Book 1

Tripods: The White Mountains

The original Hunger Games. 
John Christopher's terrifying classic sci-fi series is back with a brand new look

John Christopher is one of the great SF writers, along with John Wyndham, that the UK has produced for young adults.

John Christopher was the pen-name of Sam Youd, a celebrated and influential writer of science fiction. Youd was born in Huyton, Lancashire in 1922, and began his career as an author after serving in World War II. 
 
Many of Youd's novels for adults and children are considered classics, including The Death of Grass, The Guardians, and the four books in his Tripods series, which were adapted successfully for television in the 1980s. 
 
Sam Youd died in 2012, aged 89.

Nobody knows how long it has been since the Tripods came. Nobody remembers life on Earth before they enslaved it. Humans live in scattered farms and villages, kept quiet and obedient by the mind-controlling Caps implanted when they reach their teens. 
 
Will Parker's time is fast approaching - but a chance encounter with a madman convinces him that it may still be possible to resist the alien masters. So begins an epic tale of survival and defiance - and Will's journey to the White Mountains. 
 
John Christopher's classic dystopian series is available for the first time in ebook format.

Book 2

Tripods: The City of Gold and Lead

The second classic dystopian adventure story in the Tripods series, as Will Parker infiltrates the city of the alien invaders.

Will Parker and his friends have escaped the mind-controlling alien Tripods, and found sanctuary in the White Mountains - but when an opportunity arises for them to infiltrate a Tripod city, they realise they have a chance to strike back against the invaders. What they learn there may hold the key to liberating humanity - if they can survive the beauty and terror of the City of Gold and Lead. 
 
The second book in John Christopher's classic dystopian series is available for the first time as an ebook.

Book 3

Tripods: The Pool of Fire

The epic conclusion to the Tripods series, as humanity goes to war against the alien invaders.

The final battle for the Earth has begun, as the human resistance strikes back against their alien Tripod masters. Will Parker and his friends prepare to lead daring commando raids against the cities of the invaders, with nothing less than the fate of the world at stake. 
 
The thrilling conclusion to John Christopher's classic dystopian series is available for the first time as an ebook.

Book 4

Tripods: When the Tripods Came

The prequel to John Christopher's classic Tripods trilogy reveals how the alien invaders arrived on Earth.

When the alien Tripod machines land on Earth, they don't seem much of a threat. The first skirmishes end in victory for the human forces. But the real danger - the insidious mind-controlling powers of the Tripod Masters - is only just beginning. Laurie and his family must flee their homes as the invaders tighten their tentacled grip - and find a place to start the fight back... 
 
The thrilling and eerie prequel John Christopher's classic dystopian Tripods series is available for the first time in ebook format.

The Death of Grass

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A thought experiment in future-shock survivalism' Robert MacFarlane 
 
'Gripping ... of all science fiction's apocalypses, this is one of the most haunting' Financial Times 
 
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY ROBERT MACFARLANE 
 
A post-apocalyptic vision of the world pushed to the brink by famine, John Christopher's science fiction masterpiece The Death of Grass includes an introduction by Robert MacFarlane in Penguin Modern Classics. 
 
At first the virus wiping out grass and crops is of little concern to John Custance. It has decimated Asia, causing mass starvation and riots, but Europe is safe and a counter-virus is expected any day. Except, it turns out, the governments have been lying to their people. When the deadly disease hits Britain, society starts to descend into barbarism. As John and his family try to make it across country to the safety of his brother's farm in a hidden valley, their humanity is tested to its very limits. A chilling psychological thriller and one of the greatest post-apocalyptic novels ever written, The Death of Grass shows people struggling to hold on to their identities as the familiar world disintegrates - and the terrible price they must pay for surviving. 
 
John Christopher (1922-2012) was the pen name of Samuel Youd, a prolific writer of science fiction. His novels were popular during the 1950s and 1960s, most notably The Death Of Grass (1956), The World in Winter (1962), and Wrinkle in the Skin (1965), all works depicting ordinary people struggling in the midst of apocalyptic catastrophes. In 1966 he started writing science-fiction for adolescents; The Tripods trilogy, the Prince in Waiting trilogy (also known as the Sword of the Spirits trilogy) and The Lotus Caves are still widely read today. 
 
Ifyou enjoyed The Death of Grass, you might like John Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.

The Death of Grass sticks with commendable perseverance to the surface of the earth we know... John Christopher has constructed an unusually dramatic and exciting tale

I know and admire The Death of Grass. It was published at roughly the same time as The Day Of The Triffids. In my judgement, it is by far the better book. The characterisation is better and the mood uniformly cold. It is a thrilling and sensible work

Gripping ... of all science fiction's apocalypses, this is one of the most haunting

John Christopher (Author) Christopher Samuel Youd was a British writer best known for his science fiction published under the pseudonym John Christopher. His many novels include The Death of Grass and The Possessors. He won the Guardian Prize in 1971 and the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis in 1976, Youd also wrote under several other names including Stanley Winchester, Hilary Ford and Samuel Youd. Robert Macfarlane (Introducer) Robert Macfarlane was born in Nottinghamshire in 1976. He is the author of Mountains of the Mind, The Wild Places, The Old Ways and Landmarks. Mountains of the Mind won the Guardian First Book Award and the Somerset Maugham Award and The Wild Places won the Boardman-Tasker Award. Both books have been adapted for television by the BBC. He is a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and writes on environmentalism, literature and travel for publications including the Guardian, the Sunday Times and The New York Times. He is currently working on an illustrated children's book about the natural world in collaboration with illustrator Jackie Morris.

At first the virus wiping out grass and crops is of little concern to John Custance. It has decimated Asia, causing mass starvation and riots, but Europe is safe and a counter-virus is expected any day. Except, it turns out, the governments have been lying to their people. When the deadly disease hits Britain they are left alone, and society starts to descend into barbarism. As John and his family try to make it across country to the safety of his brother's farm in a hidden valley, their humanity is tested to its very limits.

John Christopher

Matt Jones

Nobody knows how long it has been since the Tripods came. Nobody remembers life on Earth before they enslaved it. Humans live in scattered farms and villages, kept quiet and obedient by the mind-controlling Caps implanted when they reach their teens. 
 
Will Parker's time is fast approaching - but a chance encounter with a madman convinces him that it may still be possible to resist the alien masters. So begins a terrifying story of survival and defiance - and Will's journey to the White Mountains.

John Christopher

Books by John Christopher

Series by John Christopher

TRIPODS

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