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The White Mountains

(The Tripods #1)

John Christopher

3.94 · Rating details · 11,296 ratings · 841 reviews

Long ago, the Tripods—huge, three-legged machines—descended upon Earth and took control. Now people unquestioningly accept the Tripods' power. They have no control over their thoughts or their lives.

But for a brief time in each person's life—in childhood—he is not a slave. For Will, his time of freedom is about to end—unless he can escape to the White Mountains, where the ...more

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Paperback, 195 pages

Published April 2003 by Simon & Schuster Simon Pulse (first published April 1967)

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Jul 05, 2013 Ahmad Sharabiani rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science, fiction, childrens-young-readers, adventure, 20th-century

The white mountains (The Tripods #1), John Christopher
The Tripods is a series of young adult novels written by John Christopher, beginning in 1967.
The White Mountains, Life goes on largely as it had in the pre-industrial era, excepting that all adult humans are subject to Tripod control. Protagonist Will, a thirteen-year-old boy living in the (fictional) English village of Wherton, is looking forward to the next "Capping Day", until a chance meeting with a mysterious fake-capped man named The white mountains (The Tripods #1), John Christopher
The Tripods is a series of young adult novels written by John Christopher, beginning in 1967.
The White Mountains, Life goes on largely as it had in the pre-industrial era, excepting that all adult humans are subject to Tripod control. Protagonist Will, a thirteen-year-old boy living in the (fictional) English village of Wherton, is looking forward to the next "Capping Day", until a chance meeting with a mysterious fake-capped man named Ozymandias prompts him to discover a world beyond the Tripods' control. He is accompanied by his cousin Henry and a French teenager named Jean-Paul Deliet, nicknamed "Beanpole". The novel climaxes with Henry and Beanpole discovering that earlier, when Will had been captured by a Tripod, he had been unknowingly implanted with a tracking device. When Henry and Beanpole remove the device, a nearby Tripod attacks them, but the boys defeat the Tripod and eventually join the resistance, located in the eponymous White Mountains.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز ششم ماه سپتامبر سال 1999 میلادی
عنوان: کوههای سفید، از مجموعه چهارگانه های جان کریستوفر؛ نوشته: جان کریستوفر؛ مترجم: ثریا کاظمی؛ چاپ نخست، تهران، کانون پرورش فکری کودکان و نوجوانان، 1349؛ در 208 ص؛
عنوان: کوههای سفید، از مجموعه چهارگانه های جان کریستوفر؛ نوشته: جان کریستوفر؛ مترجم: مهرداد تویسرکانی؛ تهران، قدیانی، کتابهای بنفشه، 1386؛ در 199 ص؛ شابک: 9789644179143؛
رمان‌های چهارگانه جان کریستوفر مجموعه سه پایه ها کتاب نخست عنوانش «کوه‌های سفید» است. «ویل» در دهکده‌ ای کوچک، در انگلستان زندگی می‌کند. زندگی اش همانند هر نوجوان دیگری ست، که منتظر است تا جشن کلاهک گذاری‌ اش انجام شود. تا اینکه، دوستش: «جک»، نشانه‌ هایی از بقایای یک تمدن باستانی را، به او نشان می‌دهد، که پیش از سه‌ پایه‌ ها وجود داشته‌ است. «جک» اعتراف می‌کند، که از کلاهک‌ گذاری می‌ترسد. اما چند روز بعد، او نیز همانند همهٔ نوجوانان دیگر، کلاهک‌ گذاری می‌شود. پس از این ماجرا، «جک» سعی می‌کند از «ویل» دور بماند، چون به علت وجود کلاهک، «ویل» را برای باورهای خویش خطرناک می‌داند. مدتی بعد، یک فرد ناشناس به نام: «ازماندیاس»، «ویل» را از وجود یک پایگاه مبارزه با سه‌ پایه‌ ها، باخبر می‌کند، که در کوه‌های سفید قرار دارد. این رخداد باعث می‌شود، «ویل» به همراه پسر عمویش: «هنری»، از دهکده، به سمت کوه‌های سفید فرار کند. آن‌ها در اینراه، با پسر دیگری به نام: «بینپل»، مواجه می‌شوند، که علاقه ی بسیاری به استفاده از ابزار باستانیان دارد. و ...؛ ا. شربیانی ...more

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Nov 22, 2008 Stephen rated it liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, world-in-the-shitter, post-apocalypse, metal-men, 1954-1969, audiobook, invasion

A splendidly written science fiction yarn aimed at the lads and lasses but with enough clever going for it to appeal to ~~older~~ more seasoned readers as well. This is the second novel by John Christopher that I've had the pleasure of consuming and this gent certainly has the prose chops to spin a ripsnorter of a story. My previous experience, the dark, disturbing and fantabulous The Death of Grass), is one of the more under-appreciated apocalyptic SF books I have come across and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND ...more

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Jan 31, 2017 Lyn rated it liked it

John Christopher’s influential and fun as a zombie-at-a-Mensa-party 1967 novel is a fantastic YA success.

