Bøger af John Wyndham

'It was a desert. A vista of reddish rocks and drifted sand, arid and hot, extending to the limits of their view. A dreary waste upon which nothing moved or grew . . .'For British pilot Dale Curtance the Keuntz Prize - to be awarded to the first person to take a spaceship to another planet and back - is the ultimate challenge. Not only has he to build a ship to survive the journey, assemble a top-notch crew and choose a destination, he's also got to beat the Russians and Americans.Soon the GLORIA MUNDI blasts off from Salisbury Plain, bound for Mars. There's only one problem - a stowaway called Joan. Not only does her presence wreck calculations and threaten the mission, but her tale suggests that Mars may be a more dangerous destination than they ever expected. 'Perhaps the best writer of science fiction England has ever produced' Stephen King

A MAN INVISIBLE Any revival, rediscovery, or reappraisal of the singular work of John Wyndham is cause for celebration, and Logical Fantasy: The Many Worlds of John Wyndham brings treasures aplenty to the table ― a rich sampler of the variant voices of a single writer who remains a lynchpin in the genre of the fantastic, including several which have not seen print since their original publication. John Wyndham Lucas Parkes Beynon Harris was long considered the "invisible man" of science fiction due to his reclusive nature and disinclination toward publicity. Distinctly British yet with breakthrough appeal to American readers matched only by George Orwell, Wyndham thrived trans-Atlantically during the heyday of the digest-sized magazines, under his own name as well as a variety of recombinant pseudonyms which allowed him to "collaborate with himself" as he first planted boots in the sci-fi pulps of the 1930s. As "John Beynon" (or John B.) Harris, he debuted this collection's first tale, "The Lost Machine," in Amazing Stories, and followed with sales to Wonder Stories, Fantasy, and New Worlds up until World War II provided an interruption and hiatus. After the war years, Wyndham wholly recreated himself. The 1950s brought a decade-long run of novels that made him globally famous and redefined science fiction. Through it all, the short stories continued, always startling, always thought-provoking. The seed of his all-time classic The Day of the Triffids is found here in "Spheres of Hell" (also known as "The Puffball Menace."). By the 1960s he was firing on all cylinders ― cogent, innovative stuff such as "Odd" (which debuted in the spellbinding Consider Her Ways and Others) and "The Asteroids, 2194" (part of his pastiche novel of the space-faring Troon dynasty, The Outward Urge). It is the magazines, pulps and digests, from Thrilling Wonder Stories to Argosy, that provide the bulk of these oddities and rediscoveries, now gathered under one roof here for your pleasure ― including seven previously uncollected tales. Only five collections were published during Wyndham's lifetime. Following his death in 1969 a number of short fiction assemblies appeared, the most recent of these coming twenty years ago. Thus, the time has come for Logical Fantasy as primer, tribute, and reminder of one of the genre's major, lasting talents.

A genre-defining tale of first contact by one of the twentieth century’s most brilliant—and neglected—science fiction and horror writers, whom Stephen King called “the best writer of science fiction that England has ever produced.”“In my opinion, [John] Wyndham’s chef d’oeuvre . . . a graphic metaphor for the fear of unwanted pregnancies . . . I myself had a dream about a highly intelligent nonhuman baby after reading this book.”—Margaret Atwood, Slate What if the women of a sleepy English village all became simultaneously pregnant, and the children, once born, possessed supernatural—and possibly alien—powers? A mysterious silver object appears in quiet, picture-perfect Midwich. A day later, the object is gone—and all the women in the village, they will come to learn, are now pregnant. The resultant children of Midwich are shockingly, frighteningly other. Faced with these unfathomable and potentially unstoppable children, the question arises: What will humanity do when faced with the threat of the unknown?

An “ingenious, horrifying” (The Guardian) first contact story by one of the twentieth century’s most brilliant—and neglected—science fiction and horror writers, whom Stephen King called “the best writer of science fiction that England has ever produced.”“Few books capture the obscure, elliptical way that threats move from the background to the foreground of reality like The Kraken Wakes. . . . Feels all too familiar in today’s age of anti-vaxxer disinformation and QAnon conspiracists.” —Alexandra Kleeman, from the Introduction What if aliens invaded and colonized Earth’s oceans rather than its land?Britain, 1953: It begins with red dots appearing across the sky and crashing to the oceans’ deeps. At first, many people believe that these aliens are interested in only what’s down below. But when the polar ice-caps begin to melt, it becomes clear that these beings are not interested in sharing the Earth and that humankind might just be on the brink of extinction. . . .

