The Midwich Cuckoos, John Wyndham, Ballantine Books, 1957, 247 pp
I have now read four of John Wyndham's intelligent speculative fiction novels. I did not read them in publication order but am filling in the ones I missed. His books are sometimes called frightening but I find them intriguing. His style is so conservatively British that it counteracts the frightening bits for me.
Midwich is a small English village that keeps to itself and is rather behind the times. One September evening a mysterious silver disturbance descends on the village and remains for 24 hours. Afterward no one is harmed but within a month all the females of childbearing age find themselves pregnant.
The village minister, the main busybody female, a late-middle-age historian/writer, and MI5 all get involved, trying to contain and manage the potential shame, hysteria and upheaval. Each one of these characters has an agenda.
The children born from this seemingly extra-terrestrial incident are somewhat detached and have strange powers including a mind meld capacity and an ability to make people behave oddly. If they don't they die.
I found it a darn good read. The husband of one of my good friends is a UFO researcher and just last week our government conceded having knowledge of and years of collected data on UFOs. Did I enter the Twilight Zone?
I have only seen the 1960 film which I thought was excellent. I had heard that there was a very good book behind it but I did not realize that it was written by Wyndham. I really should give this a try.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how the movie and book compare. I will have to see if I can find a way to watch it.
DeleteIt's available on YouTube for a small charge.
DeleteThanks CK.
DeleteWait what?! They've had years of UFO data and this is the first I'm hearing of it!? No way! That's so cool and kinda scary all at once.
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds like a twisted good time. I'm going to have to check it out. Also, the cover kinda creeps me out lol
I know, right? When you think about it though, it stands to reason that from a security viewpoint, our government would follow up on some of the reports from civilians.
DeleteThat's true. It's only logical that they'd check up on them.
Deletei'm a sometime admirer of Wyndham's writing... i read several of his books about fifty years ago, but Midwich wasn't one of them... i think it scared me off... the one i recall had giant 3-legged robots charging across the landscape, but maybe that was something else? anyway, W is well worth reading i think: ideas instead of blather...
ReplyDeleteYes, lots of ideas in his books. But there were no 3-legged robots in this one. Maybe in the movie, though I have not seen that.
DeleteI enjoyed this book too and I agree that Wyndham is usually intriguing rather than frightening. I think The Chrysalids will be the next one I read by him.
ReplyDeleteOoh, The Chrysalids was one of my favorites!
DeleteI LOVED this book when I read it in my late teens. I have a soft spot for the less flashy very English SF of Wyndham & his contemporaries. I think the 1960 film made a good 'fist' of translating it to the big screen. Oddly the one thing that stuck in my mind was how the Soviets dealt with their particular incursion... long range artillery.
ReplyDeleteYes, another English SF author like that is Arthur C Clarke. I will search out the movie.
DeleteI agree that it certainly sounds like a "darn good read."
ReplyDeleteI am glad I could convey that.
DeleteI have not read him but his speculative fiction sounds quite intriguing. I'd like to see what the village figures out what to do .... with all their mind melding.
ReplyDeleteThe book has a pretty cool surprise ending!
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