Audiobooks by John Wyndham

Classic Dystopias: A BBC Radio Drama Collection: The Time Machine, We, The Trial, Brave New World, N

Full-cast dramatisations of six masterpieces from the founding fathers of dystopian fiction Dark and disturbing, provocative and prescient, dystopian literature has long captured our imagination with its nightmarish visions of forbidding future worlds. Included here are six classic novels of time-travel, totalitarianism and terror, written by some of the masters of speculative fiction and adapted for radio with all-star casts. The Time Machine by HG Wells - A Victorian inventor takes a fateful journey into the far future, where mankind has diverged into two species - the Eloi and the Morlocks. Robert Glenister and William Gaunt star in this pioneering science fiction adventure. We by Evgeny Zamyatin - In a post-revolutionary future, OneState is ruled according to the principles of rationality. The penalty for dissent is death. But when engineer D-503 meets the beautiful 1-330, he begins to question everything... Starring Anton Lesser, Don Warrington and Brigit Forsyth. The Trial by Franz Kafka - Josef K is an ordinary man who lives a quiet life. Then, one morning, he is awoken by two men and arrested - but what is his crime? Mike Gwylim stars in this gripping dramatisation by Hanif Kureishi. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley - It's 2116 and Helmholtz Watson and Bernard Marx are token rebels in a society where eugenics, promiscuity and happiness are gently enforced. Into this world comes an outsider, John, who will show the duo what rebellion really means... Starring Justin Salinger, John Coy and Milton Lopes. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell - Winston Smith works for the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history to suit the Party. When he finds love with Julia, he awakens to new possibilities - but free thinking is forbidden, and Big Brother is always watching... Christopher Eccleston and Pippa Nixon star in Orwell's chilling tale. The Chrysalids by John Wyndham - In a post-apocalyptic world devastated by genetic mutation, the God-respecting people of Waknuk regard deviation as the work of the Devil. Young David and his friends can communicate by telepathy: but as Mutants, they must hide their powers or face the consequences of discovery... Starring Matthew Beard, Verity-May Henry and Emma Cunniffe. First published 1899 (The Time Machine), 1921 (We), 1925 (The Trial), 1932 (Brave New World), 1949 (Nineteen Eighty-Four), 1955 (The Chrysalids) (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. © 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Aldous Huxley, Franz Kafka, George Orwell, H.G. Wells, John Wyndham, Yevgeni Zamyatin (Author), Anton Lesser, Brigit Forsyth, Christopher Eccleston, Don Warrington, Full Cast, Jonathan Coy, Justin Salinger, Matthew Beard, Mike Gwylim, Pippa Nixon, Robert Glenister, William Gaunt (Narrator)

Audiobook

John Wyndham: A BBC Radio Drama Collection: Six classic BBC radio adaptations

Bill Nighy, Sarah Parish, Barbara Shelley and Peter Sallis are among the cast in these six classic BBC Radio dramatisations. John Wyndham’s quietly menacing post-apocalyptic tales are enduringly popular, and these gripping, atmospheric radio adaptations of his classic fiction are resonant with terror and suspense. In The Day of the Triffids, first broadcast in 1968, most people have been left blind after a meteor shower, and lethal carnivorous triffids are roaming the land. The Kraken Wakes, dramatised for radio in 1998, is a thrilling story of monsters from the deep, alien invasion and ecological disaster. The Chrysalids, first broadcast in 1981, explores the dangers of being different, while the 1989 adaptation of short story Survival focuses on the lengths people will go to in order to survive. The Midwich Cuckoos, broadcast in 2003, is a disturbing tale of a village sealed off from the world for a day, and subsequently taken over by terrifying, inhuman children. Dramatised for radio in 1998, Chocky is a chilling tale of a boy who appears to be communicating with an invisible friend. Also included is Beware the Stare! a half-hour BBC Radio 4 documentary looking at The Midwich Cuckoos in print and on screen. Note: These are the BBC Transcription Services versions of The Day of the Triffids, prepared forsale to overseas territories. At the time, 12 minutes of material was deleted from these episodes to bring down the running time. However, these deleted scenes have been recovered and are included as bonus extra content at the end of the final episode of The Day of the Triffids.

John Wyndham (Author), , Barbara Shelley, Bill Nighy, Full Cast, Peter Sallis (Narrator)

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Chocky

Matthew is a normal eleven year old boy living with his parents and little sister in Surrey. He's too old and sensible to have an imaginary friend really. Yet when Matthew's parents keep finding him talking and arguing with a strange presence whom Matthew calls Chocky, that's what they believe it must be . . . . at first. But Chocky is oddly sinister, and keeps asking Matthew all sorts of complicated questions about the world and making him behave in unusual and erratic ways. Then Matthew suddenly does something heroic, well beyond his capabilities; the media become interested and the interest in Matthew widens. His parents refer him to a psychologist. Who is Chocky? And what could he or she want with their son?

John Wyndham (Author), Daniel Weyman, Daniel Wyndham (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Kraken Wakes

Journalist Mike Watson and his wife, Phylis, trace it back to the strange showering lights they noticed on the final day of their honeymoon cruise: lights which appeared to land and disappear into the water. Reports mount of similar sightings all over the world. Governments embark on missions to investigate the sea, but ships disappear and diving crews never return to the surface. Something deep in the ocean does not want to be disturbed. The Kraken Wakes is a tale of humanity's efforts to resist alien invasion, narrated by Mike, who unfolds the story as experienced by the couple - from the earliest signs of trouble, to the conflict between the sea-dwelling creatures and the human world. John Wyndham's classic science-fiction masterpiece is powerfully brought to life in this unabridged production.

