The Day of the Triffids

by John Wyndham

In Brief

A new breed of plant has been created. Triffids are cultivated for their valuable oil, but they also pose a danger: they are mobile, intelligent flesh-eaters. Human beings have them under control for now, but when a meteor storm blinds most of the world, the balance of power shifts...

Why you should read it

This classic novel imagines a terrifying world in which humanity is blind and helpless before the destructive power of its own creation. A period picture of Cold War paranoia and 1950s fear of Science, The Day of the Triffids remains a vivid dystopian nightmare of great narrative power.