It's just a game . . . isn't it?
The alien spaceship is in his sights. His finger is on the Fire button. Johnny Maxwell is about to set the... read full description
reviews
Jan 08, 2012
Liz
rated it: 
Who else indeed? And that's really the question, isn't it? The old saw says that one person can make a difference, but no one ever thinks that it's them so no one does anything. And no difference is ever made. That's what the question on the cover of the book points out, if not you, then who else will?
In this case, Johnny is that one person, one out of thousands, but the only one who listens and takes on the responsibility of trying to do something. He has no power in the "real" More...
In this case, Johnny is that one person, one out of thousands, but the only one who listens and takes on the responsibility of trying to do something. He has no power in the "real" More...
Feb 24, 2010
Sarai
rated it: 
From School Library Journal
Johnny Maxwell, 12, thinks he's a loser. People don't seem to notice him, his parents are threatening to split up, and he's not very good at the shoot-up-the-bad-guys computer games that he and his friends are always playing. But after his hacker buddy, Wobbler, gives him an illegal copy of Only You Can Save Mankind, strange things happen. The captain of the alien fleet that Johnny is supposed to shoot up surrenders to him–unheard of in a computer game–and soon a More...
Johnny Maxwell, 12, thinks he's a loser. People don't seem to notice him, his parents are threatening to split up, and he's not very good at the shoot-up-the-bad-guys computer games that he and his friends are always playing. But after his hacker buddy, Wobbler, gives him an illegal copy of Only You Can Save Mankind, strange things happen. The captain of the alien fleet that Johnny is supposed to shoot up surrenders to him–unheard of in a computer game–and soon a More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jan 17, 2012
Nicholas
rated it:
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1879849.ht...
One of Pratchett's earlier YA novels, about a 12-year-old boy who is an enthusiastic player of computer games, which ws very much enjoyed by my 12-year-old son who is an enthusiastic player of computer games. Although Pratchett apologises in the introduction of the 2004 edition for how the story has dated since the original 1993 publication, I didn't spot any gross problems in that regard (and my expert advisor tells me that only the mention o More...
One of Pratchett's earlier YA novels, about a 12-year-old boy who is an enthusiastic player of computer games, which ws very much enjoyed by my 12-year-old son who is an enthusiastic player of computer games. Although Pratchett apologises in the introduction of the 2004 edition for how the story has dated since the original 1993 publication, I didn't spot any gross problems in that regard (and my expert advisor tells me that only the mention o More...
Jul 17, 2010
Jon
rated it:
I laughed out loud often and repeatedly while reading this book. It happened so often that Katie wanted to read it too. Obviously, she and I have very different tastes in writing. She found a few funny parts, but couldn't care any less about the characters. I, on the other hand, loved Pratchett's characterizations, and the story was interesting and entertaining to me. I especially like how Johnny (the main character) is a bit thick in the head, and has no special abilities. I am really quite tir
More...
Mar 15, 2009
Eva
rated it:
Pratchett manages to preach a not-at-all-didactic message about the importance of being mindful about the consequences of your actions, even as he delivers an entertaining SF tale of a video game that is all too real for the aliens being constantly attacked by the human kids playing the game. Written around the period of the Gulf War in the early 90s, the story draws several obvious parallels between the unreal quality of the real war being shown nightly on television and the violence happening
More...
Jan 02, 2012
Jenny
rated it: 
This is a children's book and is aimed at upper Elementary to maybe middle school. It has some elements that would appeal to that audience, including a fairly good take on friendships at that age, engaging characters, and a nod to video games (sort of. Very early video games). But it didn't make much sense to me. There are characters that are in a computer game but are also real. But the people in the real world go to the computer game world in their dreams. They're not transported, they simply
More...
Mar 27, 2009
Liralen
rated it: 
Packed and solid, and Pratchett all the way through. Very tightly written and with both the humor (social and otherwise) and touches of every day horror. The book is all about the hard questions and choices on the part of Johnny Maxwell, the protagonist.
