The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham

The day off the Triffids is probably one of the author John Wyndham's best known books and a personal favorite of mine. Possibly because I first discovered it when I was about 12, devouring the horror of it over a weekend, or maybe that I then later studied it at "O level" and discovered a whole new level to the book I had missed when I was younger. For whatever reasons I now have two copies that I find I can go back to time and time again and never ...
...preying on Wyndham's mind at the time of writing, and the book mirrors a growing sense of unease felt by many during this time, Where they felt man was on the brink of wiping himself off the face of the earth, either through war or industrial accident and that we were delving in to scientific areas of research we knew very little about. At the time genetic research was in its very early stages and there was a feeling in the populous that we were ...

kent-ledger28 21.11.2005 · Read full review
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Review of The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham

...and also possibly his best, The Day of the Triffids has been made into films and TV series, but nothing can beat the book. As with other of Wyndham's works, it is classic sci-fi with more accessibility to people who are not fans of / unfamiliar with the genre because it focuses on how people respond to the scientific crisis / event rather than going into unwieldy detail about the event itself. In fact in The Day of the Triffids, much is left to guesswork ...
...it's totally accurate. The book is told in first-person narration by biologist Bill Mason, who's had a very frustrating time recently - he's in hospital unable to see. It is only a temporary condition - he hopes - as the doctors were able to treat him quickly after the event. He works farming triffids and harvesting their oil, which is of superior value and highly valuable. No-one quite knew where they sprung from, but they seemed to be an entirely ...

CaptainDisaster 25.10.2005 · Read full review
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Review of The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham

The Day of the Triffids is a genuinely chilling tale of an ecological apocalypse. First published in 1951, time has done nothing to erode the feeling of panic and slow-dawning realisation that creeps over both the main characters, and the reader, as the full extent of their situation is revealed. Although John Wyndham was an experienced writer of both short stories and detective novels, this is the first novel he wrote in his own special brand of ...
...than 300 pages in length. The story follows Bill Masen, whose world is ruined, whilst his life is ironically saved, by triffids; deadly, genetically engineered plants which are intensively farmed for their valuable natural oil. The story opens with Mr Masen in hospital, about to have bandages removed from his eyes following treatment for a triffid sting. The first sign that something is wrong is that "Wednesday sounds like Sunday", i.e. there is ...

franl 24.10.2002 · Read full review
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Review of The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham

...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 ...
...The recent phenomenon that is The Lord of The Rings motion picture stands as a perfect example. To my mind no film has ever been produced that has achieved such epic scale, combining the natural beauty of New Zealand, some truly mesmeric special effects with a more than accomplished cast yet compared with Tolkien’s wonderful prose and an active imagination it is distinctly second best. No, for me the written word, not shackled by budget, technical ...

Mercury 16.01.2003 · Read full review
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Review of The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham

...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 ...
...the sky radiated something that has destroyed the optic nerves resulting in mass blindness. Obviously, having his eyes bandaged our hero saw none of this and has managed to retain his sight. With some slow investigations upon leaving the hospital Masen slowly realises what has happened. The streets are full of the wandering blind seeking help and food. Ironically he comes across a man who was blind before the event who is going about his daily business ...

MyPOV 06.09.2003 · Read full review
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Review of The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham

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 ...
...the characteristic 'rebel group' led by a attractive hero who warned the world but no one listened, the beautiful heroine who initially despises said hero but ends up snogging him on the final page, and the comedy sidekick who adds light hearted humour and witty quips in the face of danger. I expected action, adventure, death, romance and general 'yay human' outlook. Oh how wrong I was, and ridiculously naïve over what Wyndham really wrote about ...

Billieuk 28.11.2006 · Read full review
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Review of The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham

...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 ...
...people cannot easily avoid the deadly stings of the species, when they can't even see them. Blindness, disease, loneliness and hunger bring out humanity's worse characteristics.Only a few of the sighted join up with the each other and try to make a stand against the triffids. Only a few individuals have retained their sight, those that didn't for one one reason or another, watch the light show of the comets. One man, Bill Mason, a biologist and ...

Paradis 24.01.2005 · Read full review
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Review of The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham

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, he realises ...
...the rest of the world has gone blind due to flashes of light from a meteor shower the previous evening. while the world tries to come to terms with the devastating effect that it has on their lives, some mysterious plants sieze their chance... The book focuses on Bill's attempts to simultaneously recreate some sort of life for him, and his companion (also not blind), whilst fighting the the ever-stronger army of triffids who are thriving on man's ...

esthersmile 04.12.2003 · Read full review
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Review of The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham

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 engineers ...
...grade if the 'stinger' is left in tact. Unfortunately Bill gets some venom mist across his eyes one day; it's the luckiest day of his life. Whilst in hospital, Bill misses out on a planet wide comet show as the sky is lit up all night with eerie green flashes. The next morning he awakes in a hospital in complete silence. No doctors, no nurses, no one to remove his bandages. He removes them himself but what he sees of the world from this point ...

Maximus-Qualitus 18.07.2008 · Read full review
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Review of The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham

...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 blind, ...
...the numerous pubs throughout the city, whist others cling to one another in an attempt to find food and somehow remain alive. Masen remembers the radio reports about strange cosmic phenomena in the sky that played out during the weeks he was incapacitated in the hospital, and it soon becomes apparent that watching these weird lights in the sky has somehow caused 99% of the worlds population to go completely blind. This is not all that humanity suddenly ...

Burning_Darkness 02.07.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham

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 of ...
...unwary victims. The story is so original, so gripping, that it is a must read. The concept of a society in disarray is so brilliantly described and detailed, this is surely Wyndham at his peak of literary talent. Widely available in all good bookshops, The Day of the Triffids is not a book you will be able to finish without a deep sense of disquiet and trepidation. Highly recommended nonetheless. ...

MikeScoates 19.09.2000 · Read full review
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Review of The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham

"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 ...
...people might cope with the disaster, from panic and giving up, through the introduction of a police state, to the more benevolent society that the protagonist and his friends dedicate themselves to. There is no deus ex machina: no one discovers a miracle cure or weapon, they simply fight on as best they can, and by the end of the book the war against the triffids is not won. But the battle lines have been drawn, and the fight has begun. Altogether, ...

NeilHudson 01.10.2000 · Read full review
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Review of The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham

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 him ...
...During his stay in hospital the world is treated to a passing meteor storm flashing through the Earth atmosphere and giving off an eerie green glow to the skies all over the world. This has the effect of rendering all who see the spectacle permanently blind, and then the Triffids get loose! Bill wakes to a deathly quiet world and once the he removes the bandages he sees and realises the full horror now present in the world. The old life has gone ...

MaldivesHoliday 11.02.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham

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). ...
...Triffids are generally kept in the background - an ominous threat that occasionally rears into sight. The book is more concerned with how the populace deals with its predicament. And the unfortunate answer is not especially well. Trying desperately to fight the concept of "survival of the fittest", most people die horribly. Among those who remain, dissent emerges over the best way to survive the alien threat and several proto-societies spring up, ...

afy9mab 24.07.2001 · Read full review
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Review of The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham