The Drowned World - Ballard J.G.

I used to be a big fan of J G Ballard; I’ve read all of his books save for one or two. I read this novel over ten years ago and after finding it again recently discarded on a dusty bookshelf I decided to give it another ago to see if I could actually remember anything from my original read if nothing else. The Drowned World was not Ballard’s first novel (as stated in a previous review on this site), it was his second book after the publication of The Wind From Nowhere in 1962. The Drowned World was published later the same year and established his stature as a science fiction writer of the New Wave movement of the period. His novels are renowned for pushing the ...

The Drowned world was J G Ballard's first novel and it introduced his style of psychologically based science fiction that would be developed in his later books. Although I don't think its his best it's one of my favourites possibly because it's the first one of his books I read. But also because it's a very filmic novel. It often recalls Apocalypse Now, with its oppressive sweltering jungles and one character Strangman was clearly created in the Kurtz mould. Although since that film hadn't been made yet, it was probably more influenced by Conrad's Heart of Darkness. It is set in the future about 50 years from now where the ice caps ...