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esther08's review against another edition
4.0
Will vive en un mundo dominado por los Trípodes. Estas máquinas insertan una placa cerca del cerebro para controlar a la persona desde que es muy joven y que trabaje sin ansia de libertad. Will y su primo Henry emprenden viaje hacia las Montañas Blancas, donde los hombres viven libres. A mitad del camino se encuentran con Larguirucho, un inteligente joven con ideas muy innovadoras. Los 3 juntos siguen avanzando y superando obstáculos hasta llegar a su destino.
jun10r36's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting idea, written for a much younger reader than I.
gudgercollege's review against another edition
4.0
There are no girls in this, but I liked it well enough anyway. I'll be reading the sequels, in which, no doubt, there will also be no girls.
melissalenos's review against another edition
5.0
The White Mountains
Book 1 of the Tripods Trilogy
Christopher, John
New York: Macmillan, 1967
214 pages
Chapter book
Genres: Science fiction, coming of age, drama, quest, adventure, young adult
About a century into the future, the culture is preindustrial following the Tripods’ defeat of humanity. A boy named Will looks forward to his “capping,” the day on which he will be implanted with a device that allows the Tripods to control him. A stranger named Ozymandius comes to town and convinces Will to seek out the human resistance. His cousin Henry and a French boy named Jean-Paul join him.
Upon discovering that the Tripods implanted Will with a tracking device, the boys destroy one of the creatures (it was previously unknown whether they could be killed) and join the resistance in the White Mountains. The book ends with the boys being sent to compete in the “games,” which would allow one of them to infiltrate the City of Gold and Lead.
Book 1 of the Tripods Trilogy
Christopher, John
New York: Macmillan, 1967
214 pages
Chapter book
Genres: Science fiction, coming of age, drama, quest, adventure, young adult
About a century into the future, the culture is preindustrial following the Tripods’ defeat of humanity. A boy named Will looks forward to his “capping,” the day on which he will be implanted with a device that allows the Tripods to control him. A stranger named Ozymandius comes to town and convinces Will to seek out the human resistance. His cousin Henry and a French boy named Jean-Paul join him.
Upon discovering that the Tripods implanted Will with a tracking device, the boys destroy one of the creatures (it was previously unknown whether they could be killed) and join the resistance in the White Mountains. The book ends with the boys being sent to compete in the “games,” which would allow one of them to infiltrate the City of Gold and Lead.
hegemant's review against another edition
3.0
Quick, easy read. Looking forward to others in the series
ravensviewca's review against another edition
3.0
Not sure what/who recommended this, and I'm surprised I hadn't read it already, as its a bit of a classic, from the 60's. It's a typical dystopian YA, with a young boy, faced with a coming of age ritual, who decides to rebel and head off in search of answers. Earth is now dominated by huge mechanical tripods, reminiscent of War of the Worlds, that 'cap' everyone at puberty to control them, either as peasant level workers or as members of a feudal ruling class. Will and his two companions, one brawn, one brains, set off in search of the mysterious White Mountains, where they have heard there are others like them, rebels against their overlords.
And suddenly it's over. Three pages from the end, they are still not that close, with miles of open plain to cross, followed by the foothills of the White Mountains, and Tripods roaming about. Then suddenly all three adventurers are high in the mountains, settling in with their new rebel friends. It's like one of my NaNoWriMo drafts, where I reached passed the 0k word limit and just stopped with a few quick notes for later on. But the author makes a big point in his introduction about how much editing and complete re-writing his publisher made him do.
Except for that ending, it's a good story - light and entertaining, capturing well the insecurities of a young teenager.
And suddenly it's over. Three pages from the end, they are still not that close, with miles of open plain to cross, followed by the foothills of the White Mountains, and Tripods roaming about. Then suddenly all three adventurers are high in the mountains, settling in with their new rebel friends. It's like one of my NaNoWriMo drafts, where I reached passed the 0k word limit and just stopped with a few quick notes for later on. But the author makes a big point in his introduction about how much editing and complete re-writing his publisher made him do.
Except for that ending, it's a good story - light and entertaining, capturing well the insecurities of a young teenager.
dark_reader's review against another edition
3.0
I picked up this series of paperbacks long ago at a friends-of-library book sale because they looked classic and vaguely familiar, and suitable for seeding my home library with things for my kids to possibly discover. That hasn't happened (and not likely to now) and my own reading has been overdue.
