THE KRAKEN WAKES

One hesitates to blame global warming on aliens, but maybe John Wyndham is onto something in his 1953 science-fiction classic, which features a world environmental disaster. Eerie fireballs drop from the sky, creating impenetrable fogs, melting ice caps, and seemingly intelligent ship-eating creatures who emerge from the ocean depths (the Kraken). Playing journalists Mike and Phyllis Watson, Jonathan Cake and Saira Todd have a wonderful time narrating this tale of British pluck and ingenuity. From the sounds of first contact with the mysterious aliens to the wails of lost souls drowning in the rising tides, the nonstop action is deftly enhanced with music and sound effects. The result is a robust cautionary adventure reminiscent in style, pace, and theme to Wyndham's best-known work, THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS. B.P. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2008]