Day of the Triffids [Mass Market Paperback]

John Wyndham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 12, 1985

The night the sky broke out in mysterious green flashes, all but a few people on Earth were blinded. The world went mad. Ordinary folk became animals, turning on one another in terror and desperation. Bill Masen was one of a handful who struggled to preserve a shred of civilization amidst the chaos. But chaos soon became the least of mankind's problems. Walking plants were appearing -- plants that fed on the bodies of their human prey. The triffids had arrived, and it was up to Bill Masen to stop them!

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This classic sf novel traces the fate of the world after a comet shower blinds most of the world's population. The few with sight must struggle to reconstruct society while fighting mobile, flesh-eating plants called triffids. Samuel West's narration of this powerful and realistic story provides a flawless interpretation of the text. The listener is caught up in the catastrophic chain of events, imagined and told with such skill?by narrator as well as author?that one can easily visualize the cataclysmic events. All of West's vocal characterizations, including cockney accents, female voices, and children's voices, ring true. This superlative production of an outstanding and entertaining novel belongs in all audio collections.?Melody Moxley, Rowan P.L., Salisbury, N.C.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Review

After reading this little horror you will toss your innocent geranium out the window. The triffids are gigantic plants, mysteriously arrived on earth, which take up their roots and walk, searching for men to kill. A terrible celestial incident, which permanently blinds the majority of people on earth, helps the belligerent blossoms in their work. William Mason, escaping blindness, teams up with a beautiful (sighted) girl and after mishaps and separations in a decaying and de-populated world starts a colony with other pioneers as the triffids lean wistfully against the fences. Fast, readable and triffid-ly chilling. (Kirkus Reviews) --Ed Gorman

"A thoroughly English apocalypse, it rivals H. G. Wells in conveying how the everyday invaded by the alien would feel. No wonder Stephen King admires Wyndham so much."
--RAMSEY CAMPBELL

"John Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids is one of my all-time favorite novels. It's absolutely convincing, full of little telling details, and that sweet, warm sensation of horror and mystery."
--JOE R. LANSDALE

"My son's middle name is Wyndham. Does that tell you how much I respect and revere the late John Wyndham? And The Day of the Triffids is the best of them all. He was a wonderful writer who was able to reinvigorate science fiction with spectacle and true thrills, and do so with a writing voice that created both suspense and elegance. A true master."
--Ed Gorman --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 191 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey (December 12, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345328175
• ISBN-13: 978-0345328175
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (130 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,014,161 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

102 of 105 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, and far too often overlooked, September 14, 2004

By 

J. N. Mohlman (Barrington, RI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Day of the Triffids (20th Century Rediscoveries) (Paperback)

"The Day of the Triffids" by John Wyndham seems to be a forgotten child of the post-apocalyptic genre. I'm not sure if this is due to it's relatively unorthodox premise, or it's somewhat dated take on gender roles, but either reason is, frankly, dead wrong as this is an amazing book that ranks with "On the Beach" and "Alas, Babylon" as a cornerstone of the genre. With a premise that is both utterly unique and rich in metaphor, and characters that are charged with emotion, it is a truly gripping read.

What sets "The Day of the Triffids" apart from other books in the genre is its two tiered approach to the end of the world. The first revolves around the eponymous Triffids, which are mobile, semi-carnivorous plants which are presumed to be the result of Soviet genetic tampering. While one would expect that they would be treated as a scourge, quite the opposite occurs as mankind farms them for the rich oils they produce. Thus, is the hubris of man framed quite nicely, and the pieces put in play.

For the triffids are only benign so long as man can control them; when left to their own devices they grow an intensely venomous lash that can kill a full grown human. When a bizarre stellar event leaves everyone who witnessed it blind, the time of the triffids is suddenly at hand. To go further would risk spoiling the plot, but as the few sighted survivors struggle to make sense of, and survive in, their greatly altered world, the triffids become the foremost obstacle to their continued existence.

Thus, "The Day of the Triffids" stands quite nicely as a post-apocalyptic thriller. However, it is what is going on between the lines that makes this a classic. First is the obvious comparison between the triffids and the Soviets. Not only did the latter create the former, but the swarming, relentless approach of the triffids nicely mirrors the Western view of Soviet expansions in the 1950's. However, unlike many Cold War era authors, Wyndham's view of the world is not entirely black and white. While the Soviet system may be the enemy, and not one he wants to live under, he doesn't remove all blame from the West. By their very response to Soviet moves he sees a world made less, not more safe, and one that is walking a knife's edge over the abyss.

