Reviews

The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham

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jimbowen0306's review against another edition

4.0

I read this as a teenager. It sees strange seeming children (with psychic powers) born some time after a weird event settled over the Middle England town of Midwich. I might seem a little dated these days, but I don't feel it is. I certainly didn't notice it as a kid.

Personally this book creeped me out, and got me into horror stories, because it built up the tension effectively. You aren't sure what's going to happen, and how Wyndham is going to get the "real humans" "deal with the children" and settle the story.

I would recommend this book for most people who are interested in getting into the Sci-Fi/Horror genre.

dougal45's review against another edition

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dark mysterious

5.0

bookivore's review against another edition

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mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

This is an intriguing story with an original twist on the invasion trope. It does tend to waffle, however. So much of the book is dialogue between men. Is it a classic? Yes. But it could have had so much more impact if there was more insight into how the mothers felt. The attitude towards, and place of women in this book has not dated well.

lamisosoup's review against another edition

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3.25

mostly enjoyable! caveats being that it felt a little odd that the women aren't more central to the story considering the inciting events and all, and the tiny random moments of racism were jarring.

one thing I found really refreshing was the sparseness of the writing at times. the willingness to skip dialogue that would simply be a repetition of things the reader already knew, and leave some things to common sense or a one-sentence summary instead of drawing it out, was something I didn't realize I was looking for until I was reading it. I feel like lately I've been reading some authors who are overly explanatory or repetitive, and it felt good to have something different.

the story was also a good one, if a little predictable (but I also wonder how much of that is due to a hydrox-oreo effect of the imitations being more well-known than the original, at east for me personally). despite the limited characterization, I did still feel for the folks in midwich and their predicament, even if it did feel more like a thought exercise than a story at times.