Its closest comparison is The Chrysalids, published a decade earlier and far superior in terms of mid-20th century dystopian sci-fi for young readers. The White Mountains still has its qualities, however. It's not hard to picture it taught in school, in a time and place that this somewhat bland British boys' journey was deemed sufficient for such. It has a simplicity to it but will still test early reading comprehension, such as identifying the scientific concepts and technologies that "Beanpole" is rediscovering. At the same time it lends itself to a depth of character analysis and discussion suitable to primary school readers. This doesn't mean characters are engaging, just that they bear discussion, like why the reader thinks the narrating main character is such a petty, jealous, self-centered whiner who is chronically ungrateful for his companions carrying him the whole way.
In terms of dystopian fiction, it's vague about the supposed negative impacts of rule by the Tripods and being Capped. There is a vague conception of loss of freedom, but this is not truly demonstrated in the book.
I suppose in an earlier age, young readers may have been captivated with the characters' journey across lands to reach the White Mountains; 13-year-old boys on their own, sleeping rough, stealing and gathering food. The landscape descriptions are lovely and potentially new reading territory for many, but dull in the sum of time spent walking with not much of note happening. Compared with contemporary book options, I can't picture kids being interested in this now.
The ending is rather abrupt: the children technically read their destination but it rather glosses over that event and seems to jump ahead in time, but with only general statements. I'm not sure if this was meant as an enticement to read the next book, but taken on its own it's a lost opportunity. I'm going to read the rest of the trilogy regardless; they're short and easy books and, despite my criticisms here, smoothly written and easy to absorb.
Its closest comparison is The Chrysalids, published a decade earlier and far superior in terms of mid-20th century dystopian sci-fi for young readers. The White Mountains still has its qualities, however. It's not hard to picture it taught in school, in a time and place that this somewhat bland British boys' journey was deemed sufficient for such. It has a simplicity to it but will still test early reading comprehension, such as identifying the scientific concepts and technologies that "Beanpole" is rediscovering. At the same time it lends itself to a depth of character analysis and discussion suitable to primary school readers. This doesn't mean characters are engaging, just that they bear discussion, like why the reader thinks the narrating main character is such a petty, jealous, self-centered whiner who is chronically ungrateful for his companions carrying him the whole way.
In terms of dystopian fiction, it's vague about the supposed negative impacts of rule by the Tripods and being Capped. There is a vague conception of loss of freedom, but this is not truly demonstrated in the book.
I suppose in an earlier age, young readers may have been captivated with the characters' journey across lands to reach the White Mountains; 13-year-old boys on their own, sleeping rough, stealing and gathering food. The landscape descriptions are lovely and potentially new reading territory for many, but dull in the sum of time spent walking with not much of note happening. Compared with contemporary book options, I can't picture kids being interested in this now.
The ending is rather abrupt: the children technically read their destination but it rather glosses over that event and seems to jump ahead in time, but with only general statements. I'm not sure if this was meant as an enticement to read the next book, but taken on its own it's a lost opportunity. I'm going to read the rest of the trilogy regardless; they're short and easy books and, despite my criticisms here, smoothly written and easy to absorb.
katiearina's review against another edition
2.5
2.5 stars? This book feels clunkily written.
I remember loving this as a kid but even for a middle grade book, this was not great. I guess the idea of Tripods returning humans to living in a sort of antiquity is unique, but it didn't really capture my attention the way I wanted it to.
Also I know the point of some of the descriptions (for things like train tracks, grenades, the metro, etc) was meant to be because the characters didn't know what the things were, but some were so obtuse it took me a while to figure out what the heck Christopher was describing (the guns on the metro are the main one that took multiple rereads to sort out).
Oh well! Can't win 'em all.
---
Pre-review
I read this book in fifth grade (Mrs. Stickney's class; I always picture the classroom itself in my mind with any memories of this book) and remember really liking it at the time. The same year we read A Wrinkle in Time which also had a weird impact on me (relating to the weird warm fuzzy creatures Meg ran into at some point - definitely due for a re-read on that), and had a very unlikable student teacher whose name was Katherine Smith (no middle name, which I thought was rude of her parents) who was much older than my teacher (who was at least in her forties at the time). So let's see if I accidentally ruin the memories of this book for myself!