A rediscovered, outstandingly prescient crime novel written in the lead-up to World War II, by one of the twentieth century’s most brilliant—and neglected—science fiction and horror writers, whom Stephen King called “the best writer of science fiction that England has ever produced.”“Genuinely creepy . . . Wyndham really was a terrific storyteller.”—Jo WaltonEngland, 1935: Phyllida Shiffer’s marriage has just ended in divorce. She heads home, expecting to be welcomed with open arms by her father, a brilliant (if slightly distracted) scientist. But her father’s house is locked up; he is nowhere to be found; and there are suspicious men who seem to think that Phyllida herself might hold the key to her father’s latest scientific discovery. . . .

"What if humans discovered the secret to prolonged life? Francis Saxover and Diana Brackley, two biochemists investigating a rare lichen, separately discover that it has a remarkable property: It slows the aging process almost to a halt. Francis, realizing the horrifying implications of an ever-youthful wealthy elite, decides to keep his findings a secret. But the younger and more daring Diana sees an opportunity to overturn the male status quo and free women from the career-versus-children binary--in short, a chance to remake the world."--Provided by publisher.

An international prize is offered to the first man to complete an interplanetary journey. For British pilot Dale Curtance, it is the ultimate challenge; he must build a ship, assemble a top-notch crew, and beat the Russians and the Americans, too. Soon the Gloria Mundi heads for Mars. There's only one problem: a stowaway named Joan Shirning. At first, the men resent Joan's presence. But they come to realize that she is the only one who has firsthand knowledge of the Martians--or at least the intelligent beings that will one day replace them.

The story of man's leap into the seas of space, from the author of THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS

Matthew's parents are worried. At eleven, he's much too old to have an imaginary friend, yet they find him talking to and arguing with a presence that even he admits is not physically there. This presence - Chocky - causes Matthew to ask difficult questions and say startling things: he speaks of complex mathematics and mocks human progress. Then, when Matthew does something incredible, it seems there is more than the imaginary about Chocky. Which is when others become interested and ask questions of their own: who is Chocky? And what could it want with an eleven-year-old boy? A story of innocence and alien contact, Chocky is a sinister tale of manipulation and experimentation from afar.

'The Sun Bird was beginning to travel fast, close to the edge of the whirlpool. They could look right down into the hollow of spinning water' While flying over Africa's New Sea, a water project in the heart of the Sahara desert, Mark Sunnet's rocket plane crashes and is sucked through a hole in the desert floor into a strange, cavernous new world.There, he and his partner Margaret encounter the survivors of an ancient race of underground dwellers whose whole existence is now threatened. Captured and forced to live with other prisoners taken from the surface, the pair know that they must escape before the waters above drown them all . . .The Secret People, published in 1935, is John Wyndham's first novel.'Perhaps the best writer of science fiction England has ever produced' Stephen King

It started with fireballs raining down from the sky and crashing into the oceansdeeps. Then ships began sinking mysteriously and later sea tanks emerged from the deeps to claim people . . . For journalists Mike and Phyllis Watson, what at first appears to be a curiosity becomes a global calamity. Helpless, they watch as humanity struggles to survive now that water - one of the compounds upon which life depends is turned against them. Finally, sea levels begin their inexorable rise . . . The Kraken Wakes is a brilliant novel of how humankind responds to the threat of its own extinction and, ultimately, asks what we are prepared to do in order to survive.

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.

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?

'One of those books that haunts you for the rest of your life' Sunday TimesWhen a freak cosmic event renders most of the Earth's population blind, Bill Masen is one of the lucky few to retain his sight. The London he walks is crammed with groups of men and women needing help, some ready to prey on those who can still see. But another menace stalks blind and sighted alike. With nobody to stop their spread the Triffids, mobile plants with lethal stingers and carnivorous appetites, seem set to take control.The Day of the Triffids is perhaps the most famous catastrophe novel of the twentieth century and its startling imagery of desolate streets and lurching, lethal plant life retains its power to haunt today.

