Reading order
Johnny Maxwell trilogy reading order
1
2
3- 3 volumes
- Volumes
- 1992–1996
- Published
- about 12 h
- Reading time
- Completed
- Status
- Children’s books#17
- Genre
Quick answer
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Publication order
3 volumes1992–1996Completed
- Terry Pratchett’s children’s books about Johnny Maxwell, an ordinary boy in an English town in the 1990s who keeps running into the extraordinary: an alien fleet in a computer game that wants to surrender, the dead of the local cemetery who refuse to be redeveloped, and a trip back to a wartime air raid.
- Each stands alone; Johnny and the Dead rates highest.
A plan for the whole series
3 volumes, 679 pages, about 12 hours. At 45 min a day that is 17 days.
Share of volume 1’s readers who reach the last volume. Chance of reaching the last volume: medium
Stages
This series fits in one stage. You finish around November 15, 2026.
- Stage 112 h17 daysby November 15, 2026
- The end of the series
We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.
Does the series hold up
Shape of the series: uneven. Scores jump by 0.3 points with no clear direction.
Best volume: Johnny and the Dead (7.8, 69 ratings). Weakest: Only You Can Save Mankind (7.5). The series is complete; you can read it start to finish with no waiting. The last volume (7.6) scores close to the series average or above it.
How this plan is calculated
The plan comes from the pages and ratings of each volume: we split the series into stages of about three weeks’ reading, size each break to the stage before it, and read the chance of finishing from how many readers rate the last volume compared with the first. How we work out the plan →
Every volume in order
Order checked by hand · Order and years: Wikidata (CC0). Spotted an error? Tell us. · Data updated October 29, 2026
Johnny Maxwell trilogy books ranked, best to worst
- 1.Johnny and the DeadBook 2 · 19937.8
- 2.Johnny and the BombBook 3 · 19967.6
- 3.Only You Can Save MankindBook 1 · 19927.5
Frequently asked questions
Which Johnny Maxwell trilogy book is the best?
By reader score, Johnny and the Dead (7.8/10). The lowest-rated is Only You Can Save Mankind (7.5/10).
Which Johnny Maxwell trilogy book is the longest?
“Johnny and the Bomb” is the longest at 250 pages; the shortest is “Johnny and the Dead” with 208 pages.
What should I read after Johnny Maxwell trilogy?
Other series by Terry Pratchett: Bromeliad Trilogy, Discworld, The Long Earth.
