Wossname -- November 2016 -- Main issue

[wossname]

Wossname
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
November 2016 (Volume 19, Issue 11, 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 Technomancers: Jason Parlevliet, Archchancellor Neil, DJ Helpful
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 GAMES NEWS
05) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
06) DISCWORLD MEETING GROUPS NEWS
07) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS
08) AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE
09) DISCWORLD ARTS AND CRAFTS NEWS
10) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
11) CLOSE

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01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH

"Alzheimer's is a cowardly disease. It creeps up on you from behind and by the time you realise you've got it you're probably not realising much else. It's a stinker... Not everyone can approach Alzheimer's with the bravery that Terry Pratchett showed."
    – Actor Alfred Molina, whose wife, actor Jill Gascoine, is in the final stages of Alzheimer's disease

"Not a lot of people know this, but a lot of Terry Pratchett's novels are based in a place called Ankh-Morpork, a play on words of Lancaster and Morecambe."
    – everyone has a theory, it seems; this one comes from Morecambe bookseller Tony Vettese

"They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance."
    – Equal Rites, as recently re-quoted on Twitter by Rhianna Pratchett

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02) LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR

    It was thirty-three years ago this month that The Colour of Magic first crept, without much fanfare, onto a few booksellers' display shelves. Eighty Million (or more) sales of books by Sir Terry Pratchett later, that may seem hard to believe... but everything has to start somewhere. In early days, it was a "done thing" to compare Pratchett's wordcraft and humour to that of PG Wodehouse – a comparison that never rang especially true for me – and also to the works of Douglas Adams – mostly, I always imagined, because Adams wrote comedic science fiction and the blurbmakers and reviewers weren't familiar with, say, Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat series (and his deathless parody, Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers). And now here we are, more than three decades on, and the Done Thing now is to compare this or that newbie author's work to that of... yes, to Terry Pratchett... and I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, it's a totally deserved mark of respect and an important way of keeping The Author's name alive on the Roundworld Overhead – always and forever a good thing! But on the other, it strikes me as somewhat lazy and unimaginative: "Oh, it's fantasy/science fiction and there are elements of humour/attempted humour, so let's say it's reminiscent of Pratchett..."

    Still – ripples. On the Overhead. Sending Home. And it would be nice to think that every time The Author's name is mentioned, somewhere, anywhere, the Death of Discworld saves another kitten...

    There is a lot of Discworld merchandise featured in this month's issue. Well, it is almost Hoswatch, after all. But there is also plenty of news and play reviews and other things for reading rather than for buying.

    Right, on with the show!

– Annie Mac, Editor

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03) ODDS AND SODS

3.1 NEW PAUL KIDBY SCULPTURE: THE SIR TERRY PRATCHETT MEMORIAL BUST

From Mr Kidby's official site:

    "Back in 2015 a campaign was launched for the creation of a Terry Pratchett Memorial Statue and I was honoured to be put forward as the sculptor of choice to create it. Following a meeting at the Guildhall, Salisbury Council approved the proposal for the statue to be sited within the city, (exact location as yet undecided). A hiatus from this project followed whilst I produced the line art for The Discworld Colouring Book but by August my deadlines were met and I was ready to get my sculpting tools out.

    "To create a large scale piece of public art is a great responsibility. To do Terry justice I must finely balance his public persona and private self by ensuring that I honour him not only as an extraordinary writer whose books delighted readers around the world but also on a more personal level to those who knew him as a friend, beloved husband and father.

    "My first step in this process has been to create a head and shoulders bust, 40 cm high. This has enabled me to focus primarily on facial features and expression to capture a bearing that I feel best represents him as we all remember. Only when I was happy with his physical appearance did I turn my attention to making his glasses (four or five days of fiddling and swearing) and trademark hat. It was a great help to have both of these precious objects, and his well worn leather jacket, to use as direct reference, thank you to Rob Wilkins and Lyn Pratchett for lending them to me.

    "I am now in the final stages of creating this sculpture and will be carefully driving it to the foundry for bronze casting very soon. The bust will be available as a limited edition of twelve for dedicated collectors but most importantly it will be a valuable model and working maquette for the full sized statue and a vital first step in the creative process of this very important commission."

To read the announcement – with iconograpgs! – go to:

http://www.paulkidby.com/sir-terry-pratchett-memorial-bust/

...and here it is, packed for casting, as shared on Mr Kidby's Twitter account:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cx3A2pnXAAAvaln.jpg

3.2 THE SOUNDS OF DISCWORLD... NOT

By Gemma Toulson in the Nottingham Post:

    "A Nottinghamshire man who made more than £50,000 on illegally reproduced audiobooks has been convicted under copyright law. Nottinghamshire Police said they began to make inquiries into the activities of Manrico Toschi in 2012, when they were informed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security of pirated audiobooks for sale for online. The police said the audiobooks in question had been copied from material produced exclusively for disabled U.S. citizens. An investigation by the East Midland Special Operations Unit (EMSOU) into the 43-year-old's online activities revealed more than 10,000 audiobooks in his digital library, dating between January 2008 and June 2014... Initially Toschi traded under his own name, but following cease and desist notices from the authorities in 2012, the police said he found a new way to continue his 'criminal enterprise'. Using the pseudonym Lee Sharpe, he opened a new bank account and advertised pirated audiobooks across the globe under that name. One such title was a Terry Pratchett audiobook, which featured a compilation of 47[sic] of the Discworld novels, published by Penguin Random House... At Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday, November 8 he was sentenced to two years in prison. The court also determined that Toschi had benefited from his criminality to the sum of £56,000 and granted a Proceeds of Crime Act Confiscation Order to reflect this. Toschi must repay this amount within three months..."

http://www.nottinghampost.com/man-jailed-for-making-illegal-audiobooks/story-29882441-detail/story.html

3.3 PRATCHETT BOOK SIGNING MEMORIES

By Stephen Sinfield in the Burton Mail (Burton-on-Trent, Staffs)

"    Despite hundreds of people queueing in Coopers Square shopping centre, in Burton, there was no screaming hysteria as Terry Pratchett addicts limited themselves to a slight gasp as they met the author of the best-selling Discworld series face-to-face, and stammered out their thanks. The writer, once a journalist and press officer for the Atomic Energy Authority, was in Burton to sign his latest book and anything else – in print – his fans could lay their hands on. The crowd started forming outside Ottakars book shop as soon as the shopping centre's doors opened on the November morning, each fan arrived with carrier bags packed full of their precious collection of books. Others bought calendars, diaries, and copies of his last novel 'The Fifth Elephant' for him to dedicate, with a swift black flourish of his felt tip pen.

