Wossname – January 2020 – Main issue

Wossname
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
January 2020 (Volume 23, Issue 1, Post 1)

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WOSSNAME is a free publication offering news, reviews, and all the other stuff-that-fits pertaining to the works of Sir Terry Pratchett. Originally founded by the late, great Joe Schaumburger for members of the worldwide Klatchian Foreign Legion and its affiliates, including the North American Discworld Society and other continental groups, Wossname is now for Discworld and Pratchett fans everywhere in Roundworld.
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Editor in Chief: Annie Mac
News Editor: Vera P
Newshounds: Mogg, Sir J of Croydon Below, the Shadow, Mss C, Alison not Aliss
Staff Writers: Asti, Pitt the Elder, Evil Steven Dread, Mrs Wynn-Jones
Staff Technomancer: Jason Parlevliet
Book Reviews: Annie Mac, Drusilla D'Afanguin, Your Name Here
Puzzle Editor: Tiff (still out there somewhere)
Bard in Residence: Weird Alice Lancrevic
Emergency Staff: Steven D'Aprano, Jason Parlevliet
World Membership Director: Steven D'Aprano (in his copious spare time)

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INDEX:

01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH
02) EDITOR'S LETTER
03) ODDS AND SODS
04) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
05) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS
06) DISCWORLD MEETING GROUPS NEWS
07) AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE
08) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
09) CLOSE

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01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH

"Any time I stumble over a thought, or grapple for the exact right phrase or image, I flash on the Terrys, with envy, for their output, for their charging forward and getting all those words down, and yet also with fear for their later fates. What chance does any mind have, if those who so clearly and cleverly and constantly challenged their brains, seemingly from the womb, can find themselves, at the winding down of days, unable to recognize marks on the page?"
– journalist and notable Pratchett fan Mark Hughes Cobb, contemplating the loss of the second of his "best Terrys I never met"

"A story that gives the taste of a biblically derived parallel world where the angle[sic] and the demon unite to work towards spreading humanity."
– even in mangled English (mangled in this case by aggregator web journalist-wannabe Manshi Tomar), Good Omens sounds good

"Neil and Terry use humour so well. Through that, we get to see humanity at one remove. It makes humanity look all the more preposterous, yet lovable at the same time. We can see why Crowley and Aziraphale don't want to surrender this life. Yes, it's mad and violent, but it is still better than heavenly order or hellish chaos."
– David Tennant on the fun of playing Crowley

"There is a lot more humour in Good Omens than the stuff Neil has done on his own. The subject is very serious, but it is dealt with in a comic way. In revisiting it for TV, Neil has balanced it out more. There is more potential for darker notes, but it's still very much a comedy. This script is a triangulation of the young Neil, Terry and the older Neil."
– Michael "Aziraphale" Sheen's analysis of series versus book

"I said that although I knew that a film must differ greatly from a book, I hoped they were making no unnecessary changes in the plot or to the characters—a dangerous thing to do, since the books have been known to millions of people for decades. They replied that the TV audience is much larger, and entirely different, and would be unlikely to care about changes to the books’ story and characters."
– Ursula Le Guin, explaining to her millions of fans why a telly series based on one of her most beloved books bore almost no resemblance to its source material

"When I looked over the script, I realized the producers had no understanding of what the books are about and no interest in finding out."
– ibid.

"That’s the beauty of science fiction and fantasy—freedom of invention. But with all freedom comes responsibility. Which is something these filmmakers seem not to understand."
– ibid.

"I was excited for such a long time, over the prospect of this. Now I wish it wasn't happening. It looks so belligerently, aggressively unfaithful to the spirit of the books."
– Redditor Don_Quixote81 reacts to the latest news about The Watch

"Back in the early Nineties, the BBC did a five-part adaptation of Alan Plater’s fifth and final novel, Oliver’s Travels. I have long since regarded it as the most perfectly miscast series in broadcasting history. Absolutely everybody, down to the least walk-on part, was wrong. It was sort of a miracle in that respect. Today, I’ve seen the first photos and information released about the forthcoming BBC America eight-part series, The Watch, ‘inspired’ by Terry Pratchett’s City Watch books. Oliver’s Travels no longer stands alone."
– blogger and author Martin Crookall is even more incensed than many of us about The Watch news

"Good Omens actually added quite a lot that wasn't in the book at all, it's just that people didn't mind because it was obviously in the spirit of the book, and the characters were still recognisable. Crowley and Aziraphale are obviously Crowley and Aziraphale even though they're not entirely following the same plot."
– Redditor CliffExcellent123 gets it right

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02) LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR

First things first: Wossname is still experiencing maddening ISP issues that are delaying or foxing[1] our attempts to reach you, our Readers, with each month's issue. Not sure if I mentioned this before, but it's not our Admin's mail programme that's being falsely identified as a spammer – no, it's our provider itself! or whatever well-meaning but misapplied reason, Yahoo, Hotmail and Gmail in their overly restrictive spam-blacking have blacklisted our ISP. We're finally frustrated enough to be looking into changing to a less, shall we say, disliked provider, but in the meantime, please check https://wossname.dreamwidth.org/ where the latest issue will be displayed...

Back in September of last year (ye Glods, has it been that long?!), I railed long and unapologetically against the direction the making of "The Watch" appeared to be taking. An extract from that editorial: "Yes, they've found an actor who looks Vimesish, and one who might look Carrot-ish if viewed through slitted eyes on a grey day with the proverbial following wind, but... BUT... as an olde-tyme and oldskool feminist I am spitting nails about the casting of Cheery. The basic identifying point of Cheery as a character has always been that she's the first openly female member of her species, and its first and most passionate feminist – a Dwarf *woman*, fighting for the right to be seen as female in a species-wide culture that for millennia has only presented as male. Casting an unmistakably large and unmistakably non-binary person as Cheery is, as I see it, disrespectful to everything Sir Pterry created her to be..." I had also begun to look *very* askance at Narrativia – the official Pratchett flamekeeping production company, not the Discworld goddess herself – for what I thought was their quiet assent. But now that the first photos from the filming have been released, and have not only confirmed my worst fears but frankly gone parsecs beyond them, it looks like I owe Mr Wilkins an apology, if one's to extrapolate from his recent tweet:

https://twitter.com/terryandrob/status/1218087166611525637

And it looks like I'm far from alone. One of our Newshounds who reads Reddit sent me the link to a discussion of the casting news...

