The Prince in Waiting

Book Details:

Hardback edition published by Hamish Hamilton, London, 1970. First edition.

Sleeve notes:

A curious chain of circumstances leads Luke to a rich prize--he is named Prince in Waiting when his warrior father becomes Prince of Winchester. Luke's elevation arouses bitter jealousy and hatred, but his future seems both assured and powerful until treacherous enemies strike down his father, and he is left desperately vulnerable. Luke, however, has influential friends, for it seems that the all-powerful Seers still regard him as the rightful Prince in Waiting, and have ambitious plans for him. Only when the closely guarded secrets of the Seers are revealed to Luke does he realise the magnitude of the task ahead.

Although complete in itself, The Prince in Waiting is the first volume in a new John Christopher trilogy, and will be welcomed by the many readers all over the world who found his Tripods trilogy so unputdownable. The Prince in Waiting is set in the future, at a time when a colossal physical disaster has altered the whole pattern of living. England has reverted to a curious kind of mediaevalism, and superstitious fear abounds beneath a deceptively calm surface. But the structure of society is precarious, and shattering upheavals occur when manifestations from the old, dead world reappear to cause havoc and confusion in the new.
Long established as a fine writer for adults, John Christopher has in recent years turned to the writing of novels for young readers, a sphere in which he is now widely read and very highly regarded.

Book Source:

Book Details:

Hardback edition published by Collins Educational, London, 1983. First impression.

Sleeve notes:

The Voice spoke again:

' A great Prince and the father of one yet greater. His son shall be Prince of Princes!'

A second crown appeared out of the darkness. Peter stood on my father's right hand and I watched for it to move towards him, to rest over his head as the first one rested over my father's. And then my heart pounded, the blood dinned in my ears and I put my hand to the chair behind me so I should not fall from dizziness. And my eyes were dazzled with the light shining down on my upturned face.

Book Source:

Book Details:

Paperback edition published by Puffin, London, 1984. 

Sleeve notes:

Volcanoes and earthquakes have devastated England and people are gathered now in small spearate communities, united by the spirits they worship and their hatred of machines.

Luke is heir and Prince in Waiting to his father, Prince of Winchester. And when his father is treacherously murdered, Luke finds himself at the centre of a frightening storm of jealousy and violence.

Book Source: