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Summary: Day of the Triffids: The unspoken truth
Review: If you have read the info about the movies about killer plants from outer space, then put that entirely out of your mind. The story is written in first person and there are some things that you will realize by the end of the book which are actually never spelled out. I consider this a classic, and a good book. As to whether there are better stories that use the same scenario, I am not even sure that there are book that use the same scenariio.
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Summary: The most excellent book ever written about a world gone mad.
Review: If you saw the movie as a youngster who hadn't read the book, you probably had nightmares. If you saw it as an adult, or a kid who had read the book, you most certainly were disappointed. What Wyndham does here is put the reader into close contact with a very believable world. Maybe those satellites twirling around up there can't really blind us all; maybe plants such as these can never be produced by humankind, but Wyndham deftly (and, I think correctly) speculates on the events that would take place if those things did happen. Here, in The Day Of the Triffids these things did happen and the reader is, hand-in-hand with the hero, taken along on a dark and disturbing journey through a nightmare landscape. It is not just the Triffids that produce the horror; it is Wyndham's insightful portrayal of the actions and reactions of our fellow beings that disrupt our ease; that produces the horror that certainly lurks just below the surface of our present maelstrom world society.
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Summary: A gem from the father of strange invasions
Review: Ignore the film. While a bit atmospheric, it's nowhere as close to the book as Village Of The Damned is to The Midwich Cuckoos. Instead, read this book because it's a complex but approachable book about the human condition on so many levels. Less imaginative science fiction fans may warn you away because it doesn't feature galactic empires or anthropomorphic horrors, but all the better. This is an imaginative and, you bet, classic book from a man who, along with Clifford Simak, knows how to invade the Earth in a genuinely horrifying way.While enjoying this book, keep an eye out for a copy of his even better invasion novel The Kraken Wakes (Out Of The Deeps). Ahead of its time in many ways.
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Summary: A masterpiece
Review: Imagine being one of the few people who can still see in a world where everyone has gone blind. This is the premise Wyndham uses to talk about fundamentals of human existence such as past, present, moral beliefs, human relationships, solitude, desire, love, and death. The story is well thought and exciting as the main character narrates his adventures and struggle to survive in a world where society has collapsed. A brilliant piece of work.
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Summary: Not a pleasant way to die.
Review: It is interesting to read stories that were written 40 to 50 years ago. This one starts fast and doesn't let you go until the end.
Just the prospect of almost every one going blind gives me the chill. To be attacked by murderous carnivorous plants is an horror added on terror. This is a story that could be remade in a movie. It could be much better than "28 days".
Wyndham is very good at describing the different ways that people would react to such an holocaust. The principal character's quest to find his new love is very well integrated with the story.
You can almost see the thousands of triffids waiting at the gates for you to come out. Read this book please and if you know a movie producer, give him your book.
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Summary: A great book
Review: It's one of the few Sci-Fi books I actually like. Very well written
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Summary: Malevolent plants in a world gone blind.
Review: John Wyndham was the pseudonym of John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris (1903-1969). This novel is regarded as one of the classics of science fiction literature and was made into a film in 1963 (poorly made). The book was runnerup for the 1952 International Fantasy Award. It is one of the classic examples of the "disaster novel;" or, more specifically, the sub-genre referred to as the "cozy catastrophe" in which a world-wide disaster is depicted in such a manner that the reader doesn't feel too upset and roots for the main character to overcome all odds. This novel set the pattern for many later novels of other authors: a disaster occurs, a large city is depopulated, panic develops, bravery is seen in the main characters, and a small core of individuals strive to build a foundation from which mankind can reestablish his position. (The synopsis given above with the publisher's comments is wrong. Wyndham is not the father of the disaster nove. There were several prior to 1951.) In this particular story, a series of green showers from a comet's tail (we are later told that this may have been a weapon in orbit that had been accidentally set off by an Earth government) cause most of Earth's inhabitants to become blind. Only the few who didn't see the showers (such as the main character Bill Mason who was in a hospital) can see. Later, a plague (possibly originating from a biological weapon) kills many survivors. But, the main malevolent force in the novel are the triffids: carniverous plants that can walk. Bill Mason believes these plants to have been genetically engineered by the Soviet Union and were accidentally released. Now that mankind is blind, the triffids "day" has come. The word "triffid," first used in this novel, has even gotten into the English language as a term describing any malevolent or obnoxious plant.
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Summary: Past 50 But Still Great!
Review: Many novels have the adjective "brilliant" fixed to their name. For some this is justified, for others not. "The Day of the Triffids" falls into the former category.
The essence of John Wyndham's tale is that a massive meteor shower is watched by most of the world's population. The next day, most of the population wakes to find themselves absolutely blind. A handful miss the shower for various reasons including the novel's narrator, Bill Masen, who was in hospital having eye surgery. His eyes are thus bandaged and the glorious shower is missed. He can count himself very lucky!
Coinciding with the shower is the emergence of Triffids; plants that are both extremely poisonous and mobile. They can actually lift their roots and move to another location. Triffids plus near universal human blindness puts civilization and the human race in extreme peril. The modern world disappears as humans revert to barbarism and feudalism. Several theories are tested as to how the comet shower occurred but no one explanation can be proved. The threat to humanity, however, is very real.
John Wyndham's novel is now more than fifty years old but still reads wonderfully well. He paints a bleak scenario in which the remaining sighted humans must strive to rebuild a modern world. It is often a battle between good and evil and the resultant victor is not always clear. Wyndham was probably using an analogy for a post nuclear holocaust world. His message is as fresh today as it was during a time of cold war hostility.
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Summary: Unbelievable
Review: My father was given this book as a 14 year old, and lost it until a few years ago it was found and returned to him. We both read it now at least once a year, but as i had never seen a copy besides our 1950s edition i was happily surprised to find this page. all i can say is i am buying my own copy right now, and this novel is a must read for anyone who loves true science fiction. Its a battle of man against his own worst nature, and a wonderfully thought provoking read. from the first page the author offers truly well crafted text, and it just keeps on coming. You MUST own this book.
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Summary: Compelling
Review: My first introduction to The Day of the Triffids was watching the BBC series as a child. I was terrified. Many years later I opened the book and discovered John Wyndham. Having read all his books I rate this one right at the top. Like his other titles, the reader is immediately immersed in the "what if" world that Wyndham creates. The protagonist, Bill Mason is one of the few people in the world not sent blind by a meteor shower. To compound his situation earth is taken over by Triffids; walking, man eating plants, biological abominations created by you guessed it, humans. Our hero must flee the death and depravity of London and attempt to start a new life not only for himself but for humankind. A battle for survival of the fittest is dramatically played out with the winner changing constantly. Some themes that I found interesting included the struggle for man to again dominate over nature and the effect of a cataclysmic event on human inter-relations. This book is classic Science Fiction but I also like think of it as Horror without gore.
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