    "Unlike many top authors, Mr Pratchett liked to meet fans outside the big cities. His whirlwind UK book signing tour had started on November 8 in Dorset and would take him to 20 towns across England and Scotland before ending in Colchester. He arrived in Burton on November 17, 2000. Accompanied by a classical guitarist, who was also selling his wares on the side, and a man dressed as an animal to raise money for Children in Need, Mr Pratchett entered the fantasy world of the book signing sessionist. After an hour, the queues which were growing ever-longer, were stopped..."

http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/terry-pratchett-pulled-in-the-crowds-at-burton-book-signing-in/story-29919595-detail/story.html

3.4 A TEN-BEST DISCWORLD CHARACTERS LIST

By Tim Martin in The Telegraph:

    "In a distant and secondhand set of dimensions, in an astral plane that was never meant to fly…” Terry Pratchett began his Discworld sequence with The Colour of Magic in 1983; it's extraordinary that a series which began as a mickey-taking parody of medieval-fantasy cliche blossomed, over 40 books, into British fiction's most brilliant satire on contemporary life. Everyone will have their own favourite characters from the hundreds of humans, vampires, trolls and golems who stalk the plains and cities of Pratchett's disturbingly familiar fantasy world. They have ensured that the writer, whose books sold over 85 million copies world-wide, will be remembered for many a generation of fantasy readers. Here are 10 of the finest..."

The list includes Death (and the Death of Rats, and Susan), Granny Weatherwax, Lord Vetinari, Nanny Ogg, Sam Vimes, the Librarian, Moist von Lipwig, Tiffany Aching, Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler, and the Luggage, with a paragraph's description of each. Good choices!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/terry-pratchetts-10-best-discworld-characters/

3.5 ALZHEIMER'S NEWS: TWO VIEWS, AND A SLOW RAY OF HOPE

    "Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, has overtaken heart disease as the leading cause of death in England and Wales, latest figures reveal. Last year, more than 61,000 people died of dementia - 11.6% of all recorded deaths. The Office for National Statistics says the change is largely due to an ageing population. People are living for longer and deaths from some other causes, including heart disease, have gone down. Also, doctors have got better at diagnosing dementia and the condition is now given more weight on death certificates... Hilary Evans of Alzheimer's Research UK said: 'These figures once again call attention to the uncomfortable reality that currently, no-one survives a diagnosis of dementia. Dementia is not an inevitable part of ageing, it's caused by diseases that can be fought through research, and we must bring all our efforts to bear on what is now our greatest medical challenge'..."

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-37972141

    "A week ago the story that dementia had become the leading cause of death in England and Wales was making headlines. But now we hear that the proportion of people suffering from dementia is actually falling - how can both statements be true, asks Charlotte McDonald? Last week's news was based on figures from the Office for National Statistics, and the statisticians themselves pointed out why the numbers have increased... 'With people living longer and surviving other illnesses, the number of people developing dementia and Alzheimer disease is increasing,' says the ONS. But there is a second reason, which has to do with the way deaths are registered. This data set is collecting the "underlying cause" of death, and that is defined as the 'the disease or injury which initiated the train of morbid events leading directly to death'. In the past there would have been a certain amount of stigma, or a reluctance to put dementia on death certificates... It is possible for dementia to be the sole cause of death without another cause like pneumonia but very few people are likely to die of dementia on its own..."

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-38054877

...and hopeful news from science correspondent Hannah Devlin in The Guardian:

    "When Terry Pratchett was diagnosed with Alzheimer's he recalled his wife's relief that he hadn't got a brain tumour. 'All I could think then was, "I know three people who have got better after having a brain tumour. I haven't heard of anyone who's got better from Alzheimer's,"' the late author wrote in 2008. Nearly a decade on, not much has changed for people facing a new diagnosis of Alzheimer's. Unlike patients with heart disease, cancer or diabetes, there is no well-trodden medical track to follow and no treatments that can slow the disease's devastating progress. Between 2002 and 2012, 99.6% of drugs studies aimed at preventing, curing or improving Alzheimer's symptoms were either halted or discontinued. The consistent failure of trials, at vast financial cost to drugs companies, caused many to shut down dementia programmes as a result.

    "The latest trial results from Merck, together with other drugs in the final stage of development, provide hope that the years of deadlock may be drawing to a close. The Merck trial may be preliminary, in the clinical sense, but it represents an entire career's work for some of the scientists involved. 'We're 16 years into the program,' said Matt Kennedy, the neuroscience director at Merck who led the research. 'It's a good example of how long it takes.' The first challenge scientists faced was creating a compound that would get through the blood-brain barrier, without also causing toxic side-effects or damaging healthy structures in the brain. Simply optimising the structure of the compound to do this took a decade, Kennedy said. The latest results appear to show that the scientists got this bit right – the drug appeared to have few side-effects and it substantially lowered levels of toxic amyloid compounds. The real question, which the next phase of the trial should answer, is whether the formation of plaques are a root cause of the disease or simply a visible symptom... There is no guarantee that the drug will ultimately make it to market, but in a field that has seen such scant progress, the fact that a major clinical trial is underway is welcome news. Professor John Hardy, a neuroscientist at University College London and pioneer in the study of Alzheimer's disease, said: 'Conveying some excitement isn't the wrong thing to do in this case.'"

http://bit.ly/2fFg8qX

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04) DISCWORLD GAMES NEWS: CLACKS CHRISTMAS OFFERS

This, from the lads at Backspindle Games:

    We are delighted to make a couple of Christmas Offers! Below you can order a combination of our Award Winning, HIT Wrestling game, Luchador! Mexican Wrestling Dice with a copy of our brand new No. 1 Themeless game in the Dice Tower Podcast, Codinca… or you can order our really popular, (three games in one) Discworld board game, Clacks, based on the Terry Pratchett novel, Going Postal, together with a copy of Codinca.

    Please note, the last days for posting from our Post Office service are:
UK Customers – 20 December 2016
EU Customers – 16 December 2016 and
ROW Customers – 10 December 2016

http://www.backspindlegames.com/christmas-offers/

Special Clacks offer!

    For a limited period, you can order a copy of the game and a beautifully sculpted miniature by Microart Studios that can be used in the cooperative race game or you can order Moist by himself. (Miniature supplied unpainted)

http://www.backspindlegames.com/clacks

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05) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS

5.1 PLAYS IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER 2016

* MORT IN HARROGATE

The Woodlands Drama Group will be staging their production of Mort in November and December!

