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Trouble with Lichen

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About this listen

Francis Saxover and Diana Brackley, two scientists investigating a rare lichen, discover it has a remarkable property: it retards the aging process. Francis, realising the implications for the world of an ever-youthful, wealthy elite, wants to keep it secret, but Diana sees an opportunity to overturn the male status quo by using the lichen to inspire a feminist revolution.

As each scientist wrestles with the implications and practicalities of exploiting the discovery, the world comes ever closer to learning the truth....

Trouble with Lichen is a scintillating story of the power wielded by science in our lives and asks, how much trust should we place in those we appoint to be its guardians?

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 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'.

©1960 John Wyndham (P)2021 Audible, Ltd Adventure Genetic Engineering Hard Science Fiction Science Fiction Fiction Thought-Provoking Scary
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There is no getting away that this book from 1957 is rather old fashioned sci-fi, with an old fashioned look at the roles of women in society. If you can get past that than this is a thoughtful look at how life changing discovered could effect society.

Narration was good.

Old fashioned

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I've read Day Of The Triffids about six times over the years but somehow had missed Trouble With Lichen and knew nothing about the plot, what a revelation! Okay it feels a little dated in attitudes and the wider social aspects but that's a very minor point as the book is fresh and could be written today. God knows why this hasn't been made into a TV series but Midwich Cookoos has umpteen films!

Fantastic story and performance.

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Some interesting moral dilemmas raised. I have read John Wyndham over 40 years or so and I do enjoy the ideas that he has. The writing and dialogue etc are inevitably dated of course but taking that into account his female characters are refreshingly well rounded for the time. When you really think about it, there certainly would be Trouble With Lichen if this were reality. Very far reaching issues and the more you think about it the more trouble you find

Makes you think

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This was the fourth of John Wyndham’s SF stories on Audible I have listened to over a period of a few days, and while the plot was not one of Wyndham’s finest, the perfect narration by Vanessa Kirby made this book one of the best, and illustrates the vital importance of the right narrator.

The narrative is gentle and understated, such that it barely qualifies as Science Fiction. I found it to be a satisfying ‘read’, and I could listen to Vanessa Kirby all day long.

Intriguing

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Loved this! Good story, well written.

Going to discover more Wyndham and wonder why I read only the Day of the Triffids as a child?

A good story doesn’t age.

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