“They were slightly fantastical, but set in our world rather than a fantasy world — fantasy books for kids who couldn’t really relate to classic fantasy tropes. They were wonderfully written, had that trademark Pratchett humour, and unlike the pure child protagonists of classic British literature that I’d been reading up until then (Lewis, Dahl, Blyton, and similar), the kids were flawed, troubled and relatable. Sadly, Sir Terry is no longer with us, so a true sequel is merely a pipe-dream. I understand his daughter is overseeing his legacy, and were she to authorise a sequel where we saw Johnny grown up, I would be first in line for a copy. My pitch would be to have Johnny as a counsellor to troubled kids, one of whom gets him involved in another slightly fantastical adventure similar to the ones he had at their age.”