Telling the post-apocalyptic story of a 13 year old in a world where alien tripod monsters (reminiscent of HG Wells The War of the Worlds creatures) control every aspect of human culture and keep us subjugated by means of a “capping” brain implant at the age of 14, Christopher spins an imaginative and timeless tale of adventure and perseverance.

Our protagonist Will notices he’s a little ...more

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May 08, 2011 Manny rated it liked it

Shelves: children, science-fiction

I read this book when I was about 10, but there's a moment near the beginning that's really stayed with me. It's one of those stories where Earth has been enslaved by alien overlords. There are, however, a few bright points in their miserable existences, and one of these is the annual games, where young athletes compete in a kind of Olympics to pick out the fastest and strongest.

The hero and his best friend are competing. They're both top jocks. They're pretty much certain that they'll win and ...more

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May 09, 2015 Apatt rated it really liked it

Tripods are cool, imagine these fearsome engines stomping around your neighborhood. They are not very practical though are they? Three legs don’t seem to be a very stable locomotive arrangement. The aliens came from light years away can they not spring for some aircrafts or something on wheels? At least double the number of legs for God’s sake!

When I first heard of this series I thought it was some kind of unofficial sequel to Wells’ awesome classic The War of the Worlds. Well, now I know it is Tripods are cool, imagine these fearsome engines stomping around your neighborhood. They are not very practical though are they? Three legs don’t seem to be a very stable locomotive arrangement. The aliens came from light years away can they not spring for some aircrafts or something on wheels? At least double the number of legs for God’s sake!

When I first heard of this series I thought it was some kind of unofficial sequel to Wells’ awesome classic The War of the Worlds. Well, now I know it is not, but it is still a damn fine ripping yarn. The White Mountains depicts a future where alien overlords have been in charge of our planet for hundreds of years. This is not an origin story so we don’t know what happened when the aliens showed up and how they subjugated the human race. To keep humans docile the aliens weld mind control caps on the adults’ heads. The year when the story takes place is not mentioned, there is even a possibility that the tripods may be man-made rather than aliens. I imagine more will be revealed in subsequent volumes of this Tripods series.

The White Mountains is told from the point of view of Will, the thirteen-year-old protagonist. One day Will decides to run away from his home town to avoid the Tripods' “Capping” process when he comes of age. He is accompanied by Henry, a cousin he dislikes, but insists on going along, on their journey they are later joined by a bright French boy they call “Beanpole” because Will and Henry can't pronounce Jean Paul. Their destination is the eponymous White Mountain, where – Will is told by an apparently crazy old man – there is a community of rebellious “uncapped” people. The book is entirely about their perilous journey to this mountain.

I wish I had read this book as a wee lad of fourteen or younger I would have loved his book to bits and immediately read the remaining three volumes. As an adult reader I really enjoyed it but I wish it was more edgy and dark with lots of swearing! This series is generally regarded as children’s books rather than YA. One thing it does have in common with modern YA books is that the setting is a dystopian with mankind under aliens’ domination rather than some post-apocalypse government. I certainly prefer it to The Hunger Games, kids being chased by giant tripods is much more exciting than kids being chased by other kids.

The book is very fast paced with something happening on every page, and there is not much in the way of dialogue. The characters are not developed very much but in a book under 200 pages in length that is forgivable. Certainly Will seems like a bit of an idiot most of the time, Henry vacillates back and forth from being callous to caring, and Beanpole is defined by his intellect only. The other characters they meet on their way just serve to help to move the story along. There is a palpable sense of danger when the kids are being chased by the tripods, but the ending seems terribly rushed.

Any way, I am on board for reading the rest of the series. I would love to know what happen next.

