The Kraken Wakes

Title: The Kraken Wakes

Author: John Wyndham

Number of pages: 240

Started: 17 July 2008

Finished: 21 July 2008

Opening words:

The nearest iceberg looked firmly grounded. Waves, with the whole fetch of the Atlantic behind them, exploded upon it, just as they would upon solid rock. Further out there were other large bergs, also stranded by the falling tide, and looking like sudden white mountains. Here and there among them smaller ones were still afloat, with the wind and the current driving them slowly up the Channel. That morning there were more, I fancy, than we had ever before seen at one time. I paused to look at them. Blinding white crags in a blue sea

Plot summary:

Ships are sinking for no apparent reason, carrying hundreds to a dark underwater grave. Strange fireballs race through the sky above the deepest trenches of the oceans. Something is about to show itself, something terrible and alien, a force capable of causing global catastrophe.

Summary taken from Amazon.

What I thought:

I enjoyed this book, not as much as the other John Wyndham’s but I did enjoy it nonetheless. It did keep making me think of The War of the Worlds and the invasion of beings more intelligent than us. It had that standard theme of how do you get people to deal with their inertia and be willing to deal with a crisis etc and whilst not as good as some of his others, it was a thought provoking read.