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wossnameWossname
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
September 2014 (Volume 17, Issue 9, Post 3)
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WOSSNAME is a free publication offering news, reviews, and all the other stuff-that-fits pertaining to the works and activities 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, Wolfiekins
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) MORE QUOTES OF THE MONTH
02) LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR
03) A SLIP OF THE KEYBOARD: NEWS AND REVIEWS
04) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
05) DISCWORLD ARTS AND CRAFTS NEWS
06) ROUNDWORLD TALES
07) MORE IMAGES
08) AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE
09) CLOSE
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01) THE OTHER QUOTES OF THE MONTH
"As Terry walks into the darkness much too soon, I find myself raging too: at the injustice that deprives us of – what? Another twenty or thirty books? Another shelf-full of ideas and glorious phrases and old friends and new, of stories in which people do what they really do do best, which is use their heads to get themselves out of the trouble they got into by not thinking? Another book or two like this, of journalism and agitprop and even the occasional introduction? But truly, the loss of these things does not anger me as it should. It saddens me, but I, who have seen some of them being built close up, understand that any Terry Pratchett book is a small miracle, and we already have more than might be reasonable, and it does not behoove any of us to be greedy..."
– Neil Gaiman, in his preface to A Slip of the Keyboard
"All authors must occasionally wonder where the magic comes from, and sometimes I wonder where the strength of Daphne came from, and about the source of Mau's almost incoherent rage. Where ever their origins, I believe that Nation is the best book I have ever written or will write."
– Terry Pratchett, from A Slip of the Keyboard (Doubleday hardcover, page 141)
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02) A LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR
Hello out there, from the very back end of September! I only just got my copy of A Slip of the Keyboard, and my replacement copy of Dragons at Crumbling Castle arrived last night (the first one went missing in the post – no, really), I've given a shortish review of the former and no review of the latter until next issue... because when I jokingly said to a friend last night, "No sleep till Wednesday," it turned out to be prophetic, and as it's now nearing the last hours of the last day of the month, I think I'd better finish off before I get too cross-eyed.
To those of you who wrote to say that the new non-Yahoo Wossname arrived without problem and looks fine and perfectly formatted, many thanks. So far no one has written to complain; one hopes that's a good sign!
A wee reminder that Mrs Bradshaw's to Travelling Upon the Ankh-Morpork and Sto Plains Hygienic Railway Handbook will be published in Roundworld next month (9th October):
"Authorised by Mr Lipwig of the Ankh-Morpork and Sto Plains Hygienic Railway himself, Mrs Georgina Bradshaw's invaluable guide to the destinations and diversions of the railway deserves a place in the luggage of any traveller, or indeed armchair traveller, upon the Disc... Fully illustrated and replete with useful titbits, Mrs Bradshaw's Handbook offers a view of the Sto Plains like no other." But I am leaving out the previous pre-order link and will think long and hard before ever again offering links to Amazon; instead, I'll recommend that those of you who order books from the internet consider using smaller or more independent online booksellers[1], and will instead post a link to the keynote address by David Mitchell[2] at last week's Booksellers Association conference. I've been increasingly horrified by Amazon for some time now, so this speech didn't convince me, but perhaps it may help to convince someone else:
http://tinyurl.com/k7rkfo9
In a lighter vein, here be some hedgehogs who can never be *coloured* at all. Aww!
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-tyne-29349085
Also, for a small delight or enormous wonderfulness, have a look at Wee Mad Arthur on a pigeon, at the bottom of the Ookbench (item 8, third link).
And now for all the news that fits...
– Annie Mac, Editor
[1] Or indeed, the like of Sir Pterry's own independent bookshop which, as you'll recall, links to actual brick-and-mortar booksellers: https://www.myindependentbookshop.co.uk/TerryPratchett
[2] The funny one. Though he, too, is a published author
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03) A SLIP OF THE KEYBOARD NEWS
3.1 NEIL GAIMAN ON WHAT DRIVES TERRY PRATCHETT AS AN AUTHOR
Neil Gaiman's foreword for A Slip of the Keyboard has been making waves around the world's Press. Reprinted in part in various places, it makes thought-provoking – and smile-inducing, and heart-breaking – reading. Here be some of it:
"Science fiction conventions often give you someone to look after you, to make sure you get from place to place without getting lost. Some years ago I ran into someone who had once been Terry's handler at a convention in Texas. His eyes misted over at the memory of getting Terry from his panel to the book-dealers' room and back. 'What a jolly old elf Sir Terry is,' he said. And I thought, No. No, he's not.
"Back in February 1991, Terry and I were on a book signing tour for Good Omens, a book we had written together. We can tell you dozens of not-only-funny-but-also-true stories about the things that happened on that tour. Terry alludes to a few of them in this book. This story is true, but it is not one of the stories we tell. We were in San Francisco. We had just done a stock signing in a bookshop, signing the dozen or so copies of our book they had ordered. Terry looked at the itinerary. Next stop was a radio station: we were due to have an hour-long interview on live radio. 'From the address, it's just down the street from here,' said Terry. 'And we've got half an hour. Let's walk it.' This was a long time ago, best beloved, in the days before GPS systems and mobile phones and taxi-summoning apps and suchlike useful things that would have told us in moments that no, it would not be a few blocks to the radio station. It would be several miles, all uphill and mostly through a park. We called the radio station as we went, whenever we passed a payphone, to tell them that we knew we were now late for a live broadcast, and that we were, promise cross our sweaty hearts, walking as fast as we could.
"I would try and say cheerful, optimistic things as we walked. Terry said nothing, in a way that made it very clear that anything I could say would probably just make things worse. I did not ever say, at any point on that walk, that all of this would have been avoided if we had just got the bookshop to call us a taxi. There are things you can never unsay, that you cannot say and still remain friends, and that would have been one of them. We reached the radio station at the top of the hill, a very long way from anywhere, about 40 minutes into our hour-long live interview. We arrived all sweaty and out of breath, and they were broadcasting the breaking news. A man had just started shooting people in a local McDonald's, which is not the kind of thing you want to have as your lead-in when you are now meant to talk about a funny book you've written about the end of the world and how we're all going to die. The radio people were angry with us, too, and understandably so: it's no fun having to improvise when your guests are late. I don't think that our fifteen minutes on the air were very funny... Still, by the top of the hour it was all over. We went back to our hotel, and this time we took a taxi. Terry was silently furious: with himself, mostly, I suspect, and with the world that had not told him that the distance from the bookshop to the radio station was much further than it had looked on our itinerary. He sat in the back of the cab beside me white with anger, a non-directional ball of fury. I said something hoping to placate him. Perhaps I said that ah well, it had all worked out in the end, and it hadn't been the end of the world, and suggested it was time to not be angry any more. Terry looked at me. He said, 'Do not underestimate this anger. This anger was the engine that powered Good Omens.'
"I thought of the driven way that Terry wrote, and of the way that he drove the rest of us with him, and I knew that he was right. There is a fury to Terry Pratchett's writing. It's the fury that was the engine that powered Discworld, and you will discover it in A Slip of the Keyboard: it's the anger at the headmaster who would decide that six-year-old Terry Pratchett would never be smart enough for the 11- plus; anger at pompous critics, and at those who think that serious is the opposite of funny; anger at his early American publishers who could not bring his books out successfully. The anger is always there, an engine that drives. By the time A Slip of the Keyboard enters its final act, and Terry learns he has a rare, early onset form of Alzheimer's, the targets of his fury change: now he is angry with his brain and his genetics and, more than these, furious at a country that will not permit him (or others in a similarly intolerable situation) to choose the manner and the time of their passing. And that anger, it seems to me, is about Terry's underlying sense of what is fair and what is not. It is that sense of fairness that underlies Terry's work and his writing, and it's what drove him from school to journalism to the press office of the SouthWestern Electricity Board to the position of being one of the best-loved and bestselling writers in the world...
"Terry Pratchett is not a jolly old elf at all. Not even close. He's so much more than that. As Terry walks into the darkness much too soon, I find myself raging too: at the injustice that deprives us of – what? Another twenty or thirty books? Another shelf-full of ideas and glorious phrases and old friends and new, of stories in which people do what they really do do best, which is use their heads to get themselves out of the trouble they got into by not thinking? Another book or two like this, of journalism and agitprop and even the occasional introduction? But truly, the loss of these things does not anger me as it should. It saddens me, but I, who have seen some of them being built close up, understand that any Terry Pratchett book is a small miracle, and we already have more than might be reasonable, and it does not behoove any of us to be greedy..."
The Waterstones blog version:
http://www.waterstones.com/blog/2014/09/neil-gaiman-on-terry-pratchett/
The Guardian's version includes a fine caricature cartoon of both authors:
http://tinyurl.com/nzkckhc
In The Independent, Ella Alexander takes the "intersperse extracts wit observations" approach:
http://tinyurl.com/nomaxhq
3.2 "THIS ONE'S IMPORTANT...": WOSSNAME'S REVIEW OF A SLIP OF THE KEYBOARD
By Annie Mac
I find it hard to review a collection of short non-fiction works. It's not a novel. It's not a gathering of short stories. There are no themes, there are no story arcs or plot twists, no character development, no real subtext... in other words, not much for a reviewer to say, apart from commenting on the nuts and bolts of the book's construction. What I can tell you about A Slip of the Keyboard: Collected Non-Fiction is that, despite lacking all of the aforementioned qualities, the book is an important part of the oeuvre of one of history's greatest authors. It's also a well-chosen, well-organised, and eminently readable anthology.
The nuts and bolts part: A Slip of the Keyboard is organised into three sections, following on from that beautifully written Gaiman intro. The section titles are "A Scribbling Intruder", subtitled "On bookshops, dragons, fan mail, sandwiches, tools of the trade, waxing wroth and all the business of being a Professional Writer"; "A Twit and a Dreamer", subtitled "On schooldays, scabby knees, first jobs, frankincense, Christmas robots, beloved books and other off-duty thoughts"; and "Days of Rage", subtitled "On Alzheimer's, orangutans, campaigns, controversies, dignified endings and trying to make a lot of things a little better". There's also a short final section consisting of "Terry Pratchett's Wild Unattached Footnotes to Life".
There is a fair portion of seriousness in these essays, speeches, letters and articles, but Pratchett and company wisely chose to open A Slip of the Keyboard with a reprint of the deliciously light "Thought Progress", written for 20/20 Magazine in 1989. In this short piece the author describes a typical work-day at home, touching on eagles, tortoises, seemingly unconnected lines of research, more eagles and tortoises, and the eventual achieving of Actual Wordcount. Then we find a wry essay on the difference in process between a professional boxer and a professional writer; a tutorial on book signings; an excellently grinful description of how he fell in love with Australia during a book tour; assorted speeches written for and/or given at assorted fan and genre conventions, my favourite being "Straight from the Heart, Via the Groin" (Noreascon 2004); essays about ideas and where they come from; essays about fantasy – what it really is and why it's good for the heart and soul; an essay in praise of Rowling's Harry Potter series; another in praise of Neil Gaiman; more than a few paeans to Tolkien (no surprise there); several superb awards or honours acceptance speeches; "A Word About Hats", which is, yes, about hats; and the odd unforgettable gem, such as the story of the nuclear power station pixie.
