The White Mountains

Tripods Series, Book 1

By: John Christopher

Narrated by: William Gaminara

Length: 4 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

In the first book of John Christopher's classic series, it is the year 2100, and the world is controlled by the machines called Tripods. Life goes on largely as it had in the pre-industrial era, as all of humanity is subject to mental controls that prevent anyone from challenging the established order.

Will, a 13-year-old living in the small English village of Wherton, is looking forward to the transition to adulthood, which will take place on the next "Capping Day" - until a chance meeting with a mysterious Vagrant named Ozymandias sends him on a quest to discover a world beyond the Tripods' control.

©1967 Samuel Youd (P)2011 Audible Ltd

Dated preteen almost-science-fiction....

This review will cover the prequel (When the Tripods Came) and the trilogy (The White Mountains, The City of Gold, and The Pool of Fire.) These are all more than slightly dated, quite British, and definitely pre-teen fare. A very young male audience may enjoy this series. I found the story modestly interesting but more than a bit derivative and conventional.

The prequel can be read before the trilogy, but it does not add much that is not described in the trilogy. The characters in the prequel are less developed, the action less compelling, and the story more predictable than the trilogy. The trilogy has decent British boy character development, and an interesting story with some (not very intense) action and a few interesting twists. Perhaps being written in the 60???s is some excuse for weak science (but there is a lot of great pre-60???s science fiction.)

Love the book

Would you listen to The White Mountains again? Why?

No, as it is a children's book, one reading is fine, but I will listen to the whole series.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The White Mountains?

The description of the countryside and tripods are simple yet very effective.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. I spread it over commutes, but if you wanted to you could spend the better part of a day and listen to the whole series. This first book is only just over 4 hours.

Any additional comments?

The book finishes off and you feel like it should of went on. So get the whole series and get on with the story. Loved this book, love the idea of tripods since that record came out in the late 70s, even loved the Tom Cruise movie 'War of the Worlds'. So do yourself a favour and get with the program. Listen to this book and enjoy an easy story.

Preeteen trilogy

As with City of Gold and Lead and Pool of Fire, John Christopher explains in the intro, how and why this series came about. He accomplished his goal, I think, in making a book that preteens would like and actually turned it into a trilogy that was entertaining and introduced adult themes such as freedom, politics, and others to young people so they can understand and form their own opinions.

Not an adults scifi

Simplistic plot, great for a kid. Lot of gaps. Reader was unengaging and honestly very easy to tune out (not a good thing).

Top shelf book

This series of books have been a favourite since childhood and the audible version does great justice to what is a great read.

great story, good narration, but, skip the intro!

Where does The White Mountains rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

very good

What was one of the most memorable moments of The White Mountains?

haven't finished listening

Which scene was your favorite?

haven't finished listening

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

not necessarily..enjoying it in "chunks"

Any additional comments?

Why the reader has to include the author's comments about writing it, getting it published, blah blah blah...not particularly interesting. A whole 10 minutes wasted on that.
When you read a print book, you have the option of skipping that, so, kind of annoying to be forced to listen to it.

awsome

as good as i remembered from my youth. herd it first from takking books for the blind. looking foreward to the next volume.

still amazing!

read this book when I was in middle school, about 10yrs ago. it still holds up even as an adult. the narrator does a great job. I'm just spoiled from podcasts with music and sound effects. everything should be done with that kind of quality.

A classic from the 80s

Any child from the 80s will surely no they canceled BBC show “The Tripods”. This is the normalization of that show.

Listening to the audiobook brought back so many memories. I wish the show was not canceled and they continued into season two. Thank God we’ve still got the books.

Strongly recommended for any child of the 80s.

Deeply satisfying adventure.

The first time I came across this book I was a young child of 12-13 years. Even at that age I found enjoyment in hiding away in this incredible adventure. Now coming across it again as a mature Woman of 39, I find myself once again being completely in tranced by it. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to escape for a little while. Enjoy!

A whole new world.

The audio books and my kindle have opened up a whole new world to me. Having had reading difficulties throughout my early life I am now able to enter a whole realm of adventure. I have devoured the Tripods series starting with The White Mountains and could not wait to follow Will's challenges and struggles to evade capture; to escape; his life as a slave to discover the Tripods life style. I never ever considered I would become a bookworm but I'm well and truly hooked and can't wait to listen to the next chapters. If you like adventure, science fiction and suspense, the whole series is a must and i'm so glad I purchased them.

Nostalgic bias

Having watched the tv series as a child, and read the books as a teenager, it was great to listen to the original version again. The narrator struggles a little with the French accents, "Good moaning". This story was screaming out for four cast members to bring the dialogue to life, but it's still a great story, even if I do have a nostalgic bias.

An interesting story, but left too open ended.

The story is quite interesting, and not too over long. The main problem is that the Tripods themselves, aren’t that scary. It ended too soon, and needed some sort of resolution.

Although the narrator was skilled, his voice was too old, as he was telling the story from the perspective of a 13 year old. At first I thought he was playing an older adult remembering his younger days, but it’s made clear at the end that the character is still in his mid teens at the time of telling. A younger reader, would have been more appropriate.

Brilliant

This is the first book in the ?Tripods? trilogy. The tripods (for those who don?t remember the BBC series) are large, three-legged creatures who have invaded earth and enslaved mankind. White Mountains is the story of a young boy called Will and various other humans who make a dangerous journey across the ?white mountains?, in order to make a stand against the tripods. It?s a great yarn, which I think younger Sci-Fi fans would probably also enjoy.

Saw the TV programme as a kid in 80's

Would you listen to The White Mountains again? Why?

I would listen to this book again, fantastic story, timeless sci-fiction oddly comforting given the nature of the story.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Will stands out at first, but I think overall Beanpole as I personally identify with the character.

What does William Gaminara bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Beautifully told by William Gaminara, characterisation was spot on, and let the story paint it own picture wonderfully easily in your imagination.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

We all need our freedom

Love this book.

First read this 38 years ago. Was fascinated with it then and still love it now. Great story and well read. I’m off to order book 2

interesting

the narration is not to my liking. as this is for younger readers, I can understand that the story is tailored to that market.

Brilliant 👏

First read this book back in the 70s. Was a great read then and a great listen now. Love the opening chapters bringing this world to light and the following escape journey to the White Mountains. Don't forget to listen to the 2 follow on stories which bring even more understanding of the alien invasion and the battle for the control of planet Earth.

Very good

I enjoyed listening to this audio book. The narrative flows quite quickly and the story progresses without any superfluous information.

The White Mountains

I haven't read this book for a long time but it's as good as I remember.