History Literature / TheTripods

* Technobabble: While working as a spy in ''The City of Gold and Lead'', Will tries to encourage his Master to talk about his work, but unfortunately there aren't any human words for the technical terms the Master is using.

* WhamLine: In ''When the Tripods Came'', the growing cult of humans who have been hypnotized into worshipping the Tripods (the "Trippies") is progressively getting worse, and they've started using the (early, removable) Brain Cap which allows them to be controlled all the time. The main character looks at three military jets flying through the sky, and spends a long moment calming himself by pointing out that the authorities still have the might of our entire military and civil infrastructure against what are basically hypnotized rioters...then two of the military jets shoot down the other one. Although he never knew which side each plane was on, this is the terrifying moment when the protagonist realizes that the Capped humans have taken over at least part of our frontline military units, and we are truly no longer in control.
** In ''The City of Gold and Lead'' when Will discovers that the Masters will start their terraforming project ''in just a few years'', as opposed to the ''generations'' the resistance assume would be needed to overthrow the Masters.

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: When the slaves in the Cities can no longer work, they go to the Place of Happy Release.

* GoOutWithASmile: A very chilling example in the prequel.

* ANaziByAnyOtherName: The Black Guards.

* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Coggie resents its immortality, so much so it's [[AIIsACrapshoot willing to turn a blind eye]] to Will being a member of LaResistance.

* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Coggie resents its immortality, so much so it's willing to turn a blind eye to Will being a member of LaResistance.

* YouFailLinguisticsForever: In early editions of ''When the Tripods Came'', the phrase "Hail the Tripod!" is translated as "''Heilen dem Dreibeiner!'', which, not conjugated, simply means "To heal the Tripod". Averted in subsequent editions. A bit curious, since "Heil" is a rather famous German word.

* HowToInvadeAnAlienPlanet: Cleverer than some. They are able to avoid, or work around the hazards of some of the obvious mistakes, but they have a critical weakness to alcohol, fail to realize that Caps can be faked until too late, and keep humans around as slaves (rather than killing everyone immediately) long enough for them to develop a resistance. At least they KnowWhenToFoldEm, and destroy their cities in the process, preventing humans from reverse-engineering their technology or deciphering starmaps.

* AchillesHeel: The Masters' sensitive spot between the respiratory and ingestive orifices. Also, they cannot detect [[spoiler:alcohol]], which is poisonous to them.

** The aliens ''think'' of themselves this way. They consider turning the humans into uncreative, unambitious cattle to have been helping them by stopping wars, and they think taking humans as slaves (who they beat, abuse, and shorten the lifespans to a few years) and decorations (killing them and preserving the bodies for display) to be an honor... for the ''humans''.

** During his enslavement, Will learns that using human slaves is a thorny political issue among the Masters and and that some of them disapprove of the practice. However, this is not because of a moral objection to slavery or any concern for the dignity of the enslaved (the Masters have neither). Instead it's merely an economic concern about over-dependence on cheap alien labor.

* DeusExNukina : In ''The City of Gold and Lead'' we are told that a submarine launched an ICBM at one of the Masters' Cities long ago.

* DoomAsTestPrize: The girls who win a beauty prize are taken to the Masters' City where they are killed and preserved under glass like butterflies.

* {{EMP}}: Implied to be used against the resistance aeroplanes attacking the Masters' city in Panama

** Will is exploring other VichyEarth states besides England. When he arrives in one he comments that English hang murderers because they can't think of what else to do and nobody likes it much. In one German state they have them [[BloodSport hunted]] by Tripods. In other words, English capped may be LesCollaborateurs but they are not sadistic.
** When the Masters in the newly-arrived terraforming ship realize the humans have won, they destroy their former cities and depart. This is likely due to their BlueAndOrangeMorality -- revenge is not as important to them.

* GuiltFreeExterminationWar: No one particularly worries about whether or not the Masters in the city are civilians. The Masters meanwhile wish to KillAllHumans.

* HowToInvadeAnAlienPlanet: Cleverer than some. They are able to avoid, or work around the hazards of some of the obvious mistakes, but they have a critical weakness to alcohol, fail to realize that Caps can be faked until too late, and keep humans around as slaves (rather than killing everyone immediately) long enough for them to develop a resistance. At least they KnowWhenToFoldEm, and destroy their Cities in the process, preventing humans from reverse-engineering their technology or deciphering starmaps.
* HumansAreWarriors : Subverted. The AlienInvasion comes off almost without a hitch. However it is explained that the planners of the invasion had feared that human military technology might make them difficult prey if the invaders were not unusually subtle about it.

* ObliviouslyEvil: Even Will's "good" Master sees nothing wrong with [[spoiler: preserving human girls as stuffed specimens.]]

* SubStory : Alluded to. Some of the last bits of the formal human military forces to be subdued were submarines. These had to be sunk rather then having their crew capped and one almost managed to destroy a tripod city.

* {{The Master}}s

* TrackingDevice: The Tripods implant one in Will's skin, then hypnotise him to forget about it. Fortunately the others discover it in time, but it's removal causes the tripod to come down upon them.

* WeWillHaveEuthanasiaInTheFuture: At least, in the Masters' Cities.

* FrickinLaserBeams: Not in the novels, but in the TV series after the boys destroy the tripod with a grenade, red-painted military tripods are sent out to find them, and shoot up the countryside in an effort to flush them out. This happens again at the end of Season 2, after our heroes and the circus children flee into the woods to escape capping. Which leads to a FridgeLogic moment; if Season 3 had been made, [[spoiler: what was to stop the Tripods from simply shooting down the balloons?]]

