Look out for Mutants! (The Chrysalids - John Wyndham)

Member Name: xBorgx

Product:	The Chrysalids - John Wyndham
Date:	06/05/09 (144 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy, but clever prose...

Disadvantages: Not really

Anybody who had ever read a book by John Wyndham would heartily recommend him to me, but it was not until I was in my mid thirties, with a balding scalp and a swelling belly that I finally got around to reading one of his works. Would I read anymore, and would I be one of said people heartily recommending his books to others? Yes and Yes. For those who do not know, Mr Wyndham is the British author of several Sci-Fi classics such as The Day of the Triffids, The Midwich Cuckoos (filmed as Village of the Damned), Chocky and the book I am about to discuss... The Chrysalids. He is now dead, but his memory lives on and will do so for many a year.

Our hero of the Chrysalids is David. David lives in a world set in the future where everyone has gone back to basics following the 'Tribulation.' In this God-fearing world, it is required that everyone should be of God's own image and those not shall be cast out or killed. These 'mutants' can be people born with defects that are major and minor, from extra long limbs to extra toes. David is a boy growing in this age with a strict father, who whips him for not telling anyone about his friend Sophie (who happens to have six toes on each foot).

David is also a telepath, who can communicate with others like him nearby, through thought images. One of these people is his cousin Rosalind. Because this is out of the norm, he and his telepathic friends have to keep this secret, lest they be cast out for this 'defect' and abomination before God. After his sister Petra is born it becomes apparent that she, too, is like David - however her powers are much stronger.

The area in which they live is habitable, but there are many areas around known as the Fringes. In these Badlands many deviants and mutants live. When David and his friends are found out, they have to go into these lands to keep away from those who would hurt them for being different. They discover many answers as to who they are and what has happened to the world. Also, his sister Petra is starting to communicate through thought shapes with another like their kind, in a far away place, a place where everyone can communicate this way...

I enjoyed this book a lot. Trying to broaden my readings, I have been reading several other 'classics' (some might recall my Dorian Grey op) and I can quite understand why these books are so popular. As for Wyndham himself, his prose is very good and the narrative is handled well. He keeps his cards close to his chest and only lets us know snippets of information. He likes to keep us guessing. The story is a simple one, but has the reader enchanted and wanting to know what happens. It is labelled as being science fiction, but it is more of an adventure, and about being born in a world where you are different and having to cope with this, and realising that being different is not always a bad thing...

If I have any qualms, then that is the fact it seems to take a long time to get started and it sags a little towards the end. I like the fact, however, that it is just a short book (about 200 pages) and not over padded, as many of this genre tend to be nowadays. Overall, a great read.

This review also appears on Ciao Uk by me as Borg...

Summary: A great Sc-fi read...