The Coming of the Martians is Sherwood Sound Studios’ faithful audio adaption of the H. G. Wells novel The War of the Worlds. Available in multiple formats (double CD Dolby Pro Logic II, limited edition DVD in DTS or Pro Logic II or one of 500 collectable USBs in uncompressed 96kHz/24-bit DTS), it is adapted by Nick Scovell and directed by Lisa Bowerman (both of whom also appear).
The impressive cast is led by Colin Morgan (Humans, Merlin) as the narrator George, Ronald Pickup as the Curate, Nigel Lindsay as the Artilleryman and Dan Starkey as Ogilvy. It sticks very closely to the original and there will be no surprises to anyone familiar with the book.
As anyone who pre-backed or has read the STARBURST AudioStatic column in the past 18 months will know, this has been subject to several delays. Initially, there were problems around name rights, and this release is known as The Coming of the Martians, which is Wells’ own title for the first part of the novel.
The project is the vision of Sherwood Sound Studios owner Martin Johnson who produced, engineered, composed and did all the post-production for this release in the and around an already busy schedule. Martin is clearly a perfectionist and the product exudes quality and sounds amazing. This is one release deserving of the best sound system you have – good speakers or quality headphones are a must.
Even though it’s a familiar story, two things make this particularly chilling to listen to; first up is the superb performance from Colin Morgan under Lisa Bowerman’s direction. While none in the cast is below par, Colin’s recreation of a man driven to extremes under the Martians is haunting. Coupled with the music and deep sonics of the various sound effects is enough to make the flesh crawl and the listener grateful this is only a fantasy.
While it’s a shame post-production took this release a long way past it’s originally predicted availability, it’s here now and very well worth a listen. You will not be disappointed.
THE COMING OF THE MARTIANS / AUTHOR: H. G. WELLS / ADAPTATION: NICK SCOVELL / PUBLISHER: SHERWOOD SOUND STUDIOS / STARRING: COLIN MORGAN, RONALD PICKUP, NIGEL LINDSAY, DAN STARKEY, OLIVIA POULET, LUKE KEMPNER, MOLLY HANSON, STEPHEN CRITCHLOW / RELEASE DATE: JULY 30th
