Johhny and the Dead

by Terry Pratchett

I liked this second book in the series better than the first, Only You Can Save Mankind. The characters are quirky, interesting and most of them are dead. Pratchett's humor is always wonderful and usually insightful.

I liked this passage:

It occurred to Johnny again that the human mind, of which each of his friends was in possession of one almost standard sample, was like a compass. No matter how much you shook it up, no matter what happened to it, sooner or later it would end up pointing the same way.

If you are trying to encourage a young reader I think this book would be great. And I would go with this one rather than the first, it really doesn't need to be read in order. The suggested reading level is ages 9-12, but I think it can be appreciated by much older readers, too.

The Light Fantastic

by Terry Pratchett

Pratchett is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. His books are pure delight - besides being witty and imaginative, they are well-written, have a great storyline and include full-bodied, whimsical characters. The Light Fantastic is Pratchett's second Disc-World novel and is a direct continuation of the story presented in The Colour of Magic.

Favorite characters include Rincewind who is the main protagonist. While attending wizard school he got a powerful spell stuck in his head that seems to have made lesser spells afraid to lodge there, thus he has never been good at magic. His companion in both books is a tourist named Twoflower who has a rosy way of looking at things. I really like Twoflower. My 3rd favorite character is Luggage, with his multitudes of tiny feet and definite attitude. Luggage is just that - luggage, a trunk in fact. He belongs to Twoflower and is fiercely loyal.

"Twoflower was a tourist and fundamental to his very existence was the rock-hard belief that nothing bad could really happen to him because he was not involved."

Chuckled at this description: "He moved in a way that suggested he was attempting the world speed record for the nonchalant walk."

"She picked him up by his apron straps and glared at him eye to eye. Torn though her dress was, disarrayed though her hair was, she became for a moment the symbol of every woman who has caught a man with his thumb on the scales of life."

The Carpet People

by Terry Pratchett

The appeal to me was first, the book was written by Terry Pratchett; second, it was first published when Pratchett was 17-years-old, and third, it was revised by Pratchett, age 43, when the book was re-released.

Pratchett said in 1992 when the book was republished, "I wrote that in the days when I thought fantasy was all about battles and kings. Now I'm inclined to think that the real concerns of fantasy ought to be about not having battles, and doing without kings." That was my final summarizing thought when I finished the book - This book is about battles.

Pratchett's humor is evident and the story was okay, it just wasn't one of my favorite. I can see how it may be interesting for someone in Jr. High.

Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents

by Terry Pratchett

The American cover is not the least bit cute or enticing, so I'm showing the English version even though that's not the one I was able to hold in my hands.

Some books I've read recently are based on fairy tales; this book takes the Pied Piper tale and "turns it right on it's head" according to the front cover. I think that's an apt description. Maurice is a talking cat who has teamed up with a "stupid-looking boy" and some talking mice in a Pied Piper-like scam.

Pratchett's characteristic humor defuses the ick factor allowing me to actually like the rats and tolerate their environment. In fact, I found myself cheering for the rats, which is to be expected since they are the heroes along with Maurice, the boy and a town girl.

I found myself thinking this was the perfect book to engage the interest of young boys. Although, I need to add a word of caution: the book gets quite terrifying in the last half. I didn't have any nightmares, but I could imagine that some children might. I think this book should be categorized as YA, not children's. The scary part ends and the book finishes on a lighter note. I really liked this book and highly recommend it to adults and cautiously recommend it to young adults.

The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents was awarded the Carnegie Awards in 2001. This award is given for outstanding children's or YA literature.

Only You Can Save Mankind

by Terry Pratchett

I've read four novels by Terry Pratchett and thoroughly enjoyed each one. This year I've set a goal to read more books Pratchett. His work is creative, contemplative, humorous and often includes a touch of mystery. Pratchett has had 22 consecutive best sellers. Quite remarkable. He's most famous for his sci fi tales about Discworld. My favorite to date is Mork, followed by his YA series featuring Tiffany Aching.

Only You Can Save Mankind is the first in the Johnny Maxwell Trilogy. It's written for the 5-8 grade audience. If you have a son in that age group, this may be one he'd enjoy. Girls, too; but I was thinking of a boy who wasn't that into reading.

Johnny is called to from the darkness of a space alien computer game. The ScreeWees are all be killed off and they want to surrender and have safe conduct back to their home planet. Safe conduct is promised to prisoners under the international rules of war.

With my recent read of Ender's Game still fresh in my mind, I thought the idea smacked of Ender and his computer games. This book is much gentler and does veer from Ender's Game quite a bit. Much better book for younger readers.

Johnny runs with a mismatched group of dweebs, nerds and other social outcasts. Here's Johnny's description of one of his friend with the nickname Wobler. "He wobbled. It was glandular, he said. He wobbled especially when he ran. Bits of Wobbler headed in various directions: it was only on average that he was running in any particular direction." Can't you just picture it?!

I don't suggest you run out and buy this one. It was a fun book and it was nice to have something simpler to read when I needed to take a break from Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. (I may never finish that one!)

A Hat Full of Sky

by Terry Pratchett
I absolutely love this series about a young (11-yr-old) witch-in-training and her wee little friends the Nac Mac Feegles. This sequel to Wee Free Men takes place 3 years later when Tiffany Aching leaves the Chalk where she's spent her whole life to go live and train with Miss Level as an apprentice.

Miss Level is a single person with 2 bodies and she has a terrible time keeping apprentices. Tiffany is a bit annoyed that Miss Level doesn't dive right into teaching magic lessons, but over time, Tiffany learns the most important lesson about witches - duty. Tiffany realizes that her duty is to protect others, even at the cost of her own life.

Pratchett's skill with developing his characters is such that even if the story weren't gripping (which is it), the reader would still want to learn more about the characters' growth and their interactions with each other. The characters are quirky and lovable.

This series is aimed at juvenile readers but can be read and enjoyed by adults, who might sense some more of the humor in the situations and characters than younger readers will. I think my teenage daughter would love these books - hope I can figure a way to get her reading them.

Pratchett says important things but you never feel like it's preaching because he says it in such humorous ways.

One of my favorite parts of the novel was towards the end of Ch 1 when Jeannie was teaching her husband, Rob Anybody how to write. "The Nac Mac Feegles of the Chalk hated writing for all kinds of reasons, but the biggest on was this: writing stays. It fastens words down. Ya might as well nail a man's shadow to the wall." The clan watched in fascinated horror as two of Rob's brothers pushed him (sweat dripping off his forehead) towards the paper pinned up on the chamber wall. This little scene goes on for pages as Rob learns to write his own name, starting first with the fat man walking - the letter R.

This is my first book for Carl's Fantasy Challenge.

Wee Free Men

by Terry Pratchett
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This is the first in a trilogy of children's books featuring Tiffany Aching, a young witch-to-be, and the Nac Mac Feegle, a clan of sheep-stealing, sword-wielding, six-inch blue men who are as fierce as they are funny.

Tiffany's quest is to find her younger brother after he has been kidnapped by the queen of the faeries. Armed only with a frying pan and the help of the Nac Mac Feegles, Tiffany sets off on her quest. Along the way she learns important things about herself.

The Wee Free Men is billed as a children's book - 6th grade- but it is a tale that can be enjoyed by adults as well. I thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to listening to the next two in the series: A Hat Full of Sky and Wintersmith. Stephen Briggs narrates the books and I am in awe of his fabulous Scottish brogue. He can roll his r's like none other.

The Color of Magic

by Terry Pratchett (read June 2006)
This is the first of many books in the Discworld series; the 2nd one I've read. Magic was enjoyable, and very cleverly written. Rincewind, is a wizard school dropout who is assigned to protect and act as tour guide for Twoflower, who comes to Ankh-Morpork with luggage (that walks) filled with gold. The gold, rather the greed it inspires, brings them into many dangerous experiences. I'd rate this book 4.

This 1st quote is just plain cute:

The spell chose that moment to vault into the temporarily abandoned saddle of Rincewind's consciousness.

Oh, heck! I can't find the last quote. Thought I'd just memorize the page. If it comes to me, I'll enter it here. Let me just say it was a good one!

The other Pratchett novel I've read that I highly recommend is Mort.

Favorites in SciFi

1. Enchantment by Orson Scott Card
This may be as much fantasy as sci-fi. A modern 'prince' mysteriously finds himself in a medieval forest starring at a sleeping princess. I was enchanted by this novel ! I recommended this book to my husband who was surprised that I liked a book with a man running naked through a forest. What he must think of me?!
2. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
What a fun premise: The bad guy, Acheron Hades, steals characters from original manuscripts of some of the best-loved classics and that changes every future printing of the book. It's up to Thursday Next to rescue Jane Eyre and get her back into the book. Thursday works for the Literary Division of the Special Operations Network. This is a quirk book with lots of laughs and a great mystery. I think anyone who's quirky will enjoy it. There are 3 more books in the Thursday Next series. I liked Lost in a Good Book even better than the Eyre Affair and am still looking forward to reading The Well of Lost Plots and Something Rotten.
3. Mort by Terry Pratchett
Another quirky fun book. The main character, Death, is feeling pressured from the demands of his job. He takes on a lanky teenaged apprentice named Mort. It's interesting to learn the ins and outs of the job along with Mort. The problem comes when Mort falls in love with a princess and decides not to 'take her' when her time comes. Of course, that messes with the ?reality? of Discworld. Meanwhile, while Mort covers his responsibilities, Death takes a vacation to discover what LIFE is really all about. The love triangle that develops between Death's daughter, Mort and the princess just adds another layer of depth and wackiness. I LOVED this book and am considering putting it on my reread list.
4. Pawn of Prophecy Series by David Eddings
A student recommended this book. When I asked if it was a series he ducked the question and said there were lots of books that went along with it, but I wouldn't need to read any further than the first one. I should have seen it coming! I stopped after the 5th or so that were actually in the series. Very enjoyable.
5. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
I enjoyed the first in this series, but stopped after the 2nd.