160:
for the (fictional) English
Broadcasting Company (EBC) so are privy to decisions by government and scientific authorities, who alternatively try to counter the aliens' moves or stifle news to prevent panic. The aliens are never seen, and their origin and level of intelligence, if any, are never discerned. They are only known by their acts of violence against humanity, and their weapons of choice are not of the sort envisioned by humanity.
292:
neighbour in a sailboat, who gives them only a brief overview of what has happened in the world – excluding much of the detail and just mentioning that the
Japanese have developed an ultrasonic device that is lethal in the depths of the sea. He tells them that their names have been broadcast on radio as important people whom the new "Council For Reconstruction" is wanting to locate and employ.
227:. The Watsons cover the story for the EBC until the radio (and organised social and political life in general) ceases to exist, whereupon they can only try to survive and escape a flooded London, using an acquired motor boat to a Cornish holiday cottage which, due to the floods, now exists on an island. Other coastal countries are also disastrously affected – there is a reference to masses of
199:
puts forward the theory that the two species could co-exist, hardly noticing each other's presence. Humanity nevertheless feels threatened by this new phenomenon – particularly since the newcomers show signs of intensive work to adapt the ocean deeps to their needs (there is a mention of their digging a deep underground tunnel to link the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, their own version of the
207:
is sent down to investigate and is destroyed by the aliens with the loss of two lives. The
British government responds by exploding a nuclear device in the same location. The aliens' technology proves formidable, and an American attempt to use a nuclear bomb ends in disaster. Ships all over the world
181:
The novel describes the course of an attack on humanity by creatures from the ocean depths, as told through the eyes of Mike Watson, who works for the
English Broadcasting Company (EBC) with his wife and co-reporter Phyllis. A major role is also played by Professor Alastair Bocker – more clear-minded
159:
The novel is structured as a book within a book. After a short scene-setting introduction, the novel is the book written by the protagonist, radio reporter Mike Watson, chronicling the events that took place when creatures from the depths of the ocean attacked humanity. Mike and his wife
Phyllis work
240:
Even at the end, humans have no clear idea what their opponents looked like. The most they have is some protoplasm which floated to the surface of the sea after the ultrasound weapon was used. As the protagonist states in the book, the book aims to demonstrate that an alien invasion of Earth could
198:
and thus can only survive under conditions of extreme pressures in which humans would be instantly crushed. The deepest parts of the oceans are the only parts of Earth in any way useful to them and they presumably have no need or use for the dry land or even the shallower parts of the seas. Bocker
231:
refugees fleeing into
Germany, having "lost their centuries-long war with the sea". Ultimately, scientists in Japan develop an underwater ultrasonic weapon that kills the aliens. The population has been reduced to between a fifth and an eighth of its pre-invasion level and the world's climate has
215:
Phase two of the war starts when the aliens also start "harvesting" the land by sending up "sea tanks", using mutated and genetically altered sea creatures, which capture humans from coastal settlements. Like much of what the aliens do, the reasons for these attacks are inscrutable. The
Watsons
291:
In the US epilogue, the
Watsons are tracked down by Bocker via helicopter and he explains a great deal of what has happened to the world while Mike and Phyllis have been isolated – even describing the Japanese ultrasonic device in some detail. In the UK edition they are instead approached by a
190:
land in the oceans. Mike and
Phyllis happen to see five of the "fireballs" falling into the sea, from the ship where they are sailing on their honeymoon. Eventually the distribution of the objects' landing points – always at ocean depths, never on land – implies intelligence.
528:
orchestra. The new elements the script incorporates include an upgrade to Wyndham's predicted 100-foot rise in sea level to the worst-case figure of 70 metres envisioned over a thousand-year period by climate change experts. Such a rise sees the sea cover much of England.
216:
witness one of these assaults on a Caribbean island. Eventually coastal settlements establish such defences against these "sea tank" raids that that they become far less frequent. But this only happens after raids are experienced on every continent.
29:
287:
The US edition skips several paragraphs detailing Mike Watson's mental state and his several subconscious attempts to commit suicide, with only Phyllis preventing his success. Instead, the US edition just states that Mike goes on
185:
Mike and Phyllis are witness to several events of the invasion, which proceeds in drawn-out phases; it takes years before the bulk of humanity even realises that the world has been invaded. In the first phase, objects from
324:
selected the novel as one of the best science fiction books of 1953, describing it as "humanly convincing"; they praised the novel as "a solid and admirable story of small-scale human reactions to vast terror."
212:, with the two sides often attributing the effects of the alien attacks to their human opponents or refusing to co-operate because of their different political ideals and long-standing animosities and distrust.
208:
begin to be attacked by unknown weapons and in each case are rapidly sunk, causing havoc to the world economy and trade. Humanity is not united in the face of the mounting threat because of the
310:, reviewing the American edition, characterised the novel as "sheer melodrama, sure, but melodrama spiced with wit with pungent commentary on human foibles... A truly satisfying shocker." In
537:
In 2017, Charisma Entertainment signed an agreement with John Wyndham's estate for the exclusive rights to develop an immersive, interactive game version of the novel. Their adaptation of
345:, it would "nevertheless exert an even more lasting effect on the imagination." One newspaper reviewer was less impressed, declaring that " is that of a slightly superior snail".
295:
The UK edition is less bleak than the US version, implying that humanity has already begun to rebuild and that civilisation survives – albeit at a lesser level than before.
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was first broadcast on 21 February 1998. It was produced by Susan Roberts, with music by Paul Gargill. This version was released on CD by BBC Audiobooks in 2007.
