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Johnny Maxwell #3
Johnny and the Bomb
It's May 21 1941, thought Johnny. It's war.
Johnny Maxwell and his friends have to do something when they find Mrs Tachyon, the local bag lady, semi-conscious in an alley . . . as long as it's not the kiss of life.
But there's more to Mrs Tachyon than a squeaky trolley and a bunch of dubious black bags. Somehow she holds the key to different times, different eras - including the Blackbury Blitz in 1941. Suddenly now isn't the safe place Johnny once thought it was as he finds himself caught up more and more with then . . .
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
117 people are currently reading
3742 people want to read
About the author
Terry Pratchett
687 books46.4k followersSir Terence David John Pratchett was an English author, humorist, and satirist, best known for the Discworld series of 41 comic fantasy novels published between 1983–2015, and for the apocalyptic comedy novel Good Omens (1990), which he co-wrote with Neil Gaiman.
Pratchett's first novel, The Carpet People, was published in 1971. The first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983, after which Pratchett wrote an average of two books a year. The final Discworld novel, The Shepherd's Crown, was published in August 2015, five months after his death.
With more than 100 million books sold worldwide in 43 languages, Pratchett was the UK's best-selling author of the 1990s. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1998 and was knighted for services to literature in the 2009 New Year Honours. In 2001 he won the annual Carnegie Medal for The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, the first Discworld book marketed for children. He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2010.
In December 2007 Pratchett announced that he had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. He later made a substantial public donation to the Alzheimer's Research Trust (now Alzheimer's Research UK, ARUK), filmed three television programmes chronicling his experiences with the condition for the BBC, and became a patron of ARUK. Pratchett died on 12 March 2015, at the age of 66.
Pratchett's first novel, The Carpet People, was published in 1971. The first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983, after which Pratchett wrote an average of two books a year. The final Discworld novel, The Shepherd's Crown, was published in August 2015, five months after his death.
With more than 100 million books sold worldwide in 43 languages, Pratchett was the UK's best-selling author of the 1990s. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1998 and was knighted for services to literature in the 2009 New Year Honours. In 2001 he won the annual Carnegie Medal for The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, the first Discworld book marketed for children. He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2010.
In December 2007 Pratchett announced that he had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. He later made a substantial public donation to the Alzheimer's Research Trust (now Alzheimer's Research UK, ARUK), filmed three television programmes chronicling his experiences with the condition for the BBC, and became a patron of ARUK. Pratchett died on 12 March 2015, at the age of 66.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 318 reviews
July 24, 2017
This third volume in the Johnny Maxwell trilogy is the most ambitious, tackling the subject of time travel in a funny and at the same time thoughtful way. Johnny and his friends find the bag lady Mrs. Tachyon apparently mugged on the street, and in getting her medical care are stuck with her shopping cart full of squishy, disturbingly motile garbage bags. The thing is, her bags are apparently stuffed with Time, and in messing with them, Johnny and Kirsty (who keeps changing her name) and then the others are transported in time. (Mrs. Tachyon, right?)
There's some humorous comings and goings for a bit, but the main story focuses on something Johnny's been studying for a school project, the WWII bombing of a street in their town. Because the air raid siren failed to go off, nineteen people were killed. When their time travel takes them back to the day of the raid, Johnny wonders if there isn't some way to stop that happening.
The actual mechanics of time travel are more played for laughs than actually thought out, though they hold together fairly well, and Pratchett only "cheats" (in the sense of deviating from the rules he's created) once. That once is really only credible because you want it to succeed, not because it makes a lot of sense. But the resolution of the plot is extremely satisfying, the more so because Johnny's friends Bigmac, Wobbler, and Yo-less are as involved as Johnny is.
Here in particular we see elements of Pratchett's Discworld novels, in particular the Trousers of Time concept and Mrs. Tachyon's repetition of the phrase "millennium hand and shrimp." I took this to be a cute nod to adult readers who'd be familiar with Sam Vimes and Foul Ole Ron and was amused by it. I also liked that Pratchett was willing to alter history, and that Johnny's attitude was that we alter the future all the time by the actions we take. His messing around in the continuum left the future a better place, changing a lot of lives, including one Johnny never thought was in question.
I'm not sure I'll come back to this series the way I do several of the Discworld novels, but I enjoyed this very much and intend to pass it along to my children.
There's some humorous comings and goings for a bit, but the main story focuses on something Johnny's been studying for a school project, the WWII bombing of a street in their town. Because the air raid siren failed to go off, nineteen people were killed. When their time travel takes them back to the day of the raid, Johnny wonders if there isn't some way to stop that happening.
