When the Tripods Came [Paperback]

Experience the beginning of the Tripods’ reign in this prequel to the classic alien trilogy ideal for fans of Rick Yancey’sThe 5th Waveand Margaret Peterson Haddix’s Shadow Children series.

When it comes to alien invasions, bad things come in threes.

Three landings: one in England, one in Russia, and one in the United States.

Three long legs, crushing everything in their paths, with three metallic arms, snacking out to embrace—and then discard—their helpless victims.

Three evil beings, called Tripods, which will change life on Earth forever.When the Tripods Came

ONE

An explosion of noise woke me. It sounded as if a dozen express trains were about to hit the shed. I rolled over in my blanket, trying to get out of the way, and was aware of a blaze of orange, lighting up boxes and bits of old farm equipment and tackle. An ancient rusting tractor looked briefly like an overgrown insect.

“What was that, Laurie?” Andy asked. I could see him sitting up, between me and the window.

“I don’t know.”

Both light and sound faded and died. A dog started barking—deep-throated, a Labrador maybe. I got up and walked to the window, banging my shin on something in the dark. It was dark outside, too, moon and stars hidden by cloud. A light came on in the farmhouse, which was a couple of hundred meters away, just below the ridge.

I said, “It’s not raining. What was it?”

“Didn’t someone at the camp say something about an artillery range on the moor?”

“Nowhere near here, though.”

“Whatever they were firing could have gone astray.”

Rubbing my shin, I sal8