The Lotus Caves

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The Lotus Caves, by John Christopher

I really like John Christopher, and I think it's a shame that his books have disappeared so completely.  I'm thinking of collecting him.  I have some, of course, because my oldest really likes Christopher too, and I found that we had more than I thought when I was moving some books around.  So I read The Lotus Caves, from 1969.

In 2068, the Moon colony is doing well.  Marty has lived his entire life inside the Bubble; visits to Earth are too expensive, so everyone is there on a 25-year contract, no vacations.  Everything is extremely utilitarian, but there's a nice recreation center for sports and fun.  When Marty and his buddy Steve play a prank, they're punished with a month's ban from the recreation center, which strikes me as a really bad plan if you're trying to squish a couple of rowdy 13-year-old boys.  Marty and Steve find a way to take a crawler out of the Bubble and explore farther than they're allowed, but it should be perfectly safe.  Until they fall into an underground cave and discover a giant sentient plant.

The Plant can give them all the food, air, and sustenance they need in its air-tight cave.  And it doesn't want them to leave and bring a bunch of scientists out to study it.  So pretty soon it's hard to even think about escaping; like the Island of the Lotus-Eaters, it blurs their minds and makes them content to eat and sleep.  Marty is having a hard time remembering his life outside the cave, and Steve is perfectly content.  Will they remain trapped forever?

Yep, I do love a good John Christopher story!  This one was exciting and imaginative.  If you didn't spend your childhood reading Christopher, you should give him a try now.



Comments

  1. LoryJanuary 17, 2020 at 6:06 AM

    And I HATED John Christopher, who was very popular in my schooldays. Those stories creeped me out. I wonder what I would think now, but I don't particularly want to try and see.

    Interesting how some hot authors fall out of fashion. I wonder which names of today will last?

    ReplyDelete
  2. JeanJanuary 17, 2020 at 10:02 AM

    They are creepy! That's what I liked. Plus they always seemed...alien? to me; I could never understand the protagonists very well so it was kind of fascinating. Like, why would you make those choices, protagonist?

    If history is any indication, relatively few current hot authors will last. I wonder which those few will be!

    ReplyDelete

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