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20 All Time Classic Sci Fi Novels - The Day of the Triffids (Penguin Modern Classics)
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- Author: John Wyndham
- Type: Paperback
- ISBN: 0141185414
- Publisher: Penguin Classics
Synopsis
When Bill Masen wakes up blindfolded in hospital there is a bitter irony in his situation. Removing his bandages, he realizes that he is the only person who can see: everyone else has been blinded by a meteor shower. Now, with civilization in chaos, the triffids - venomous plants able to 'walk', feeding on human flesh - can have their day.
Reviews
This is a wonderfully told apocalyptic tale, as relevant today as it was in nineteen hundred and fifty one, when it was first published. Well-written, with believable characters and dialogue, it is rich with social issues that provide much food for thought.
This is definitely a book that has withstood the test of time and remains one of the finest examples of science fiction ever written and a true classic. It is much more three dimensional than the movie that was made based upon the book. That being said, I confess that I did enjoy the movie, which starred Howard Keel. The book, however, is much richer fare.
The triffid is a unique form of plant life, with appetites similar to a Venus flytrap, and is believed to have been genetically engineered by the Russians, though its true origin remains unknown. It also is able to pick up its roots and lurch about, almost as if it were walking, and seems to manifest a rudimentary intelligence.
Ever resourceful, mankind puts the triffids to work and harvests the rich oils that they produce. The only true drawback of the triffid is that it also has a stem that can lash out and sting a person with enough poison to kill. Still, mankind finds a way to control even this aberration of the oil rich triffid, now viewed as a profitable form of vegetation.
Then, came the meteorite shower, a stellar phenomena that lit the sky with a bright green light, but which would, ultimately, leave all those who saw it, forever changed. Those few, who were fortunate enough to have missed the spectacle, struggle to survive in a world that has transformed radically. It is up to them to set right what has gone terribly wrong. Soon enough, however, they realize that the day of the triffids has come. This is their story.
Lawyeraau
Personally I think that ".. Triffids" is a variant of the zombie genre; clearly not part of the zombie canon, but still. As catastrophes go, there isn't much that is cosy here; considering that it was written in 1951 this is a pretty frightening book.
Nicely written, taut and plausible plot. Characters aren't too zany, but the leads have some weight to them. What holds it back from being 5 stars for me is the rather long posturing debates between characters who are putting forward solid arguments and then having them refuted by the other side. The original TV series is good, this is better.
sam
I watched the old Howard Keel film first before discovering the book. I was probably only 10 and it scared the heck out of me. I still have a fondness for the original film adaption (the 80s TV series was poor in comparison, but the more recent series with Dougray Scott wasn't half bad), but the book is on a whole different level. I think one of the previous reviews captured it best with 'electrifying'. That about sums it up.
H Brown
The minute you start reading this, you will not the similarity between 28 days Later and Day of the Triffids; the same quiet deserted streets, the breakdown of society and the dreadful sense that things will never be the same.
Day of the Triffids develops into a gripping read, where a chain of events dictate the difficulties faced by the two lead characters - Bill and Josella - when they meet in a sightless London following the coming of a Comet. What seem to be unconnected circumstances in the end culminate to build a gripping ending.
I'm pretty sure over the years, many other novels and definitely movies have taken this format and reinterpreted it; but in Wyndham's Day of the Triffids, many of those nightmarish scenarios come together; in a surreal - yet all too real piece of work.
Recommended!
J. Moore
A clear interpretation of the perspective for our civilization. We dont care, and to late we understand the consequences of what we are doing to nature in order to maximize our comfort: this story is a tale told many years before we understood what we really do to the environment and how we squander resourses. John Wyndham was really foreseeing "things to come" - Why didnt we pay attention? It may be to late to alter the direction of our civilization. Maybe we are the the true criminals?
Thomas F. Møller
