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Earth survives a Martian invasion. Now Thomas Edison must carry the fight across space.
The Martians have been beaten back, but Earth no longer feels safe. In Garrett Putman Serviss's Edison's Conquest of Mars, the inventor becomes humanity's great hope. Working quietly in his laboratory, Edison designs ships and weapons for a bold answer: a voyage to the enemy's world.
Scientists and leaders from many nations gather for the effort, with Lord Kelvin among them. A scientist who joins the fleet tells the story from inside the action. As Earth falls away against the stars, machines, invention and human resolve face a civilization whose skill makes it a dangerous enemy.
What you’ll discover
- An inventor at work Meet a calm, tireless Edison who turns a terrifying threat into a problem to solve.
- Earth against the stars Follow the fleet outward as its passengers see their home planet as a distant globe.
- A formidable Martian world Approach canals and vast works that reflect how people once imagined the surface of Mars.
- Nations joining forces Watch rulers and scientists work together when the danger reaches beyond any single country's borders.
- Science, power and progress Explore an early space adventure that places humanity's hopes in invention and scientific skill.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this book if you like early science fiction, inventors and their gadgets, voyages across the solar system, and lively battle scenes told with humor and wonder.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A frightened Earth finds an answer
- Understanding matter gives Edison power
- Fear brings the nations together
- The voyage becomes an exploration
- Setbacks become puzzles to solve
- Mars forces a change of tactics
- Aina offers knowledge weapons cannot
- Courage leaves room for mercy
- Ideas keep the expedition moving
Who’s who
- Thomas A. EdisonThe inventor who builds the electric ships and the disintegrator, and leads the fleet to Mars with calm and quick thinking.
- The narratorAn unnamed American who rides in Edison's flagship and tells the story as an eyewitness, sharing the dangers and the doubts.
- Colonel Alonzo Jefferson SmithAn old army officer from the western plains who thinks like a scout and acts fast, and who wants to protect Aina.
- AinaA young musician found in a Martian house, who speaks an ancient language and knows the secrets of her captors.
- Sidney PhillipsA handsome young man aboard the flagship who becomes devoted to Aina and learns her language as fast as he can.
- Lord KelvinThe great British scientist who reasons aloud, warns the others about space and finds the gold on the asteroid.
- The Heidelberg professorA linguist who acts out words with comic skill and believes Aina's speech is the root of many languages.
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Edison's Conquest of Mars
by Garrett Putman Serviss · 1898
Edison builds a ship that defies gravity and a weapon that scatters atoms, then sails to Mars.
Medium level2–5 hours to read20 languages
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“Gentlemen, she is our sister.”
In short
What would you do if invaders from Mars had just wrecked your planet, and astronomers now saw new lights flashing on the red world? Garrett Putman Serviss gives a bold answer.
Edison's Conquest of Mars at a glance
- Reading time
- About 4 h3 h 10 min fast, 4 h 45 min slow
- Length
- 57,100 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1898by Garrett Putman Serviss
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A wrecked Earth finds hope in Orange
The book begins after the first war is over. Nearly all the Martian invaders have died of disease, but a few escape in a projectile car launched from New Jersey.
Despair follows. Then astronomers report strange lights moving on Mars. Everyone reads them as the sign of a second invasion, and this time nobody expects to survive.
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Details
- First published
- 1898
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Serviss, Garrett Putman. Edison's Conquest of Mars. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/edisons-conquest-of-mars.
Serviss, G. P. (2026). Edison's conquest of Mars. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/edisons-conquest-of-mars (Original work published 1898)
Serviss, Garrett Putman. Edison's Conquest of Mars. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/edisons-conquest-of-mars.
@book{serviss2026edisons,
author = {Serviss, Garrett Putman},
title = {Edison's Conquest of Mars},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/edisons-conquest-of-mars},
note = {First published 1898}
}
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What is Edison's Conquest of Mars about?
It follows Thomas Edison and a fleet of electric ships as they sail to Mars to stop a second invasion. Along the way they meet the moon, a comet, a golden asteroid and the Martians themselves.
Is Edison's Conquest of Mars a sequel to The War of the Worlds?
Yes, in a sense. Serviss wrote it in 1898 as an unofficial reply to the novel by H. G. Wells. It begins right after the first Martian invasion ends and shows humanity striking back.
What is the disintegrator in the book?
It is a hand-held device Edison invents that sends tuned vibrations at an object until its atoms fly apart. Each material has its own rate, so he can tune the dial to it or sweep through the range to find it.
The author
Garrett Putman Serviss
1851–1929 · American science fiction writer
Garrett Putman Serviss (1851–1929) was an American writer and journalist. He lived and worked in New York and wrote about astronomy for general readers. He also wrote science fiction. His novel Edison’s Conquest of Mars appeared in 1898. His book Astronomy with an Opera-Glass was published in 1888.
“Gentlemen, she is our sister.”
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