Review: The Tripods #2: The City of Gold and Lead - John Christopher (Samuel Youd)

A couple of weeks ago I read the first book in British science fiction author John Christopher’s Tripods trilogy, THE WHITE MOUNTAIN. As you probably recall, giant machines inspired by the Martian fighting machines in H.G. Wells’ THE WAR OF THE WORLDS have invaded Earth and subjugated humanity by means of mesh caps they place on people’s head to control them. The world has devolved to a medieval, feudal society ruled by the Tripods. It’s unknown whether the Tripods are intelligent machines or simply vehicles for another race of invaders. Here and there are pockets of uncontrolled humanity who harbor dreams of fighting back against the invaders. One such group is located in the White Mountains (clearly the Alps) and the first book finds our heroes, narrator Will Parker and his cousin Henry (from what used to be England) and their French friend Jean-Paul, a.k.a. Beanpole, escaping to this enclave.

The second book, THE CITY OF GOLD AND LEAD, centers around an espionage mission in which Will, Beanpole, and a new character,  Fritz, infiltrate the Tripods’ stronghold, the title city, which seems to be located somewhere in Germany near the North Sea. Beanpole has to be left outside the domed city, but Will and Fritz make it inside. Once there, they discover the true nature of the invaders and learn of a sinister plan that threatens all of humanity. Then it’s up to one of them to escape and carry this vital intelligence back to the resistance in the White Mountains.

I enjoyed the first book quite a bit, although I had a small issue with the ending, and this one is even better. It does bog down a little in the middle, venturing into travelogue SF as Christopher (whose real name was Samuel Youd) provides an abundance of information about the city and the invaders who inhabit it. At the same time, there are some genuinely creepy scenes that are very effective, and Will is such a thoroughly human protagonist that you can’t help but root for him. There’s one more book in the trilogy, and the story expands to such an epic scope in this one that I’m not sure how Christopher is going to wrap it up in a single volume, but we’ll see. I should be reading the third book soon. (There’s also a prequel volume, but we’ll have to wait and see if I decide to read that one.)

Forgotten Books: It's Like This, Cat - Emily Neville

Earlier this summer, my daughter who teaches third grade was putting together a collection of Newbery Award books for her classroom, and that put me in mind of this novel by Emily Neville from 1964, which won the award that year for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. 1964 or '65 is when I read it, too, and I recalled liking it a great deal. So I decided to reread it and see how it holds up more than fifty years later.

IT'S LIKE THIS, CAT is narrated by Dave Mitchell, a 14-year-old boy who lives in Manhattan with his parents. This is the New York City you often see in sitcoms: a little colorful in certain areas, maybe, but overall clean, charming, and safe. Dave thinks nothing of going all over on his bike or taking subways, buses, and ferries to all the boroughs. In a way, IT'S LIKE THIS, CAT is a bit of travelogue, detailing the places Dave goes, the people he meets there, and the things they do. He adopts Cat, a tomcat who comes to him from an eccentric family friend. He meets a burglar who's not really a burglar. He has a falling out with his best friend. He makes other friends and catches lizards in a park with one of them. He meets a girl and begins a tentative romance with her. It's all very episodic, and Cat, even though he's in the title of the book, seems to disappear for long stretches of it.

Neville writes very well, especially about the city. This particular version of New York may be a fantasy, but she makes it an appealing, gently humorous one. Dave is a likable, realistic protagonist, and his relationship with the girl he meets at Coney Island is handled in a believable fashion. The plot is realistic, too, in that it just sort of meanders along, never really comes to any sort of point, and then stops abruptly, which is just like life, I guess. I have to admit, this may be one of those books where I was better off remembering it fondly rather than revisiting it. However, I think IT'S LIKE THIS, CAT is worth reading if you haven't read it before, because it does a good job of evoking a particular time. It's a nice book. Sometimes that's what you want to read.

Troll Mountain - Matthew Reilly

Matthew Reilly is best known as an author of big, action-packed thrillers, but in TROLL MOUNTAIN he ventures into YA heroic fantasy fiction with interesting results. Raf, the plucky young protagonist of this stand-alone novel, is a member of a tribe of humans that exists in a state of constant fear of the savage, brutal trolls who live on Troll Mountain just to the north of their valley. As if that wasn't bad enough, a mysterious illness strikes Raf's tribe, killing everyone who falls prey to it. The trolls have a cure for the disease, but they demand a high price for it: a lifetime of slavery. When Raf's young sister becomes ill, he decides on a daring plan of action. He's going to Troll Mountain to steal the cure.

This sets up a traditional fantasy novel quest, and Reilly handles it in a traditional manner for the most part. Raf meets an enigmatic older man who becomes a mentor to him, winds up with some other allies, has assorted adventures, and finally penetrates to the depths of Troll Mountain where he'll risk his life trying to get his hands on the cure for his sister's illness.

That disease and its cure are where Reilly throws in some interesting, unexpected angles, and that helps bring the novel to a satisfying conclusion. There's plenty of action along the way, which you'd expect from one of Reilly's novels. I've read only one other book by him, HELL ISLAND, which I thought was okay but maybe a little too action-packed (and regular readers of this blog can imagine how difficult it must be to provoke that reaction from me). TROLL MOUNTAIN is a little more leisurely, but in a good way. Overall I thought it was an entertaining book, and fans of YA heroic fantasy ought to enjoy it. 

Available Soon: Roscoes in the Night

Here's the cover for my e-book ROSCOES IN THE NIGHT, part of the Latchkeys young adult fantasy series, that should be available in the next week or so. Those of you familiar with a certain private eye writer of the past with a highly distinctive style will know immediately where my inspiration for that title came from. If you're going to read this, first you should read the entry just before it, BOOTLEG WAR by Paul Kupperberg and Kris Katzen, since mine is Part 2 of a two-parter. Although in true pulp fashion, it does include a "What Has Gone Before" prologue. In the meantime, you can read a couple of recent blog posts about the series here and here. This series is a lot of fun for readers of all ages, I think. Check it out.