It becomes the symbol of a new apocalyptic world-wide religion which is deliberately fostered by Israel as part of its world take-over plan.

Comet of Doom: The Year of the Comet has, yes, a comet pass near post-World War III Earth.

The Death of Grass in particular is one long grim ruthless scrabble to reach a safe haven in the English countryside. but Youd's reputation for dipping into this trope is somewhat unfair, in many of these novels things get pretty gritty for the protagonists.

Cosy Catastrophe: He wrote numerous post-apocalyptic novels: The Death of Grass (disease wipes out all grasses, including those that are staple foods for humans), The World in Winter (an ice age), Empty World (pandemic) and A Wrinkle in the Skin (earthquakes).

Covers Always Lie: One cover of A Wrinkle in the Skin shows some wrecked jumbo jets, which never appear in the novel.

Chick Magnet: The protagonist of The Year of the Comet is an understated version of this he has at least three women fall for him in the course of the novel with two of them it's a case of Becoming the Mask.

Author Appeal: He evidently had a fondness for The Channel Islands, they often appear as settings in his stories.

Attack Its Weak Point: In Beyond the Burning Land, Luke fights and kills the Bayemot (a giant ameoba-like creature) by striking at the nucleus deep inside its body with a sword.

Anti-Hero: His protagonists are often flawed Luke in the Sword of the Spirits is a particular example.

And Man Grew Proud: This attitude is rigidly on display in the Sword of the Spirits trilogy, but subverted when it is eventually revealed the disaster that shattered the world was a purely natural one and not caused in any way by man's technology or hubris.

The Sword of the Spirits is a straight example, with society having turned into a medieval-like state in Britain due to a past disaster.

The Year of the Comet is technically an example, set after World War III, but civilization has already fully recovered by the time of the events of the novel.

His works with their own trope pages include: The Tripods was adapted for television, although the series was cancelled before getting to the last book. His works include The Death of Grass, The Tripods series, the Sword of the Spirits trilogy ( The Prince In Waiting, Beyond the Burning Lands, The Sword of the Spirits), Dom and Va, and A Dusk of Demons. ' In writing I think I’ve been more attracted by the thought of what happens after the catastrophe.'Ĭhristopher Samuel Youd (born Sam Youd, 16 April 1922 – 3 February 2012) was an English author best known for his science fiction published under the name of John Christopher.

Empty world by john christopher