Johnny's Ripple
A Pug Enterprises book by Claude Limberger
Since the beginning of mankind there have been many who had learned to manipulate the ripples of creation. Now there are only two. Follow Johnny in his desperate quest to prevent the ripples from being used to shackle the entire human race. With the help of his family and new found friends, especially a gnome named Kumo, Johnny resists the forces that would remove humans from the multiverse.
Reviews
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A boy’s amazing powers stand between Earth and total destruction.
In Limberger’s (Timestopper, 1998) latest YA fantasy novel, 11-year-old Johnny Twigum has always known he was different from ordinary people. Living with his mother in Cleveland (his father is a civilian contractor serving in the Persian Gulf) and leading a seemingly ordinary life, Johnny senses the thoughts of other people and feels a gap between him and other kids. The family receives the news that Johnny’s father has been killed in the Gulf, and Johnny’s world implodes. When Uncle Robert shows up with enigmatic warnings and a key to a safe-deposit box in Canada, the turmoil in Johnny’s life only deepens. Suddenly, forces seem to be aligning around Johnny: An attempt is made to kidnap him, and although he eludes it, he’s soon visited by a strange being named Kumo who, for lack of a better term, describes himself as a gnome (“Garden variety or forest?” Johnny’s mother quips). Kumo can be caustic and short-tempered (we’re told he has a “humongous ego”). He raises many questions, but he also brings answers. Johnny, he reveals, is one of those rare individuals whose chakra arrangement gives him amazing superpowers, including mental telepathy, transformation, invisibility and the capacity to use the 11th chakra to open “connection[s] to other worlds and dimensions.” Limberger presents all of these abilities as both awe-inspiring and as the products of science—quantum mechanics is invoked throughout, as is something called “quantum tunneling.” As Johnny attempts to master his powers, he’s still being relentlessly pursued by Jarvis Spinner and his nefarious associates (the type of eminently hissable villains who say things like ‘‘Faith? Bah! Certainty comes from your own will. Relying on the strength of others is a weakness”), who are intent on using Johnny’s powers for their own selfish purposes. The adventures that ensue, told with straightforward enthusiasm, will keep young readers turning pages.
A headlong adventure about a boy who can reshape reality at will.
- Reviewed by Kirkus Reviews
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Johnny isn’t your average 12-year-old boy. In fact, Johnny isn’t like most adults. He is smarter than his age and he is capable of feeling things that no one else can in the world around him. He knows what people want and how they feel even when they aren’t completely sure themselves and that makes him a target for people stronger than himself. The people who are after him know more than he does and in order to save himself, his family and his new-found friends he will need to learn fast and be willing to sacrifice everything to get them to safety.
This book is a great read for children of all ages. The story of Johnny and his family is an interesting one and it takes many unexpected twists and turns. The world around us is more complicated than most people seem to think but it takes a special child like Johnny to truly point out just how strange it is. There is more to everything than meets the eye. This story shows a family that loves one another very much and is willing to do anything to keep each other safe. If that means running blindly through forests, mountains and small towns then that is exactly what they’ll do. It will take hard work and courage from all of them, but with the right effort, they just might be able to save themselves, Johnny and the world around them. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series which should be available soon.
- Reviewed by Samantha Rivera for Readers' Favorite
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Claude Limberger is a simple storyteller. Claude continues the story of his best selling book, Timestopper, in his latest novel, Johnny's Ripple. Using his knowledge of quantum physics and shamanism, Claude has blended a fantastic metaphysical adventure unlike any other. Johnny Twigum interacts with an unusual multi-dimensional being named Kumo, who manifests himself into our world in the form of a gnome. During Johnny's lessons with Kumo, Johnny learns the very workings of nature itself and is able to cause to come into being many fantastic creatures which he uses to stave off the evil Jarvis Spinner from changing the world into his own image, and thereby stopping Jarvis from setting himself up as the god of the earth.
- Reviewed by Publisher