Went in with zero expectations and found a new favorite sci-fi💚

The first line is excellent; drew me right in. The opening scene sets the tone-tense, uncertain, frightening-and this is carried on through the end, brilliantly interspersed with feelings toward humanity ranging from disgust to hope. It’s clear the author was influenced by World War II and I loved seeing those references. The book has a very English feel. As an American, I’ve struggled with some British authors due to a gap in knowledge of culture, word meanings, etc., but I could easily understand and follow Wyndham’s writing style. The triffids!! Aliens, shmalians; robots shmobots-give me ALL the killer plants🙌

This story is not without its problems but for me, the good far outweighs the bad. There is one scene that was handled poorly; it’s offensive, insulting, and kept it from being a five star read. However, while the main character shows misogynistic tendencies throughout the book, there are also several examples of female characters displaying impressive self reliance and intelligence. This leads me to believe the author wasn’t sharing personal beliefs (I couldn’t find anything to show otherwise so I prefer to give the benefit of the doubt), but rather was writing in a style typical for the time period.  That’s not a pass, merely a possible explanation.

I haven’t read a great deal of sci-fi. I read The War of the Worlds recently and thought it was fine, but it left me wanting. The Day of the Triffids gave me everything I was looking for and more, with killer plants! Highly recommend for anyone interested in a classic sci-fi story.