Web

Minor Wyndham, horror rather than his usual SF, although the pattern is familiar. In this case, rather than an alien invasion, an earth species mutates out of control to threaten a rather poorly-planned expedition to set up a Utopian settlement on an island in the Pacific, only a generation after a

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nuclear test was done in the area.

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Web is a posthumously published novel by one of the last century's greatest science fiction writers: John Wyndham. Like his more famous works (i.e. The Chrysalids, The Day of the Triffids), Web rides the line between science fiction and horror—this time swerving more towards horror.

Lord Foxfield

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was an aging mogul with a desire to leave a lasting name for himself. He decided to buy a deserted island with a spotted past to create an ideal society. As you might guess, things degenerate. There's some obvious social commentary there about the inability of humanity to create a perfectly synergistic society while other creatures . . . well, just read the book.

I love Wyndham, but I have to admit this is one of his more lackluster efforts. The first few chapters border on tedium, while the middle of the book races along like pulp fiction. Unfortunately, this is only worth reading if you're a fan of the author.

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I love John Wyndham novels – he comes up with so many excellent scenarios, all seemingly with a pleasing shot of apocalypse. The only problem I tend to have is that they aren’t long enough, and this was no exception.

Apparently unpublished until some time after his death, it almost feels as

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though it wasn’t intended as a full length novel but as a plan for one. Fleshed out, this would have been properly chilling, whereas in its existing form everything seems to be over before it’s had chance to begin. It also felt as though the need to explain scientific ideas took precedence over the emotions of a situation. So we have people calmly advancing scientific hypotheses at gunpoint, or when sitting in a boat that has a corpse lying at the bottom of it. Such stiff-upper-lipped people could only be British.

Aside from the above, there was much to appreciate about the plot, and the horrors that await the protagonists on a remote Pacific island. The setting was unusual and interesting, and the story of the disgruntled displaced natives well told.

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Never used to have a problem with spiders, in fact I am quite fond of the clever little buggers. But, from here on in, thanks solely to Mr Wyndham, I will be eyeing them with extreme caution.