WOSSNAME -- July 2019 -- main issue

[wossname]

Wossname
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
July 2019 (Volume 22, Issue 7, Post 1)

********************************************************************
WOSSNAME is a free publication offering news, reviews, and all the other stuff-that-fits pertaining to the works of Sir Terry Pratchett. Originally founded by the late, great Joe Schaumburger for members of the worldwide Klatchian Foreign Legion and its affiliates, including the North American Discworld Society and other continental groups, Wossname is now for Discworld and Pratchett fans everywhere in Roundworld.
********************************************************************

Editor in Chief: Annie Mac
News Editor: Vera P
Newshounds: Mogg, Sir J of Croydon Below, the Shadow, Mss C, Alison not Aliss
Staff Writers: Asti, Pitt the Elder, Evil Steven Dread, Mrs Wynn-Jones
Staff Technomancer: Jason Parlevliet
Book Reviews: Annie Mac, Drusilla D'Afanguin, Your Name Here
Puzzle Editor: Tiff (still out there somewhere)
Bard in Residence: Weird Alice Lancrevic
Emergency Staff: Steven D'Aprano, Jason Parlevliet
World Membership Director: Steven D'Aprano (in his copious spare time)


oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

INDEX:

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

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH

""I especially felt that Martin Sheen *was* Aziraphale."
– blogger culturewitch, forgetting to check her text for accuracy before posting

"Yesterday we binged watched the entirety of #GoodOmens, which is super excellent, imo. Obvious those "Christians" petitioning was part of our conversation. Today I've looked them up. My word, those folks must have dull lives."
– blogger Owen Kilpatrick, referencing a tweet he made

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

02) A LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR

How much sheer emotional power can one rather cheerful five-minute video clip have? In the case of this one, oodles. Bags. An entire world's worth. This is a b brief tribute to The Author – and description of the process that created Good Omens – by Neil Gaiman, Rob Wilkins and several of the main series cast. I'm not a weeper as such – hey, I didn't even cry at the big reveal in The Shepherd's Crown – but this one had me in floods:

https://www.bleedingcool.com/2019/06/28/good-omens-crew-posts-touching-terry-pratchett-tribute/

I'm also not an Easter egg hunter (much as I love the Middle earth films, to this day I've still not been moved to look for Easter eggs my friends told me were on the DVDs), but I don enjoy spotting odd bits in books and films I love. Like this one: on p.74 of the Gollancz hardcover of Good Omens, War's human presence is called Carmine Zuigiber, but on p.98 of the Quite Nice and Fairly Accurate Good Omens Script Book her name is given as Carmine Zingiber. Now, Zuigiber is a "made-up" name – search on it and all you will find is Good Omens references and Good Omens-inspired usernames. The taxonomic name for ginger, however, is Zingiber officinale. And we all know what another meaning for "ginger" is. Nicely done, Team Omens!

Speaking from the lifelong centre of the continuinuinuumum, I have to applaud Mr Gaiman so very much for this:

https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/lgbti-fans-stop-harassing-creators/

And now, on with the show!

– Annie Mac, Editor

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

03) MORE GOOD OMENS NEWS AND REVIEWS

3.1 GOOD OMENS REVIEWS

By Patricia Mulroy in the Eastern Echo:

"What truly shines in this series is the relationship between the two celestial beings. Tennant and Sheen work wonderfully together as their respective angel and demon parts. Often squabbling like an old married couple, it's easy to believe that the duo have been around each other for a long time. Tennant's natural swagger and Sheen's exuberance play perfectly into their characters. With a rocking wardrobe, an awesome soundtrack and fantastic acting, the two actors make Aziraphale and Crowley jump right off the screen. Never has a book adaption[sic] captured its source material so well..."

http://www.easternecho.com/article/2019/07/good-omens-review-laughing-through-the-end-times

By Arts (specific author unlisted) on Canadian culture site The Peak:

"The heart of the show is a love letter to humanity and its many moral complexities. Reflecting this theme perfectly are Aziraphale and Crowley. These two divine beings, who have both spent 6,000 years on Earth, are nothing like their fellow colleagues in Heaven and Hell. They are more like the humans they've lived amongst and come to care for, and the two are neither inherently evil nor good. Rather, they encapsulate the moral complexity and nuance of humanity... We get to see the complex kinship the two share, bound neither by Heaven nor Hell but to each other. Sheen's Aziraphale makes for a warmhearted but indulgent angel, whose chemistry with Tennant's whiny but surprisingly soft Crowley makes for the most compelling relationship, romantic or not..."

https://bit.ly/2X6BY7X

By Erin Shelley in the Arizona Sun:

"Words like joy and delight should never be used to describe a show about the Antichrist, but they come to mind with Amazon's production of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's novel Good Omens... This six-part series belongs to Sheen and Tennant. Every time they are on screen, it's hard to find anything wrong about the show... Some pacing issues in a few episodes slightly limit the fun, but Aziraphale and Crowley's bumbling attempts to stop things from getting out of hand make most episodes delightful..."

https://bit.ly/2O2fy8R

By Nithya Gnanapandithan for Cinema Express:

"And so, we finally get to see Crowley and Aziraphale on screen, almost 30 years after the book's publication. The casting for these two characters couldn't be more inspired. David Tennant as the demon Crowley and Michael Sheen as the angel Aziraphale are note-perfect and their sizzling chemistry is what really makes this series. Tennant does, at times, remind us of his other iconic character, The Doctor from Doctor Who, but it works because the two do share some similarities – eccentric, morally ambiguous, humanoid non-humans, who love the earth and its ways, despite not being of it... The series changes things around a bit, giving the starring role to the angel and the demon, which is probably a smart move given the aforementioned strong casting for those characters. So we get extra sequences expanding on the relationship of Crowley and Aziraphale over the ages and a lot of overt bromance, including an entire breakup scene and another a little later to the tune of Queen's Somebody to Love (props for all the carefully chosen Queen songs in the soundtrack, by the way – Bicycle Race had me cracking up). Some of these additional scenes are quite effective, while others fall a bit flat. But the chemistry between Tennant and Sheen, and their screen presence, makes even the weaker ones worth watching..."

https://bit.ly/2JLLFnH

A "no love letter" from something called Jessica Mason in the ever-increasingly irritating nerdsite The Mary Sue:

"This is all simply my opinion, and I'm not here to troll or tell anyone they're wrong if they enjoyed this show. It didn't work for me personally, and the reasons why speak to a larger cultural question. I won't dispute that Good Omens is a loving and faithful adaptation of the book. The show was helmed by Neil Gaiman himself and is a love letter to the late Terry Pratchett. Every little detail from the original novel is there, much to the delight of avid fans and close readers. However, as fun as all the Easter eggs are, that reverence stands in the way of the series being truly great. In one way, there's too much onscreen, with not a single character or plot altered or omitted, even when they're boring (sorry, Witchfinders). The visual style is rote and uninspired, and the pacing often drags. With so much focus on telling all of the story, there's no attention paid to doing it in an interesting way. In its attempt to honor the novel, there's very little that's new about Good Omens, and that's something that a book written in 1990 desperately needs..."

https://bit.ly/32uqyit

3.2 GOOD OMENS FANART

One effect the Good Omens series has definitely had on fans is a sudden surge of new Good Omens fan art...

An absolutely stunning piece on Deviantart by Sandara: https://www.deviantart.com/sandara/art/Good-Omens-786671266

An amazing poster by beck/emptymasks: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D9wcxnVXUAYa9JM.jpg

Angel and demon in sepia by Trish386 aka Miolita_: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D9xlWZlWkAMJop4.jpg

Aziraphale by Wisesnail: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D9lxxqGWwAImxtX.jpg

Crowley, by Lorna May Wadsworth: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D7WsGKOW0AIOo_Z.jpg

A beautifully detailed Aziraphale, by Gracie: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D9sC_stXUAAuTgR.jpg

The Disney cartoon version of Crowley (what duck?) and Aziraphale by Lar: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D8vOun1WkAAD251.jpg

The rather Beardsleyesque version, by Rachel X: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D854eZ-UcAAWC43.jpg

Your editor's personal favourite of the heaven/hell duo, by Tally Burtram: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D9Llh0nWsAA5SxG.jpg

