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I hope someone can help; I read this trilogy in 1970(!) about aliens that invaded earth. Because they couldn't breathe our air, they contained their cities under large domes. In the end, the main group of children flew an air balloon atop the dome(s) and blew them up, destroying the aliens.

Does anyone recall the name?

1 Answer 1

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Sounds like The Tripods Trilogy. Young adult novels by John Christopher beginning in 1967.

Specific items from the synopsis that stood out and correlated with items in the question.

  • Tripod city, which is located in a sealed, pressurized dome
  • the Master reveals an upcoming operation in which the Earth's atmosphere is to be replaced by the Masters' toxic air [they can't breathe our air]
  • Fritz then leads a successful attack launched from air balloons

In addition to the trilogy, looks like a prequel (When the Tripods Came) was written 20 years after the first novel of the original trilogy.

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  • Dang it you beat me to it, the miniseries, based on the books, was actually pretty entertaining. The series has a cornucopia of dystopian societies and ideas. Commented Apr 4, 2013 at 15:08
  • It's an excellent series of books. I read them to my son a year or two ago. The prequel is as good as the original three, though I recommend reading it at the end (when it was written) rather than at the beginning (when it's set). Otherwise it gives away too much.
    – Kyralessa
    Commented Apr 5, 2013 at 1:49
  • Yes, it does sound like The Tripods books and a very good series it is indeed. As for Mark Rogers comment, I believe he is correct, the TV Series is a good time as well. Commented Jan 27, 2014 at 4:29

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