The City of Gold and Lead (The Tripods, Book Two) by John Christopher (1967)
The second Tripods novel finds Will Parker and his comrades attempting to infiltrate the titular city of the Masters, the mysterious controllers of the giant tripods roaming the Earth. The novel is roughly divided into two parts. The first chronicles Will’s perilous journey to the athletic competition used to determine who will be strong enough to serve in the city, while the second details life within the City of Gold and Lead. Much like the first novel, it’s an enjoyable enough read, filled with the sort of derring do and hard-won lessons that you’d hope for in a children’s adventure novel. That said, John Christopher is unafraid to twist the knife, thus ensuring you never forget the stakes. One moment near the end of The City of Gold and Lead is particularly heartbreaking even though, in hindsight, it was entirely inevitable.
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