The Midwich Cuckoos

De: John Wyndham

Narrado por: Stephen Fry

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.

About the author: John 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 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'.

©2008 John Wyndham (P)2021 Audible, Ltd

Mismatched Narrator

I’m enjoying listening to John Wyndham’s books at the moment, particularly the satirical slant and social commentary of his time. While I often enjoy Stephen Fry’s narrations, his style didn’t sit well with me here. The author’s subtle humour is lost in Fry’s pantomime like interpretation and caricatures of the “cast members”. The story pulled me through but only just - had I been near a computer I would have returned it before finishing.
Contrast this book with The Kraken Wakes for how it should be done.