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was released on Steam in March 2023. It was part of the Official Selection at the London Games Festival 2023. New sales on Steam were halted on 22 April 2024.
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and far-sighted about the developing crisis than everybody else but often alienating people by telling brutally unvarnished and unwanted truths.
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There are several changes for a US audience in terms of language and phraseology. Overall, the U.S. edition is significantly shorter.
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set in the present day, with some of the action moved from Harrogate to Birmingham and from Cornwall to Scotland. It starred
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of the novel in sixteen 30-minute episodes, produced by Susan Carson, and broadcast daily between 12 March and 2 April 2004.
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765:"John Wyndham - The Kraken Wakes : BBC Radio 4 Extra : February 16, 2020 12:00AM-01:00AM GMT"
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reviewer J. Francis McComas similarly noted that while the novel was "somewhat quieter in tone" than
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576:"The Screen in Review: New Martian Invasion Is Seen in War of the Worlds, Which Bows at Mayfair."
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in the United Kingdom in 1953, and first published in the United States in the same year by
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Depending on the book's printed origin there are several changes to the plot:
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The novel was adapted by John Keir Cross as a single 90-minute drama for the
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been significantly changed, with water levels 120 feet higher than before.
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A 1965 radio adaption by Eric Cameron was recorded in Vancouver by the
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878:"London Games Festival Official Selection 2023 – The Kraken Wakes"
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247:; publication of the book coincided with the release of 1953 film
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722:"BBC Radio 4 - Dangerous Visions, The Kraken Wakes, Episode 1"
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as herself and was recorded with live accompaniment by the
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as Phyllis and featured an appearance by Scotland's then
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In the final phase, the aliens begin melting the polar
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743:"Watch live radio drama: The Kraken Wakes"
27:
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16:1953 science fiction novel by John Wyndham
956:(1st Penguin ed.). London: Penguin.
935:(1st US ed.). New York: Ballantine.
194:The aliens are speculated to come from a
914:(1st ed.). London: Michael Joseph.
556:List of underwater science fiction works
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241:take a very different form from that in
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7:
498:presented an unabridged reading by
1446:Novels adapted into radio programs
470:"Becker" in the 2016 dramatisation
33:Cover of first edition (hardcover)
14:
785:Green, Chris (25 February 2016).
490:Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
1207:Tales of Gooseflesh and Laughter
814:"Climate Science Special Report"
689:. 7 February 1954. p. SM19.
96:Print (hardback & paperback)
1431:British science fiction novels
1013:, including comments on other
670:The New York Times Book Review
1:
593:Conklin, Groff (April 1954).
329:found this novel superior to
152:. The novel is also known as
1416:Novels about alien invasions
1214:Consider Her Ways and Others
163:The title is a reference to
1411:1953 science fiction novels
853:"The Kraken Wakes on Steam"
130:apocalyptic science fiction
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654:Astounding Science Fiction
136:, originally published by
1436:Kraken in popular culture
1384:The Night of the Triffids
273:The US edition, entitled
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1235:The Best of John Wyndham
154:The Things from the Deep
132:novel by British writer
1426:Books about cephalopods
1377:Blackbirds at Bangpleng
1330:The Day of the Triffids
1315:The Day of the Triffids
1274:The Day of the Triffids
1185:Short story collections
1094:The Day of the Triffids
649:"The Reference Library"
628:"Recommended Reading,"
613:"Recommended Reading,"
595:"Galaxy's 5 Star Shelf"
551:1953 in science fiction
332:The Day of the Triffids
1451:Novels by John Wyndham
1370:Children of the Damned
906:Wyndham, John (1953).
857:store.steampowered.com
832:www.thekrakenwakes.com
673:, 10 July 1955, p. 15.
600:Galaxy Science Fiction
574:White, Armond (A. W.)
1296:Village of the Damned
1281:Village of the Damned
250:The War of the Worlds
244:The War of the Worlds
150:mass market paperback
1441:Michael Joseph books
667:"Spaceman's Realm",
634:, April 1954, p. 72.
619:, March 1954, p. 93.
1406:1953 British novels
1338:The Midwich Cuckoos
1256:No Place Like Earth
1221:The Infinite Moment
1129:Trouble with Lichen
1115:The Midwich Cuckoos
1080:Foul Play Suspected
973:. London: Penguin.
432:Dr. Alistair Bocker
253:, an adaptation of
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1421:Apocalyptic novels
683:"Time and Space".
647:(September 1954).
645:Miller, P. Shuyler
580:The New York Times
442:Richard Harrington
426:Richard Harrington
327:P. Schuyler Miller
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1249:Exiles on Asperus
1242:Wanderers of Time
1200:The Seeds of Time
1168:Consider Her Ways
1073:The Secret People
1015:cosy catastrophes
816:. pp. 1–470.
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1400:Categories
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562:References
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259:box office
170:The Kraken
1056:Works by
1011:Jo Walton
706:14 August
361:Character
303:Reception
279:The Midge
261:success.
225:Harrogate
196:gas giant
80:July 1953
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837:2 August
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727:16 April
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616:F&SF
545:See also
343:Triffids
313:F&SF
288:holiday.
221:ice caps
210:Cold War
49:Language
1356:Triffid
962:2052694
920:2233673
900:Sources
887:17 July
862:17 July
322:McComas
318:Boucher
167:sonnet
52:English
1340:(2022)
1332:(2009)
1323:Chocky
1317:(1981)
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1283:(1960)
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1136:Chocky
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975:ISBN
958:OCLC
937:OCLC
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889:2023
864:2023
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