The actual mechanics of time travel are more played for laughs than actually thought out, though they hold together fairly well, and Pratchett only "cheats" (in the sense of deviating from the rules he's created) once. That once is really only credible because you want it to succeed, not because it makes a lot of sense. But the resolution of the plot is extremely satisfying, the more so because Johnny's friends Bigmac, Wobbler, and Yo-less are as involved as Johnny is.
Here in particular we see elements of Pratchett's Discworld novels, in particular the Trousers of Time concept and Mrs. Tachyon's repetition of the phrase "millennium hand and shrimp." I took this to be a cute nod to adult readers who'd be familiar with Sam Vimes and Foul Ole Ron and was amused by it. I also liked that Pratchett was willing to alter history, and that Johnny's attitude was that we alter the future all the time by the actions we take. His messing around in the continuum left the future a better place, changing a lot of lives, including one Johnny never thought was in question.
I'm not sure I'll come back to this series the way I do several of the Discworld novels, but I enjoyed this very much and intend to pass it along to my children.
October 23, 2021
Johnny Maxwell had to deal with aliens in a videogame. Then he helped the dead save their cemetery. Now, he’s traveling back in time.
Johnny Maxwell gets sent to the second world war thanks to a crazy bag lady’s time travelling trolley. He’s right on time for a bombing that will fall on top of his home town. His instinct tells him to save the town. But he quickly learns that actions in the past have consequences for the present. The question quickly forms, is saving innocent lives the right thing to do here? And are some events fixed points in time or is there wiggle room?
This is definitely the most ambitious of the trilogy. It’s also quite clever, playing with the concept of time travelling and some of the tropes that come with it. It’s funny at times but also quite serious, which really helps sell the hardships of the times during the second world war.
While the Johnny Maxwell trilogy doesn’t reach the level of Terry Pratchett’s strongest Discworld novels, it’s quite fun and thought-provoking in its own right.
Johnny Maxwell gets sent to the second world war thanks to a crazy bag lady’s time travelling trolley. He’s right on time for a bombing that will fall on top of his home town. His instinct tells him to save the town. But he quickly learns that actions in the past have consequences for the present. The question quickly forms, is saving innocent lives the right thing to do here? And are some events fixed points in time or is there wiggle room?
This is definitely the most ambitious of the trilogy. It’s also quite clever, playing with the concept of time travelling and some of the tropes that come with it. It’s funny at times but also quite serious, which really helps sell the hardships of the times during the second world war.
While the Johnny Maxwell trilogy doesn’t reach the level of Terry Pratchett’s strongest Discworld novels, it’s quite fun and thought-provoking in its own right.
February 10, 2017
I’ve always been a fan of Terry Pratchett’s Johnny Maxwell series – they were written and published during what I’d consider to be his golden years, and what’s interesting about the Johnny Maxwell books is that they’re set in our reality.
In this book, Johnny and his friends take a trip back in time after finding a magic, time-travelling trolley that belongs to the local bag lady. That allows Pratchett to experiment with genre, by writing a sort of realistic fantasy, which has some grounding in historical fact – it takes you back to the Second World War, albeit in the fictional town of Blackbury.
It’s a lot of fun, because Pratchett plays around with cause and effect, and shows us his own bastardised version of the butterfly effect. He also talks about the trousers of time, a concept which I think he also used in the Discworld. And the crazy bag lady said “Millenium hand and shrimp”, which might sound familiar.
Overall, I have a lot of love for the Johnny Maxwell series, and this was probably my second favourite so far. So read it!
In this book, Johnny and his friends take a trip back in time after finding a magic, time-travelling trolley that belongs to the local bag lady. That allows Pratchett to experiment with genre, by writing a sort of realistic fantasy, which has some grounding in historical fact – it takes you back to the Second World War, albeit in the fictional town of Blackbury.
It’s a lot of fun, because Pratchett plays around with cause and effect, and shows us his own bastardised version of the butterfly effect. He also talks about the trousers of time, a concept which I think he also used in the Discworld. And the crazy bag lady said “Millenium hand and shrimp”, which might sound familiar.
Overall, I have a lot of love for the Johnny Maxwell series, and this was probably my second favourite so far. So read it!
June 4, 2011
Beware the trousers of time.
May 4, 2017
Unfortunately read a North American edition so words like cookie and trash were incongruously appearing in wartime England. Good luck getting anything sensible dialling 911 as well! References to The Thunderbirds and Flowerpot Men were left intact so surely the American reader would have had much less trouble with biscuit and rubbish! All that aside, this was a gentle Pratchett romp with sly humour at many turns.
January 23, 2024
4+ just because it's Terry Pratchett and reading it made my day better.
