# John Christopher's "Tripod Trilogy" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 11, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947 "2010-08-11T16:29:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947/21 "2010-08-12T03:51:52Z")
Chiming in as another doper who loved this series as a kid. I looked for this series on the kindle a few months back but it wasn’t there. Pity. I was kinda on a “re-read my favorite young adult books” kick. We actually read _The White Mountains_ for school. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I reflected and realized just how much my 4th grade teacher kicked ass. Here’s a partial list of the books we read for English: The White Mountains The Hobbit Hatchet Watership Down I thought the Tripods prequel was actually very well done. Lots of interesting ideas about propaganda and the collapse of society. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947/22 "2010-08-12T05:07:26Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > I guess I was lucky that my local library as a kid carried as much Christopher as it did: > > No Blade of Grass I remember reading this as a child (under its original title **The Death of Grass** ), and being very frightened. I also enjoyed A Wrinkle in the Skin. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947/23 "2010-08-12T05:32:15Z")
_Still_ my favorite books, after all these years. 'First read them as a kid, and my _dad_ recommended them from when he read them as a kid—it first came up after seeing Wayne Barlowe’s illustrations of the Masters in a new edition of _Barlowe’s Guide to Extraterrestrials._ (I’m still waiting on _Thype_, btw) ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947/24 "2010-08-12T12:10:07Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > _Still_ my favorite books, after all these years. 'First read them as a kid, and my _dad_ recommended them from when he read them as a kid—it first came up after seeing Wayne Barlowe’s illustrations of the Masters in a new edition of _Barlowe’s Guide to Extraterrestrials._ > > (I’m still waiting on _Thype_, btw) Aren’t we all, _sigh_. I loved _The Lotus Caves_, I think, is that the one on the moon? There was another one about a boy who lives in a crowded, voilent city and crawls through a hole in a wall and finds himself in an idyllic, upper-class farmland. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947/25 "2010-08-12T12:42:22Z")
I actually read most of his books as an adult and enjoyed them. They’re all thematically similar. I think The Guardians is my favourite, as well as The Tripods. One thing I seem to remember is his fondness for shoe-horning boxing scenes into the plot. Must be a boxing fan. The BBC series was on YouTube, maybe they’ve taken it off. It was… OK. Starts well, but proceeds rather ponderously and has a stretch of several episodes in France where not much happens. Dodgy acting from the young cast, and BBC 1980’s production values of course, although at the time it was one of their more expensive shows. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947/26 "2010-08-12T13:00:00Z")
I was a Boy Scout and got Boy’s Life in the mail, so I remember the comic well, I always turned to it first thing each time I got a new issue. I also remember stumbling across an episode of the BBC series exactly once on my local PBS station…I remember hoping that I’d find it again, but that was the only time I ever saw it. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947/27 "2010-08-12T15:01:44Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > But, yeah, there are rarely any notable female characters, and sometimes just no females at all. Dom and Va is one exception. As I recall, she was physically weaker, but clearly the smarter of the two. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947/28 "2010-08-12T15:32:53Z")
[hijack] Tripods . . . SF writers have sometimes imagined lifeforms based on trilateral symmetry, but I wonder if it would actually work for a land-dwelling motile organism. There’s probably some practical reason why on Earth, we see radial symmetry only in some small aquatic animals such as starfish, and bilateral symmetry in all arthropods and vertebrates, and even most molluscs. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947/29 "2010-08-12T16:22:28Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > [hijack] > > Tripods . . . SF writers have sometimes imagined lifeforms based on trilateral symmetry, but I wonder if it would actually work for a land-dwelling motile organism. There’s probably some practical reason why on Earth, we see radial symmetry only in some small aquatic animals such as starfish, and bilateral symmetry in all arthropods and vertebrates, and even most molluscs. > > [/hijack] Bilateral symmetry is a consequence of adaptation for active movement along a substrate. An animal that moves actively by pushing against the ocean floor or on land will specialize the bottom part of its body for locomotion, differentiating it from its top. And if it moves with any speed, it will be beneficial to concentrate its sense organs in one part of the body, and consistently move with that end forward. This will result in the evolution of a “head” end. Once you’ve got a differentiated top and bottom, plus a “head” end, you’ve got bilateral symmetry. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947/30 "2010-08-12T18:08:55Z")
