John Wyndham

by John Wyndham

The compendium contains six John Wyndham novels:

* The Day of the Triffids
* The Kraken Wakes
* The Chrysalids
* The Seeds of Time
* Trouble with Lichen
* The Midwich Cuckoos

Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction

864 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1980

About the author

John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris was the son of a barrister. After trying a number of careers, including farming, law, commercial art and advertising, he started writing short stories in 1925. After serving in the civil Service and the Army during the war, he went back to writing. Adopting the name John Wyndham, he started writing a form of science fiction that he called 'logical fantasy'. As well as The Day of the Triffids, he wrote The Kraken Wakes, The Chrysalids, The Midwich Cuckoos (filmed as Village of the Damned) and The Seeds of Time.

Reviews

[Huckle Buck411 · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Wyndham's writing, though somewhat dated, is every bit as important and unique as that produced by Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov and other great Science Fiction writers of his time. I know of two of his classic novels that were reproduced in film, The Day of the Triffids and The Midwich Cuckoos (Village of the Damned), but the original written material is definitely superior. The Kraken Wakes and The Midwich Cuckoos are alien invasion tales that each take on this theme in as an unique, inventive a way as H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds. The Chrysalids is a post apocalyptic tale with themes every bit as compelling as Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 and a couple of Wyndham's short stories could be additions to Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles. In Trouble with Lichen Wyndham poses the questions and problems that would arise if a relatively rare natural substance was found that could radically increase life expectancy (years before Frank Herbert created the spice melange in Dune). John Wyndham's writings should be on every Science Fiction reader's reading list.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just reading The Midwich Cuckoos section.

[David Swanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved John Wyndham as a teenager and fun to re-visit his tales.