A remarkable anti-colonialist novel by one of the twentieth century’s most brilliant—and neglected—science fiction and horror writers, whom Stephen King called “the best writer of science fiction that England has ever produced.” What if spiders evolved and gained the ability to co-operate? A group of British citizens buy the South Pacific island of Tanakuatua from the British government in the hopes of building the world’s first utopian society. Tanakuatua is small, beautiful, and apparently uninhabited. Perhaps too uninhabited: there are no birds, no insects, no life of any kind—other than millions and millions of spiders. . . .
Sixteen classic stories that are bound to get under your skin, perfect for fans of cozy horror—from the brilliant mind of John Wyndham, whom Stephen King called “the best writer of science fiction that England has ever produced.” (Previously published as Jizzle, and now featuring a bonus novella) John Wyndham was one of the twentieth century’s most talented—and neglected—science fiction and horror writers. He was a master of marrying the extraordinary with the banal. His thought-provoking and eerily prescient writing took everyday situations and added a touch of the bizarre to challenge the way readers saw the world around them. In these stories, a man on his deathbed is given the opportunity to relive his life; a Welsh couple receives a mysterious egg from their son who is traveling abroad; a woman writes a novel based on her vivid dreams and discovers she isn’t the only one experiencing them; a scientist seeks to create “the perfect creature”; a London commuter train becomes more and more packed, seemingly headed straight to hell . . . and more! For the first time, this collection now includes Wyndham’s classic murder mystery novella, The Curse of the Burdens, showcasing his mastery of multiple genres.
A rediscovered, outstandingly prescient crime novel written in the lead-up to World War II, by one of the twentieth century’s most brilliant—and neglected—science fiction and horror writers, whom Stephen King called “the best writer of science fiction that England has ever produced.” “Genuinely creepy . . . Wyndham really was a terrific storyteller.”—Jo Walton England, 1935: Phyllida Shiffer’s marriage has just ended in divorce. She heads home, expecting to be welcomed with open arms by her father, a brilliant (if slightly distracted) scientist. But her father’s house is locked up; he is nowhere to be found; and there are suspicious men who seem to think that Phyllida herself might hold the key to her father’s latest scientific discovery. . . .
A “sharp, amusing story” (The Guardian) about the fountain of youth and its implications for women’s rights, by one of the twentieth century’s most brilliant—and neglected—science fiction and horror writers, whom Stephen King called “the best writer of science fiction that England has ever produced.” “It was a genius move for John Wyndham to center an age-slowing narrative on women, who are still today pressured to remain youthful-looking forever, or succumb to social invisibility. . . . Wyndham was uniquely gifted at skewering humankind’s foibles while maintaining a shred of hope that our better angels would prevail.”—Kate Folk, from the introduction What if humans discovered the secret to prolonged life? Francis Saxover and Diana Brackley, two biochemists investigating a rare lichen, separately discover that it has a remarkable property: It slows the aging process almost to a halt. Francis, realizing the horrifying implications of an ever-youthful wealthy elite, decides to keep his findings a secret. But the younger and more daring Diana sees an opportunity to overturn the male status quo and free women from the career-versus-children binary—in short, a chance to remake the world.
The influential masterpiece of one of the twentieth century’s most brilliant—and neglected—science fiction and horror writers, whom Stephen King called “the best writer of science fiction that England has ever produced.” “[Wyndham] avoids easy allegories and instead questions the relative values of the civilisation that has been lost, the literally blind terror of humanity in the face of dominant nature. . . . Frightening and powerful, Wyndham’s vision remains an important allegory and a gripping story.”—The Guardian What if a meteor shower left most of the world blind—and humanity at the mercy of mysterious carnivorous plants? Bill Masen undergoes eye surgery and awakes the next morning in his hospital bed to find civilization collapsing. Wandering the city, he quickly realizes that surviving in this strange new world requires evading strangers and the seven-foot-tall plants known as triffids—plants that can walk and can kill a man with one quick lash of their poisonous stingers.
A wild ride from one of the twentieth century’s most brilliant—and neglected—science fiction and horror writers, whom Stephen King called “the best writer of science fiction that England has ever produced.” What if the defeated Nazis had a plan to clone their master race and cause nuclear war? Johnny Farthing is your average photojournalist until his fiancée goes missing and women who look suspiciously, uncannily similar to her start turning up dead. As Johnny descends a rabbit hole of doppelgängers, mysterious American senators, and eerie bureaucracies, it becomes clear that these peculiar similarities are part of far bigger and deadlier plans—and that the fate of the world just might be at stake.
Will humanity always be the dominant species on Earth? Or will our kind disappear entirely, allowing another form of life to reign supreme? Will there be a desperate struggle, or will there be a mass extinction of all life—except bacteria? John Wyndham has some very definite ideas on this subject, and in this story he takes us into the future some thousands of years to show us the end of all of our hopes, our ambitions, and our scientific and technocratic planning.
