The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham > Reviews

Advantages: Provocative prose, compelling and imaginative story
Disadvantages: May keep you awake at nights

...far superior to movies, even the seemingly unimaginative can find themselves transported to a different world, time or place by the evocative power of the written world; the more adventurous the imagination, the more vivid and extraordinary the experience. Of course not all books achieve this, some fail totally to inspire with insipid, unsubstantial characters and themes, many offer a glimpse of escape but fail to captivate but there is an elusive ... Read review

Advantages: A classic everyone should read
Disadvantages: Very slightly dated

...can’t get much bigger than the end of civilisation! Bill Masen awakes in his hospital bed on the morning he is due to have bandages removed from his eyes following an operation, only to find the world all but silent and nobody responding to his calls for assistance. The reason for this soon becomes clear – most of the population has suddenly become blind overnight. The cause is a spectacular meteor shower light show on the previous evening that ... Read review

Advantages: Clever, intelligent, gripping, tense, thought-provoking
Disadvantages: none

The day of the Triffids isn't really about giant man eating plants at all, because if it was, it would be a ridiculous idea. The mental image of a 7 foot tall green stalk doing a strange swaying motion blundering blindly along is not really very scary - or so you would think. I suppose I was expecting a book about alien life forms that came to earth looking like giant plants and try to take over. This in the end led to a war between man and plant ... Read review

Advantages: A satisfying read
Disadvantages: none

...creates a light show. Across the world, everybody who is able, watches the magnificent shooting stars across the night sky. The next morning all who watched the nocturnal display have been blinded. Society across the world is plunged into chaos and darkness, and humanity faces a short future. The cause of the chaos are the triffids, a giant carniverous plant, The Triffid, a plant originally from Russia, bred for it's oil. These mobile and intelligent ... Read review

Advantages: Scary! Not dated, thought provoking.
Disadvantages: Scary! Lacks depth in some areas. Gave me nightmares!

Title: Day of the Triffids Author: John Wyndham Published: 1951 I picked up this book in the library the other day simply as something to read whilst waiting for a friend in a coffee shop. As it turned out i got a lot more than the mildly diverting sci-fi that i was expecting! "Day of the Triffids" begins with the main character, Bill, waking up in hospital after treatment for a triffid sting. upon removing the bandages covering his eyes, ... Read review

Advantages: Great Read.
Disadvantages: None

The Day of the Triffids. This is one of my favourite books (and film) and is one of John Wyndham's best known books. I remember seeing the film many many years ago but it wasn't until perhaps 10 years ago that I got around to reading the book; it was/is a cracking read. I currently have an Easton Press First Edition and give it a reading every now and then. Synopsis; ~~~~~~ Bill Masen is a biologist working on a farm that genetically ... Read review

Advantages: Tense, atmospheric, compellingly written
Disadvantages: Dialogue feels slightly stuffy in places

...Wyndham's 1951 novel 'Day of The Triffids', main protagonist Bill Masen awakes in a London hospital to find that his eyes are heavily bandaged and nobody appears to be around to attend to him. Tentatively removing his bandages and discovering that he is still able to see, Masen quickly discovers that the hospital is deserted and some terrible catastrophe appears to have occured, with the city in a state of abject chaos. Everyone appears to be ... Read review

Advantages: Great storyline
Disadvantages: None

The Day of the Triffids is without a doubt John Wyndham's best work ever. It was serialized on BBC a few years ago now, and the adaptation was nowhere near as good as the book itself. Imagine waking up in hospital and finding out that you are the only sighted person left in the world. This is the scenario that faces our unlikely hero at the start of this book, and he goes on to face a nightmare society where chaos rules, with the added horror ... Read review

Advantages: Excellent on every level
Disadvantages: The premise might take a bit of swallowing

"The Day of the Triffids" marked a turning point in John Wyndham's career, as he adopted a new pseudonym and style, and showed a marked improvement in his talent as well as his sales. The plot is probably familiar to everyone - with most of the human race blinded, man-eating plants take over. It sounds daft, but in Wyndham's hands the situation is portrayed convincingly. Fortunately Wyndham does not allow the book to dissolve into melodrama. Instead ... Read review

Advantages: great read
Disadvantages: nothing

The Day of the Triffids. A great book and far better than the watered down 1960's film version. The central character is Bill Masen who is a Genetic engineer working on a 'Triffid' farm. The Triffids are walking plants about 8ft high which have a sting or lash which can flash out at you and is invariably fatal. They are farmed for their oils which are greatly sort after throughout the world. Bill had a Triffid lash out at ... Read review

Advantages: Often imitated, never bettered
Disadvantages: If you're afraid of daisies, it'll make you ill

This is probably the best-known of Wyndham's novels, and deservedly so. In it, our everyman character wakes up in hospital to find himself one of the few remaining sighted humans on earth. And more worryingly, on an earth which is slowly being taken over by Triffids - genetically engineered plants with a taste for human flesh. Don't worry, it's not actually that much like a bad B-movie. (Although I'm sure some bad B-movies of it have been made). ... Read review