The Midwich Cuckoos (RosettaBooks into Film)
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Exciting, unsettling and technically brilliant (Spectator )
Product Description
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.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
45 of 51 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Surely the hardest thing for a Science Fiction writer - or any writer for that matter - to acheive is to make the paranormal sound beleiveable. John Wyndham makes it look so easy that by the time you've finished one of his books you feel ready to pick up a pen and write one yourself.
The Midwich Cuckoos is impeccably written, easy to read, and extremely well thought out. Wyndham provides a broad pallete of characters unrivalled in most Science Fiction, each of whom expresses a different, thoroughly beleivable opinion/reaction to the bizzare coming of the "Midwich Cuckoos". What is important is that Wyndham never loses focus of the central characters, so that the book is, in the end, more about people than aliens/spaceships etc.
The point I'm trying to make here (not very coherently) is that whereas most Science Fiction centers around action and fanciful phenomenon, Wyndham's work never loses touch of humanity. He has a keen ear for the voice of post-war England, and a keen eye towards the behaviour of men and women who are 'up against it.' In this way the Midwich Cuckoos is a very English book and as acute a piece of social observation of 1950's village life as you are likely to find.
If none of this wittering makes any sense then allow me to sumarise: The Midwich Cuckoos is an superbly written, elegantly crafted work of Science Fiction that you really have to read.
The Midwich Cuckoos is impeccably written, easy to read, and extremely well thought out. Wyndham provides a broad pallete of characters unrivalled in most Science Fiction, each of whom expresses a different, thoroughly beleivable opinion/reaction to the bizzare coming of the "Midwich Cuckoos". What is important is that Wyndham never loses focus of the central characters, so that the book is, in the end, more about people than aliens/spaceships etc.
The point I'm trying to make here (not very coherently) is that whereas most Science Fiction centers around action and fanciful phenomenon, Wyndham's work never loses touch of humanity. He has a keen ear for the voice of post-war England, and a keen eye towards the behaviour of men and women who are 'up against it.' In this way the Midwich Cuckoos is a very English book and as acute a piece of social observation of 1950's village life as you are likely to find.
If none of this wittering makes any sense then allow me to sumarise: The Midwich Cuckoos is an superbly written, elegantly crafted work of Science Fiction that you really have to read.
20 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was a very eerie, disturbing read. I guess that most people are now familiar with the concept of the story. The novel deals with a whole lot of complicated issues - the division of people, attitudes and morals in a small town is easily reflective in modern society. This novel deals with so many different issues, it can make you mental trying to distinguish them all but here's a few: the mass fear taht can arise when humans are faced with something they don't understand and doesn't readily fit into their morals, attitudes and what they have been taught; the inability to see the opportunities of welcoming and trying to understand those things; it shows how division in attitude, morals, religion and custom can divide a town leading to mass hysteria and violence.
It also complicates all the above issues with this one:
It also complicates all the above issues with this one:
What do you do if your child, a product of your own body, something you care for, look after, guide and love turns out to have ideas, concepts and methods that are almost the exact opposite of what you have tried to instil in them? What if they turn out to be manipulative, destructive, controlling and in the end downright evil? How far would you go to keep your faith in that child, continue to defend it and love it knowing that it was capable of committing hideously evil deeds? How do you deal with a child taht knows you are under its control and that you are terrified of it?
This book was brilliant and should be read - it's fairly short so there's no danger of it becoming too overboard or tedious adn I guarantee taht the children will freak you out!!!
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A very well-written piece of sci-fi. John Wyndham has achieved a beautifully realised feeling of tension and an ominous foreboding as the book progresses, particularly after the mention of the fate of the Children of Gizhinsk towards the end. What I particularly find remarkable about this novel is that Wyndham has the ability to make the reader totally aware of the confused and mixed emotions of Midwich's inhabitants after the "birth" of the Children and I find the book all the more better for it.
A classic piece of sci-fi that deserves a place in the bookshelf of any sci-fi fan.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Spooky... An Entertaining Adaptation.
This is an enjoyable version of John Wyndham's classic tale. I'd read the book quite a few years back, thick I'd seen excerpts from the film and of course watched THAT Simpson's... Read more
Published 12 days ago by Mr. Glenn Cook
A triumph of brain over brawn
For those from the all-action `Star Wars generation' of sci-fi fans, this tale of an insidiously growing menace in sleepy rural England may be difficult to acclimatise to. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Gobble de book
Starts well, but fizzles out
Of the John Wyndham novels I've read (The Midwich Cuckoos, The Kraken Wakes & The Chrysalids), The Chrysalids remains the best written,and most convincing of his works. Read more
Published 11 months ago by John Moseley
absolutely first rate hard sci-fi, with deep character studies
Viewers of the excellent early film version of this may feel disappointed: the pace is slow, there is lots of dialogue, and the characters are hard to grasp. Read more
Published 11 months ago by rob crawford
good story, could do without the lectures
I've seen Village of the Damned, based on this book, which is an okay film and I'm sorry to say The Midwich Cuckoos is only an okay book. Read more
Published 12 months ago by missussmith
A classic original piece of science fiction
I am a big fan of Day of the Triffids, and The Midwich Cuckoos was my first foray into Wyndham's wider work. I was not disappointed for a moment. Read more
Published 18 months ago by C. J. Turner
Ageless
John Wyndham is a fantastic writer. I first read his books around 30 years ago and I am loving them all this time around. Excellent for all ages.
Published 20 months ago by Hev1965
Classic
The Midwich Cuckoos is rightly described as a classic. It has aged in the way that only a classic book can as it has not aged at all. Is Cuckoos well-written? Yes. Is it readable? Read more
Published 21 months ago by Mr. Robin D. Lewis
Unusually thoughtful for a sci-fi novel of this era.
Aliens are born to English villagers in a discussion of the morality of who has the right to survive and inherit Earth. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Brownbear101
An absolute sci-fi classic
Wyndham is perhaps second only to H G Wells in his portrayal of a quiet, traditional middle-England, wracked with tension beneath its surface - Those looking for action, invention,... Read more
Published 24 months ago by Zarino Zappia
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