The Night of the Triffids

Pretty good sequel to Wyndham's classic tale, though I found the final confrontation with the bad guy to be preposterous. He does a good job of recapturing the world Wyndham created and running with it. If you liked the original, this is worth having.

Since I'm working my way through John Wyndham's novels and short stories, and his book The Day of the Triffids is a classic, I thought I'd give this sequel by another author a try. The story begins 25 years after the end of "Day", at which point the hero, Bill Masen, had escaped to the Isle of Wight with his wife and young son. At the center of the action here is Masen's now-grown son, a pilot who finds himself in North America at the center of a fight between several groups of survivors. In Manhattan, a tyranny supported by slave labor allows half the island to maintain its pre-Blinding lifestyle, while scattered groups across the East Coast try to find a way to end the dictatorship and work together to rebuild human mastery of the show more world. Triffids are still evolving new abilities and forms, posing increased threats across the globe, but there are hints that some humans may be immune to their predation.

I found this book to be just as much fun as the original, with considerably more action, and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the original or the movie made from it. I'd also be happy to read another sequel if Clark cares to carry the story forward. show less

This started off well and the first few chapters on the Isle of Wight have the feel of John Wyndham's original. However, after that the novel becomes for me a fairly standard "non-descript humans fighting monsters in a post-apocalypse urban setting" story. Still a reasonable page turner, but by no means a classic. And the ending was rushed and felt somewhat implausible to me.

I thoroughly enjoyed John Wyndham's classic novels when I read them in the late-60s to mid-70s. Day of the Triffids was always a favourite, my attachment to it reinforced by an excellent British mini-series in the 80s. When I discovered The Night of the Triffids -- courtesy of a LibraryThing recommendation -- I excitedly put it on hold at our local library. I found this sequel by Simon Clark to be an entertaining and nostalgic escape, it caught my attention immediately and I read it in three or four sittings over the span of a couple days. The plot is a bit forced at times and the style -- modelled on the inherently dated style of the original 50s novel -- is simple and sometimes two-dimensional, but it is honest and faithful "comfort show more food" for Wyndham fans. For fans, I would highly recommend it; for first-time triffid readers, I'd suggest you start with the original. show less

I loved the Day of the Triffids and this is a great sequel. The original had such an open ending and it's great to see what happened to the survivors both good and bad. Great read.

It was okay, not too bad in fact, but not nearly as good as the first one. Yet, I'd have to say for anyone who likes a bit of Wyndham, it's worth reading.

Ok follow on to the original.