The White Mountains

Author: John Christopher

Published in 1965, The White Mountains, first in the Tripods trilogy, is widely acknowledged to be a fundamental read for any sci-fi fan. It's been reprinted several times over, and even, at one point, was adapted into a television series that attracted young viewers to the books. Thirteen year old, Will lives in a world where alien machines known as Tripods rule and every adult on the planet wears a metal cap on their head to preserve the peaceful utopia that has been created. Will is both excited for and afraid of his impending "Capping Day" as there is some potential for the procedure to go wrong, leaving him a babbling, crazy Vagrant. After he encounters such a Vagrant, Will begins to question the capping process and wonder if he is better off escaping to the fabled White Mountains where it is said that uncapped adults still live. Dyed in the wool sci-fi fans will recognize a lot of tropes that have become staples of the genre in The White Mountains, which makes this book, and the entire trilogy, a perfect introduction for young readers. Add to that the fact that at just 195 pages, this slim volume delivers a fully realized setting, an action-packed story, and raises some very interesting questions about the nature of authority, and you've got a sci-fi novel that will stand the test of time.