tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6331135384154117296.post9032263803105715931..comments2024-01-30T20:01:01.316+00:00Comments on Science Fiction & Fantasy: The Day of the Triffids by John WyndhamAnthony G Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00798830903236765181noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6331135384154117296.post-26714851182233818072015-07-05T05:00:11.766+01:002015-07-05T05:00:11.766+01:00Fair points, but I still wish that he'd come u...Fair points, but I still wish that he'd come up with a threat a lot more feasible than the triffids!<br />Anthony G Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00798830903236765181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6331135384154117296.post-67588200239183322712015-07-03T15:38:00.443+01:002015-07-03T15:38:00.443+01:00I think the triffids are essential to what Wyndham...I think the triffids are essential to what Wyndham was writing about in this novel. The Triffids (like the light show that blinds everyone, we later discover) are examples of human hubris, technology taking things too far. In the first movie version the triffids come from space. This makes the film typical of the times but less interesting. In other adaptations the blinding light show is caused by solar flares or other natural causes. Again, same missing of the point. The ending of the book is positive, that humans will survive despite their own destructiveness. This book and others in the same vein have been called "cozy catastrophe" novels because of their focus on a small number of characters. The implied criticism is silly because that's what makes it work, seeing the disaster through the view-point character's eyes. M. Night Shymalan used the same structure brilliantly in SIGNS, a monster invasion film with very few scenes of monsters.Dark Worlds Clubhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01494324309365565904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6331135384154117296.post-66296849675125516782012-07-15T16:10:33.873+01:002012-07-15T16:10:33.873+01:00...too right!...too right!Anthony G Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00798830903236765181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6331135384154117296.post-2493821087375781322012-07-15T15:23:41.507+01:002012-07-15T15:23:41.507+01:00Great review, Tony! I really need to re-read this ...Great review, Tony! I really need to re-read this one sometime.<br /><br />At least, I'm sure I read it years ago - I still own the book - but I don't remember it in the slightest, even after reading your review. Oh, well. Too many books, too little time.Bill Garthrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08552459555883204060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6331135384154117296.post-13674153635661505122012-06-23T01:41:43.769+01:002012-06-23T01:41:43.769+01:00Hmm...I'll reserve judgment!Hmm...I'll reserve judgment!Anthony G Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00798830903236765181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6331135384154117296.post-45189422796797631122012-06-23T00:25:48.613+01:002012-06-23T00:25:48.613+01:00Anthony,
As I mentioned, I just heard about it a ...Anthony,<br /><br />As I mentioned, I just heard about it a short time ago. It is written by Simon Clark. I hadn't heard of him before. According to the cover blurb, it is the British Fantasy Award winner for Best Novel 2002.<br /><br />It's also close to 500 pages long.<br /><br /><br />Back cover blurb:<br /><br />"It's the 29th year since the fall of the old world, David Mason, the now grown-up son of Bill, wakes one morning to discover that the world has mysteriously been plunged into darkness. The few sighted people have their artificial lights, but once more the triffid has the advantage. . .<br /><br />If it's not one thing, it's another.Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6331135384154117296.post-15833091412005269012012-06-23T00:11:30.175+01:002012-06-23T00:11:30.175+01:00Fred, I'd never heard of The Night of the Trif...Fred, I'd never heard of The Night of the Triffids until you mentioned it. If you get around to reading it, let us know what you think.Anthony G Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00798830903236765181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6331135384154117296.post-60071084044460697942012-06-22T16:58:31.195+01:002012-06-22T16:58:31.195+01:00I like the review. I had also just reread the boo...I like the review. I had also just reread the book several months ago. The triffids do pose a problem. They, aside from the probability/improbability issue, seem like a bit of overkill.<br /><br />However, they do add a sense of an ongoing threat in the novel, in addition to the other issues. This novel was one of the first that I read to really set up the moral issue of our responsibility to others. <br /><br />Have you read the sequel--_The Night of the Triffids_? I just found a copy and haven't gotten around to reading it yet.Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.com