Rating: 5 stars for kids, 4 for adults! ...more

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Apr 03, 2009 Amanda rated it really liked it

This is a little embarrassing to admit, but I've been reading a lot of YA fantasy/SF novels aloud to my husband while he paints his new 40k army. I guess if you're going to dork out and regress, it might as well be all the way. So I pulled this novel out of the vaults--my fifth grade English teacher assigned it as part of an inspired introduction to genre fiction unit. This was our introduction to science fiction. I blame her for launching a number of excessively awkward adolescences. Anyway, ...more

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Apr 29, 2011 Amy Sturgis rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-dystopia, 20th-century, science-fiction-vintage

This young adult dystopian science fiction novel (the first of a trilogy, followed by a prequel) is considered to be a classic, and it's easy to see why. The Tripods (machines? living beings? robots gone wrong? aliens from another world?) rule over the post-apocalyptic Earth, keeping humans in their (faux-medieval) place by means of "capping" them at puberty: that is, surgically implanting metal helmet-like contraptions on people to keep them docile and content. Young Will, the protagonist, ...more

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Feb 21, 2009 Bob Redmond rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

One of the best Young Adult authors ever, John Christopher, kicks of his masterwork trilogy with this book about a retro-future in which the world has been colonized by Tripods. Three boys, before undergoing the coming-of-age transformations of Capping Day (incidentally, this has to be the namesake of the Seattle band, remember them?), run away. Will they make it before the tripods find and brainwash them?

It's amazing how much Scott Westerfeld's PRETTIES has borrowed from this series--not that One of the best Young Adult authors ever, John Christopher, kicks of his masterwork trilogy with this book about a retro-future in which the world has been colonized by Tripods. Three boys, before undergoing the coming-of-age transformations of Capping Day (incidentally, this has to be the namesake of the Seattle band, remember them?), run away. Will they make it before the tripods find and brainwash them?

It's amazing how much Scott Westerfeld's PRETTIES has borrowed from this series--not that Westerfeld copied anything, just that Christopher organized things in his future world so well. Like Blade Runner set certain cinematic standards, it's impossible to write about kids in the future (at least one in which we have been colonized) without certain plot inevitabilities. On this reading, I also noticed how good is Christopher's craft: he leaves plenty to the imagination in his decriptions, dialogue, and storyline, unlike modern writers, who, with their gigabytes of word-processing, seem unable to do (hey, Stephenie Meyer!). The book is lean and yet illuminates much. It has held up well over the years and deserves the highest praise.

*

[Beginning with this book, I'm instituting a new note: "Why I read this book." The paths that lead us to a certain book at a certain time can bring all kinds of illumination to the reading of the book, if not the book review.]

WHY I READ THIS BOOK: Talking about death and graveyards with Greg Lundgren (of Lundgren Monuments), we agreed that our culture handles death in odd, dysfunctional ways. I praised Neil Gaiman's GRAVEYARD BOOK for helping undercut those notions, which led to talk of other best young adult books. One of my all-time favorites is The Tripods Trilogy (which I got from the library after seeing older neighbor Jim Burnham devour it on the school bus). I've read this book a half-dozen times but after finding it (in the 1970's paperback edition) in Half-Price books last week I could not help but tear through it again. (I had found all the used editions a while back but gave them to Erin Corday for a wedding present.)

...more

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Sep 24, 2012 Veeral rated it liked it

Shelves: read-in-2013, alien-invasion, post-apokalipsa-ya, dystopian-ya

After being immensely impressed by The Death of Grass by John Christopher, I decided to start his "Tripods" series right away.

Although the primary target for this series are the readers in the young-adult category, it is so unlike today's young-adult books where the post-apocalyptic/dystopian scenario just serves as an inconsequential and poorly developed background for a cheesy romance between hormonally charged teens.

The White Mountains introduces us to the thirteen year old teen protagonist, ...more

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Dec 26, 2018 Leona Carstairs rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, fantasy

This series has both a good plot and good writing, but personally, I thought the characters lacked and were not interesting enough to make me love the Tripods Trilogy. I did enjoy it, and my favorite installment was the prequel, titled WHEN THE TRIPODS CAME. I also really liked the last book. Overall I would recommend if you enjoy children's sci-fi. It was fairly good.

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Sep 21, 2007 Jackie "the Librarian" rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: adventure loving boys

Shelves: childrensbooks, sciencefiction

I was in 6th grade, had just moved to the Seattle area, and was as unhappy as an uprooted, adolescent girl living under perpetually gray skies can be - but this book, read to my class by the teacher, showed me that, hey, it could be worse! I could be on the run, hunted by aliens in giant tripods who wanted to control my brain with a metal cap device on my head. It gave me perspective, you know?
A great introduction to real SF for kids.

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Jul 15, 2016 Maryam rated it liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, classics, scifi-fantasy-2016

Given the time this book was written and target audience it could be a 4 star.
The idea certanly gets 5 though.