https://old.reddit.com/r/discworld/comments/eq4u0x/created_without_comment/

...while Guardian journalist Alison Flood, who has been a staunch Pratchett supporter over the years and has written many admiring pieces and reviews about him and his works, had this to say: "We were given Good Omens, which thanks to co-author Neil Gaiman’s shepherding and incredible performances from David Tennant and Michael Sheen, was a joy to watch. And we were told that BBC America was developing The Watch, a series based on Pratchett’s stories about Ankh Morpork's City Watch. Yes, we were a little nervous to read that Pratchett’s fierce, dark, sardonic stories were to become a 'startlingly reimagined … punk rock thriller' that was 'inspired by' the books. But we stayed faithful, for it was promised that the show would 'still cleav[e] to the humour, heart and ingenuity of Terry Pratchett’s incomparably original work'. But nerves were jangling even more fiercely on Friday as the first glimpses of the forthcoming show were shared by the studio. They look … kind of cyberpunky? Is that electricity? Where is their ARMOUR? Should we have been more wary about that 'inspired by'?..."

https://bit.ly/2U11yO1

So anyway, yes, I'm still bloody furious – no, even more furious than I was four months ago – at the way the wonderful, wonderful source material is being disrespected by BBC America. I understand well that text and screen are different media, and that sometimes changes have to be made to effectively translate text into moving images, but the changes this lot have made are unnecessary, egregious, contrary to the very spirit of the Watch novels, ... well, I have no words that can be reprinted without setting your screens on fire.

Meanwhile, the excellent Stephen Briggs, long-serving "official"Discworld translator of text to stage, has written a new composite play, "Murder in Ankh-Morpork", which is based on several of the Watch novels, will premiere in November, and *will*, one can be –ing certain, faithful to the soul and spirit of the original source material. Here be an extract from what Mr Briggs had to say about it: "I do always aim to stay true to Terry. When I first adapted Terry for the stage... it was because I liked, enjoyed and admired his inventive and witty writing... My challenged was to ensure that my stage versions would still accurately reflect his characters, humour and plots. I aimed to retain, and portray, the *spirit* of each book. Terry came to see all of my shows, and liked what I did with them... I've written three more Pratchett shows since Terry passed – but I always have him sitting at my shoulder as I write, and I always picture him in the audience each night..."

The entire unabridged text can be read here:

https://twitter.com/StephenPBriggs/status/1221842225325395968 (also see item 4.1 for more details about the play)

In other news, even though the next Australian Discworld convention is nearly eighteen months away, they're already preparing for it. Amazing to think that this will be the eigh-, er, 7a'th Fourecksian convention. Sir Pterry always loved visiting us down here on the Last Continent, so it's good to know that the love is returned and that Australia will carry on keeping his name on the Overhead. See item 5 for more details!

Fans of "The Two Terrys" have been eulogising in memory of Terry Jones, another brilliant Terry lost to the horrors of dementia. There's a particularly fine paean from American journalist Mark Hughes Cobb (quoted above): "Sir Terry Pratchett, famously witty, acerbic, poignant, stellar novelist, died March 12 2015, after several years dealing with a form of early-onset Alzheimer’s. Always prolific, always a writer at heart, he continued working up until the end, his novels growing progressively shorter as he became unable to recognize symbols printed on the page... His fans would have loved more books, but hey, he wrote 41 Discworld novels, and other stand-alones. That’s a fair collection, for someone who died at 66. Terence Graham Parry Jones made it to 75, a graduate of Oxford University, writer for television, a director and writer of films, author of books and TV documentaries about medieval history, before succumbing to another type of dementia Tuesday, this week, Jan. 21. Oh, and he’d also been in this little comedy group called Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Basically The Beatles of comedy... Jones crafted so much more: comic verse, children’s books, plays, music and musicals, opera librettos, columns for British newspapers. And, apparently, a rich and fulfilling life..."

https://bit.ly/2RXNUZf

Both Terrys were national (and world!) treasures; both of them made us laugh while opening our eyes and minds; both left us a vast body of fantastic work that will never age and die. Ave atque vale, "Brian's mum"!

And now, on with the show...

– Annie Mac, Editor

[1] and probably badgering and bearing and even wolving

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03) ODDS AND SODS

3.1 GOOD OMENS NEWS AND REVIEWS

Now that the Good Omens miniseries has officially come to the UK... and taken the Comedy UK award for Best TV Comedy Drama...

Reviewed by Flora Carr in the Radio Times:

"So first things first: was the unadaptable, well, adaptable, after all? The short answer is, yes. Gaiman — also showrunner on the series — has pulled off a colourful, quirky, funny, poignant (although not entirely flawless) feat. One might even suspect there’s been a spot of divine (or devilish) intervention… The true triumph is the casting. Michael Sheen shines (quite literally, in some scenes) as the angel Aziraphale, a celestial field agent who teams up with his opposite number, the stylish demon Crowley — played with a Bill Nighy-esque swagger by David Tennant — in order to prevent Armageddon. It’s this pairing that proves to be the beating heart of the series... Elsewhere the supporting cast is equally impressive... despite the addition of characters like Gabriel, much of the show remains doggedly faithful to the books..."

https://bit.ly/314vhHh

By Christopher Stevens for the Daily Mail:

"There’s no denying it’s a stupendous show. The cast is colossal, bursting with A-listers: Benedict Cumberbatch as Satan, Derek Jacobi as God’s spokesperson, Jon Hamm as the arrogant Angel Gabriel, Brian Cox as the voice of Death . . . not to mention Anna Maxwell Martin (Beelzebub), Frances McDormand (the voice of God) and Nicholas Parsons (don’t ask). Just about every other actor, apart from the children, is a well-known face. Even if you don’t enjoy comic fantasy, it’s fun to watch and shout out names as you spot the stars. Daniel Mays! Miranda Richardson! All three of the League of Gentlemen (two of them playing Nazis). Johnny Vegas! Nina Sosanya! Doon Mackichan! The story is based on a novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, so it’s bursting with daft jokes..."

https://dailym.ai/310navp

A nice and accurate mini-review by Adi Tantimedh for Bleeding Cool:

“That Good Omens became a TV miniseries is a miracle. After decades in failed attempts to turn it into a movie, Neil Gaiman got to be producer and showrunner. The results are an uncompromised and unfiltered presentation of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s combined sensibilities. At once whimsical and gentle in its humour with a subtle undertone of rage, the show even expanded throwaway details and backstories into key moments in the show. Good Omens is a rare example of an adaptation that complements and expands on the original book to create a fuller experience. And so gleefully, casually atheist.”

https://bit.ly/2U4F4eV

Some sneery, humourless, apparently sour-nethered thing called Anita Singh gave it a bad review in the Telegraph. I'm not going to stain this newsletter by reprinting any of its words, but if you want to read the review it's here (and note the overwhelming bulk of the comments, many from non-Pratchett fans and/or never-read-the-book folk):

https://bit.ly/36B8ggn

Meanwhile, here be a longish Tennant and Sheen interview on Comedy UK (interviewer uncredited):

"What is so alluring about the relationship between Crowley and Aziraphale?

