Book series - The tripods

This review concerns the Tripods original book trilogy whilst the TV show will be discussed in this link. I composed it throughout the period of reading and re-watching the show, from Feb 4 to April 4, 2017. 

I haven't read the 4th book from the boxset, which is a prequel. 


Like many in the mid 1980's, I grew up with the BBC Sci-Fi series The Tripods, a series that I watched over and over numerous times - forever waiting for the conclusion that never came. 

Indeed, the show lasted 2 seasons of 13 episodes each, ending on a suspenseful cliffhanger that I had expected to be eventually solved. 

All this time, I refused to read spoilers how the story would end, and for the past decade and a half or so, there had been rumors of a remake that never happened, so a couple weeks ago I found the book series on which the show had been based, ordered it and shall now discuss. 

John Christopher's original Tripods young adult book series consisted of 3 volumes, published in 1967 & 68 : The white mountain, The city of gold and lead (both from which the tv-series was adapted), and the pool of fire (the missing bit).

To these, he added the prequel when the tripods came, published in 1988. 

The original trilogy starts, as I said, with The white mountains ; the protagonist is Will. He is almost 13 and like others of his age, he's looking forward to his upcoming Capping Day that would  take place the following year ; and so cross from youth to adulthood, get a job and move on with his life.

Upon meeting a strange man, he learns of the nature of the Capping, and of the Tripods - those tri-legged metallic machines that come to hoist teenagers, cap them and release later on... 

This stranger also tells him of a place where other men are free from tripods and capping, and thus Will sets on a perilous journey from his home in a fictional English village called Wherton, towards the White Mountains.

These books follows Will, his adventures and the people he meets. The narration concentrates a lot on Will's psycho-emotional states and his thoughts ; keeping most of the dialogues to a minimum through his descriptions of what was said and done. I like this aspect of narration quite a bit. 

The main themes in this book series are about humans freedom of thought and of body ; this much is simple to read through because it's said very early on, and repeatedly. 

Another aspect is coming-of-age for the main protagonist, Will ; he has to learn much, not just intellectually but also to master his emotional states which puts his life in jeopardy. 

In this future, humankind isn't only enslaved, but also generally apathetic to their condition - possibly having forgotten what life was before the Tripods started their reign. 

I appreciate also some of the other themes, including cooperation & unity, VS division & war ; the proper use of technology and knowledge. These were prevalent in 1960's worries about the sociopolitical environment of the days, and possible outcomes for the future. 

The only portions that are difficult for me to read are all the non-vegetarian meals, repeated rather often - especially in the first 2 volumes. Ok, so the protagonists aren't in god-mode like in so many novels, but this is the opposite excess of food scenes. I understand perfectly well that the author didn't depict a veg-friendly future, but I don't have to like those lines, either.

The majority of characters are male, as are dialogues talking about humankind as man.  As the series is from the 1960's, I have to cut some slack. These issues are still present now in 2017, with only mild progress. 


My editions are all published by Simon Pulse, with the following ISBN and page numbers:
0-689-85672-2 (195)
0-689-85666-0 (209)
0-689-85669-5 (204) 

The overall score I give to this trilogy is 7/10 

The 4 book boxed-set has ISBN  0-689-02773-7