Ultimately though, he sees hope for mankind because even as it teeters on the brink of extinction, he anticipates the ability to learn and grow from the mistakes of the past. His rather prescient views of the use of space and bio-technology offer hope, but only if used responsibly, and therefore "The Day of the Triffids" is as much a cautionary tale, somewhat in the vein of a "Jurassic Park", as it is a post-apocalyptic thriller.

Finally, there is a small but very noticeably element that infuses much of the first half of the novel. Time and again, Wyndham has his characters assuming that the Americans will be along by and by to sort things out. Given that this novel was published in 1951 on the heels of World War II, one has to assume that Wyndham was warning his fellow countrymen that the Americans weren't going to be around forever, so they better start standing on their own two feet. While hardly essential to the plot, this historical artifact does offer interesting insight into the context of the book.

Finally, as I alluded to above, there is definitely a pervasive, but largely benign note of sexism in "The Day of the Triffids". While it may offend some, it is by no means misogynistic, and rather reflects a form of chivalry that was probably outdated even as Wyndham wrote the book. On some level he seems to recognize this, as his writing of female characters is somewhat conflicted; he wants to shelter them even as he knows they must be strong. Again, more than anything this offers an interesting historical context to the novel.

I should also add that the introduction by Edmund Morris is superb, as he does an excellent job of stating why "The Day of the Triffids" is still relevant, and perhaps more pertinent than ever in our post-9/11 world. He writes particularly strongly of Wyndham's pathos for the victims, and how it mirrors our own response to terrorism. The rare novel that offers both gripping narrative and thoughtful commentary, "The Day of the Triffids" represents post-apocalyptic literature at its best and should rightly be held among the best contributions to the genre.

Jake Mohlman

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An 'edited' edition...!, May 23, 2008

By 

Smaug (Deep South, 'Godzone') - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Day of the Triffids (20th Century Rediscoveries) (Paperback)

While I stand by the reviews that state the excellence of this story, and the skill of the author, intending purchasers should know that this is an *edited* edition - something I didn't pick up on until reading along with a BBC unabridged reading of the book.
Example - in Chapter 1 when Bill Masen encounters the doctor in the corridors of the hospital - this has been removed from this edition.

The fact this is an edited version needs to be made clear to intending purchasers

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Triffids Light It Up!, February 25, 2004

By 

Stacey Cochran (Raleigh, NC, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Day of the Triffids (20th Century Rediscoveries) (Paperback)

Day of the Triffids kicks butt! Two weeks ago I had never heard of John Wyndham, but I found his name in [...] fiction archive, and I looked up his books here at Amazon.

The opening scene in Triffids is mesmerizing. The basic premise of the book is that a meteor shower blinds most of the world population, except for a handful of people. One of lucky ones is Bill Masen, who was in a hospital with bandages over his eyes and was not able to watch the meteor shower. Towards the end of the book, narrator Masen speculates that the meteor shower might have been caused by man-made satellites orbiting Earth, and indeed, the whole apocalyptic vision of the novel voices the concerns any sane human being would have had shortly after WWII and the discovery of the destructive power of atomic energy.

That said, the novel is not at all a doom and gloom book. It is actually quite hopeful, optimistic, and funny. There is a romantic subplot wherein Bill meets a charming woman named Josella Payton, only to be separated from her in the aftermath of the devastating meteor shower. A good part of the book follows Bill's search for Josella through various malevolent organizations that spring up in the months after the meteor shower.

Developing alongside this story line, is the story of the triffids, a kind of six-foot-tall Venus Flytrap with a stinging whip that has the ability to pick up its roots and walk around. In the wake of world blindness, these plants begin attacking people who stumble blindly around London and the English countryside outside of London.

The novel has a very solid ending that made me feel happy to have read the book. It was such a good story I'm going to see if I can get a copy of Wyndham's other classic bestseller, The Cuckoo's of Midwich. I highly recommend Day of the Triffids to any sci-fi fan, as well as to anyone who likes a good old-fashioned white-knuckle yarn. And, of course, I hope this review is helpful to you!

Stacey Cochran
Author of CLAWS available for 80 cents