In the "A Twit and a Dreamer" section, A Slip of the Keyboard gives us a parade – hmm, dare I say sequence of unalloyed delight? – of snippets describing Pratchett's childhood experiences, family, memorable moments from his school years, and memorable bits of the life of a novice journalist. We meet Granny Pratchett, and young Terry Pratchett's first employer, and the nice little old lady who ran the local porn shop but also made a fantastical universe of non-smutty words available to that young science fiction and fantasy fanboy who would become our favourite author... not to mention golden bees, fungus-tracking at daybreak, Pratchett Junior's childhood Christmas robots, and of course the hunt for gold, frankincense and myrrh. Oh, and the entire text of Professor Sir Pterry's inaugural lecture at Trinity College Dublin – hurrah!
Almost all of the items in the third section date from 2008 or later and include assorted newspaper pieces and the text of Pratchett's 2010 Dimbleby Lecture, "Shaking Hands with Death", all of which were featured in various issues of Wossname, and all of which were as painful for me to re-read as they were to read the first time around.
At 314 pages, A Slip of the Keyboard is what blurbists would probably call a rich compendium, and hey, they'd be right. The decision to include a certain number pieces that were originally part of the Once More with Footnotes collection also strikes me as wise, since OMwF was a limited release and not that many people have ever seen, much less owned, a copy (for my part, I now own both, and don't feel in the slightest that I've been given short measure). In fact, I would have to say that A Slip of the Keyboard, for all that it includes no fiction, is a far better organised and far more coherent look at the life and thought processes of Terry Pratchett.
I'd like to finish off with a selection of some of my favourite quotes from A Slip of the Keyboard. I am so glad that Pratchett feels as strongly about Nation as I do!
"I have met real writers. They make lists. They plan out their books on file cards. They do proper research, with notebooks, and unlike me, they don't get totally side-tracked by a wonderful book about the frozen-water trade on the US seaboard in the late eighteenth century." – page 138
"More than half the skill of writing lies in tricking the book out of your own head." – page 23
"Where do you get your fantastic ideas from? You steal them. You steal them from reality. It outstrips fantasy most of the time." – page 60
"Almost all writers are fantasy writers, but some of us are more honest about it than others." – page 88
"I admired Mau's dilemma as he single-handedly invented Humanism, railing at the gods for not existing, while at the same time needing them to exist to take the blame. I find it difficult to remember that I invented him: he seemed to create himself as the book progressed." – page 141
"People ask me if I feel naked without my hat. The answer is no. I feel naked without, say, my trousers, but if you walk down the street without wearing a hat the police take very little interest at all." – page 154-5
A Slip of the Keyboard. Out now. Highly recommended.
3.3 ANOTHER REVIEW OF aSotK
In the Daytona Beach News Herald, a well-written review by Chris Bridges:
"One of the great joys of reading 'A Slip of the Keyboard,' the new collection of his non-fiction work, is that here the metaphors haven't been shoveled on top yet and you can see exactly what he thinks and why he thinks it. And it's still funny, and it's still true.
'Science fiction looked at the universe all the time. I make no apology for having enjoyed it. We live in a science fiction world: two miles down there you'd fry and two miles up you'd gasp for breath, and there is a small but significant chance that in the next thousand years a large comet or asteroid will smack into the planet. Finding this out when you're thirteen or so is a bit of an eye-opener. It puts acne in its place, for a start.' With these 59 essays, talks, speeches and notes ranging from 1963 to 2011, this is the closest you likely will ever get to hanging around Sir Terry of an afternoon, listening to him ramble. And ramble he does; since many of these pieces were written about the same subjects for different audiences, expect a lot of repetition. He fervently defends J. R. R. Tolkien and 'The Lord of the Rings' again and again, for example, from those who would look down on fantasy as not really literature. All fiction is fantasy, he argues, just some of it has dragons in... While it never achieves the hilarity or the depth of his fiction, 'A Slip of the Keyboard' is amiable and funny and wise and sad. As a fan of both men, I particularly liked the inclusion of both Neil Gaiman's blunt and enjoyable introduction, in which he gives us the sort of insights only a friend would know, and Pratchett's own description of Gaiman later in the book..."
http://t.co/E3PGcuFmiO
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04) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
4.1 NEW: WYRD SISTERS IN WEST SUSSEX
Stage-Door Theatre Company, having already tackled the Scottish Play some eleven years ago, will tackle the Disc-ish Play this December! That being Wyrd Sisters, of course...
When: 10th-13th December 2014
Venue: The Windmill Theatre, The Green, Littlehampton, West Sussex BN17 5LM
Time 7:30pm for evening performances, 2:30pm for the Saturday (13th) matinee
Tickets: £11 (concessions at £10). Please contact the box office at the Circle of Health, 67 Sea Lane, Rustington, West Sussex BN16 2RQ (telephone 01903 856801) for all ticket enquiries.
4.2 "THE LAST CONTINENT" IN FOURECKS: REVIEWS
By Barry Lenny for Broadway World:
"From the very beginning of Act one, where we were treated to Sir Terry's recorded tones to set the scene, to the final dancing cast bows, the audience proved itself worthy of the intelligence of the plot, and the excellence and enthusiasm of the actors. Unseen Theatre has a reputation for this enthusiasm, and it always is apparent in the enjoyment of the cast and audience at each play performed. With a minimal set, few props, and some inventive costumes, we were taken on a journey by some of the faculty of Unseen University in Ankh Morpork, to track down Rincewind the wizard (wizzard, in his own spelling) through the vast, ancient, but brand new continent of EcksEcksEcksEcks, to an evolving island, complete with its own God, (lightning throwing Samm Blackmore), ending up in the big city of Bugarup.
"The wizards, led by Archchancellor Ridcully, played in a very Cleesean manner by Paul Messenger, were a lovely comedic and haughty group of academics, hampered by the very proper, and determined to be "lady-laike", Mrs Whitlow, perfectly portrayed by the very experienced performer, Beverley Koch, in her first Unseen production. Chris Irving, as Rincewind, was the lynchpin that the play revolved around, and he managed to convince us of his cowardliness, cunning and survival instinct in a beautifully gawky manner that somehow managed to be endearing at the same time. Paul Messenger played the other two main characters of Ridcully and the Kangaroo God, with some great kangaroo body language, as well as moonlighting momentarily as a sheep and a bully. Death, played by Hugh O'Connor, sat amongst us, giving the audience extra laughs, and he also was the only on-the-ball but intrinsically nerdy Ponder Stibbons, and a laconic crocodile bar tender..."
http://tinyurl.com/qa38q4d
By Alicia Norton for Fringe Benefits:
"The 'Australian-ness' of a number of the situations is what leads to many of the jokes and quirky situations in the show – with bogan-esque characters and situations which err on the safe side of diving straight into Wolf Creek territory! Bare witness to iconic Australian events (but remember – it's not Australia!) like the invention of Vegemite and the style in which Ned Kelly could have escaped from his prison cell – with a real tongue in cheek, knowing wink the whole while! The show has been adapted from the original book and directed by Pamela Munt, and while it may seem clunky and difficult to follow at times, I'm sure that those who are familiar with the tale will enjoy the show none the less. A number of standout moments come to mind, including that of Samm Blackmore as the Island God – a role which was perfectly presented to bring about expert hilarity! The set is basic yet clever – a sandy floor perfectly sets the scene for the dusty, warm location of the tale. Costumes – for the most part – helped to bring characters to life, although the use of animal masks for the animal characters was distracting at times as it muffled the actors' voices, pulling the audience away from the message and story..."
http://www.fringebenefits.com.au/index.php?PID=986
By Benjamin Orchard for Stage Whispers:
"The narrative is rather meandering, and the second act does feel a bit flabby. But Pratchett's wittily quotable dialogue, Michelle Whichello's strikingly surreal costumes and director Pamela Munt's lively blocking of scenes keeps the proceedings briskly entertaining. Sets (designed by Munt with Andrew Zeuner) are minimal, but effectively otherworldly, aided immensely by the suitably eerie lighting of Stephen Dean. The cast (most of whom play multiple roles, 'Monty Python' style) are consistently solid, but a few players stand out. Hugh O'Connor makes for an amusingly affable Angel Of Death, Samm Blackmore an endearingly ineffectual God, and Paul Messenger is interesting as an oddly pushy Kangaroo. Chris Irving does what he can to inject some nuance into the rather one-note protagonist, and the rest of the ensemble (Harold Roberts, David Dyte, Michelle Whichello, Beverly Koch, Molly Dyte) all bring a fittingly high energy level to these larger than life caricatures, whilst Munt makes for a winningly sardonic narrator..."
http://www.stagewhispers.com.au/reviews/last-continent
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05) DISCWORLD ARTS AND CRAFTS NEWS
Happy 10th Birthday to a First Class Book!
A STAMP IN TIME!
Ten years ago this week Terry Pratchett gave us a masterpiece among Discworld novels, Going Postal. In doing so, not only did he introduce some of his best-loved characters, he also sowed the seeds of the Discworld Stamp phenomenon, causing hundreds of thousands of little sticky bits of Discworld to pop into existence – with a little help from the Discworld Emporium!
http://tinyurl.com/lc5a9s5
To mark the occasion and celebrate Going Postal we've teamed up with Discworld artist Peter Dennis to create four new stamps depicting climactic moments in the reformation of the Ankh-Morpork Post Office. Moist's appointment as Postmaster General, his first Sto Lat Express delivery atop 'Boris' the horse from hell, the Golems' defeat of the Post Office fire, and the clacks vs. post in the Great Race to Genua are all depicted on an attractive minisheet forming part of our limited edition Going Postal Anniversary Presentation Set [£12.50]:
http://tinyurl.com/q8orsbu
Each set also includes a First Day Cover featuring all four stamps and a commemorative insert, while every cover has been franked with an official A-M.P.O. hand-stamp at the Emporium's Post Office Counter. Available Friday 26th September at 12:00AM BST.
Fabricati Diem, Pvnc! Micro Art Studio's fantastic Discworld Bust of His Grace, The Duke of Ankh, Commander Sir Samuel Vimes is now available. Based on the artwork of Paul Kidby, this exquisite miniature figurine depicts Vimes with his dragon lighter as described in Guards! Guards! and is produced in high quality resin, ready for you to paint at home. Also available are Rincewind and Death as Hogfather, so get your paintbrushes at the ready and while away the hours bringing these favourite characters to life!
