Graham Marks, August 2010 Guest Editor: "John Wyndham’s The Day of the Triffids and The Midwich Cuckoos were two of the scariest books I’d ever read. When I came across them
it was the first time I realised that while some books were great
stories, there were others that were also ‘Big Idea’ books - what would
nowadays be called High Concept, like Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park.
When I started writing, in the back of my mind there was always the
thought that I always had to try and deliver more. There still is."
In the sleepy English village of Midwich, a mysterious silver object appears and all the inhabitants fall unconscious. A day later the object is gone and everyone awakens unharmed - except that all the women in the village are discovered to be pregnant. The resultant children of Midwich do not belong to their parents: all are blonde, all are golden eyed. They grow up too fast and their minds exhibit frightening abilities that give them control over others and brings them into conflict with the villagers just as a chilling realisation dawns on the world outside. The Midwich Cuckoos is the classic tale of aliens in our midst, exploring how we respond when confronted by those who are innately superior to us in every conceivable way.
Exciting, unsettling and technically brilliant - Spectator
Author
About John Wyndham
John Wyndham 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.
