Celebrate one of the earliest science fiction novels by rediscovering Jack Finney’s internationally acclaimed Invasion of the Body Snatchers–which Stephen King calls a story “to be read and savored for its own satisfactions,” now repackaged with a foreword by #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz. On a quiet fall evening in the peaceful town of Mill Valley, California, Dr. Miles … California, Dr. Miles Bennell discovers an insidious, horrifying plot. Subtly, almost imperceptibly, alien life-forms are taking over the bodies and minds of his neighbors, friends, family, the woman he loves, and the entire world as he knows it.
First published in 1955, this classic science fiction thriller about the ultimate alien invasion and the triumph of the human spirit over an invisible enemy has inspired multiple film adaptations and entertained readers for decades. This repackaged edition features a new cover by Hugo award-winning illustrator, John Picacio and a foreword by New York Times bestselling author, Dean Koontz.more
One of the very first Sci-fi books I have ever read (other than short stories published in magazines) and second only to my favorite Sci-fi novel Arthur C. Clark’s “Childhood’s End”.
In “The Body Snatchers” (the original title) Jack Finney shows us a world where empathy, love and concern have been replaced with what appears to be security. A frightening look at what a secure world at the cost of our humanity.
An excellent story with a superb building of a make believe reality that can very much mirror our own, if we are not careful.
Readers of the genre who haven’t read this fantastic book are truly missing out and if you are new to the genre you can do much much worse than reading “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”.
I’ve never seen the movie version of this, so the book was a tense adventure I couldn’t stop listening to. There are a couple plot points that are a bit pointless, and it can be misogynistic at times, but overall it’s a fun story that’ll keep you on your toes and wondering about your neighbors.
It’s really hard to believe that this science fiction book was written in the 50s. Often in novels of this genre that are a bit dated you notice the so-called expiration effect, which affects both the plot, rich of anachronistic elements, but also and especially the style of author (or translator, in this case, as I’ve read it in Italian), in which expressions that do not belong to our everyday language are evident. In a very surprising way I have not noticed anything like that in “The Body Snatchers”. It is a story set in the time in which it was written and contains all its features, but it could have been written yesterday.
Finney involves us in a plot full of mystery, told from the point of view of a doctor of a small California town where people are changing in an indefinable way. Halfway between horror and science fiction this novel drags the reader through its pages, imparting a constant, growing feeling of anxiety until he makes them believe that the protagonists have not really any way to escape.
Unique recognizable aspect of this type of classic science fiction is actually the end in which the threat disappears in an almost random, fortuitous way. The protagonists are not the true markers of their victory, but get to it with amazement. This aspect is perhaps one of my favourites, because I consider it extremely realistic. Often in contemporary novels, the protagonists are heroes, people who, prior normal, take control of the situation and save the world against powerful enemies. A story in which the victory against the villains is due to a waiver of the latter or an outside fortuitous factor returns to the protagonists their normality and allows us, normal readers, to identify ourselves better in their joys and their fears.
Such a perfect little book, especially in this age of McCarthy-style politics. Read it again, and for the first time, and enjoy. And yes, it’s better than any of the movies it spawned … and the movies are all pretty good.
It was a little slow at times like most old-school science fiction but not to slow that I was disinterested.
The Body Snatchers Jack Finney 1955
When seeds invade Santa Mira, unsuspecting sleeping residents disappear and are quietly replaced with nonhuman duplicates.
https://www.chadschimke.com/2018/08/science-fiction.html
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Dr. Miles Bennell has had a few patients come to him complaining that a loved is not really acting like themselves. Miles can only believe that it is in their minds. But, when his friend, Jack, frantically calls him to come over, he is faced with the reality of his patients’ confused claims. Mysterious pods found around Mill Valley are replacing people with…what? Duplicates?
This Jack Finney novel, like his others, is very well-written and intelligent. Even though it is science fiction, the way Finney writes, you would swear that this novel actually happened! Reading a Finney novel is effortless, and the action just unfolds in the reader’s mind like a movie. His character development is amazing, the characters become friends to the reader.
Many have seen the movies made from this book. Although they are fun, the book puts them to shame. The book tries to find a lesson in the freaky occurrence, giving us insights into human nature that might not have occurred to us before.
I have been an enthusiastic fan of Finney for years, and finally reading this book makes me remember why.
*NOTE THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS*
Ever since the 1956 black and white classic movie “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” was released certain phrases became part of everyday life for most folks. I’ve heard things like: Pod person? Have you checked his/her basement for any giant seed pods? So-and-so is acting weird, you think he/she might’ve been switched by a seed pod? Dunno, if they did it’s an improvement… (this one was directed at me more than once, fyi).