Vimes bust, priced at £28.00: http://tinyurl.com/kav343j
Rincewind bust, also £28.00: http://tinyurl.com/l2vuhot
NEW BOOKS!! We are in Pratchett heaven this month, as the creator has spoilt us with TWO new non-Discworld tomes! Dragons at Crumbling Castle (_http://tinyurl.com/oan2q23_) is a beautifully illustrated collection of short stories featuring dragons (of course), dinosaurs, cavemen and car races, while A Slip of The Keyboard (_http://tinyurl.com/pdq2qxu_) brings together the finest examples of Pratchett's non fiction writing, both serious and surreal – AVAILABLE NOW!
For all our latest wares and releases have a browse through our New Products page – it's mostly harmless!
http://tinyurl.com/lb4r5pt
Happy Stamping!
Our mailing address is:
Discworld Emporium
The Discworld Emporium
41 High Street
Wincanton, Somerset BA9 9JU
United Kingdom
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06) ROUNDWORLD TALES: THE REAL "GRAND SNEER", AND THE CABINET OF CURIOSITY
Here be an interesting article about the Grand Tour of olden dayes!
"Nine hours travelling, squalid sleeping arrangements, too much to drink and money lost during late night card games. Not a scene from a 20th Century teenage gap year, but a young person's 17th Century Grand Tour, in which they would experience the renaissance period first hand. Despite the criticisms expressed about young people's traveling ambitions in their year between A levels and University, the gap year is not the modern phenomenon we consider it to be. Dating back to the 1600s, the young person's tour around Europe was a time of personal development, first hand education and discovery away from their responsibilities back home. Often the lucky traveler would begin their journey from Dover to Calais, travelling through France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland before landing in Italy to view the home of the classics they would have read about in school... At the start of its existence, the Grand Tour participants were limited to wealthy men travelling after their Oxbridge days, in an educational rite of passage. In later years, the tour was opened up to females... However, many women were unable to raise the funds necessary to support their globetrotting ambitions... Although young tourists did visit cities of importance to their classical studies, often accompanied by teachers and tutors, many also took part in a number of other social activities. The drinking, gambling and flirting that has become synonymous with today's gap year experience was rife among 17th Century sightseers..."
http://tinyurl.com/q3wql68
Also...
THE CABINET OF CURIOSITY!
More than a bit reminiscent of that rather more magic-driven one at Unseen University, but still...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKikHxKeodA
About the Roentgens:
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/abraham-roentgen/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Roentgen
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07) MORE IMAGES
A most joyous portrait of Sir Pterry, holding a copy of Dragons at Crumbling Castle:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ByfEu9pIQAAwUzv.jpg
Less joyous, but more amusing, is this affectionate caricature of Pterry and Neil Gaiman in the Guardian, by illustrator John Cuneo:
http://tinyurl.com/nreeaao
...and here we have some excellent iconographs of Paul Kidby's "Ookbench", by Flickfilosopher aka Maryann Johnson. These are some high-quality shots of both the front and back of Kidby's gorgeous art-furniture, with clickable links to close-ups:
http://tinyurl.com/k5ebco4
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08) AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE
Blogger loiteringinthetheatre's review of Youth Music Theatre UK's recent live production of Soul Music:
"Directed by Luke Sheppard, adapted by Andrew Doyle and with music by Craig Adams, the show is an entertaining musical version of the tale of Imp, who leaves the mines to go to Ankh-Morpork and start a band. He forms 'The Band With Rocks In' and hypnotises the city with his guitar skills, but is he playing the music or is the music playing him? The cast of 40 were young people who had spent the past couple of weeks immersed in the show, and I was very impressed by their talent. In particular, Joe Bence is an appealing Imp and Grace Mouat is outstanding as Susan, the granddaughter of Death. Death himself is one of the best minor characters in the piece, a strong presence with his large skull and arms, skilfully manipulated by puppeteers. All of the cast do a brilliant job, though, as do the musicians..."
http://loiteringinthetheatre.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/soul-music/
The Vacuous Wastrel is back with an analysis of Interesting Times:
"It's my hypothesis – the model I've been construction as I've gone through this re-read – that the second era of Discworld forms a thematic arc in which Pratchett attempted to say something he felt was important, until finally achieving this with his magnum opus, Small Gods. This involved not only a concentration of message, but also a honing of his skill. At the height of his powers, and free from the thematic impulses that had been driving him, he then looked around for some stories to tell, and this often involved going back and taking on older ideas with his new abilities. Lords and Ladies returned to Lancre, Men at Arms returned to the Watch, and Soul Music looked back to some extent to Reaper Man but to a greater extent all the way back to Mort, while also being a story he clearly wanted to tell about a subject close to his heart (rock music). And that's where Interesting Times fits in. Because now, finally, 11 years after The Colour of Magic and 6 years after Sourcery, Pratchett would try again to return to where he began... Interesting Times is funny. It's funny even when it shouldn't be – enough audacity and you can get away with a little stupidity, even a little offensiveness. My personal highlight? The scene with the sumo wrestlers. It's idiotic and culturally insensitive, but I still laughed out loud... Rincewind and the silly world he inhabits gives you the chance for that humour – the unsophisticated slapstick that's always under the surface in Pratchett but seldom given free reign. It can also give you great pace and panache and jolly good read..."
http://vacuouswastrel.wordpress.com/2014/09/24/interesting-times-by-terry-pratchett/
...and of Feet of Clay:
"Particularly worthy of mention in Feet of Clay (and again reminiscent of Maskerade) is the sophistication of the plot. The novel has to interweave four different plot threads – if you count major character arcs, it's at least five and maybe six – all in the space of (in my hardback copy) less than 300 pages. The only thing more amazing than how tightly and proficiently Pratchett is able to do this is how much more tightly and proficiently Pratchett is able to appear to do this.
Because one problem with this book is that it doesn't really work. It's all set up as an intricate little plot, but really (as often in Pratchett) it's a bunch of tangentially related stories that don't, in the end, wrap up anywhere near as tightly as they should. One reason why Pratchett is a brilliant author, however, is that to a large extent he's able to get away with this by making it seem as though everything fits together perfectly and isn't entirely reliant on immense coincidences... It's hard to overstate how good a writer Pratchett is at this point. I was immediately struck by his brilliance when I opened the book: this, dear reader, is how you begin a novel. There are five scenes in the first twelve pages. In those five scenes, Pratchett establishes the tone of the book, establishes a complex setting both in general and in some of its parts (although of course the reader would benefit from having read earlier works, Pratchett does make sure to be accessible to first-time or forgetful readers – another reason for his commercial success), sets up what looks like the main plot, sets up two or three subplots while he's at it, delivers a brilliantly effective character study of a lead character, sketches out efficiently and enjoyably two or three other important characters, gives us some distinctive vignettes of lesser characters, dazzles us with witty turns of phrase, inspires us with intriguing aphorisms… and is funny, too, and yet also menacing and serious. Pratchett ought to be taught in class as an example of how to write. He may not perhaps be the world's most literary author, either in his prose style or in his depth and originality of content, but he's unimpeachably good at the raw business of telling a story well...
http://vacuouswastrel.wordpress.com/2014/08/29/feet-of-clay-by-terry-pratchett/
Blogger the50bookmarathon, not much of a science fiction fan, reviews The Long Mars:
"I have found all three of these books a little hard to get into due to all the technical/scientific information which highlight to me why I go for Fantasy rather than Sci Fi but once you are in you can't put it down. Well I couldn't, if only for the characters. The characters were all that got me through the Mars layer of the story, that evidently gave the book it's title, otherwise that whole story thread could have been left out and not affected the rest of the novel. One of the Key characters from the other books seemed to vanish at the end as well which gave the whole book an unfinished feel. Now don't get me wrong, I like the ending, it's my favourite bit, it is how things happen. Life keeps going after the adventure so, I like the fact there isn't that fairytale feel of everything being tied off or that ten year later thing that I find limiting at the end of a story. A vanishing character, however, takes something away from what is otherwise a pleasing ending... This book (and the series as a whole) has not turned me towards reading Science Fiction but it has reiterated to me that I need to read the rest of Terry Pratchett's books. It has also shown me that stories need not be rammed with events and stuff happening if you have engaging and fully rounded characters..."
http://the50bookmarathon.wordpress.com/2014/09/24/the-long-mars/
...as does blogger reuoq, who felt it was weaker than the first two:
Having been a fan of the last two books in this series I was quite pleased to find that it was coming out this summer and would be, nominally, about Mars... Compared to the other books on its series it's not quite as good, though. The storyline felt a bit piecemeal, since it's following three different groups of people whose stories only briefly converge at the very end. The first chapter was exemplary of this, because it very much follows a 'where are they now' summarization of all the characters. The book, as with its predecessors, is brimming with ideas, but I would have preferred it if there had been one storyline, instead of feeling that it had to follow around all the characters separately... Some of my favourite characters were missing from the book, for the most part, for instance the Tibetan monk character Lobsang. I feel like Terry Pratchett didn't have as large a part in this as he did in the last one for that reason..."
http://reuoq.wordpress.com/2014/09/22/book-70-the-long-mars-2014/
Blogger Anita reviews Equal Rites:
"Esk is meant to be the main character but I couldn't warm to her at all. She is a child and has all the qualities of being innocent to the dangers of the world, takes risks and is very inquisitive. She is a challenge for Granny to teach and manage. I think Esk represents how we should view life – with optimism, take each challenge as they come, making friends is good and also learn from others. Also live your dreams and be determined. Overall this story starts off a bit sexist as there is a clear divide and hierarchy between witches and wizards but by the end people's views are changed and history in the Discworld is changed. Terry Pratchett has also drawn on a lot of comparisons to how male and females are viewed in past societies, as well as country life compared to city life. He shows that people have to adapt to new places and ways of living and doing this through Esk's eyes we learn that we are all the same trying to life a good, happy life. We meet so many characters along the twists and turns of the story and some we like and some less so. The comedy moments are great too..."
http://anitasbookbag.co.uk/2014/09/20/equal-rites-by-terry-pratchett/
The marvellously silly and articulate blogger SirDrAaron's review of Raising Steam:
"This book, at its heart, is about trains. Also, at its extremities. It's basically all about trains. The age of the horse and cart are over, because, for the second time in known history, steam power is coming to the Disc. Owing to its volatile nature, the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, the preeminent city on the Disc, puts his top con artist in charge of making sure it doesn't explode in everyone's faces. This is the third book in the saga of gentleman swindler and all around smartass Moist von Lipwig, who, in his first appearance in the Discworld series in the novel Going Postal, was forced into the service of Ankh-Morpork's Patrician, Havelock Vetinari, on the threat of a second hanging. It's complicated, I know. As Tommy Wiseau would say in reference to any conceivable negative event, 'Don't worry about it.' Actually, he would say, 'Dohn worreh uhbowt eht.' All that you really need to know to understand this book is that times they are a-changin', and not everyone is happy about it.
