Trouble with Lichen
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Ingenious (Evening Standard )
Product Description
Francis Saxover and Diana Brackley, two scientists investigating a rare lichen, discover it has a remarkable property: it retards the aging process. Francis, realising the implications for the world of an ever-youthful, wealthy elite, wants to keep it secret, but Diana sees an opportunity to overturn the male status quo by using the lichen to inspire a feminist revolution.
As each scientist wrestles with the implications and practicalities of exploiting the discovery, the world comes ever closer to learning the truth . . .
Trouble With Lichen is a scintillating story of the power wielded by science in our lives and asks how much trust should we place in those we appoint to be its guardians?
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Excellent, as always, John Wyndham takes a 'what if' scenario and follows it through, just to see what 'would' happen.
While still a gripping novel, this is not along the same lines as, for instance, 'Triffids'. The pace is more laid back, less intense, yet still keeps you glued to the pages from start to finish. I think that this is because Wyndham does not allow the potential horror to emerge in quite the same way as in some of his other books, rather he pats it back and forth, building tension and excitement - and reaches the climax which is... not quite what you expect.
Brilliant. Read it.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In all his books John Wyndham unleashed a satirical humour that was keen to poke fun at all those who, from fixed intellectual positions, would defend the indefensible. He had an accurate aim for the low tastes and high pieties of the tabloid press, and an inventive turn of speculation about which mess our ingenuity would get us into next. On the one hand, that invention could vent itself in high drama like Day Of The Triffids: here it is subtly concealed and revealed in a sequence of events that speak undoubtedly of an era, but which could just as easily fit the way we live today. And underneath it all there is an endless speculation. What if it were to happen, or what if it were already happening and we didn't know ? As usual, the ending is in keeping with the authors humanity and optimism about the future, and with our own hope that we might do the right thing, but Wyndham's greatest knack of all is his ability to do so without being preachy or didactic. If you haven't encountered him before, you ought to now.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I took a punt on this having been introduced to Wyndham by "Chocky" and enjoyed it immensely. There's something very enjoyable for me about "retro" or "classic" SF, even if it has been somewhat undermined by the passage of time. "...Lichen" begins as a sort of campus novel about real scientists doing science, told in a sparse and gently satirical tone reminiscent of Kingsley Amis and escalates into a peculiarly British take on social revolution.
What makes this book fascinating is also sadly what relegates it to the ranks of "period piece"; Wyndham presents a likeable heroine, a sensible, empowered woman of letters, and rightly prophesies a quasi-feminist revolution based on her scientific discovery. However, the discovery is the wrong one: Unlike R. A. Heinlein in his landmark novel "Stranger in a Strange Land", Wyndham does not foresee sexual revolution arising from reliable contraceptives, but longevity treatments. Nevertheless, this is a charming novel that presents interesting arguments with humour without testing a reader's suspension of disbelief as often Wyndham's American peers.
There are plenty of landmark SF titles that focus predominantly on the subject of super-longevity - Heinlein's "Methuselah's Children", Robert Silverberg's creepy "The Book Of Skulls (S.F. Masterworks)" and the notorious "Bug Jack Barron" - but I consider this the best treatment of the subject, primarily for its measured, academicky approach and making the implications of the science the centre of the plot. So, give it a go if you're a fan of those books, an SF nut or a Wyndham completist.
...Oh yes, I nearly forgot: I've always said "Like-un" and thought that scone should rhyme with gone.
What makes this book fascinating is also sadly what relegates it to the ranks of "period piece"; Wyndham presents a likeable heroine, a sensible, empowered woman of letters, and rightly prophesies a quasi-feminist revolution based on her scientific discovery. However, the discovery is the wrong one: Unlike R. A. Heinlein in his landmark novel "Stranger in a Strange Land", Wyndham does not foresee sexual revolution arising from reliable contraceptives, but longevity treatments. Nevertheless, this is a charming novel that presents interesting arguments with humour without testing a reader's suspension of disbelief as often Wyndham's American peers.
There are plenty of landmark SF titles that focus predominantly on the subject of super-longevity - Heinlein's "Methuselah's Children", Robert Silverberg's creepy "The Book Of Skulls (S.F. Masterworks)" and the notorious "Bug Jack Barron" - but I consider this the best treatment of the subject, primarily for its measured, academicky approach and making the implications of the science the centre of the plot. So, give it a go if you're a fan of those books, an SF nut or a Wyndham completist.
...Oh yes, I nearly forgot: I've always said "Like-un" and thought that scone should rhyme with gone.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Trouble with Lichen
A very good book and considering how long ago it was written it is amazingly relevant to today. The item arrived well packed and in good condition in the estimated time
Published 1 month ago by F. Brown
Realistic sci fi
I love J.Wyndham's stories he throws a pebble in the pond & watches the riples , in this case the consiquences of a drug for everlasting youth , the implications of peoples... Read more
Published 8 months ago by D. S. Sample
Excellent, typical John Wyndham, really believable
I have read and loved John Wyndham for years, and had all of his books in paperback, until I had a clear out and gave them away. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Teach
Thinking man's (or woman's) science fiction
"The Trouble with Lichen" is an example of science fiction in the tradition of HG Wells in that the primary interest is in how normal (or clever) individuals respond to potentially... Read more
Published 21 months ago by E. S. Cannon
I wonder what if...
See other reviews for a full plotline
I see some people get all a quiver about the feminist angle of this book but to me that just smacks as sexism, I mean come on we... Read more
I see some people get all a quiver about the feminist angle of this book but to me that just smacks as sexism, I mean come on we... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Mb Panero
Different, but excellent
Having read a few other John Wyndham books I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was a little different, but excellent all the same. Read more
Published on 29 Oct 2009 by S. Mansfield
Nostalgia
I read "Trouble with Lichen" 35 or so years ago. It was an enjoyable novel. Maybe its handling of the theme would seem dated to a modern readership. Read more
Published on 28 Jun 2009 by Pragmatist
eternal youth
Few novelists tackle the problem that all cosmetic companies seek as their holy grail - eternal youth. Read more
Published on 1 Jun 2009 by A. Craig
An interesting book
An interesting book with great ideas. Not a book you can read quickly. Its length can be deceptive. It has worthy attributes even if it's my least favourite Wyndham book. Read more
Published on 27 Mar 2007 by Mr. C. M. Owen
Undiscovered little gem
Not one of Wyndham's better known works, but this is a little gem, with some interesting things to say about scientific discoveries, their popularisation in the media and people's... Read more
Published on 15 Feb 2007 by John Hopper
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