When the Tripods Came - April 2011

22. When The Tripods Came - John Christopher

160 Pages, Borrowed from Local Library

Written by the same guy who wrote "The Death of Grass" this is a prequel, aimed at the Young Adult market, that was written 20 years after the original Tripods trilogy (The White Mountains, The City of Gold & Lead, The Pool of Fire).

I haven't read the original trilogy but I did watch the two series of the BBC TV version in the 1980's.  I was hooked from it's crazy beginning, set in a future where everyone looks like they're living in a pre-industrial past and then getting sucked up into huge three-legged machines to get a metal grill stuck on their heads! The ending of the second series was miserable and depressing too. You can watch the whole two series on Youtube but be warned, it's only available in small chunks :(

This book is different. I figure it's set around the late 1980's - early 1990's and explains how the tripods quickly gained control of the majority of humanity. The story races along and there are a couple of images that really stuck with me after I'd finished it.

A great introduction to the Tripods and has left me eager to read the Trilogy.

I give this 5 "Trippy Shows" out of 5

The Death of Grass - February 2011

8. The Death of Grass - John Christopher

195 Pages, Borrowed from Local Library

The Death of Grass is a very English disaster story which follows John Custance and his friends/family as they make there way across England as the grass dies, starvation really kicks in and civilization crumbles.

Unlike anything I've read before, I was lulled into thinking things wouldn't be too bad if the grass died but this book really brings home how devastating it would be.

You really feel for the characters as they find themselves acting in ways they never thought possible, just to survive.

The book was renamed "No Blade of Grass" for the U.S. market and was also made into a film in 1970 which is available to watch on YouTube (unless you live in Ireland or one of the other countries Warner Bros. won't let you see their films for free.)

I was going to say I enjoyed this book immensely but "enjoyed" seems wrong considering the misery and death and everything but I can't think of a better word and searching on Thesaurus.com didn't help :)

I give The Death of Grass 5 "Blades" out of 5!