When: 30th November–3rd December 3 2016
Venue: The Studio At Harrogate Theatre, 6 Oxford Street, Harrogate HG1 1QF (email: boxoffice@harrogatetheatre.co.uk)
Time: 7.45pm evening shows; 2.30pm Saturday matinee
Tickets: all tickets £10, available from http://www.woodlandsdramagroup.co.uk/tickets/ or http://bit.ly/2di6RSA or by phoning the theatre's Box Office (01423 502116)

http://www.harrogatetheatre.co.uk/whats-on/Mort-Presented-by-Woodlands-Drama-Group

* WYRD SISTERS IN BRISBANE

The Brisbane Arts Theatre's production of Wyrd Sisters is still going!

When: 29th & 30th November and 4th–6th December 2016
Venue: Brisbane Arts Theatre, 210 Petrie Terrace, Brisbane, QLD 4000
Time: 8pm Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays; 6.30pm Sunday matinees (29th November and 6th December)
Tickets: Adults $31, Concession $25, Group 10+ $25, Group 75+ $20, Gold Members $15, Members $25, Student Rush $10 (10 mins before curtain); the online purchasing age at http://www.artstheatre.com.au/show/wyrdsisters appears to be broken, though... so if you can't get through to buy, try ringing the theatre on (07) 3369 2344 (active durning regular business hours and also during performances).

http://www.artstheatre.com.au/show/wyrdsisters

* WYRD SISTERS IN SUSSEX

The Midhurst Players, an amateur company of 65 years' standing, will stage their production of Wyrd Sisters in late November through early December.

When: Wednesday 30th November – Saturday 3rd December 2016
Venue: South Downs Centre Memorial Hall, North Street, Midhurst, West Sussex GU29 9DH
Time: 7.30pm all shows
Tickets: Adults £10 Under 18's £6, available online at https://thelittleboxoffice.com/midhurstplayers/book/event/52158

"We now have a fully automated online ticketing service where you can choose where you want to sit, pay and print off your own tickets. Just follow the links on the website.

"For telephone bookings please call 01730 815894 between the hours of 10.00 am to 6.00 pm, on weekdays only. Please note that initially we can only 'reserve' your tickets and there there will be a slight delay before the seats are allocated as we have to notify the Administrator. We are only able to reserve tickets for 48 hours so it is important to ensure that your payment reaches us in good time. All tickets issued by the Administrator will be printed off and will be ready to pick up on the night of your performance. We no longer post tickets to your home address.

"Do remember that the system runs in 'real' time so unless you book online we cannot guarantee your seats until they have been allocated and paid for."

http://www.midhurstplayers.co.uk/

5.2 PLAYS IN 2017

* TAMAHER IN CARDIFF (FEBRUARY 2017)

Monstrous Productions carry on from strength to strength! Next up is their February 2017 production of The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents. Stay tuned for updates...

When: 22nd–25th February 2017
Venue: The Gate Theatre, Keppoch Street, Roath, Cardiff CF24 3JW
Time: 7.30pm (2.30pm matinee on the 25th)
Tickets: £7 (£5 concession), available from http://monstrousproductions.fikket.com/

* CARPE JUGULUM IN NOTTINGHAM (MARCH 2017)

The Lace Market Youth Theatre present Carpe Jugulum, "a pastiche of vampire literature playing with mythic archetypes and featuring a tongue in cheek reversal of 'vampyre' subculture with young vampires who wear bright clothes, drink wine and stay up till noon", in March 2017.

When: 22nd–25th March 2017
Venue: The Lace Market Theatre, Halifax Place, Nottingham NG1 1QN
Time: 7.30pm all evening shows; 2.30pm Saturday 25th matinee
Tickets: £11 (£10 concessions), available online at http://bit.ly/2dIKhod or by phoning 0115 950 7201

https://lacemarkettheatre.co.uk/LaceMarketTheatre.dll/WhatsOn

* MORT IN OREGON (FEBRUARY 2017)

The Majestic Theatre in Corvallis, Oregon, USA will be staging their production of Mort next February: "DEATH is always right behind us. But if he were in front of us, and this were the fantastical Discworld invented by the late Sir Terry Pratchett, Death would also be a seven-foot skeleton with a black robe and a scythe. And when Death is in front of young Mort, he also has an offer of an apprenticeship. In this hilarious overview of life, love, and death (not in that order), Mort finds himself living in Death’s abode, but when he finally gets a chance to do the job, his mistakes cause reality to be sliced in half, with a beautiful princess somewhere between life and death and not very happy about it. Surrounded by panicked wizards, arrogant royalty, goofy drunks, and short-order chefs, Mort and Death must confront their own fears in order to restore order, and figure out who lives, and who's fired!"

When: 10th, 11th, 12th, 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th February 2017 (performances on the 12th and 19th are matinees)
Venue: The Majestic Theatre, 115 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis, OR 97333
Time: TBA
Tickets: TBA

http://www.majestic.org/

* WYRD SISTERS IN BOLTON, LANCS (MARCH 2017)

Bolton Little Theatre, "a vibrant amateur theatre company run by members" since 1931, will be staging their production of Wyrd Sisters next March.

When: 6th–11th March 2017
Venue: Bolton Little Theatre, Hanover Street, Bolton BL1 4TG
Time: 7.30pm
Tickets: £10 (Monday night 3 for 2 special), available at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/boltonlittletheatre or https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/event/EFILHL – group bookings of 10+ (£9) should be booked through the Box Office. "You can book at Bolton Little Theatre box office in person or by telephone on Monday night from 7.30 to 9pm and Friday mornings from 10.30 to 12 noon – no extra charge if paying by cash or cheque and you can book during the run of the plays or you can book online at boltonlittletheatre.ticketsource.co.uk ...credit card charges will apply. Tickets can be e-tickets (no charge) mobile phone ticket (50p) standard post (£1.50)."

http://www.boltonlittletheatre.co.uk/terry-pratchetts-wyrd-sisters/

5.3 REVIEWS

* REVIEW: WYRD SISTERS IN NEWPORT

By Julia Fitzgerald for the South Wales Argus:

    "The Newport Playgoers put their twist on a Terry Pratchett classic by setting out to save the kingdom of Lancre following the death of the king and fighting the new evil monarch. The witches Granny Weatherwax (Adele Cordner), Nanny Ogg (Andrea Pyke) and Magrat Garlick (Natty Niering) take on the challenge and work well together on their mission, bouncing off one another and using humour to connect with the audience. The large cast performed well in stunning costumes against creative scenery, standout performances came from The Fool (Stuart Moss) and Duke and Lady Felmet (Luke Bowkett and Kate Summers) who brought the villainy and sadistic behaviour to add spice to the show. The use of a giant film screen, special effects and magic tricks throughout meant the production was cleverly executed and enjoyed by all, really creating the illusion of magical goings on..."

