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Plan for Chaos
Plan for Chaos is a never-before published novel by post-apocalyptic British science fiction writer John Wyndham (1903–69), best known for his “cozy catastrophe” novel about a venomous class of fictional plants, The Day of the Triffids. Written simultaneously with that well-known volume, which has been in print continuously since its publication in 1951, Plan for Chaos makes a fascinating companion to the author’s most famous work and offers a new angle on a writer often considered the direct descendent of the legendary H.G. Wells and an influence on such innovators as Ray Bradbury and Margaret Atwood.
Liverpool University Press - Liverpool Science Fiction Texts & Studies
Liverpool University Press - Liverpool Science Fiction Texts & Studies
256 pages, Hardcover
First published May 15, 2009
About the author
John Wyndham
306 books1,883 followersJohn Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris was the son of a barrister. After trying a number of careers, including farming, law, commercial art and advertising, he started writing short stories in 1925. After serving in the civil Service and the Army during the war, he went back to writing. Adopting the name John Wyndham, he started writing a form of science fiction that he called 'logical fantasy'. As well as The Day of the Triffids, he wrote The Kraken Wakes, The Chrysalids, The Midwich Cuckoos (filmed as Village of the Damned) and The Seeds of Time.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
January 19, 2013
I'm not quite sure why there are so many poor, or at least lukewarm, reviews for this title: I found it thoroughly enjoyable. Context first, then: this manuscript lay unpublished for more than half a century and would have been Wyndham's first novel had he not put it down and knocked out Day of the Triffids between drafts. Some effort was made to get it into print in the 50s but no one was interested on either side of the Atlantic so it was overlooked until 2009.
As a great many reviewers here and elsewhere have pointed out, the first 50 or so pages read like a hard boiled noir, which is clearly not JW's strength but to dismiss it on those grounds is just plain silly. The plot ticks along perfectly well and it's rather charming - knowing his other work - to read him having a go at something along the lines of Hammett or Spillane. Then, when the book moves beyond the American pavement we get all the elements that we love about Wyndham's other works: grand schemes for conquest; involved debates about philosophy; ridicule of rigid dogma; no nonsense female protagonists; meta deconstruction of the story as it is taking place.
Beyond that there are a couple of great set piece scenes ([[MILD SPOILER]]the Flying saucer ride and the mass rally being two [[/SPOILER ENDS]]) and a typically open, reflective ending. It's a pity it took so long to get this novel to press but now it's here I for one am very happy.
As a great many reviewers here and elsewhere have pointed out, the first 50 or so pages read like a hard boiled noir, which is clearly not JW's strength but to dismiss it on those grounds is just plain silly. The plot ticks along perfectly well and it's rather charming - knowing his other work - to read him having a go at something along the lines of Hammett or Spillane. Then, when the book moves beyond the American pavement we get all the elements that we love about Wyndham's other works: grand schemes for conquest; involved debates about philosophy; ridicule of rigid dogma; no nonsense female protagonists; meta deconstruction of the story as it is taking place.
Beyond that there are a couple of great set piece scenes ([[MILD SPOILER]]the Flying saucer ride and the mass rally being two [[/SPOILER ENDS]]) and a typically open, reflective ending. It's a pity it took so long to get this novel to press but now it's here I for one am very happy.
September 16, 2012
Considering that John Wyndham abandoned publication of this novel in favour of Day of The Triffids, it shouldn't come as a surprise that this isn't quite up to the standard you expect from the master of mid 20th century sci-fi. Even so, it's still a thoroughly enjoyable read with a disturbingly plausible plot which, as with many of Wyndham's works, gives a good insight into the world of 1950s politics, while engaging and entertaining the reader.
As long as you aren't expecting this to be as good as Wyndham's best, you shouldn't be disappointed.
As long as you aren't expecting this to be as good as Wyndham's best, you shouldn't be disappointed.
December 27, 2010
I've liked the other John Wyndham novels I've read not least because of the very scientific and very English style of narration. So it was a tad disconcerting when this book's introduction warned me that the style of narration herein is badly-done-American-noir-esque, and moreover that the novel is worth reading predominantly because it represents the point when Wyndham shifted from his earlier pulp style to his more famous later style that we all know and love. Indeed, Plan for Chaos was written while he was figuring out how to perfect The Day of the Triffids, the first of his "later" novels.
As it turns out, I must beg to differ with the introduction. Sure, the narration starts off sounding like an Englishman trying to do a restrained Raymond Chandler, but fairly soon our protagonist finds his own voice (which sounds fairly English if not overly scientific). And the plot is quite the ripping yarn.
The story is in two parts, the first is a bit of a mystery (in the genre sense, not "it's hard to quantify") with some 1950s B-movie shenanigans thrown in for good measure. The second part is much more thinky and philosophises about the role of science in our lives. It's almost a microcosm for Wyndham's writing style itself over the course of his life, but that's perhaps reading a little too much into it. Whatever the case, the two halves complement one another nicely and I heartily recommend the book they form.
As it turns out, I must beg to differ with the introduction. Sure, the narration starts off sounding like an Englishman trying to do a restrained Raymond Chandler, but fairly soon our protagonist finds his own voice (which sounds fairly English if not overly scientific). And the plot is quite the ripping yarn.
The story is in two parts, the first is a bit of a mystery (in the genre sense, not "it's hard to quantify") with some 1950s B-movie shenanigans thrown in for good measure. The second part is much more thinky and philosophises about the role of science in our lives. It's almost a microcosm for Wyndham's writing style itself over the course of his life, but that's perhaps reading a little too much into it. Whatever the case, the two halves complement one another nicely and I heartily recommend the book they form.
