The Kraken Wakes

Abstract

The novel revolves around an invasion of a set of mysterious and intelligent alien lifeforms that come to Earth and establish themselves in the deep oceans. At first it is observed in the night of the honeymoon of two of the main characters, Mike and Phyllis Watson, a couple that was on a ship. Overtime, more and more of those strange ‘fireballs’ are seen but no one seems to know what they are, how they appear or why they do so. The couple works for the EBC (a broadcasting corporation) and witness the events unfold over time, as they try to figure out the nature of the alien threat, gradually starting to realize the actual danger of the situation. Throughout the novel, there are attempts to explore and understand the alien presence using scientific means. There is, however, very little progress, due to the deep-ocean environment is so unfamiliar. The mysterious disasters go from simpler events, such as ships disappearing, to the aliens launching attacks on coastal cities, using strange, jellyfish-like creatures to devastate human life. It escalates to the point that, later on, the aliens begin melting polar ice caps, flooding coastal areas, which led to the collapse of the global society. The consequences end up being more severe and on a bigger scale that they could maybe have been due to the bureaucracy's inaction and skepticism as, leading to the disregard of the warnings about the aliens, which allows the invaders to strengthen their position in the Earth's deepest parts of the oceans. The aliens’ purpose and nature remain largely mysterious throughout the novel. They appear to be indifferent to human life, and their attacks seem to have the goal of the need to establish dominance over Earth's oceans. The major of details about the invaders remains unexplained throughout the novel, enhancing the sense of an unknowable, alien force. Humanity demonstrates resilience until the end, which is shown by the fact that Mike and Phyllis, along with other survivors, try to adjust to the new world. The novel ends with a note of cautious optimism as humanity begins to rebuild, although the alien threat remains unresolved.