The Wind from Nowhere

The Wind from Nowhere is a science fiction novel by English author J. G. Ballard. Published in 1961, it was his debut novel. He had previously published only short stories. The novel was the first of a series of Ballard novels dealing with scenarios of natural disaster. Here, civilization is reduced to ruins by prolonged worldwide hurricane force winds. As an added dimension, Ballard explores the ways in which disaster and tragedy can bond people together in ways that no normal experiences ever could. That is another recurring theme in his works and makes one of its first appearances here. Some critics have suggested that his first four novels are based on elemental themes, showing global destruction by air, water, fire and earth.Ballard later dismissed the novel, written in ten days, as a "piece of hackwork", referring instead to The Drowned World as his first real novel.