Sam Youd AKA John Christopher (16 April 1922 – 3 February 2012)

I have only just heard of the death of author, Sam Youd, known to most as John Christopher. He passed away on February 3rd.

When I was a brand new teenager John Christopher’s books were the hot ticket in the school library. His mix of future dystopia, science fiction and boys own adventure made his books required reading. He’s best known for his Tripods Trilogy, which was made into an ambitious but incomplete BBC sci-fi series. But he produced a great number of books on a wide range of subjects, including the Lotus Caves, about two young boys mischievous adventures on the moon, and the Prince in Waiting Trilogy (also know as The Sword of the Spirits Trilogy), a brilliant mix of post-apocalyptic sci-fi and Arthurian Medieval sword play. This trilogy is less well known, but is as least as good as his Tripod books. And those covers! Yes, they’re very 70’s, but they’re so evocative! They just begged to be read.