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IF NOT YOU, WHO ELSE?
As the mighty alien fleet from the latest computer game thunders across the screen, Johnny prepares to blow them into the usual million pieces. And they send him a message: We surrender.
They're not supposed to do that! They're supposed to die. And computer joysticks don't have 'Don't Fire' buttons . . .
But it's only a game, isn't it. Isn't it?
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You don't have to remember playing Space Invaders to enjoy this book, but it does make the story a little more enjoyable. As always with Pratchett, the characters are well-developed and quite remarkable. I really liked Wobbler, the future hacker who designed a game of his own called Journey to Alpha Centauri to be played in real time, meaning all the thousands of years it would take to reach Alpha Centauri is how many years the game would take you to actually finish it. Beyond the comedy present in this story, there is also a message. The backdrop of the earth-based events of the book is the Persian Gulf War, and the juxtaposition of this war that is real but seems like a game with the computer game that becomes real for Johnny Maxwell conveys a message about violence and one's attitude toward it. It is not an overbearing theme, but it is there to some degree, helping make this short novel much more than just a juvenile read intended to entertain the reader and nothing else. This is a short book that never falters from beginning to end, and it houses much more in its pages than might be apparent at first glance. It is not as complicated or brilliant as the Discworld novels, but it is a fun read nonetheless, sure to entertain Pratchett fans while capturing the attention and interest of young readers.
With wonderful observation on life, Terry brings together a lovable group of characters, which in my opinion rival the wonderful Famous Five and Serect Seven creations of my childhood.
Humour (as always from TP), imagination, subltle social comment on both sexism, racism and deprivation, this book is a wonderful read. Who else but Mr. Pratchett himself could link the Geneva converntion with a surrendering alien force in a computer game?
Don't think, just buy it!
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