New Releases by John Wyndham

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 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.

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.

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. . . .

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 COLD WAR SCI-FI CLASSIC: Following a global nuclear war, a telepathic young boy searches for freedom in a fundamentalist society. “One of the most thoughtful post-apocalypse novels ever written.” —David Mitchell, New York Times–bestselling author of Cloud Atlas The Chrysalids is set in the future after a devastating global nuclear war. David lives in a tight-knit community of religious and genetic fundamentalists, who exist in a state of constant alert for any deviation from what they perceive as the norm of God’s creation—deviations broadly classified as “offenses” and “blasphemies.” Offenses consist of plants and animals that are in any way unusual, and these are publicly burned to the accompaniment of the singing of hymns. Blasphemies are human beings—ones who show any sign of abnormality, however trivial. They are banished from human society, cast out to live in the wild country where, as the authorities say, nothing is reliable, and the devil does his work. David grows up surrounded by admonitions: KEEP PURE THE STOCK OF THE LORD; WATCH THOU FOR THE MUTANT. At first, he hardly questions them, though he is shocked when his sternly pious father and rigidly compliant mother force his aunt to forsake her baby. It is a while before he realizes that he too is out of the ordinary, in possession of a power that could doom him to death or introduce him to a new, hitherto-unimagined world of freedom. The Chrysalids is a perfectly conceived and constructed work from the classic era of science fiction. It is a Voltairean philosophical tale that has as much resonance in our own day, when genetic and religious fundamentalism are both on the march, as when it was written during the Cold War.

A powerful post-apocalyptic allegory of persecution and intolerance, the Penguin Modern Classics edition of John Wyndham's science fiction masterpiece The Day of the Triffids contains an introduction by M. John Harrison. Nuclear war has devastated the world, bringing with it a host of genetic mutations. In the bleak, primitive society that has emerged from its ruins, any sign of deviation, no matter how small, is ruthlessly rooted 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 other's minds. As they grow older, they feel increasingly isolated. Then one of them marries a 'norm', with terrifying consequences. John Wyndham (1903-1969) the son of a barrister, tried a number of careers including farming, law, commercial art and advertising before writing short stories, intended for sale, in 1925. After serving in the Civil Service and the Army during the Second World War, he decided to try writing a modified form of Science Fiction, which he called 'logical fantasy'. Among his most famous books are The Day of the Triffids (1951), The Kraken Wakes (1953), The Chrysalids (1955), The Midwich Cuckoos (1957, filmed twice as Village of the Damned), Trouble with Lichen (1960), and Chocky (1968). If you enjoyed The Chrysalids, you might like Arthur Miller's The Crucible, also available in Penguin Modern Classics. 'One of those few authors whose compulsive readability is a compliment to the intelligence' Spectator

Was he a reality, a dream or a nightmare?

One of the fascinations of the time traveling story lies in the endless source of speculation concerning its manifold possibilities. So many elements of time traveling stories seem to be contrary to reason and lead the thinking reader into all sort of absurd situations. Readers may find some of these apparent contradictions in the present story. Even the scientists of the 22nd century found themselves unable to follow the mysterious program of the owners of the silver vehicles who wanted to transfer a whole race through time. But this story is thrilling from beginning to end. It leaves one with a sense that there was much that our hero could have told us, if he were able. It leaves us with a haunting sense of mystery, of unnamable fear and of desolation. This classic short story, by the author of The Day of the Triffids and The Midwich Cookoos (filmed as Village of the Damned) originally appeared in Wonder Stories in 1931. Includes an introduction by Karl Wurf.