July 29, 2020
The third and last Johnny Maxwell book is about time travel, and all the mind-bending possibilities and different trouser legs of time. It is entertaining, the kids’ dialogue is silly and quirky, but the most value for a Discworld fan is seeing the ideas emerge that pop up in Pratchett’s other books. “Trousers legs of time” shows ip in Jingo, that I just finished, relating to a confused Disorganizer. Time travel, of course, occurs in several other books, like Nightwatch and Thief of Time. And the banter of the kids is reminiscent of Adam’s gang in Good Omens.
We have some references to racism and sexism, and ignorance: “that’s just how they were brought up, not nastiness”. We can’t change history, or can we? It is all what we remember. And what we don’t.
We have some references to racism and sexism, and ignorance: “that’s just how they were brought up, not nastiness”. We can’t change history, or can we? It is all what we remember. And what we don’t.
April 12, 2021
As a huge discworld fan I thought i'd give this a go, it's nowhere near on the same level as the Bromeliad Trilogy (Truckers, Diggers, Wings... read them!) or the younger discworld books, but it was enjoyable nonetheless and had a satisfying conclusion.
I found that unlike the other younger Pratchett books above, this really is only for kids and doesnt really go any deeper, it's kind of Pratchett Lite.
I found that unlike the other younger Pratchett books above, this really is only for kids and doesnt really go any deeper, it's kind of Pratchett Lite.
November 10, 2011
Like it!
Best quote:
"When all else failed, she tried being reasonable.”
Best quote:
"When all else failed, she tried being reasonable.”
December 31, 2020
Her şey orada bekliyor, diye düşündü Johnny. Zamanın özelliği bu. Zaman makinesi yapmanın ne kadar uzun süreceği önemli değil. Hepimiz ölebiliriz ve evrim, köstebeklerle falan, yeniden başlar. Hatta milyonlarca sene sürebilir. Ama eninde sonunda biri onu yapacak. Bir... makine bile olmayabilir. Belki de yalnızca, zamanın ne olduğunu anlama meselesidir; tıpkı eskiden herkesin yıldırımdan korkması gibi ve sonra bir gün birinin çıkıp, “Bakın, onu küçük şişelerde biriktirebilirsiniz,” demesi gibi. Yıldırımın yalnızca elektrik olduğu öyle anlaşılmıştı... Ama aslında o bile fark etmez, çünkü onu nasıl kullanabildiğini çözdüğün anda, her şey orada olacak. Biri, evrenin tüm tarihi içinde BİR gün, zamanda yolculuk etmenin yolunu bulursa eğer... O zaman bugün, burada olabilirler...
Muhteşem serinin bu son halkasında Johnny ve şaşkoloz arkadaşları, geçmişe gidip kasabalarının kaderini değiştirme çabasında. Zaman yolculuğuna dair ne kadar tema varsa, hem de en sağlamlarından, tabii ki de işte bu kitapta (evet, Kassandra Kompleksi de dâhil).
Muhteşem serinin bu son halkasında Johnny ve şaşkoloz arkadaşları, geçmişe gidip kasabalarının kaderini değiştirme çabasında. Zaman yolculuğuna dair ne kadar tema varsa, hem de en sağlamlarından, tabii ki de işte bu kitapta (evet, Kassandra Kompleksi de dâhil).
June 2, 2022
Ако си падате по истории за пътуване във времето, то третата и последна книга за Джони Максуел е точно за вас! Като за финал, тийнейджърската трилогия на Тери Пратчет ще ни запрати през годините, служейки си с нещо по-щуро дори от Делориън или телефонна кабина. Това да ни е за урок! Литературен персонаж с името Тахион не може да бъде случайност, нали? А ако до момента сте пропуснали книгата – спокойно. Нямате нужда от машина на времето, за да се сдобиете с нея. Нито дори от антикварна книжарница. Благодарение на изд. „Прозорец“, експлозивното приключение „Джони и бомбата“ се завръща в ново издание, което е дори още по-забавно заради приноса на художника Марк Бийч. Прочетете ревюто на „Книжни Криле“: https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/202...
November 2, 2020
Aww. . . It's over. Johnny Maxwell was an interesting and complex character that, I guess, just wasn't viable enough to keep going. It makes me sad because I've become invested in these characters. Gave them life in my head like adding your breath to a golem. Sadly it happens.
So. . . This is probably the weakest of the series, especially if you look at it from a kid's eye. There's some seriously brain twisting time paradox content here. It can make your brain wake up in the middle of the night and yell "What?!" but that's okay. Much of it is explained away without vast confusion mostly using trousers as a metaphor. . . imagine a pair of pants for an octopus with an infinite number of legs. Go on, imagine it. I'll wait. Ready?