--
ATY 2021: #20 - 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 3 (Future)
I remember loving this as a kid but even for a middle grade book, this was not great. I guess the idea of Tripods returning humans to living in a sort of antiquity is unique, but it didn't really capture my attention the way I wanted it to.
Also I know the point of some of the descriptions (for things like train tracks, grenades, the metro, etc) was meant to be because the characters didn't know what the things were, but some were so obtuse it took me a while to figure out what the heck Christopher was describing (the guns on the metro are the main one that took multiple rereads to sort out).
Oh well! Can't win 'em all.
---
Pre-review
I read this book in fifth grade (Mrs. Stickney's class; I always picture the classroom itself in my mind with any memories of this book) and remember really liking it at the time. The same year we read A Wrinkle in Time which also had a weird impact on me (relating to the weird warm fuzzy creatures Meg ran into at some point - definitely due for a re-read on that), and had a very unlikable student teacher whose name was Katherine Smith (no middle name, which I thought was rude of her parents) who was much older than my teacher (who was at least in her forties at the time). So let's see if I accidentally ruin the memories of this book for myself!
--
ATY 2021: #20 - 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 3 (Future)
ianm32's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book as a youngster, but found it to be equally enjoyable light reading as an adult. Being YA fiction it feels a bit more skeletal than a book aimed at adults, but that's something I consider to be expected. It is still well written, and I think that older YA fiction like this is much more intelligent than some of the modern offerings. I think I'll go ahead and read the other two books next.
shelgraves's review against another edition
This book comes highly recommended by avid science fiction readers who have fond memories of it from their youth and who vividly remember the Tripods (though they forget the title and the author's name). It's the first in a trilogy, which includes The City of Gold and Lead and the Pool of Fire.
The first book is the first half of a hero's journey. A young boy sets out and encounters allies and enemies on a quest to escape from the ordinary world where at puberty humans consent to be "capped" by the alien "tripods" who master their minds.
Writers read this for: theme — on his journey, seeking out the free men who resist domination by the tripods to retain their invention and ingenuity, the young protagonist Will asks questions about the world he lives in and comes to conclusions about it. These elements leave a lasting impression and give the book its status as an enduring classic.
Quotes:
"What value did courage have without a free and challenging mind to direct it?"
"Was I to abandon my hope of freedom, surrender the mastery of my mind, for the sake of wearing jeweled leather and having other men touch their caps to me?"
"More and more I had come to see the Capped as lacking what seemed to me the essence of humanity, the vital spark of defiance against the rulers of the world."
"That nothing mattered, nothing was of value, without a mind that challenged and inquired."
"For it is not quite true to say that we have no luxuries. We have two: freedom, and hope."
"...free men will enjoy the goodness of the earth."
Writers, also of note: in the preface to the anniversary edition, "What is a Tripod?" the author talks about his process of writing the book and how the help of an editor and his willingness to do many drafts transformed the book from a work that was merely publishable into a much loved, enduring classic
If I had encountered this book around the time I was reading The Chronicles of Narnia, I would certainly have devoured the series. At this point in my reading life, however, I am not inspired to read on.
The first book is the first half of a hero's journey. A young boy sets out and encounters allies and enemies on a quest to escape from the ordinary world where at puberty humans consent to be "capped" by the alien "tripods" who master their minds.
Writers read this for: theme — on his journey, seeking out the free men who resist domination by the tripods to retain their invention and ingenuity, the young protagonist Will asks questions about the world he lives in and comes to conclusions about it. These elements leave a lasting impression and give the book its status as an enduring classic.
Quotes:
"What value did courage have without a free and challenging mind to direct it?"
"Was I to abandon my hope of freedom, surrender the mastery of my mind, for the sake of wearing jeweled leather and having other men touch their caps to me?"
"More and more I had come to see the Capped as lacking what seemed to me the essence of humanity, the vital spark of defiance against the rulers of the world."
"That nothing mattered, nothing was of value, without a mind that challenged and inquired."
"For it is not quite true to say that we have no luxuries. We have two: freedom, and hope."
"...free men will enjoy the goodness of the earth."
Writers, also of note: in the preface to the anniversary edition, "What is a Tripod?" the author talks about his process of writing the book and how the help of an editor and his willingness to do many drafts transformed the book from a work that was merely publishable into a much loved, enduring classic
If I had encountered this book around the time I was reading The Chronicles of Narnia, I would certainly have devoured the series. At this point in my reading life, however, I am not inspired to read on.