The Midwich Cuckoos
Books | Fiction / Fantasy / General
4.1
John Wyndham
The classic science fiction horror novel of possessed children that inspired the terrifying Village of the Damned films. In John Wyndham's classically elegant, calm style, this novel explores the arrival of a collective intelligence on earth that threatens to eliminate mankind. The quiet, eerie changes that befall Midwich manifest in strange ways: On the surface, everything seems normal, but scratch a little deeper and there is a clear sense of dread. After the night of September 26, every woman of childbearing age is pregnant, all to give birth at the same time, to children who are all alike—their eyes mesmerizing, void of emotion. These children are innately possessed with unimaginable mental powers and a formidable intelligence. It is these children who develop into an unstoppable force, capable of anything and far out-reaching other humans in cunning. Whatever dwells in Midwich is sowing the seeds for a master race of ruthless and inhumane creatures who are bent on nothing less than absolute and total domination. The London Evening Standard called The Midwich Cuckoos "humane and urbane with a lightly sophisticated wit putting the ideas into shape." Wyndham skillfully heightens the terror by making his narrative so rational and matter-of-fact. In such a nuclear and technological age, this story is rich in irony in that it is set in the picturesque, bucolic English Village and the "enemy," or, the threat is seeming cherubim. "Exciting, unsettling and technically brilliant." — The Spectator
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More Details:
Author
John Wyndham
Pages
190
Publisher
Rosetta Books
Published Date
2018-09-01
ISBN
0795312121 9780795312120
Ratings
Google: 5
Community ReviewsSee all
"The story itself is perfect. The way it's told takes it down just a bit. There are two things in particular I had issues with. First, the narrator is so confusing. It's hard to follow whose perspective is being given a lot of the time. This is because the overall narrator for the book is just an average guy who happened to be there when some of the stuff in the book happens. The rest is filled in in such detail, it's like he's there, but he's not. Or is he? I couldn't tell you most of the time. I had the same issue with The Kraken Wakes. Second, it drones on a bit with some unnecessary dialogue. It's not too bad, just a little bloated at times. <br/><br/>Those things aside, the book has a lot going for it. The prose is very well written and much of the dialogue was enjoyable to read and thought provoking. In particular, the discussions about ethics, evolution, and evil at the end were excellently done. Like other Wyndham novels, the involvement of women is above par, especially for the so-called golden age of SF. Although the narrator and most of the main characters are male, the women have their own strong and unique voices, are treated as equals, and have agency. Angela Zellaby is an admirable, intelligent, whole woman. There are other notable women in the story, such as the women at the lab who have PhDs, but I won't go into detail about them. <br/><br/>My last thought is the story itself. Gosh, it's so disturbing. If it came out today, there would be a lot more in it about trauma, because what happens to the women is such a violation. It would be better if there was more from the perspective of the women who bear the Children, but it would be so much darker. Not that it completely skirts this aspect. But if you think about it, if it really happened, people would be messed up."
Sarah Davis
