Book Review — The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham

Newly-wed investigative journalists Mike and Phyllis Watson witness unearthly fireballs plunging into the sea from their cruise ship and embark on a years-long mission to uncover the truth with the aid of a madcap scientist and the military. Although Wyndham is generally considered to be rather left wing in his ideas, he is also a man of his time; and a very middle class white man of his time at that. Progressive though the lofty ideas of the plot may be, some of those 1950s attitudes are writ large in the text. Arguably, it's all necessary for the characterisation but it can be a bit much if you're used to a more modern tone. An anti-Communism theme prevails but, I'd argue, this is more a commentary on the narrator and the general attitudes of the era. Given the Cold War in full swing and the Stalinist regime, it's more anti-Soviet than a nuanced critique of actual social political theory. That said, the "othering" language that colours talk of the Russians is a lovely foil for…