War of the Worlds: Global Dispatches Wells and several other fictional and historical characters. "Global Dispatches" was one of the works consulted by Stephen Baxter for his own sequel to "The War of the Worlds", "The Massacre of Mankind". War of the Worlds: Global Dispatches War of the Worlds: Global Dispatches is a 1996 science fiction anthology, edited by Kevin J. Anderson and published by American company Bantam Spectra. It is a tribute to H. G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds"; each story envisions a famous individual's reactions to the Martian invasion and the impact of the invasion on a different part of the world.
The War of the Worlds the 20th Century, including first contact and war between planets and their differing species. There were, however, stories of aliens and alien invasion prior to publication of "The War of the Worlds". In 1727 Jonathan Swift published "Gulliver's Travels". The tale included a people who are obsessed with mathematics and more advanced than Europeans scientifically. They populate a floating island fortress called Laputa, 4½ miles in diameter, which uses its shadow to prevent sun and rain from reaching earthly nations over which it travels, ensuring they will pay tribute to the Laputians. Voltaire's "Micromégas" (1752) includes two beings from Saturn