The Kraken Wakes

A place for anything *not* Donaldson.

Moderator: I'm Murrin

Post Reply
User avatar
peter
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 11488
Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:08 am
Location: Another time. Another place.
Been thanked: 4 times

The Kraken Wakes

Post by peter »

I'd forgotten just how good an author John Wyndham was. He's long dead now but his books remain as readable as ever, if a little 'quaint' in their very English mindset and the tone of their writing.

In The Kraken Wakes the narrator recounts the course of events following the appearance in the skies, and subsequent plunging into the abysmal depths, of strangely red glowing balls of light, and a cracking tale it is. Firstly beset by a spate of ship dissapearances, followed by other inexplicable phenomena, a gradual disintegration of the world of normal experience follows, in which the very absence of the implied 'aliens' only adds to the tension and gripping nature of the yarn. The absolute and complete isolation of the said depths from our world of the surface is vividly portrayed in a manner that is more accessible, indeed more unsettling, than any blurry film footage shot from a bathosphere or roving camera, and the unknowable region that makes up a large proportion of the world we inhabit is the real star of the show.

Pulling on to a satisfying conclusion I've had a great few days reading this book and I'm much looking forward to getting hold of another of his works. The writing is compact and accessible and no flannel is expended in the telling of the tale; Wyndham simply gets on with it without theatre and to great effect. There is no attempt to ramp up the horror with florid language or high emotion - just a plain down to earth Englishman doing his thing. Great stuff and highly recommended.
The truth is a Lion and does not need protection. Once free it will look after itself.

....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'

We are the Bloodguard
User avatar
Avatar
Immanentizing The Eschaton
Posts: 61651
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2004 9:17 am
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Has thanked: 13 times
Been thanked: 19 times

Post by Avatar »

Huh, I think "Triffids" was the only book of his I ever read. Will look around for it.

--A
User avatar
peter
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 11488
Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:08 am
Location: Another time. Another place.
Been thanked: 4 times

Post by peter »

I've read another one called Chocky since Av. A short book, but again a cracking little read. He also wrote a book entitled The Midwich Cuckoo's about a village in which all of the woman fall pregnant at the same time and subsequently give birth to a bunch of kids, all being white haired and having odd characters. It was turned into a film called Village of the Damned which I remember from my youth. The latter book I haven't read, but I like the sound of very much. This is plain old sci-fi at its best!

:)
The truth is a Lion and does not need protection. Once free it will look after itself.

....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'

We are the Bloodguard
Post Reply

Return to “General Fantasy/Sci-Fi Discussion”