In difficult times, fiction can provide an escape – or hold up a mirror to the challenges we face. Read about a nation under siege from Martians and discuss how our own situation compares!

This special virtual edition of the duPont-Ball SF Book Club will meet online in Microsoft Teams at 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 23 – about two weeks from now. Email [email protected] with the subject line “Book Club” for information on how to participate.

H.G. Wells’ “The War of the Worlds“ is a classic work of science fiction that invented the “alien invasion” genre. It has been adapted dozens of times, including in a famous 1938 radio drama by Orson Welles that may or may not have incited mass panic. The book (available for free here) will take a quick reader only about four hours to get through, and the radio drama (available on YouTube here) is only an hour.

On April 23, we will gather online to discuss the themes and legacy of the story. Cultural Credit will be offered to participating students! Once again, sign up by emailing [email protected] with the subject line “Book Club!”