"Terry Pratchett has always contended that, though his Discworld novels are pure fantasy, they have always been written to mirror the world in some way. An accurate portrayal or not, Raising Steam certainly paints a picture of how Terry views the world, today. The moral of this story is built out of the previous Discworld novel, Snuff, which is basically about racism. Or, well, species-ism. However, whereas Snuff was about treating another race as inferiors, Raising Steam is about applying a set of guidelines to your own race that, if a member of said race fails to follow, makes them different enough to hate or even kill with impunity... but unlike the real world, almost none of the Discworld inhabitants have trouble seeing the forest for the trees. No one blames all Dwarves for the terroristic actions of that vocal minority. If only we were so understanding...
"The story maintains a driving pace that keeps it interesting even when the narrative wears a bit thin. In spite of its rather serious subject, it never fails to be funny. Moist von Lipwig is, as always, the hero he didn't realize that he was, and the Patrician, who plays a wonderfully large role in this book, is enigmatic and somewhat sinister while never even hinting at leaving the side of the angels..."
http://dumbthings.org/2014/09/19/dumb-books-ive-read-raising-steam-by-terry-pratchett/
Blogger 79nexus, a German woman transplanted to England, describes how she encountered and fell in love with the work of Terry Pratchett:
"A quarter of a century ago on holiday in Bavaria I went past a dodgy looking shop with piles of glossy magazines in the window and shelves of videotapes with very weird names. On one shelve were some books and one of them caught my attention. I left shortly unnoticed my family (who knew anyway if they loose me they can undoubtedly find me in the next bookstore) went into the shop, took the book, read the first sentences and went to the counter where I inquired the price of this book. A puzzled woman and a male customer looked at me as if I were an alien. I got asked how I got into the shop and that children were not allowed there. She looked at the book with this amazing colourful cover and mesmerizing title asked probably herself aloud how this book went into the shop at all and sold it to me for 50 Pfennige if I disappear at once. That was the first Terry Pratchett book I owned and read. I remember reading it in our holiday wooden hut (without water and electricity but really idylic). Well I read a German translation to be exact. Die Farben der Magie. The start of a lifelong eternal love with discworld books..."
http://79nexus.wordpress.com/2014/09/18/fantastic-realms/
Blogger and would-be author Martin Crookall lambastes Dragons at Crumbling Castle. Your Editor thinks he is so full of Librarian-poo that his eyes are brown, but he's entitled to his opinion, so here it is:
"These are not children's stories as Pratchett has written them during his professional career: Johnny Maxwell, the nomes, Nation. These are children's stories to be read by fathers and grandfathers to toddlers on their laps, until they reach the age of about seven. They lack even the merest scintilla of depth, the lines are only marginally less spaced out than in a board book, and even then are bulked out to 336 pp by applications of large, shouty letters in a fantastical variety of typography and a constant stream of sub-Quentin Blake illustrations. When Pratchett agreed to have his debut novel, The Carpet People, (written during this period) reissued, he insisted first on a thorough re-write. Frankly, he should not have let these stories out without doing the same, though to be honest I doubt there's enough in any of them to provide a basis for a better treatment. Not even the two 'Carpet People' tales reprinted here, which are the most substantial of the bunch, and the only ones to come anywhere near suggesting the foreshadow of the adult Pratchett peering through the fog..."
http://tinyurl.com/lxo2lrr
Blogger Maren, another transplanted German (this time to Sweden), gives TAMAHER an enthusiastic four out of five stars:
"Being a big fan of his series 'The Discworld', I really liked book 28 in the series – a kids book. The book presents a new take on the German fairy tale 'Der Rattenfanger von Hameln' (Pied Piper of Hamelin)... Whereas the book is written for children, it works perfectly well for adults. Pratchett's characters are deep, the undertone is clever and as in all of his books, he takes a critical take on society and the world (subtle but significant). As all of Pratchett's books, it's very well written, witty and comes with some magic and a pinch of Philosophy..."
http://marenmovingforward.com/2014/09/07/the-amazing-maurice-and-his-educated-rodents/
Blogger kamryn waxes lyrical about the Pratchett:
"My absolute, all-time favourite author is Terry Pratchett. Not that I'd want to read him all the time, of course, because it's hard to imagine dashing princes and majestic dragons wandering around Discworld, unless, of course, they were wandering around Discworld being hopelessly lost, incompetent, guided by witches and very lucky... It's hysterically funny, but also very real, with moments that are poignant and down-to-earth. An extremely drunk Captain of the Night Watch, a police force, is panicking on the night before his wedding to the richest woman in the city, and as he's helped into bed, a very new recruit remarks on how bare his quarters are, with only a piece of cardboard under the bed for boot soles, and sneers about how he drinks all of his money away, and in return a more experienced officer quietly shows her the book with the names of policemen's widows and children and dollar amounts, because policemen's widows don't get pensions. In the end, nearly half his pay goes to other people. And that's not even starting on the witches. The first Discworld book I read was one of the Tiffany Aching series, which is about a nine-year-old (And eventually eleven, thirteen, and sixteen year old in the later books) who rescues her brother from Fairyland armed with a book about sheep illnesses and a frying pan. Witches don't do much magic, and it usually isn't very dramatic magic, (Dramatic magic is disdained as a wizard thing. Men.) but they take care of the things that need to be taken care of. They protect those who cannot protect themselves, and also talk to those who are lonely, and clip the toenails of people who cannot clip their own, and take the pain of those beyond healing, and generally make sure everything runs smoothly at the same time that they are viewed with suspicion and are the first ones blamed for any misfortune... If you are at all interested in fantasy, satire, or hilarity, or even if you're not, you should definitely read Terry Pratchett's books..."
http://kamrynthewanderer.wordpress.com/2014/09/04/discworld-and-terry-pratchett/
Blogger Jay Dee recommends Moving Pictures:
"Holy Wood is where most of the story takes place, though also sometimes in Ankh-Morpork and Klatch. But Holy Wood is the star. The whole town is kind of like a Hollywood set, everything showy on the front, but look behind the facades and you see rickety wood supports. It reminded me of the wild west, but Hollywood style. It’s cheap, hastily built, and not very impressive-looking. But there was a buzz about it, and although of crappy quality, it was exciting. Moving Pictures was a fun book. Not Terry Pratchett’s best, but it was very enjoyable. It’s definitely recommended..."
http://ireadencyclopedias.wordpress.com/2014/09/08/book-review-moving-pictures/
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10) CLOSE
And there you have it for the moment. Apart from a couple of items...
On the website Fantasy Book Review, there's a dual review of Dodger that's well worth reading.
By Fergus McCartan: "It's hard not to compare to Terry Pratchett's non Discworld novels because I love them so much and in Dodger I feel like I am getting a Discworld novel in structure and flavour, but with a difference. There are some definite Discworld style characters, Onan, Dodger's dog has been illustrated in a manner, and with such personality, I expected him to be able to speak or turn out to be a Wizard of the Unseen University on an expedition from the next universe over, except disguised as a dog... Pratchett has beautifully narrated Dodger. The story has been written in such a way you can feel the cobblestones under your feet as Dodger works his way around London; thankfully you don't have to feel some other things described. The quality of the writing takes me back to discovering Terry Pratchett for the first time... One of the few negatives I had of the book was I would have liked a little more back story on the main characters, but there is always room in the sequel. I am not sure if I would have liked it a little grittier but that would have just made it a different book with a different feel. This is a little left field but I feel that story was been written in such a way that once Terry succumbs to his illness it could be continue on in its own fashion without trying to recreate Discworld, that uniqueness and wizardry belongs to Terry Pratchett. I can think of no greater tribute to Terry Pratchett if his works could be continued in a small way by others. If you love Terry Pratchett novels you will love this, if you haven't read any off Terry's works before and want to start, you can't go wrong here..."
...and Jasper de Joode: "It is the character of Dodger that truly brings the book to life. We first get to meet Dodger after he emerges from a manhole to save a young lady's life. We get to see him as a scoundrel, immediately going on the defensive when surrounded by citizens and police officers who just want to see what all the commotion is about. This was nicely shown by the dialogue that followed, which helped to again emphasize the early 1800's setting. When this encounter hits the newspapers, Dodger finds himself having to deal with a completely different life. After this point you see his character taking a great developmental leap in terms of growing up, looking after the people he cares about, learning to see the good in people, but also becoming bolder when dealing with thugs. It is a 'coming of age' story, and also a 'rags to riches' story. Dodger's philosophies were also a great enjoyment for me to read about... When I first started reading Dodger, I assumed that the story would revolve around Dodger and his adventures around London as a tosher. But to my pleasant surprise, there is much more to this story. The story often took a number of turns, keeping things interesting and showcasing what a great lad Dodger is. We get to see Dodger trying to right a wrong, trying to track down villains that are beating up young girls, and much more. It is these actions that reveal the true heart of Dodger... All in all Dodger is an amazing book and I am more than happy that I picked up this book. It creates a great display of historical London, contrasting the above ground cleanliness against the below ground filthy and often-times rotten sewers. Add in a lively set of support characters, funny dialogue, great action, and finish it all off with Dodger..."
http://www.fantasybookreview.co.uk/Terry-Pratchett/Dodger.html
...and to finish this issue, the most wonderful description I've yet read of the Discworld, by blogger SirDrAaron:
"For those of you who have never read a Terry Pratchett novel before, let me get you familiarized with the landscape. Picture a world. No, that's already wrong. Picture a sea turtle swimming through the ocean. Got that? Good, now, remove the ocean, and replace it with space. On the back of that turtle, imagine four elephants, and, on their backs, a pizza-shaped world that has continents instead of pepperoni, a great mountain instead of the little white three-legged thing they put in the middle to keep the box from touching the cheese, and magic instead of garlic pesto sauce. Now, use a little finger spreading movement on the smartphone of your mind to zoom in to an area midway between the crust and the disappointingly undercooked middle part, and you will see the great city-state of Ankh-Morpork. That is where most of Mr. Pratchett's stories take place, and, most importantly, the story that I've spent 300 words, mostly involving suicide and pizza, getting around to telling you about."
Night-night, all! See you next month... zzzzz....
– Annie Mac
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The End. If you have any questions or requests, write:
wossname-owner (at) pearwood (dot) info
Copyright (c) 2014 by Wossname for the Klatchian Foreign Legion
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
September 2014 (Volume 17, Issue 9, Post 3)
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WOSSNAME is a free publication offering news, reviews, and all the other stuff-that-fits pertaining to the works and activities 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.