January 30, 2023
Well that was a strange book. A mate who now lives in Switzerland bought it for me as a gift, as it was one of his favourites. The book was written at same time as The Day of the Triffids. However, I can see why Wyndham did not publish it whilst he was alive. In fact whilst reading I was using Triffids and the Chrysalids as benchmarks- and the book fell short of both.
It’s a story along the lines of the Boys from Brazil. Clones developed by The Mother. A Nazi who escaped the bunker in the final days. Johnny Farthing a news photographer sees a link between a number of women who have been murdered. When his cousin, who he wants to marry (what?) is kidnapped he goes in pursuit.
A bunker in the Amazon. Spaceships. Clones of Johnny and his cousin. Hacking his way through the jungle with a knife, or being stranded on a mountainside. In a John Buchan way, the list goes on.
The introduction by Chris Priest is interesting in revealing that the authors full name was John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Benyon Harris. He reveals tgat Wyndham did try hard to get his manuscript published but failed.
Certainly an interesting story. But I couldn’t feel much affinity for the characters. That said after watching The Rig on Netflix in which another mate plays an extra - I need to read The Kraken Awakes👍
It’s a story along the lines of the Boys from Brazil. Clones developed by The Mother. A Nazi who escaped the bunker in the final days. Johnny Farthing a news photographer sees a link between a number of women who have been murdered. When his cousin, who he wants to marry (what?) is kidnapped he goes in pursuit.
A bunker in the Amazon. Spaceships. Clones of Johnny and his cousin. Hacking his way through the jungle with a knife, or being stranded on a mountainside. In a John Buchan way, the list goes on.
The introduction by Chris Priest is interesting in revealing that the authors full name was John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Benyon Harris. He reveals tgat Wyndham did try hard to get his manuscript published but failed.
Certainly an interesting story. But I couldn’t feel much affinity for the characters. That said after watching The Rig on Netflix in which another mate plays an extra - I need to read The Kraken Awakes👍
August 14, 2017
Plan for Chaos starts off like an American hardboiled detective story, but it doesn't quite hit the mark. Speaking as an English person that has never been to America, the Americanisms don't feel right and the language is confusing. I had to read some paragraphs a few times before I could make sense of them.
When it moves from America it settles down into a decent story, with some interesting sci-fi inventions, a lot of them that are actually around today. Though the idea of clones is so common these days that it was hard for me not to want to shout at Johnny Farthing for not realising straight away.
From there it slows down into a lot of philosophising about war and the base instincts of the human race. While this is interesting, and a lot of it is scarily relevant today, it is quite slow. I also felt a bit like I was missing something because I don't know much about 1950's politics, and the book doesn't talk much about the world political atmosphere.
The ending is anticlimactic. There is more action towards the end, but Johnny always seems to be a bit out of it. He hears about things afterwards or watches other people doing things. It's frustrating to read and makes what could be an interesting story into a dull one.
John Wyndham's attitude towards women in this book is dated, yet progressive for its time. He shows over and again that women can be intelligent. Johnny Farthing spends most of the book not knowing what is going on, and with no idea of what he should do next. When he does attempt action, his efforts are misguided and cause more problems than they solve.
In contrast, Johnny's fiancee Freda seems very intelligent, she understands their situation and spends a lot of her time explaining things to Johnny that he just can't see. A lot of the other women in the book are also shown to be intelligent, and to be capable leaders.
This is nice to read, but at the same time, he also portrays women as all having the shared goal of settling down with a stable family and as many children as possible. This is one of the main themes in the book and is repeated all the way through. The men in the book have no interest in children or family at all. It's irritating, but it was written in the 1950's and it does better than most books from that time.
If you're new to John Wyndham I wouldn't recommend you start with this. It has a dodgy start and sketchy pacing and it's not one of his best. If you are already a fan it is worth reading as there are some interesting ideas in there that are still relevant today.
When it moves from America it settles down into a decent story, with some interesting sci-fi inventions, a lot of them that are actually around today. Though the idea of clones is so common these days that it was hard for me not to want to shout at Johnny Farthing for not realising straight away.
From there it slows down into a lot of philosophising about war and the base instincts of the human race. While this is interesting, and a lot of it is scarily relevant today, it is quite slow. I also felt a bit like I was missing something because I don't know much about 1950's politics, and the book doesn't talk much about the world political atmosphere.
The ending is anticlimactic. There is more action towards the end, but Johnny always seems to be a bit out of it. He hears about things afterwards or watches other people doing things. It's frustrating to read and makes what could be an interesting story into a dull one.
John Wyndham's attitude towards women in this book is dated, yet progressive for its time. He shows over and again that women can be intelligent. Johnny Farthing spends most of the book not knowing what is going on, and with no idea of what he should do next. When he does attempt action, his efforts are misguided and cause more problems than they solve.
In contrast, Johnny's fiancee Freda seems very intelligent, she understands their situation and spends a lot of her time explaining things to Johnny that he just can't see. A lot of the other women in the book are also shown to be intelligent, and to be capable leaders.
This is nice to read, but at the same time, he also portrays women as all having the shared goal of settling down with a stable family and as many children as possible. This is one of the main themes in the book and is repeated all the way through. The men in the book have no interest in children or family at all. It's irritating, but it was written in the 1950's and it does better than most books from that time.
If you're new to John Wyndham I wouldn't recommend you start with this. It has a dodgy start and sketchy pacing and it's not one of his best. If you are already a fan it is worth reading as there are some interesting ideas in there that are still relevant today.
July 21, 2022
3.5 stars ✨
January 4, 2019
I'm always excited to read John Wyndham's novels but this one took me such a long time to read. I started this book in March 2018 and got into the first few chapters but eventually, I felt like putting the book down for a bit because it just read like a typical noir and that's not really something I typically enjoy. Fast-forward to December 2018 and I finally pick the book back up. It took me to about 90 pages into this book before I started to actually get into the story. There were a few parts of this book that I found to be quite predictable but once I got past those parts I was quite enjoying reading through to see where the story would end. I always enjoy the endings to John Wyndham's books as they're quite thought-provoking, this one was no exception. I would say that this is not my favourite of John Wyndham's books but it is to be expected given that this one was rejected by publishers initially and was only published 40 years after John Wyndham's death.
October 17, 2019
According to Wikipedia, Plan for Chaos was written around The Day of the Triffids and was rejected by publishers in US and UK. Wyndham himself abandoned it, telling his friend in 1951: "I've messed about with the thing so much that I've lost all perspective".
Johnny Farthing investigating suicide cases of many women who lived in different cities yet resemble each other. The most alarming thing is his girlfriend, Freda, is also has the similar appearance with these women and is suddenly missing.
After reading it, I think it’s for the best this novel didn’t get chance to be published at that time. It is still has an intriguing premise but it’s not written well. There’s even a point when I didn’t care with the stories anymore. It's quite boring. And the plot reminds me of The Seeds of Time.
I’m still glad I own this book in my collection and finished it though. It shows how Wyndham used the components from his earlier work and improving it to the best.
Johnny Farthing investigating suicide cases of many women who lived in different cities yet resemble each other. The most alarming thing is his girlfriend, Freda, is also has the similar appearance with these women and is suddenly missing.
After reading it, I think it’s for the best this novel didn’t get chance to be published at that time. It is still has an intriguing premise but it’s not written well. There’s even a point when I didn’t care with the stories anymore. It's quite boring. And the plot reminds me of The Seeds of Time.
I’m still glad I own this book in my collection and finished it though. It shows how Wyndham used the components from his earlier work and improving it to the best.
July 3, 2021
This is probably not the strongest of John Wyndham's works, but it still has his hallmark style and incisive analysis of global geopolitical implications that follow from the question 'what-if'. His views on the female psyche present an interesting comparative analysis with the modern outlook across a seventy year gap. A very enjoyable novel.
April 20, 2016
Here is a curiosity: a novel by the author of The Day of the Triffids, written around the same time (1948 to 1951) but abandoned, only to see the light of day around sixty years later when it's finally published. It's not difficult to see why Wyndham gave up on it -- its compound of different genres, disparate themes and mangled speech patterns make for awkward reading -- and yet it's an interesting experiment which, given radical tweaking, could have been made to work.
The basic set-up is that supporters of the Nazi cause have survived into the 1970s, somewhere in South America we deduce, where they have built a secret underground complex. Here their clandestine wartime experiments for perpetuating a master race have resulted in the successful breeding of human clones; all that is required is to fool the superpowers into annihilating each other with atomic bombs -- the chaos of the novel's title -- after which the new Germans will re-populate the earth. Their technicians have also developed flying saucer technology and cloaking devices, causing international consternation and confusion in a world unaware of their existence.
Into this massive conspiracy stumbles Johnny Farthing, an American magazine photographer with a mixed British and Swedish background. He discovers that a number of women who've died in suspicious circumstances all appear to have similar facial features and, most worryingly of all, they all resemble his cousin Freda, who is also his fiancée. (The cover of the Penguin edition alludes to this coincidence with its illustration of a blonde seen full-face, her profile shown twice over in her hair-do's contours rather like the reverse of a Rubin Vase optical illusion.) As he investigates further he finds that he too is being mistaken for somebody else; and then Freda herself disappears. So far this reads like a plot for a detective thriller, but at the point when Johnny himself is taken prisoner Plan for Chaos enters science fiction territory.
There are many ideas milling around, a lot of them typical of the postwar period but also with some relevance now. Cloning of course was a feature of Huxley's Brave New World (1932), here adapted to Nazi ideologies and examined for some of its practical implications. As for UFOs, the fact that the Nazis had really been developing new aircraft technology, combined with the worldwide explosion of 'sightings' of saucer-shaped flying objects after Kenneth Arnold reported his own observations in June 1947 -- the year before Wyndham began this novel -- soon generated postwar speculation that the two were somehow linked, speculation that continues even to this day.
It also mayn't be a coincidence that Wyndham began his dystopian novel about the planned resurgence of a rightwing tyranny in the same year in which that archetypal modern satire, Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, was published. The description of the Big Brother party -- uninterested in the good of others but interested solely in power for its own sake -- applies equally to the group that Farthing encounters hidden in the South American jungle; but instead of Big Brother we encounter The Mother. As the narrator soon observes, she is a human equivalent -- with all that this implies -- of the hive's queen bee or the queen in an underground termite mound, surrounded and serviced by myriads of workers and soldiers.
The editors' note and the introduction by novelist Christopher Priest give the background to this novel's gestation and stillbirth, making clear the difficulties the author had, especially with tone -- the Englishman wrote it with the American market in mind, and tried unsuccessfully to jump through several hoops to get his hero's phraseology right. Too often the novel even takes on the guise of a polemical tract before shying away with a wisecrack from the narrator.
The anticlimactic ending (the last chapter is headed "Finality?" with a question mark) to me reinforces the ambivalent feelings he had about the novel's conclusion. Wyndham's chapter headings and epigraphs are mostly from Shakespeare -- perhaps a nod to Brave New World, which used Miranda's words in The Tempest for its title besides citing other Shakespeare plays -- but the way the plot fizzles out seems to suggest to me that this use of quotations was no substitute for a convincing structure. Still, as a portrait of mischief on a grand scale -- Hamlet's 'miching mallecho' -- it does its job well.
