Only You Can Save Mankind
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4.1 • 45 Ratings
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
From the pen of Sir Terry Pratchett, beloved and bestselling author of the Discworld fantasy series, comes a reality-bending tale of virtual heroism that will leaves readers breathless from laughter, and suspense.
The alien spaceship is in his sights. His finger is on the Fire button. Johnny Maxwell is about to set the new high score on the computer game Only You Can Save Mankind.
Suddenly:
We wish to talk.
Huh?
We surrender.
The aliens aren't supposed to surrender -- they're supposed to die! Now what is Johnny going to do with a fleet of alien prisoners who know their rights under the international rules of war and are demanding safe-conduct? It's hard enough trying to save Mankind from the Galactic Hordes. It's even harder trying to save the Galactic Hordes from Mankind.
But it's just a game, isn't it? Isn't it...?
Read more of Johnny Maxwell's adventures in Johnny and the Dead and Johnny and the Bomb!
Virtual Reality Twist: What happens when the enemies in your video game stop fighting and start surrendering? For Johnny Maxwell, the high score is the last thing on his mind.Portal Fantasy Adventure: When the screen fades, Johnny doesn’t just log off—he finds himself in the cockpit, tasked with protecting the very aliens he was supposed to destroy.Signature Pratchett Satire: From the beloved author of Discworld, a hilarious and sharp-witted look at war, video games, and the absurdity of it all, perfect for middle grade readers.Moral Dilemmas: It’s hard enough saving Mankind from the Galactic Hordes. It’s even harder saving the Galactic Hordes—who know their rights under the Geneva Convention—from Mankind.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Released in Britain in 1992, just after the first Gulf War, the launch title in Pratchett's Johnny Maxwell trilogy reaches American shores in the midst of current conflicts in the Middle East. A whimsical but ultimately unsettling "war game" conceit drives the book: what if video games weren't just games? Teenager Johnny plays video games (pirated copies from a friend) to escape the "Trying Times" that his parents are going through and the bombs dropping in the Middle East every time he turns on the television. But one afternoon while Johnny is playing the game Only You Can Save Mankind, the alien ScreeWee fleet from within the game surrenders to him, an action that is outside the game's parameters. The hero begins to dream himself into the game space and pledges to help give the ScreeWee safe passage to avoid slaughter by the human gamers. Johnny has less success convincing his friends of what he's doing, except for a proficient gamer, Kirsty, who is motivated to win at all costs. Pratchett's wartime allegory is apt, if frequently heavy-handed ("Do you think the pilots really just sit there like... like a game?... We turn it into games and it's not games"). Still, the compelling premise and Pratchett's humorous touches (such as the aliens' frustration with human attackers who "die" and just keep coming back) may well attract fans to this trilogy. Ages 8-up.
Customer Reviews
Good read
I'm a big fan, but had not read any of his books outside the disc world series. Way interesting story and characters. Particularly interesting to computer folks like myself. I read it before turning my kids loose on it. I thought it was tame enough for 10 year olds for sure, maybe younger, and for sure tamer than Harry Potter. No bad language, no "dating", a little implied divorce. some basic video game violence.
So-so
Clearly some TP moments here and there, but not his usual cheeky punchlines. This is more of a moralistic journey that’s now a bit dated given the advancement of tech. I compare this to “the last star fighter” (of which he clearly makes a reference) a great, fun little movie when I was a kid, but faded over time, like most cheesy 80’s sci-Fi. Frankly, this seems like a filler he wrote to make a publisher happy in between his more loved works which clearly HAVE stood the test of time.