[.ca] The Day of the Triffids (ISBN 0812967127)

When Vegetarianism Goes Wrong:
John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris was born in 1903, just outside Birmingham. He wrote under a variety of pen-names, though "The Day of the Triffids" was the first time he used the name "John Wyndham". It's also is his most famous book and is set in 1950s England. The story is told by Bill Masen, a biologist for the Arctic and European Oil Company. The oil Arctic and European sell, however, isn't used to fuel trains, planes and automobiles : it's a food supplement derived from a recently `discovered' species of plant life known as "triffids". Bill believes the species is not a naturally occurring one, but was instead created in a laboratory by scientists. With the Cold War still in full-swing, Bill points the finger squarely at the USSR. It's possible the intention was to create them solely as a food source : the oil derived from triffids is so rich in vitamins that it's seen the bottom fall out of the fish-oil market. However, a triffid is also so dangerous it could also have been created as an extreme form of biological warfare. Triffids are carnivorous plants : insects always provide a quick and easy snack, though as time goes on, they seem to develop a preference for decomposing human flesh. It appears they can hear and make a strange rattling sound that some believe to be a form of communication. Even more dramatically, they can actually walk. They also have very dangerous `stingers', which can reach a length of around ten feet and - if they connect with bare skin - can be fatal. When triffids have attacked humans, they tend to strike first at the head - blinding a remarkably high number of the victims. A colleague of Bill's at Arctic-European believed this to be significant as the only real advantage humans had over triffids was their sight. With this removed from the equation, humans become little more than lunch. Bill's introduction to triffids came at an early age, when triffids were still a novelty and little was known about them. Although stung, he survived - luckily, the triffid in question was immature. As the book opens, Bill is recovering in hospital from another close encounter - a couple of drops of triffid poison splashed into Bill's eyes. The treatment included heavy padding and bandages, meaning that Bill couldn't see a thing. As a result, he missed out on a very dramatic free show : the previous night, the Earth apparently passed through some comet debris that resulted in a dazzling light show in the sky. Unfortunately, it also blinded everyone who watched it. Obviously, protected by his bandages and padding, Bill is now one of the few sighted people left and triffids are now a bigger threat than they should have been. There are some very quaint, old -fashioned elements to this book, the most obvious centring on Bill's relationship with Josella Playton. Josella is the first sighted person meets after leaving the hospital and - shortly after they've shaken hands - start discussing the size of the family they'll have together. Josella, it has to be said, is a good deal more pragmatic than Bill - who seems to be the sort of character born to shout "I say !". However, even after the world as we know it has ended, there are still some who seem unwilling to allow Josella to live down a rather racy book she once wrote. Nevertheless, this is definitely well worth reading. In fact, it seems to describe a world we're well familiar with in places : genetically modified plants, biological weapons and a web of satellites orbiting the planet in the name of 'defence'.

My 100-word book review:
John Wyndham's novels have often been mislabelled "cosy catastrophes". However, there is little that is very cosy about The Day of the Triffids, a gritty and poignant novel about global disaster and the end of civilisation. This is an SF classic for very good reasons, not least due to the triffids themselves, wonderfully menacing plant monsters, who take advantage of humanity's disarray to make their bid for world domination. The word "triffid", like the word "dalek", is now a permanent part of the English language, reason enough to make this novel essential reading for science fiction and mainstream readers alike.

Interesting but not as good as his short stories:
I'm torn as how best to review this book. One the one hand I've seen many adaptations of the book on TV and film. Some credit the book others don't. Having just recently seen the UK series "Survivors" (1975) I must say that I'm surprised that Terry Nation didn't credit Wyndham given the heavily lifted plot and dialogue! Sure, the main characters are changed around but the incidental plot elements are nearly the same and in the same order. All that is missing is the triffids and the comet. Which brings me to my main complaint about the book: The triffids hardly have anything to do with the plot of the book even though they are the title of it and are the most thought out piece of the book. The idea of a tech industry expirament let loose in the wild was fascinating but save for chapter 2, nothing is further is developed along those lines. Then there's the comet (if it is one) which blinds everyone and then the unexplained plague a few days later. Now if you believe the B film Day of the Comet, the comet turns those who saw it into zombies -- triffids be damned and then the same sort of plot (minus menacing plants) goes on. In this book though, the two seem unrelated except to kill off all those annoying recently rendered blind folks.

Coping with Worldwide Disaster:
After reading it, I found "Day of the Triffids" is less about man-eating plants taking over the world than it is about the possible fall of civilization, and less science fiction than it is social commentary. One morning, at a hospital in England, Bill Masen finds himself one of the few people to survive a worldwide disaster. After looking up at a "green comet" the previous night, the world has become blind. Civilization comes to a grinding halt as confusion and panic sets in. To make things worse, the Triffids, a species of carnivorous walking weed, have run wild, and are now taking advantage of their now vulnerable human prey. Bill Masen, like the rest of the human race, must learn to survive in this frightening new world. For the most part, it is a well written, compelling story. The myriad of characters are varied and realistic, as you read you see how people from all walks of life (those of different class, beliefs systems, etc) deal with the disaster. The landscape, both city and country, sights and sounds, are very well described and I could imagine everything quite vividly. The triffids, along with every other plot element, are entirely believable, which makes them all the more scary. There's nothing alien or spacey about it, particularly nowadays, in an age where concepts such as genetic engineering and satellite weapons systems are a reality. There was a few negatives for me. For one, the romantic sub-plot. Like a lot of romance plots in sci-fi, it is a little rushed and unlikely. The girl in question is Josella Playton, a pretty, effervescent socialite. She's a novelist whose debut is called "Sex is my Adventure" (only a man would write a love interest like her.). In "Day of the Triffids", they are intense and desperate times and these might have intesified emotion, but considering a great deal of the book involves Bill looking for his girl, it would have been nice if this romantic side was a bit more believable. I would have also liked to have known more about the triffids. I suppose the mystery behind them adds to the fright element, There are a few tantalizing clues about how they behave and what they want, and what their weaknesses are, but they are never quite followed through. By the end of the book I was a little dissappointed, not only for that, but for all the other loose ends. These are only minor points though. It was still a very good story and a intriguing, exciting and frightening concept. Sci fi fans should definitely have this on their must read lists, particularly those who enjoy post-apocalyptic plots. It didn't grab me as much as I thought it would, but it is still an excellent book.

Amazing:
This was a fantastic book, dealing with an apocalypse and humanity's responses to it. No quite the same as 'Resident Evil' and '28 Days Later' which both were inspired by this book, but much more entertaining and intellectual.