Plan for Chaos is clearly no masterpiece, flawed or otherwise, but just occasionally there are inklings of what it could have become, given time and a lot of redrafting. Sometimes the action pushes along at a fair lick, and one may imagine that its filmic qualities and possibilities could encourage some enlightened producer to adapt it for the screen, a process that would curtail its longeurs and maybe even turn its narrator into a halfway convincing protagonist. As it now stands though it's imperfect, however pregnant with possibilities.
The basic set-up is that supporters of the Nazi cause have survived into the 1970s, somewhere in South America we deduce, where they have built a secret underground complex. Here their clandestine wartime experiments for perpetuating a master race have resulted in the successful breeding of human clones; all that is required is to fool the superpowers into annihilating each other with atomic bombs -- the chaos of the novel's title -- after which the new Germans will re-populate the earth. Their technicians have also developed flying saucer technology and cloaking devices, causing international consternation and confusion in a world unaware of their existence.
Into this massive conspiracy stumbles Johnny Farthing, an American magazine photographer with a mixed British and Swedish background. He discovers that a number of women who've died in suspicious circumstances all appear to have similar facial features and, most worryingly of all, they all resemble his cousin Freda, who is also his fiancée. (The cover of the Penguin edition alludes to this coincidence with its illustration of a blonde seen full-face, her profile shown twice over in her hair-do's contours rather like the reverse of a Rubin Vase optical illusion.) As he investigates further he finds that he too is being mistaken for somebody else; and then Freda herself disappears. So far this reads like a plot for a detective thriller, but at the point when Johnny himself is taken prisoner Plan for Chaos enters science fiction territory.
There are many ideas milling around, a lot of them typical of the postwar period but also with some relevance now. Cloning of course was a feature of Huxley's Brave New World (1932), here adapted to Nazi ideologies and examined for some of its practical implications. As for UFOs, the fact that the Nazis had really been developing new aircraft technology, combined with the worldwide explosion of 'sightings' of saucer-shaped flying objects after Kenneth Arnold reported his own observations in June 1947 -- the year before Wyndham began this novel -- soon generated postwar speculation that the two were somehow linked, speculation that continues even to this day.
It also mayn't be a coincidence that Wyndham began his dystopian novel about the planned resurgence of a rightwing tyranny in the same year in which that archetypal modern satire, Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, was published. The description of the Big Brother party -- uninterested in the good of others but interested solely in power for its own sake -- applies equally to the group that Farthing encounters hidden in the South American jungle; but instead of Big Brother we encounter The Mother. As the narrator soon observes, she is a human equivalent -- with all that this implies -- of the hive's queen bee or the queen in an underground termite mound, surrounded and serviced by myriads of workers and soldiers.
The editors' note and the introduction by novelist Christopher Priest give the background to this novel's gestation and stillbirth, making clear the difficulties the author had, especially with tone -- the Englishman wrote it with the American market in mind, and tried unsuccessfully to jump through several hoops to get his hero's phraseology right. Too often the novel even takes on the guise of a polemical tract before shying away with a wisecrack from the narrator.
The anticlimactic ending (the last chapter is headed "Finality?" with a question mark) to me reinforces the ambivalent feelings he had about the novel's conclusion. Wyndham's chapter headings and epigraphs are mostly from Shakespeare -- perhaps a nod to Brave New World, which used Miranda's words in The Tempest for its title besides citing other Shakespeare plays -- but the way the plot fizzles out seems to suggest to me that this use of quotations was no substitute for a convincing structure. Still, as a portrait of mischief on a grand scale -- Hamlet's 'miching mallecho' -- it does its job well.
Plan for Chaos is clearly no masterpiece, flawed or otherwise, but just occasionally there are inklings of what it could have become, given time and a lot of redrafting. Sometimes the action pushes along at a fair lick, and one may imagine that its filmic qualities and possibilities could encourage some enlightened producer to adapt it for the screen, a process that would curtail its longeurs and maybe even turn its narrator into a halfway convincing protagonist. As it now stands though it's imperfect, however pregnant with possibilities.
June 6, 2022
Yes it’s John Wyndham, but not his usual fare. You are warned prior to reading it, but this wasn’t my cup of tea. Quite enjoyed the Chandleresque beginning, but couldn’t read for more than an hour at a time. However the ending was fast furious and leaves you with so many questions.
November 7, 2020
Disappointed. This is far off the Wyndham classics which I love. It is not terrible and has its few moments but overall this is a miscalculation by Wyndham with a tacky American pulp feel mixed with crime adventure on one hand and prophetic sci-fi on the other. It has echoes of Orwell and Brave New World and predicts Fatherland or Man in the High Castle meets Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale but that makes it sound more interesting and important than it is. Mostly it’s dull and dated with a particularly slow and frustrating conclusion imo. To be billed as the ‘companion novel to The Day of the Triffids’ is misleading - it has nothing to do with that sci-fi masterpiece. Worth reading for absolute completists only.
February 8, 2022
I’ve partially given this three stars because I’m a fan. Maybe for those not fans of Wyndham’s work, this novel may be disappointing.
I’m told in the introduction, Plan For Chaos, was largely written before Day of the Triffids - the first sci-fi novel under John Wyndham’s name - was first published. He was unhappy with that books ending and requested a delay in order to rewrite it; it took eighteen months and in that time he had drafted the first copy of Plan For Chaos. It was written primarily for the US readership but his publisher didn’t like its “American” protagonist: “either make him more American, or less so”.