His life isn't easy, but it's not quite as tough as some of his friends' are, it's a great story about making uncertain choices in a world where real wars seem like games and games seem like war. What is real? What isn't? And h More...
His life isn't easy, but it's not quite as tough as some of his friends' are, it's a great story about making uncertain choices in a world where real wars seem like games and games seem like war. What is real? What isn't? And h More...
Feb 09, 2012
Pedro
rated it:
Este libro de Terry Pratchett es el primero de la saga de Johnny Maxwell, un niño algo especial. Lo primero que quiero comentar es que el libro en sí, la edición, es bastante mala. Con la humedad de estos días la portada se ha rizado y no se si se quedará bien cuando lo ponga junto a otros. No es tan barato como para esto, así que un tirón de orejas para timunmas en este sentido.
El libro no es nada del otro mundo. Desde luego me esperaba mucho más de Terry, y más con lo que prometía la More...
El libro no es nada del otro mundo. Desde luego me esperaba mucho más de Terry, y más con lo que prometía la More...
Feb 23, 2011
Venus
rated it:
This is my first Terry Pratchett book .... I know I'm really behind but somehow even though I've had my eyes on his books for a long time, I never seemed to find the time to actually get down and read one. I don't know why I didn't start with Discworld. So, this one - Only You Can Save Mankind is the first book in the Johnny Maxwell series. Johnny is a schoolboy who regularly gets video games from one of his friends, who seems to have insane talent in cracking them.The aliens he had to fight in
More...
Jan 30, 2012
Kim
rated it:
One of Terry Pratchett's earlier teen reads, it is still enjoyable by readers of his adult stuff, without seeming as daunting perhaps as staring the entire Discworld series from scratch. Johnny is a sweet kid, who really only wants to blow up alien ships after school. It's kinda hard though when they start talking back. And it gets even harder when they say that since they surrendered to you, you are now responsible for feeding and caring for them all. Math homework may not be that bad after all
More...
Aug 02, 2010
Catherine
rated it:
This thought-provoking book deals with war games vs real war vs televised version of real war in which relationships with others and the consequences of actions theme is similar to Pratchett's Nation. Johnny wonders about his sanity when he receives a surrender message from the captain of an alien spaceship, while playing a computer game, in this first volume in the Johnny Maxwell trilogy. Unfortunately it is dated -- first published in 1992 although does include some explanation in the introd
More...
Jan 16, 2011
Bronwyn
rated it:
I'll preface this by saying that if you've read any of my reviews, you already know that I simply adore Terry Pratchett as an author, so that probably colors my judgment somewhat since this isn't exactly his BEST novel, but still, it was an enjoyable read and the concept was interesting. The idea that the people we kill unthinkingly in video games might have actual personalities and be 'real' in their own heads is fascinating, and this was an amusing exploration of that idea. Definitely worth
More...
Jun 13, 2011
I sometimes wonder if I'm part of a giant video game. If that's the case, then when I turn around, the pieces of the world behind me would no longer exist, because they wouldn't be relevant to me (as the player. On the other hand, if I was part of someone /else's/ video game, I wouldn't even be real, and my world wouldn't be real either... This book is about the people who are part of someone else's game. I think it is a very cool and thoughtful book, although it is written for younger readers.
More...
May 12, 2009
Patrick
rated it:
Interesting little story. The premise is cool--the aliens inside the video game are real and don't want to fight anymore.
The social commentary on the original Gulf War is a little heavy-handed, but the characters are decent for a quick JF book.
Though this book reminded me how I hate the tendency of YA authors to give everyone nicknames. Maybe everyone had nicknames back in the 50's in the days of The Buttercream Gang ... maybe ... or maybe it was exaggerated then to More...
The social commentary on the original Gulf War is a little heavy-handed, but the characters are decent for a quick JF book.
Though this book reminded me how I hate the tendency of YA authors to give everyone nicknames. Maybe everyone had nicknames back in the 50's in the days of The Buttercream Gang ... maybe ... or maybe it was exaggerated then to More...