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Oct 25, 2011 Jonathan Terrington rated it really liked it

Shelves: children-s-literature, personal-favourites, childhood-book, science-fiction, classic-literature, re-read

These books are precious to me. But not the type of precious that requires a little hobbit to come along to my lair in my misty mountain hideout and steal them away, take them across some deserts and throw them into some smoking volcanic mountain. No these are precious for childhood reasons.

I first discovered the pleasure of reading through the power of the Chronicles of Narnia. My mother had a small bookshelf on which was kept all her favourite childhood books and as I learnt to read those were These books are precious to me. But not the type of precious that requires a little hobbit to come along to my lair in my misty mountain hideout and steal them away, take them across some deserts and throw them into some smoking volcanic mountain. No these are precious for childhood reasons.

I first discovered the pleasure of reading through the power of the Chronicles of Narnia. My mother had a small bookshelf on which was kept all her favourite childhood books and as I learnt to read those were the first books which interested me. After all before I could read I was drawn to fairytales, dragons, monsters and above all dinosaurs. It seemed that the mysterious, the unknown and the alien were part of my flights of fancy. Talking beasts were merely my next step.

I moved from Narnia to other classics. I devoured Little Women (and its phrases like that that remind me why I must always be careful with cases), Lord of the Rings and Peter Pan. I even believe I read some Judy Blume so careless was I in what I read. I just read anything that was around the house then. And that was when I stumbled on an old paperback that had been creased and darkened with age.

The paperback had the kind of old pulpy image that on a shelf of modern fancy book covers sticks out like a sore thumb and says 'I have a boring cover do not read' (okay sure a book is not at all like its cover but the cover conveys a lot to the reader). So I read the blurb and looked at the fact that the book had obviously been loved and read many times. I asked my mum about it and she told me that yes The White Mountains was a very good book.

So I decided to read it then and there on the prompting of my mum's advice. And I was certainly glad I did.

To any modern reader of science fiction the premise would seem dated and old fashioned. But this was one of the forerunners of the clichés, this was a creator of clichés. And when I read it (when I still read it) it was as accessible then as it likely had been when it was first released. Perhaps it lacked the poise of say War of the Worlds and the beauty of its language but it was a heap of fun to read. It was also most certainly a novel aimed at the younger generation but also readable for the older generation.

The White Mountains follows the adventures of a boy (I forget his name in all honesty) in a society dominated by the godlike tripods. These metallic creatures come around and 'cap' a boy once he reaches the age he will become a man. When this 'capping' happens a metal plate is put into the boy's head and his entire personality changes. And so the main protagonist discovers that he is a boy nearing the capping age in a world where all men are capped and he is afraid. Until he discovers one man who is free and who tells him a tale of the White Mountains and of the tripods who dominate mankind. And so the protagonist heads off to these mythical mountains in order to be free.

Ultimately this is a fun novel which I personally preferred and still prefer to the War of the Worlds for its plot. Certainly War of the Worlds is more sterilised and more prim, proper and literary powerful - not lacking in purple prose. Yet in opposition The White Mountains and the ensuing books in the trilogy is in my opinion far more down to earth and as a result more human. In that regard it does not act in a condescending manner to its audience but rather reminds them of the struggles we all face in life and so we join in celebrating how a courageous and very human protagonist struggles against mighty powers far greater than himself. ...more

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Jan 18, 2016 Philippa Dowding rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I've been cleaning my way through my office. Last week I scored: Way at the bottom of the bookshelf, deeply hidden, was this book AND the rest of the trilogy. The originals from my childhood! I absolutely loved this series as a child, I read it at about 11, and I couldn't wait to re-read it this weekend. I'm happy to say the story held up for me, and not just because of nostalgia. A favourite book is a very delicate memory thread to your childhood self. I remembered most of it, had brain-tingly ...more

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Aug 09, 2012 Erik Graff rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: sf fans

Recommended to Erik by: Dorothy Gregory

Shelves: sf

There seems to be some complexity to the Tripod novels and stories written by Christopher (actual name, Samuel Youd). Whatever their order, this book stands by itself as one a reader can begin with, without worrying about what may have been set or composed earlier. It does not, however, tell a full story. The City of Gold and Lead (1967) and The Pool of Fire (1968) complete this particular tale.
While ordinarily regarded as a young adult novel, I did not feel patronized. The protagonist and his ...more

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Jan 27, 2018 Tina ➹ the girl who lives in Fandoms (Book.Enchantress) rated it really liked it

Shelves: re-read, favorite, 2000-2010, i-recommend, golden-sparks, reviews, read-long-ago

4 Silver Stars
Golden Sparks

RTC

Aliens sci- fiction, don't you love it? who rule the Earth. Dystopian & post-apocalyptic. the 1st Dystopia I read, years ago. (it was 2006 I guess, & at that time I didn't know Dystopia is a genre.)
such a great story. (tho my favourite in the series is the 2nd book, The City of Gold and Lead)
full of surprises, rebellion & nice characters.
2019: It's been a while I've re-read it (maybe 9 years, I have no idea.) probably soon I will re-read it. I missed it.