The sci-fi writer John Wyndham produced innovative works examining the human struggle for survival when catastrophic natural phenomena suddenly invade a comfortable English setting. The 1951 post-apocalyptic masterpiece ‘The Day of the Triffids’, depicting lethal mobile plants that menace the human race, quickly established Wyndham as a prominent figure of science-fiction literature. He was also a master of the short story, penning engaging tales of science fiction, satire, detective mysteries and whimsical fantasy. His work went on to inspire numerous writers throughout the late twentieth century, including Margaret Atwood, Stephen King and Alex Garland. This eBook presents Wyndham’s complete works, with numerous illustrations, rare tales, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1) Please note: no known copies of Wyndham’s first novel ‘The Curse of the Burdens’ are available at the time of publication. The posthumous novel ‘Plan for Chaos’ and the posthumous short story ‘Blackmoil’ cannot appear due to copyright restrictions. When new works enter the public domain, they will be added to the collection as a free update. * Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Wyndham’s life and works * Concise introductions to the novels and other texts * All available novels, with individual contents tables * Rare story collections available in no other collection * Uncollected short stories appearing for the first time in digital publishing, including scarce tales from pulp magazines * Includes the original short story of ‘Chocky’ * Images of how the books were first published, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts * Excellent formatting of the texts * Special chronological and alphabetical contents tables for the stories * Easily locate the short stories you want to read * Ordering of texts into chronological order and genres CONTENTS: The Novels The Secret People (1935) Foul Play Suspected (1935) Planet Plane (1936) The Day of the Triffids (1951) The Kraken Wakes (1953) The Chrysalids (1955) The Midwich Cuckoos (1957) The Outward Urge (1959) Trouble with Lichen (1960) Chocky (1968) Web (1979) The Short Story Collections Jizzle (1954) The Seeds of Time (1956) Consider Her Ways and Others (1961) The Infinite Moment (1961) Sleepers of Mars (1973) Wanderers of Time (1973) The Best of John Wyndham (1975) Exiles on Asperus (1979) Uncollected Stories The Short Stories List of Short Stories in Chronological Order List of Short Stories in Alphabetical Order
The sci-fi writer John Wyndham produced innovative works examining the human struggle for survival when catastrophic natural phenomena suddenly invade a comfortable English setting. Wyndham’s post-apocalyptic masterpieces established his name as a leading figure of science-fiction literature. He was also a master of the short story, penning engaging tales of science fiction, satire, detective mysteries and whimsical fantasy. His work went on to inspire numerous writers throughout the late twentieth century, including Margaret Atwood, Stephen King and Alex Garland. This eBook presents Wyndham’s collected works, with numerous illustrations, rare tales, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1) Please note: no known copies of Wyndham’s first novel ‘The Curse of the Burdens’ are available at the time of publication. Four novels cannot appear due to US copyright law: ‘The Day of the Triffids’; ‘The Chrysalids’; ‘The Midwich Cuckoos’; and ‘Trouble with Lichen’. When new works enter the public domain, they will be added to the collection as a free update. * Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Wyndham’s life and works * Concise introductions to the novels and other texts * All available novels in the US public domain, with individual contents tables * Includes the masterpiece ‘The Kraken Wakes’ * Rare story collections available in no other collection * Almost the complete short stories * Uncollected short stories appearing for the first time in digital publishing, including scarce tales from pulp magazines * Includes the original short story of ‘Chocky’ * Images of how the books were first published, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts * Excellent formatting of the texts * Special chronological and alphabetical contents tables for the stories * Easily locate the short stories you want to read * Ordering of texts into chronological order and genres CONTENTS: The Novels The Secret People (1935) Foul Play Suspected (1935) Planet Plane (1936) The Kraken Wakes (1953) The Outward Urge (1959) Chocky (1968) Web (1979) The Short Story Collections Jizzle (1954) The Seeds of Time (1956) Consider Her Ways and Others (1961) The Infinite Moment (1961) Sleepers of Mars (1973) Wanderers of Time (1973) The Best of John Wyndham (1975) Exiles on Asperus (1979) Uncollected Stories The Short Stories List of Short Stories in Chronological Order List of Short Stories in Alphabetical Order
A genre-defining tale of first contact by one of the twentieth century’s most brilliant—and neglected—science fiction and horror writers, whom Stephen King called “the best writer of science fiction that England has ever produced.” “In my opinion, [John] Wyndham’s chef d’oeuvre . . . a graphic metaphor for the fear of unwanted pregnancies . . . I myself had a dream about a highly intelligent nonhuman baby after reading this book.”—Margaret Atwood, Slate What if the women of a sleepy English village all became simultaneously pregnant, and the children, once born, possessed supernatural—and possibly alien—powers? A mysterious silver object appears in quiet, picture-perfect Midwich. A day later, the object is gone—and all the women in the village, they will come to learn, are now pregnant. The resultant children of Midwich are shockingly, frighteningly other. Faced with these unfathomable and potentially unstoppable children, the question arises: What will humanity do when faced with the threat of the unknown?
