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Stowaway to Mars (Paperback)
John Wyndham; Introduction by Lincoln Michel
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R407
R338
Discovery Miles 3 380
Save R69 (17%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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'Ingenious, horrifying' - Guardian It started with fireballs
raining down from the sky and crashing into the oceans' deeps. Then
ships began sinking mysteriously and later 'sea tanks' emerged from
the deeps to claim people . . . For journalists Mike and Phyllis
Watson, what at first appears to be a curiosity becomes a global
calamity. Helpless, they watch as humanity struggles to survive now
that water - one of the compounds upon which life depends - is
turned against them. Finally, sea levels begin their inexorable
rise . . . The Kraken Wakes is a brilliant novel of how humankind
responds to the threat of its own extinction and, ultimately, asks
what we are prepared to do in order to survive.
A major account of Renaissance portraiture by one of the twentieth
century’s most eminent art historians In this book, John
Pope-Hennessy provides an unprecedented look at two centuries of
experiment in portraiture during the Renaissance. Pope-Hennessy
shows how the Renaissance cult of individuality brought with it a
demand that the features of the individual be perpetuated, a
concept first manifested in the portraits that fill the great
Florentine fresco cycles and led, later in the fifteenth century,
to the creation of the independent portrait by such artists as
Sandro Botticelli, Antonio del Pollaiuolo, Giovanni Bellini, and
Antonello da Messina. Pope-Hennessy goes on to describe the process
by which Titian and the great artists of the High Renaissance
transformed the portrait from a record of appearance into an
analysis of character.
When Bill Masen wakes up blindfolded in hospital there is a bitter irony in his situation. Carefully removing his bandages, he realizes that he is the only person who can see: everyone else, doctors and patients alike, have been blinded by a meteor shower. Now, with civilization in chaos, the triffids - huge, venomous, large-rooted plants able to 'walk', feeding on human flesh - can have their day. The Day of the Triffids, published in 1951, expresses many of the political concerns of its time: the Cold War, the fear of biological experimentation and the man-made apocalypse. However, with its terrifyingly believable insights into the genetic modification of plants, the book is more relevant today than ever before.
2021 MARKS THE 70th ANNIVERSARY OF THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS, THE
MOST FAMOUS CATASTROPHE NOVEL OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 'When a day
that you happen to know is Wednesday starts off by sounding like
Sunday, there is something seriously wrong somewhere.' When a freak
cosmic event renders most of the Earth's population blind, Bill
Masen - one of the lucky few to keep his sight - finds himself
trapped in a London jammed with sightless mobs who prey on those
who can still see. But another menace stalks blind and sighted
alike. With nobody to stop them the Triffids - walking carnivorous
plants with lethal stingers - rise up as humanity stumbles and
falls . . . With its startling imagery of desolate streets and
lurching, The Day of the Triffid's lethal plant life retains its
power to haunt today. 'One of those books that haunts you for the
rest of your life' Sunday Times 'Has captivated readers for over
half a century' Guardian
In a city that could well be New York, a series of identical women
are found dead in suspicious circumstances. Magazine photographer
Johnny Farthing, who is reporting on the suspected murders, is
chilled to discover that his fiancee looks identical to the victims
too - and then she disappears. As his investigations spiral beyond
his control, he finds himself at the heart of a sinister plot that
uses cloning to revive the Nazi vision of a world-powerful master
race... Part detective noir, part dystopic thriller, Plan for Chaos
reveals the legendary science fiction novelist grappling with some
of his most urgent and personal themes.
David's father doesn't approve of Angus Morton's unusually large
horses, calling them blasphemies against nature. And blasphemies,
as everyone knows, should be burned: KEEP PURE THE STOCK OF THE
LORD; WATCH THOU FOR THE MUTANT. Little does he realise that his
own son - and his son's cousin Rosalind and their friends - have
their own secret aberration which would label them as mutants. And
mutants, as everyone knows, should be burned. But as David and
Rosalind grow older it becomes more difficult to conceal their
differences from the village elders. Soon they face a choice: wait
for eventual discovery - and death - or flee to the terrifying and
mutable Badlands . . .
