- Paperback: 752 pages
- Publisher: Corgi Childrens (6 Oct 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0552553824
- ISBN-13: 978-0552553827
- Product Dimensions: 13.3 x 5.4 x 20.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
385,977 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #83 in Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators > P > Pratchett, Terry
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
Impressively original' Daily Telegraph 'Inspired Imagination' Independent 'A Terry Pratchett classic' The Times
Book Description
A fabulous collection of three of Terry Pratchett's children's titles - each featuring Johnny Maxwell and his friends.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I think that Terry Pratchett's books for children are often better than his discworld books. It is definitely the case with this trilogy. The hero, Johnny Maxwell is called upon in the three different books to solve three different problems -
In "Only you can save mankind" a "shoot alien spaceship" game turs out to be happening in real life. Johnny Maxwell must save the aliens and get them back to their own planet. Even "Wobbler", Johnny's overweight nerd friend, can't beat the game...
In "Johnny and the dead", Johnny finds he can talk to the dead and has to help them move before their cemetary is bulldozed.
In "Johnny and the Bomb", Johnny and his friends get transported back to the time of the war, where bombs are falling everywhere.
In "Only you can save mankind" a "shoot alien spaceship" game turs out to be happening in real life. Johnny Maxwell must save the aliens and get them back to their own planet. Even "Wobbler", Johnny's overweight nerd friend, can't beat the game...
In "Johnny and the dead", Johnny finds he can talk to the dead and has to help them move before their cemetary is bulldozed.
In "Johnny and the Bomb", Johnny and his friends get transported back to the time of the war, where bombs are falling everywhere.
I liked these books because they are so unusual. There are not that many people who effectively mix science-fiction and comedy. I like it. Johnny's friend "Wobbler" is especially likeable - a computer geek (or is it "dweeb"?) who beats every game first time. The only negative thing I have to say is that they are all about a completely different subject, and somehow you expect a trilogy to be one big story. However, it is a light-hearted and fun read.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm not embarrassed to admit that I have happily read these books as an adult. I don't think many readers of Pratchett's novels would disagree that his writing style is adaptable and so imaginative that people of any age can enjoy it. That's definitely the case with this trilogy (it actually is one, too), despite the fact that they're clearly aimed at children. They do no harm as a quick and easy read for us "grown ups", but it certainly doesn't hurt if you're still in touch with your inner child.
Format:Paperback
Short:
These are the rarest of children's books - ones that you can enjoy as a child, and then love again as an adult. Pratchett's wit made me laugh at 10, and at 21 I can still find them funny and moving, perhaps even more so. Lovers of Discworld or Good Omens will find a lot to love about the descriptions and situations in the Johnny books. I'd say they're a perfect introduction to Pratchett. They're inoffensive without being soft, and smart without being difficult for children to understand.
Long:
The Johnny books are, first and foremost, fun to read. Pratchett's descriptions and dialogue are funny and colourful as always, though his use of footnotes and paragraph long metaphors are less in evidence than usual. The plots in each of the books are tight, touch on issues below the surface of what's happening, and are never needlessly dumbed down for the audience. The last point is something I'll return to later in this review.
Johnny is very easy to relate to - a sort of pubescent everyboy with an overactive imagination and trouble at home. His friends are painted with equal skill and humour: Yo-less is a black kid, so named because he isn't cool and he doesn't say "yo*"; Kirsty is a voracious overachiever and is constantly in exasperation with the boys, I am still in love with her; Big Mac is a clueless skinhead who has an inexplicable talent for mathematics; and Wobbler is such a nerd that he WISHES he were a nerd.
These divergent personalities interact and play off each other delightfully, and they have far greater depth than most characters in young fiction. Most importantly, none of them are stereotypes, and all of them are sympathetic.
The books aren't just rereadable because you'll love the characters. You'll find themes that go beyond the surface plot. Only You Can Save Mankind has an important message about respect for life, whether it's human or not, or even real or not. The other books carry their own themes, but I'll let you (or your children) discover them!
Adults will notice that real events of the time parallel with the story, and a great deal of subtextual information is there for the perceptive reader. Pratchett has pulled off a very difficult balancing trick here: there's plenty of adventure and comedy, but there's substance as well.
All in all, I can't wait till my nephew is old enough to read these books, or for me to read them to him...if only for the excuse to read them again!
*Remember these books were written in in the early/mid 90s, when it was wicked to say wicked, and using "yo" as a greeting was assumed to be the province of black kids.
These are the rarest of children's books - ones that you can enjoy as a child, and then love again as an adult. Pratchett's wit made me laugh at 10, and at 21 I can still find them funny and moving, perhaps even more so. Lovers of Discworld or Good Omens will find a lot to love about the descriptions and situations in the Johnny books. I'd say they're a perfect introduction to Pratchett. They're inoffensive without being soft, and smart without being difficult for children to understand.
Long:
The Johnny books are, first and foremost, fun to read. Pratchett's descriptions and dialogue are funny and colourful as always, though his use of footnotes and paragraph long metaphors are less in evidence than usual. The plots in each of the books are tight, touch on issues below the surface of what's happening, and are never needlessly dumbed down for the audience. The last point is something I'll return to later in this review.
Johnny is very easy to relate to - a sort of pubescent everyboy with an overactive imagination and trouble at home. His friends are painted with equal skill and humour: Yo-less is a black kid, so named because he isn't cool and he doesn't say "yo*"; Kirsty is a voracious overachiever and is constantly in exasperation with the boys, I am still in love with her; Big Mac is a clueless skinhead who has an inexplicable talent for mathematics; and Wobbler is such a nerd that he WISHES he were a nerd.
These divergent personalities interact and play off each other delightfully, and they have far greater depth than most characters in young fiction. Most importantly, none of them are stereotypes, and all of them are sympathetic.
The books aren't just rereadable because you'll love the characters. You'll find themes that go beyond the surface plot. Only You Can Save Mankind has an important message about respect for life, whether it's human or not, or even real or not. The other books carry their own themes, but I'll let you (or your children) discover them!
Adults will notice that real events of the time parallel with the story, and a great deal of subtextual information is there for the perceptive reader. Pratchett has pulled off a very difficult balancing trick here: there's plenty of adventure and comedy, but there's substance as well.
All in all, I can't wait till my nephew is old enough to read these books, or for me to read them to him...if only for the excuse to read them again!
*Remember these books were written in in the early/mid 90s, when it was wicked to say wicked, and using "yo" as a greeting was assumed to be the province of black kids.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Was this review helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