Wyndham comprised, making Johnny Farthing an American citizen who’d been about a bit; in northern Europe, mostly in England. Despite this, it’s still clear in the early chapters that it didn’t quite work. Later on, he appears to have stopped trying to Farthing sound American, and the narrative is better for it.
For me, this isn’t the only flaw. Two-thirds in we get three long chapters explaining the politics of the plot. As the narrator, Farthing struggles to comprehend, and as the reader, we have to bear this struggle delivered as a stream of troubled consciousness. Three chapters was too much, with little else happening. In the end, it is a simple idea made exhausting.
However, the premise of the plot is a good one: the secret plan for the resurgence of the Nazi third reich, and the artificial reproduction of the fabled “master race”.
Plan For Chaos was first published 40 years after Wyndham’s death. Fans should appreciate the Wyndham writing style even though its not a patch on his more famous works.
I’m told in the introduction, Plan For Chaos, was largely written before Day of the Triffids - the first sci-fi novel under John Wyndham’s name - was first published. He was unhappy with that books ending and requested a delay in order to rewrite it; it took eighteen months and in that time he had drafted the first copy of Plan For Chaos. It was written primarily for the US readership but his publisher didn’t like its “American” protagonist: “either make him more American, or less so”.
Wyndham comprised, making Johnny Farthing an American citizen who’d been about a bit; in northern Europe, mostly in England. Despite this, it’s still clear in the early chapters that it didn’t quite work. Later on, he appears to have stopped trying to Farthing sound American, and the narrative is better for it.
For me, this isn’t the only flaw. Two-thirds in we get three long chapters explaining the politics of the plot. As the narrator, Farthing struggles to comprehend, and as the reader, we have to bear this struggle delivered as a stream of troubled consciousness. Three chapters was too much, with little else happening. In the end, it is a simple idea made exhausting.
However, the premise of the plot is a good one: the secret plan for the resurgence of the Nazi third reich, and the artificial reproduction of the fabled “master race”.
Plan For Chaos was first published 40 years after Wyndham’s death. Fans should appreciate the Wyndham writing style even though its not a patch on his more famous works.
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December 1, 2022John Wyndham is one of my favourite sci-fi authors but this was a novel that seemed to bridge the gap between the not-very-good detective novels which began his career and 'The Day of the Triffids,' his first really big success. In fact this was written as 'Triffids' was being written.
The novel begins as a murder investigation and morphs into a sci-fi type novel in which Nazis have formed a colony in an isolated jungle, had developed flying saucers (yes, really!) and a technique for producing hundreds of clones from a single fertilised ovum.
For me the book's plot was hopelessly confused. Was it a crime novel? No, even though the book begins as an investigation into crimes. In fact the criminal investigation part of the plot disappears as the plot develops. Was it a political book about Nazi fanatiscism? Not really because it there is nothing in the novel hinting that Nazis were evil. Perhaps it was just assumed? Was it a concern with females running things? (the Nazi organisation is headed by a woman and strongly supported by a Corps of women soldiers) or was it a mechanism by which the author could express his views about birth technologies that would result in the human race reaching some Malthusian limit or other. Who knows? There were some quite good action scenes but the ending - matching the whole plot - was as indecisive as the rest of the novel. The book seemed to peter out at the end following a debate between the two main characters about the birth control technologies that the Nazi group had perfected. So all in all, more an interesting read for Wyndham fans like me rather than a great novel.
The novel begins as a murder investigation and morphs into a sci-fi type novel in which Nazis have formed a colony in an isolated jungle, had developed flying saucers (yes, really!) and a technique for producing hundreds of clones from a single fertilised ovum.
For me the book's plot was hopelessly confused. Was it a crime novel? No, even though the book begins as an investigation into crimes. In fact the criminal investigation part of the plot disappears as the plot develops. Was it a political book about Nazi fanatiscism? Not really because it there is nothing in the novel hinting that Nazis were evil. Perhaps it was just assumed? Was it a concern with females running things? (the Nazi organisation is headed by a woman and strongly supported by a Corps of women soldiers) or was it a mechanism by which the author could express his views about birth technologies that would result in the human race reaching some Malthusian limit or other. Who knows? There were some quite good action scenes but the ending - matching the whole plot - was as indecisive as the rest of the novel. The book seemed to peter out at the end following a debate between the two main characters about the birth control technologies that the Nazi group had perfected. So all in all, more an interesting read for Wyndham fans like me rather than a great novel.
February 4, 2012
An enjoyable story. This was written at the same times as Wyndham's Day of the Triffids, but discovered at a later date. I did enjoy it, but not as much as some of his other stories; Triffids, The Chrysalids, The Midwich Cuckoos. It starts off as a mystery, but then moves along into a scifi adventure. It reminds me at times of the serials they used to have at the cinema and some of the early scifi movies. Not my favourite, but if you like John Wyndham a lot, you should read, as it is a fine example of his early writing.
May 8, 2022
I’ve said it time and time again, but John Wyndham really is one of my favorite science fiction writers. I’m always in such awe over his imagination and storytelling, best showcased in The Day of the Triffids. My most recent read, Plan for Chaos, was actually written at the same time as the Triffids, but it wasn’t published until 2009. Wyndham seemed to think that it wasn’t as accomplished of a book and many, me included, agree.