********************************************************************
Editor in Chief: Annie Mac
News Editor: Vera P
Newshounds: Mogg, Sir J of Croydon Below, the Shadow, Wolfiekins
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) MORE QUOTES OF THE MONTH
02) LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR
03) A SLIP OF THE KEYBOARD: NEWS AND REVIEWS
04) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
05) DISCWORLD ARTS AND CRAFTS NEWS
06) ROUNDWORLD TALES
07) MORE IMAGES
08) AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE
09) CLOSE
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01) THE OTHER QUOTES OF THE MONTH
"As Terry walks into the darkness much too soon, I find myself raging too: at the injustice that deprives us of – what? Another twenty or thirty books? Another shelf-full of ideas and glorious phrases and old friends and new, of stories in which people do what they really do do best, which is use their heads to get themselves out of the trouble they got into by not thinking? Another book or two like this, of journalism and agitprop and even the occasional introduction? But truly, the loss of these things does not anger me as it should. It saddens me, but I, who have seen some of them being built close up, understand that any Terry Pratchett book is a small miracle, and we already have more than might be reasonable, and it does not behoove any of us to be greedy..."
– Neil Gaiman, in his preface to A Slip of the Keyboard
"All authors must occasionally wonder where the magic comes from, and sometimes I wonder where the strength of Daphne came from, and about the source of Mau's almost incoherent rage. Where ever their origins, I believe that Nation is the best book I have ever written or will write."
– Terry Pratchett, from A Slip of the Keyboard (Doubleday hardcover, page 141)
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02) A LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR
Hello out there, from the very back end of September! I only just got my copy of A Slip of the Keyboard, and my replacement copy of Dragons at Crumbling Castle arrived last night (the first one went missing in the post – no, really), I've given a shortish review of the former and no review of the latter until next issue... because when I jokingly said to a friend last night, "No sleep till Wednesday," it turned out to be prophetic, and as it's now nearing the last hours of the last day of the month, I think I'd better finish off before I get too cross-eyed.
To those of you who wrote to say that the new non-Yahoo Wossname arrived without problem and looks fine and perfectly formatted, many thanks. So far no one has written to complain; one hopes that's a good sign!
A wee reminder that Mrs Bradshaw's to Travelling Upon the Ankh-Morpork and Sto Plains Hygienic Railway Handbook will be published in Roundworld next month (9th October):
"Authorised by Mr Lipwig of the Ankh-Morpork and Sto Plains Hygienic Railway himself, Mrs Georgina Bradshaw's invaluable guide to the destinations and diversions of the railway deserves a place in the luggage of any traveller, or indeed armchair traveller, upon the Disc... Fully illustrated and replete with useful titbits, Mrs Bradshaw's Handbook offers a view of the Sto Plains like no other." But I am leaving out the previous pre-order link and will think long and hard before ever again offering links to Amazon; instead, I'll recommend that those of you who order books from the internet consider using smaller or more independent online booksellers[1], and will instead post a link to the keynote address by David Mitchell[2] at last week's Booksellers Association conference. I've been increasingly horrified by Amazon for some time now, so this speech didn't convince me, but perhaps it may help to convince someone else:
http://tinyurl.com/k7rkfo9
In a lighter vein, here be some hedgehogs who can never be *coloured* at all. Aww!
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-tyne-29349085
Also, for a small delight or enormous wonderfulness, have a look at Wee Mad Arthur on a pigeon, at the bottom of the Ookbench (item 8, third link).
And now for all the news that fits...
– Annie Mac, Editor
[1] Or indeed, the like of Sir Pterry's own independent bookshop which, as you'll recall, links to actual brick-and-mortar booksellers: https://www.myindependentbookshop.co.uk/TerryPratchett
[2] The funny one. Though he, too, is a published author
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03) A SLIP OF THE KEYBOARD NEWS
3.1 NEIL GAIMAN ON WHAT DRIVES TERRY PRATCHETT AS AN AUTHOR
Neil Gaiman's foreword for A Slip of the Keyboard has been making waves around the world's Press. Reprinted in part in various places, it makes thought-provoking – and smile-inducing, and heart-breaking – reading. Here be some of it:
"Science fiction conventions often give you someone to look after you, to make sure you get from place to place without getting lost. Some years ago I ran into someone who had once been Terry's handler at a convention in Texas. His eyes misted over at the memory of getting Terry from his panel to the book-dealers' room and back. 'What a jolly old elf Sir Terry is,' he said. And I thought, No. No, he's not.
"Back in February 1991, Terry and I were on a book signing tour for Good Omens, a book we had written together. We can tell you dozens of not-only-funny-but-also-true stories about the things that happened on that tour. Terry alludes to a few of them in this book. This story is true, but it is not one of the stories we tell. We were in San Francisco. We had just done a stock signing in a bookshop, signing the dozen or so copies of our book they had ordered. Terry looked at the itinerary. Next stop was a radio station: we were due to have an hour-long interview on live radio. 'From the address, it's just down the street from here,' said Terry. 'And we've got half an hour. Let's walk it.' This was a long time ago, best beloved, in the days before GPS systems and mobile phones and taxi-summoning apps and suchlike useful things that would have told us in moments that no, it would not be a few blocks to the radio station. It would be several miles, all uphill and mostly through a park. We called the radio station as we went, whenever we passed a payphone, to tell them that we knew we were now late for a live broadcast, and that we were, promise cross our sweaty hearts, walking as fast as we could.
"I would try and say cheerful, optimistic things as we walked. Terry said nothing, in a way that made it very clear that anything I could say would probably just make things worse. I did not ever say, at any point on that walk, that all of this would have been avoided if we had just got the bookshop to call us a taxi. There are things you can never unsay, that you cannot say and still remain friends, and that would have been one of them. We reached the radio station at the top of the hill, a very long way from anywhere, about 40 minutes into our hour-long live interview. We arrived all sweaty and out of breath, and they were broadcasting the breaking news. A man had just started shooting people in a local McDonald's, which is not the kind of thing you want to have as your lead-in when you are now meant to talk about a funny book you've written about the end of the world and how we're all going to die. The radio people were angry with us, too, and understandably so: it's no fun having to improvise when your guests are late. I don't think that our fifteen minutes on the air were very funny... Still, by the top of the hour it was all over. We went back to our hotel, and this time we took a taxi. Terry was silently furious: with himself, mostly, I suspect, and with the world that had not told him that the distance from the bookshop to the radio station was much further than it had looked on our itinerary. He sat in the back of the cab beside me white with anger, a non-directional ball of fury. I said something hoping to placate him. Perhaps I said that ah well, it had all worked out in the end, and it hadn't been the end of the world, and suggested it was time to not be angry any more. Terry looked at me. He said, 'Do not underestimate this anger. This anger was the engine that powered Good Omens.'
"I thought of the driven way that Terry wrote, and of the way that he drove the rest of us with him, and I knew that he was right. There is a fury to Terry Pratchett's writing. It's the fury that was the engine that powered Discworld, and you will discover it in A Slip of the Keyboard: it's the anger at the headmaster who would decide that six-year-old Terry Pratchett would never be smart enough for the 11- plus; anger at pompous critics, and at those who think that serious is the opposite of funny; anger at his early American publishers who could not bring his books out successfully. The anger is always there, an engine that drives. By the time A Slip of the Keyboard enters its final act, and Terry learns he has a rare, early onset form of Alzheimer's, the targets of his fury change: now he is angry with his brain and his genetics and, more than these, furious at a country that will not permit him (or others in a similarly intolerable situation) to choose the manner and the time of their passing. And that anger, it seems to me, is about Terry's underlying sense of what is fair and what is not. It is that sense of fairness that underlies Terry's work and his writing, and it's what drove him from school to journalism to the press office of the SouthWestern Electricity Board to the position of being one of the best-loved and bestselling writers in the world...
"Terry Pratchett is not a jolly old elf at all. Not even close. He's so much more than that. As Terry walks into the darkness much too soon, I find myself raging too: at the injustice that deprives us of – what? Another twenty or thirty books? Another shelf-full of ideas and glorious phrases and old friends and new, of stories in which people do what they really do do best, which is use their heads to get themselves out of the trouble they got into by not thinking? Another book or two like this, of journalism and agitprop and even the occasional introduction? But truly, the loss of these things does not anger me as it should. It saddens me, but I, who have seen some of them being built close up, understand that any Terry Pratchett book is a small miracle, and we already have more than might be reasonable, and it does not behoove any of us to be greedy..."
The Waterstones blog version:
http://www.waterstones.com/blog/2014/09/neil-gaiman-on-terry-pratchett/
The Guardian's version includes a fine caricature cartoon of both authors:
http://tinyurl.com/nzkckhc
In The Independent, Ella Alexander takes the "intersperse extracts wit observations" approach:
http://tinyurl.com/nomaxhq
3.2 "THIS ONE'S IMPORTANT...": WOSSNAME'S REVIEW OF A SLIP OF THE KEYBOARD
By Annie Mac
I find it hard to review a collection of short non-fiction works. It's not a novel. It's not a gathering of short stories. There are no themes, there are no story arcs or plot twists, no character development, no real subtext... in other words, not much for a reviewer to say, apart from commenting on the nuts and bolts of the book's construction. What I can tell you about A Slip of the Keyboard: Collected Non-Fiction is that, despite lacking all of the aforementioned qualities, the book is an important part of the oeuvre of one of history's greatest authors. It's also a well-chosen, well-organised, and eminently readable anthology.
The nuts and bolts part: A Slip of the Keyboard is organised into three sections, following on from that beautifully written Gaiman intro. The section titles are "A Scribbling Intruder", subtitled "On bookshops, dragons, fan mail, sandwiches, tools of the trade, waxing wroth and all the business of being a Professional Writer"; "A Twit and a Dreamer", subtitled "On schooldays, scabby knees, first jobs, frankincense, Christmas robots, beloved books and other off-duty thoughts"; and "Days of Rage", subtitled "On Alzheimer's, orangutans, campaigns, controversies, dignified endings and trying to make a lot of things a little better". There's also a short final section consisting of "Terry Pratchett's Wild Unattached Footnotes to Life".
