Customer Reviews

Kraken Wakes, The

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Equal parts H.G. Wells, George Orwell, and P.G. Wodehouse, Wyndham made a literary career of bringing his Cold War apocalyptic fears to life. Day of the Triffids, Chrysalis and The Kraken Wakes all paint a largely bleak but ultimately hopeful theme. The Kraken Wakes builds suspense and could teach contemporary writers that they do not have to tell their entire apocalyptic tales on the first page. The dialogue is entertaining as is Wyndham's anti-Soviet focus which cannot be denied (and which now seems quaint). The plot and premise are highly original and though the book seems long, once over, you want it to continue.

As the other has given a great synopsis of the plot I won't expand on it.
I just have to warn you, this is a page turner which will deny a little bit of sleep once the story gets going.

I'm happy with my purchase. This is going right next to my other Wyndham novels in my growing collection of his!

Thanks,
Marc

What if there was an intelligent race living at the bottom of the ocean, for whom the surface was as difficult to access as the ocean bottom is for man? What if it was as advanced as we are? And what if we were forced to go to war?

Wyndham imagines an enemy whose nature prevents us from directly observing it, and even more so from understanding it. Mike Hastings and his wife Phyllis are some of the first to report on mysterious red objects falling from the sky. Not too long after, ships start dissapearing in the middle of the sea, and islands all over the world are found deserted. Expeditions are organized to investigate. Soon, they realize that whatever fell from the sky has made itself at home in the high pressures of the ocean depths... and we have annoyed it. The hunt is on.