http://bit.ly/2gwI5Bo

* REVIEW: GUARDS! GUARDS! IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA

ARENAarts' sixth Discworld production, reviewed by Gordon The Optom for the Independent Theatre Association:

    "Great fun for the family. There are a couple of dozen scenes, varying from a castle battlement, several rooms, street scene, zoo etc., each represented with minimal – but very well presented – scenery and props (Set construction by Jim Chantry, adorned by scenic artists Kiri Vinsen, Sheila Wileman and Ashling Townsend, with the cast helping). It was essential with so many scene changes that the stage team should be well focused and quick. Stage manager Janet Vinsen with her assistants Callum Vinsen and Sean Schliwa were magnificent. With an average of 5 – 8 seconds, the stage was transformed each time. Josh Shoebridge and Simon Walters skilfully operated Simon James' lighting and sound design. It was obvious that a great deal of thought and precision was put into the complex plan and operation. Young Footnote (Callum Vinsen), the narrator of the story, sets the scene, popping in now and again to clarify the action. Director and multi-tasker, Simon James, has presented this play in the style of a pantomime, aimed at 9 yrs. and up. It is quite dark in places, and the script is rich with puns, double-entendres and subtle jokes. The kids will miss at least half of the humour, but will love the special effects, excellent costumes (Janet Vinsen and armourer Callum Vinsen) and dragons. There was a large cast, who were impressive and worked together with great chemistry. The delivery of the lines, humour and build-up of tension were all presented most proficiently. The main actors were superb, but even the ‘bit' players gave it their best. With so many players on stage, there can easily be pandemonium, with actors bumping into each other and fighting for exits – this team moved well, truly professional. Josh Shoebridge and Kiri Vinsen created the magnificent robotic performers, Errol and other dragons. They really were ‘alive', practically stealing the scene from the living actors..."

http://www.ita.org.au/2016/11/guards-guards-reviewed-by-gordon-the-optom/

* REVIEW: TAMAHER IN LEEDS

Leeds Children's Theatre's production of Amazing Maurice, reviewed by Christine Castle for NODA (National Operatic and Dramatic Association):

    "The untimely death of Terry Pratchett, one of our best-loved writers, has made us all realise what a tremendous loss his passing made in literary circles and beyond. I admire LCT for choosing one of his children's stories, now adapted for the stage, for their autumn production, as this is a hefty play by any stretch of the imagination, especially for younger members. I am pleased to say that the whole cast in this production gave it one hundred per cent commitment. The Directors, Jane Curtin and Alex Plygawko, had worked hard on their cast to bring the story of Maurice, an amazing talking cat and his friendly, educated (and also talkative!) rodents to life. Within the piece, one message shone through - never ignore the less well-liked members of your community (in this case, rats) as they are cleverer than you think! For the adult audience members, there were many clever references to modern political life making us nod sagely. The young people in this production were all extremely talented - they acted well and their diction was, as always, of the highest calibre. I was particularly impressed with the costumes, especially the 'rat' headgear - the costume department, in the tender care of Mavis Heaton, must have worked hard to make very convincing costumes for all the company. The set was very interesting in design (in the care of Dan Dainter) and gave the cast plenty of scope for moving around. Set changes were performed very quickly - maybe a little too much use of blackouts, which can disjoint the smoothness of the play, but this is a personal comment. The main character of the play, Maurice, was played with confidence and worldliness - his rat buddies had the most wonderful character names - for example, Hamnpork, Sardines, Donut Enter, to name but a few and each actor lived up to his or her name with total conviction. Although this play is rather wordy not one of the actors forgot their lines, which is a good thing, as I was told LCT do not have a prompt..."

https://www.noda.org.uk/events/reports/the_amazing_maurice_and_his_educated_rodents

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06) DISCWORLD MEETING GROUPS NEWS: UPDATES AND REMINDERS

The Broken Drummers, "London's Premier Unofficially Official Discworld Group" (motto "Nil percussio est"), meets next on Monday 5th December 2016 at the Monkey Puzzle, 30 Southwick Street, London, W2 1JQ.

For more information, go to http://brokendrummers.org/ or email BrokenDrummers@gmail.com or nicholls.helen@yahoo.co.uk

*

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 all 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." [Editor's note: this is an active group. If you use Facebook, it may be worth joining!]

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. The games are usually shorter games like Pairs, Sushi Go, or Tiny Epic Defenders, with the occasional Werewolf session, as these are the best sort of games that work in a pub setting. 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 End of Year Hogswatch Dinner will be held at Caffe Buongiorno, Mitcham on 15th December 2016. For more info, go to www.cityofsmallgods.org.au

*

The Broken Vectis Drummers meet next on Thursday 1st December 2016 (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 2nd December 2016 (probably) 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 but is now looking to take in some new blood (presumably not in the non-reformed Uberwald manner). 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 5th December 2016 at 6.30pm (probably) 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, meets next on Monday 5th December 2016 (probably) from 5.30pm at Carpe Cafe, 526 Murray Street, Perth, Western Australia. For details follow Perth Drummers on Twitter @Perth_Drummers or join their Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Perth.Drummers/ – or message Alexandra Ware directly at <alexandra.ware@gmail.com>

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07) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS

7.1 AUSDWCON NEWS: DISCWORLD GRAND TOUR UPDATE

A few reminders...

    We are also celebrating 10 Years of Australian Discworld Conventions with a special t-shirt – You don't have to be attending the convention to get this special t-shirt – we can post it to you within Australia, New Zealand, the UK or the USA.[2] https://ausdwcon.org/shop/product/ten-years-t-shirt/ Shipping costs listed at https://ausdwcon.org/shop/delivery-timescales/

    Don't forget that you can buy your tickets for the Discworld Grand Tour in our shop right now:
https://ausdwcon.org/shop/tickets/

    Please keep in mind that early-bird prices finish February 4th 2017. But wait – did you know there's a way to get the early-bird price without paying for a full ticket now? Yes, that's right! If you buy a Supporting membership ($40) before Feb 4th 2017, you will lock yourself in at the early-bird price, and you can pay the remaining balance (in instalments or all at once) any time up until July 21 2017!

    Buy your supporting membership here: https://ausdwcon.org/shop/product/supporting-membership/
And read here for information about all membership types: https://ausdwcon.org/convention/membership/

https://ausdwcon.org/blog/on-your-holiday/

7.2 NADWCON NEWS

The fourth North American Discworld Convention (NADWCON) will take place from 1st–4th September 2017 in New Orleans – and appropriately, the theme will be The Genuan Experience!