There is a fair portion of seriousness in these essays, speeches, letters and articles, but Pratchett and company wisely chose to open A Slip of the Keyboard with a reprint of the deliciously light "Thought Progress", written for 20/20 Magazine in 1989. In this short piece the author describes a typical work-day at home, touching on eagles, tortoises, seemingly unconnected lines of research, more eagles and tortoises, and the eventual achieving of Actual Wordcount. Then we find a wry essay on the difference in process between a professional boxer and a professional writer; a tutorial on book signings; an excellently grinful description of how he fell in love with Australia during a book tour; assorted speeches written for and/or given at assorted fan and genre conventions, my favourite being "Straight from the Heart, Via the Groin" (Noreascon 2004); essays about ideas and where they come from; essays about fantasy – what it really is and why it's good for the heart and soul; an essay in praise of Rowling's Harry Potter series; another in praise of Neil Gaiman; more than a few paeans to Tolkien (no surprise there); several superb awards or honours acceptance speeches; "A Word About Hats", which is, yes, about hats; and the odd unforgettable gem, such as the story of the nuclear power station pixie.
In the "A Twit and a Dreamer" section, A Slip of the Keyboard gives us a parade – hmm, dare I say sequence of unalloyed delight? – of snippets describing Pratchett's childhood experiences, family, memorable moments from his school years, and memorable bits of the life of a novice journalist. We meet Granny Pratchett, and young Terry Pratchett's first employer, and the nice little old lady who ran the local porn shop but also made a fantastical universe of non-smutty words available to that young science fiction and fantasy fanboy who would become our favourite author... not to mention golden bees, fungus-tracking at daybreak, Pratchett Junior's childhood Christmas robots, and of course the hunt for gold, frankincense and myrrh. Oh, and the entire text of Professor Sir Pterry's inaugural lecture at Trinity College Dublin – hurrah!
Almost all of the items in the third section date from 2008 or later and include assorted newspaper pieces and the text of Pratchett's 2010 Dimbleby Lecture, "Shaking Hands with Death", all of which were featured in various issues of Wossname, and all of which were as painful for me to re-read as they were to read the first time around.
At 314 pages, A Slip of the Keyboard is what blurbists would probably call a rich compendium, and hey, they'd be right. The decision to include a certain number pieces that were originally part of the Once More with Footnotes collection also strikes me as wise, since OMwF was a limited release and not that many people have ever seen, much less owned, a copy (for my part, I now own both, and don't feel in the slightest that I've been given short measure). In fact, I would have to say that A Slip of the Keyboard, for all that it includes no fiction, is a far better organised and far more coherent look at the life and thought processes of Terry Pratchett.
I'd like to finish off with a selection of some of my favourite quotes from A Slip of the Keyboard. I am so glad that Pratchett feels as strongly about Nation as I do!
"I have met real writers. They make lists. They plan out their books on file cards. They do proper research, with notebooks, and unlike me, they don't get totally side-tracked by a wonderful book about the frozen-water trade on the US seaboard in the late eighteenth century." – page 138
"More than half the skill of writing lies in tricking the book out of your own head." – page 23
"Where do you get your fantastic ideas from? You steal them. You steal them from reality. It outstrips fantasy most of the time." – page 60
"Almost all writers are fantasy writers, but some of us are more honest about it than others." – page 88
"I admired Mau's dilemma as he single-handedly invented Humanism, railing at the gods for not existing, while at the same time needing them to exist to take the blame. I find it difficult to remember that I invented him: he seemed to create himself as the book progressed." – page 141
"People ask me if I feel naked without my hat. The answer is no. I feel naked without, say, my trousers, but if you walk down the street without wearing a hat the police take very little interest at all." – page 154-5
A Slip of the Keyboard. Out now. Highly recommended.
3.3 ANOTHER REVIEW OF aSotK
In the Daytona Beach News Herald, a well-written review by Chris Bridges:
"One of the great joys of reading 'A Slip of the Keyboard,' the new collection of his non-fiction work, is that here the metaphors haven't been shoveled on top yet and you can see exactly what he thinks and why he thinks it. And it's still funny, and it's still true.
'Science fiction looked at the universe all the time. I make no apology for having enjoyed it. We live in a science fiction world: two miles down there you'd fry and two miles up you'd gasp for breath, and there is a small but significant chance that in the next thousand years a large comet or asteroid will smack into the planet. Finding this out when you're thirteen or so is a bit of an eye-opener. It puts acne in its place, for a start.' With these 59 essays, talks, speeches and notes ranging from 1963 to 2011, this is the closest you likely will ever get to hanging around Sir Terry of an afternoon, listening to him ramble. And ramble he does; since many of these pieces were written about the same subjects for different audiences, expect a lot of repetition. He fervently defends J. R. R. Tolkien and 'The Lord of the Rings' again and again, for example, from those who would look down on fantasy as not really literature. All fiction is fantasy, he argues, just some of it has dragons in... While it never achieves the hilarity or the depth of his fiction, 'A Slip of the Keyboard' is amiable and funny and wise and sad. As a fan of both men, I particularly liked the inclusion of both Neil Gaiman's blunt and enjoyable introduction, in which he gives us the sort of insights only a friend would know, and Pratchett's own description of Gaiman later in the book..."
http://t.co/E3PGcuFmiO
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04) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
4.1 NEW: WYRD SISTERS IN WEST SUSSEX
Stage-Door Theatre Company, having already tackled the Scottish Play some eleven years ago, will tackle the Disc-ish Play this December! That being Wyrd Sisters, of course...
When: 10th-13th December 2014
Venue: The Windmill Theatre, The Green, Littlehampton, West Sussex BN17 5LM
Time 7:30pm for evening performances, 2:30pm for the Saturday (13th) matinee
Tickets: £11 (concessions at £10). Please contact the box office at the Circle of Health, 67 Sea Lane, Rustington, West Sussex BN16 2RQ (telephone 01903 856801) for all ticket enquiries.
4.2 "THE LAST CONTINENT" IN FOURECKS: REVIEWS
By Barry Lenny for Broadway World:
"From the very beginning of Act one, where we were treated to Sir Terry's recorded tones to set the scene, to the final dancing cast bows, the audience proved itself worthy of the intelligence of the plot, and the excellence and enthusiasm of the actors. Unseen Theatre has a reputation for this enthusiasm, and it always is apparent in the enjoyment of the cast and audience at each play performed. With a minimal set, few props, and some inventive costumes, we were taken on a journey by some of the faculty of Unseen University in Ankh Morpork, to track down Rincewind the wizard (wizzard, in his own spelling) through the vast, ancient, but brand new continent of EcksEcksEcksEcks, to an evolving island, complete with its own God, (lightning throwing Samm Blackmore), ending up in the big city of Bugarup.
"The wizards, led by Archchancellor Ridcully, played in a very Cleesean manner by Paul Messenger, were a lovely comedic and haughty group of academics, hampered by the very proper, and determined to be "lady-laike", Mrs Whitlow, perfectly portrayed by the very experienced performer, Beverley Koch, in her first Unseen production. Chris Irving, as Rincewind, was the lynchpin that the play revolved around, and he managed to convince us of his cowardliness, cunning and survival instinct in a beautifully gawky manner that somehow managed to be endearing at the same time. Paul Messenger played the other two main characters of Ridcully and the Kangaroo God, with some great kangaroo body language, as well as moonlighting momentarily as a sheep and a bully. Death, played by Hugh O'Connor, sat amongst us, giving the audience extra laughs, and he also was the only on-the-ball but intrinsically nerdy Ponder Stibbons, and a laconic crocodile bar tender..."
http://tinyurl.com/qa38q4d
By Alicia Norton for Fringe Benefits:
"The 'Australian-ness' of a number of the situations is what leads to many of the jokes and quirky situations in the show – with bogan-esque characters and situations which err on the safe side of diving straight into Wolf Creek territory! Bare witness to iconic Australian events (but remember – it's not Australia!) like the invention of Vegemite and the style in which Ned Kelly could have escaped from his prison cell – with a real tongue in cheek, knowing wink the whole while! The show has been adapted from the original book and directed by Pamela Munt, and while it may seem clunky and difficult to follow at times, I'm sure that those who are familiar with the tale will enjoy the show none the less. A number of standout moments come to mind, including that of Samm Blackmore as the Island God – a role which was perfectly presented to bring about expert hilarity! The set is basic yet clever – a sandy floor perfectly sets the scene for the dusty, warm location of the tale. Costumes – for the most part – helped to bring characters to life, although the use of animal masks for the animal characters was distracting at times as it muffled the actors' voices, pulling the audience away from the message and story..."
http://www.fringebenefits.com.au/index.php?PID=986
By Benjamin Orchard for Stage Whispers:
"The narrative is rather meandering, and the second act does feel a bit flabby. But Pratchett's wittily quotable dialogue, Michelle Whichello's strikingly surreal costumes and director Pamela Munt's lively blocking of scenes keeps the proceedings briskly entertaining. Sets (designed by Munt with Andrew Zeuner) are minimal, but effectively otherworldly, aided immensely by the suitably eerie lighting of Stephen Dean. The cast (most of whom play multiple roles, 'Monty Python' style) are consistently solid, but a few players stand out. Hugh O'Connor makes for an amusingly affable Angel Of Death, Samm Blackmore an endearingly ineffectual God, and Paul Messenger is interesting as an oddly pushy Kangaroo. Chris Irving does what he can to inject some nuance into the rather one-note protagonist, and the rest of the ensemble (Harold Roberts, David Dyte, Michelle Whichello, Beverly Koch, Molly Dyte) all bring a fittingly high energy level to these larger than life caricatures, whilst Munt makes for a winningly sardonic narrator..."
http://www.stagewhispers.com.au/reviews/last-continent
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05) DISCWORLD ARTS AND CRAFTS NEWS
Happy 10th Birthday to a First Class Book!
A STAMP IN TIME!
Ten years ago this week Terry Pratchett gave us a masterpiece among Discworld novels, Going Postal. In doing so, not only did he introduce some of his best-loved characters, he also sowed the seeds of the Discworld Stamp phenomenon, causing hundreds of thousands of little sticky bits of Discworld to pop into existence – with a little help from the Discworld Emporium!
http://tinyurl.com/lc5a9s5
To mark the occasion and celebrate Going Postal we've teamed up with Discworld artist Peter Dennis to create four new stamps depicting climactic moments in the reformation of the Ankh-Morpork Post Office. Moist's appointment as Postmaster General, his first Sto Lat Express delivery atop 'Boris' the horse from hell, the Golems' defeat of the Post Office fire, and the clacks vs. post in the Great Race to Genua are all depicted on an attractive minisheet forming part of our limited edition Going Postal Anniversary Presentation Set [£12.50]:
http://tinyurl.com/q8orsbu
Each set also includes a First Day Cover featuring all four stamps and a commemorative insert, while every cover has been franked with an official A-M.P.O. hand-stamp at the Emporium's Post Office Counter. Available Friday 26th September at 12:00AM BST.
Fabricati Diem, Pvnc! Micro Art Studio's fantastic Discworld Bust of His Grace, The Duke of Ankh, Commander Sir Samuel Vimes is now available. Based on the artwork of Paul Kidby, this exquisite miniature figurine depicts Vimes with his dragon lighter as described in Guards! Guards! and is produced in high quality resin, ready for you to paint at home. Also available are Rincewind and Death as Hogfather, so get your paintbrushes at the ready and while away the hours bringing these favourite characters to life!