An “ingenious, horrifying” (The Guardian) first contact story by one of the twentieth century’s most brilliant—and neglected—science fiction and horror writers, whom Stephen King called “the best writer of science fiction that England has ever produced.” “Few books capture the obscure, elliptical way that threats move from the background to the foreground of reality like The Kraken Wakes. . . . Feels all too familiar in today’s age of anti-vaxxer disinformation and QAnon conspiracists.” —Alexandra Kleeman, from the Introduction What if aliens invaded and colonized Earth’s oceans rather than its land? Britain, 1953: It begins with red dots appearing across the sky and crashing to the oceans’ deeps. At first, many people believe that these aliens are interested in only what’s down below. But when the polar ice-caps begin to melt, it becomes clear that these beings are not interested in sharing the Earth and that humankind might just be on the brink of extinction. . . .
A collection of short stories from the master author of THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS and THE MIDWICH CUCKOOS. Giselle is a very talented monkey, although she goes by the name Jizzle. She can draw incredible portraits, as lifelike as can be. But Jizzle isn't just a camera. Jizzle has feelings. And Jizzle can take revenge, when she wants . . . This collection combines fantasy, science fiction, and horror to delight, astound and unsettle you. STORIES INCLUDED: "Jizzle""Technical Slip""A Present from Brunswick""Chinese Puzzle""Esmeralda""How Do I Do?""Una""Affair of the Heart""Confidence Trick""The Wheel""Look Natural, Please!""Perforce to Dream""Reservation Deferred""Heaven Scent""More Spinned Against
He found an old chest while prowling the beach. He hoped to find gold coins or jewelry inside. What he found was completely unexpected...and far, far from welcome.
A hard science fiction masterpiece, perfect for fans of Kim Stanley Robinson, by one of the twentieth century’s most brilliant—and neglected—writers, whom Stephen King called “the best writer of science fiction that England has ever produced.” What does the future hold for a species torn between exploration—the outward urge—and apparent self-destruction? First published in 1959, The Outward Urge follows members of the Troon family as humanity extends its reach into space. The first vignette follows a Troon to a British space station in 1994; the next to the Moon bases as Earth experiences nuclear war; then to Mars and Venus landings, when Brazil is the only world power; and finally to the asteroids.
The six stories in Consider Her Ways: And Others, the second collecton of John Wyndham's short tales, continue his exploration of the science fiction staple - what if? In the title story we are introduced to a world where all the men have been killed by a virus and women continue to survive in a strict caste system - bottom of the heap are the mothers. In others we meet the man who accidentally summons a devil and then has to find a way of getting rid of him without losing his immortal soul, as well as the woman who, thanks to an experiment in time, discovers why her lover abandoned her. 'Wyndham writes strongly and has a gift for bizarre plots' Guardian 'One of the few authors whose compulsive readability is a compliment to the intelligence' Spectator John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Benyon Harris was born in 1903, the son of a barrister. He tried a number of careers including farming, law, commercial art and advertising, and started writing short stories, intended for sale, in 1925. From 1930 to 1939 he wrote short stories of various kinds under different names, almost exclusively for American publications, while also writing detective novels. During the war he was in the Civil Service and then the Army. In 1946 he went back to writing stories for publication in the USA and decided to try a modified form of science fiction, a form he called 'logical fantasy'. As John Wyndham he wrote The Day of the Triffids, The Kraken Wakes, The Chrysalids, The Midwich Cuckoos (filmed as Village of the Damned), The Seeds of Time, Trouble with Lichen, The Outward Urge, Consider Her Ways and Others, Web and Chocky. John Wyndham died in March 1969.
Featuring an afterword by Margaret Atwood This quirky alien-meets-boy story “remains fresh and disturbing in an entirely unexpected way”—for fans of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (The Guardian) A pioneering science-fiction master confronts an enigma as strange as anything found in his classic works, The Day of the Triffids or The Chrysalids: the mind of a child It’s not terribly unusual for a boy to have an imaginary friend, but Matthew’s parents have to agree that his—nicknamed Chocky—is anything but ordinary. Why, Chocky demands to know, are there twenty-four hours in a day? Why are there two sexes? Why can’t Matthew solve his math homework using a logical system like binary code? When the questions Chocky asks become too advanced and, frankly, too odd for teachers to answer, Matthew’s parents start to wonder if Chocky might be something far stranger than a figment of their son’s imagination. Chocky, the last novel Wyndham published during his life, is a playful investigation of what being human is all about, delving into such matters as child-rearing, marriage, learning, artistic inspiration—and ending with a surprising and impassioned plea for better human stewardship of the earth.
Stories from the darkness of space, and the planets around us . . . This collection of short stories from legendary author John Wyndham takes us around the planets around Earth and the civilisations which might exist there. Is it as simple as Us vs Them, or are there things that humans do not understand yet? This collection contains: - Sleepers of Mars - Worlds to Barter - Invisible Monster - The Man from Earth - The Third Vibrator
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