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Find out moreWritten by Terry Pratchett
Illustrated by Mark Beech
Part of the Johnny Maxwell Series
This is an absolutely cracking whiz-bang of a story. Set in an unreality, that is actually scarily real, it plays with your mind and really, really makes you think! Johnny Maxwell loves video games, while shooting invading spaceships, he finds himself contacted by an alien race, suddenly the game is real, can Johnny save the day? This is as valid today, as when it was first written in the early 1990’s, though Terry Pratchett made some updates, along with an authors note in 2013. He explains that Only You Can Save Mankind was written during the first Gulf War when TV computer games about war were in their infancy, the news was showing constant, sometimes even live updates about the war, and so the lines between pretend and real were become very blurred indeed. Terry Pratchett excels in setting questions about mankind for you to ponder without you realising it, all the while enjoying a wild fantastical ride. No one else quite has his magical touch, his books are so witty, thoughtful and wise. Only You Can Save Mankind is the first in a quite spectacular trilogy and another must read from the the truly wonderful Terry Pratchett.
Johnny Maxwell is just an ordinary boy - not smart, popular or rich. But he does love video games. And as his parents argue themselves out of a marriage, Johnny plays at becoming humanity's' last hope, shooting invading aliens out of a pixelated sky. Then comes a message from the last remaining alien spaceship: We Wish to Talk. And suddenly Johnny is thrust into the very real world of the video game, and comes face to face with an alien race that needs his help. Only Johnny can save them. And this isn't a game any more . . . The first book in the Johnny Maxwell trilogy.
In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion some of our Lovereading4kids Reader Review Panel members were also lucky enough to read and review this title. You can read their full reviews by clicking here.
An impressively original book with its thrills and spills, its inventiveness, its wit and continuous readability Daily Telegraph
A wonderful new Pratchett-style fantasy: funny and thrilling enough for anyone who can read fluently Daily Mail
Funny and exciting Spectator
Terry Pratchett's funny, fast-moving story makes provocative reading for all computer game players . . . Makes a serious point out of a ridiculously comic example Children's Books of the Year
Everyone should read Terry Pratchett. Maybe it should be part of the National Curriculum? Families
ISBN: | 9780552576796 |
Publication date: | 22nd February 2018 |
Author: | Terry Pratchett |
Illustrator: | Mark Beech |
Publisher: | Corgi Childrens an imprint of Random House Children's Publishers UK |
Format: | Paperback |
Pagination: | 240 pages |
Suitable for: | 11+ readers, 9+ readers |
Genres: | Fantasy / Magical |
Recommendations: | eBooks, Reviewed by Children |
Terry Pratchett (1948 - 2015) was born in 1948 in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. He had his first story published when he was just thirteen, and after leaving school at seventeen to become a journalist he continued writing, publishing his first novel, The Carpet People, in 1971 and going on to produce the phenomenally successful Discworld and his trilogy for young readers, The Bromeliad. His first Discworld novel for children, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents was awarded the 2001 Carnegie Medal. Terry Pratchett as well as numerous other books, winning many awards and becoming the UK’s bestselling author. He was appointed OBE ...
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