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May 10, 2014 Robin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, series, childrens, speculative-fiction, book-1-in-a-series, dystopia, child-narrator

I read this as a child and vividly remember certain particularly fraught scenes but not the overall plot. I read it again yesterday in one sitting.

This book doesn't age at all -- it just as fresh and readable and compelling as it must have been in 1967 when it was first published. The narrator is young Will Parker, still a child, not yet initiated into adulthood via the mysterious "capping" ceremony, where the child is taken briefly away by towering metal creatures called Tripods and fitted with I read this as a child and vividly remember certain particularly fraught scenes but not the overall plot. I read it again yesterday in one sitting.

This book doesn't age at all -- it just as fresh and readable and compelling as it must have been in 1967 when it was first published. The narrator is young Will Parker, still a child, not yet initiated into adulthood via the mysterious "capping" ceremony, where the child is taken briefly away by towering metal creatures called Tripods and fitted with a metal disc in the skull. This metal cap brings with it a sense of peace and deep desire to serve the Tripods. This divide between the Capped and not-yet-Capped is a deep gulf, interfering even with the closeness of the relationships between parents and children. At the beginning of the story, Will is just beginning to act on youthful urges towards mischief. Disturbed by the change he sees in his closest friend, who has just been Capped, Will takes a chance offered to him by a stranger to escape and make his way from Britain to the continent and into the Alps -- which, a century in the future when this story is set, are now called just the White Mountains. Will faces and overcomes hunger, sickness, and temptation and learns, by fits and starts, how to forge bonds of friendship and trust with two other boys making the journey with him.

I have nothing but praise for John Christopher's world-building, pacing, and tone. We see a future Europe through Will's eyes, limited by his understanding of the technologies and traditions have persevered in this future, but recognizing, as readers, the technologies he doesn't understand. Christianity has survived whatever great battle resulted in the destruction of the great cities and dominance of the Tripods. Will refers in passing to churches and cathedrals as familiar edifices and recognizes the partially destroyed Notre Dame when making his way through the remains of Paris. He also has absorbed at least some Biblical canon, making a reference late in the book to "how David had felt when he saw Goliath topple in the dust in the valley of Elah." It is clear, thus, that the Tripods are unthreatened by religious tradition, especially given that it tends to instill a respect for and acceptance of authority, even if that authority is shrouded in mystery.

In this first installment of the Tripods trilogy, clocks and watches are a recurring theme. Will's first rebellion centers around taking his father's precious watch from his desk and wearing it outside to show off to his friend. We learn from this episode that the not-yet-Capped children are subject to all the same whims and petty jealousies we recognize in ourselves: pride, greed, shame, the desire for status, the need to be recognized and valued. Time is the factor that provides a necessary sense of urgency to the story. Will and his companions are on the cusp of capping age and thus have very little time left to make their way across a continent without suspicion that they are trying to escape.

I hope that this book remains popular among young children because it is an excellent introduction to dystopian science fiction and doesn't talk down to the reader. Christopher's characters speak as twelve-year-old children would, but the inner thoughts of Will are rendered in a full, rich vocabulary that will challenge young readers to expand their own. ...more

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Jan 02, 2013 Thom rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-series, with-kids

Somehow missed this series when I was a kid; really enjoyed this author's The Death of Grass and thought the prequel novel was pretty good too.

Teen Will lives in a world that has regressed considerably due to the foreign influence of the Tripods. In a society without serious science or decent propulsion, Will is certain of only one thing - he doesn't want to be "Capped". Nobody in this book knows what the caps do, but they suspect an unswerving loyalty to the overlord aliens.

Will escapes to the ...more

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Feb 16, 2018 Agnė rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, middle-grade, fiction, for-class, series, classics, audiobook, science-fiction, adventure, dystopia

An intriguing beginning, a boring adventure, a rushed, disempowering ending (in particular, I have in mind this sentence in the last paragraph: (view spoiler)).

Also, I didn’t really care for any of the characters and kinda disliked the ...more

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Sep 28, 2010 Aaron Vincent rated it liked it

Shelves: dystocalypse, scifi

Also posted here.