Not dead people this time or video game characters acting up in ways they shouldn't. Nope, this time Johnny is mucking about in time. Mrs. Tachyon a long time resident of the area (a great very long time) turns up with her evil cat named Guilty and a shopping cart full of strangeness in 1996, Johnny's current time. Johnny and friends rescue Mrs. Tachyon and are left with her cart and cat. They slip into a trouser leg of time and turn up in their hometown just as a terrible and unexpected event is about to occur. I'm going to ask questions again, are you ready? Can Johnny change time and save nineteen lives? Will Wobbler be rescued from the past where, oops, he got left behind. How many legs do these trousers if time gave?
It was a good read a little convoluted and not where I'd leave off on the characters but it is what it is. Just a little less good as the first two entries.
Onward with the Great Rereading.
So. . . This is probably the weakest of the series, especially if you look at it from a kid's eye. There's some seriously brain twisting time paradox content here. It can make your brain wake up in the middle of the night and yell "What?!" but that's okay. Much of it is explained away without vast confusion mostly using trousers as a metaphor. . . imagine a pair of pants for an octopus with an infinite number of legs. Go on, imagine it. I'll wait. Ready?
Not dead people this time or video game characters acting up in ways they shouldn't. Nope, this time Johnny is mucking about in time. Mrs. Tachyon a long time resident of the area (a great very long time) turns up with her evil cat named Guilty and a shopping cart full of strangeness in 1996, Johnny's current time. Johnny and friends rescue Mrs. Tachyon and are left with her cart and cat. They slip into a trouser leg of time and turn up in their hometown just as a terrible and unexpected event is about to occur. I'm going to ask questions again, are you ready? Can Johnny change time and save nineteen lives? Will Wobbler be rescued from the past where, oops, he got left behind. How many legs do these trousers if time gave?
It was a good read a little convoluted and not where I'd leave off on the characters but it is what it is. Just a little less good as the first two entries.
Onward with the Great Rereading.
April 25, 2015
The third and final Johnny Maxwell book although I wasn't aware until after I'd got part way through. Luckily the books read as stand alones featuring recurring characters and the only thing that progresses in a chronological order is the situation happening behind the closed door of Johnny's home.
There were still some social comments that gave food for thought in this one, how racism is treated and its use has changed over the years (some would say not a lot these days) and how events from the wars effected people's lives but they didn't feel as powerful and thought provoking as the first book (I've yet to read book 2).
The main crux of the story focuses on time travel and the perils of altering history. It.makes for some interesting reading but nothing super deep and meaningful. Once again the gang act as a good support cast and it was nice to see Johnny and Kirsty take centre stage again. I haven't looked up the release date so I don't know which came first but as a Discworld fan it was nice to see what was either nods to or early ideas for a couple of characters in Foul Ole Ron (the line "Millennium hand and shrimp" is actually used) and Greebo the cat.
Another enjoyable tale that I think anyone from children to adults can enjoy. Well worth a read.
There were still some social comments that gave food for thought in this one, how racism is treated and its use has changed over the years (some would say not a lot these days) and how events from the wars effected people's lives but they didn't feel as powerful and thought provoking as the first book (I've yet to read book 2).
The main crux of the story focuses on time travel and the perils of altering history. It.makes for some interesting reading but nothing super deep and meaningful. Once again the gang act as a good support cast and it was nice to see Johnny and Kirsty take centre stage again. I haven't looked up the release date so I don't know which came first but as a Discworld fan it was nice to see what was either nods to or early ideas for a couple of characters in Foul Ole Ron (the line "Millennium hand and shrimp" is actually used) and Greebo the cat.
Another enjoyable tale that I think anyone from children to adults can enjoy. Well worth a read.
February 27, 2008
The third book in Terry Pratchett's Johnny Maxwell series starts out with a bang. Literally. A bomb has fallen in the midst of Johnny's city. But the bomb dropped in World War II. Johnny discovers the history of the bomb and can't stop thinking about the people affected by it. One of the people affected by it ends up in Johnny's time -- the local bag lady, who is so mentally and temporally displaced that sometimes her body follows along.
Johnny and one of his friends help the lady get to the hospital, and take custody of her shopping cart, which holds strange bags of lumpy stuff. The lumpy stuff has some confusing temporal properties, causing Johnny and some of his friends end up skittering back and forth in time to the moments before the bomb.
Of course they have to try to save the day.
Once again, the conversations between Johnny and his friends are absolutely hilarious, as they try to reason out the universe using the little facts that they almost know and barely mis-remember.
Johnny and one of his friends help the lady get to the hospital, and take custody of her shopping cart, which holds strange bags of lumpy stuff. The lumpy stuff has some confusing temporal properties, causing Johnny and some of his friends end up skittering back and forth in time to the moments before the bomb.
Of course they have to try to save the day.
Once again, the conversations between Johnny and his friends are absolutely hilarious, as they try to reason out the universe using the little facts that they almost know and barely mis-remember.
March 3, 2011
It's Terry Pratchett's doing, so of course it's fun. It plays around with the idea of time travel in a way that doesn't break my brain too much, which I can accept easily enough to drag me along for the ride. I'm told it's not the first book in the series, though, and it shows: I would probably have cared more if, well, I'd already cared.
I'm not really sure what to say about it. I was quite excited to get a Terry Pratchett book on my course, but now I've got it, I don't think I'm going to write about it. It's clever and sometimes funny, and there's hints at engaging with deeper issues, but most of the time I was a little bored -- probably due to the target audience being quite a bit younger than I am! -- and just reading it because I had to. Which is a bit of a shame because I normally love Terry Pratchett.
I'm not really sure what to say about it. I was quite excited to get a Terry Pratchett book on my course, but now I've got it, I don't think I'm going to write about it. It's clever and sometimes funny, and there's hints at engaging with deeper issues, but most of the time I was a little bored -- probably due to the target audience being quite a bit younger than I am! -- and just reading it because I had to. Which is a bit of a shame because I normally love Terry Pratchett.
April 9, 2020
Johnny Maxwell finds old Mrs. Tachyon, a bag lady, in the cinema, and he learns that her grocery cart is, in fact, a time machine. Johnny and his friends go back in time to 1941 when his town was accidentally struck with German bombs and many people were killed. One of Johnny's friends is left behind in 1941, and they make plans to return for him.
Stories about time travel are always fun, I think, and this one is not only a story about time travel but it's also written by the masterfully funny Terry Pratchett.
A 1001 Children's Book You Must Read
Stories about time travel are always fun, I think, and this one is not only a story about time travel but it's also written by the masterfully funny Terry Pratchett.
A 1001 Children's Book You Must Read
March 2, 2012
My brother's birthday is today, and as I was wrapping this book (and a few others) I thought '...I haven't read this since I was twelve...' So I'm reading it again. I love Mrs Tachyon. I really need to stop reading children's books. However, it's interesting to see how Pratchett's writing has advanced. His style is terribly similar, but the plots and characters are less complicated and far less clever. Anyway, I'm sure my brother is going to love it.
August 7, 2017
I started with this book because I didn't realize it was the third in a trilogy. It is enjoyable as a stand alone, but I might read the first two volumes anyway because I liked it. I enjoyed the humour and social commentary. Although it's not one of Pratchett's best books, it's a great introduction to him for middle grade reader.
April 10, 2017
The first half of the book is pretty bad. The humor doesn't work and there is so little detail. But once Johnny takes control, the story starts to improve quite a bit. I don't think I enjoyed the book as much as some of Pratchett's others. Very interesting way of traveling thru time.
December 26, 2021
I enjoyed this one. Time travel, the war and kids getting in and out of trouble! Touched on systemic misogyny and racism though a child’s viewpoint.
August 10, 2024
Grazie Libraccio per avermi fatto conoscere questo libro, meno grazie per avermi fatto iniziare dall'ultimo della trilogia
February 4, 2025
really good!! it’s a fun, light read and entertaining yet thoughtful in a very Terry Pratchett way.
November 14, 2013
Today I am revisiting my very first blogs posts here and on my other blog Randomly Reading. It isn't because I haven't been reading, I have actually read lots of blogable books lately. I just thought it would be fun to see this again. And I still love it as much now as I did on all subsequent readings of it.
So here's what I wrote on June 11, 2010:
Life isn’t terribly exciting in Blackbury, England in 1996 until 21 May 1941, the night of the Blackberry Blitz and the destruction of Paradise Street, where 19 residents are killed. It all begins when 13 year old Johnny Maxwell and his friends find the local bag lady, Mrs. Tachyon, lying in an alley near her overturned shopping cart and her black plastic bags strewn about, blown from the past to the present by an unexploded bomb or UXB.
Johnny does the right thing and calls an ambulance to take her to the hospital. And because he is a good kid, he takes her shopping cart, her bags and her demon cat Guilty home to store in his garage until Mrs. Tachyon can reclaim them. This incident begins Johnny’s foray in time travel, accompanied by his friends Yo-less, Bigmac, Wobbler and Kristy. As Mrs. Tachyon explains to Johnny when he visits her in the hospital “Them’s bags of time, mister man. Mind me bike! Where your mind goes, the rest of you’s bound to follow. Here today and gone tomorrow! Doing it’s the trick! eh?” (page 49) And because Johnny’s mind has been on his school project about the Blackbury Blitz that is exactly where Mrs. Tachyon’s bags of time take him and his friends.
Travelling back in time, Johnny is not only faced with the dilemma of knowing what the result of the Blackury Blitz will be, but also with the possibility of changing its grim outcome. It is a classic fork in the road dilemma given a new twist, or as the mysterious Sir John, burger magnet and richest man in the world, presents it to his chauffeur in 1996 “Did you know that when you change time, you get two futures heading off side by side?...Like a pair of trousers.” (page 55-56)
In 1941, Bigmac, a skinhead who finds cars with keys in the ignition irresistible, is arrested for stealing one and then accused of being a German spy. He manages to get away from the police by stealing one of their bicycles. Thanks to Bigmac, the group is forced to return to 1996 to escape. Unfortunately, when they get there, they discover that they have left Wobbler behind. Do they go back and return Wobbler to the present time? What leg of the trousers does history follow if they leave him in 1941? What leg of the trousers does history follow is they go back for Wobbler? And who is the mysterious Sir John and what does he have to do with everything?
Johnny and the Bomb presents a number of interesting conundrums for the reader. Every fan of time travel stories knows the cardinal rule that if you manage to find a way to time travel, you must not change anything or you change the future. But doesn’t the very fact of your presence in a time you have traveled to constitute a change? So, can you change something and still have the same future result – more or less?
Johnny and the Bomb was a well done, thoroughly enjoyable novel. It is the third book in the Johnny Maxwell Trilogy. The first two books are Only You Can Save Mankind (1992) and Johnny and the Dead. It was made into a movie by BBC in 2006 in the UK, but can be viewed in 10 minute increments on YouTube. Though a little different from the book, I still found it to be entertaining. Mrs. Tachyon was played by Zoë Wanamaker, who, as fans of the movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone will remember, was Madame Hooch, the flying instructor (among her other numerous excellent roles.)
Speaking of the time traveling Mrs. Tachyon, there is an interesting concept in Physics called a tachyon. Essentially, a tachyon is an imaginary particle of ordinary matter that can travel faster than the speed of light, which means it can travel back in time.
It seemed appropriate to begin this blog about World War II-themed books for young readers with a time travel novel, even if the focus is not directly about the war. Historical fiction is, after all, similar to Mrs. Tachyon’s bags of time, and the novels become a portal that can transport and return me to the time period under consideration.
This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was purchased for my personal library
So here's what I wrote on June 11, 2010:
Life isn’t terribly exciting in Blackbury, England in 1996 until 21 May 1941, the night of the Blackberry Blitz and the destruction of Paradise Street, where 19 residents are killed. It all begins when 13 year old Johnny Maxwell and his friends find the local bag lady, Mrs. Tachyon, lying in an alley near her overturned shopping cart and her black plastic bags strewn about, blown from the past to the present by an unexploded bomb or UXB.
Johnny does the right thing and calls an ambulance to take her to the hospital. And because he is a good kid, he takes her shopping cart, her bags and her demon cat Guilty home to store in his garage until Mrs. Tachyon can reclaim them. This incident begins Johnny’s foray in time travel, accompanied by his friends Yo-less, Bigmac, Wobbler and Kristy. As Mrs. Tachyon explains to Johnny when he visits her in the hospital “Them’s bags of time, mister man. Mind me bike! Where your mind goes, the rest of you’s bound to follow. Here today and gone tomorrow! Doing it’s the trick! eh?” (page 49) And because Johnny’s mind has been on his school project about the Blackbury Blitz that is exactly where Mrs. Tachyon’s bags of time take him and his friends.
Travelling back in time, Johnny is not only faced with the dilemma of knowing what the result of the Blackury Blitz will be, but also with the possibility of changing its grim outcome. It is a classic fork in the road dilemma given a new twist, or as the mysterious Sir John, burger magnet and richest man in the world, presents it to his chauffeur in 1996 “Did you know that when you change time, you get two futures heading off side by side?...Like a pair of trousers.” (page 55-56)
In 1941, Bigmac, a skinhead who finds cars with keys in the ignition irresistible, is arrested for stealing one and then accused of being a German spy. He manages to get away from the police by stealing one of their bicycles. Thanks to Bigmac, the group is forced to return to 1996 to escape. Unfortunately, when they get there, they discover that they have left Wobbler behind. Do they go back and return Wobbler to the present time? What leg of the trousers does history follow if they leave him in 1941? What leg of the trousers does history follow is they go back for Wobbler? And who is the mysterious Sir John and what does he have to do with everything?
Johnny and the Bomb presents a number of interesting conundrums for the reader. Every fan of time travel stories knows the cardinal rule that if you manage to find a way to time travel, you must not change anything or you change the future. But doesn’t the very fact of your presence in a time you have traveled to constitute a change? So, can you change something and still have the same future result – more or less?
Johnny and the Bomb was a well done, thoroughly enjoyable novel. It is the third book in the Johnny Maxwell Trilogy. The first two books are Only You Can Save Mankind (1992) and Johnny and the Dead. It was made into a movie by BBC in 2006 in the UK, but can be viewed in 10 minute increments on YouTube. Though a little different from the book, I still found it to be entertaining. Mrs. Tachyon was played by Zoë Wanamaker, who, as fans of the movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone will remember, was Madame Hooch, the flying instructor (among her other numerous excellent roles.)
Speaking of the time traveling Mrs. Tachyon, there is an interesting concept in Physics called a tachyon. Essentially, a tachyon is an imaginary particle of ordinary matter that can travel faster than the speed of light, which means it can travel back in time.
It seemed appropriate to begin this blog about World War II-themed books for young readers with a time travel novel, even if the focus is not directly about the war. Historical fiction is, after all, similar to Mrs. Tachyon’s bags of time, and the novels become a portal that can transport and return me to the time period under consideration.
This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was purchased for my personal library
August 4, 2022
Well that was quite good, a bit messy but it gets the main elements right. The previous book wasn’t bad but it didn’t focus enough on Johnny. And while this one doesn’t have a lot about his homelife like the first book it still manages to show how empathetic he is and its quite compelling.
Also Kristy, eh? Kirsty, Kasandra.. whatever her name is, is back in this one, she wasn’t in Johnny and the Dead. There is one inconsistency in that i believe Big Mac was no longer living with his brother in one of the previous books but is apparently back there again but its a minor quibble.
For Discworld fans there are are quite a few things in this one that are reused later too. Not as good as the first book but a solid entry in the series.
A pity he didn’t do any more Johnny has a sort of Dr. Who quality which feels like you could do an almost endless number of stories with him.
Also Kristy, eh? Kirsty, Kasandra.. whatever her name is, is back in this one, she wasn’t in Johnny and the Dead. There is one inconsistency in that i believe Big Mac was no longer living with his brother in one of the previous books but is apparently back there again but its a minor quibble.
For Discworld fans there are are quite a few things in this one that are reused later too. Not as good as the first book but a solid entry in the series.
A pity he didn’t do any more Johnny has a sort of Dr. Who quality which feels like you could do an almost endless number of stories with him.
November 29, 2012
2.5
Pratchett has covered a lot of ground in this trilogy: aliens and war, ghosts and our connections to our past, and time-travel and, um, war again.
Perhaps it's because, as I said in my review for Johnny and the Dead. I would pick ghosts over aliens - or time-travel - or perhaps that story just resonated more for me for some other reason, but it as definitely my favorite of the lot. I think this one would come in second.
It didn't quite have the same level of humor or pathos has the second book, but a bit more than the first.
But, aside from all that, I think my biggest issue with this book was the introduction of Kirsty. For one thing, it never really says where she came from. She's not in the previous books, not even in passing - at least not as far as I recall - but, in this one, she seems closer to Johnny than any of his other friends who were in the last two books.
Speaking of which, I didn't feel like they were as present in this story. They were certainly relevant at times, but they felt more developed in the last book.
Anyway - Kirsty. Kirsty is a very dominant presence, to the point where she sort of overshadows Johnny, who is rather passive. Next to Kirsty, Johnny seems even more passive than in the previous books.
More to the point, though, she just never really clicked with me. She felt forced. I think she was meant to be - and she was, at times, especially when they went back in the past and she had to deal the casual sexism of the time, and also when, in conflict with Yo-less, she drops her own bit of casual racism and he has to drive the point home that she's just as bad with him and the other guys are with her... and we all learned a valuable lesson.
(And I say that only half in jest, because it is a valuable lesson, but just felt a bit heavy-handed for Pratchett, who's usually better at digging the knife in a bit more subtley. Or, at least, amusingly.)
Anyway -
It was a decent read and I liked it well enough. It had it's moments - some really funny lines, some nice moments, some cool head-warping time-travel paradoxy things - but, overall, not my favorite of his works.
ETA: I think that if I'd read this earlier, closer to its original publication date, or when I was younger, I would've been a bit more impressed with the head-bending stuff. As it is, it's something I've encountered enough times to be fairly familiar with it but, at the time of the writing, it was probably a bit fresher.
Pratchett has covered a lot of ground in this trilogy: aliens and war, ghosts and our connections to our past, and time-travel and, um, war again.