Plan for Chaos starts off when identical looking women begin to die in suspicious circumstances. The main character, a journalist, gets involved in the case, because his fiancee (who’s also his cousin) looks exactly like the dead women. He gets pulled in deeper and eventually finds himself in a community of Nazis who are waiting for the right moment to take over the world. Instead of planes they use ufo-like ‘flying saucers’ and there’s other technical advancements as well, ones regarding human reproduction…
While I found the reading experience interesting, it clearly wasn’t as smooth as Wyndham’s other novels. I also didn’t hugely care for the plot. The whole ‘there are Nazis hiding in a secret station somewhere gathering their strength’ thing just doesn’t appeal to me. Not that being reminded of the atrocities of the second world war isn’t important, but I’d rather read historical fiction set in those times than dystopia where a new reign of Nazis might be in the horizon. If that’s the kind of scifi/dystopia you’d find interesting or if you're already a huge fan of Wyndham, Plan for Chaos is worth a read. Otherwise I can't really recommend this - his other books are quite a lot better.
Plan for Chaos starts off when identical looking women begin to die in suspicious circumstances. The main character, a journalist, gets involved in the case, because his fiancee (who’s also his cousin) looks exactly like the dead women. He gets pulled in deeper and eventually finds himself in a community of Nazis who are waiting for the right moment to take over the world. Instead of planes they use ufo-like ‘flying saucers’ and there’s other technical advancements as well, ones regarding human reproduction…
While I found the reading experience interesting, it clearly wasn’t as smooth as Wyndham’s other novels. I also didn’t hugely care for the plot. The whole ‘there are Nazis hiding in a secret station somewhere gathering their strength’ thing just doesn’t appeal to me. Not that being reminded of the atrocities of the second world war isn’t important, but I’d rather read historical fiction set in those times than dystopia where a new reign of Nazis might be in the horizon. If that’s the kind of scifi/dystopia you’d find interesting or if you're already a huge fan of Wyndham, Plan for Chaos is worth a read. Otherwise I can't really recommend this - his other books are quite a lot better.
February 29, 2024
John Wyndham never fails to amaze me with the accuracy of his dystopian novels set in the future (well, it was the future when he wrote them!)
I love many of his sci-fi novels and I suppose this one sits on the borderline of sci-fi and what we now know is scientifically possible.
Naturally, many readers will be riled by the depiction of women’s status and mindset etc especially toward marriage and progeny, even though, here they are given a role as leaders in many areas socially and politically.
Please remember for the time in which it was written (not published but written) the depiction is actually quite forward in its thinking.
More interesting is the tale itself and its foresight and, without dropping any spoilers, just how possible/probable this “Plan for Chaos” still is.
The book blurb is as follows;
“Johnny Farthing is your average photojournalist until his new piece for the paper has him investigating women who look suspiciously, uncannily similar to his fiancée but have suddenly started turning up dead. Then as he discovers still more of these near identical bodies, his fiancée goes missing.
As Johnny descends into a rabbit hole of doppelgängers, mysterious American senators, and eerie bureaucracies, it becomes clear that these peculiar similarities are part of far bigger and deadlier plans—and that the fate of the world just might be at stake.”
For some reason John Wyndham set this tale in a version of America and the badly done American noir-esque narrative can be quite jarring. It is still a captivating read with a terrifyingly semi-plausible plot.
I love many of his sci-fi novels and I suppose this one sits on the borderline of sci-fi and what we now know is scientifically possible.
Naturally, many readers will be riled by the depiction of women’s status and mindset etc especially toward marriage and progeny, even though, here they are given a role as leaders in many areas socially and politically.
Please remember for the time in which it was written (not published but written) the depiction is actually quite forward in its thinking.
More interesting is the tale itself and its foresight and, without dropping any spoilers, just how possible/probable this “Plan for Chaos” still is.
The book blurb is as follows;
“Johnny Farthing is your average photojournalist until his new piece for the paper has him investigating women who look suspiciously, uncannily similar to his fiancée but have suddenly started turning up dead. Then as he discovers still more of these near identical bodies, his fiancée goes missing.
As Johnny descends into a rabbit hole of doppelgängers, mysterious American senators, and eerie bureaucracies, it becomes clear that these peculiar similarities are part of far bigger and deadlier plans—and that the fate of the world just might be at stake.”
For some reason John Wyndham set this tale in a version of America and the badly done American noir-esque narrative can be quite jarring. It is still a captivating read with a terrifyingly semi-plausible plot.
December 13, 2022
This was such a miss for me. John Wyndham is my favourite author, but this book was never meant to be published and it shows.
The start of the novel was at most intriguing, as a dark noir mystery - but the cat was pulled out the bag so early on that the story transformed into an entirely different beast. One in which the entire character pool are Nazis. I have a hard time actually empathising or caring about anything past this point because they are all seemingly unbothered by being in a literal Nazi society - backed up by the fact that the pacing was just so off: slow, needlessly philosophical and overall a slog. The action at the end of the book was slightly more exciting, but fell flat with an anticlimax and a confused plot line. There was also weird misogynistic undertones which I have not come to expect from John Wyndham’s other work.
The most interesting and frightening part of the premise, the ‘cloning’ to produce a new Aryan race, was very poorly implemented and explained so that it seemed to have no real purpose to the plot.
A real disappointment, but expected from a posthumously published work.
The start of the novel was at most intriguing, as a dark noir mystery - but the cat was pulled out the bag so early on that the story transformed into an entirely different beast. One in which the entire character pool are Nazis. I have a hard time actually empathising or caring about anything past this point because they are all seemingly unbothered by being in a literal Nazi society - backed up by the fact that the pacing was just so off: slow, needlessly philosophical and overall a slog. The action at the end of the book was slightly more exciting, but fell flat with an anticlimax and a confused plot line. There was also weird misogynistic undertones which I have not come to expect from John Wyndham’s other work.
