The Day of the Triffids (20th Century Rediscoveries) [Paperback]

John Wyndham (Author), Edmund Morris (Introduction)

Book Description

Release date: July 1, 2003 | Series: 20th Century Rediscoveries

In 1951 John Wyndham published his novel The Day of the Triffids to moderate acclaim. Fifty-two years later, this horrifying story is a science fiction classic, touted by The Times (London) as having “all the reality of a vividly realized nightmare.”

Bill Masen, bandages over his wounded eyes, misses the most spectacular meteorite shower England has ever seen. Removing his bandages the next morning, he finds masses of sightless people wandering the city. He soon meets Josella, another lucky person who has retained her sight, and together they leave the city, aware that the safe, familiar world they knew a mere twenty-four hours before is gone forever.

But to survive in this post-apocalyptic world, one must survive the Triffids, strange plants that years before began appearing all over the world. The Triffids can grow to over seven feet tall, pull their roots from the ground to walk, and kill a man with one quick lash of their poisonous stingers. With society in shambles, they are now poised to prey on humankind. Wyndham chillingly anticipates bio-warfare and mass destruction, fifty years before their realization, in this prescient account of Cold War paranoia.

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

"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

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Modern Library (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812967127
• ISBN-13: 978-0812967128
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (161 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #58,352 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

129 of 133 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 VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

"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 Read more ›

83 of 85 people found the following review helpful

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

By Smaug

Format: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

35 of 39 people found the following review helpful

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

By Stacey Cochran

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

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 Read more ›

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Only three stars for the Kindle edition July 26, 2012

By S. Chapman

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a great classic work of science fiction; however, the Kindle edition doesn't do it justice. Besides not including the Introduction that's included in the paperback edition, the Kindle version is full of typos, missing letters, missing punctuation, and so on. Amazon needs to do a better job of quality control on the books it accepts for the Kindle.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Attack of the killer plants (and then some) July 24, 2003

By D. Cloyce Smith TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

First published in 1951, this classic science-fiction novel was unique for its time (although undoubtedly inspired by "War of the Worlds"). The story follows the plight of the world's few remaining survivors after three (possibly) coincidental cataclysmic events of uncertain origins: the genetic development of mobile, carnivorous plants; the blinding of the earth's inhabitants by what may or may not have been a meteor shower; and the sudden onset of a mysterious and fatal disease. Most of the world's inhabitants are sightless and unable to defend themselves against the marauding plants, and even those with vision succumb to the plague.

End-of-the-world scenarios have of course been done to death, especially in B-movies, but "Day of the Triffids" has withstood the test of time--not because of its plot, but because it anticipated many other works and because the writing and themes are a cut above your typical pulp fiction. Nearly every episode in the book has been replicated in dozens of science fiction and horror movies and novels. Filmgoers who have seen "Resident Evil" or "28 Days Later" will recognize the opening scene, in which Wiliam Masen wakes up in a hospital room, unaware that the world as he knows it has come to a devastating end. Other scenes recall the "Night of the Living Dead" series and similar films, and the descriptions of the survivors' efforts to rebuild society clearly influenced many later works of dystopian fiction.

Wyndham adopts a minimalist "noir" style for the first sections, using a surreal first-person perspective to convey the confusion, fear, and isolation afflicting William Masen while he tries to figure out what has happened.... When the focus of the book changes from the lone individual to bands of the living, the author shifts to a more expansive and analytic prose that fleshes out the book's social and political commentary.

It is the exploration of these themes that makes the book so fascinating. As various groups of survivors unite together, they adopt different modes of government: a communalism that tries to rescue as many people as possible, a fundamentalism entrenched in its devotion to outdated moral codes, a militarism that quickly degenerates to totalitarianism, and a rationalism relying on the survival of the fittest to guarantee as many new offspring as possible. Each of these myopic systems suffers from a slavishness to one goal at the expense of any other: preventing as many deaths as possible, preserving morality, maintaining law and order, and insuring the survival of the species. Following the traditions of the best dystopian fiction, Wyndham uses his story to examine the faults with our present world and its communist, theocratic, authoritarian, and Darwinian societies.

The ending of the book is just open-ended and ambiguous enough to have allowed for a sequel, by Wyndham wasn't the type to write or authorize one (although Simon Clark published "The Night of the Triffids" two years ago). This closing ambiguity seems appropriate: in the real world, there are never as many solutions as there are problems. Read more ›