Book Anatomy · The War of the Worlds
The War of the Worlds: Pace
16 lenses on pace for The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 D8 D9 D10 D11 D12 D13 D14 D15 D16
D1. Chapter length in words, as a chart. Count
27 chapters, median 1,963 words. See the full lens on the book page.
D2. Mean sentence length per chapter. Count
Mean 18.6 words. See the full lens on the book page.
D3. Paragraph length per chapter. Count
Paragraphs average 66 words.
Mean paragraph words, chapter by chapter
D4. Scene against summary: how much is shown live? AI
Most of the book is shown live in scenes. Chapters 1 to 3 and 8 use summary, but from chapter 4 onward the narrator is present in nearly every event, witnessing the invasion directly or learning of it through immediate encounters.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 9
D5. Action against reflection, per chapter. AI
Early chapters (1 to 3) are reflective summary. From chapter 4 onward, action dominates: flight, combat, hiding, observation. Chapters 19 to 20 and 23 to 24 pause for reflection on the Martians and survival, but action resumes quickly.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 9
D6. Tension score per chapter (1 to 5) as a curve. AI
Peak 5 of 5, mean 4.0. See the full lens on the book page.
D7. Emotional arc of the whole book, matched to the six shapes. Count
Man in a hole (fall then rise). See the full lens on the book page.
D8. Chapter endings: cliffhanger, question, reveal or quiet close. AI
19 of 27 chapters end on a hook. See the full lens on the book page.
D9. Chapter openings: in scene, in summary, or after a time jump. AI
Most chapters open in scene or with immediate action. Chapter 1 opens in summary reflection. Chapters 14 and 16 shift viewpoint and open in summary of the brother's experience. Chapter 26 opens in summary of recovery.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 14, Ch 16, Ch 26
D10. Do chapters and sentences get shorter near the climax? Count
In the last fifth, chapters run at 1.23 times the length of earlier ones, and sentences at 1.05 times. So the end does not speed up by these measures.
D11. Dialogue density against pace. Count
Link between dialogue share and chapter length: 0.38 (1 is a perfect match, 0 none). Between dialogue share and tension: 0.11.
Dialogue % per chapter, chapter by chapter
D12. Time jumps and how they are signalled. Both
9 time jump phrases in the narration, such as 'next morning' or 'years later'.
| Where | Phrase |
|---|---|
| c1p11 | next day |
| c7p28 | next morning |
| c8p7 | next day |
| c8p10 | next morning |
| c17p10 | next day |
| c18p2 | next day |
| c18p4 | next day |
| c26p4 | Two days after |
Time jump phrases, chapter by chapter
Ch 1, para 11: A singularly appropriate phrase it proved. Yet the next day there was nothing of this in the papers except a little note in the Daily Telegraph, and the …
Ch 7, para 28: I began to comfort her and myself by repeating all that Ogilvy had told me of the impossibility of the Martians establishing themselves on the earth. In particular …
Ch 8, para 7: A curious crowd lingered restlessly, people coming and going but the crowd remaining, both on the Chobham and Horsell bridges. One or two adventurous souls, it was afterwards …
Ch 8, para 10: About eleven a company of soldiers came through Horsell, and deployed along the edge of the common to form a cordon. Later a second company marched through Chobham …
Ch 17, para 10: On Wednesday the three fugitives—they had passed the night in a field of unripe wheat—reached Chelmsford, and there a body of the inhabitants, calling itself the Committee of …
Ch 18, para 2: In the first book I have wandered so much from my own adventures to tell of the experiences of my brother that all through the last two chapters …
Time jumps are signalled by chapter breaks and brief summary passages. Chapter 8 jumps from Friday to Saturday. Chapter 13 jumps from day to day. Chapter 18 jumps to the fifth cylinder strike. Chapter 26 jumps three days of lost memory.
Chapters: Ch 8, Ch 13, Ch 18, Ch 26
D13. Info dump spots: long runs with no action or speech. Both
19 stretches of 900 words or more with no speech at all. These are where description, summary or backstory pile up.
| Starts at | Words | Paragraphs |
|---|---|---|
| c19p22 | 3609 | 28 |
| c22p11 | 2919 | 29 |
| c17p2 | 2889 | 29 |
| c15p19 | 2623 | 31 |
| c12p57 | 1965 | 24 |
| c5p7 | 1934 | 29 |
| c25p18 | 1635 | 17 |
| c9p43 | 1620 | 19 |
Chapters 19 to 20 contain long observation sequences with minimal action or speech as the narrator watches Martians from hiding. Chapter 23 is a long reflective walk through the devastated landscape. Chapter 27 is pure reflection and analysis.
Chapters: Ch 19, Ch 20, Ch 23, Ch 27
Except in the corner, where a multitude of crows hopped and fought over the skeletons of the dead the Martians had consumed, there was not a living thing in the pit. (Ch 22, para 13)
I felt as a rabbit might feel returning to his burrow and suddenly confronted by the work of a dozen busy navvies digging the foundations of a house. (Ch 23, para 3)
For a time I believed that mankind had been swept out of existence, and that I stood there alone, the last man left alive. (Ch 23, para 12)
D14. Reading time per chapter. Count
About 4.0 hours to read at 250 words a minute. The longest chapter takes 22.4 minutes.
Minutes per chapter, chapter by chapter
D15. Micro tension in quiet scenes. AI
Quiet scenes build tension through observation and dread. Chapter 19 creates suspense by revealing Martian feeding practices. Chapter 20 escalates tension through the curate's instability. Chapter 23 uses isolation and landscape to create existential dread.
Chapters: Ch 19, Ch 20, Ch 23
Except in the corner, where a multitude of crows hopped and fought over the skeletons of the dead the Martians had consumed, there was not a living thing in the pit. (Ch 22, para 13)
At Halliford I had already come to hate the curate’s trick of helpless exclamation, his stupid rigidity of mind. (Ch 20, para 3)
For a time I believed that mankind had been swept out of existence, and that I stood there alone, the last man left alive. (Ch 23, para 12)
D16. Section breaks per chapter. Count
0 section breaks marked in the text, in 0 of 27 chapters.
Ask The War of the Worlds a question about its craft (free beta)
Answers cite chapter and paragraph, and every quote is checked against the text. (3 free questions a day).
Weekly email: coming soon
One short email a week on new AI tools for authors. Sign up opens soon.