War with the Newts is a science fiction novel written by Czech author Karel Čapek and first published in 1936.

On a small island near Sumatra, an ageing, alcoholic ship’s captain discovers a colony of over-sized newts able to walk on their hind legs and possessing the capacity to learn how to use tools. At first he employs them to simply collect pearls, but it soon becomes clear to some clever entrepreneurs that the species is ripe for exploitation.

Čapek uses his premise to throw a blanket of satirical shade over an array of topics, including contemporary European politics, colonialism, fascism, segregation, arms races, as well as consumerism, fashion, and personal identity.

He may be remembered primarily for originating the term “robot”, but Čapek has been described by Kurt Vonnegut as:

“A great writer of the past who speaks to the present in a voice brilliant, clear, honourable, blackly funny and prophetic.”

And according to Ben Dolnick of the New York Times, the author:

“Deserves a place on the Mount Rushmore of authorial seers, right alongside George Orwell, Aldous Huxley and Margaret Atwood.”

Have a fine day, everyone!