Name: Matthew Jackson's review of The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
Item: The Day of the Triffids
Rating: 3
Author: Matthew Jackson

John Wyndham

The classic scifi alien invasion novel tells the suspenseful tale of the Triffid attack on Earth, which wreaks havoc across the planet as a grotesque form of plant life, harmful to humankind, terrorizes human civilization. Reader's Guide included. Reprint. 25,000 first printing.

The Day of the Triffids

Matthew Jackson

When a freak cosmic event renders most of the Earth's population blind, Bill Masen is one of the lucky few to retain his sight. The London he walk is crammed with groups of men and women needing help, some ready to prey on those who can still see. But another menace stalks blind and sighted alike. With nobody to stop their spread, the Triffids - mobile plants with lethal stingers and carnivorous appetites - seem set to wipe out the survivors. The Day Of The Triffids is perhaps the most famous catastrophe novel of the twentieth century and its startling imagery of desolate streets and lurching, lethal plant life retains its power to haunt today. 'Has captivated readers for half a century' - Guardian

Charlotte Dann

Arron Kau

Interesting and enjoyable take on the apocalypse (involving carnivorous walking plants!).

Really enjoyed. Finished and longed for more! 

James Bedford

Krystal 

Dani

Anna Horsley

Gabe Cortez

Jessi

jiveen liew

Tomas Vadovic

Cheyenne Corty

El día de los trífidos.

David C

The classic postapocalyptic thriller with “all the reality of a vividly realized nightmare” (The Times, London). Triffids are odd, interesting little plants that grow in everyone’s garden. Triffids are no more than mere curiosities—until an event occurs that alters human life forever. What seems to be a spectacular meteor shower turns into a bizarre, green inferno that blinds everyone and renders humankind helpless. What follows is even stranger: spores from the inferno cause the triffids to suddenly take on a life of their own. They become large, crawling vegetation, with the ability to uproot and roam about the country, attacking humans and inflicting pain and agony. William Masen somehow managed to escape being blinded in the inferno, and now after leaving the hospital, he is one of the few survivors who can see. And he may be the only one who can save his species from chaos and eventual extinction . . . With more than a million copies sold, The Day of the Triffids is a landmark of speculative fiction, and “an outstanding and entertaining novel” (Library Journal). “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 “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

edith w.

jami welch

Charles McNeilll

Ewan

"All the reality of a vividly realized nightmare," The Times of London wrote of John Wyndham's terrifying post-apocalyptic thriller The Day of the Triffids, published in 1951.  The novel is often labeled science fiction, but it might best be described as a completely unnerving fantasy, even at the distance of half a century- for nothing dates this story of a world rendered helpless by a frightening, unearthly phenomenon.Triffids are odd but interesting plants that seem to appear in everyone's garden.  They are curiosities, but little more, until an event occurs that alters human life -- what appears to be a meteor shower, spectacular at first, turns into a bizarre green inferno that has blinded virtually everyone and rendered humankind helpless.  Even stranger, spores from the inferno have caused triffids to suddenly take on lives of their own -- large, crawling vegetation that uproot themselves and roam about, attacking humans and inflicting agony.  William Masen happened to escape being blinded in the green inferno -- he was hospitalized with his eyes bandaged following surgery -- and he is now one of the few humans left who can see, who can avoid being attacked by triffids, who might be able to save mankind from the chaos and possible extinction threatened by this cataclysm.The Day of the Triffids is generally held to be John Wyndham's finest novel, and it was his first significant work.  His style has been described aptly as "speculative fiction."  The real power of The Day of the Triffids is not in its pure invention but in its matter-of-fact depiction of bizarre phenomena occurring in the midst of day-to-day life.  The narrative voice of William Masen is calm and reasoned throughout as he describes the ongoing nightmare and his attempt to prevail, recalling the struggle from an almost historical perspective.  Wyndham tells a mesmerizing story in The Day of the Triffids, one that has lost none of its quiet terror.

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The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

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The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham