The Micro Kids: An 80s Adventure with ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and more

This book was a fun, quick trip down memory lane. While the U.K. slang used throughout the book wasn’t something I was familiar with during my childhood, having grown up in the USA, Mr. Plowman’s descriptions of the micro computer scene in the 1982-1984 time period was spot on! From the description of the early micro computers and computer games (just amazing when you look back at what game developers were able to accomplish when limited to between 8k to 64K!), and the early computer magazines (remember Compute and Commodore Power Play?!) and typed in programs, which had to be saved on interminably slow cassette tapes (and later on 5.25” floppies) and game copying clubs, to the arcades and movies and books (yes, that was also when I read the Hobbit and LOTR trilogy the first time) and those amazing early computer stores! I’ll echo another reviewers comment that it reads more like a series of diary entries than a novel, but no regrets as I understood what I was buying and it was a nice, though short, bit of escapism from the COVID madness. Thank you for the memories Mr. Plowman!

Great read, really touches upon this grand days when the micro brought so many of us together, making friends of otherwise strange bedfellows. Recommended reading.

This was indeed an amazing era. Right at the beginning of the 80's. This book will remind you all the things you used to do with your computer, the games, the truk the bikes. It's all coming back. I just showed it to my parents and they were amazed by the history told in this book.It's kinda amazing how simple life were back then where we were thrilled by every single digit Mhz improvement. The games were fun (choplifter!!!) and makes everyone in the very late 40's, early 50's to go back and buy a vintage computer :)thanks for writing such a great book. awesome thing for our memories.

Great overview of the computer world of the early 80s. Even though it was from a UK perspective I was able to relate.

Great job capturing the feel of the 80s micro scene. Lots of British-isms but the feeling of excitement was the same for us Americans and our C64s. Very enjoyable read!

Bringing it all back, the music, the schooldays and most of all the mircos! Like the Speccy, the C64 and the classic arcade games of my youth! Great one for nostalgia and gaming fans!

If you remember fondly playing video games with your mates (or friends) in the 80s, you'll enjoy this lighthearted story.

Very nice book for all of us who lived in the 80s and dealt with the Speccy/C64/Amstrad micros. Nice story and easy to read/enjoy. Thank you.

I was a nerd child in the eighties, like the author. This book did a great job placing me back then. It is amusing how details remain in the memory of the author, down to the peculiar attitudes of the time: letting the kids plug that new computer into the mains socket by sticking the exposed wires in, yeah, whatever.I didn't get to play many games in the eighties. This book gave me a good review of what I missed. I didn't have a computer until the mid nineties, so I had to play outside instead, like a savage. I'm so jealous of the author I have considered giving the book only four stars.

Just finished reading this, an enjoyable book with quite a few very british things in it. Grew up late and in a strange land (Norway), so the Blobbadore was what we had and didn't hear about the Spectrum until I accidentally on purpose bought one on ebay.Book reads like a diary from a year with the Speccy when it was new, filled with all the wonder and excitement from when everything was new.Thoroughly enjoyable read that's a little bit different from the common 8bit encyclopedias, recommend picking up a copy 😀

I'm Billy. Or rather, most of us who grew up in the '80s can identify with Billy Twist, the main character. Billy's Spectrum (mine was a 48k+) and the games he plays features heavily in his life as it did in ours. This is a full-on nostalgia fest of 48k proportions. It's a great read.Ideally I would have liked some games and scenes described in a bit more detail but overall I think the diary approach works well.

The book has no real story and it’s full of grammatical errors. There are many wasted opportunities for a good plot but the author does not develop them. The book sounds more like a collection of memories. The only reasons why I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 are the nostalgia factor (which I suppose is a common pull towards this book) and the author’s best intentions, which I’m sure are there.

What a cracking book if you were brought up at the start of the 80's computer boom this will bring back so many memories of arcades computer shops and school micro clubs and the playground wars between different micro owners ,managed to read this in an afternoon just couldn't put it down