The War of the Worlds Murder
Written by Max Allan Collins
Narrated by Dan John Miller
4/5
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About this audiobook
Orson Welles is the bombastic wonder boy of radio and stage. But is he also a murderer?
Walter Gibson—creator of pulp superhero the Shadow—travels to New York City to collaborate on a script with Welles, star of the radio show The Mercury Theatre on the Air. The young Welles is a charming but difficult taskmaster who relishes dramatic blowouts with friends, lovers, and colleagues. So when a dead body is found in the studio minutes before the live broadcast of The War of the Worlds, Gibson knows Welles will be the New York Police Department’s number one suspect. Gibson has exactly one hour—while Welles is on the air enacting the infamous hoax story of a Martian invasion—to find the real murderer and clear the radio star’s name. With its brilliant reconstruction of the broadcast that hoodwinked the nation, The War of the Worlds Murder is a paean to radio’s golden age.
Max Allan Collins
<p>Max Allan Collins is a Mystery Writers of America Grand Master. He is the author of the Shamus Award-winning Nathan Heller thrillers and the graphic novel <em>Road to Perdition</em>, basis of the Academy Award-winning film starring Tom Hanks. His innovative Quarry novels led to a 2016 Cinemax series. He has completed a dozen posthumous Mickey Spillane mysteries, and wrote the syndicated <em>Dick Tracy</em> series for more than fifteen years. His one-man show, <em>Eliot Ness: An Untouchable Life</em>, was an Edgar Award finalist. He lives in Iowa.</p>
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Reviews for The War of the Worlds Murder
19 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This was one of the most fun books I’ve listened to in a while. As a lifelong Old Time Radio collector and enthusiast, I loved all the behind the scenes from the golden age of network radio. Having Walter Gibson as the hero was also spectacular as I have always loved The Shadow, in written and radio forms. Finally, I listen to the War of the Worlds broadcast every Halloween eve so I know the program very well. This story added a new level of enjoyment to one of my favorite traditions. I highly recommend this book.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This murder mystery in the author's "disaster" series is set against the background of one of the most well known fake disasters, Orson Welles' notorious War of the Worlds radio broadcast in October 1938, in which Welles and his colleagues were able to fool many Americans that a real Martian invasion of New Jersey had occurred. The novel was rather uneven, with all of the action and excitement in the second half, where the murder is revealed and the broadcast takes place (there is only a tenuous connection between them). The first half was really an opportunity for the author to set the cultural scene around the worlds of radio broadcasts and low brow detective fiction of the era, showing his extensive knowledge of the era, but perhaps rather over-indulgent in terms of the proportion of the book this takes up. Not a great novel, though the fake broadcast incident is a very interesting example of how artificial panic can be so easily whipped up.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nice murder that isn't a murder. Orson Welles is the ultimate out-sized character, even for the thirties. Gives a nice view into the world of live radio.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Weaves a story told to him by Walter Gibson, comic book/pulp fiction writer who claims to have been at the presentation of the war of the worlds broadcast. Intermingled is a murder that points to Orson as the killer. Loved the story about Orson and the broadcast. the murder was actually a detraction from the story. overall a great read but not his better "disaster-fiction" novels.