John Wyndham (Author), Alex Jennings, Alex Jennings (Narrator)

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The Day of The Triffids

Bill Masen works with triffids - an animalistic plant with poisonous venom, a wicked stinger and the ability to move around on three 'legs'. Hospitalised when he succumb to triffid venom in a lab accident, Masen misses seeing a world-changing night - a quirk of fate may just save his life...Strongly influenced by H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds, Wyndham's post-apocalyptic novel displays some similarities to Wells' seminal sci-fi work. Yet, it remains an enduring classic in its own right, bursting with imagination and startling inventiveness.

John Wyndham (Author), Alex Jennings, Alex Jennings (Narrator)

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Chocky

From John Wyndham, author of The Day of the Triffids, comes this chilling tale of a normal boy confronted with abnormal circumstances. Matthew had always been an ordinary boy. Even when he started talking to himself and introduced his invisible friend, Chocky, to the family, it was obviously just a phase he was going through. And all children have imaginary friends, even if Matthew's a bit old to have one. As he becomes increasingly distressed and blames it on arguments with this unseen companion, his parents become concerned. But when Matthew starts explaining binary maths and anti-gravity propulsion, concerns turn to worry. After all, Chocky is only the product of an overactive imagination. Isn't he? Chocky stars Sacha Dhawan as Matthew, Owen Teale as David Gore and Cathy Tyson as Mary Gore.

John Wyndham (Author), , Cathy Tyson, Full Cast, Owen Teale, Sacha Dhawan (Narrator)

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The Kraken Wakes, The (Classic Radio Sci-Fi)

At first the fireballs seemed to be nothing more than a dazzling display of lights in the sky, plunging into the deepest oceans and disappearing without trace. But, when ships started sinking inexplicably and the sea-lanes became impassable, it seemed that the world was facing a threat of unprecedented proportions. Mike and Phyllis Watson, both radio journalists, are caught up in the centre of events, well aware that it's not the cold war or international conflicts that are causing these events, but something infinitely more deadly - an alien invasion. And that's not all: the sea level is rising, the ice caps are melting, London and other cities are flooding, millions of people are drowning and ecological disaster looms. And, whatever the alien beings are, they have begun to emerge from the sea... A science fiction story full of contemporary resonances, from the fear of global warming to the distrust of official information and propaganda, and the ultimate fear of a challenge to the supremacy of human beings on Earth.

John Wyndham (Author), , Full Cast, Jonathan Cake, Saira Todd (Narrator)

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The Chrysalids & Survival

Two classic tales from acclaimed British science fiction writer John Wyndham. In The Chrysalids, ten-year-old David is a happy, ordinary boy, untroubled except for occasional strange dreams about a mysterious city - until he befriends Sophie, who is unlike anybody he has met before: she has six toes. But, in the ultra-religious village of Waknut, all abnormality is abhorred as an offence against God, and he must keep her secret to himself. When he learns that he, too, is 'deviant', he realises that differences can be very dangerous indeed... Survival, set in the future, concerns the first auto-piloted space flight. When the ship meets with an accident, one of the passengers is killed and the others are cast adrift into space. They have enough supplies to last for three months - but the only woman on board, Alice Morgan, is pregnant, and needs extra rations. Then, food starts to go missing from the larder. What lengths will the passengers go to in order to survive? Stephen Garlick, Susan Sheridan, John Moffatt and Nicholas Courtney star in these two disturbing stories about the darker side of human nature. This CD release also includes a detailed sleeve note recounting the making of the radio adaptations, written by Andrew Pixley.

John Wyndham (Author), , Full Cast, John Moffatt, Nicholas Courtney, Stephen Garlick, Susan Sheridan (Narrator)

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The Midwich Cuckoos

Driving back from a weekend in London, Richard and Janet Gayford are surprised to find the village of Midwich sealed off because of 'army manoeuvres'. There are no birds singing, the air seems thick and there is a strange sort of music in the air. It soon becomes clear that there is an invisible wall around the village, and everyone within the perimeter is unconscious. When the barrier lifts, the strange occurrence is put down to a gas leak. The villagers seem to have suffered no adverse effects from their 'day out' - until, some months later, there is an epidemic of pregnancies among the women. All the babies are born on the same day, all have golden eyes - and they can all communicate with each other telepathically. As they grow older and their powers grow stronger, the people of Midwich begin to feel threatened...

John Wyndham (Author), Bill Nighy, Full Cast, Sarah Parish (Narrator)

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The Day Of The Triffids

Bill Masen wakes in his hospital bed, eyes bandaged. Something is wrong: it's unusually quiet and no one has come to his room. When he removes his bandages he finds a world that has changed utterly. Most of the population are completely blind - only those who didn't watch the night sky can still see. And, as law and order break down, a new menace appears - Triffids, walking carnivorous plants that can kill a human with their lethal sting. For Bill and the other survivors, it's now a battle to stay alive. Gary Watson stars as Bill, with Barbara Shelley as Josella in these six stirring episodes. Also amongst the cast are Peter Sallis, Marjorie Westbury and some names familiar to Doctor Who aficionados: Peter Pratt, Christopher Bidmead and David Brierley. First published in 1951, John Wyndham's novel became his best-known work and a classic of 20th Century fiction.

John Wyndham (Author), , Barbara Shelley, Full Cast, Gary Watson, Marjorie Westbury, Peter Sallis (Narrator)

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