This is not included on my book pool but I’ve decided to start my YA-D2 adventure with one of the oldest Young Adult Dystopia fiction there is. I figured that if we really want to explore the ya dystopia genre, we must trace its roots by reading the first books that is published under the genre. John Christopher’s White Mountains, without a doubt, influenced a lot of dystopian novels being published recently. I think that dystopian authors, even if they haven’t read this, owes a Also posted here.

This is not included on my book pool but I’ve decided to start my YA-D2 adventure with one of the oldest Young Adult Dystopia fiction there is. I figured that if we really want to explore the ya dystopia genre, we must trace its roots by reading the first books that is published under the genre. John Christopher’s White Mountains, without a doubt, influenced a lot of dystopian novels being published recently. I think that dystopian authors, even if they haven’t read this, owes a lot to this series.

Tripods follows the popular theory that our future will just be a repeat of our past. A new Middle Age has come to earth where there is Kings, Comtes, Knights and all those nobilities but this time, everyone is a subject of gigantic three-legged walking machines called Tripods. When a person turns 14, the Tripods installs a Cap in their head. This is when that person go, in Scott Westerfeld’s term, bubbly.

Will, a 13 year-old kid, noticed this change when his favorite cousin was capped. His suspicion was confirmed by a stranger named Ozymandias that came into their town and told him the real purpose of the Caps to human. With the guidance of that Ozymandias, Will sets out on a perilous journey to the last place that is not ruled by Tripods, The White Mountains.

This is a classic book that will not make young readers groan in pain when someone asks them to read it. Although this has been written 4 decades ago, the writing style and the plot never at any point appear as something dated. It is, in fact, at par with all the young adult novels being published recently.

It’s fast-paced, exciting and like other dystopian fiction, possess a poignant social commentaries. But I guess the real strength of this series is how John Christopher brilliantly mends together the past and the future. There are scenes set in a palace when Will and his company, Henry and Jean-Paul, learned the ways of the nobles. There are also scenes set in a ruin of a city where they marvel at our present way of living. You would hang on every word they used to describe a certain thing so that you can guess what it is. The fusion of the past and the future gave the story a bizarrely amazing setting.

I found out that there is also an interesting 1984 UK television series that is based on this book. (Check out the trailer here)

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This is somehow a forgotten gem that I highly recommend to all those who enjoys reading dystopian fiction. I hope that the planned Walt Disney film adaptation comes to fruition because it deserves an attention those nonsense books adapted or will be adapted into film gets. ...more

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May 09, 2011 Mary rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: post-apocalyptic

This is the first of my favourite set of books from when I was a child. The books and the TV serials are wonderful memories for me that I like to relive from time to time.

The reason for the current re-read was that they were discussed on Twitter. Myself and Kiraniumbra convinced Jacob and Karode to read the books and watch the tv series. With strict advice to read the books first. It tweaked me into re-reading them myself. So off I went to pick the trilogy and the prequel from my parents' house. ...more

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Apr 11, 2013 Christian rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: children-s, science-fiction, young-adult, apocalyptic

The White Mountains is a Young Adult Dystopian novel which most likely inspired a lot of the current YA Dystopian novels, although I think it itself probably owes quite a bit to The Chrysalids and obviously The War of the Worlds. The book follows the journey of a group of boys as they leave their small town and head to the eponymous White Mountains. Their journey is inspired by the upcoming capping day in which they would have small caps put on the backs of their head making them obedient and ...more

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Apr 12, 2011 Katharine rated it it was ok

Shelves: sf, ya

This is the most affect-less YA novel I've ever read. The tone is so remarkably even-keeled; none of the potential disasters last long enough to be frightening; and then disaster is avoided every time. I didn't dislike it -- it's a pleasant enough read, and quick, and at first I found the even tone charming, until it became clear that it was going to remain precisely the same throughout the entire book. I don't understand its enduring popularity, especially in contrast to the much more emotive ...more

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Oct 05, 2011 Baal Of rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science-fiction, fiction

I read this in 4th grade and absolutely loved it

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May 22, 2017 Sherile Reilly rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, science-fiction