The six stories in Consider Her Ways: And Others, the second collecton of John Wyndham's short tales, continue his exploration of the science fiction staple - what if? In the title story we are introduced to a world where all the men have been killed by a virus and women continue to survive in a strict caste system - bottom of the heap are the mothers. In others we meet the man who accidentally summons a devil and then has to find a way of getting rid of him without losing his immortal soul, as well as the woman who, thanks to an experiment in time, discovers why her lover abandoned her.'Wyndham writes strongly and has a gift for bizarre plots' Guardian'One of the few authors whose compulsive readability is a compliment to the intelligence' SpectatorJohn Wyndham Parkes Lucas Benyon Harris was born in 1903, the son of a barrister. He tried a number of careers including farming, law, commercial art and advertising, and started writing short stories, intended for sale, in 1925. From 1930 to 1939 he wrote short stories of various kinds under different names, almost exclusively for American publications, while also writing detective novels. During the war he was in the Civil Service and then the Army. In 1946 he went back to writing stories for publication in the USA and decided to try a modified form of science fiction, a form he called 'logical fantasy'. As John Wyndham he wrote The Day of the Triffids, The Kraken Wakes, The Chrysalids, The Midwich Cuckoos (filmed as Village of the Damned), The Seeds of Time, Trouble with Lichen, The Outward Urge, Consider Her Ways and Others, Web and Chocky. John Wyndham died in March 1969.

In this thrilling collection of stories, John Wyndham, author of the acclaimed classics The Day of the Triffids and The Midwich Cuckoos, conducts ten experiments along the theme of 'I wonder what might happen if . . .'There's the story of the meteor, which holds much more than meets the eye. In Chronoclasm a man is pursued by his own future. We meet a robot with an overactive compassion circuit. And what happens when the citizens of the future turn the past into a giant theme park?'One of the few authors whose compulsive readability is a compliment to the intelligence' SpectatorJohn Wyndham Parkes Lucas Benyon Harris was born in 1903, the son of a barrister. He tried a number of careers including farming, law, commercial art and advertising, and started writing short stories, intended for sale, in 1925. From 1930 to 1939 he wrote short stories of various kinds under different names, almost exclusively for American publications, while also writing detective novels. During the war he was in the Civil Service and then the Army. In 1946 he went back to writing stories for publication in the USA and decided to try a modified form of science fiction, a form he called 'logical fantasy'. As John Wyndham he wrote The Day of the Triffids, The Kraken Wakes, The Chrysalids, The Midwich Cuckoos (filmed as Village of the Damned), The Seeds of Time, Trouble with Lichen, The Outward Urge, Consider Her Ways and Others, Web and Chocky. John Wyndham died in March 1969.

In a city that could well be New York, a series of identical women are found dead in suspicious circumstances. Magazine photographer Johnny Farthing, who is reporting on the suspected murders, is chilled to discover that his fianc e looks identical to the victims too - and then she disappears. As his investigations spiral beyond his control, he finds himself at the heart of a sinister plot that uses cloning to revive the Nazi vision of a world-powerful master race...Part detective noir, part dystopic thriller, Plan for Chaos reveals the legendary science fiction novelist grappling with some of his most urgent and personal themes.

Penguin Decades bring you the novels that helped shape modern Britain. When they were published, some were bestsellers, some were considered scandalous, and others were simply misunderstood. All represent their time and helped define their generation, while today each is considered a landmark work of storytelling.First published in 1955, The Chrysalids is a post-nuclear story of genetic mutation in a devastated world, which tells of the lengths the intolerant will go to to keep themselves pure.David Strorm's father doesn't approve of Angus Morton's unusually large horses, calling them blasphemies against nature. Little does he realize that his own son, his niece Rosalind and their friends, have their own secret aberration which would label them as mutants. But as David and Rosalind grow older it becomes more difficult to conceal their differences from the village elders. Soon they face a choice: wait for eventual discovery or flee to the terrifying and mutable Badlands ...

The disturbing post-apocalyptic masterpiece from the author of THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS.