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''Johnny and the Bomb'' is a 1996
novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
by
Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his ''Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first nov ...
. It is the third novel to feature Johnny Maxwell and his friends, and deals with the rules and consequences of
time travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...
. The first two novels in the ''Johnny Maxwell Trilogy'' are ''
Only You Can Save Mankind ''Only You Can Save Mankind'' (1992 in literature, 1992) is the debut novel, first novel in the Johnny Maxwell trilogy of children's books and fifth young adult fiction, young adult novel by Terry Pratchett, author of the ''Discworld'' sequence ...
'' (1992) and ''
Johnny and the Dead ''Johnny and the Dead'' (1993) is the second novel by Terry Pratchett to feature the character Johnny Maxwell. The other novels in the ''Johnny Maxwell Trilogy'' are ''Only You Can Save Mankind'' (1992) and ''Johnny and the Bomb'' (1996). In th ...
'' (1993). The action of the novel revolves around an incident during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in which Johnny's inoffensive home town of Blackbury was hit by a bomb during an air raid intended for an industrial complex at another nearby town. It is this bomb, and not
nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...
s, to which the title refers.


Plot summary

After Johnny Maxwell, a boy in his early teens, finds Mrs. Tachyon, an old bag lady, by a cinema he discovers that her trolley is in fact a time machine. He goes back to his town, Blackbury, during the time of
The Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...
with his friends Stephen (aka Wobbler), Bigmac, Kirsty and Yo-less (possibly because Johnny has been obsessing about the destruction of Paradise Street in a German raid). Wobbler gets left behind in 1941, and when they return for him, Johnny tries to prevent the deaths caused in the raid.


The gang

Johnny Maxwell – Johnny is the protagonist. Stephen 'Wobbler' Johnson – (Walter in the TV series) Johnny's best friend and the second main character in the book. He is overweight and heavily into computers, an expert at piracy. He wants to be a "nerd", but they would not let him join. It is his considered opinion that Johnny is mental. His real name is Stephen Johnson. In ''Johnny and the Bomb'', Wobbler gets stuck in 1941 and grows up to be a billionaire calling himself Sir John and Bigmac is locked up in the Tower of London as a Nazi spy, but, due to the time travel and multiple timelines involved, where and if this happens is questionable. Wobbler returns successfully from 1941 and Bigmac is free from the Tower of London. Simon 'Bigmac' Wrigley – An asthmatic skinhead who is deeply embarrassed by his interest in maths. He lives with his brother in a rundown tower block on the edge of Blackbury. He is not exactly a criminal but has a confused grasp of car ownership. Yo-less – A West Indian boy, nicknamed by Johnny because he does not say "Yo!" His interests include
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
, train spotting, Morris dancing, and brass band music. His reaction to those who are surprised a black kid has such "uncool" hobbies varies from amusement to irritation. When faced with genuine racism he has a brittle anger that manifests itself in cold, almost emotionlessly delivered sarcasm. Kirsty – Unlike the rest of the gang, Kirsty is a highly organised person who knows exactly where she wants to go in life. She is highly intelligent but has very poor people skills, something she views as a character flaw in everyone else. She is trying to get Johnny's life organised since he is clearly incapable of doing it himself, but has not realised that he does not especially want his life organised. He finds her very easy to talk to since she never listens. She is the only female member of the gang.


Television series

In January 2006 the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
aired a three-part television adaptation of ''Johnny and the Bomb'', starring George MacKay as Johnny,
Zoë Wanamaker Zoë Wanamaker (born 13 May 1949) is a British-American actress who has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. A nine-time Olivier Award nominee, she won for '' Once in a Lifetime'' (1979) and '' Electra ...
as Mrs Tachyon,
Frank Finlay Francis Finlay, (6 August 1926 – 30 January 2016) was an English stage, film and television actor, Oscar-nominated for a supporting role as Iago in Laurence Olivier's 1965 film adaptation of ''Othello''. In 1983, Finlay was directed by Ital ...
as Johnny's granddad Tom, and
Keith Barron Keith Barron (8 August 1934 – 15 November 2017) was an English actor and television presenter who appeared in films and on television from 1961 until 2017. His television roles included the police drama ''The Odd Man'', the sitcom ''Duty Free ...
as Sir Walter.


Differences between book and TV series

In the book, Johnny changes history so that no-one dies in the Paradise Street bombing. However, the TV series has this as the original history, which the gang inadvertently changes on their first visit to the past. In the history thus created, Simon was jailed in the Tower of London for being a Nazi spy though he is later released; Johnny's grandmother was killed, meaning he no longer exists. When Johnny faces his own grandfather, he mistakes him for an intruder. She is then saved due to the alarm going off and Johnny exists again. A smaller change is that in the series, Stephen (Wobbler) is renamed Walter, later Sir Walter. {{Terry Pratchett 1996 British novels Children's science fiction novels Novels about time travel BBC children's television shows British time travel television series Novels by Terry Pratchett Novels set during World War II Johnny Maxwell British children's novels 1996 children's books Doubleday (publisher) books