The War with the Newts

Karel Capek

War with the Newts, also translated as War with the Salamanders, is a 1936 satirical science fiction novel by Czech author Karel Capek. It concerns the discovery in the Pacific of a sea-dwelling race, an intelligent breed of newts, who are initially enslaved and exploited. They acquire human knowledge and rebel, leading to a global war for supremacy. There are obvious similarities to Capek's earlier R.U.R., but also some original themes.Only the last four of the book's 26 chapters deal with the eponymous war. The rest of the book is concerned with the discovery of the Newts, their exploitation and evolution, and growing tensions between humans and the Newts in the lead-up to the war.