"David: What makes their relationship so appealing and why we root for them both is that they have clearly come to depend on each other. They're best friends. Each is the only one the other one has. They have been thrown together and have developed a reliance and a need for each other, which is very touching. They have a perspective on the world, have witnessed every decision that humanity has made and can see what they stand to lose. Michael: They both begin to realise they are rather more fond of the human race than they should be. When Aziraphale and Crowley start to appreciate each other's positions, that compromises them, but it also draws them together. It is something that is particular to them. Over hundreds of years, we see that bond developing. They're on opposite sides, but they're actually very similar. They're both supernatural, but both very appreciative of humanity...

"What do you love about the script for Good Omens?

"Michael: There is a lot more humour in Good Omens than the stuff Neil has done on his own. The subject is very serious, but it is dealt with in a comic way. In revisiting it for TV, Neil has balanced it out more. There is more potential for darker notes, but it's still very much a comedy. This script is a triangulation of the young Neil, Terry and the older Neil. David: Signs pointing towards the sets say: 'BBC Comedy Production'. That keeps tripping me up, which is great. This doesn't feel like a BBC comedy production - much as I love those programmes. BBC comedies are among my favourite shows. This doesn't feel like the same department that produced The Good Life and Mrs Brown's Boys. Good Omens feels like a hybrid. It's at least a comedy drama or a comedy drama fantasy. You can keep adding adjectives until it finally makes sense.

"Do you think sci-fi and fantasy have been unfairly sneered at by critics?

"Michael: Yes. But by writing about things that come out of the here and now from left field, sci-fi dislocates our critical faculties and opens us up to seeing the world more clearly than some other forms. It is a great way of getting into our consciousness and sneaking up on us. It has real power. Authors such as Neil and Alan Moore and Grant Morrison have produced some of the best writing of the last 50 years. Just because it happens to be in comic book form, people tend not to give it the attention it deserves. Maybe that's good because it appeals to a passionate audience and doesn't have to deal with mainstream critics gobbing off about things! David: As people's access to different types of shows expands exponentially, people are more willing to try new things and less stuck on genres than they used to. There are so many shows to keep up with that something which feels fresh and finds a new way of telling a story will have a chance of pushing through..."

https://bit.ly/2uKv3c1

...and according to Neil Gaiman, your Editor helped send Josie Lawrence to an explosive, flaming death! Did you?

"Though he was determined to produce a faithful adaptation of the 1990 comic fantasy novel, Gaiman acknowledged that 'there are always things you lose for time and budget reasons” – though the Good Omens team were able to save one key sequence using an unorthodox method… 'I remember we were told that we couldn’t shoot the Agnes Nutter sequence in 17th century… with the witch burning and the explosions, all of the villagers – everything like that. We were just told "We don’t have the money for that" – and I checked in with the phantom Terry Pratchett on my shoulder and he said something very rude! I thought, "Well, Terry wrote that bit and that has to be in there". So Rob Wilkins, who is Terry’s representative on Earth, and I and the BBC put our heads together and we agreed that we’d do the Good Omens Companion Book and the Good Omens script book and we would put all of the money from those books into the production. So anybody who buys the Good Omens Companion Book or the Good Omens script book is actually contributing to the cost of blowing up Josie Lawrence!'"

https://bit.ly/3aRmiO3

3.2 LAST OF THE RED HOT SHORTS!

Here comes another collection of Sir Pterry's early short stories!

"We are delighted to announce, THE TIME-TRAVELLING CAVEMAN, the fourth and final collection of short stories from the fantastically funny Terry Pratchett, with illustrations by Mark Beech. Coming September 2020."

Go to https://twitter.com/terryandrob/status/1220668081434836993 for a "sneak peek" at a couple of illustrated pages!

3.3 GAME ON: THE LOST WORLDS OF JOSH KIRBY

A new game is coming to town...

From Rob at Josh Kirby Art:

"We know how great it feels to find a game with incredible artwork and great gameplay. Last year we brought you Fickle, our light-hearted game featuring the fairy artwork of Amy Brown. Now we’re heading deep into sci-fi territory with The Lost Worlds of Josh Kirby. Will you settle new worlds peacefully, or conquer them with your invading fleets? Either way, in The Lost Worlds of Josh Kirby you will use action dice to compete for world control, earning unique powers and committing your morality to Good or Evil. Every decision matters in this epic space opera! ... This game celebrates Josh Kirby’s entire body of work, in particular a recently discovered set of worlds painted by Kirby himself, that has rarely been seen!"

The game doesn't appear to exist in "buyer space" yes, but there's a Kickstarter appeal launching next month, hosted by BARD Games: "Join BARD Games for this stunning space opera board game featuring legendary artist Josh Kirby. Use action dice to conquer (or save) the galaxy. Players acquire worlds, manage morality and exploit powers for victory. Backers will launch an epic game and more; multi-game Campaign Mode, Art Book and exclusive game content."

When: Monday, 3rd February 2020
Time: from 06:00-18:00 Pacific Standard Time

For more details, go to: https://www.facebook.com/events/492611694971415/

From Board Game Geek:

"The featured art includes heroes and conquerors competing to gain power and morality to win. Lost Worlds of Josh Kirby is a game that can be played in 40 minutes up to 5 players accessible for ages 13+ and up... In Lost Worlds of Josh Kirby players roll Action Dice to decide their available actions each round. The primary goal is to move enough Fleets to take World Cards before your competitors. How you the world (Save of Conquer it) changes your Morality, dice options and scoring. The player who Saves or Conquers the most Victory Points wins."

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/271727/lost-worlds-josh-kirby

A short video about the game can be found on this page:

https://www.bardgames.fun/projects/the-lost-worlds-of-josh-kirby/

3.4 TEN OF THE BEST?

A thoughtful selection, explained by Aaron Chandler on whatculture.com:

"Pratchett's career defining creation was the Discworld, where no less than 41 of his books were set. The details, depth and story lines within his own fictional setting of the Discworld are quite honestly mind blowing. Each Discworld book playing its own part in the bigger picture, with characters crossing over and intertwining their stories, sometimes across dozens of books. The buzzing hive of life on the Discworld is so complex and dynamic, it's a wonder how Pratchett managed to keep it so enthralling for so many years. With well over 50 works to his name during his career, the late great Terry Pratchett wrote some all-time classic fantasy novels. Narrowing down his entire collection down to just ten books is much harder than you might expect. But from a career spanning over four decades, here are Pratchett's most engaging, innovative, convention challenging and charismatic books..."