Vimes bust, priced at £28.00: http://tinyurl.com/kav343j
Rincewind bust, also £28.00: http://tinyurl.com/l2vuhot
NEW BOOKS!! We are in Pratchett heaven this month, as the creator has spoilt us with TWO new non-Discworld tomes! Dragons at Crumbling Castle (_http://tinyurl.com/oan2q23_) is a beautifully illustrated collection of short stories featuring dragons (of course), dinosaurs, cavemen and car races, while A Slip of The Keyboard (_http://tinyurl.com/pdq2qxu_) brings together the finest examples of Pratchett's non fiction writing, both serious and surreal – AVAILABLE NOW!
For all our latest wares and releases have a browse through our New Products page – it's mostly harmless!
http://tinyurl.com/lb4r5pt
Happy Stamping!
Our mailing address is:
Discworld Emporium
The Discworld Emporium
41 High Street
Wincanton, Somerset BA9 9JU
United Kingdom
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06) ROUNDWORLD TALES: THE REAL "GRAND SNEER", AND THE CABINET OF CURIOSITY
Here be an interesting article about the Grand Tour of olden dayes!
"Nine hours travelling, squalid sleeping arrangements, too much to drink and money lost during late night card games. Not a scene from a 20th Century teenage gap year, but a young person's 17th Century Grand Tour, in which they would experience the renaissance period first hand. Despite the criticisms expressed about young people's traveling ambitions in their year between A levels and University, the gap year is not the modern phenomenon we consider it to be. Dating back to the 1600s, the young person's tour around Europe was a time of personal development, first hand education and discovery away from their responsibilities back home. Often the lucky traveler would begin their journey from Dover to Calais, travelling through France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland before landing in Italy to view the home of the classics they would have read about in school... At the start of its existence, the Grand Tour participants were limited to wealthy men travelling after their Oxbridge days, in an educational rite of passage. In later years, the tour was opened up to females... However, many women were unable to raise the funds necessary to support their globetrotting ambitions... Although young tourists did visit cities of importance to their classical studies, often accompanied by teachers and tutors, many also took part in a number of other social activities. The drinking, gambling and flirting that has become synonymous with today's gap year experience was rife among 17th Century sightseers..."
http://tinyurl.com/q3wql68
Also...
THE CABINET OF CURIOSITY!
More than a bit reminiscent of that rather more magic-driven one at Unseen University, but still...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKikHxKeodA
About the Roentgens:
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/abraham-roentgen/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Roentgen
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07) MORE IMAGES
A most joyous portrait of Sir Pterry, holding a copy of Dragons at Crumbling Castle:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ByfEu9pIQAAwUzv.jpg
Less joyous, but more amusing, is this affectionate caricature of Pterry and Neil Gaiman in the Guardian, by illustrator John Cuneo:
http://tinyurl.com/nreeaao
...and here we have some excellent iconographs of Paul Kidby's "Ookbench", by Flickfilosopher aka Maryann Johnson. These are some high-quality shots of both the front and back of Kidby's gorgeous art-furniture, with clickable links to close-ups:
http://tinyurl.com/k5ebco4
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08) AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE
Blogger loiteringinthetheatre's review of Youth Music Theatre UK's recent live production of Soul Music:
"Directed by Luke Sheppard, adapted by Andrew Doyle and with music by Craig Adams, the show is an entertaining musical version of the tale of Imp, who leaves the mines to go to Ankh-Morpork and start a band. He forms 'The Band With Rocks In' and hypnotises the city with his guitar skills, but is he playing the music or is the music playing him? The cast of 40 were young people who had spent the past couple of weeks immersed in the show, and I was very impressed by their talent. In particular, Joe Bence is an appealing Imp and Grace Mouat is outstanding as Susan, the granddaughter of Death. Death himself is one of the best minor characters in the piece, a strong presence with his large skull and arms, skilfully manipulated by puppeteers. All of the cast do a brilliant job, though, as do the musicians..."
http://loiteringinthetheatre.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/soul-music/
The Vacuous Wastrel is back with an analysis of Interesting Times:
"It's my hypothesis – the model I've been construction as I've gone through this re-read – that the second era of Discworld forms a thematic arc in which Pratchett attempted to say something he felt was important, until finally achieving this with his magnum opus, Small Gods. This involved not only a concentration of message, but also a honing of his skill. At the height of his powers, and free from the thematic impulses that had been driving him, he then looked around for some stories to tell, and this often involved going back and taking on older ideas with his new abilities. Lords and Ladies returned to Lancre, Men at Arms returned to the Watch, and Soul Music looked back to some extent to Reaper Man but to a greater extent all the way back to Mort, while also being a story he clearly wanted to tell about a subject close to his heart (rock music). And that's where Interesting Times fits in. Because now, finally, 11 years after The Colour of Magic and 6 years after Sourcery, Pratchett would try again to return to where he began... Interesting Times is funny. It's funny even when it shouldn't be – enough audacity and you can get away with a little stupidity, even a little offensiveness. My personal highlight? The scene with the sumo wrestlers. It's idiotic and culturally insensitive, but I still laughed out loud... Rincewind and the silly world he inhabits gives you the chance for that humour – the unsophisticated slapstick that's always under the surface in Pratchett but seldom given free reign. It can also give you great pace and panache and jolly good read..."
http://vacuouswastrel.wordpress.com/2014/09/24/interesting-times-by-terry-pratchett/
...and of Feet of Clay:
"Particularly worthy of mention in Feet of Clay (and again reminiscent of Maskerade) is the sophistication of the plot. The novel has to interweave four different plot threads – if you count major character arcs, it's at least five and maybe six – all in the space of (in my hardback copy) less than 300 pages. The only thing more amazing than how tightly and proficiently Pratchett is able to do this is how much more tightly and proficiently Pratchett is able to appear to do this.
Because one problem with this book is that it doesn't really work. It's all set up as an intricate little plot, but really (as often in Pratchett) it's a bunch of tangentially related stories that don't, in the end, wrap up anywhere near as tightly as they should. One reason why Pratchett is a brilliant author, however, is that to a large extent he's able to get away with this by making it seem as though everything fits together perfectly and isn't entirely reliant on immense coincidences... It's hard to overstate how good a writer Pratchett is at this point. I was immediately struck by his brilliance when I opened the book: this, dear reader, is how you begin a novel. There are five scenes in the first twelve pages. In those five scenes, Pratchett establishes the tone of the book, establishes a complex setting both in general and in some of its parts (although of course the reader would benefit from having read earlier works, Pratchett does make sure to be accessible to first-time or forgetful readers – another reason for his commercial success), sets up what looks like the main plot, sets up two or three subplots while he's at it, delivers a brilliantly effective character study of a lead character, sketches out efficiently and enjoyably two or three other important characters, gives us some distinctive vignettes of lesser characters, dazzles us with witty turns of phrase, inspires us with intriguing aphorisms… and is funny, too, and yet also menacing and serious. Pratchett ought to be taught in class as an example of how to write. He may not perhaps be the world's most literary author, either in his prose style or in his depth and originality of content, but he's unimpeachably good at the raw business of telling a story well...
http://vacuouswastrel.wordpress.com/2014/08/29/feet-of-clay-by-terry-pratchett/
Blogger the50bookmarathon, not much of a science fiction fan, reviews The Long Mars:
"I have found all three of these books a little hard to get into due to all the technical/scientific information which highlight to me why I go for Fantasy rather than Sci Fi but once you are in you can't put it down. Well I couldn't, if only for the characters. The characters were all that got me through the Mars layer of the story, that evidently gave the book it's title, otherwise that whole story thread could have been left out and not affected the rest of the novel. One of the Key characters from the other books seemed to vanish at the end as well which gave the whole book an unfinished feel. Now don't get me wrong, I like the ending, it's my favourite bit, it is how things happen. Life keeps going after the adventure so, I like the fact there isn't that fairytale feel of everything being tied off or that ten year later thing that I find limiting at the end of a story. A vanishing character, however, takes something away from what is otherwise a pleasing ending... This book (and the series as a whole) has not turned me towards reading Science Fiction but it has reiterated to me that I need to read the rest of Terry Pratchett's books. It has also shown me that stories need not be rammed with events and stuff happening if you have engaging and fully rounded characters..."
http://the50bookmarathon.wordpress.com/2014/09/24/the-long-mars/
...as does blogger reuoq, who felt it was weaker than the first two:
Having been a fan of the last two books in this series I was quite pleased to find that it was coming out this summer and would be, nominally, about Mars... Compared to the other books on its series it's not quite as good, though. The storyline felt a bit piecemeal, since it's following three different groups of people whose stories only briefly converge at the very end. The first chapter was exemplary of this, because it very much follows a 'where are they now' summarization of all the characters. The book, as with its predecessors, is brimming with ideas, but I would have preferred it if there had been one storyline, instead of feeling that it had to follow around all the characters separately... Some of my favourite characters were missing from the book, for the most part, for instance the Tibetan monk character Lobsang. I feel like Terry Pratchett didn't have as large a part in this as he did in the last one for that reason..."
http://reuoq.wordpress.com/2014/09/22/book-70-the-long-mars-2014/
Blogger Anita reviews Equal Rites:
"Esk is meant to be the main character but I couldn't warm to her at all. She is a child and has all the qualities of being innocent to the dangers of the world, takes risks and is very inquisitive. She is a challenge for Granny to teach and manage. I think Esk represents how we should view life – with optimism, take each challenge as they come, making friends is good and also learn from others. Also live your dreams and be determined. Overall this story starts off a bit sexist as there is a clear divide and hierarchy between witches and wizards but by the end people's views are changed and history in the Discworld is changed. Terry Pratchett has also drawn on a lot of comparisons to how male and females are viewed in past societies, as well as country life compared to city life. He shows that people have to adapt to new places and ways of living and doing this through Esk's eyes we learn that we are all the same trying to life a good, happy life. We meet so many characters along the twists and turns of the story and some we like and some less so. The comedy moments are great too..."
http://anitasbookbag.co.uk/2014/09/20/equal-rites-by-terry-pratchett/
The marvellously silly and articulate blogger SirDrAaron's review of Raising Steam:
"This book, at its heart, is about trains. Also, at its extremities. It's basically all about trains. The age of the horse and cart are over, because, for the second time in known history, steam power is coming to the Disc. Owing to its volatile nature, the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, the preeminent city on the Disc, puts his top con artist in charge of making sure it doesn't explode in everyone's faces. This is the third book in the saga of gentleman swindler and all around smartass Moist von Lipwig, who, in his first appearance in the Discworld series in the novel Going Postal, was forced into the service of Ankh-Morpork's Patrician, Havelock Vetinari, on the threat of a second hanging. It's complicated, I know. As Tommy Wiseau would say in reference to any conceivable negative event, 'Don't worry about it.' Actually, he would say, 'Dohn worreh uhbowt eht.' All that you really need to know to understand this book is that times they are a-changin', and not everyone is happy about it.
