The Midwich Cuckoos

Of its day but was superb nonetheless.

I went into this book with no preconceived idea of what is was about, only that it was recommended by a few readers, and that, of course, it is science fiction from John Wyndham. Published in 1957, it is set in the 1950's and feels like an authentic small rural village setting in Britain.

Often the mark of a good novel for me is being able to surprise me. This is surely rare in a classic sci-fi novel like this, but I genuinely have no recollection of anything about this book - albeit I have read a review or two from friends...

I was pleasantly entertained by this novel, and I don't want to throw out spoilers either, but there were some clever twists in the reading of this - perhaps I should have seen more of them coming - they were not completely left field, but nevertheless they caught me with surprise. It is not a fast paced novel - quite the opposite, but the threat builds steadily throughout the novel. Other than some slightly over-long philosophising dropped into conversation, it was quite readable. Perhaps the only weakness is how readily the village people accept the situation as it unfolds - maybe this was the post-war society stoicism well captured? The form is narration, from a partly involved person, so slightly unusual, but it works well here.

It isn't a long read, although I had it in the car so was only reading a chapter or two at a time, and it took me about 8 (working) days to finish.

Recommended, 4.5 stars, rounded down.

I note that nosing around a few other reviews uncovers the story line rather easily, so perhaps I have been overprotective when not discussing, but I really did benefit from knowing nothing about it in advance. I understand the blub on some editions spoils much of the story too... with my edition this was not the case.

Deeply creepy but very fluffy of word. Lots of philosophising and lots of “howevers” and “as you can sees” make for a sometimes frustrating read. Even though you know the ending is coming, it's still a beautiful slap in the face. Doesn't matter one bit if you've seen a film or tv version.

The story was quite good, but how could it not be? Everyone in a small town collapses into a deep sleep, some kind of invisible force field prevents anyone outside of the town from entering, and then when the force field lifts, every woman in town is pregnant. Yeah, that's gonna be good. And it was made even better by the audiobook, which was actually made for radio. Instead of just a normal narration, there was an actor for every character, there were sound effects, there was music. It was really cool and it definitely made me want to look into more radio productions.

Read it because it was heavily referenced in Middle Game which I really loved. Just a fun bit of British sci fi that poses interesting and difficult questions about humanity.

Really enjoyed this. I was engaged right from the beginning and I was intrigued throughout and really enjoyed the ending. This is my second John Wyndham book and I am keen to read more.

One star less for all the philosophical ramblings. Otherwise a wonderful and bone chilling sci fi thriller:)

I love John Wyndham but had never read this novel before. It didn't disappoint, the Sci-Fi and practical 50's English village life meld together perfectly here echoing Well's himself (referenced several times for good measure). The end was unexpected and gave me quite a surprise, I kept trying to turn to the next page but there was nothing left.
My only complaint is with the edition, a library ebook, which rather irritatingly kept joining words together. This was enough to take me out of the flow
and away from Wyndham's world. When will I ever learn, paper is always a better read!

The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham is a 1957 science fiction novel about an alien invasion. The book supposedly deals with a struggle between aliens and humans. But really it's about a struggle between men and women.

The novel is split into two parts. Wyndham uses Part One, which takes up over half of the novel, to describe forced impregnation. He subtly manages to explore subjects like sex, rape, and abortion. Part Two begins to dive into the question of what should be done about the children.

Its a bit dated now. The viewpoints are almost all male and full of patronising sexism. But the most enjoyable parts are the moral ambiguities and philosophical discussions; what the presence of the children means and how the villagers should deal with them? Full of misdirection, subtext, irony and ambiguity; it's definitely worth a read.

I'm still in awe of that ending.

A short read but, seeing as it was originally published in 57, it had that old writing style thats made the experience of reading it very similar to what I remember reading books for school used to feel like. People who are more used to or read exclusively contemporary “modern” books may have a harder time with the style but you HAVE to stick it out because the pay off is just absolutely phenomenal.

The Midwich Cuckoos is a book exposing how flimsy the abstract ideas that make up the foundations of our society truly are when faced with the threat of, while not immediate, inevitable annihilation and a person's role as both an individual and as part of a larger society in this situation.

As I was reading, I had it firmly placed as a 4 star read then that ending happened and it just blew itself off the chart entirely. I'm so glad to have picked it up and wish I could experience reading it for the first time again.

Knowledge is simply a kind of fuel; it needs the motor of understanding to convert it into power.

I can see how this was riveting back in the day. But for today's standards, does it really hold up that well?

The concept is great. Golden-eyed alien babies? Sign me up! However, this has got to one one of the driest writings I have ever read. After reading Ted Chiang earlier this year this pales in comparison. Nonetheless the plot itself had its good moments so it wasn't a bad experience in the end.

This is the third Wyndham novel I've read, after The Day Of The Triffids and The Kraken Wakes. By now it seems that, when it came to structuring a novel, Wyndham was a bit of a one trick pony - “the master of the middle-class catastrophe”, I read somewhere. He can come across a bit quaint at times, and I'm sure he'd enrage third wave feminists everywhere. The first-person narrative by a middle-class English everyman who finds himself in the middle of the mystery, the quaint English backdrops full of regulation English character types (employed in bulk by BBC TV murder mysteries, for instance, as well as Wyndham), the preponderance of dialogue over action, the slow burning first half of the novel... you start to feel you're reading the same book over and over. But this all merely obscures the thoughtfulness and intelligence of Wyndham's writing. He projects a truly frightening scenario onto a very mundane backdrop, and compels very ordinary people to deal with it. It is the very trick of his books. I spent much of The Midwich Cuckoos wondering about apparent gaping plot holes (why does nobody bother to ask WHERE the Children came from, WHO begat them?), before Wyndham ratchets it up in the closing chapters and you realise he'd been leaving clues all along. Zellaby, the real protagonist (other than the Children), starts off as an insufferable bore but develops neatly into the novel's thoughtful hero. Wyndham intelligently poses important questions about evolution, hierarchy and dominance. At a certain point you realise he's got under your skin. And that is why, despite its faults, for which I knock off one star, I thoroughly recommend this as the most fully realised and thought-provoking of these three Wyndham novels. I'm now off to find a copy of The Chrysalids.

I didn't think I would like this as much as I did. I mean, ages ago, I happened upon John Carpenter's Village of the Damned—nice film, good premise, didn't think much of it—, which later I discovered to be an adaptation of a certain The Midwich Cuckoos, by John Wyndham. It got me curious, but that's all. It sat forever on my TBR pile—the mental one, I believe—, until I actually picked it up. And I loved it.

From the clever title to the brilliant opening sentence (“One of the luckiest accidents in my wife's life is that she happened to marry a man who was born on the 26th of September.”) to the amazing, truly great storytelling, TMC got me entangled in what I believe is one of the most underestimated science fiction novels, uh, ever. It delves into science, religion, philosophy, society, and raises interesting, thought-provoking questions; the main characters are charismatic, the Children are terrifying. It sure is dated, and I don't think its main theme is much of a novelty anymore, but I just can't believe how much fun I had reading this.

Story: 7 / 10
Characters: 6
Setting: 7
Prose: 7

The original “missing night” book, a very interesting concept. However there didn't seem to be a main character. Why bother introducing a narrator at all if they aren't going to play a big part. It caused a few minor troubles for the story. Nevertheless, certainly worth a read.