Too good

I read all the John Wyndam novels when I was younger, having had the Chrysalids as a set book in school. I have all the unabridged John Wyndham novels already on audio book and was therefore extremely pleased when Chocky came out. Didn't know Daniel Weyman (the reader is crucial in my opinion) so after Googling and finding he had won awards I purchased the audio book. My only complaint was that it was so good I finished within two days - now I've run out of good audio again!

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34 people found this helpful

Gentle but enjoyable story

Subtle and light Wyndham tale, presenting a selection of horror/scifi story tropes but in a rather sweet, family-friendly package - with a timely message delivered at the end. Very well narrated and so addictive you might listen to the whole thing in one.

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Compelling!

The title makes it sound like it will be horror but it's not. The fascinating, pacy yet gentle story is very obviously mid 20th century in its domestic setup but is quite modern in its ideas about mental health. Very enjoyable and the narrator was excellent, doing a range of convincing accents when necessary.

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oldies

oldies are the best brilliant narration.. strong story holds you from start to finish intresting conception

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An outstanding story.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, for me, this is near perfect science fiction.

What did you like best about this story?

John Wydham's reserved non-sensational style is so very powerful and convincing.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Brought tears several times.

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2 people found this helpful

Hopeful

A beautiful little story, beautifully read. In turbulent times I recommend reading this if you want to rekindle your hope for the future.

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1 person found this helpful

Highly recommended!

A fantastic story by the great John Wyndham, with excellent reading by Daniel Weyman. The blurb doesn't do the book justice as I had often considered buying it before, but decided not to bother after reading the description, and thinking it might not be my cup of tea. How wrong I was! I loved every minute of this. I can see the huge influence this story has had on many other works of science fiction.

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A little dated, but otherwise greatly enjoyable!

If you could sum up Chocky in three words, what would they be?

Mysterious, plausible, engaging.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Chocky - without giving too much away, the character themself is interesting and made more so by the obscured view we get of them.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The final, where all is revealed.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, and the short length made it easy to enjoy over one day at work.

Any additional comments?

I love science fiction which plausibly inserts its sci-fi premise into 'our world' (as opposed to that set in 'other worlds' or too far into the future). This book is an example of that, in my opinion. I think the way that the sci-fi element gradually unfolds and the events through which this occurs are done very well. I think the short length of the book is appropriate for exploring and revealing the full extent of its premise, it is paced well and never becomes tedious.

I remember reading this when I was a young teen and enjoying it. Returning to it now I enjoyed it again, but I now noticed a fairly strong note of misogyny towards the book's female characters. I imagine this is just a sign of the book's age. It would probably put me off recommending it to young readers until they are at a point where they are able to read critically though.

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A view through Chocky's eyes

A young boy begins to talk about having an invisible friend. The family are rightly concerned but have experienced this kind of thing before, so expect it will just go away. Gradually it is revealed that this friend, named Chocky, is chillingly different.

John Wyndham was described, somewhat unflatteringly, as the Master of the cosy catastrophe. Certainly this story seems to fit the bill. The family are the epitome of middle class Britain in the 1950s. Daddy is an accountant and Mummy is a housewife educated to degree standard, but is content to clear the dining table, helped by her young daughter, while father and son have a man-to-man chat about important family problems. The alien visitation and possible possession are handled in a very stiff upper lip kind of way, with only a slight wobble from Mummy, and anybody who is looking for a rip roaring kind of plot will not find it here. What I did enjoy was the insight into life in the middle part of the last century. As we are now, people were concerned about mankind’s dependency on a degenerating asset, the Earth’s resources, but remained cynical about our ability to tackle the problem in a mire of corruption and big business vested interests. These are big problems but Chocky is mainly a moving and tender story revolving around a family’s undying love for their adopted son and their desire to protect, but also to understand what is happening to him.

John Wyndham is a master storyteller and some of the most frightening things happen when our cosy lives are threatened. For this reason his science fiction continues to be relevant despite all the social and technological changes we have gone through. Daniel Weyman reads this story with admirable restraint and portrays the father’s compassion for his boy with perfection.

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20 people found this helpful

Fantastic

Delightfully written science fiction with some lovely, subtle humour. Fun also to notice all the social changes we've been through since the 60s.

Would highly recommend, not just to fans of sci-fi but anyone who enjoys charming, intelligent literature.

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