The White Mountains by John Christopher
When this book was suggested to me by the school librarian, I wasn’t exactly thrilled about doing it as a novel study for my sixth grade students and the beginning impressed me even less. The protagonist talked about his father’s watch. How was I ever going to get my students to buy into a novel with such a boring beginning?
However, the librarian persevered and once I got into the story, with my students, I really liked it and so did they.
The story is set The White Mountains by John Christopher
When this book was suggested to me by the school librarian, I wasn’t exactly thrilled about doing it as a novel study for my sixth grade students and the beginning impressed me even less. The protagonist talked about his father’s watch. How was I ever going to get my students to buy into a novel with such a boring beginning?
However, the librarian persevered and once I got into the story, with my students, I really liked it and so did they.
The story is set in the future and the world is controlled by creatures, known as Tripods. Each year they cap all the young people who were nearing puberty. The metal cap controls a person’s thoughts and therefore makes him or her docile, so they won’t question the rule of the Tripods.
However, a crazy man, at least that’s what the villagers think of him, appears in the village. This man had escaped being capping and he observes the restless Will, a village boy, who will soon be capped. Will questions the whole capping ceremony. When he hears, from the newcomer, that there are people across the sea, in a place called the White Mountains, who are fighting the Tripods, he’s anxious to go there.
On the newcomer’s advice, he discloses the secret to his cousin, whom he really doesn’t like, but who well increase his chance of success in getting to the White Mountains. The two of them start on their harrowing journey. All the time they are hunted by the cunning Tripods. Along the way they meet a very clever young man who loves science and who, like Will and Henry, has questioned the Tripods’ domination. They became close friends and a strong team, with many narrow escapes from the Tripods.
The character development in this book is good, with the protagonists growing closer to each other and learning how to work together in order to defeat the common enemy. Along the way, the trio make lots of mistakes and one of them is tempted to submit to capping. He endangers his friends even more as he contemplates deserting the mission.
Since the author wrote this book, science fiction books have exploded onto the market. However, this book still remains as one of my favorites. The author wrote it as a trilogy, but each book is a standalone.
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Jun 30, 2010 Mitchel Broussard rated it it was amazing

Shelves: dystopia, sci-fi, summer-2010, ya-fiction, fantasy

While the premise, set about 100 years in the future where giant three legged machines, the Tripods, control every human on the planet, may seem familiar, the execution is wholly original. What i loved about this set up is that Christopher didn't just go with the normal now-all-of-humanity-is-living-in-fear trope, but the entire other direction. Humans worship the Tripods. They have no choice.

The world is basically in a new Middle Age, with Kings, Nobles, and Knights. Will's village is more While the premise, set about 100 years in the future where giant three legged machines, the Tripods, control every human on the planet, may seem familiar, the execution is wholly original. What i loved about this set up is that Christopher didn't just go with the normal now-all-of-humanity-is-living-in-fear trope, but the entire other direction. Humans worship the Tripods. They have no choice.

The world is basically in a new Middle Age, with Kings, Nobles, and Knights. Will's village is more untouched with royalty, but still lives by the rule of the Tripods. Basically, when you turn 14, you get taken up to a Tripod and have a Cap (a large metal plate) installed on your head. As you can probably imagine, these Caps cause the wearer to become docile, uncaring and slightly removed from previous troubles of life.

Will, just before his best friend Jack's 14th birthday, starts to question the Tripods and all the adults wearing their Caps. Jack even mentions he would rather turn into a Vagrant (someone whose brain, for reasons unknown, does not accept the Cap, resulting in mild insanity). But Jack, after his Capping Day, completely changes tune, expressing positive thoughts towards the Tripods and how they saved all of humanity. Will, with help from a stranger from the last sanctuary of normal humans, the White Mountains, decides to take the long and treacherous journey there.

(On a side note, I know this was made years before Scott Westerfeld even came up with the idea for his Uglies quartet, but the Capping process reads just like the Pretties surgery. Everyone goes along with it, the adults are all completely aware and are okay with it, and it makes you subservient to the leaders that be. Even if Westerfeld didn't read these books, I think he owes a lot to this guy).

I really enjoyed seeing not the destruction of the Earth as so many books and movies do, but the aftermath. The "what would happen centuries after aliens invade?" really created an awe in every page of the book. The three main characters are fun and create great dynamics with each other. Two of which begin as bitter rivals, and really learn to work together to stay alive.

The big questions - Where did the Tripods come from? Are the Tripods THE aliens, or are they being driven? Are they even aliens, or some machine made by man which turned on us? - are not answered, and, really I hope are never answered. The mystery, the fear of an unseen enemy, is what had me eating threw the last 50 or so pages of this book. What you imagine in your head is always scarier than what is written, or seen.

After a months long journey full of starvation, alien battles, and chases, the message at the end of the book (with Will describing plans to fight for humanity's future against the Tripods) felt excitedly epic.