Sep 04, 2008
cecille
rated it:
While playing the computer game “Only You Can Save Mankind”, 12-year-old Johnny Maxwell receives a message from the captain of the ScreeWee wishing to surrender. At first Johnny is bewildered; weren’t aliens in computer games only there to be shot at and die? But soon he accepts the mission to save the ScreeWee from annihilation by his fellow game players.
With this book Pratchett has written a commentary against the 1990s Gulf War, which can apply to all wars in general, in a way tha More...
With this book Pratchett has written a commentary against the 1990s Gulf War, which can apply to all wars in general, in a way tha More...
Jul 19, 2008
Alicia
rated it:
Ha! And people talk about Ender's Game. Well, let me tell you: Orson Scott Card can tell a good story, but only Terry Pratchett can tell you about yourself.
I'm not sure how novel the connection between wars and video games was back when Pratchett first wrote the first part of this trilogy, but by now it's an old standby, particularly in light of the continuing popularity of Orson Scott Card's series with Ender and Bean and so forth. And yet this book still feels apt and accurate.
More...
I'm not sure how novel the connection between wars and video games was back when Pratchett first wrote the first part of this trilogy, but by now it's an old standby, particularly in light of the continuing popularity of Orson Scott Card's series with Ender and Bean and so forth. And yet this book still feels apt and accurate.
More...
May 09, 2008
Chris
rated it:
It’s not as witty or wise as the Discworld books I’ve read (which aren’t that many, actually), but it was still good. It’s set in the early 90s during the time of the first Gulf War and the other President Bush, when computers were first becoming fairly normal and mainstream but before the advent of the World Wide Web. Johnny and his friends like to play computer games, the Space Invader, Galaga type where you fly a space ship and shoot up an alien fleet. The twist is that one of the alien fleet
More...
Aug 03, 2011
Tracey
rated it:
I picked up Only You Can Save Mankind, looking for something a little lighter after reading Vonnegut; it wasn't quite the comic escape I'd thought.
Johnny Maxwell is going through Trying Times - his parents are fighting, there's apparently a Middle Eastern war going on, and in the new computer game he's playing, the aliens don't want to fight anymore. They're surrendering and want his help to protect them from the other players. But it's just a game.... right?
Compared with h More...
Johnny Maxwell is going through Trying Times - his parents are fighting, there's apparently a Middle Eastern war going on, and in the new computer game he's playing, the aliens don't want to fight anymore. They're surrendering and want his help to protect them from the other players. But it's just a game.... right?
Compared with h More...
Jan 27, 2011
Melanie
rated it:
I do like socially concious kids' books. I enjoyed the humor and the characters, and I liked that someone who is not noticed much, who has nothing particularly special about him, is the one who listens to the cry for help, thus becoming the Chosen One. He is chosen because he chose to listen and respond to those in need. I liked that. I had fun reading it. And that, I think, it what is important about Terry Pratchett's work; he makes people think about important social issues, but he lets you ha
More...
Apr 09, 2011
Emily
rated it:
This is the first Terry Pratchett book I've read (my 14 yo daughter has been reading a lot of him). I guess this is a young adult book about a kid who is playing a video game and the aliens surrender to him. I thought it was a clever premise but unwieldy to read. I didn't get to care about any of the characters and skimmed huge amounts of text trying to get to the next plot point. Not too fast moving. I've heard it compared to Enders Game but it falls short. Overall,jst ok.
Mar 09, 2011
Sandra
rated it:
The last Terry Pratchett books I read were The Wee Free Men and A Hat Full of Sky and they were a lot better.
Still, a good book. But if you have not read any of TP's books, don't read this first. I remembered the first few books I read were about Morty and the Reaper or something (Discword Series?). They were way before I started Goodreads, and I don't remember their titles. I'd like to reread them. You should probably start on those first if you're new to TP.
Still, a good book. But if you have not read any of TP's books, don't read this first. I remembered the first few books I read were about Morty and the Reaper or something (Discword Series?). They were way before I started Goodreads, and I don't remember their titles. I'd like to reread them. You should probably start on those first if you're new to TP.