    "The 2017 NADWCon will be organized by RavenQuoth, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that was responsible for NADWCon 2013, which raised over $24,000 in charity funds that were split equally between the Orangutan Foundation UK and Alzheimer's Research UK. The 2017 NADWCon will be co-chaired by Emily S. Whitten and Richard Atha-Nicholls. Emily S. Whitten was co-founder of The North American Discworld Convention, Vice-Chair of NADWCon 2009, and Chair of NADWCon 2011. Richard Atha-Nicholls was Chair of NADWCon 2013 and is President of RavenQuoth, Inc.

    "NADWCon 2017 and RavenQuoth, Inc. will provide further announcements and details about the 2017 convention in the upcoming months. Further information will be available at http://nadwcon2017.org."

http://www.nadwcon2017.org/

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08) DISCWORLD ARTS AND CRAFTS NEWS

8.1 DISCWORLD EMPORIUM NEWS

The Discworld Emporium has an announcement:

"IF YOU GO DOWN TO THE DISCWORLD EMPORIUM TODAY, YOU'RE SURE OF A BIG SURPRISE!

    "The Emporium team is proud to unveil our new website, full of the glingleglingleglingle of bells, whistles and lots of lovely Discworld goodies! We've been working hard to improve functionality, navigation and user experience with our new home, which is fully optimised for all your mobile clacks devices. With a new look, new features, and new products we're sure you'll enjoy rummaging around for all your Discworld merchandise needs & Hogswatch gifts. You'll be able to make wishlists, purchase vouchers, set restock alerts on out of stock products and much, much more!

    "Being well-read and intellectually gifted clever clogs, we're sure you'll understand that such a magical website does not get launched without a few thaumic ramifications here and there. Due to our website being built with all-new techno-thingies please bear the following in mind...

* If you previously held an account at our old site, you'll need to retrieve a new password when you log in, and reset it in your account.

* Our emails and order notifications may end up in your junk box, so please check there for expected alerts,

...and remember to ADD US TO YOUR ADDRESS BOOK to ensure you don't miss important correspondence from us

* Orders placed on our old site before 31st October will NOT be visible on our new site. Please refer to your order confirmation emails which contain the very same information.

    "We hope you enjoy exploring the Emporium and feel right at home wandering around its nooks and crannies (take a piece of string with with you, and maybe some crampons. Our site is like a new born kitten; beautiful, cuddly but finding its feet and occasionally pooping on the carpet. While are endeavouring to soothe any teething troubles as quickly as possible, if you encounter any glitches or metaphorical brick walls during your visit please feel free to CONTACT US (_http://www.discworldemporium.com/contact-us_) and we'll work it out together."

...and another announcement:

    "There's only seven days left to place your Hogswatch orders with us if you live outside of Europe and the US! For all our customers who don't live in the UK, Europe or the USA, we wanted to drop you a note to let you know that you have just seven days to place your Hogswatch orders before our cut-off date of the 2nd of December. After this date there's no guarantee the items will reach you in time for Hogswatch!

    "As an official branch of the Ankh-Morpork Post Office we pride ourselves on offering swift and reliable delivery all over the Roundworld, but even our postmen deserve a rest over the festive holiday! For our final posting dates and holiday closure information please read on! For delivery in time for the Hogfather to make his rounds, please be sure to order by the recommended dates below":The Midhurst Players, an amateur company of 65 years' standing, will stage their production of Wyrd Sisters in late November through early December.

Thursday 1st December
Africa, Middle East

Tuesday 6th December
Cyprus, Asia, Eastern Europe (except Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia), Far East (including Japan), Caribbean, Central & South America

Thursday 8th December
Greece, Australia, New Zealand

Tuesday 13th December
Western Europe (Except Greece), Ireland, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Canada, USA

Thursday 15th December
United Kingdom

    "ORDERS WILL CEASE SHIPPING FROM THURSDAY 15TH. YOU ARE WELCOME TO PLACE ORDERS OVER THE FESTIVE PERIOD, BUT PLEASE NOTE THAT THEY WILL NOT SHIP UNTIL WE REOPEN ON FRIDAY 6TH JANUARY. THE EMPORIUM SHOP IN WINCANTON WILL BE CLOSED FROM THURSDAY 22ND DEC – FRIDAY 6TH JANUARY. Please note that communication will be limited at this time, as we'll likely be pissed as farts. Refund or replacement requests made during our closure will be processed on our return."

https://www.discworldemporium.com/content/11-hogswatch-delivery-holiday-closures

...and on to the best offer of the month...

*Rat onna stick plushy!

    "Treat yourself to an icon of Ankh-Morpork street cuisine – with ketchup & no green wobbly bits!! Fresh from Gimlet's Hole Food Delicatessen, this favourite among discerning dwarfs it is made from 100% free-range & locally sourced ingredients (aka plush!) – an ideal addition to any Hogswatch feast or stocking! At the Discworld Emporium, we pride ourselves on producing things of great beauty, craftsmanship and cunning. We also pride ourselves on making great dead rats with sticks up their bums!

    "Ankh-Morpork is a melting pot of vibrant and divers dining experiences, but for a true taste of Ankh-Morpork a visit to Gimlet's for a slice of humble rodent is not to be missed! Finally that most famous of snacks, the rat-onna-stick is available for Discworld fans to savour at home! This gluten-free, low-fat treat is also surprisingly suitable for vegetarians and features finely embroidered ketchup, fully posable tail and lovingly executed griddle marks. Our plush Rat-onna-Stick is possibly the BEST plush Rat-onna-Stick ever produced in any known multiverse.

    "If you buy only ONE food-based-dead-rat-with-a-stick-up-its-bum plush item this year, make it this one." – creators and perpetrators of crimes against cuddly toys, Messors Ian Mitchell and Bernard Pearson."

The Rat-onna-stick plushy measures 23cm nose to end of stick and is priced at £ 13.50. For more information, and to order, go to:

https://www.discworldemporium.com/discworld-plushies/332-rat-onna-stick

...and stamps, of course...

* Introducing our limited edition Hogswatch stamps & souvenirs!