The most interesting and frightening part of the premise, the ‘cloning’ to produce a new Aryan race, was very poorly implemented and explained so that it seemed to have no real purpose to the plot.
A real disappointment, but expected from a posthumously published work.
December 17, 2023
Plan for Chaos is a manuscript which was unpublished during John Wyndham's life. The rough edges are very visible, and the while the general concept is sound, the progression of the plot lacks focus.
The story starts with our protagonist, a newspaper/magazine photographer encountering a number of mysterious deaths of women who look exactly like his cousin/fiancee. Investigation leads to more doppelgangers who are alive and some mysterious conspiracy.
There is a decent idea here. All of John Wyndham's books have a central "what if" premise, but this one has not matured properly. I got the sense that Wyndham did not know what to do with it.
Stylistically, the book contains many sections where characters have intellectual, philosophical debates about the impact of a scientific discovery, or course of action. This is something sadly lacking in most modern novels. The idea that we should think about things seems to have gone out of fashion...
The story starts with our protagonist, a newspaper/magazine photographer encountering a number of mysterious deaths of women who look exactly like his cousin/fiancee. Investigation leads to more doppelgangers who are alive and some mysterious conspiracy.
There is a decent idea here. All of John Wyndham's books have a central "what if" premise, but this one has not matured properly. I got the sense that Wyndham did not know what to do with it.
Stylistically, the book contains many sections where characters have intellectual, philosophical debates about the impact of a scientific discovery, or course of action. This is something sadly lacking in most modern novels. The idea that we should think about things seems to have gone out of fashion...
June 3, 2020
H had acquired this as part of the Wyndham project, and it came to the top of my pile.
It's classic apocalyptic Wyndham, but much inferior to all the others I have read or re-read. To his credit, he knew this as he chose not to publish it and it only emerged [very] posthumously in 2009. Very odd to learn that he was writing Triffids at the same time.
It's very post-war (late 40s), and that backdrop does not influence his others anywhere near as much - with the distance of 80 years it grates rather badly. The language and the characters are much less persuasive than in other books, and it's very laboured - the last 30pp were a real effort to get through, and the very end a trite disappointment.
But 3 stars since he was a good writer and it's not that bad! As I say, to hos credit that he let it on the shelf.
It's classic apocalyptic Wyndham, but much inferior to all the others I have read or re-read. To his credit, he knew this as he chose not to publish it and it only emerged [very] posthumously in 2009. Very odd to learn that he was writing Triffids at the same time.
It's very post-war (late 40s), and that backdrop does not influence his others anywhere near as much - with the distance of 80 years it grates rather badly. The language and the characters are much less persuasive than in other books, and it's very laboured - the last 30pp were a real effort to get through, and the very end a trite disappointment.
But 3 stars since he was a good writer and it's not that bad! As I say, to hos credit that he let it on the shelf.
March 23, 2021
Once again, JW has incorporated some interesting philosophical and ethical pondering into a nightmarish view of the future (albeit a future set in the 1970s). What would the world be like if it was run by the matriarchy, but that matriarchy is also based on a megalomaniac Aryan eugenicist fantasy?
What are the ethical implications of human cloning and mass reproduction? Will human society move to a model more akin to a termite colony? Will men become completely redundant?
This story reminded me a fair bit of the tv series Orphan Black, but with bonus Nazis and flying saucers. Because of course that’s where flying saucers come from!
Even though the themes are distasteful (particularly the kissing cousin incest storyline and the gross racist/fascist elements), I found this an interesting, well paced read. Not his best work, and I can see why it wasn’t published until quite recently.
What are the ethical implications of human cloning and mass reproduction? Will human society move to a model more akin to a termite colony? Will men become completely redundant?
This story reminded me a fair bit of the tv series Orphan Black, but with bonus Nazis and flying saucers. Because of course that’s where flying saucers come from!
Even though the themes are distasteful (particularly the kissing cousin incest storyline and the gross racist/fascist elements), I found this an interesting, well paced read. Not his best work, and I can see why it wasn’t published until quite recently.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 20, 2023
Unpublished in the authors lifetime, this novel has some interesting connections with The Day of the Triffids. It mostly stands alone also, though it's uneven in tone. I liked it.
I thought the main character was well rounded, transitioning from a simple photographer to observer to potential fly in the ointment. Had this been published instead of rejected, I suspect Hitchcock would have been able to make it into a fantastic film.
The ending was unsatisfying. It felt like there was information about the main character and his cousin that wasn't revealed. The pace of the story was fine otherwise. I've been working through Wyndham, and am glad I read this.
I thought the main character was well rounded, transitioning from a simple photographer to observer to potential fly in the ointment. Had this been published instead of rejected, I suspect Hitchcock would have been able to make it into a fantastic film.
The ending was unsatisfying. It felt like there was information about the main character and his cousin that wasn't revealed. The pace of the story was fine otherwise. I've been working through Wyndham, and am glad I read this.
March 17, 2019
If you enjoyed Day of the Triffids, you will probably like this book. I did. But, a word of warning: DO NOT READ THE INTRODUCTION! It includes spoilers. I really ought to know by now not to read introductions by people other than the author, but I mistakenly read this one. There are some well-deserved criticisms of John Wyndham's use of American slang, but, really, reading any book that was written in the late '40s will have some dialogue that sounds funny to modern ears. I've been delighted recently to read books released posthumously for Donald Westlake, Oliver Sacks... any book that comes out fresh for one of my favorite authors is just incredibly exciting. Note that my wife found this at Foyles in London, hard to find in the US.
