The final volume of the Tripods trilogy tells how our protagonist Will plays a vital part in the final overthrow of the Masters who have ruled the earth for generations. This time the action plays out across the four years before the Masters enact their final plan to transform the earth's atmosphere and in doing so kill all existing life. Again Will's impetuosity both guides and hinders him. The book ends on an ambiguous note as mankind, freed from the need to unite against a common enemy begins to resurrect old squabbles and Will and his companions must choose whether to pursue their own interests or fight for a better world. ( )

Things were a little too stripped down and simplified in this one to be a fully satisfying ending.

Still fun. ( )

El Estanque de Fuego es la tercera y última parte de la llamada Trilogía de los Trípodes, comenzada en Las Montañas Blancas y continuada en la Ciudad de Oro y Plomo. En esta novela, Will Parker es escogido en primer lugar como señuelo para detener un Trípode y capturar a uno de los Amos; después, como miembro de una de las tres expediciones destinadas a destruir, desde su interior, las Ciudades de los Amos. Finalmente, en el desesperado y crucial ataque a la última Ciudad, cuando el futuro del mundo pende de un hilo, Will jugará un papel vital.

review of
John Christopher's The Pool of Fire
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - October 15-16, 2020

This is the last bk in the Tripods Trilogy (except for a prequel that was published as a sequel 20 yrs later) that I've already reviewed the 1st 2 bks of: The White Mountains: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3574662360 ; The City of Gold and Lead: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3593717312 . This review cd be called "Review Lite" b/c I have almost nothing to say about the bk — not because I didn't enjoy it, I did enjoy it, but, perhaps, b/c it was a 'classic' reading experience for me where I just breezed thru the story & then it was done.

""You talk of the Council coming to us with its plans. You talk of parts to play, of men being told what they must do. I would remind you, Julius: it is not Capped men you are talking to, but free. You should rather come to us asking than ordering. It is not only you and your Councilors who can plan how to defeat the Tripods. There are others who are not lacking in wisdom. All free men are equal, and must be given the rights of equality. Common sense as well as justice demands this."" - pp 7-8

An anarchist in the midst of those rebellious humans! Good for him, I say. Unfortunately, the council holds sway. It wd've been interesting to read about the rebellion happening without top-down leadership.

In the previous bk, Will had escaped from the City of Gold and Lead & was now back at the place where the rebels were living & organizing. His return leads to his being asked to give an explanation of conditions. The speaker introducing him isn't exactly flattering.

""And yet Will, an ordinary boy, no brighter than most, a trifle on the small side—Will has struck at one of these monsters and seen it collapse and die. He was lucky, of course.["]" - p 12

The suppression of human knowledge to make the invader's control easier becomes further apparent.

"["]The land we are going to is called America, and the people there speak the English tongue.["] - p 18

It's discovered that the invaders, the 'Masters', can't hold their booze.

"Then, passing a pyramid, we saw one of them come out, Mario gripped my arm, unthinkingly, and I winced. But the pain did not matter. The Master teetered on his three stubby legs, his tentacles moved uncertainly. A moment later, he crashed and lay still." - p 128

Sheesh, even with 3 legs the ET cdn't stand up — they'll never compete w/ humans. Why, I've seen a guy be drunk all day long & STILL drive. We'll just send him to fight. Then again, humans are such self-sabotagers.

""Ah, so you are better, no? You 'ave recover the good appetite, and prepare to break the fast?"

"I smiled. "I think I could manage something."

""Good, good! So we 'ave the special break-the-fast for you. I 'ave cook 'im ready."

"He passed me a plate, and I took it. It contained slices of bacon. They were thick, the meat was fat, apart from a couple of narrow bars of pink, and they looked as though they had not been fried but boiled in grease, which still adhered to them. I stared at it, while the cook watched me. Then the ship heaved one way, and my stomach heaved another, and I hurriedly put the plate down and staggered for the fresh air of the deck. As I went, I heard the cook's merry laughter echoing along the companion-way behind me."

[..]

"(The greasy fat bacon, I learned, was an old ship's cook trick; and this one was particularly fond of practical jokes.)" - pp 183-184

I must have a special edition of this bk b/c it actually vomited on me when I turned the page.

The good guys win (ok, ok, the humans win but since I'm more or less human that's who I was rooting for) & the world will probably get TV back again so that Mind Control can get right back on track. Some people never learn.

"(In a year or two, we had been promised, there would be something called television, by which men could see, in their own homes, things happening half a world away. It was the device which the Masters had used, as a preliminary stage in their conquest, to hypnotise man and so control their minds—and our scientists were making sure that could not happen again before they brought it back.)" - p 208

Oh, really?

I thoroughly enjoyed this (ok, I missed a spot or 2) but I won't claim that it had the richness that Tolkein's The Lord of the Rings does or that Peake's Gormenghast Trilogy does. SO, if you're one of those people who might only read one trilogy in your lifetime I'd recommend those 2 before I'd recommend this one. Still, if you're an actual reader instead of a pretend one then go for it. ( )

The book in which we learn that not only is this trilogy sexist AF, but also racist AF, when our hero literally calls Asian folks "little yellow men." (Number of women, alive or dead, in this third part of the trilogy: 0.)

This book is like 50 years old, so I'm assuming you've already read this book by now, but sure, I'll use spoiler tags anyway. I remember being very shaken up when I first read this book when Henry died. But I was probably 13 then, and I'm much older now. Henry has almost no character development outside of the first book, and I didn't feel like there was any emotional connection with him in this book at all. ( )