"For this year's designs, we asked Discworld artist David Wyatt to create a special festive version of the cityscape he illustrated for the Discworld Emporium's website homepage – and the result is a stunning collection of stamps & ephemera to get us into the festive spirit! The Hogswatch 50p stamps are available on a traditional First Day Cover, as a limited edition minisheet featuring a triptych of stamps set inside David's festive scene, and in a special edition 'Little Brown Envelope' – a lucky dip assortment of Discworld stamps!"

https://www.discworldemporium.com/39-new-stamps

    "This year we're rolling our super-limited Hogswatch and Seasonal LBEs into one festive bonanza of an edition! The Happy Hogswatch LBE will be available for the Hogswatch season until December 25th, and is packed full of the sports of a super-limited edition but features MORE prizes, AND the free stamp of a standard seasonal LBE! Each LBE contains one of three Hogswatch 50p stamps, exclusive to this issue, along with a free Hogfather Penny stamp as a gift from us! The Hogfather Penny is also available to collect as a whole sheet of stamps for collection or application to your Hogswatch correspondence! Lucky LBEs contain prize tickets for sport First Day Covers (featuring sport variants of the Hogswatch 50p), and exclusive sets of 3 whole stamp Sheets. Plus TWO of the most coveted stamps of them all – the Temple of Small Gods Blue Triangle Sports – are waiting to be found in this festive bonanza along with Clacks-o-grams, dead letter labels and sports!"

https://www.discworldemporium.com/little-brown-envelopes/336-hogswatch-lbe

https://www.discworldemporium.com/new-stamps/335-hogfather-penny

http://www.discworldemporium.com/

8.2 DISCWORLD.COM NEWS

"A Top Ten of our Most Popular Products of 2016"

1. The Terry Pratchett Memorial Pin
Without doubt, our most popular product of 2016. Produced to celebrate the life of Sir Terry, this pin features a sprig of lilac – a symbol of Discworld remembrance immortalised in Night Watch.

http://discworld.com/products/collectables/terry-s-memorial-pin/

2. Dried Frog Pills
If you didn't need them before, surely after all this talk of Hogswatch, you most definitely will! Our range of Discworld confectionary has grown this year; you can now achieve sanity with UU Dried Frog Pills, whimsy and giggles with Brother Auguste's Happy Pills and er, a swift inhumation with Lord Downey's Esteemed Humbugs.
Disclaimer: Whilst these products are real, we can't be 100% sure as to their side-effects.

http://discworld.com/products/gimlets-kitchen/dried-frog-pills/

3. The Discworld Colouring Book
Our best-selling book of the year, the Discworld Colouring Book, not only brings the adult colouring book phenomenon to Discworld, but is unique in the fact that Discworld artist - Paul Kidby himself - re-worked every single piece of artwork into stunning line-drawing versions of the originals. Also available in a glorious Artist's Edition.

http://discworld.com/products/colouring-books

4. Signed Prints
A perennial favourite with fans the world over, our range of prints were all hand-signed by Sir Terry. Each one is numbered and signed but be quick as numbers are declining rapidly. Non Timetis Messor and The Map of Lancre are down to the last few. Grab something special before it's too late.

http://discworld.com/products/colour-prints

5. Terry's Memorial Tote Bag
Another fan-favourite from Terry's Memorial, this practical tote bag is a great way to remember Terry and carry all your Discworld goodies at the same time.

http://discworld.com/products/tote-bags

6. The Witch's Vacuum Cleaner
Available in both a standard edition and beautiful slipcase, this is the second volume of Sir Terry's short stories. Bringing together fourteen of Terry's earliest stories, these entertaining tales show the seeds of ideas which Terry went on to develop in his later writing, making this a fascinating addition to your collection.

http://discworld.com/products/books/the-witchs-vacuum-cleaner/
http://discworld.com/products/books/witchs-vacuum-cleaner-collectors-edition-slipcase/

7. In Ancient Times... Tea Towel
This Christmas, even as you fight to keep the cat away from the turkey, you can be reminded of a snippet of Terry's feline-inspired wisdom. These high-quality UK-made tea towels are the purrrfect thing to help with all that extra washing up.

http://discworld.com/products/gimlets-kitchen/cats-tea-towel

8. The Discworld Convention Coin
Originally produced as a memento to the lucky people who managed to secure tickets to this year's Discworld Convention, the remaining number are available for sale, but do be quick as we're down to the last few! This striking coin features Terry's silhouette on one side and a beautifully embossed version of Paul Kidby's classic Under an Eldritch Sky artwork on the reverse.

http://discworld.com/products/limited-time-only/discworld-convention-2016-collectable-coin

9. Terry Pratchett postcards
Commissioned for the Terry Pratchett Memorial in April, these beautiful postcards were subsequently made available to all our customers. They all feature images of Terry including artwork by Josh Kirby and Paul Kidby.

http://discworld.com/products/postcards

10. Dark Side of the Turtle T-shirt
Released for this year's Band With Rocks In-spired UK Discworld Convention, this design was so well received, it's earned a place in our T-shirt hall of fame! Rock on!

http://discworld.com/products/bags-clothing/dark-side-turtle-t-shirt/

...and your Editor's pick of the lot – beautiful Discworld notebooks!

All notebooks are hardbacks, all are A5 size with lined pages, and all are priced at £15 each. A number to choose from:

Assassins' Guild Notebook, "embossed with the coat of arms of the Assassins' Guild. The notebook comes complete with a set of Assassins' Guild stickers:"
http://discworld.com/products/notebooks/assassins-guild-notebook/

Unseen University Notebook, "embossed with the coat of arms of Unseen University. The notebook comes complete with a set of suitably simian UU stickers":
http://discworld.com/products/notebooks/unseen-university-notebook/

Seamstresses Guild Notebook, "embossed with the coat of arms of the Seamstresses' Guild. The notebook comes complete with a set of Seamstresses' Guild stickers":
http://discworld.com/products/notebooks/seamstresses-guild-notebook/

Death Notebook, "embossed with the seal of Death, and bearing his motto – 'Non Timetis Messor'. The notebook comes complete with a set of Death stickers":
http://discworld.com/products/convention-launches/death-notebook/

Granny Weatherwax Notebook, "embossed with the hat of Granny Weatherwax, and bearing the legend of her famous sign – 'I Ate'nt Dead'. The notebook comes complete with a set of Witches stickers":
http://discworld.com/products/convention-launches/granny-weatherwax-notebook/

The City Watch Notebook, "embossed with the seal of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, and bearing their motto – 'Fabricati Diem Pvnc'. The notebook comes complete with a set of City Watch stickers":
http://discworld.com/products/convention-launches/the-watch-notebook/

...and the 2017 Discworld Calendar:

"The Discworld calendar dates are extensive, exhaustively researched, and include all major real-time calendrical data for Great Britain, Eire, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA – as well, of course, as notable Discworld dates. This year's calendar features a nostalgic look at the late Josh Kirby's iconic covers, featuring a selection from the earliest Discworld novels."

