Title: The Chrysalids
Author: John Wyndham
Year: 1955
Publisher: Michael Joseph
Pages: 200
A reasonably interesting post-apocalyptic novel, set in Canada for a change of scenery. One must accept the premise that the presumed nuclear devastation could cause many non-fatal mutations, but that's the starting point for many books in this genre.
I enjoyed the culture and world building, though Wyndham seems not to have made the best use of it. For example, I would expect a protagonist, or at least a foil character, to experience more moral qualms about the group's actions, which would have increased exploration of the idea, and the internal threat. Several characters appear to be simply discarded when no longer useful to the narrative.
The Wikipedia entry currently identifies "Sealand" as New Zealand. Unless Wyndham has confirmed this, I would have thought it was Zeeland. The Netherlands makes more sense for the distance traveled in a helicopter, though New Zealand's anti-nuclear policies make it culturally plausible.
A brief speech near the end caused me serious deja vu, since Jefferson Airplane cribbed/paraphrased it in "Crown of Creation":
In loyalty to their kind
They cannot tolerate our minds.
In loyalty to our kind
We cannot tolerate their obstruction!
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