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Chocky (Paperback)
John Wyndham
1
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R292
R236
Discovery Miles 2 360
Save R56 (19%)
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Ships in 9 - 15 working days
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Matthew's parents are worried. At eleven, he's much too old to have
an imaginary friend, yet they find him talking to and arguing with
a presence that even he admits is not physically there. This
presence - Chocky - causes Matthew to ask difficult questions and
say startling things: he speaks of complex mathematics and mocks
human progress. Then, when Matthew does something incredible, it
seems there is more than the imaginary about Chocky. Which is when
others become interested and ask questions of their own: who is
Chocky? And what could it want with an eleven-year-old boy?
Until now, little was known of John Wyndham. Despite his
popularity, his obsessive need for privacy led to him being known
as "the invisible man of science fiction". He redefined the genre
with dystopian classics The Day of the Triffids and The Midwich
Cuckoos. In Hidden Wyndham, Amy Binns reveals the woman who was the
inspiration for his strong-minded heroines. Their secret love
affair sustained this gentle and desperately shy man through
failure, war, and, ultimately, success. Hidden Wyndham shows how
Wyndham's own disturbing war experiences - witnessing the
destruction of London in the Blitz then as part of the invading
British army in France and Germany - inspired and underlay his
dystopian masterpieces. It provides an insight into the lives of
men and women who refused to live by the oppressive rules of
society in the mid-20th century. Many extracts from his letters are
included, along with his own photographs. "Put your hand on your
heart sometimes, my lovely, and tell yourself that it is mine. An
era had shut up its houses and gone away, perhaps forever. But we
had that little much longer. How cruel the macrocosm, sweet, but
how sweet the microcosm. Oh, my darling."
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The Chrysalids (Paperback)
John Wyndham; Introduction by M. John Harrison
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R264
R192
Discovery Miles 1 920
Save R72 (27%)
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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The disturbing post-apocalyptic novel The Chrysalids by John
Wyndham, author of The Day of the Triffids and The Kraken Wakes and
dramatised on BBC Radio 4. David Strorm's father doesn't approve of
Angus Morton's unusually large horses, calling them blasphemies
against nature. Little does he realise that his own son, and his
son's cousin Rosalind and their friends, have their own secret
abberation which would label them as mutants. But as David and
Rosalind grow older it becomes more difficult to conceal their
differences from the village elders. Soon they face a choice: wait
for eventual discovery, or flee to the terrifying and mutable
Badlands. . . The Chrysalids is a post-nuclear apocalypse story of
genetic mutation in a devastated world and explores the lengths the
intolerant will go to keep themselves pure. 'Perfect timing,
astringent humour. . . one of the few authors whose compulsive
readability is a compliment to the intelligence' Spectator 'Remains
fresh and disturbing in an entirely unexpected way' Guardian 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.
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.
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The Kraken Wakes (Paperback)
John Wyndham; Introduction by Alexandra Kleeman
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R407
R308
Discovery Miles 3 080
Save R99 (24%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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The Chrysalids (Paperback)
John Wyndham; Introduction by M. John Harrison
1
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R263
R213
Discovery Miles 2 130
Save R50 (19%)
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Ships in 9 - 15 working days
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'WATCH THOU FOR THE MUTANT!' It is many years since God sent the
Tribulation to punish the forebears for their sins, and in the
rural settlement of Waknuk David Strorm's father decries any and
all blasphemies against nature. Little does he realise that David
and his cousin Rosalind, have their own secret aberration which
would label them as mutants. But as they grow older it becomes more
difficult to conceal their differences from the village elders.
Soon they face a choice: wait for eventual discovery, or flee to
the terrifying and mutable Badlands. . . 'An outstanding success'
New York Times
FROM THE CLASSIC SCI-FI WRITER AND AUTHOR OF THE CHRYSTALIDS AND
THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS Now a modern reimagining starring Keeley
Hawes and Max Beesley available to watch on Sky. 'Exciting,
unsettling and technically brilliant' Spectator In the sleepy
English village of Midwich, a mysterious silver object appears and
all the inhabitants fall unconscious. A day later the object is
gone and everyone awakens unharmed - except that all the women in
the village are discovered to be pregnant. The resultant children
of Midwich do not belong to their parents: all are blonde, all are
golden eyed. They grow up too fast and their minds exhibit
frightening abilities that give them control over others and brings
them into conflict with the villagers just as a chilling
realisation dawns on the world outside . . . The Midwich Cuckoos is
the classic tale of aliens in our midst, exploring how we respond
when confronted by those who are innately superior to us in every
conceivable way.
FROM THE RENOWNED CLASSIC SCI-FI WRITER AND AUTHOR OF THE DAY OF
THE TRIFFIDS AND THE CHRYSTALIDS 'Ingenious' Evening Standard
Francis Saxover and Diana Brackley, two scientists investigating a
rare lichen, discover it has a remarkable property: it retards the
aging process. Francis, realising the implications for the world of
an ever-youthful, wealthy elite, wants to keep it secret, but Diana
sees an opportunity to overturn the male status quo by using the
lichen to inspire a feminist revolution. As each scientist wrestles
with the implications and practicalities of exploiting the
discovery, the world comes ever closer to learning the truth . . .
Trouble With Lichen is a scintillating story of the power wielded
by science in our lives and asks how much trust should we place in
those we appoint to be its guardians?
Genetic mutation has devastated the world. In the bleak, primitive society that has emerged from its ruins, any sign of deviation is ruthlessly hunted out and destroyed. David lives in fear of discovery, for he is part of a secret group of children who are able to communicate with each other by transferring thought-shapes into each others minds. As they grow older they feel increasingly isolated. Then one of them marries a 'norm' with terrifying consequences.
In this thrilling collection of stories, John Wyndham, author of
the acclaimed classics The Day of the Triffids and The Midwich
Cuckoos, conducts ten experiments along the theme of 'I wonder what
might happen if . . .' There's the story of the meteor, which holds
much more than meets the eye. In Chronoclasm a man is pursued by
his own future. We meet a robot with an overactive compassion
circuit. And what happens when the citizens of the future turn the
past into a giant theme park? 'One of the few authors whose
compulsive readability is a compliment to the intelligence'
Spectator
The 'outward urge' was a factor in the Troon inheritance.
Successive generations of Troons, looking up at the stars, heard
the siren voices that called them out into Space. And, as the
frontiers of Space receded, there was usually one Troon, if not
more, out there, helping to push them back. In an age in which what
goes up need not necessarily come down, the likely adventures of
the Conquistadors of Space are every bit as exciting as any world
menaced by triffids. This coming-of-age classic from the author of
The Midwich Cuckoos shows Wyndham's mastery across genres.
A stunning new clothbound edition of one of the most famous
science-fiction novels of the twentieth century, designed by the
acclaimed Coralie-Bickford Smith. When Bill Masen wakes up
blindfolded in hospital there is a bitter irony in his situation.
Carefully removing his bandages, he realizes that he is the only
person who can see: everyone else, doctors and patients alike, have
been blinded by a meteor shower. Now, with civilization in chaos,
the triffids - huge, venomous, large-rooted plants able to 'walk',
feeding on human flesh - can have their day...
'The Sun Bird was beginning to travel fast, close to the edge of
the whirlpool. They could look right down into the hollow of
spinning water' While flying over Africa's New Sea, a water project
in the heart of the Sahara desert, Mark Sunnet's rocket plane
crashes and is sucked through a hole in the desert floor into a
strange, cavernous new world. There, he and his partner Margaret
encounter the survivors of an ancient race of underground dwellers
whose whole existence is now threatened. Captured and forced to
live with other prisoners taken from the surface, the pair know
that they must escape before the waters above drown them all . . .
The Secret People, published in 1935, is John Wyndham's first
novel. 'Perhaps the best writer of science fiction England has ever
produced' Stephen King
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