A brilliant start to the series.
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Oct 26, 2011 07CameronW rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Title: The White Mountains
Author: John Christopher
Setting: Futuristic Europe
Story Summary: Sometime in the near future the world is ruled by Tripods. All children are “capped” at the age of 14 when they have a metal cap grafted to their heads and they come under control of the tripods. Will and his Cousin Henry don’t want to be capped so they travel across Europe to go to a new land where there are supposedly no tripods. When they cross the ocean they meet a boy named Jean-Paul who loves to Title: The White Mountains
Author: John Christopher
Setting: Futuristic Europe
Story Summary: Sometime in the near future the world is ruled by Tripods. All children are “capped” at the age of 14 when they have a metal cap grafted to their heads and they come under control of the tripods. Will and his Cousin Henry don’t want to be capped so they travel across Europe to go to a new land where there are supposedly no tripods. When they cross the ocean they meet a boy named Jean-Paul who loves to invent things. Because he is so skinny they call him Beanpole. Beanpole agrees to travel with them because he doesn’t want to be capped either and they head south for the White Mountains. While they’re traveling they come across a castle where they are taken in because Will is very sick. He is cared for by a young girl named Eloise who helps him recover from his sickness. Will falls in love with her and wants to stay behind when his friends leave but when he finds out that Eloise intends to be capped he changes his mind. His friends leave on the night of a big tournament but Will stays behind because he’s afraid he will be missed. He tells them he will catch up to them in a couple of days. As Will is leaving a tripod catches him and takes him inside it. Later it turns out that Will got a chip placed in his arm so that they could track them. They notice a tripod seems to be following them and they notice he has something in his arm so they cut it out. The tripod begins chasing them and it catches Will. As he’s being taken into the tripod Will throws at it one of the exploding eggs they had found on their trip. It blows up inside the tripod and Will is released back to the ground. The tripod stops moving and they know it’s destroyed so they run as far as they can when they see three tripods approaching, searching for them. They hide in a crevice of a rock that was big enough for them to fit in for over two days before they leave and continue on to the White Mountains where they resolve to destroy the tripods.
I found the book very interesting and easy to read. I like how someone my own age made the choice that they wanted to be free and how they were faced with many challenges and dangers but were able to overcome them and were finally able to reach the White Mountains which represented freedom from the control of the tripods.
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May 23, 2009 Laura rated it really liked it

Shelves: boys, scifi

The White Mountains is the first of a classic children’s science fiction trilogy that was first published in the 1960’s. In The White Mountains, humans live quaint and old fashioned lives in the shadows of the Tripods, large, mechanical beings who rule above humans. Will, age 13, realizes that he does not want a part in the capping process, a creepy and ceremonial event that is required for all villagers at the age of 14. He realizes that those who have been capped obey the Tripods without ...more

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Aug 27, 2009 Jennifer Wardrip rated it really liked it

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews, read-by-other-reviewers

Reviewed by Kira M for TeensReadToo.com

Centuries ago, the Tripods took over Earth and enslaved mankind. Every human wears a helmet made of metal that makes it so they are controlled by the Tripods. There is a period of time in one's childhood, however, where one is free to think for oneself.

When thirteen-year-old Will is told that there is a place in the mountains where there are people free of the Tripods, he decides he doesn't want to be capped and runs away. Along the way, he is joined by a ...more

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Apr 17, 2012 Sara rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, children-s-books, read-in-2012, summerbooktalk2012, dystopia

When my librarian in 6th grade, Mr. Rogers, gave this book to me, it completely captured my imagination. It introduced me to science fiction. It made me want to read the sequel RIGHT NOW. And I haven't read it since then. I was trying to decide what to book talk to elementary and middle schoolers this summer, and I thought -- well, why not do the book that made me excited about reading when I was a kid?

Reading this again was kind of a surreal experience, because it made me realize that I ...more

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Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Too adult?	11	82	Feb 02, 2015 01:39PM
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. A YA sci-fi, dystopian, novel from the 70's. Two boys run away so they won't have to get brain implants from giant aliens [s]	5	26	Jun 05, 2014 01:29PM
Class of 2014: The White Mountains	8	17	Jan 20, 2014 05:40PM
wrong author??!!	4	70	Jul 27, 2011 09:26AM
Sci-fi and Heroic...: The White Mountains chapters 1-5	47	48	May 18, 2011 07:42PM
Sci-fi and Heroic...: The White Mountains chapters 6-10	58	15	Apr 20, 2011 07:11PM

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About John Christopher

John Christopher

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Sam Youd was born in Huyton, Lancashire in April 1922, during an unseasonable snowstorm.

As a boy, he was devoted to the newly emergent genre of science-fiction: ‘In the early thirties,’ he later wrote, ‘we knew just enough about the solar system for its possibilities to be a magnet to the imagination.’

Over the following decades, his imagination flowed from science-fiction into general novels, ...more