Customer Reviews

The Kraken Wakes

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In "The Kraken Wakes" John Wyndham writes about an alien invasion - from the sea. The book is divided into three parts.

Phase One of the invasion begins with the sighting of fireballs that land in oceans around the world. They are a strange phenomena but the public soon lose interest. Then ships start to sink mysteriously...

In Phase Two more and more ships are sinking and people are now aware of some malignant force at work beneath the sea. In this stage of the campaign the invaders are bolder, coming onto the shores of remote islands in "sea tanks" and dragging people to their deaths.

In Phase Three the sea level has risen, and cities are slowly being submerged. Morale is low, society is breaking up, and people are living in small scavenging communities as land, food and fuel become scarce.

This is a good disaster novel and well written, but it's not as good as "The Day of the Triffids". In "Triffids" the destruction was sudden and more immediate. In "Kraken" the destruction is more gradual and drawn out, like a sick man fighting an illness. Like a disease, the invaders are never actually seen, but the damage they do is great. Once more it looks like the human race is finished, but the book ends with optimism. A book worth reading.

Fans of Frank Schätzing's novel The Swarm might be interested to know that the 2004 bestseller had a 1953 precursor in John Wyndham's The Kraken Wakes, another novel featuring humanity under threat from mysterious forces operating beneath the sea. Ignore the middle-class twittering of the two main characters and, instead, enjoy Wyndham's relentless build-up of tension, punctuated by some truly chilling moments, as inhuman entities escalate their attacks. The Kraken Wakes is a personal favourite of mine, from way back, and has much that is relevant today, including such topics as international inertia in the face of abrupt climate change.

This is perhaps one of my favourite books ever! Being new to SciFi, and what with the stigma it gets, I wasn't expecting much from this, but I was pleasantly surprised! Entertaining, intelligent and beliveable characters (like everyone else I was amazed at the relationship Wyndham concocts between Mike Watson and his wife Phyllis--it's also tremendously fun to watch her 'work' on prospective interviewees for their scripts) and an intelligent, believeable plot, too, which reads like a historical document. If you thought "The Andromeda Strain" was a thrillingly believeable foray into a possible doomsday scenario, think again--Wyndham has all that and more. This is a fantastic novel, and I strongly recommend it to anyone in search of a good, smart read--Sci Fi fan and non-fans alike.

IMHO, this is John Wyndham at his very best. You know how it's going to end - it's in the prologue at the beginning - but that never spoils your enjoyment of the story. It's not where you're going that's interesting, it's how you get there.

I especially enjoy the little exchanges between the narrator and his wife. For me, they really make them into a really believable couple. The technobabble is neatly skipped, and the political wrangling in the background really makes you wonder how we managed to make it this far. If there's a flaw in this book, it's simply the fact that the only human villains are out of date - and that's not the books fault. If you're new to Wyndham, or to SF in general, I would strongly recommend thi book.

Personally I enjoy "The Kraken Wakes" more than the better known "Triffids". Like that latter title, I would characterize this book as a socio-political commentary disguised as a sci-fi story, with a lot of dry and apropos humor in the depiction of human failings. What is dated about the story - the cold war political landscape, the lack of environmental conciousness, the mid 20th Century technologies - is more than compensated for by the wonderful heart of the book - the delightful love relationship between a married couple. Certainly there is a great deal of British reserve in the depiction of what is a charming balance between emotional counterparts. I also find the idea of a modern world overcome by a rising sea level, albeit from a different cause and at an accelerated pace, rather chilling. (PS I agree the cover art is dopey on this edition. I have a different one with a much better illustration.)

During the late 50s/early 60s, a distinctive genre of science fiction story was coming out oF Britain. These stories of quiet SF horror were penned by, among others, JG Ballard, John Christopher and John Wyndham. The formula involved some type of ecological disaster, sometimes tied to alien invasion. Many of the better stories were told from the fringes of the disaster showing the common man involved in the changes. Kraken Wakes is a marine version of Waar of the Worlds, with objects falling into the ocean and sea tanks coming ashore to facilitate the invasion. The invaders also begin to melt the ice caps to raise the ocean level, flooding the earth. The aliens are never seen andf most of the novel is given to the reaction of several characters caught up in the changes. No whizbang pyrotechnics here, just the quiet horror of slow change which sems unstoppable.

My favorite Wyndham books are The Kraken Wakes, Day of the Triffids, and The Midwich Cookoos (also known as children of the Damned). This is a really great book.

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.

John Wyndham has written some justly deserved science fiction classics, such as The Day of the Triffids and The Chrysalids. What makes these stories so interesting are their thinly disguised attacks on real social/environmental issues. However Kraken Wakes is different, and unfortunately it's not different in a good way.

In Kraken Wakes the world is bombarded by mysterious objects falling from the heavens into the deep ocean. After considerable confusion the world realises that indeed they are have been invaded by aliens who are particularly nasty, with little effective means of doing anything about it. All this is chronicled very nicely by a married couple working for a fictitious British radio network.

Sounds interesting? It is, sort of. There are suspenseful moments, and it certainly is a creative story. However John Wyndham does a rather poor with the characterizations, and if there are any social commentaries buried in this story it is certainly buried beyond my recognition. So Kraken Wakes is simply a passably written science fiction story, nothing more.

Bottom line: certainly not a bad read, but John Wyndham has written better. For John Wyndham fans only.

THE KRAKEN WAKES..what a wonderful, evocative title. Pity that the actual book is sooo slow moving and brimming with British understatement and stiff upper lips. For years I've been intrigued by the title of Wyndham's book and been promising myself I'd have to read it. Well, I got my wish but, as good Queen Victoria said, "We are not amused."

And so it begins...unidentified fireballs land in various parts of the oceans. Time passes and suddenly ships are disappearing around the globe. The hero and heroine of THE KRAKEN WAKES - a British husband-wife news team - help investigate the phenomena but no answers are forthcoming. More time passes and, in the latest development, coastal villages are being wiped out. When the cause of all these misfortunes is unveiled, world governments take action but aren't successful. More time passes and then...

Wyndham had the makings of a great sci-fic novel here. While the tension builds as more calamities occur, I felt that was undermined by the endless domestic conversations between Mike and Phyllis. THE KRAKEN WAKES reminds me of those English drawing-room dramas where characters talk endlessly about not terrible interesting matters and nothing much happens. THE KRAKEN WAKES could have been a real page-turner if Wyndham had less "More tea, dear?" and more "Oh lord, another liner has disappeared...why doesn't someone find out what's going on!?!"

Short and not so sweet: Great title, not so great novel!