Chocky is a fine science fiction tale. In it, a boy named Matthew begins to have conversations with an imaginary friend—who turns out to be more than imaginary. The back cover states that the friend, “was far too intelligent and frightening” to spring from the mind of Matthew alone.

This story pulls you in from the first couple pages. There’s an element of potential horror surrounding the plot that makes it compelling. There’s a some depth here, too. It’s interesting to hear about the family dynamics of Matthew’s mother. Wyndham could have made much more use of that side-story.

On the whole, this book ranks just slightly above average. The climax was a bit of a let down for me. Still, I love Wyndham, so it was a pleasant read. If you’re not a Wyndham fan, there are other more interesting books to begin with.

Wyndham, John. Chocky. Penguin, 1970.