Johnny and the Bomb

By Terry Pratchett
Rating: 4 1/4 stars
Reviewed by Noelle

Pratchett finishes his Johnny Maxwell trilogy with this time traveling entry. Quite by accident, Johnny and his friends discover that the shopping cart Mrs. Tachyon (who makes appearances in the other books) pushes around town is a time machine. Johnny had been doing a school project on the bombing of Paradise Street during World War II and realizes that perhaps he can stop the disaster from happening if he can go back in time to that period. Johnny and his friends Kirsty, Yo-less, Wobbler and Bigmac do quite a bit of bopping through time and space, sometimes even running into friends and relatives at different points in time. Can Johnny learn to manipulate time well enough to prevent the bombing of Paradise Street? It isn't as straightforward as one might think as Johnny learns about parallel universes and the inevitability of certain events, but it is a completely enjoyable adventure just the same. Because when you understand that Time isn't a when, it is a place, all sorts of possibilities open up. Another winner from Pratchett.