This is another exceptional book by John Wyndham, who is most famous for being the author of The Day of the Triffids. I found the “double” dialogue used in the book a bit confusing at first but as the story went on it became easier to follow. What I found very effective was the way in which the element of familiarity and the element of the unknown are combined in the setting. The author uses elements that are somewhat familiar, such as the idea of telepathy, relies on what is known to us through news reports about extremist sects, refers to places in the real world, such as Canada and New Zealand, and tells a story that is pure science fiction against this realistic background. This helps to make the story more believable, and therefore more frightening.
The story takes place in the future, on the island of Labrador, Canada, in an area known as Waknuk. What survivors assume to have been a punishment from God, Tribulation, had wiped out almost all living things on Earth, and most technology along with it. People have adopted many false teachings about what is right. They assume that any person with a visible defect is not created in the image of God and must be cast out of society. These people are forced to live in an area known as The Fringes. Other living things, such as plants and animals, are destroyed if they have a defect or mutation, known as deviations. This teaching is known as Purity.
David Strorm, the hero of this novel, is born into a family of firm believers in Purity. His father, Joseph Strorm, is a rich farmer and a strict follower of Purity. He doesn’t allow anything with even the slightest deviation from the “norm” to live. David’s closest friend, Sophie Wender such a deviant she has six toes. Her parents hide this fact from everyone but David. Unfortunately, Sophie is found out and banished to The Fringes. As time passes, David realizes that he isn’t like everyone else. He has the ability to communicate telepathically with seven other people in his district who have the same abilities as him. They are able to talk to one another at any time in any place via “thought shapes”. This includes communicating with another group of people in New Zealand. The people of New Zealand remained relatively unaffected by Tribulation and maintained much of their technology. In the end, it appears that New Zealand will be the last safe place left in the world.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in science fiction. Because the story is more realistic than most science fiction stories, giving an insight into other parts of the world, like New Zealand, and parts of Canada that someone from Vancouver might not know about, I think that even people who don’t really like this genre will find this book appealing.
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