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: In ''The Pool of Fire'', the resistance uses newly-recreated scuba gear to get inside the city, and they are described by Will as "bottles with the part of air that humans actually use isolated inside them". Scuba tanks ''never'' use pure oxygen, as it is harmful to humans under pressure. Scuba tanks use compressed air (78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% Argon and other trace gases), never pure oxygen.

* BlackAndGrayMorality: The Tripods are pretty bad, but the heroes can be downright Machiavellian at times.

** During his enslavement, Will learns that using human slaves is a thorny political issue among the Tripods and and that some of his master's friends disapprove. However, this is not because of a moral objection to slavery or any concern for the dignity of the enslaved (they have neither). Instead it's merely an economic concern about over-dependence on cheap alien labor.

* DeusExNukina : In ''The City of Gold and Lead'' we are told that a submarine launched an ICBM at a tripod city long ago.

* DomedHometown: The Masters' Cities.
* DoomAsTestPrize: The girls who win a beauty prize are taken to the Master's city where they are killed and preserved under glass like butterflies.

** Will is exploring other VichyEarth states besides England. When he arrives in one he comments that English hang murderers because they can't think of what else to do and nobody likes it much. In one German state they have them [[BloodSport hunted]] by tripods. In other words English capped may be LesCollaborateurs but they are not sadistic.

* FantasticRacism: The Masters think of humans as livestock or at best, as pets. Uncapped humans are, not surprisingly, not exceedingly fond of the masters.

* YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe: The manner of speech affected by Ozymandias, as part of his disguise. Justified in that he ''is'' pretending to be brain damaged.

* LookOnMyWorksYeMightyAndDespair: Will comes across the wreck of a giant ship on the beach. Lampshaded by Oxymandius use of Shelley's poem as a MadnessMantra.

* AchillesHeel: The Masters' sensitive spot between the respiratory and ingestive orifices. Also, they cannot detect [[spoiler: alcohol]], which is poisonous to them.

* SheIsTheKing: Straddles the line between Types 2 and 3. In ''When the Tripods Came'', during the stopover in Guernsey, the narrator comments that the islanders hail the Queen as the ''Duke'' of Normandy, which, according to TheOtherWiki, is her correct style despite her gender.

** During his enslavement, Will learns that using human slaves is a thorny political issue among the Tripods and and that some of his master's friends disapprove. However, this is not because of a moral objection to slavery or any concern for the dignity of the enslaved (they have neither). Instead it's merely an economic concern about over-dependence on cheap alien labor. EvilIsPetty.

* GiantFootOfStomping: Fortunately our heroes are in a cleft of rocks that protects them from being squashed. In the first episode of Season Two however, a freeman gets killed this way when he runs near the Tripod to divert its attention from his friends.

* [[spoiler: ActionBomb: Henry.]]

* LaResistance: The White Mountains group, along with some others.

* LesCollaborateurs: The Capped, not that they really have a choice.

* [[spoiler: NotSoOmniscientCouncilOfBickering: The Conference of Man in the end, foreshadowed by Pierre in the beginning of ''The Pool of Fire''.]]

* [[spoiler: ReleasedToElsewhere: Eloise's ultimate fate.]]

* [[spoiler: StuffedInTheFridge: Eloise.]]

* [[spoiler: SuicideAttack: How Henry manages to destroy the final City.]]

* [[spoiler: WonTheWarLostThePeace: The end result of the liberation of Earth; humanity rearms and returns to his divisive ways. The book ends with the protagonists teaming up again to work for peace.]]

* PeopleJars: In the second novel, Will wonders why no women are seen in the Tripod city. [[spoiler: Then his Master takes him to a place were human females are kept preserved like butterflies.]]

* EvenEvilHasStandards : Will is exploring other VichyEarth states besides England. When he arrives in one he comments that English hang murderers because they can't think of what else to do and nobody likes it much. In one German state they have them [[BloodSport hunted]] by tripods. In other words English capped may be LesCollaborateurs but they are not sadistic.
** The Masters in the newly-arrived terraforming ship destroy their former cities when they realize the humans have won and depart. This is likely due to their BlueAndOrangeMorality -- revenge is not as important to them.

* SwissWithArmyKnives: Had a LastStand in ''When the Tripods Came''.

* CliffHanger: Season One -- the boys are told they'll be sent as spies into the Master's city. Season Two -- Will and Beanpole return from their successful mission to find the Freeman base has been destroyed by the Tripods.

* FalseFlagOperation: The boys reach the White Mountains, escaping a Tripod hunter-killer team, only to be captured by Black Guards. They're [[PerpSweating held without food for days and interrogated]] on their journey before they eventually crack and admit why they've come. Turns out it's just a test by the Resistance to stop {{Fake Defector}}s sent to infiltrate them.

* FrickinLaserBeams: Not in the novels, but in the TV series after the boys destroy the tripod with a grenade, red-painted military tripods are sent out to find them, and shoot up the countryside in an effort to flush them out. This happens again at the end of Season 2, after our heroes and the circus children flee into the woods to escape capping. Which leads to a FridgeLogic moment; if Season 3 had been made, what was to stop the Tripods from simply shooting down the balloons?

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* YouFailLinguisticsForever: In early editions of ''When the Tripods Came'', the phrase "Hail the Tripod!" is translated as "''Heilen dem Dreibeiner!'', which, not conjugated, simply means "To hail the Tripod". Averted in subsequent editions. A bit curious, since "Heil" is a rather famous German word.