“The Kraken Wakes” is my first John Wyndham novel. I can’t say that I’m impressed or blown away, but that probably has more to do with my expectations going in. I personally thought, based on the genre labels, that it would be more horrifying, more exciting, more imaginative. Based on the book cover and the title, I thought it would be about cool, huge sea monsters. Based on the blurb, I thought I was in for an apocalyptic show of epic and devastating proportions. I got none of it, which disappointed me a lot. I didn’t dislike the book either, though, but I had to adjust my expectations along the way and my way of understanding it, which did soften the blow and redeemed it a little, but I realized that a bit too late, so I didn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to.

The narrative was slow most of the time, meandering even, but the story overall was conveyed with confidence and intelligence. The tension and excitement came for me intermittently, but would peter out and dissipate as soon as it had arrived, like the ebb and flow of the tides. This back and forth made things way less thrilling, as there would be a build-up of something impressive, but which never really went anywhere.

The prose was equally fickle. There were a lot of awkward sentences that I had to read twice or even three times to get a sense of what he meant. I wouldn’t say his style here is amateurish. Far from it. It felt mature, yet excessively technical and devoid of spirit. The dialogs were equally confusing, as well as the random jumping forwards in time, from section to section or even from sentence to sentence.

Speaking of dialog, both the prose and the characters lacked soul for me. They were very matter-of-factly, flat, even one dimensional and as emotionally deep as a mathematical problem. I didn’t care about them one bit. I barely understood them, if at all.

I understand perfectly now, though, why he called this form of science fiction ‘logical fantasy’.
What I appreciated on a more intellectual level, was how Wyndham showcased human political enterprise, involving international intrigue, unnecessary squabbling, echo chambers, distrust, publicity distortion, human capacity for inept procrastination and indifference when faced with tragedies happening at a distance. Or when faced with anything alien. Wyndhams excellence in social commentary was impressive and interesting. A very fitting quotes from the book:

“I think (the authorities) they’re balancing things all the time. What is the minimum cost at which the political set-up can be preserved in in present conditions? How much loss of life will the people put up with before they become dangerous about it? Would it be wise or unwise to declare martial law, and at what stage? On and on, instead of admitting the danger and getting to work.” (page 162)

In any case, “The Kraken Wakes” is not an amazing novel, I don’t think. It’s even more down-to-earth, tidy and structural, descriptive and logical than it is full of action and adventure, otherworldly creatures and amazing futuristic technologies. I will not give up on John Wyndham just yet. I believe he has much more worthwhile to explore, but if you are considering reading some of his works for the first time, unless you specifically look for the same things that I happened to appreciate here, I’d recommend you start by reading something else. This is most likely a dead-end if you are hoping to encounter a post-apocalyptic sci-fic fantasy horror novel. My conclusion: It was okay.