The ten books, listed in reverse order, are Raising Steam, Thud!, Feet of Clay, Going Postal, The Wee Free Men, TAMAHER, Hogfather, A Hat Full of Sky, Good Omens, and The Colour of Magic. Each choice is accompanied by a short, well-written description of the book itself and relevant historical information.

https://whatculture.com/offbeat/10-best-terry-pratchett-books

3.5 SAVE THE TURTLES, SAVE THE WORLD...

It's not just the Disc that depends on turtles! By Liz Langley for National Geographic:

"They calmly browse the forest or sun themselves on a log, appearing to live a life of leisure. Behind their chill demeanor, however, turtles are ecological movers and shakers, thanks to their digging, moving a lot farther than you’d think they do and moving between ecosystems, like the ocean and the beach. They’re also widely beloved, the kind of animal you rarely hear of people having a problem with or fear of. They’re central to many mythologies and, as a first pet for many kids, they’re a gentle bridge between home and the wild. They’re also a bit of a bridge between land and water, depending on the species... So what would happen if they disappeared? A number of turtle species are already at risk of vanishing... A surprising 61 percent of the 356 turtles species have become extinct or threatened in the modern era. It’s hard to imagine turtles in decline, but overexploitation for meat and the pet trade, climate change and habitat destruction are getting in the way of their impressive tenure on the Earth. They outlasted the dinosaurs, but 'no turtle has time to evolve to avoid being killed on a road,' says Whit Gibbons, emeritus professor of ecology at University of Georgia and co-author of the turtle study... 'Turtles are great scavengers, the garbage patrol of an area,' eating up dead fish from lakes and rivers, Gibbons says. 'They do no harm and they do a lot of good.'...

https://on.natgeo.com/2RBsj9X

3.6 ...AND ALWAYS REMEMBER TO FEED YOUR LOCAL "GENTEEL BLACK HOLE"

[Editor's note: I think we've been here before, but this is always a timely reminder!]

Sam Courtney-Guy writes on London's Metro paper:

"A bookshop has been flooded with orders after the owner tweeted that he had not taken a single penny for the first time in 100 years. Robert Sansom, who has worked there for 13 years, posted pictures of the empty Petersfield shop on Tuesday. He wrote: ‘tumbleweed… not a single book sold today.’ It quickly gained traction and got the attention of author Neil Gaiman who shared it with his 2.8 million followers. Robert said they received £1,000 worth of orders and he was up all night trying to keep up with demand... Robert said: ‘I couldn’t believe it. It’s been a real “kindness of strangers” story. The number of likes and retweets started going up right before my eyes, it was like it was animated. ‘I had to stop replying to messages eventually at 2am. ‘Somebody we have a connection with at the bookshop has a vague connection with Neil Gaiman, and sent it to him, and that was it.’ Petersfield Bookshop celebrated its 100-year anniversary in 2018, and has been run by the same family for the last 60 years..."

https://bit.ly/36BoXba

3.7 POSTMAN GROAT WOULD SYMPATHISE

Even in Roundworld, it seems, postmen can get overwhelmed by the sheer, erm, volume of the job:

"Japanese police have announced an investigation into a former postman who kept tens of thousands of undelivered items at his home. Authorities found about 24,000 pieces of mail at the man's house in Kanagawa, near Tokyo. The unnamed 61-year-old reportedly said it was "too much bother to deliver them," and that he did not want to seem less able than his younger colleagues. Yokohama's post office has apologised and promised to deliver all the post. The branch - where the man worked as head of delivery, Kyodo News reports - became suspicious last year after an internal check. The man admitted to the allegation and was fired.
Authorities then lodged a criminal complaint with police, referring to about 1,000 missing deliveries between February 2017 and November last year..."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51236136

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04) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS

4.1 FORTHCOMING PLAYS

* GUARDS! GUARDS! IN OREGON (JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2020)

Following the success of their 2017 production of Mort, Oregon's Majestic Theatre tackles another Discworld classic!

"Crime. Politics. Wizards. Dragons... and an orangutan. There are millions of stories in Ankh-Morpork, the greatest city on the Discworld, and the City Guard’s job is to stay well away from all of them. But when people start getting burnt to a crisp, the world-weary Captain Vimes finds in himself the urge to investigate. With a lackluster crew and a keenly law-abiding new recruit, Vimes and the Guard must interact with everyone in town, from the politely tyrannical Patrician, to the owner of the city’s only dragon sanctuary, to the Unseen University’s mystical Librarian..."

When: 31st January–9th February 2020
Venue: Starker Auditorium, Majestic Theatre, 115 SW 2nd St, Corvallis, Oregon 97333
Time: 7.30pm all evening shows (31st January, 1st/7th/8th February); 2.30pm matinees on 2nd and 9th February
Tickets: $16 (students/seniors $14, opening night $10), available via https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=105067 – click on the desired date in the centre of the page. There is a $2 processing fee for tickets purchased online. Tickets purchased at the Majestic Box Office in person or by phone 541-738-7469 incur no extra fees.

"There will be American Sign Language interpretation by Western Oregon University students for the February 2nd, 2020 performance. Seats on house left marked with COLOR are best for viewing the interpretation."

https://tockify.com/majesticcal/detail/92/1580527800000
https://www.majestic.org/

* MURDER IN ANKH-MORPORK IN ABINGDON (NOVEMBER 2020)

Exciting news from Stephen Briggs, the official Discworld Maker of Plays, about a new "composite" Discworld play! This will follow on from the success of The Rince Cycle:

"I'm now working on a Discworld play which we'll be staging in November....It'll be a mash-up of bits of Guards! Guards! and Feet of Clay, respectfully entwined with the core plot of Men at Arms. The city is protected by the multiverse's most diverse police force. But a new threat is emerging - the Discworld's first and only firearm. The Gonne. Very many thanks to terryandrob for permission :-)"

Murder in Ankh-Morpork is currently scheduled to run from 18th–20th November. The online box office will open on 1st September. More details as soon as we know them!

https://twitter.com/StephenPBriggs/status/1220622336866639882
https://twitter.com/StephenPBriggs/status/1221017963060482050

4.2 REVIEWS

* WYRD SISTERS IN READING

The Progress Theatre's latest Discworld production, reviewed by Susan Creed in the Henley Standard:

