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A review by becca_osborn
The City of Gold and Lead by John Christopher
4.0
Having arrived and lived in the White Mountains for some time, Will and his friends are given a new quest - they are training for some games in Germany in order to break into the Tripod's city to bring back new information. There's only one catch - no one who has gone has ever come back.
Armed with fake caps and a lot of athletic prowess, two of our three heroes are selected to go to the games. We meet Franz, who we don't like at first (oh, but we love him later), and go on another haphazard journey to not only get to the games, but to arrive at the city of the Tripods. What is held inside the city is a much more gruesome life than could be imagined, and before we know it, Will and Franz know that their time in the city is a ticking time bomb to their potential death. Will they survive the work? Will they be able to get information? And most importantly - will they be able to get back out?
Again - Christopher's strong point is the suspense and the journey. This book started out slow, but once they got to the city, it got interesting. Some of his descriptions could've used some more editing - this was a very innovative world, but it was harder to picture with his sloppy descriptions.
That being said, I eventually got to a point where instead of feeling like I was slogging through, I was flying through pages - and this probably changed once Will and Franz got into the city. Franz's unlikely sacrifice touches our hearts more than we realize - even though he is a rather flat character, and we know very little about him - we love him.
This book brings up a lot about loyalty and controlling impulsivity (and letting it loose in the right context). Very interesting.
Christopher ends on another great cliffhanger.
Again, I'd recommend this series as a companion to any dystopian series.
Armed with fake caps and a lot of athletic prowess, two of our three heroes are selected to go to the games. We meet Franz, who we don't like at first (oh, but we love him later), and go on another haphazard journey to not only get to the games, but to arrive at the city of the Tripods. What is held inside the city is a much more gruesome life than could be imagined, and before we know it, Will and Franz know that their time in the city is a ticking time bomb to their potential death. Will they survive the work? Will they be able to get information? And most importantly - will they be able to get back out?
Again - Christopher's strong point is the suspense and the journey. This book started out slow, but once they got to the city, it got interesting. Some of his descriptions could've used some more editing - this was a very innovative world, but it was harder to picture with his sloppy descriptions.
That being said, I eventually got to a point where instead of feeling like I was slogging through, I was flying through pages - and this probably changed once Will and Franz got into the city. Franz's unlikely sacrifice touches our hearts more than we realize - even though he is a rather flat character, and we know very little about him - we love him.
This book brings up a lot about loyalty and controlling impulsivity (and letting it loose in the right context). Very interesting.
Christopher ends on another great cliffhanger.
Again, I'd recommend this series as a companion to any dystopian series.