The 2017 Discworld Calendar is priced at £15. For more information, and to order, go to:

http://discworld.com/products/calendar/discworld-calendar-2017/

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09) AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE

Blogger reuoq is back with a review of The Long Cosmos:

    "This picks the characters up as old men – the character Joshua Valienté is now in his sixties or seventies, and goes off for a final trip through the Long Earth, that strange multiverse introduced in the previous books in the series. He's very similar to the authors' ages now, and they wrote this very successfully, I thought. He gets trapped somewhere when he gets injured, and is taken care of by a troll, one of the other species of hominids that can step from world to world. So where The Long Utopia, the fourth book, was about Valienté's family history, and the history of the Long Earth by extension, this book explores the other species of the Long Earth, including the trolls, and what they call “elves”, introduced in the first book and almost forgotten since then. The trolls are depicted as a gorilla on the front cover, which I don't think is accurate – it should be more like Homo erectus, or like neanderthals, from the descriptions in the book. They can also communicate with the human characters using a kind of translator microphone thing, briefly mentioned a few books ago, although somehow humans and trolls can't truly learn each other's language – this is hand-waved away a few times by saying the grammar doesn't match properly. I liked this look into trolls – they were always elusive before, and even disappeared completely during one of the stories.

    "Not to deliberately spoil anything, but the book ends with a very grandiose cosmic tying together of loose threads, with a philosophical justification for the Long Earth that I didn't buy completely. It's at this point that I start to tease out Baxter's style from Pratchett's, which I found difficult to do in the first book, but having now read two of Baxter's books – Proxima and its sequel Ultima, which I've yet to review – these both have similar themes, exploring the nature of the multiverse with slightly far-fetched explanations. Despite this, I was overall satisfied with the book's conclusion..."

https://reuoq.com/2016/10/25/book-109-the-long-cosmos-2016/

The Literary Gamer, who believes that being well-read and having vast gaming-fu need not be contradictory, offers thoughts on Mort:

    "This book marks the first time that Death has been the center of attention throughout the entire book. In Discworld, Death is not a malicious evil, but rather a guy just doing his job. However, he also has a lot of pride in his job and does his best at it. These aspects make him a lot more relatable than other versions of the force of nature. I've always had a slight interest in the world building and mechanics of fantasy settings, so I was happy to see just how Death goes about his job. He's not present for every single person's death, just when the event is important (i.e. natural disasters, massacres, etc.) or with people who think they're important. Such individuals are usually aristocrats, monarchs, other politicians, and wizards and witches. I like to think he personally collects aristocrats and monarchs just to prevent them from throwing temper tantrums... This book has one of those premises that could either be extremely entertaining or just fall flat on its face. Since it was put in the hands of Terry Pratchett, we fortunately have the former... Mort's behavior also subverted my expectations. Typically a normal human turned into the embodiment of death has one of two reactions. The first is that they go mad with power striking down anyone that makes them even slightly angry. The second is that they resist the job with everything they have genuinely believing that the world would be better if no one ever died. Mort however does neither. He doesn't' revel in the killing like a psychopath. Death himself said that if Mort did that, then the boy would be fired and Death would find someone else. At the same time, Mort takes the time to be compassionate towards the souls that he collects. There was a tender scene where Mort sits down with an old woman while they wait for her hourglass to run out. It's a touching scene that really made me like Mort both as a character and as a potential Death..."

https://literarygamerblog.wordpress.com/2016/10/31/mort/

Blogger crosejack has mixed feeings – mostly good – about Raising Steam:

    "I was thrilled to find Moist von Lipwig was a prominent character in Raising Steam. But reading this book makes me very sad because it's not up to the standard of Pratchett's usual writing style. It was published in 2013, so I'm assuming Pratchett wrote it while he was suffering from Alzheimer's, and maybe he didn't have the time to do one more editorial pass-through. It reads like a draft. The story structure is not as tight as his earlier books- especially Going Postal. In his earlier books, there's foreshadowing and a fleshing out of the villains, and that's lacking in this book. On the other hand, I think this story reveals more about the relationship between Moist and Adora Belle because of the incomplete structure. I get the sense that we are able to peek into their private conversations and if Pratchett had done another editing round, he would have determined those moments too intimate for us voyeurs. The flirtation between Moist and Adora Belle is what made Going Postal seem like a very new story in a very established world. I can't think of another moment where Pratchett actually allows the reader into the head of a character at that point in the relationship..."

https://crosejack.wordpress.com/2016/11/10/the-writers-process/

Blogger Jeroen muses on Night Watch:

    "I could never really pin down Vimes as a character (but neither could Ankh-Morpork's Assassination Guild), but in this story he shows what a good down-to-earth guy he is. He's a watchman with street smarts, but he's never on the streets anymore and this worries him. But then a magical accident happens and he is flung back in time to the days of his first job as a watchman, and he's forced to tackle the streets if he wants to save the future that he just came from. But he wasn't that fond of that future before he accidentally left it, so this is where (or when) he has to make a choice.

    "I'm not too fond of time travel shenanigans. In the Discworld universe, however, that means we meet Lu-Tze the History Monk, one of Pratchett's finest creations. And that's not all. Vimes's trip back in time shows us a lot of Ankh-Morporkian history and especially about the watch and the early days of Vimes, Colon and human-like thing known as Nobbs. Another reason why you can't just dive into this book without being familiar with the watchmen... A general trend in Discworld is that in the later books the number of quick jokes and puns in the text goes down, while Pratchett's skill in storytelling goes up. Night Watch is a typical latter-day entry in that the story is a bit more serious, complex and heartfelt and not so much about a concentrated bombardment of jokes. And Pratchett transformed through the years into a first-class storyteller. He always had an amazing command of the English language, but now that he couples it to a deeper exploration of character and a well-plotted storyline, we've got a really cracking good book..."

https://jeroenthoughts.wordpress.com/2016/11/14/terry-pratchett-night-watch-2002/

Blogger JM Williams this time offers a three-part examination of Thud!, concentrating on certain memorable scenes:

    "I'm sure that I mentioned many times before how much of a Terry Pratchett fan I am. The man was a master of world-building, in particular, deep and resonate characters. Though he includes humor in is work, much more in earlier works, he does not rely solely on humor and eccentricity to keep readers hooked like Douglas Adams (not that there is anything wrong with that, I love Adams, too). The characters are what keep readers like myself coming back for more, and Pratchett's best characters are those in the City Watch series of books. His watchmen (and women) feel real, with honest reactions to the strangeness of the world... Pratchett's books are more than just humor and adventure, there is a subtle philosophy to it as well. This is best embodied in the lead character of the Watch novels, Sam Vimes. The character represents authority in a world shifting from authoritarianism to a sort of republicanism; Vimes often finds himself on the side of the latter..."