February 12, 2021
Having been a long term fan of John Wyndham I was intrigued by "Plan For Chaos" as it was never published in the man's lifetime. Having read the novel it's easy to see why. The plot was initially promising as Washington based, Johnny Farthing was about to marry is girlfriend Freda only for her to be killed. Viewing the body he notice that it was not her but a doppelganger. It then falls apart with Farthing whisked away to some kind Ayrian camp ran by his aunt, known as Mother, who was making duplicates which would lead to Nazi Germany conquering the world. It's to believe Wyndham spent 18 months writing this nonsense lacking any of the qualities that made up the rest of his published books.
July 9, 2023
So as I have a free subscription to Audible again (came as a freebie for a new phone contract), I expect to continue my John Wyndham exploration.
The premise of this novel captured me immediately. And unusually for me, there was no prevaricating over which book to plumb for first. The dark world immediately conjured and the creepy similarities between people, was an instant draw. I was hooked early on to discovering what was at the heart of it.
However when the reveal came it did so with a lot of extra bumph that I am not sure that the novel needed. The middle was so long that my interest started to wane. The end, in what seems to be similar to other Wyndham novels, was succinct and abrupt.
The premise of this novel captured me immediately. And unusually for me, there was no prevaricating over which book to plumb for first. The dark world immediately conjured and the creepy similarities between people, was an instant draw. I was hooked early on to discovering what was at the heart of it.
However when the reveal came it did so with a lot of extra bumph that I am not sure that the novel needed. The middle was so long that my interest started to wane. The end, in what seems to be similar to other Wyndham novels, was succinct and abrupt.
May 10, 2021
I hadn't come across this book before, and in the introduction I read that it was written at the same time as Day of the Triffids, but put on one side. Apparently it was not likely to appeal to either an American or UK audience. I suppose the hero, coming from a somewhat cosmopolitan background (partly for plot reasons) might be the cause of this doubt...but the plot, centring around modern issues of cloning and satellite warfare is highly relevant. People might find the arguments hard to take- too much talk, interspersing fairly mild action, by today's standards. Worth reading, though, just to see how people thought "back then".
June 20, 2021
This book is described as a detective noir and a dystopian thriller...and in the end, it sort of turns out to be neither.
The narrative is, as is usually the case with John Wyndham, always engaging and the main character is vulnerable and flawed, making him more empathetic.
However, the story as a whole feels dated and the original 'detective' element that leads into the wider dystopian thriller is never satisfactorily explained.
As it's not too long, it isn't a huge investment of time, and so if you're a Wyndham fan it's worth a read - otherwise, I'd suggest there are other, better 'old classics' out there.
The narrative is, as is usually the case with John Wyndham, always engaging and the main character is vulnerable and flawed, making him more empathetic.
However, the story as a whole feels dated and the original 'detective' element that leads into the wider dystopian thriller is never satisfactorily explained.
As it's not too long, it isn't a huge investment of time, and so if you're a Wyndham fan it's worth a read - otherwise, I'd suggest there are other, better 'old classics' out there.
December 26, 2022
Chaotic is the right word for this early unpublished Wyndham - he hasn’t yet landed on the tone that will serve his later novels so well, although the love interest is fairly recognisably modelled. The protagonist, unfortunately, is impulsive and not very clever, with an inability to draw obvious conclusions (and a tendency to leap to patriarchal panic) that slows the conspiratorial plot and irritated me to bits.
Plenty of ideas here that should be ample runway for fun, but I found it slow, often tedious and generally muddled - as was the audio narration; I bumped up the speed to make it bearable. There are some points of interest for Wyndham die-hards - parts of the plot dovetail closely with with Triffids, such as the suggestion of biological agents in satellites and the very different male/female attitudes to ditching the notion of the nuclear family - but this feels more like juvenalia than a polished work. I can see why it went back of the shelf.
Plenty of ideas here that should be ample runway for fun, but I found it slow, often tedious and generally muddled - as was the audio narration; I bumped up the speed to make it bearable. There are some points of interest for Wyndham die-hards - parts of the plot dovetail closely with with Triffids, such as the suggestion of biological agents in satellites and the very different male/female attitudes to ditching the notion of the nuclear family - but this feels more like juvenalia than a polished work. I can see why it went back of the shelf.
October 6, 2020
I think this is going to be my lowest rated book of the year to be honest, DNF’d at 86 pages....
The premise of this books seems so intriguing, a serial killer killing people that look like the main characters fiancée, and then she disappears but this never really takes off.
The writing is jarring and doesn’t really flow and then the sci-fi element came in and I was just so confused as that wasn’t what I was expecting at all.
To be honest when the author shelved it in 1951 I think that’s where it should have stayed not published 60 years on. I don’t get it.
The premise of this books seems so intriguing, a serial killer killing people that look like the main characters fiancée, and then she disappears but this never really takes off.
The writing is jarring and doesn’t really flow and then the sci-fi element came in and I was just so confused as that wasn’t what I was expecting at all.
To be honest when the author shelved it in 1951 I think that’s where it should have stayed not published 60 years on. I don’t get it.
September 14, 2022
Oh dear I can see why this went unpublished for 40 years. I did enjoy most of it but it went on a tad too long, took too many philosophical diversions and also Johnny is an idiot. Why does he still want to marry Freda at the end? She's just another Aunt Marta 🙈 he seems oblivious.
And then that they are cousins is just WEIRD.
I've read most of Wyndham's other books and he is one of my absolute favourite writers but this is certainly not his finest hour.
And then that they are cousins is just WEIRD.
I've read most of Wyndham's other books and he is one of my absolute favourite writers but this is certainly not his finest hour.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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