Synopsis
A large planet wandering between stars enters the solar system. After colliding with Neptune, it swiftly heads toward Earth.
History
First publication: The Graphic, November 21, 1897
Review
The science in this story is dated but that does not keep this from being a remarkable story. Wells wouldn’t have known in 1897 that Neptune was a gas giant, so the collision with Neptune is accurately described for what he did know. We know today that a planet colliding with Neptune would probably have the planet consumed by Neptune. Neptunes orbit might be affected but it would likely win the crash. Otherwise, for 1897, the science of the story is fairly accurate. And it is the science that the story exists for. Wells was right that in his day most people would not have had a very good idea of what such a celestial wanderer could mean for us. He used this story to spell it out, bringing the realities of the universe to readers’ lives. The story may seem slight and need characterization, but I think Wells was trying to point out how small and fragile our world is when faced with the realities of the universe—a point which is so much greater today with what we know of the rest of the universe. We do become insignificant. This is not the first example of an astronomical catastrophe in fiction, so Wells didn’t invent the subgenre, but still was influential, leading to When Worlds Collide, Inconstant Moon, The Wanderer and other notable works. I love Wells’ writing style. He really brings the catastrophe to life. There’s literally no characters and no world-building, or individual heroic actions in this story. It is more like a very artfully done newspaper article or encyclopedia entry, but wow!
Videos
We have the story in these editions:
28 Science Fiction Stories, hardcover, Dover Publications, 1966-00-00
The Big Book of Science Fiction, edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, trade paperback, Vintage Books, 2016-07-12
The Complete Short Stories of H. G. Wells, edited by John Hammond, trade paperback, Phoenix Giant, 1999-00-00
