Plucker Projects

An early science fiction novel, The War of the Worlds (1898), by H.G. Wells, the fictional turn of the twentieth century invasion of Earth by aliens, from Mars, who use laser/maser-like Heat-Rays, chemical weapons (the Black Smoke), and mechanical three-legged “fighting machines” that could potentially be viewed as precursors to the tank. After defeating the resistance the Martians devastate much of eastern England, including London, before being unexpectedly killed by terrestrial diseases, to which they have no immunity.

The book has been viewed as an indictment of European colonial actions in Africa, Asia, Australasia, and the Americas. Justification of the conquest of non-European peoples was usually along the lines of might-makes-right; i.e., the Europeans had vastly superior technology and so must be naturally superior people and so are perfectly justified in taking the lands for themselves. This argument gets flipped on its head with the arrival of comparatively technologically superior Martians who, according to the colonizers’ own arguments, must therefore have every right to subjugate Europeans.

Wells seems to have taken great pleasure in the fictional devastation of locations where he had spent an unhappy childhood. The book has been adapted as a famous radio drama, as a movie, and as a bestselling concept album, all of which have played some part in maintaining the public’s interest in the original novel.

The majority of the action takes place in the countryside of late 19th century southeast England. The narrator’s hometown, Woking, is one of the many towns mentioned that lies on the outskirts of London. Other major action occurs near Southend, where the narrator’s brother and his companions gain passage on a steamboat while fleeing to mainland Europe.

Below are some quick screenshots of the War of the Worlds novel from H.G. Wells

The Plucker versions of this book can be downloaded below:

b3aa1ea842b94969b6363e8e8d6cdcc8  High-resolution, color  Looks best on T3 or "widescreen" devices
722fd799c6a306cd56690a6451f54932  Low-resolution, color
e35469e3fa3143421fbdcd2fb3addea8  Low-resolution, black & white

If you’d like to see other examples or screenshots of this quality, let me know.

1. Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman’s Crusade for Free Software in Plucker Format
2. Creating XPCOM Components book in Plucker format
3. Subversion book converted to Plucker format

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