John Christopher's The Tripod Trilogy

 "Listen, kiddo, Jim Kirk was many things, but he was never a Boy Scout!"

- Carol Marcus

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

And neither was I.  However, my personal history is rooted in scouting in three ways:

• I used to have a bevy of Kenner's Steve Scout toys back in the mid-70s.  Specifically, I had Steve and Bob, the Pathfinder jeep with removeable wheels, the snowmobile, and the scout base tower made of formed plastic faux wooden logs.  A cross between MEGOs and GI Joe Adventure Team, these were a lot of fun to play with outside, but not very durable as my broken and incomplete collection attests.  They probably have no value to speak of any more, not even displayable, but they are touchstones to my past that I'm reluctant to leave behind in a trash receptable. 

• I also was a Cub Scout.  I'm pretty sure I joined during my brief sojourn in Leavenworth, KS, during the fall of 1978 when I lived at my Grandmother's house a block down from the elementary school where I had started 3rd Grade.  (I can clearly recall trying to sell peanut brittle to the neighbors along Olive Street for one of the fundraisers.)

During that time I enjoyed: 

• playing on the wooden playgrounds (all the rage those days), the greatest of which was Buffalo Bill Cody Park with it's zipline swing, and playing kickball during recess (the only sport I was ever good at); 

• biking down alleyways with a bubblegum card in my spokes pretending I was a member of G-Force from Battle of the Planets (aka Gatchaman); 

• posing my Kenner Star Wars action figures on the stone wall surrounding the property or on the 90-degree turn carpeted stairs, which were also fun to ride down on a pillow...as long as the door separating the two floors was slightly ajar.

One thing I didn't enjoy was all the sentences I had to write as punishment for offenses at school.

I know I achieved my Bobcat, Wolf, and Bear badges, but I'm unclear on whether or not I finished by Webelos or not.  Many of these would have been completed after we returned home to Virginia in early 1979.

• One of my fondest memories of being a "Scout" was the Boy's Life magazine that came in the mail.  And I was totally blown away and entranced by the serialized version of John Christopher's The White Mountains, book one of The Tripod Trilogy series, which began in the May 1981 issue.  I even have some of the pages saved somewhere in my archives (likely an old Avon box), but fortunately, I didn't even have to dig it out because this wonderful site has the entire adaptation scanned for your enjoyment.

I started reading the trilogy on 2025 Jul 19 and finished the fourth book last night, 2025 Aug 13. My daughter Evelyn helped get me some of the missing volumes that I needed for my birthday.  I had at least read The White Mountains back in Middle School, but the rest seemed to be new to me.  Anyway, let's explore how awesome this series is below the jump break.

Closest I could get to matching spines.

The Tripod Trilogy is a Young Adult (YA) book series originally published in 1967 and 1968.  I don't know what is so young adult about them as they aren't juvenile in anyway or dumbed down.  Similar to the Newbery award winning 1957 classic, Rifles for Watie, which is a great Civil War story - they both center on the exploits of young boy, who narrates the series. In the narration, Will reveals his thoughts, feelings, recriminations, and lessons learned.  It's all quite insightful and speaks to some of the larger themes in the series.

I'll try to highlight some of the flavor of the series in hopes you'll check it out, but spoilers will be unavoidable.

read in 3 days

The White Mountains centers on Will Parker (age 13), who leaves his small town to escape his impending future as one of the Capped, when he'd lose his individuality and free will to serve the Tripods like the rest of society.  At age 14 a boy and girl are lifted up inside the towering Tripod via a tentacle, returning with their head shaved and a metal cap embedded into their skulls. (The hair eventually grows back.)  No longer will they be able to create or think independently. A false-capped wandering vagrant named Ozymandias recruited him to join the resistance movement based in the White Mountains, where free men hope to one day overthrow the Tripods' hundreds of years rule over mankind.  Grudgingly he takes along his cousin, Henry, who sees him sneak off.  During their long journey another boy, Beanpole (Jean-Paul), who is quite inventive, joins them.

The first book is sparse on specific geography, but more comes to light as the series progresses.  You can figure out by inference that Will starts in England, crosses the Channel and meets Beanpole in what used to be France.  They even travel through the bombed out rubble of Paris, and see some of the wonders of the "Ancients" from the pre-Tripod civilization, that heretofore they knew virtually nothing about.  Along the way, they come across a courtly kingdom and Will meets a young princess, Eloise. He's tempted to stay with them, until he sees how devoted the girl is to being chosen by the Tripods to serve in their city. Eventually, the boys make their harrowing way to The White Mountains (Switzerland).

read in 12 days (was on vacation)

The City of Gold and Lead finds Will, Beanpole, and a new boy, Fritz, training for Olympic style games to be selected to enter one of the Tripod cities (there are three on earth) on a reconnaissance mission.  The mission is endangered by Will's carelessness and quick-temper, but he and Fritz are eventually among the selected. Inside, the golden domed city the secrets of the Tripods are finally revealed...

