Much like the author's better known The Day Of The Triffids, The Kraken Wakes is a story of a global apocalypse told on a small scale. The book is narrated by Michael Watson who, along with his wife Phyllis, is a journalist and feature writer for the English Broadcast Company.
The Watsons are on honeymoon when they see the first signs of what is to come. Strange lights in the sky descend into the depths of the ocean, disappearing without a trace. Soon, though, whatever has arrived begins to make itself felt, first by making ships disappear, then by strange excursions onto the land.
This book leaves many questions unanswered, which may disappoint or confuse modern readers who are used to endings where everything is neatly wrapped up and explained. I think that the novel is stronger for that and it left me with a sense of reality, of events that may never be fully understood.
But it also ends on a hopeful note (also like The Day Of The Triffids). Mike and Phyllis are, I think, going to survive in the new world that emerges.
It started with fireballs raining down from the sky and crashing into the oceans' deeps. Then ships began sinking mysteriously and later 'sea tanks' emerged from the deeps to claim people . . .
For journalists Mike and Phyllis Watson, what at first appears to be a curiosity becomes a global calamity. Helpless, they watch as humanity struggles to survive now that water - one of the compounds upon which life depends - is turned against them. Finally, sea levels begin their inexorable rise . . .
This is an extremely "hard" science fiction novel, dealing in detail with the technical details of cybernetics and interplanetary exploration. Nonetheless, it stays tightly focused on one man and his struggle to adapt to what is being done to his body. One cannot help but feel for Roger Torraway as he becomes the titular Man Plus. The secondary characters and the different ways that they react to Roger's changing body and mind are very realistic.
This is a fairy tale that draws on the tropes of 20th century Horror movies. It's easy to dismiss the simple, direct style as simplistic, but it has hidden depths that Zelazny effortlessly navigates on the journey through the month of October and to the ceremony that will take place on Halloween. It draws the reader into a strange world that nonetheless is so familiar.
"One of Zelazny's most delightful books: Jack the Ripper's dog Snuff narrates a mad game of teams to cause or prevent armageddon." NEIL GAIMAN
All is not what it seems.
In the murky London gloom, a knife-wielding gentleman named Jack prowls the midnight streets with his faithful watchdog Snuff - gathering together the grisly ingredients they will need for an upcoming ancient and unearthly rite. For soon after the death of the moon, black magic will summon the Elder Gods back into the world. And all manner of Players, both human and undead, are preparing to participate.
A followup to my earlier collection, Bad Dreams & Broken Hearts. Four stories featuring detective Erik Rugar and four stories about a retired wizard who teaches magic at a community college, Leonid Vetch.
