120,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

Overnight NZ-wide delivery 🚀 We’ve moved into our new bookstore and warehouse 🎉

The Midwich Cuckoos

Now a major Sky series starring Keeley Hawes and Max Beesley
3.9 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 28,670 ratings, 2,222 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham is a gripping science fiction novel set in the quiet English village of Midwich, where a mysterious event causes all inhabitants to fall unconscious. Upon waking, the villagers discover every woman of childbearing age is pregnant. As the children grow, their unsettling differences hint at a potentially sinister origin, challenging the town with an eerie and alien presence.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2600
Elsewhere:
$2800
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're intrigued by the eerie and unsettling events that occur after an entire village falls mysteriously unconscious and wakes to find all the women pregnant. The blend of science fiction and psychological thriller elements creates a captivating story that explores themes of human nature, identity, and societal disruption.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

In the English village of Midwich, a silver object appears and all the inhabitants fall unconscious. A day later the object is gone and everyone awakens unharmed - except that all the women in the village are pregnant. This book offers a tale of aliens, exploring how we respond when confronted by those who are innately superior to us in every way.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Vibrant reissue of five of John Wyndham's most famous novels

In the sleepy English village of Midwich, a mysterious silver object appears, and all the inhabitants fall unconscious. A day later, the object is gone, and everyone awakens unharmed—except that all the women in the village are discovered to be pregnant.

The resultant children of Midwich do not belong to their parents—all are blonde, all are golden-eyed. They grow up too fast, and their minds exhibit frightening abilities that give them control over others, bringing them into conflict with the villagers just as a chilling realisation dawns on the world outside...

The Midwich Cuckoos is the classic tale of aliens in our midst, exploring how we respond when confronted by those who are innately superior to us in every conceivable way.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Midwich Cuckoos is celebrated as both exciting and unsettling; the narrative unfolds with technical brilliance, offering intrigue and suspense that keeps readers engaged.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780141033013

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 07 August 2008

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 14.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 163g

Pages: 224

About the Author

John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Benyon Harris was born in 1903, the son of a barrister. He tried a number of careers including farming, law, commercial art and advertising, and started writing short stories, intended for sale, in 1925. From 1930 to 1939 he wrote short stories of various kinds under different names, almost exclusively for American publications, while also writing detective novels. During the war he was in the Civil Service and then the Army. In 1946 he went back to writing stories for publication in the USA and decided to try a modified form of science fiction, a form he called 'logical fantasy'. As John Wyndham he wrote The Day of the Triffids, The Kraken Wakes, The Chrysalids, The Midwich Cuckoos (filmed as Village of the Damned), The Seeds of Time, Trouble with Lichen, The Outward Urge, Consider Her Ways and Others, Web and Chocky. John Wyndham died in March 1969.

Also by John Wyndham

View all
  • The Day of the Triffids: Popular Penguins
    When Bill Masen awakes blindfolded in hospital and carefully removes his bandages, he realises he is one of the few who can see; almost everyone else has been blinded by a meteor shower. Now, with civilisation in chaos, the triffids—huge, venomous plants able to 'walk', feeding on human flesh—can have their day. This stark vision of a desolate world infested...
    Paperback
    $1500
    Elsewhere:
    $1599
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Chrysalids
    The Chrysalids, John Wyndham's classic science fiction novel, is published as an Essential for the first time. David Strorm's father disapproves of Angus Morton's unusually large horses, calling them blasphemies against nature. Little does he realise that his own son, his niece Rosalind, and their friends harbour their own secret aberration that would label them as mutants. As David and...
    Paperback
    $2400
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Chrysalids
    "In a decade marked, much like our own, by simple fears, John Wyndham refused to make simple metaphors". -M John Harrison. A world paralyzed by genetic mutation- Wyndham takes the reader into the anguished heart of a community where the chances of breeding true are less than fifty percent and where deviations are rooted out and destroyed as abominations.
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    Backorder
    Ships early October
  • The Day of the Triffids
    When Bill Masen wakes up blindfolded in hospital, there is a bitter irony in his situation. Carefully removing his bandages, he realises that he is the only person who can see — everyone else, doctors and patients alike, have been blinded by a meteor shower. A stunning new clothbound edition of one of the most famous science-fiction novels of the...
    Hardback
    $3600
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • On Sale
    17% off
    Chocky
    New to Penguin Modern Classics, to tie in with the release of the Steven Spielberg film, and with a new introduction by Brian Aldiss. Matthew's parents are worried. At eleven, he's much too old to have an imaginary friend, yet they find him talking to and arguing with a presence that even he admits is not physically there. This presence...
    Paperback
    $2000
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • On Sale
    17% off
    The Day of the Triffids
    The Day of the Triffids is the most famous catastrophe novel of the twentieth century, published as a Penguin Essential for the first time. 'When a day that you happen to know is Wednesday starts off by sounding like Sunday, there is something seriously wrong somewhere.' When a freak cosmic event renders most of the Earth's population blind, Bill Masen—one...
    Paperback
    $2000
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Day of the Triffids
    The Day of the Triffids introduces readers to the triffids, a monstrous species of stinging plant; they walk, they talk, they dominate the world. The narrator of this novel wakes up in hospital to find that, by missing the end of the world, he has survived to witness a new world. But the new world that awaits him is both...
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Chrysalids: Popular Penguins
    As David and Rosalind grow older, it becomes more difficult to conceal the differences which would label them as mutants from the village elders. Soon, they face a choice: wait for eventual discovery or flee to the terrifying and mutable Badlands. The Chrysalids is a post-nuclear apocalypse story of genetic mutation in a devastated world. It explores the lengths the...
    Paperback
    $1599
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Day of the Triffids
    The influential masterpiece of one of the twentieth century’s most brilliant—and neglected—science fiction and horror writers, whom Stephen King called “the best writer of science fiction that England has ever produced.”—now in development as a miniseries directed by Johan Renck. “[Wyndham] avoids easy allegories and instead questions the relative values of the civilisation that has been lost, the literally blind...
    Paperback
    $4900
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks
  • The Outward Urge
    The outward urge was a factor in the Troon inheritance. Successive generations of Troons, looking up at the stars, heard the siren voices that called them out into Space. And, as the frontiers of Space receded, there was usually one Troon, if not more, out there, helping to push them back. In an age in which what goes up need...
    Paperback
    Sold Out