The Tripods are machines operated by alien creatures with three legs, three eyes, and tentacle appendages.  There is an artificial gravity inside the City (the "lead") along with a toxic (to humans) atmosphere, and an extreme elevated temperature.  These all mimic the homeworld of the Masters, an appropriate name because the boys are enslaved.  Wearing air breathers, enduring torturous heat, and crushing gravity - the slaves that were chosen for their endurance waste away in servitude to the Masters.  Some are cruel and whip and torture their charges and other's treat them more as pets.  Will is "fortunate" to come into the ownership of one of the more beneficent ones, who likes to talk to him.  Here Will learns something of the Masters' takeover of Earth and it had something to do with Television.  More importantly, the status quo is soon to be upended when a ship arrives from space (in a few years) to totally change the atmosphere to the toxic stew of the City. Without giving too much away, this important intel does make it back to the ruler of the free men, Julius.

read in 5 days

The Pool of Fire details the account of mankind's direct assault against the Tripods.  Using the intel from Will's foray into the City, various plans are in the works.  Many of the ancient secrets are also being rediscovered.  In searching for a weakness of the Masters, one is captured from a felled Tripod, and unexpectantly they discover that alcohol temporally paralyzes them. Thus, a coordinated mission of sabotage is planned inside the City to "poison" their water supply.  However, this attack must occur simultaneously on the three cities, one in Europe (Will's), one in Asia, and one in America located on the Panama Canal.

While the free men are successful, it's not without much failure and sacrifice.  It's a hard won victory for sure, but the world "peace" brought by Tripods is threatened once man is in control of his own destiny again.

Of the many themes of the series, is the question of whether it is better to live in peace and safety without free will, or to live free and face the sins of man.

read in 3 days

When The Tripods Came was published in 1988, twenty years after the original series, and serves as a prequel, which is why we have four books in a trilogy.  It's set during that year, before the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989.  An English boy, named Laurie, along with a friend, encounter one of the first Tripods, which is attacking a farmhouse.  The Tripod, as well as two others on earth, is quickly defeated by various military forces.  It's all over so quickly, that they become a bit of a joke.  So a TV show that makes fun of them gains quick popularity.

Having witnessed how terrifying the Tripod was, Laurie doesn't take to the show, but his sister does.  He's asked to tape the show for her, but he forgets to hit record, watching it live instead.  At the end of the show, the Tripod is shown as a helpful friend, assisting a knight against a dragon.  "Hail the Tripod".  His sister reacts violently to the news that she missed her favorite show.  (Hey, I once almost threw a basketball at the TV when the Gulf War was preempting an episode of The Flash.) 

It turns out that the Tripods themselves are using hypnosis to convert society over the airways into becoming Trippies, Tripod lovers.  More and more people are changing, and all this before the second tripod invasion.  But this time when they arrive, the Trippies gather around them, preventing the military from launching counterattacks.  Then the hard-core door-to-door proselytizing begins.  Converts try to forcibly put "caps" on individuals who were resistant to the initial hypnosis.  

The idea of your neighbors turning on you or turning you in is quite chilling and has been shown effectively in movies such as Rosemary's Baby (not recommended), and A Distant Thunder.  The latter is a Christian movie imagining how the tribulation and the rise of the Antichrist might unfold.  I remember watching that movie in Kansas at a youth event attended by my older brother and sister.  One of the family members who seemed to be all for the Bible, eventually chose to take the mark of the beast.  While another who didn't have faith initially, surrenders her life to Christ on her way to the guillotine.  Eight year old me, never forgot that scene!

Eventually, the world military takes out the Tripods and the Trippies attached to their legs, but by then the world's governments are now attacking themselves because Trippies have infiltrated all levels of power.  By the time the Tripods arrive for their third invasion, most of the humans have succumbed.  It's all quite credibly told. When you think of the group-think during the lockdowns (aka Covid pandemic), it's easy to see how society can do insane things, especially when they shut down independent thought and free speech. You want to stay free of the Tripod mind control of legacy & social media? Then read Jeff Childers' Coffee & Covid, for an independent view. You'll be amazed at what you aren't being told.

The rest of the book shows how Laurie and his family make their way to Switzerland, establishing one of the few remaining free societies on earth.  The same society that survives for hundreds of years (only a hundred in the BBC version), to bring us to the beginning of The Tripods trilogy.  You could read this book first, just like you could watch the prequel Star Wars movies first, but it's better to read this as the last book.

The edition I wanted for the trilogy has covers illustrated by the acclaimed Tim Hildebrandt. It's the most SYFY version, but the newest editions aren't bad either.  Interestingly, the current fourth book (on amazon) depicts the three floating cities arriving on earth, something that wasn't even mentioned that I can recall.

Apparently, John Christopher wrote several other trilogies as well.  I'll be on the look out for them.  However, I do have another novel of his in my collection that I read a few years ago, No Blade of Grass (1956).  As you can tell by the back cover copy, it's definitely not for kids.  But it's a powerful read too.