"Wyrd Sisters is a visual delight. A superb set by Aidan Moran has walls fluidly shifting to reveal a series of different acting spaces. Linda Bostock’s costumes create a delightful mock-medieval feel, with gowns, ruffs, armour and a full jester’s get-up. Jon Churchill’s lighting and Stuart McCubbin’s sound add yet more atmosphere and theatricality. How can witches, even with their powers, circle the kingdom in one evening as a spell demands? Ingenious special effects show you how it’s done — to great comic effect. The power of words is central to the action: is it possible to change reality with magic words or made-up “truth”? All cast members do a terrific job of delivering Stephen Briggs’s script, with its witty wordplay, allusions to fairy tales and smatterings of Shakespeare. Carroll and Sherwood are forceful and funny as the two older witches, their earthy attitudes set off by the more mystical approach to witchcraft of their new recruit Magrat; Newton offers a poised and charming foil to Ogg and Weatherwax... Jack Goodman is charmingly insincere in his dealings with his shrewish wife Lady Felmet (Ali Carroll), but we see the Duke crumbling under the weight of his past misdeeds... George Prové is deliciously 'luvvie' as lead actor Tomjon — and also as the demon with the unpronounceable name. Credit also to Dean Stephenson as the drippy fool who turns out to have some answers and also wins the lady of his dreams..."

https://bit.ly/38Hoi9I

...and by Adam Snook on The Spark:

"The scenes and settings swiftly move between Lancre Castle and its dungeons, Lancre town, surrounding villages and the witches’ cottage. All are brought to life with an inventive and versatile set design and many special effects that showcase the magic of theatre alongside that of the witches. The play’s headliners are the three witches: the indomitable, elderly Granny Weatherwax (Melanie Sherwood), her close friend, Nanny Ogg (Liz Carroll) and their younger companion, Magrat Garlick (Yvonne Newton). The trio safeguard Lancre by confronting challenges with a mixture of headstrong compassion and unique magic called “headology”. Melanie Sherwood and Liz Carroll reprise their roles as Weatherwax and Ogg as they also played the witches in Progress Theatre's previous Discworld production of Maskerade. The pair bring such confidence and authenticity to the characters, creating a lasting impression in the imagination of how a witch should be performed. However, even the secondary characters are entertaining to watch on stage, from the brief appearance of the melodramatic, riddling Demon WxrtHltl-jwlpklz (George Prove) to the tinkling, capering Fool (Dean Stephenson) who surprisingly has some amusing and profound moments with his jokes that have more depth than it might first appear...."

[Editor's note: the piece includes an interview of interest with director Chris Moran.]

https://bit.ly/314KTdC

...and a long and detailed review by Zoe Andrews for the Whitley Pump:

"The set is impressive and versatile, created and designed by Chris’ husband Aidan: it is absolutely medieval, with torch-like lighting running the perimeter of the theatre. I am always impressed by the staging delivered by Progress: with the sound and lighting also being spot on throughout. I liked how the cast didn’t hide the set moves between scenes and the innovative design meant it was incredibly smooth... The actors playing Nanny Ogg (Liz Carroll) and Granny Weatherwax (Melanie Sherwood) do a superb job. They have both played these roles before in Maskerade, another of Chris Moran’s directions of Pratchett’s work. Both ladies have beautiful and characterful voices that carry the room, bouncing off one another with ease. They share a trusting rapport (symptomatic of having worked together before), and much like a harmony, their comic timing is perfectly in tune as they explore these funny lines in their northern accents... another real delight was George Prové's performance as the Demon. He delivers this with real charisma, springing out of nowhere and lighting up the room with comedic charm and knowing glances while dealing with interrogation by the three witches, pinging back silly riddles at their questions. He also does an excellent job as TomJon who may, or may not, be the rightful heir to the throne... I also enjoyed Trevor Dale in funny and fine form as the ghost of King Verence. Watching him, I wondered if he had modelled the role on Bungle from Rainbow, and I promise this is no bad thing..."

https://bit.ly/2U5qEuV

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05) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS

Tickets for "Nullus Anxietas 7a", the Australian Discworld Convention in 2021 are now available!!! Get them at https://ausdwcon.org/shop/

They're quite pretty: https://bit.ly/2ThvcOs

...and there's a memorandum from "Lord Vetinari, The Oblong Office, Ankh Morpork":

The Australian Discworld Convention committee is organising an exciting 3 day convention to promote the culture and history of our Discworld, and in particular the many attractions and commercial opportunities[1] awaiting them in Ankh-Morpork. They have requested my assistance in promoting this bold endeavour and I agreed to pen a few words on their behalf. I may even attend in person. The committee assure me that the convention will include old favourites such as the Maskerade, XXXX Factor, Werewolf along with a host of talks and workshops on all things Discworld. This will be your chance to dress up as real Discworld people[2] and meet other Discworld fans. Special guests will be in attendance, and will arrive by the Iron Girder from Uberwald shortly. Be assured that we welcome visitors and invaders of all races and colours to our city. And our banks will be happy to organise credit facilities for your planned barbarian invasion. If you need any further enticement to join us in fair Ankh Morpork, then the Guild of Merchants has published a most entertaining, if slightly inaccurate, leaflet called Wellcome to Ankh-Morpork, Citie of One Thousand Surprises!

Venue
The committee have chosen the Stamford Plaza Hotel in Mascot, Sydney, which is close to the airport[3]. This should be convenient for attendees who are flying in from overseas or interstate. It has a spacious convention area, where we have the run of the whole floor, and a wealth of good food on site (some of it not involving rat!). We will be giving you more details on the hotel in a future memorandum. You can find more about the venue here. (_https://2021.ausdwcon.org/convention/venue/_)

Convention tickets now available
Convention TicketI've been informed the committee have kept ticket prices keen, while still offering an amazing convention in a smart venue. They tell me they are "cutting their own throats[4]"

You can buy tickets online[5] from the convention shop (_https://2021.ausdwcon.org/shop/_). If you have already bought a supporting membership, you only pay the difference. They have a special page just for you. Why not go there now (_https://2021.ausdwcon.org/shop/supporting-membership-upgrades/_)?

More information
You can find official information here at the convention website: https://2021.ausdwcon.org/

Wild speculation and amusing Discworld Convention stories can be found on Facebook, (and discussion in this group), Twitter (_https://twitter.com/ausdwcon_), and Instagram.

Footnotes:
1 This may involve CMOT Dibbler!

2 Discworld costumes are not mandatory - they just add to the fun.

3 I assume this is like the port of Ankh Morpork but the air is more fragrant!

4 I am not sure I follow this - if I want a throat cut, I discreetly contact Lord Downey at the Guild of Assassins, who arranges it!

5 I am assured that "online" has nothing to do with the new fangled Ankh Morpork & Sto Plains Hygienic Railway.

https://2021.ausdwcon.org/blog/wellcome/

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06) DISCWORLD MEETING GROUPS NEWS

The Broken Drummers, "London's Premier Unofficially Official Discworld Group" (motto "Nil percussio est"), will next meet on Monday 03 February 2020 at The Monkey Puzzle, 30 Southwick Street, London W2 1JQ.

The Drummers' January report, by Helen on Twitter: "We met Monday night. January is often a quiet month so I was pleasantly surprised when a large and lively crowd turned up. There was much discussion of recent TV programmes. We had finished binge watching the Mandolorian, which was excellent. Even those who hadn't seen it had heard all about baby Yoda, one of the cutest things ever invented. Others had watched all of the new Dracula series and were very impressed, although some were not keen on the ending. We had some new blood to Drummers as Rachel and Alistair came along for the first time. Marina, inspired by Dracula, did a quiz on vampyres. I won and will do the next quiz. Sarah suggested that as it is Valentine's Day I should do the "Love and Sex on the Discworld" quiz from a couple of years ago (it's nice that people remember these things). While I prefer not to recycle quizzes there was a clear appetite for a rude quiz of some sort so I'll see what I can do."

https://twitter.com/BrokenDrummers/status/1216038742898683906

For more information, email BrokenDrummers@gmail.com or nicholls.helen@yahoo.co.uk or join their Facebook group at
https://www.facebook.com/groups/55107511411/permalink/10156634038566412/

*

Canberra, Australia's Discworld fan group is Drumknott's Irregulars: "The group is open to all, people from interstate and overseas are welcome, and our events will not be heavily themed. Come along to dinner for a chat and good company. We welcome people from all fandoms (and none) and we would love to see you at one of our events, even if you're just passing through. Please contact us via Facebook (_https://www.facebook.com/groups/824987924250161/_) or Google Groups (_https:groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/drumknotts-irregulars_) or join us at our next event."

*

For Facebook users in Fourecks: The Victorian Discworld Klatch is "a social group for fans of Discworld and Terry Pratchett... run by a dedicated team who meet monthly and organise events monthly." "If you'd like to join our events please ask to join the Klatch."

https://www.facebook.com/groups/VictorianDiscworldKlatch

*

"The Gathering of the Loonies (Wincanton chapter)" is a public Facebook meeting group: "This group, by request of Jo in Bear will continue to be used for future unofficial (not run by the Emporium) fan Gatherings in Wincanton. Look here for information."

https://www.facebook.com/groups/373578522834654/

*

The Pratchett Partisans are a fan group who meet monthly at either Brisbane or Indooroopilly to "eat, drink and chat about all things Pratchett. We hold events such as Discworld dinners, games afternoons, Discworld photo scavenger hunts. We also attend opening night at Brisbane Arts Theatre's Discworld plays." The Partisans currently have about 200 members who meet at least twice a month, usually in Brisbane.

For more info about their next meetup, join up at https://www.facebook.com/groups/pratchettpartisans/ or contact Ula directly at uwilmott@yahoo.com.au

*

The City of Small Gods is a group for fans in Adelaide and South Australia: "We have an established Terry Pratchett & Discworld fan group in Adelaide called The City of Small Gods, which is open to anyone who would like to come – you don't have to live in Adelaide or even South Australia, or even be a Discworld fan, but that's mostly where our events will be held, and we do like discussing Pratchett's works. Our (semi-) regular meetings are generally held on the last Thursday of the month at a pub or restaurant in Adelaide. We have dinner at 6.30pm followed by games until 9pm. Every few months, we have a full day's worth of board games at La Scala Cafe, 169 Unley Rd, Unley in the function room starting at 10am. In addition, we will occasionally have other events to go and see plays by Unseen Theatre Company, book discussions, craft, chain maille or costuming workshops or other fun social activities."

The next CoSG events will be the Monthly Dinner on 30th January at the Duke of Brunswick, 207 Gilbert St, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, and a Crafternoon (details TBC) on 15th February.

The CoSG also have another identity. Here's the skinny:

Round World Events SA Inc is a not-for-profit incorporated association whose aim is to run fun social Pratchett-themed events for people in South Australia. Our first major event was the Unseen University Convivium held in July 2012. We have also run three successful and booked out Science Fiction and Fantasy themed quiz nights named Quiz Long And Prosper, in 2013, 2014 and 2015! The association will run some events under the City of Small Gods banner, but you do not have to be a Round World Events SA member to be part of City of Small Gods. However, we are always on the look out for new members for Round World Events SA to help us organise future events! Membership is $20 a year (for Adelaide locals) or $5 a year (for those not quite so close) and has the following benefits:

A shiny membership certificate all of your very own
Discounted entry price to some of the events we run
A warm, fuzzy feeling deep down in your chest (no, not quite that deep)
For more information, or to join as a member, please email RoundWorldEventsSA@gmail .com

www.cityofsmallgods.org.au

*

The Broken Vectis Drummers meet next on Thursday 6th February (probably) from 7.30pm at The Castle pub in Newport, Isle of Wight. For more info and any queries, contact broken_vectis_drummers@yahoo.co.uk

*

The Wincanton Omnian Temperance Society (WOTS) next meets on Friday 7th February (possibly) at Wincanton's famous Bear Inn from 7pm onwards. "Visitors and drop-ins are always welcome!"

*

The Northern Institute of the Ankh-Morpork and District Society of Flatalists, a Pratchett fangroup, has been meeting on a regular basis since 2005. The Flatalists normally meet at The Narrowboat Pub in Victoria Street, Skipton, North Yorkshire, to discuss "all things Pratchett" as well as having quizzes and raffles. Details of future meetings are posted on the Events section of the Discworld Stamps forum:

http://www.discworldstamps.co.uk/forum/

*

Sydney Drummers (formerly Drummers Downunder) meet next on Monday 03 February (possibly) at 6.30pm in Sydney at 3 Wise Monkeys, 555 George Street, Sydney 2000. For more information, contact Sue (aka Granny Weatherwax): kenworthys@yahoo.co.uk

*

The Treacle Mining Corporation, formerly known as Perth Drummers, meet next on Monday 03 February (possibly) at Old Shanghai, 123 James Street, Northbridge, Perth, Western Australia. For details join their Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Perth.Drummers/ – or message Alexandra Ware directly at <alexandra.ware@gmail.com>

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

07) AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE

Blogger The Corner of Laura returns to give five stars to Pyramids:

"Egypt’s history gets the full Pratchett treatment as the book points out what was right in front of our faces – that, for all the grandeur of the Ancient Egyptian myths and traditions, they were really rather ridiculous. It doesn’t stop there either but takes the mick out of Ancient Greece and Troy too... I can’t pretend that I understood all the quantum stuff but I don’t think you need to. What is obvious is that time can play all sorts of funny tricks on you and it plays havoc with payroll. You’ll have to read it to find out what I mean. Great satire on Ancient Egyptian beliefs and on religion in general. I love the idea that the best priests don’t really believe in what they’re espousing and the worst thing that could happen to them is all the myths coming true at once..."

