Only You Can Save Mankind: A Witty Science Fiction Adventure about Saving the Galactic Hordes for Children (Ages 8-12) (The Johnny Maxwell Trilogy Book 1)
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.
From the Publisher
More from the bestselling grand master of fantasy, Sir Terry Pratchett!
The first book in the Johnny Maxwell Trilogy! Johnny is just about to set a new high score in his video game when the aliens he’s fighting… want to surrender? There’s no fun in that, and games are supposed to be fun. It is a game, right? Twelve-year-old Johnny and his “ghostly” friends have a new mission: save the cemetery from developers! Johnny didn’t mean to become the voice for the lifeless, but if he doesn’t speak up, who will? Johnny Maxwell, accidental time traveler, somehow ends up in England in 1941! In the midst of WWII, Johnny and his friends must decide if saving innocent lives in the past is worth risking the state of the future. The Store has always been home to four-inch-tall nomes, until the day they discover it’s going to be demolished. With an escape plan and a whole lot of luck, they might be able to ensure that the end of the Store doesn’t mean the end of nomekind too. When a small band of nomes arrive from the Outside with devastating news, the nomes must band together search for safety, a search that leads them to discover their own astonishing origins and takes them beyond their wildest dreams. After running into trouble at the quarry, the nomes are ready to go home. The problem is ‘home’ is somewhere up in the stars, in some sort of Ship. And so begins an incredible journey, filled with peril, planes, honking geese… and a walking sandwich.