The first of the Johnny Maxwell series, not a Discworld novel, more sci-fi than fantasy, and written primarily for children. These points made me slightly dubious about this book – I think Terry Pratchett is the funniest writer alive, but this is a bit of a change of tempo for him (and me, having read most of the Discworld novels). But does it work? We shall see…

Basically, Johnny is a quiet kid whose parents are going through difficult times. Like many young boys (including myself at that age), he spends far more time than is good for him playing computer games. His friends include a hacker whose only joy in life is to crack the copy protection on the latest game releases. Since this book is set at the time of the (first) Gulf War, a lot of the games, makes of computer and suchlike invoked a feeling of nostalgia in me. My wife, who was neither into computer games when younger nor living in England during the Gulf War did not get any of these feelings, and I think enjoyed the book less than me.

You may be thinking, if I enjoyed the book at all, why did I only give it 2 stars? Well, the writing style is instantly familiar to Pratchett fans, but the world portrayed, despite being set in the real world, is rather over-simplified and not at all like the richly textured Discworld in terms of realism. The story involves the aliens in one particular computer game trying to surrender – to them it’s real. Johnny enters their world in dreams, at first wondering if he’s going mad, then wondering if it’s actually real, and all the time wondering why on earth he’s the Chosen One.

The story potters along nicely enough but isn’t really involving. The characters are about one and a half dimensional. Perhaps pre-teens would not notice this, but I can only give my own opinion on this. It feels like a… rushed job. It’s short, simple, and nowhere near as funny or involving as if could be.

As one of Pratchett’s greatest fans, it pains me to, for the first time ever, give one of his books only 2 stars. It isn’t terrible, but I certainly wouldn’t bother reading it again.


Recommended: No