https://bit.ly/2GyH0V6

Blogger Wyrmberg Malcolm recommends Wintersmith:

"Although still a good story and brilliantly written, this is a lot less funny than the previous to books in this series. In a way, this is a good thing in that the humorous antics of the Nac Mac Feegles (Scots speaking Pictsies) aren’t being relied upon to drive the story forwards. When they do show up, they are appreciated without having their presence get annoying. There is also some nice usage of other mythologies particularly the story of Orpheus going to Hades to retrieve his lost wife Eurydice, but with some fun twists and misunderstandings. The series also progresses nicely with the passage of time where the characters have grown a little more, and life moves on. This gives a good ‘lived in’ feel to the stories so that they’re not just disposable one-off adventures..."

https://bit.ly/2O5QJGu

Blogger Mike Finn returns with thoughts on The Shepherd's Crown:

"The whole story is there from end to end but the book fades as it goes along. Reading it was like starting with a fully finished movie where the lighting, music, script, and acting have been edited into something richly textured and powerful and starting to be presented with the unedited rushes. Each scene is there but Terry Pratchett’s usual magic, his ability to make the prose sing, to deliver huge ideas at a scale that gives them meaning to us mere mortals, his ability to make me believe in the supernatural and care about the people, isn’t there... This ability to link Discworld to real-life experience has always been part of the power of Terry Pratchett’s writing. He reminds us of our humanity, of our loves and our losses, of our bravery and our cowardice and he helps us accept ourselves and each other for what we are. Yet as I got further through the book, I begin to feel the story losing its grip on my imagination. It’s a good story but reading gave me an experience broadly equivalent to when you see actors doing a first read-through of a script, everything is there except it isn’t living up to its potential..."

https://bit.ly/38MyptT

Blogger Khorazir offers a superb collection of the stealth-philosophy things Sir Pterry did in his writing. This blogger presents what your Editor thinks is a balanced view, with neither knee-jerk prejudice nor the counterproductive shrillness of online "purity spirallers". The whole post is an excellent read, but here are a few highlights:

"Wrote an entire novel to critique the unequal treatment of 'men’s magic' versus 'women’s magic' in the fantasy genre. Portrayed witches as just as if not more capable than wizards (when it comes to actually helping people, in particular), and also generally having more common sense than them... Included sex workers in his worldbuilding. Made jokes about them the same way he did every other kind of person of any profession, but was also highly respectful and never critical of these jobs... Included female enemies who were enemies over things other than men. In general constantly passed the Bechdel Test and not only that, left it in the dust and had way more meaningful and realistic representation... clearly didn’t think that sort of genitalia-based gender labeling mattered... had genderfluid characters in two of his books and at least one trans man, as well as confirming canonically that there are gay wizards, one of whom is really good at football... Didn’t gloss over [Granny's] unfriendliness or excuse it, but made her complex and interesting and overall likeable despite all that..."

https://bit.ly/36GTpkA

Blogger Update Dude points out something infuriating that some may have missed in the kerfuffle over what huge numbers of Pratchett readers see as the egregiously deliberate miscasting of The Watch:

"Sybil being a vigilante is… okay, I suppose. I mean, otherwise the character is just this large/fat socialite and maybe that wouldn’t translate well into a modern series. It’d take quite a bit of time to warm her up to an audience if she were more true to the books. Making her a badass would grant the instant gratification and connection with the audience that this presumably short series/season would require. But no Detritus, Nobby or Colon? Okay, I’m okay with no Detritus. I mean, Pump in Going Postal was cool but obviously hokey. But no Nobby or Colon? Well, fuck you and your woke-ness. It’s one thing to take away a strong-arm like Detritus, but taking away Nobby and Colon, two characters that you probably couldn’t do justice without being at least mildly offensive, just takes away the soul and the whole fucking point of a Watch series..."

https://bit.ly/38OmFHg

Blogger Rine Reads' review of The Long Cosmos:

"Overall I’m going to say that this is my least favourite. After the way the previous book ended I just didn’t know where the story was going to go and unfortunately I didn’t really like the storyline. We spent a lot of time with the Next and they’re just my least favourite part of this series so for the majority of the book to revolve around this was quite hard for me to enjoy. I also found that the big storyline element occurred in a really short period of time really near the end of the book so the bit I found interesting was over and done with quite quickly. This series doesn’t feel complete to me but none of the books have ever finished with a definitive ending. There feels like there could have been more books set in this world in the future maybe following different characters but we will never know if that was to be the case... This book’s writing felt different to the previous and I’m not sure if that’s because I’ve now read a solo Stephen Baxter novel or if it is actually just a different tone. In this book I found that Baxter’s writing seemed a lot more prevalent and I’m not sure if that’s why I enjoyed this a bit less. It’s still got a lot of funny things throughout especially with the wit within this so I’m glad that it still remained..."

https://bit.ly/38TTsLn

Blogger G. A. Buba's thoughts on the Tiffany Aching books:

"I cannot stress enough how Tiffany Aching and Sir Terry’s absolutely lovely bildungsroman shaped the way I thought about the world. When they came out I was growing up with Tiffany. Tiffany Aching was exactly what small, bookish, bullied, young-me needed. She had read the entire dictionary back to front and was a bit annoying with this information, but no one was cruel to her for it... These books were a cornerstone of my growing up. They feel particularly timely at the moment. They breathe hope back into my disenchantment with the world. These books really equip you in just a few short words with all the grit that you need to face down nightmares with nothing but a frying pan..."

https://bit.ly/37D8Uei

Blogger Amy celebrates Hogfather:

"Hogfather is full of wonderfully written, interesting characters but I just want to talk about one of the main characters in this review, Susan Sto Helit. Susan is one of my favourite Discworld characters because I just love how she’s ready to face anything and anyone – she never backs down from a challenge and she isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. I love her sense of adventure but I also love how sensible she is. It’s a bit of a paradox because she’s intensely curious but Susan is sensible to a fault and doesn’t believe in the Hogfather or the Tooth Fairy or anything beyond basic magic. She’s just wonderful.

