# 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:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947/41 "2010-08-18T18:57:21Z")
Those are great books. Spielberg thought about making a movie but ended up doing War of the Worlds. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947/42 "2010-08-18T21:13:16Z")
I wouldn’t want Spielberg to come with a thousand miles of the Tripod Trilogy. I shudder to think how his relentlessly enforced cheery world-view in films would mar much of the point of the books. I also first encountered the novels in Boy’s Life magazine, and also just reread the whole series. They’re still marvelous reading, even from an adult perspective. I’m also quite fond of the “Sword of the Spirits” trilogy. ---
**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 19, 2010, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947/43 "2010-08-19T03:42:53Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > > [@Erdosain](#): > > > > … the Fireball trilogy … > > There was a trilogy? I only ever saw two. What was the third one called? Anyone? I loved the first two books. I’d like to see the third. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947/44 "2010-08-19T03:46:08Z")
Original trilogy (written in the 60s): The White Mountains, The City of Gold and Lead, and The Pool of Fire. Prequel, written in the 80s: When the Tripods Came ---
**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 19, 2010, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947/45 "2010-08-19T04:10:06Z")
**cricetus** , if that was a reply to my post you misunderstood the question. A different book by the author of The Tripods was _ **Fireball** _, a story about two teenage boys who are transported into a parallel world where Rome never fell. There was a sequel, _New Found Land_, where the two protagonists sailed to America, still populated by the natives, without any European colonies. I’ve read, and loved, both of these books. But **Erdosain** ’s post implies there was a third volume in the series that I haven’t read. I’d like to know what it was. ---
**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 20, 2010, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947/46 "2010-08-20T10:00:49Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > **cricetus** , if that was a reply to my post you misunderstood the question. > > A different book by the author of The Tripods was _ **Fireball** _, a story about two teenage boys who are transported into a parallel world where Rome never fell. There was a sequel, _New Found Land_, where the two protagonists sailed to America, still populated by the natives, without any European colonies. > > I’ve read, and loved, both of these books. But **Erdosain** ’s post implies there was a third volume in the series that I haven’t read. I’d like to know what it was. Yes, the third book in the Fireball trilogy is called Dragon Dance. Honestly, I don’t remember much about it other than it was set in alt-universe China and that I much preferred the second book of the trilogy. You can read a summary of the plot here: [Dragon Dance (novel) - Wikipedia](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Dance_(novel)) Also, you can get a full listing of everything John Christopher wrote by checking out his wikipedia page. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-christophers-tripod-trilogy/549947.md?page=2)