The troglodytes have not fought seriously amongst themselves in living memory. That Mark is imprisoned and not killed despite the fact he shot at least one dead, attests to the pygmies religiously-inspired aversion to needless death (though they regard mortality with a certain nonchalance). The Secret People are fighting for their survival as are 'our side'. The subterranean people are in decline both in terms of population and knowledge, worship Egyptian Gods, and survive largely on giant mushrooms.Ī typically nuanced 'us v them' Wyndham scenario unfolds. The floating aircraft is then sucked into a whirlpool, thence to a huge complex of underground caverns inhabited by pallid pygmies, a multinational group of outsiders who have accidently arrived through various forms of misadventure, and 'natives' (the offspring of those normal-sized folk trapped underground), the latter two social groups (and a handful of troublesome pygmies) live in the extended prison caverns. This feline plays an important part in proceedings. The Sun Bird also carries Mark's new-found girlfriend Margaret, and then a cat named Bast.

The crux of the plot revolves around the crash of Mark Sunnet's Rocket-plane the Sun Bird into the 'New Sea' (a vast artificial salt-water reservoir, created by the French and Italians, in order to transform the Sahara into a rainy region). Conversely Wyndham does correctly predict the reign of Elizabeth II, despite writing before the Abdication Crisis. France still owns Algeria, Italy controls Libya, and it is also mentioned in passing that Warsaw was an easy holiday destination, rather than behind an iron curtain. 'Rocket planes', rather than jets, are replacing propeller-driven aeroplanes. It opens in September 1964, so as with all books set in the near(ish) future it inevitably gives the effect of datedness to the reader a few generations down the line. The book is not pure science fiction, and might be seen as embryonic Logical Fantasy.

(Late 20th Century reprints declared them 'John Wyndham writing as John Beynon', whereas the 2016 Penguin reprint ditched Beynon altogether). THE NOVELIST'S first published full-length effort came in 1935.

The secret people john wyndham