But before the movie came the novel, a brilliant piece of fiction by Jack Finney (who also authored other great works such as “Time and Again”, “The Night People” and many others which I hope to read and review down the road). However, it was “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” that captured the minds of readers. Released in 1955, it was subsequently snatched up by Hollywood to be made into a movie in 1956.
Interestingly, despite the time of the book’s release Mr. Finney seems to have had no intention of making his book about McCarthyism or the “Red Menace” (referring to Russia and socialism during the Cold War). Instead, it seemed to hint at the loss of individuality and personal freedom, as well as (from my point of view) the overuse of the planet’s resources.
Those who’ve seen the original 1956 movie already know the basic plot, a small town doctor in California begins encountering patients who swear their nearest and dearest are not who they appear. Each of these people swear that somehow their mother/father/uncle/teacher you name it… has been somehow replaced by a doppleganger who intends some kind of menace. The patients admit that the individual in question looks, sounds and acts like the person they’ve known all their lives, but SOMETHING is missing and that’s how they know the person they’ve loved has been replaced. Naturally, the good doctor talks to some of these ‘replaced’ individuals and finds nothing amiss, at least nothing he can really put his finger on. And being a man of science and medicine he chalks it up to mass hysteria, especially after referring some of the patients to a psychiatrist friend of his (unknowing of course that his friend was replaced some time back).
The doctor then meets an old flame who’s come back to town and they start dating only to notice there are some differences going on in their little home town. Restaurants that were normally busy as can be are practically empty, some of the homes/businesses seem to be slacking off on work and even basic maintenance, etc. Then some of the good doctor’s patients who had complained that someone close to them had ‘changed’ begin telling him (with exaggerated embarrassment) about how silly they had been acting and that all is well, etc.
Of course we the readers are fully aware that something is up and follow the doctor and company slowly catching on as well. The final proof for our protagonists comes when a close friend summons him late at night to check on a ‘dead’ body found in his basement. As one can surmise, the body is one of the invading pods that is slowly replicating the doctor’s friend, little by little in an attempt to replace him. This is where the action really kicks into high gear as the pieces start coming together for our heroes and heroines. The clock begins to tick and the horror begins to dawn on them as they discover hidden pods making these duplicates and now they must alert the town only to learn to their growing horror that they may be the last 4 normal humans who are not being targeted for replacement.
All of this can be seen in the movie, which was shot on a shoe-string budget to great effect. However, there are certain scenes which were left out which shows that the pods were not as intelligent as many think. The doctor speaks with a botanist who tells him about a farmer summoning him to his barn where a some strange large pods showed up amidst his trashcans. The botanist tells the doctor that aside from the unusual pods (“…which over time I probably could have identified, but not right then…”) he saw nothing unusual except two empty tin cans of tomato sauce that looked remarkably similar, along with 2 axes with identical broken handles amidst the rubbish.
Another part that is left out of the original movie is the revelation that the pods travel through space and purposely land on various planets or astral bodies in search of things to duplicate and replace. “The moon was quite lush at one time…” it’s revealed, “Mars too…” For me, these passages raised the threat and terror levels to all time highs. Furthermore, the pod-people reveal that they only have a 5 year existence, and that they cannot reproduce themselves, thus they must help grow more pods to keep their ‘race’ alive.
At this point the idea of not McCarthyism or Communism being the implied threat went out the door for me. The good doctor gets the pod people to reveal that they can duplicate anything that is/was alive and that the originals simply crumble to grey fluff after being duplicated and replaced. Meaning grass, trees, animals, etc. In 5-10 years time everything on Earth would be duplicated and then the duplicates would themselves perish, leaving a dead planet behind while the newest pods would float up back into outer space and find another world to drain of its resources. At one point the pod speaker says, “How is it any different than the way your kind are using up what your planet offers?”
Again for the most part, the movie closely follows the book remarkably well. However, the climactic finish differs wildly… and I’m NOT about to share it with you. This is a cracking good read so I suggest you get your own novel, Kindle/Nook, or audio version of the story and let it capture your imagination.
As Stan Lee would say, “Nuff said…”
What can I say about this classic? Other that I’m sad it took me as long as it did to read it. I thoroughly enjoyed reading every bit of this book. I can see why it’s considered a classic. And it’s a type of alien invasion that I haven’t really read about before (plant life form invasion). I mean I’ve seen spoof of it in cartoons and movies and some books. But nothing quite like it since. Although there is a Zombies vs. Flowers series of books which MAY be similar. I just haven’t had time to read them yet either.
The characters where pretty basic and not delved into too deeply. But they are thrown fairly quickly into the fire and it doesn’t take much to see yourself in that situation.
It was a quick easy and fairly clean sci-fi book that I can easily recommend to anybody who has any interest in Sci-Fi. It would have been an easy 5/5 but again it has DRM so 4/5.