When the Tripods Came by John Christopher

Title: When the Tripods Came (Tripods #0.5)

Author: John Christopher

Publisher: 1988

Genre: Middle Grade Scifi

Pages: 160

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

When it comes to alien invasions, bad things come in threes.

Three landings: one in England, one in Russia, and one in the United States.

Three long legs, crushing everything in their paths, with three metallic arms, snacking out to embrace—and then discard—their helpless victims.

Three evil beings, called Tripods, which will change life on Earth forever.

And with this book, we finally get to see how exactly the Tripods invaded Earth and eventually dominated the human population. This was very much a War of the Worlds type adventure following one family as they slowly realize what is happening and try to escape. The book opens with a bit action sequence and keeps the pace throughout. I read it in one setting on the edge of my seat waiting to see how it all comes to be. We get to travel with Laurie’s family as they escape to what will become The White Mountains. I really enjoyed this prequel. Good middle grade science fiction that doesn’t seem too dated for our current times.

The Tripods

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Pool of Fire by John Christopher

Title: The Pool of Fire (Tripods #2)

Author: John Christopher

Publisher: 1968

Genre: Middle Grade Scifi

Pages: 204

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

After being held captive in the City of Gold and Lead—the capital, where the creatures that control the mechanical, monstrous Tripods live—Will believes that he’s learned everything he needs to know to destroy them. He has discovered the source of their power, and with this new knowledge, Will and his friends plan to return to the City of Gold and Lead to take down the Masters once and for all.

Although Will and his friends have planned everything down to the minute, the Masters still have surprises in store. And with the Masters’ plan to destroy Earth completely, Will may have just started the war that will end it all.

We finally get to see the conclusion of Will’s adventure in the revolt against the Masters. The third book starts right up with the plot and keeps going until the end. We get to revisit the city of the Masters and find out more about how they operate. We reconnect with Beanpole and Henry while learning more about the the other cities of the Masters. I loved how the big confrontation happened and was right there with all of them. My only issue was the very pessimistic ending of the story. It felt really realistic, but very sad. Not quite sure what I feel about all of that. Now, I need to read the prequel.

The Tripods

#0.5 When the Tripods Came
#1 The White Mountains
#2 The City of Gold and Lead
#3 The Pool of Fire

Next up on the TBR pile:

The City of Gold and Lead by John Christopher

Title: The City of Lead and Gold (Tripods #2)

Author: John Christopher

Publisher: 1967

Genre: Middle Grade Scifi

Pages: 209

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

When Will and his friends arrived at the White Mountains, they thought everything would be okay. They’d found a safe haven where the mechanical monsters called Tripods could not find them. But once there, they wonder about the world around them and how they are faring against the machines.

In order to save everyone else, Will and his friends want to take down the Tripods once and for all. That means journeying to the Tripod capital: the City of Gold and Lead.

Although the journey will be difficult, the real danger comes once Will is inside the city, where Tripods roam freely and humans are even more enslaved than they are on the outside. Without anyone to help him, Will must learn the secrets of the Tripods—and how to take them down—before they figure out that he’s a spy…and he can only pretend to be brainwashed for so long.

Finally, we get to see the aliens in the tripods! Overall this book was a very enjoyable ride. We get to follow Will as he travels into the city of the Masters. The writing becomes very descriptions as we learn more about the aliens and their plans for Earth. Thankfully the books moves quickly keeping the action continuing at a decent pace. I am definitely interested in how this story is going to end.

The Tripods

#0.5 When the Tripods Came
#1 The White Mountains
#2 The City of Gold and Lead
#3 The Pool of Fire

Next up on the TBR pile:

The White Mountains by John Christopher

Title: The White Mountains (Tripods #1)

Author: John Christopher

Publisher: 1967

Genre: Middle Grade Scifi

Pages: 223

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Will Parker never dreamed he would be the one to rebel against the Tripods. With the approach of his thirteenth birthday, he expected to attend his Capping ceremony as planned and to become connected to the Tripods—huge three-legged machines—that now control all of Earth. But after an encounter with a strange homeless man called Beanpole, Will sets out for the White Mountains, where people are said to be free from the control of the Tripods.

But even with the help of Beanpole and his friends, the journey is long and hard. And with the Tripods hunting for anyone who tries to break free, Will must reach the White Mountains fast. But the longer he’s away from his home, the more the Tripods look for him…and no one can hide from the monstrous machines forever.

J has been trying to get me to read this series for years now. He read it during childhood and remembered it fondly. I finally started the series and blew through the first book in two days. This is short and middle grade, so not hard to read. There were some great sequences of the boys escaping through the countryside and coming across the ruins of civilization past. I especially loved the sections set in what was Paris. The overall escape adventure was fun to follow. There were passages that were slow and very old-fashioned in terms of style. And the ending was very abrupt and terrible. I really wish for two more chapters to detail their arrival at the White Mountains, but oh well. Maybe the next book will expand that setting.

The Tripods

#0.5 When the Tripods Came
#1 The White Mountains
#2 The City of Gold and Lead
#3 The Pool of Fire

Next up on the TBR pile: