The Tripods

By John Christopher

The Titles of the four books are:
The White Mountains
The City of Gold and Lead
The Pool of Fire
When the Tripods Came

I was first exposed to this story in a review of the British TV show The Tripods that was on starting in 1986. (Right now the DVD's are only available in Region 2.) The Tv show was to make each book into one season. 1/2 way through the 1st season the story drifts away from the book and unfortunately the show was canceled after the 2nd season. I've not seen the show but I got this info from the review of the show at the link above. A lot of people liked the show and it sounds interesting.

Now for the books, which I did read. I decided to read the books in the order in which they came out. The 4th book was released years after the originally trilogy and though a prequel I figured that it might change the story a bit if I read it first, kind of like Star Wars - I say watch movies 4-6 then 1-3 but hey that's just me.

Originally written in 1967 the paperbacks I bought have a new introduction by the author for the 35th anniversary. The 3 books are each only about 200 pages and though separate, they read as one complete story. Oh yeah did I mention these are geared for younger kids? Don't let that discourage you. The story is quick paced and well told. It takes place (mostly) in Europe, focusing on Will, Henry, Jean-Paul (Beanpole) and Fritz. The boys live in a world where the great cities and knowledge of the ancients (Us) has been destroyed by the Tripods. Later we learn that the Tripods, which are giant 3 legged machines, are controlled by the Masters. To control the humans left on Earth the Masters place metal caps on the heads of people when they reach puberty to keep them under control. The humans willingly go along with the idea because hey, it's just a part of life and all the adults think that it's a good idea because well, they all have caps on already. The caps keep everyone docile and agreeable.

Will Parker the main character has an inquisitive rebellious mind. He sees the change to docilness of his cousin Jack when he is capped and decided that there is no way he is going to lose his sense of self. Will learns from a vagrant (someone for whom their mind was messed up by the capping but also a cover for the noncapped) that there is a place where men are free and uncapped. The vagrant recruits Will and sends him to the White Mountains (Switzerland) where the rest of the free live.

What follows is the quest to find the free land, and the holdout of the uncapped humans. A harrowing journey into the heart of the Masters city to lean if they have a weakness and can be brought down, and finally the final battle against the Masters and the rebuilding of the world. I really enjoyed the second book where it goes into detail about the city of the Masters and the life that the humans live inside.

As I said the books are written for young adults. There is no foul language and no graphic violence. What is abundant is suspense, action, and mystery. I couldn't put down these book once I started reading them.

In 1988 the 4th book When the Tripods Came was release. The story gives a first person account of the invasion that was hinted at in the 1st 3 books. Some of the Amazon reviews have called the book worthless. I must say that I liked it. At 151 pages the story doesn't go into much depth. It follows Laurence (Lourie), Andy, and Laurie's family through the coming of the Tripods. They make their way to the White Mountains by the end of the book.

It was interesting to see how people reacted to the Tripods. They were hypnotised by the Masters through television and programed to form bands of Trippies who willingly get capped. They then go out and cap everyone they can find. Near the end of the book the capped population lines up to get the metal caps, the initial caps were rubber. If I had read this book first I don't think I would have been drawn into the series, but as a backstory to the other 3 novels I enjoyed going into the world of the Tripods once again.