The Day of the Triffids
by John Wyndham
science fiction
copyright 1951
re-read December 2021
rated 7/10: well worth reading
It's a great book. A classic. Possibly deserves a rating of eight, really quite good. But... well... not today. Yes, I enjoyed it. But not as much as I enjoyed The Chrysalids.
Triffids is an end-of-civilisation story. With the positive view that a new -- but different -- civilisation will appear. It's much more here-and-now than Chrysalids. (Though "now" is the 1960s. Chrysalids is set much later, many centuries after the apocalypse...
More importantly: Triffids follows a few key people as they -- plus all other survivors -- adapt to a new situation. Chrysalids follows a small number of young people as they discover that their view of the world is very limited. It is a very personal adventure story.
Triffids is great science fiction. Chrysalids adds the appeal of escapism, with the heroes escaping from their constricting homes. Just for personal enjoyment, I prefer the escapism of Chrysalids.
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One Triffids scene sticks in my mind:
Generally, the story is of people working together, or not, in order to gain long-term survival.
Then there is the girl who asks the narrator to stay... She is willing to sacrifice herself for the good of the group. For this one simple action -- this girl is the single stand-out character in the book.
She sets a standard which is not matched by any other character.
With a few more characters like her... this book would definitely rate an eight.
Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
... Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved
===The more things change, the more they stay insane" ... per Ginger Meggs===
Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com/ :-)
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