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Home > Books > Fiction > Science Fiction Books > T Science Fiction Books > The Chrysalids - John Wyndham

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for The Chrysalids - John Wyndham

Rating Summary based on 7 reviews

  • 5 Stars
    		3
  • 4 Stars
    		4
  • 3 Stars
    		0
  • 2 Stars
    		0
  • 1 Star
    		0

Detailed rating

  • Characters
  • How does it compare to other works by the same author?
  • How does it compare to similar books?
  • Readability
  • Story
  		• 3.9
  		• 4.1
  		• 4.0
  		• 4.3
  		• 4.1

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  • 30 of 30 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of JoePoirot

    Level 5 JoePoirot

    Member since 09/01/2003

    Reviews written: 105

    4 Stars Thinking In A Quicksand Of Your Mind 04/09/2004
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Entertaining, occasionally thought-provoking

    Disadvantages Disadvantages Two-dimensional characterisation, tapers off

    John Wyndham is best known for “The Day of the Triffids”. Although “The Midwich Cuckoos” (filmed as “The Village of the Damned”) and “The Chrysalids” under review here, also attracted considerable interest. Wyndham is an interesting, very British, science fiction writer. He does not deal in fantasy worlds with hosts of unfamiliar creatures battling each other for control of galaxies. Wyndham’s novels may not be parochial but they are very much earthbound, with a rogue element introduced which creates the dramatic conditions for his novels ... more
  • 41 of 41 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of CaptainDisaster

    CaptainDisaster

    4 Stars Does my second head make me a deviant? 31/08/2005
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Thoughtful, intelligent sci-fi...

    Disadvantages Disadvantages ... some occasionally long-winded speeches

    The Chsysalids by John Wyndham is a post-apolaclyptic vision of a world where people are obsessed with conformity to the norm, or in their words, "the image of God". Anyone who does not conform to this image becomes an outcast, and the women who are categorised as Deviants are sterilised before being sent off. The "image of God" has 2 arms, 2 legs, 2 eyes, 1 nose, 5 digits at the end of eat hand and foot… etc. You get the idea. The narrator of this book is David, a young, apparently normal boy who finds out quite early on that he is not quite normal… but to all outward appearances he is, so is ... more
  • 36 of 36 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of SleepyDormouse

    SleepyDormouse

    5 Stars Can you tell what I'm thinking 07/01/2003
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Well written, good characters

    Disadvantages Disadvantages no sequel

    This is my favourite of the books written by John Wyndham. I first read it when I was about 11 and it was my very first adult sci-fi book. I believe that it is the book that started my passion for sci-fi, and that in itself is very high praise. I remember my friend, who had told me about this book, and I sitting on her bed while we tried to think “thought shapes” to each other. I was very disappointed when it didn’t work. The book is set in a future world still recovering from the Tribulation (a nuclear holocaust). The Tribulation has caused a large wasteland, called the Badlands, which is ... more
  • 106 of 107 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of Borg

    Level 7 Borg

    Member since 16/08/2001

    Reviews written: 316

    5 Stars Look out for the Mutants 04/06/2003
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Great story telling, not over padded, likeable characters...

    Disadvantages Disadvantages Could have gone further at the end?

    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 ... more
  • 4 of 4 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of NeilHudson

    NeilHudson

    5 Stars For misfits 01/10/2000
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Classic sf

    Disadvantages Disadvantages A bit tame

    "The Chrysalids" was the third novel that John Wyndham wrote under that name; he had previously written numerous, relatively uninteresting science fiction potboilers until shortly after the war he decided to use the forms of sf to produce more thoughtful and intelligent social novels. "The Chrysalids" is probably best read when you are an adolescent, as it deals with a number of young people who are persecuted in their post-apocalyptic society for being telepathic mutants, a fact which they have to hide in order to survive (it is easy to see this novel being popular with young gay readers). It ... more
  • 12 of 12 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of meldee

    meldee

    4 Stars Better second time around Review with images 16/02/2004
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Thought provoking, engrossing and focussed

    Disadvantages Disadvantages The ending is probably less powerful in the modern day

    I first read "The Chrysalids" at school as an eleven year old and did not gain very much from it. But as a John Wyndham fan I felt it only right to give it a second chance twelve years later and without people throwing things around the classroom while I was trying to read. I was not disappointed. It was only as an adult with more knowledge of the world that I could fully appreciate the background and atmosphere in the book. The story is basically a child's view of a strange, restrictive world with punishing laws determining the difference between 'Norms' and 'Mutants'. The main character ... more
  • 8 of 8 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of afy9mab

    Level 8 afy9mab

    Member since 11/07/2000

    Reviews written: 1241

    4 Stars Classy Sci-fi 24/07/2001
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Good, solid sci-fi

    Disadvantages Disadvantages Takes a little getting into

    With "The Chrysalids", Wyndham returns to familiar territory. In a post-apocalyptic society, the remaining humans fight against a common enemy - deviation from The Norm. In a land ravaged by Tribulation and ruled by religious fervour, mutation is rife and all who are physically different or are perceived to be different are cast out into the barren wastes to fend for themselves. This is an interesting study of bigotry and and intolerance fuelled by religious zealotry. When John, (the son of one of the pillars of "normal" society) and his friends discover they have telepathic powers, they try ... more
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