A pioneering science-fiction master confronts an enigma as strange as anything found in his classic works, The Day of the Triffids or The Chrysalids: the mind of a child. Reality is relative . Devils , evil spirits, witches and so on became real enough to the people who believed in them. Just as God is to people who believe in Him. When people live their lives by their beliefs objective reality is almost irrelevant " . The story is told from a first-person perspective. In suburban England, David Gore is married to Mary with two children. The eldest, Matthew, is adopted, whereas the youngest, Polly, arrived after it seems having children for the couple was impossible. In this week’s Dispatches from The Secret Library, Dr Oliver Tearle reads a classic story of alien possession by the master of British science fiction

Chocky by John Wyndham - Penguin Books New Zealand Chocky by John Wyndham - Penguin Books New Zealand

At first they though that Matthew was just going through a phase of talking to himself. And, like many parents, they waited for him to get over it. But it started to get worse, not better. Reading this in later life I can but say that it is Sci Fi for sure but hardly disaster/dystopian writing I recall. In fact I found the book rather hopeful in tone. To tell why would give the story away so for those interested in 50’/60’s sci fi I say read it. It is a good read. As is common with authors writing in and of the period, the women are decorative and domestic, but largely sidelined in a friendly way. Younger sister Polly is plausibly annoying, but not given many redeeming qualities. However, in in the collection Consider Her Ways and Others (see my review HERE), a couple of the stories have a strong female/feminist slant. An adaptation by John Constable as a single 90-minute drama for BBC Radio 4, directed by Melanie Harris, was first broadcast on 18 March 1998. Music was by Paul Gargill, and the cast included: Great review of a book I read over forty years ago, and still remember. Great cover, too! I still have my copy. ReplyBBC Radio 4 presented a reading by Andrew Burt of the novel in seven 15-minute episodes, abridged by Neville Teller, produced by David Johnson, and broadcast daily between 19 and 27 May 1975. Re-Birth ( The Chrysalids) was one of the first science fiction novels I read as a youth, and several times tempted me to take a piggy census. Returning to it now, more than 30 years later, I find that I remember vast parts of it with perfect clarity…a book to kindle the joy of reading science fiction.” I really like John Wyndham's books so was surprised I'd never read this. So when I finally made some time to tidy up my garage (we've been renovating our house for the last 4 years and in all that time my poor old garage has just been used as a dumping grounds) I thought I'd like to listen to a book rather than another round of Christmas songs, much as I like them.

Chocky (TV Series 1984) - IMDb Chocky (TV Series 1984) - IMDb

You should be employing your resources, while you still have them, to tap and develop the use of a source of power which is not finite…." What would be ideal would be a comic or graphic novel version. I’ve hit dead ends so far and cannot get a hold of the kids TV show either. I’d appreciate it if anyone knows where I can find either. ReplyJohn Wyndham (actually John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris) is a British author who seems to be fairly unknown these days. Although The Day of the Triffids (1951) is fairly well known – in fact, the name ‘triffid’ for a large plant has become part of the English dictionary – many of those who recognise the word triffid rarely know the story from which it came. I loved this - it did not go in the direction I expected at all. There was a creepiness to it, but it was also surprisingly sweet, with a lovely if unbalanced friendship, and a family who care about their child and do their best to support him through an odd situation. Wyndham singlehandedly invented a whole pile of sub-genres of SF. It’s as if . . . in the 1950s he was plugged in to the world’s subconscious fears and articulated them one by one in short, amazingly readable novels.”

Chocky (TV series) - Wikipedia Chocky (TV series) - Wikipedia

The Chrysalids is a famous example of 1950s Cold War science fiction, but its portrait of a community driven to authoritarian madness by its overwhelming fear of difference—in this case, of genetic mutations in the aftermath of nuclear war—finds its echoes in every society.”That is not what I got, though. And I have to reflect on the fact that my expectations were so stereotypical. Why would I expect a highly intelligent, curious extraterrestrial explorer to be as evil and stupid as humans have proven to be, over and over again? Why would I expect it to be even worse? Why would I feel threatened by the unknown, even before I see any signs of danger? No, no. This is still a rational world in this short novel. Of course, if King wrote it, I would expect something with a death toll, a very, very angry alien, and a kid hounded by pitchforks.