isn't.]]
* SlippingAMickey: Lovecraft puts a sleeping powder in his mothers malted milk, so he can go out and explore the church next to the Martian cylinder.
* ShoutOut: The story contains quite some shout outs to Lovecraft’s work, including "Literature/TheColourOutOfSpace", "The Haunter of the Dark", "Literature/TheShadowOutOfTime", and ''Literature/AtTheMountainsOfMadness''.
* TomatoInTheMirror: In a direct reference to Lovecraft’s own story “The Outsider”, the young Lovecraft discovers his true nature when he sees his own reflection in a mirror.
* YoungFutureFamousPeople: Lovecraft is still an eight year old child in this story.

!!Tropes associated with ''Roughing it During the Martian Invasion''
* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Mark Twain discovers Francois is not really French when he notices Francois suddenly dropped his French accent since they left Europe.
* RedShirt: Stephen Bradshaw, the first officer of the passenger ship, who volunteers to go ashore with Mark Twain and Francois Maitroit. He is the only one of the group who is killed by the Martians.

!! Tropes associated with ''To See the World End''
* DeadPersonConversation: Sililo claims she talks with Conrad’s deceased mother in her dreams.
* TheEndIsNigh: Sililo got her name (which is Lenje for ‘born during a relative’s funeral’) because when she was born, a wise old woman predicted she would see the world end. Sililo herself also keeps insisting the end is near.
* HumansAreBastards: the story greatly compares the Martians brutality towards humans with the colonial powers own MoralMyopia (more specific; the Belgian colonists in Kongo), even more so than Wells’ original novel.
* OneWorldOrder: the aftermath of the Martian Invasion sees the world finally unite as one. Conrad even becomes Polands delegate to the Council of Earth.
* ProphecyTwist: Sililo’s prediction about the end of the world comes true, but not as everyone expected. The earth is not destroyed, but rather the old civilization with colonialism and people oppressing each other is ended because of the Martians.

!!Tropes associated with ''After a Lean Winter''
* BaseOnWheels: The Martians construct a walking city in the north. It ends up sinking to the ocean floor however.
* TheEndOrIsIt: eventually, the Martians on the North Pole apparently die as well when their city sinks to the ocean floor, but Jack London is not sure if they are truly dead or if they are simply waiting on the sea bottom to strike again later.
* IGaveMyWord: Jack London defends the Martian after he has won the fight, and is willing to keep his promise of letting him go. The others however, are not.
* MuggingTheMonster: The humans think the dogs will have an easy time since they heard Martians are slow and weak without their Tripods. The Martian they captured however has been on Earth long enough to get used to the higher gravity, and actually thrives in the cold climate of the north (which, to him, is still relatively warm compared to the temperatures on Mars). As a result, he’s nowhere near as weak as everyone thinks he is, and proceeds to mop the floor with the dogs.
* RevengeBeforeReason: Dr. Weatherby is the only one of the group of humans who thinks they should study the captured Martian. His pleas are dismisses since all the others are thirsty for revenge and want to see the Martian suffer.
* VillainRespect: when Jack insists the Martian has fairly won the fight and they should let him go, he clearly gains the Martians respect. The alien telepathically shows him some mental images of how life on Mars is, and claims he and Jack ‘understand each other’.
* WinYourFreedom : The humans promise to set the Martian free if he defeats their dogs in a battle.

!!Tropes associated with ''The Soul Selects her own Society...'':
* FootnoteFever: the essay is riddled with them.
* HiddenDepths: the essay strongly suggest that, in spite of their brutal conquest en destructive ways, the Martians actually understand and like (Earthly) poetry.
* PhoneCallFromTheDead: apparently, Emily Dickinson wrote her final poems from beyond the grave, during the Martian invasion.
* {{Satire}}: on over-elaborate literary criticism
* SuckinessIsPainful: whether or not Dickinson's poems are bad is of course a matter of opinion, but the Martians do seem frightened by her use of near-rhymes. The author even suggests that humanity could have saved itself a lot of trouble by reading the Martians poems from the beginning.