Reviews with content warning for Child death - The Day of the Triffids

Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

11 reviews

jesssalexander's review against another edition

adventurous sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

0.25

Wait, do I actually hate sci-fi?! I think I read some good ones early on and it turns out they were the exception and not the rule! I think I’ve come to the point where I’ve read enough duds to conclude that most sci-fi, especially old classic sci-fi, is boring, technical, verbose and vaguely misogynistic. It works too hard to explain itself and uphold its internal logic. The damsel in distress is an underdeveloped (but pure and innocent) ditz used to stroke the ego of the hero and the hero himself is the apparition of the nerdy author’s fantasy about his own genius.

So glad I read this so I could have that epiphany and stop wasting my time with this genre. If I’m craving something imaginative I’ve still got fantasy and dystopian fiction.

So specifically with this little book, this is a great example of an interesting premise and terrible execution. Wouldn’t you too want to read this: A spectacular meteor shower captivates the eyes of 99% of the western world’s population…and then strikes them all blind. The few who missed the night’s show (including our hero who had undergone eye surgery and had had his eyes bandaged throughout the evening) are the only ones left with their vision intact and must pick up the pieces of a crumbling civilization, which is also being attacked by giant man-eating alien plants.

The very worst thing about this little book is that everyone who has been struck blind is described as a lost, dumb herd of animals or else they just immediately kill themselves. Yikes!! There is one little moment, a pitiful blinded 18 year old girl who says “Life is very precious, even like this.” But it reads more tragic than true in the narrative and that is small compensation for the rest of the book. The basic message throughout is that it is better to be dead than blind and also that the handicapped are incapable of joyful or productive living. Oof. I only finished it because sometimes you can’t look away from roadkill even when you want to and it was a short read.

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afion's review against another edition

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4.0

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the_cheerful_necromancer's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Partially ported over from my now-abandoned Goodreads:
Suprisingly solid, considering it's a book about walking carnivorous plants that bludgeon people. Honestly had me captivated, far more than I expected; this one's definitely a classic for a reason, and I'd recommend it. Its descriptions of its crumbling world, in particular, are really visceral, and hold a palpable solemnity and dread unlike anything I've read in a book thus far. This book is definitely worth a look.

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vampirehelpdesk's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

For 1951, I think this one fucked up book. Bleak, even bleaker after COVID-19, and covering things I feel a lot of post-apocalyptic fiction misses. Drags a bit in its philosophy, but this book surprised me with a week of nightmares so it gets high marks from me.

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rhianonw's review

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dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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mengzhenreads's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Banging post-apocalyptic novel about the fragility of human society in the face of man-eating plants and blindness with a healthy dose of Cold War and satellite weapon commentary.

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