Day Of The Triffids

When Bill Masen wakes up blindfolded in hospital there is a bitter irony in his situation. Removing his bandages, he realizes that he is the only person who can see: everyone else has been blinded by a meteor shower. Now, with civilization in chaos, the triffids - venomous plants able to 'walk', feeding on human flesh - can have their day. When Bill Masen wakes up blindfolded in hospital there is a bitter irony in his situation. Carefully removing his bandages, he realizes that he is the only person who can see: everyone else, doctors and patients alike, have been blinded by a meteor shower. Now, with civilization in chaos, the triffids - huge, venomous, large-rooted plants able to 'walk', feeding on human flesh - can have their day. The Day of the Triffids , published in 1951, expresses many of the political concerns of its time: the Cold War, the fear of biological experimentation and the man-made apocalypse. However, with its terrifyingly believable insights into the genetic modification of plants, the book is more relevant today than ever before. Review: After reading this little horror you will toss your innocent geranium out the window. The triffids are gigantic plants, mysteriously arrived on earth, which take up their roots and walk, searching for men to kill. A terrible celestial incident, which permanently blinds the majority of people on earth, helps the belligerent blossoms in their work. William Mason, escaping blindness, teams up with a beautiful (sighted) girl and after mishaps and separations in a decaying and de-populated world starts a colony with other pioneers as the triffids lean wistfully against the fences. Fast, readable and triffid-ly chilling. (Kirkus Reviews)