The Secret People
by John Wyndham
science fiction
copyright 1972
read in May 2020
rated 8/10: really quite good
Okay, perhaps I should rate Secret People as seven, well worth reading... but no. I enjoyed it, it's a good book. Really quite good.
Very dated in its stereotypes yet not embarrassingly so. Characters are defined -- initially -- by their race or gender... then they are allowed to show depths which are beyond their stereotyping limits. On the other hand... only the WASPs make a clean escape.
Wyndham shows a lot of understanding of and some sympathy for the non-WASPs. They still "lose" but not because primitive people are lesser people.
The story is your basic what-if science fiction, with the reader learning what if as we follow the main characters as they, as our guides, discover the secret world.
The author -- through his characters -- also throws in plenty of comments and observations on our own society. Fifty years on, the comments are still relevant and challenging. Better yet -- the comments are brief, clear and to the point. Enough to make us think, not enough to distract from the story.
The style is dated but the book is not out-of-date. The underlying what-if is simple, the resulting story is entertaining, the "extra" ideas are thought provoking. The characters are limited yet with some depths. An enjoyable book. Really quite good.
Nick Lethbridge / Agamedes Consulting
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"Metaphors be with you" … Ginger Meggs
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