    "One scene that stood out to me as representative of Pratchett's humor and brilliant characters was the scene in Thud! where the main female cast goes bar hopping. Strangely, I often find myself drawn to Pratchett's female characters. Being a male writer, I am often concerned with the portrayal of my female characters, where they ring true and honest. Writing from perspectives you have no experience with seems to be a gamble. It is one that Pratchett often wins... This whole scene is about characters, and here we start to see how varied they can be. We get a impression of the main girls–Angua and Cheery–the reputation of Nobby (the ladies of the Watch assume him to be a lecherous hound, but we are given a different perspective here), and we start to unravel the new character Tawnee. All delivered with humor and great care..."

    "In all, it's turning out to be a great book. Pratchett is pushing gender a bit more than usual in this work, especially with the girls at the bar. He clearly making a statement about the fluidity of identity and the weakness of generalizations and stereotypes, here and throughout the book. I think people these days might benefit by giving the decade old book a go..."

https://jmwwriting.wordpress.com/2016/11/23/pratchetts-thud-part-1-a-medley-of-characters/
https://jmwwriting.wordpress.com/2016/11/23/pratchetts-thud-part-2-the-ladies-night-out-scene/
https://jmwwriting.wordpress.com/2016/11/24/pratchetts-thud-part-3-the-aftermath/

...whereas the almost always irritating blogger Vacuous Wastrel first wibbles on for some 2,000 words(!) in pursuit of overly faux-intellectual overthinking, before finally getting to the meat of "hang on, this book rocks!":

    "Oh, how good it was to be back with Vimes and Angua, and Carrot and Colon and Nobby and Detritus, and Vetinari and Ridcully (Ridcully! Pratchett never gave us enough Ridcully…) and all the others! Sure, the ending doesn't really work, but for most of the novel we get plenty of tension and excitement, and plenty of mystery and intriguing puzzlement. The exploration of dwarven culture may be a little suspect, but it's meaty, much meatier than anything we were given in recent volumes. And dear lord, it's just funny. Thud! is packed with a continual supply of beautiful lines, puns, wit, slapstick, deadpans, irony, absurd situations… it's almost constantly smile-inducing and at times it's laugh-out-loud. This novel is so much better than I remember it being, because it is just so much *fun*. All you have to do is: don't think that this is an attempt to continue the story. Think: the story is over. This is an epilogue to the story, just a little snippet of Our Heroes going about their daily lives and jobs. Is it sort of pointless, sort of repetitive? Yes! It makes a terrible Next Chapter. But that's not what it is. This isn't a pivotal episode – this is one of those interchangeable but enjoyable episodes of a longrunning series, one of the ones thaat isn't too memorable but where you spend the time with a smile on your face because you're watching characters you love do the things you love them to do (or, in the case of Angua, the things it's just funny to watch her have to go through). You don't want the whole series to be like this, but as a one-off episode taking time off from the larger arc, it's great..."

https://vacuouswastrel.wordpress.com/2016/11/11/thud-by-terry-pratchett/

...and gives the same treatment to Going Postal:

    "The familiarity, the lack of novelty, the superficiality, the indulgent flabbiness… the problems are all here. They may not have suddenly sprung up here, but they're here very clearly to be seen. And yet... I enjoyed this book. This book was fun. The characters may not have been great, but they were likeable, engaging. The villain, Reacher Gilt, is actually one of Pratchett's best villains (that's not saying much), though sadly underused. I'm not exactly happy with such an uncomplicated parody of Atlas Shrugged (not that I want to protect Rand – on the contrary – it's just that it feels a little lazy), but that does result in a spark of authorial passion that helps provide a little energy and some good barbs. It's not hilarious, but there are some solid, good jokes. The plot isn't much, but it mostly works. There are a couple of really great set-piece scenes. It's more accessible than some of his books, both in style and in content, and it does feel as though it's partly written for newcomers and a broad audience, but at the same time there are callbacks for the long-time fans, and little gems of wit and erudition and cleverness buried near the surface here and there. And Pratchett in 2004 was just such a good writer. I know, I've said this in several of the reviews, but by now he was really polished. He's able to transition on a dime from witticism to slapstick comedy, to passages of, honestly, poetry (see the quote at the head of this review), and he always seems in control of his tone, his rhythm, his melody. Sure, he may go in directions – broad in humour perhaps, or sentimental in prose poetry – that some readers may not like, but he does so intentionally..."

https://vacuouswastrel.wordpress.com/2016/11/01/going-postal-by-terry-pratchett/

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10) IMAGES OF THE MONTH

Paul Kidby working on his exquisitely beautiful bust of Sir Pterry (see item 3.1):
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CxN4aL9XgAAvXZr.jpg

A small but perfectly formed iconograph of Pamela Munt as Granny Weatherwax and Tony Cockington as Count de Magpyr in Unseen Theatre's recent production of Carpe Jugulum:
http://bit.ly/2ftEO1T

Rat-onna-stick! (see item 8.1):
https://www.discworldemporium.com/844-large_default/rat-onna-stick.jpg

Some familiar-looking designs for the forthcoming Josh Kirby smartphone covers:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CxuWMA1UkAA0lgm.jpg

Rincewind, Twoflower and the Luggage at the recent Supanova fan convention in Sydney, as posted by the Nullas Anxietas gang on Twitter:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CxlwQ5jVIAALz2E.jpg

Josh Kirby's unused cover for the Death Trilogy:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CySZW1aW8AAmwcv.jpg

The cast of Brisbane Arts Theatre's current production of Guards! Guards!:
http://bit.ly/2gx9mA4

...and their beautifully rendered Errol:
http://bit.ly/2fCRKls

Death in the Land of Fog – and Mort and Lezek, in Paeroa Little Theatre's recent production:
http://bit.ly/2gm4yyd

...and two of Melbourne Zoo's gorgeous orangutans, as photographed by Jack Wintle (and who needs an excuse, ever, for iconographs of orangutans?):
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CyJL03lWQAAoLmd.jpg:large

...and finally, a famous first meeting, 25 years ago:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CxTP8V2XUAAU8Ao.jpg

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11) CLOSE

    If you're the sort of person who 1) has a touchscreen mobile and 2) likes unusual phone covers, then you might wish to hie yourself to the Josh Kirby Art site, where you can buy Kirby's Discworld art turned into covers for iPhone, Samsung, HTC, LG, Google and Sony phones. Go to http://www.joshkirbyart.com/ and click on the Store button – at which point you'll be taken to a page that offers UK/Europe or USA options, presumably because the Kirby estate's web designer doesn't think anywhere else exists on Roundworld. Click on one of them and you will eventually find the page that offers the phone covers... a clear case of patience rewarded?

    And that's the lot for November. There may or may not be a December issue (and if not, all will be back to normal in January), so I'll take this opportunity to wish all of you a very happy Hogswatch!

– Annie Mac

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

Copyright (c) 2016 by Klatchian Foreign Legion