"Terry Pratchett has always contended that, though his Discworld novels are pure fantasy, they have always been written to mirror the world in some way. An accurate portrayal or not, Raising Steam certainly paints a picture of how Terry views the world, today. The moral of this story is built out of the previous Discworld novel, Snuff, which is basically about racism. Or, well, species-ism. However, whereas Snuff was about treating another race as inferiors, Raising Steam is about applying a set of guidelines to your own race that, if a member of said race fails to follow, makes them different enough to hate or even kill with impunity... but unlike the real world, almost none of the Discworld inhabitants have trouble seeing the forest for the trees. No one blames all Dwarves for the terroristic actions of that vocal minority. If only we were so understanding...
"The story maintains a driving pace that keeps it interesting even when the narrative wears a bit thin. In spite of its rather serious subject, it never fails to be funny. Moist von Lipwig is, as always, the hero he didn't realize that he was, and the Patrician, who plays a wonderfully large role in this book, is enigmatic and somewhat sinister while never even hinting at leaving the side of the angels..."
http://dumbthings.org/2014/09/19/dumb-books-ive-read-raising-steam-by-terry-pratchett/
Blogger 79nexus, a German woman transplanted to England, describes how she encountered and fell in love with the work of Terry Pratchett:
"A quarter of a century ago on holiday in Bavaria I went past a dodgy looking shop with piles of glossy magazines in the window and shelves of videotapes with very weird names. On one shelve were some books and one of them caught my attention. I left shortly unnoticed my family (who knew anyway if they loose me they can undoubtedly find me in the next bookstore) went into the shop, took the book, read the first sentences and went to the counter where I inquired the price of this book. A puzzled woman and a male customer looked at me as if I were an alien. I got asked how I got into the shop and that children were not allowed there. She looked at the book with this amazing colourful cover and mesmerizing title asked probably herself aloud how this book went into the shop at all and sold it to me for 50 Pfennige if I disappear at once. That was the first Terry Pratchett book I owned and read. I remember reading it in our holiday wooden hut (without water and electricity but really idylic). Well I read a German translation to be exact. Die Farben der Magie. The start of a lifelong eternal love with discworld books..."
http://79nexus.wordpress.com/2014/09/18/fantastic-realms/
Blogger and would-be author Martin Crookall lambastes Dragons at Crumbling Castle. Your Editor thinks he is so full of Librarian-poo that his eyes are brown, but he's entitled to his opinion, so here it is:
"These are not children's stories as Pratchett has written them during his professional career: Johnny Maxwell, the nomes, Nation. These are children's stories to be read by fathers and grandfathers to toddlers on their laps, until they reach the age of about seven. They lack even the merest scintilla of depth, the lines are only marginally less spaced out than in a board book, and even then are bulked out to 336 pp by applications of large, shouty letters in a fantastical variety of typography and a constant stream of sub-Quentin Blake illustrations. When Pratchett agreed to have his debut novel, The Carpet People, (written during this period) reissued, he insisted first on a thorough re-write. Frankly, he should not have let these stories out without doing the same, though to be honest I doubt there's enough in any of them to provide a basis for a better treatment. Not even the two 'Carpet People' tales reprinted here, which are the most substantial of the bunch, and the only ones to come anywhere near suggesting the foreshadow of the adult Pratchett peering through the fog..."
http://tinyurl.com/lxo2lrr
Blogger Maren, another transplanted German (this time to Sweden), gives TAMAHER an enthusiastic four out of five stars:
"Being a big fan of his series 'The Discworld', I really liked book 28 in the series – a kids book. The book presents a new take on the German fairy tale 'Der Rattenfanger von Hameln' (Pied Piper of Hamelin)... Whereas the book is written for children, it works perfectly well for adults. Pratchett's characters are deep, the undertone is clever and as in all of his books, he takes a critical take on society and the world (subtle but significant). As all of Pratchett's books, it's very well written, witty and comes with some magic and a pinch of Philosophy..."
http://marenmovingforward.com/2014/09/07/the-amazing-maurice-and-his-educated-rodents/
Blogger kamryn waxes lyrical about the Pratchett:
"My absolute, all-time favourite author is Terry Pratchett. Not that I'd want to read him all the time, of course, because it's hard to imagine dashing princes and majestic dragons wandering around Discworld, unless, of course, they were wandering around Discworld being hopelessly lost, incompetent, guided by witches and very lucky... It's hysterically funny, but also very real, with moments that are poignant and down-to-earth. An extremely drunk Captain of the Night Watch, a police force, is panicking on the night before his wedding to the richest woman in the city, and as he's helped into bed, a very new recruit remarks on how bare his quarters are, with only a piece of cardboard under the bed for boot soles, and sneers about how he drinks all of his money away, and in return a more experienced officer quietly shows her the book with the names of policemen's widows and children and dollar amounts, because policemen's widows don't get pensions. In the end, nearly half his pay goes to other people. And that's not even starting on the witches. The first Discworld book I read was one of the Tiffany Aching series, which is about a nine-year-old (And eventually eleven, thirteen, and sixteen year old in the later books) who rescues her brother from Fairyland armed with a book about sheep illnesses and a frying pan. Witches don't do much magic, and it usually isn't very dramatic magic, (Dramatic magic is disdained as a wizard thing. Men.) but they take care of the things that need to be taken care of. They protect those who cannot protect themselves, and also talk to those who are lonely, and clip the toenails of people who cannot clip their own, and take the pain of those beyond healing, and generally make sure everything runs smoothly at the same time that they are viewed with suspicion and are the first ones blamed for any misfortune... If you are at all interested in fantasy, satire, or hilarity, or even if you're not, you should definitely read Terry Pratchett's books..."
http://kamrynthewanderer.wordpress.com/2014/09/04/discworld-and-terry-pratchett/
Blogger Jay Dee recommends Moving Pictures:
"Holy Wood is where most of the story takes place, though also sometimes in Ankh-Morpork and Klatch. But Holy Wood is the star. The whole town is kind of like a Hollywood set, everything showy on the front, but look behind the facades and you see rickety wood supports. It reminded me of the wild west, but Hollywood style. It’s cheap, hastily built, and not very impressive-looking. But there was a buzz about it, and although of crappy quality, it was exciting. Moving Pictures was a fun book. Not Terry Pratchett’s best, but it was very enjoyable. It’s definitely recommended..."
http://ireadencyclopedias.wordpress.com/2014/09/08/book-review-moving-pictures/
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10) CLOSE
And there you have it for the moment. Apart from a couple of items...
On the website Fantasy Book Review, there's a dual review of Dodger that's well worth reading.
By Fergus McCartan: "It's hard not to compare to Terry Pratchett's non Discworld novels because I love them so much and in Dodger I feel like I am getting a Discworld novel in structure and flavour, but with a difference. There are some definite Discworld style characters, Onan, Dodger's dog has been illustrated in a manner, and with such personality, I expected him to be able to speak or turn out to be a Wizard of the Unseen University on an expedition from the next universe over, except disguised as a dog... Pratchett has beautifully narrated Dodger. The story has been written in such a way you can feel the cobblestones under your feet as Dodger works his way around London; thankfully you don't have to feel some other things described. The quality of the writing takes me back to discovering Terry Pratchett for the first time... One of the few negatives I had of the book was I would have liked a little more back story on the main characters, but there is always room in the sequel. I am not sure if I would have liked it a little grittier but that would have just made it a different book with a different feel. This is a little left field but I feel that story was been written in such a way that once Terry succumbs to his illness it could be continue on in its own fashion without trying to recreate Discworld, that uniqueness and wizardry belongs to Terry Pratchett. I can think of no greater tribute to Terry Pratchett if his works could be continued in a small way by others. If you love Terry Pratchett novels you will love this, if you haven't read any off Terry's works before and want to start, you can't go wrong here..."
...and Jasper de Joode: "It is the character of Dodger that truly brings the book to life. We first get to meet Dodger after he emerges from a manhole to save a young lady's life. We get to see him as a scoundrel, immediately going on the defensive when surrounded by citizens and police officers who just want to see what all the commotion is about. This was nicely shown by the dialogue that followed, which helped to again emphasize the early 1800's setting. When this encounter hits the newspapers, Dodger finds himself having to deal with a completely different life. After this point you see his character taking a great developmental leap in terms of growing up, looking after the people he cares about, learning to see the good in people, but also becoming bolder when dealing with thugs. It is a 'coming of age' story, and also a 'rags to riches' story. Dodger's philosophies were also a great enjoyment for me to read about... When I first started reading Dodger, I assumed that the story would revolve around Dodger and his adventures around London as a tosher. But to my pleasant surprise, there is much more to this story. The story often took a number of turns, keeping things interesting and showcasing what a great lad Dodger is. We get to see Dodger trying to right a wrong, trying to track down villains that are beating up young girls, and much more. It is these actions that reveal the true heart of Dodger... All in all Dodger is an amazing book and I am more than happy that I picked up this book. It creates a great display of historical London, contrasting the above ground cleanliness against the below ground filthy and often-times rotten sewers. Add in a lively set of support characters, funny dialogue, great action, and finish it all off with Dodger..."
http://www.fantasybookreview.co.uk/Terry-Pratchett/Dodger.html
...and to finish this issue, the most wonderful description I've yet read of the Discworld, by blogger SirDrAaron:
"For those of you who have never read a Terry Pratchett novel before, let me get you familiarized with the landscape. Picture a world. No, that's already wrong. Picture a sea turtle swimming through the ocean. Got that? Good, now, remove the ocean, and replace it with space. On the back of that turtle, imagine four elephants, and, on their backs, a pizza-shaped world that has continents instead of pepperoni, a great mountain instead of the little white three-legged thing they put in the middle to keep the box from touching the cheese, and magic instead of garlic pesto sauce. Now, use a little finger spreading movement on the smartphone of your mind to zoom in to an area midway between the crust and the disappointingly undercooked middle part, and you will see the great city-state of Ankh-Morpork. That is where most of Mr. Pratchett's stories take place, and, most importantly, the story that I've spent 300 words, mostly involving suicide and pizza, getting around to telling you about."
Night-night, all! See you next month... zzzzz....
– Annie Mac
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The End. If you have any questions or requests, write:
wossname-owner (at) pearwood (dot) info
Copyright (c) 2014 by Wossname for the Klatchian Foreign Legion
