The White Mountains

The White Mountains is a young adult science fiction book with dystopian themes by John Christopher. John Christopher is Sam Youd’s penname. The book was published in 1967, and it’s the first book in the Tripods trilogy. In the story, a teenage boy rails against an oppressive regime of robots before they take over his mind and body forever. The book won the 1977 George C, Stone Center for Children’s Books Recognition of Merit Award, and it is widely critically acclaimed. Youd wrote everything from gothic romances to detective thrillers, but he was most passionate about science fiction.

The White Mountains takes place on an alternative Earth. Giant three-legged robots called Tripods dominate the planet. These Tripods enslave human minds and ensure that no one questions their power. They make humans do all their labor, and they punish any rebellion severely.

Although no adults question the Tripods, children still have freewill. The reason for this is because Tripods don’t turn humans into slaves until they reach adulthood. They assume that children aren’t a threat to their power. Parents brainwash their children into accepting them. The protagonist, however, is an exception.

The main character is a 13-year-old boy called William. He lives in England. He recently watched his older cousin, Jack, undergo his capping Ceremony. This is the ceremony marking the transition from childhood into adulthood. William doesn’t want to get capped. He doesn’t like the idea of anyone taking his freedom away. Unfortunately, boys are capped when they turn 14, and so William doesn’t have long to find a way out of the ceremony if he wants to retain his freewill.

One day, William encounters a man called Ozymandias. Everyone warns William to stay away from Ozymandias because he’s a Vagrant. In this world, Vagrants are people who turn insane after their capping. The Tripods can’t control them, but they can’t think properly anymore, either. Although William knows all about Vagrants, he thinks that Ozymandias is hiding something.

It turns out that William is right. Ozymandias isn’t mad. The capping simply didn’t take. He pretends to be mad so that no one knows the truth—he’s still a free man. William wants to know how he retained his freewill, but Ozymandias doesn’t understand the miracle himself. All Ozymandias knows is that there’s a whole village of people in Switzerland just like him. If he wants to stay independent, William must reach Switzerland.

William convinces his cousin, Henry, to join him on a journey across Europe. They seize false caps and pretend to be faithful servants so that they can pass through security checks. The disguise works, but William knows that their luck won’t hold up forever. When he makes a crucial mistake one day, an adult sees through his disguise and plans on handing him over to authorities. A boy called Jean-Paul saves him and smuggles him to safety instead.

Jean-Paul introduces William to a whole new world. He shows him what different cities, such as Paris, looked like before the Tripods took over. William can’t believe what everyone’s missing out on. He knows that they must stop the Tripods before there’s no hope left for humans.

Together with Jean-Paul and Henry, William explores France and meets many new people. However, before they can leave for Switzerland, William takes ill and he can’t get out of bed. They all take shelter with a capped family because they can’t go anywhere with William so unwell.

The family is a noble clan based in Paris. William has a crush on the youngest daughter, Eloise. She seems funny, smart, and independent, but the truth is that she’s capped and thinks that uncapped people should be punished. All she wants in life is to impress the Masters, or the ruling Tripod class. William knows it’s too late to save her from the mind control, and he regretfully leaves her behind.

On the road, William can’t shake off thoughts of Eloise. He bitterly resents the Tripods and he wishes he could destroy them himself, but he knows that he isn’t strong enough on his own. Henry promises that, someday, the Tripods will be ancient history. First, they must get to safety and find allies.

The trio almost reach the secret camp in Switzerland when Tripods spot them. The Tripods don’t kill them but instead fit a unique tracker into William’s arm. He doesn’t understand what this tracker means, but it doesn’t matter because Henry pulls it out. The Tripods sense the violation and they come after the boys.

In this final showdown, William launches hand grenades at the Tripods. He kills one of them, but this only attracts more Tripods. The boys take cover and escape into a safe zone, but the Tripods are on high alert now. They won’t stop until they find the boys. William and the boys find the sanctuary in Switzerland, but William feels guilty because he’s bringing trouble to their door. The consequences are explored in book two.