Only You Can Save Mankind
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ISBN: 9780552576796
Description
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 anymore.
Reviewed on 18th January 2025
I read the other two Johnny Maxwell novels, which follow this, as a child, but somehow have never ended up reading this, despite consuming the vast majority of Terry Pratchett's novels since. This then presented itself to me in a charity shop not long after discussing it with a friend, so home it came with me to be read.
It's the tale of a generic pre-teenage nerd at some point in the late 20th century, who is content to play counterfeit video games until suddenly it doesn't seem much of a game any more.
There's a lot going on in the story. It seems to somehow collect the youth experience of the time, which feels very relatable, but also to wrap it in discussions of the ills of the world from loads of different directions, all of which still feel very relevant today.
Pratchett's abillity to build a world in the background, never explciitly telling us things, but still painting the picture, is really clever and I feel like I might need to come back to this book again to capture and digest more of it.
Really good storytelling, and I'm glad that I occasionally get to experience these nuggets of Pratchett's writing tht I've not experienced before.