Chrysalids

A very interesting book this, and in my opinion, the best of Wyndham's

novels. The first sci-fi novel I ever read was Day of the Triffids, which is

probably the most famous Wyndham, and the most popular. It sold very well in

the 1950's and found its way into the national consciousness and even onto

the school curriculum, which is where I encountered it over a decade later.

For some reason, people seemed able to relate to the idea of a bunch of

intelligent, ambulatory giant plants taking over the world - surely he

wasn't alluding to the Russians?

As much as I enjoyed Triffids, it was The Chrysalids I read next of my own

accord, and this was the book which was to become one of the 'milestone'

novels in my life - one of those you know that you'll read many times and

always have a copy of on your bookshelf. It thoroughly caught my imagination and had me right in there with the protagonists when the action begins to heat up.

Now the plot. Although it's never explicitly referred to, it's clear that the events

take place in a post nuclear holocaust world which has taken some time to

recover. The legacy of the blast still remains in the form of 'no-go' areas

of land, referred to as 'the badlands', and malformations in the progeny of

everything from plants to humans. The other major factor is that the bible,

in the form of the old testament, has survived Armageddon to strongly

dominate the lives of a largely evangelical community which is their

response to their own need to survive and control their world once again.

Unfortunately, anything which comes into life with any kind of physical

defect is either burned (plants), slaughtered (animals) or banished to the

badlands

...