Jan 28, 2009
Saga
rated it:
For some reason I've been pushing aside Pratchett's non-Discworld novels, but this turned out to be a brilliant little book. It's like plunging back into my own youth, into the years of Nintendo and 2D computer graphics, those times before Internet connections and mobile phones. Like Nation, this novel was surprisingly dark, digging sarcastically into the everyday issues of world politics and broken families.
Despite being a kid, the thoughts of the main character were interesting to More...
Despite being a kid, the thoughts of the main character were interesting to More...
Jan 15, 2012
Sunil
rated it:
Johnny is playing a computer game in which the object is to kill a lot of aliens...except the aliens try to surrender. For them, it's not a game! Johnny dreams himself into gamespace and tries to save the aliens in the game from being obliterated by human players hungry for killin'. It's a neat premise, even though it's fairly heavy-handed with its anti-war message: the book was inspired by the Gulf War, when war started to look like a videogame and videogames looked like war and maybe things be
More...
Sep 18, 2010
Debbie (Readerbuzz)
rated it:
Johnny Maxwell is shocked to find that the aliens in his computer game are talking back to him. They are conceding defeat. What can he do? What must he do?
Though this book has apparently been updated (in 2004) from the original story (published in 1992), it probably needs to be updated again. Lots of computer talk and popular lingo that has changed dramatically in the past few years and would leave a modern child feeling a bit clueless.
Though this book has apparently been updated (in 2004) from the original story (published in 1992), it probably needs to be updated again. Lots of computer talk and popular lingo that has changed dramatically in the past few years and would leave a modern child feeling a bit clueless.
Oct 16, 2011
Leesie
rated it:
Terry Pratchett rules. This book is for younger audiences than the discworld series, but it is quite fun, dealing with heavy issues for young ages. Takes place during the gulf war really about desensitization from both watching the war on tv and from video games.
Quite enjoyable, must get the other two. Now the question is who to pass it on to, my friend's 11 year old boy or my cousin's 12 year old girl? Both will enjoy!
Quite enjoyable, must get the other two. Now the question is who to pass it on to, my friend's 11 year old boy or my cousin's 12 year old girl? Both will enjoy!
May 11, 2009
James
rated it:
12-year-old Johnny Maxwell uses video games like "Only You Can Save Mankind" to escape from his household and preteen woes. When the foes from the game unexpectedly surrender to him, Johnny must defend a race of aliens from the entire human race, i.e., the world of video game players, who seem to be bloodthirsty savages. Highly entertaining and satirical, though a little preachy at times.
Jul 23, 2011
Kathryn
rated it:
This was fun. I am coming late to the phenomenon that is Terry Pratchett, and not all of it works well for me--but I was captivated by this one, and want to read more Johnny Maxwell. It has an original, hilarious, and thought-provoking premise together with fully-realized characters whose human dilemmas are well-reflected in the primary plot device, and nicely resolved. Fun. Yep.
Jun 10, 2008
Donna
rated it:
Johnny Maxwell is an ordinary kid who's having a difficult time because his parents seem on the verge of splitting up. When the enemy aliens in a popular video game surrender to him, at first he thinks that it's some kind of advanced feature. But then his dreams start taking him inside the game, and his actions to save the ScreeWee seem to have an effect on his waking life. As he leads the ships towards the border of the game, they disappear from the computer screens of everyone else. But some p
More...
Oct 27, 2011
Sffgeek
rated it:
I love Sir Terry's books, but this is only 3 stars. It really is a juvenile (I only read it 'cos I'm a Pratchett completist). I think it must have been written because <spoiler>he was angry that the Iraq war was being televised as if it were a computer game, and glossing over the fact that real people were dying</spoiler>. The message and symbolism are layed on with quite a heavy hand - not at all like the light touch in his adult novels. Also, it's very out of date now - I don't thi
More...
Feb 07, 2011
Jane
rated it:
Really a 3 1/2. Johnny is likeable, the plot about realizing you're inside a video game is well done, but I struggled just a bit with the overlay of his own difficult life and how that related to the game. Not necessarily bad but I did feel at times like I was reading two completely separate stories whereas Pratchett usually weaves the themes better. Still a fun read.