"Terry Pratchett’s sarcastic humour permeates every single page of this book and it made Hogfather a joy to read. Hogfather may be a fairly dark story about Death personified, Hogfather/Father Christmas being hunted by assassins-for-hire, and a violent young governess who attacks everything head-on with a kitchen poker, but it is also exciting and full of joy. Pratchett’s writing style completely drew me into the story and there wasn’t a dull moment. Pratchett also writes in a way that allows the reader to enter the Discworld at any point. Yes, there are different arcs and an overarching universe but none of that matters as long as you allow yourself to be immersed in the story..."

https://bit.ly/3aOWguR

...and blogger Bookbloggerish was also impressed by Hogfather:

"Pratchett’s world-building is second to none that I’ve read, comparable with J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials. He manages to make something so unusual seem perfectly normal, which takes great skill, because it can seem so fake, but it somehow doesn’t. Perhaps these types of books succeed because there is just enough of what we know and recognise to make the differences seem possible. I think in a way we also want to believe that the impossible is possible..."

https://bit.ly/2GCYShn

Blogger zealotscript re-evaluates The Colour of Magic:

"My overriding preconception going into this re-read was a memory of disappointment, of dissatisfaction with this compared to the mastery and completeness of Pratchett’s later work and a memory of this being a straight work of parody rather than satire. I was wrong on only one of these points. It is a parody, of all the fantasy that came before it, but a loving one. It does lack the finesse of Pratchett’s later works which use his satirical fantastical lens to skewer our own modern society. It was, however, not a disappointment... it is, all in all, a wonderful love letter to the classics of the genre that Pratchett clearly worshipped himself. At the same time managing to capture the sense of wonder and adventure that makes the works so appealing, while pointing the satirical finger at their flaws... It is far from his best work, that is true, and the wonder of the Discworld only grows as the series progresses. For a new reader who may be unsure of Pratchett, this is not the best example of his work. But if you’re committing to reading the series, then there is no better place to start than where Pratchett himself did..."

https://bit.ly/2O7pX0u

Blogger Indulgent Readers gives Mort four stars:

"With a lot of Terry Pratchett books, you can read them time and time again and still find new things to laugh at. Or rediscover old jokes which you still find amusing. Mort is the fourth book of the Discworld series and the first to concentrate on the character Death. The premise of the book is that Death decides that he needs a human apprentice, and the story unravels from there. The book explores predestination and the human condition with a generous sprinkling of humour... As the book is one of the first in the series I was expecting there to be a little more world building. I am glad that there wasn’t, what world building there is well distributed within the plot and the descriptions all fit in well with the narration. The only description which I found a little jarring was when Mort is in Ankh-Morpork for the first time, then again Ankh-Morpork is quite a jarring place. This book helped me to consider the idea of predestination and if everything is predestined can it ever be changed? I had never really considered the possibility of predestination before and I am not entirely certain if it does exist or not but this book has certainly given me food for thought..."

https://bit.ly/2GzJS45

Blogger Claudia Cain found pleasure in The Colour of Magic:

"The Colour of Magic could best be described as enthusiastic. It lacks some of the direction shown in Pratchett’s later novels, possibly due to the fact that it’s less a whole book and more like a few novellas stitched together. It’s also wildly inventive, with incredibly detailed world-building and a plot that meanders through the chaos of the Disc. Without prior knowledge I might have struggled to follow it. However, even this early in the series it’s easy to see what makes these novels great. Terry Pratchett’s work is funny, and witty, and imaginative, and delivers lines that manage to be both incredibly sharp and sometimes poignant. His characters, even when stupidly positive or cowardly and bumbling, are entertaining. It’s not his best work, or my favourite, but it’s colourful and bizarre and I smiled when I read it..."

https://bit.ly/37Dgy8B

Blogger Muse With Me returns with an analysis of Lords and Ladies:

"This is the 14th novel in the series, and while Pratchett often demonstrates his ability to tell a great story in this world, regardless of release date, a number of these novels do follow a familiar skeletal structure. Namely, some sort of magical anomaly is taking place that is the harbinger/cause of an extradimensional force invading the Disc, and our chosen cast of characters must put a stop to it, with some madcap situations along the way. Though it’s a reductive summation of this novel as a whole, it’s not inaccurate. Going in I had hoped it would be something more than this, and while it is not a bad story, I was still a little disappointed by it. Where I will give this novel some more credit in this respect is the credibility of the villains; the titular “lords and ladies.” There are numerous nonhuman peoples living on the Discworld, but we never really hear mention of elves. In this story Pratchett crafts a version of the faerie folk that captures their typical, mystifying nature while also presenting them as completely terrifying... The trio of witches were as delightful to read about as ever. Though Death is my favourite singular character, I think I enjoy reading about the Witches the most as a group. Though she shares the spotlight a lot more, I really liked Granny Weatherwax’s story in this book..."

https://bit.ly/3aKhvhk

...and blogger storiesnstuff22over7 nicely sums up The Last Hero:

"Many of his books are deep and make you think, but the ways he does it in The Wee Free Men and this book are very different. It is still hilarious. It might be a tiny bit age-restricted in parts, but totally ignorable. This book focuses more on how stories and fairy tales work than how they are mistaken; it is more about how for, example, the bad guy’s jail guards are always supposed to be incredibly stupid than the fact that no intelligent evil person would allow people to break into their castle so easily. There is the idea of traditions being lost and lives being forgotten. The ending will feel sad and inconclusive to some and beautiful to others..."

https://bit.ly/2vqPFXe

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08) IMAGES OF THE MONTH

The Two Terrys, by Rob Wilkins: https://bit.ly/2U2VAMm

A lovely album of iconographs from the just-wrapped Progress Theatre production of Wyrd Sisters:
https://bit.ly/2RA6Pu7

Paul Kidby, signing copies of assorted Good Omens volumes: https://bit.ly/37MvLVb

A timely and, from what we hear, appropriate image created by Reddit user PixelBandits: https://bit.ly/2NzVyYf

...and a beautiful rendering of the hare leaping through the fire, from I Shall Wear Midnight, by Reddit user Loftytoast:
https://bit.ly/2uU04dI

...and finally, a moving picture! Jason Allemann has created a Lego Discworld, complete with Rimfall, that turns atop the Elephants while A'Tuin swims with majestic slowness:
https://twitter.com/LEGO_Group/status/1220345613616844800

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09) CLOSE

The voice of Dagon has left the building. Broadcasting stalwart Nicholas Parsons died this week at the great age of ninety-six and will be missed by millions of BBC radio listeners, television fans, and of course, a certain Good Omens co-author: “Heartbroken. I was thrilled to have been able to work with Nicholas Parsons on Good Omens. I sort of directed him, but the direction was basically ‘You’re Nicholas Parsons so do that’. Kind and professional and a pleasure to work with. So sad.”

https://twitter.com/neilhimself/status/1222116553786740737

And that's it for January. Mind how you go, and we'll see you next month!

p.s. Happy New Year to our Agatean readers! As it's the Year of the Rat, may all the rats you encounter be as clever and upstanding as the Clan!

– Annie Mac

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The End. If you have any questions or requests, write: wossname-owner (at) pearwood (dot) info

Copyright (c) 2020 by Wossname for the Klatchian Foreign Legion