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The Day of the Triffids

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The Day of the Triffids

By: John Wyndham
Narrated by: Kingsley Ben-Adir
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About this listen

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'.

©1951 John Wyndham (P)2021 Audible, Ltd
Classics Dystopian Fiction Science Fiction England City

What listeners say about The Day of the Triffids

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Classic yarn delivered rather strangely.

The narrator barks out the story in a flat (is it Essex accented?) voice like a police officer reading a press release. Apparently he’s an actor, but not here so much. Still enjoyed it though, it’s a great yarn!

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Two Thumbs Up

Kingsley Ben-Adir narrates this very well. I highly recommend this Audio book to all.

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Appropriate reading for COVID times.

Even though many are probably familiar with the story, the reading is excellent and gives the book new life.
Well done.

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A Novel I've previously avoided

Back in the late 1970s this was a set text during high school... not sure why, but for some reason I neglected to read it. Better late than never. e
Enjoyed the philosophical side of the story. Thought provoking!

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  • Overall
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Masterpiece!

Wonderful book and great narration. One of my all time favourites. Enjoyable from start to finish.

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Narrator is horrendous!

The narrator was so monotoníc and reading punctuated poorly. Ruins a good classic story.
Shame.

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Terrific triffids

A classic yarn by a master SF writer with an outstanding delivery by Kingsley Ben-Adir.

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Great Classic

Great classic sci-fi tale that for the most has aged well. Brilliantly narrated. Recommend reading.

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A Golden Oldie

Read this at school. Great to revisit it in my sixties in a world still feeling the affects of Covid.

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One of my favourite Sci Fi books

I loved this as a kid, and I love it now. The world feels so grounded, it's actually a bit uncomfortable. Which is great. Listening to an English accent was perfect

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