Warning: discussion of suicide

A good story but sadly dated. Ignorant even for the time in my opinion.

As a story about the dangers of technology that cuts too many corners it is very good. Sadly the story itself cuts corners and plays out far too quickly in some areas, too slow in others. And it seems safe to bet the author never actually met a blind person.

Spoilers below:


Within hours of the event that blinded the planet, people were killing themselves rather than live blind. No idea what caused it or if it was temporary, just straight to ending it all.

Those not giving in to instant despair just wait without plan or agency. The main character describes closed shops and abandoned bars but not one shopkeeper trying to help by opening their store. Not one police officer trying to keep order. Not one radio announcer trying to let people know what is going on. Because they are blind. Further notable is the lack of any people who were blind before the event. For a science fiction book it is irritatingly myopic.

Through the course of the story the blinded are treated as nothing less than burdens and one of the protagonists least charming traits is his utter agreement with that fact. From the moment he wakes up the lone sighted man in a building of the blinded, he makes no effort to stop the suicidal with so much as a suggestion they wait a few hours and see if this doesn’t wear off first. He then makes no effort to help the blind and has to be forced to do so by another lucky sighted man with more conscience. Only to be proven ‘right’ when the effort proves useless and he and our man of conscience abandon all efforts.

The task is understandably Herculean and once rival gangs and Triffids enter into the picture any attempt at saving more people would be profoundly difficult but I would expect an author to use those factors to drive the plot rather than simply having the main character presume everyone else is useless.