One of the five sci-fi&#39s I remember every single detail of from my earliest days as a fan. For the genre, I think it&#39s considerably above average. The moor is nicely atmospheric. There&#39s one of every character in the book: the good guy, the bad guy, the local sheriff, the lovely damsel, her father the old professor, etc. The scene where we&#39re looking for the first time through the window of the ship and the visitor peeks out from the other side is easily as good as the three-fingered-hand-on-the-shoulder in War of the Worlds. Nice &quotcharacter&quot to the visitor, for whom, like Karloff&#39s Frankenstein, we end up feeling some empathy .