Publisher Description

High adventure and intrigue await in this classic work of science fiction from critically acclaimed Tripods author John Christopher. After the disastrous Breakdown of the twenty-first century, the world has made a change. Now, in the twenty-third century, all cities are ordered and sterile, carefully balanced, protected, and isolated from the uncivilized Outlands. Clive Anderson, the son of a politician, lives a privileged life in one of the cities until he is falsely accused of committing a crime. As punishment he is sent to a training island, where he is supposed to be re-taught how to be an unquestioning member of society, like everyone else in the cities. But Clive and his friends manage to escape the island, making their way into the forbidden and unknown Outlands, where they are captured by the legendary Wild Jack and his troop of savages. At first, Clive is happy to be part of this wild group, but soon he realizes that things are not at all what they seem...

Author Biography

John Christopher was the pseudonym of Samuel Youd, who was born in Lancashire, England, in 1922. He was the author of more than fifty novels and novellas, as well as numerous short stories. His most famous books include The Death of Grass, the Tripods trilogy, The Lotus Caves, and The Guardians.

Excerpt from Book

Wild Jack 1 I WOKE UP TO THE sound of humming, like that of an enormous bee whose wings you might think filled the sky. I did not need to look at my watch to know it was eight o''clock. Today was Wednesday, and that was the Rome airship coming in to land. Yawning, I stretched but did not get up right away. The windows facing my bed took up the full length of the wall, and I could lie and look out over the parks and buildings of London. In the foreground was the garden of our house, extending for more than a hundred yards in patterns of lawn and shrubbery, flower beds, and cunningly designed streams and pools. The gardeners were already at work. Beyond, divided from the garden by a high fence covered with climbing roses, lay St. James''s Park, at this time quiet and empty. In the distance I could just see a corner of the Palace, which was the seat of government for the city. My father was a member of the council, which met there, though at the moment he and my mother were away, on holiday in the Mediterranean. In the opposite direction stood the huge funnel shape of the airport. The humming grew louder as the airship descended toward it, then cut off as it sank beneath the containing walls. I should not have heard it at all, of course, if my windows had not been opened--my room was sound-proofed and air-

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