Thanks for reminding me about this trilogy. Haven’t read it since I was about 11, maybe I should order a copy. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947/31 "2010-08-12T18:32:59Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > I loved _The Lotus Caves_, I think, is that the one on the moon? There was another one about a boy who lives in a crowded, voilent city and crawls through a hole in a wall and finds himself in an idyllic, upper-class farmland. Yep, _The Lotus Caves_ is the one set on the moon; definitely one of my favorites. The second one you describe is the aforementioned _The Guardians_. I thought _Empty World_ was a fun one too, as well as the Fireball trilogy, which although probably a bit weaker than most, was my first exposure to parallel universe alt-history fiction. > [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > > [@Erdosain](#): > > > > But, yeah, there are rarely any notable female characters, and sometimes just no females at all. > > Dom and Va is one exception. As I recall, she was physically weaker, but clearly the smarter of the two. Except that, as far as I can remember (I last read Dom and Va in 1988), Dom rapes Va. I believe that this is also one of the few books not set in the future. I think it’s supposed to take place some time in prehistoric times. > [@Colibri](#): > > Bilateral symmetry is a consequence of adaptation for active movement along a substrate. An animal that moves actively by pushing against the ocean floor or on land will specialize the bottom part of its body for locomotion, differentiating it from its top. And if it moves with any speed, it will be beneficial to concentrate its sense organs in one part of the body, and consistently move with that end forward. This will result in the evolution of a “head” end. Once you’ve got a differentiated top and bottom, plus a “head” end, you’ve got bilateral symmetry. What does this mean for Lovecraft’s Elder Things? I think they all had radial symmetry. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947/32 "2010-08-12T20:36:40Z")
[Speaking of TV adaptations…](http://www.avclub.com/articles/bryan-fuller-working-on-adaptation-of-the-lotus-ca,44097/) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947/33 "2010-08-12T20:57:07Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > > [@Colibri](#): > > > > Bilateral symmetry is a consequence of adaptation for active movement along a substrate. An animal that moves actively by pushing against the ocean floor or on land will specialize the bottom part of its body for locomotion, differentiating it from its top. And if it moves with any speed, it will be beneficial to concentrate its sense organs in one part of the body, and consistently move with that end forward. This will result in the evolution of a “head” end. Once you’ve got a differentiated top and bottom, plus a “head” end, you’ve got bilateral symmetry. > > What does this mean for Lovecraft’s Elder Things? I think they all had radial symmetry. Well, I don’t think anyone would assign Lovecraft a high number on the [Mohs Scale of Science Fiction Hardness.](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness?from=Main.MohsScaleOfSciFiHardness) ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947/34 "2010-08-13T03:16:40Z")
I dimly recall the television series, thought it was pretty good at the time (I would have been about 12 I think when it aired here) but it stopped rather abruptly. I see there’s a DVD set for those interested. Never read the books. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947/35 "2010-08-14T12:55:38Z")
I think I have the entire BBC series on tape…grainy, old VHS tapes! I got the books just after watching the series, and they are still on my Favorite Reads book shelf. My kids grew up watching the show , but I think I need to give them the books to read, too. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947/36 "2010-08-14T16:29:14Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > … the Fireball trilogy … There was a trilogy? I only ever saw two. What was the third one called? ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947/37 "2010-08-14T22:00:28Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > The BBC series was on YouTube, maybe they’ve taken it off. It was… OK. Starts well, but proceeds rather ponderously and has a stretch of several episodes in France where not much happens. Dodgy acting from the young cast, and BBC 1980’s production values of course, although at the time it was one of their more expensive shows. The child in me however remembers being quite taken by the show. More so than any Doctor Who beastie, the Tripods could come after you where ever you were and grab or blast you. Especially memorable was the scene where (IIRC) our heroes think they’ve lost a Tripod, only to find it was towering over them all along :eek: ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947/38 "2010-08-16T10:55:54Z")
I’ve put the show in my [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) cart, damn you all. or would if I could find a US formatt release. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947/39 "2010-08-16T21:55:56Z")
I have the trilogy. Never saw the series. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947/40 "2010-08-16T23:54:32Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Never saw the series. You didn’t miss much [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947.md?page=3)