More from Sci-Fi & Fantasy

View all
  • He Who Fights With Monsters: Adventurer
    New Release
    He Who Fights With Monsters: Adventurer
    He Who Fights With Monsters: Adventurer Book Two in Shirtaloon's wildly popular LitRPG series. The path from retail middle management to interdimensional wizard adventurer wasn't easy, but Jason Asano is settling into his new life. Now, a contest draws young elites to the city of Greenstone, competing for a grand prize. Jason must gather a band of companions if he...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Scion
    ‘Scion’ is an electrifying sci-fi thriller that follows a contract killer tasked with protecting a scientist from assassination, only to find himself in the crosshairs. My name’s Azure. I kill rich idiots for a living. All completely legal, of course, even if it does still make the old-fashioned crowd a bit uncomfortable. Once the ultra-wealthy realised they had a way...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Massif
    New Release
    Massif
    Caught me a mountain Rode it to the stars It's business as usual for Ship Leader Parnell Shi-Sawahla and the crew of the corvette Sassafras. Ride a Massif to a new system, fight the enemy, repeat. For more than two hundred years, humans have been hitching rides on these sentient, starfaring mountain ranges, colonising planets and exporting an on-again, off-again...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Project Hail Mary
    Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, the SUNDAY TIMES and NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of The Martian, offers a gripping new adventure in hard science fiction. With endorsement from notable figures such as Barack Obama and a slew of five-star reviews, this novel promises a thrilling and intellectually stimulating journey. Ryland Grace, a lone astronaut, finds himself on a...
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2400
    (5)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Strength of the Few
    The highly anticipated follow-up to The Will of the Many—one of 2023's most lauded and bestselling fantasy novels. The Hierarchy still call me Vis Telimus. They still, as one, believe they know who I am. But with all that has happened—with what I fear is coming—I am not sure it matters anymore. I am no longer one. I won the...
    Paperback
    $2899
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Red Rising
    The first book in the incredible New York Times bestselling series Darrow is a Helldiver, toiling beneath the surface of Mars. As a member of the Red caste, he performs grueling labor in the belief that his sacrifice will enable future generations to one day inhabit the surface of the Red Planet. The Reds are humankind's lowest caste, living in...
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • On Sale
    10% off
    Crossroads of Ravens
    THE GLOBAL PHENOMENON RETURNS... Every legend has an origin - and Geralt of Rivia's begins here. In this brand-new chapter of Andrzej Sapkowski's Witcher series, follow Geralt in his earliest days as a Witcher, as he faces monsters and humans alike. Discover the untold stories and encounters that shaped the iconic character known today. Crossroads of Ravens brings readers into...
    Paperback
    $2600
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Ministry of Time
    One of the 18 best novels of the year for the Sunday Times A book of the year for the New York Times, Guardian, Independent, Evening Standard, Spectator, Red, NPR, Vanity Fair, People, Slate, Advocate, Sydney Morning Herald, Globe and Mail, Den of Geek, Good Housekeeping, Goodreads, NetGalley and Smithsonian Magazine 'A sparkling delight' Observer 'Make room on your bookshelves...
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Assassin’s Apprentice
    Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb marks the beginning of an extraordinary adventure in the rich and immersive world of the Six Duchies. Set against the backdrop of a kingdom teetering on the brink of civil war, this gripping tale introduces readers to FitzChivalry Farseer, a royal bastard whose existence threatens the stability of the crown. When the crown prince's secret...
    Paperback
    $1900
    Elsewhere:
    $2299
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • I Who Have Never Known Men
    A haunting, heartbreaking tale of female friendship and intimacy that evokes the chilling atmospheres of The Handmaid's Tale and the desolate landscapes of The Road, I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman is a story that lingers long after the last page is turned. This gripping narrative takes us deep underground, where thirty-nine women are held in isolation...
    Paperback
    $2800
    Elsewhere:
    $3299
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • On Sale
    19% off
    The Colour Illustrated Hobbit
    The Colour Illustrated Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien is a timeless classic that has enchanted readers for generations. This beloved tale follows Bilbo Baggins, a peace-loving hobbit from the quaint and picturesque Shire, who finds himself thrust into an epic journey far from the comforts of his cosy home. Charming and lively illustrations by Jemima Catlin breathe new life...
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $2999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • On Sale
    18% off
    Blood Over Bright Haven
    A riveting dark academia fantasy about the limits of truth and power, from the author of The Sword of Kaigen. The first woman ever admitted to a prestigious order of mages unravels a secret conspiracy that could change the practice of magic forever, in this standalone dark fantasy from the author of The Sword of Kaigen. For twenty years, Sciona...
    Paperback
    $2800
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.

Sci-Fi & Fantasy lists from the team

Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!