Perhaps it's because, as I said in my review for Johnny and the Dead. I would pick ghosts over aliens - or time-travel - or perhaps that story just resonated more for me for some other reason, but it as definitely my favorite of the lot. I think this one would come in second.
It didn't quite have the same level of humor or pathos has the second book, but a bit more than the first.
But, aside from all that, I think my biggest issue with this book was the introduction of Kirsty. For one thing, it never really says where she came from. She's not in the previous books, not even in passing - at least not as far as I recall - but, in this one, she seems closer to Johnny than any of his other friends who were in the last two books.
Speaking of which, I didn't feel like they were as present in this story. They were certainly relevant at times, but they felt more developed in the last book.
Anyway - Kirsty. Kirsty is a very dominant presence, to the point where she sort of overshadows Johnny, who is rather passive. Next to Kirsty, Johnny seems even more passive than in the previous books.
More to the point, though, she just never really clicked with me. She felt forced. I think she was meant to be - and she was, at times, especially when they went back in the past and she had to deal the casual sexism of the time, and also when, in conflict with Yo-less, she drops her own bit of casual racism and he has to drive the point home that she's just as bad with him and the other guys are with her... and we all learned a valuable lesson.
(And I say that only half in jest, because it is a valuable lesson, but just felt a bit heavy-handed for Pratchett, who's usually better at digging the knife in a bit more subtley. Or, at least, amusingly.)
Anyway -
It was a decent read and I liked it well enough. It had it's moments - some really funny lines, some nice moments, some cool head-warping time-travel paradoxy things - but, overall, not my favorite of his works.
ETA: I think that if I'd read this earlier, closer to its original publication date, or when I was younger, I would've been a bit more impressed with the head-bending stuff. As it is, it's something I've encountered enough times to be fairly familiar with it but, at the time of the writing, it was probably a bit fresher.
February 23, 2014
"Johnny and the bomb," by Terry Pratchett, is a superb book about a young boy, Johnny, who mysteriously wakes up over forty years before he was even born.The date is May 21, 1941, the day German bombs drop on his hometown. Thanks to the knowledge he has gained during school, he quickly realizes this. Johnny is stuck in a huge position whether or not to warn the civilians living there now and save their lives, or let history take its place and have to witness everybody die. This book was well written, and very entertaining, I gave it five out of five stars. Terry Pratchett turned Johnny Maxwell's books into a trilogy, and I would like to read the rest.I recommend this book to others and encourage them to read the trilogy.
January 14, 2018
I have given this the highest rating out of the trilogy as it was fleshed out more. The story, again, follows Johnny and his friends.
The mini-history lesson is done well and explained in terms where children can understand and follow.
I enjoyed all of the friends but Kirsty. Her "intelligence" just has her appear snobbish. Also, she doesn't seem to learn anything to grow. I especially enjoyed when Yo-less put her in her place. Granted, they are children, but she was very unlikable. On top of that Johnny's friends seem to be a bit mean towards him.
We discover more about Miss Tachyon and I was glad about that.
A very well told story that shows the importance of history and never forgetting.
The mini-history lesson is done well and explained in terms where children can understand and follow.
I enjoyed all of the friends but Kirsty. Her "intelligence" just has her appear snobbish. Also, she doesn't seem to learn anything to grow. I especially enjoyed when Yo-less put her in her place. Granted, they are children, but she was very unlikable. On top of that Johnny's friends seem to be a bit mean towards him.
We discover more about Miss Tachyon and I was glad about that.
A very well told story that shows the importance of history and never forgetting.
November 3, 2016
Doesn't live up to the promise of
, but better than
. Feels a bit tired and familiar and doesn't really make sense, but has great pace and energy to make up for it, and some good Pratchettian humour.
Fuller review here
, but better than
. Feels a bit tired and familiar and doesn't really make sense, but has great pace and energy to make up for it, and some good Pratchettian humour.Fuller review here
September 27, 2018
In this book, Johnny and friends end up time-traveling, first by accident, then purposely to make things right. The time travel made sense, and I liked the concept of the Trousers of Time; I think it's a good way of explaining how timelines branch out.
And, as always, Pratchett makes the story a lot of fun with his wit and humor, while simultaneously exploring serious ideas. In this case, the main idea is that, with or without time travel, everything we do has an effect on the future, so let's do what we can with the opportunities that we get.
I enjoyed all the Johnny Maxwell books, but this was my favorite.
And, as always, Pratchett makes the story a lot of fun with his wit and humor, while simultaneously exploring serious ideas. In this case, the main idea is that, with or without time travel, everything we do has an effect on the future, so let's do what we can with the opportunities that we get.
I enjoyed all the Johnny Maxwell books, but this was my favorite.
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