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The Day of the Triffids
- Narrated by: Kingsley Ben-Adir
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
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The Day of the Triffids
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Summary
In 1951 John Wyndham published his novel The Day of the Triffids to moderate acclaim. Fifty-two years later, this horrifying story is a science-fiction classic, touted by The Times (London) as having 'all the reality of a vividly realised nightmare'.
Bill Masen, bandages over his wounded eyes, misses the most spectacular meteorite shower England has ever seen. Removing his bandages the next morning, he finds masses of sightless people wandering the city. He soon meets Josella, another lucky person who has retained her sight, and together they leave the city, aware that the safe, familiar world they knew a mere 24 hours before is gone forever.
But to survive in this post-apocalyptic world, one must survive the Triffids, strange plants that years before began appearing all over the world. The Triffids can grow to over seven feet tall, pull their roots from the ground to walk and kill a man with one quick lash of their poisonous stingers. With society in shambles, they are now poised to prey on humankind. Wyndham chillingly anticipates bio-warfare and mass destruction, 50 years before their realisation, in this prescient account of Cold War paranoia.
About the author: John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Benyon Harris was born in 1903, the son of a barrister. He tried a number of careers including farming, law, commercial art and advertising, and started writing short stories, intended for sale, in 1925. From 1930 to 1939 he wrote stories of various kinds under different names, almost exclusively for American publications, while also writing detective novels. During the war he was in the Civil Service and then the Army. In 1946 he went back to writing stories for publication in the USA and decided to try a modified form of science fiction, a form he called 'logical fantasy'.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jackaboy
- 18-01-22
It's up there with 1984
I read this some 35years ago when I was at school some parts I had lost or mixed up with the BBC dramatisation. and although I know I enjoyed it, I never gave it the credit its due. I'm fond of dystopia stories 1984 is in my opinion the king of the castle but its stories like this that it's throne are sat on.
The proformance is a little dry and monotone for the most part. That puts a slight cloud over what is a great story and a good production.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bibliobob
- 10-01-22
Were they all Michael Caine?
I loved this story. I love John Wyndham...the whole thing was fabulous, but the narrator's inability to do any working class male voices that didn't sound like Michael Caine, grew a bit tiresome after a while.
Great dystopian novel.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Geoff Pickford
- 26-02-23
Great story let down by narration
I mostly enjoyed this story, but I felt that the inconsistent nature of the narration spoiled the overall experience.
My expectations for the book were influenced by my mum’s recollections of seeing the film from the 60’s, so imagined it to be a horror story. I was pleasantly (if that’s the right word) surprised to find it an intelligent eco-thriller, with most emphasis on how the survivors regroup and organise. One or two rather long rants from Coker aside, I enjoyed the pace and flow of the book.
Sadly, Ben-Adir’s narration rather got in the way of the story. Strange pacing and a couple of awful character voices - his Coker sounded like a spoof Michael Caine - were not the main culprits however. This was the narrator’s random selection of glottal stops which came across as someone with a cockney accent trying to cover it up - and failing badly.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dave
- 15-08-22
Classic 50’s sci fi. Terrible but bearable performance
Classic 50’s sci fi. Terrible performance made up for by a good story. Themes as relevant today, if not more, than when this was first published
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Carlotta
- 23-07-24
Great book, not great narration
The book is good, loved the story, sadly did not like the narrator's style. Voice is too flat...
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jamie Barron
- 21-01-22
Brilliant, energetic story with great narration
This is a strong, brilliant, thought-provoking tale about a (very imaginative) problem humanity could run into. By exploring how these characters cope with a radically changed society and way of life, Wyndham looks at what that society as it stands means to us. I really enjoyed the pace and the writing, and the story kept my interest and proceeded at an excellent pace. The protagonists are kind, sensible and interesting, and therefore make for good companions through this story. Ben-Adir narrates this really well with energy and clarity.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Bex
- 02-01-22
Preferred the book; narrator a bit too monotonous
There are a lot of things to like about the day of the triffids. I remember enjoying the book when I was younger and the idea behind the story is great but it does suffer for the era in which it was written. Wyndham tries to be forward thinking in his opinions about the women in this book but the way they are actually portrayed really does reflect the time, which rankled me but I still enjoyed the book once I decided to ignore that. I did sometimes find it hard to keep my attention on the audible version though as I found the narrator a bit too monotonous.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- LB.
- 16-12-21
A really good listen
Listened to this during the Covid Pandemic - well read and thought provoking with lots of food for thought on the breakdown of society and the fragility of the life we all taske for granted.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Francesca
- 17-02-22
Even More Relevant in Today’s World
I read this John Wyndham’s book in the 1960s and loved it. Listening to it now made me realise how relevant it is post the Covid pandemic. The hopes for a post-capitalist class, ridden, semi-feudal world is still the dream of some of us post-pandemic.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Julie
- 28-07-22
Timeless Read
Read this book more times than I care to remember and obviously love it. Yes it’s a bit dated now and in terms of its male/female role views, but the general premise is scary, if not entirely possible. Great read, thoroughly recommended
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