A fantabulous Victorian Crowley and Aziraphale portrait by Andrea C White: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D9ryA7jUYAIqQtt.jpg

...and some Aziraphale-Crowley Impressionism, also by Andrea White: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D9QFMKHW4AA-BbO.jpg

...and finally, three dimensional Good Omens fanart! A homemade Aziraphale bobblehead by Lisa Rourke:
https://twitter.com/LMRourke/status/1140976047183282177

3.3 A VERY SHORT REVIEW OF SOME GOOD OMENS ANCILLARIES

By Annie Mac

As of last week, I became the delighted owner of both The Quite Nice and Fairly Accurate Good Omens Script Book and The Nice and Accurate Good Omens TV Companion. Mostly what I want to say about these, rather loudly, is YOU REALLY, REALLY SHOULD OWN THESE BOOKS. BOTH OF THEM. REALLY. REALLY.

REALLY.

Both my copies of these books are hardcovers, both published by Headline, and I have to say that both are of extremely good physical quality. Solid, heavy, competently bound, with beautiful endpapers... in other words, the way books should be and too often no longer are. As for the contents, the TV Companion is definitely a coffee table book but a very classy example of the breed. Interviews, making-ofs, lashings of fine iconography, and something best described as a glorious "post-credits scene"; of course books don't have those, except in this case it's a fairly nice and accurate description.

The Quite Nice and Fairly Accurate Good Omens Script Book, on the other wing, is a bedside book, and there are hours of entertainment to be had in comparing scenes from the script with text from the original book.

I've never been much interested in "the book of the film" novelisations, but these two books truly are useful and beautiful ancillaries to the series.Highly recommended!

3.4 THE DEVIL'S DETAILS

A nice piece by Ian Failes on VFX Voice about the making of His Satanic Majesty, a disposable demon... and that nice doggie:

"This creature work was tackled by Milk VFX, which also delivered hundreds of other shots for the six-part series ranging from environments to atmospherics, and transformations to many magical-type effects... 'We had all the different departments working pretty much simultaneously from the beginning so that we could keep the pace going and make sure that the artists were working in the most efficient way possible. We had a lot of sequences that influenced others but that also only appeared once. So we wanted to make sure that we were condensing all of the similar types of work together to make the most of the team that we had.'..."

https://bit.ly/2Y0769y

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

04) ODDS AND SODS

4.1 THE MERCH CORNER

THE ANKH-MORPORK ARCHIVES, VOLUME I

A new collection coming out later this year! "The Ankh-Morpork Archives, Volume I, is a fully illustrated comprehensive guide to the exuberant capital city of Terry Pratchett's Discworld, getting to the heart of Ankh-Morpork's secrets, societies and guilds. The book is a compilation of the texts written by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs for the Unseen University, Assassins Guild, Post Office and Thieves Guild diaries. They have been redesigned and formatted into one deluxe digitally re-mastered compendium to showcase the illustrations in large size and the diary element has been removed."

The Ankh-Morpork Archives will be published by Victor Gollancz on 14th November 2019. Pre-order price is £25 (£30 for a hand-signed copy by Paul Kidby). For more information, go to:

https://bit.ly/2YVvOcC
https://shop.paulkidby.com/the-ankh-morpork-archives-volume-i/

THE DISCWORLD DESTINATIONS CALENDAR

A great way to see in the new year! "The calendar dates are extensive, and exhaustively researched, and include all major real-time calendrical data for Great Britain, Eire, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA, as well as notable Discworld dates. This year's calendar draws upon the whimsical, remarkable art of long-time Discworld collaborator, Paul Kidby - the man whose depictions Terry Pratchett himself described as being 'the closest anyone's got to how I see the characters'"

The Terry Pratchett's Discworld Destinations, Collector's Edition 2020 Calendar will be published by Victor Gollancz in August. Pre-order price is £18.50 for a signed copy (all calendars are hand signed by Paul Kidby) and includes postage & packaging for UK deliveries. For more information, go to:

https://bit.ly/2JRSd46

4.2 ALZHEIMER'S NEWS

The latest weapon against dementia is, according to this large study, a healthy lifestyle! By James Gallagher for BBC News:

Nearly everyone can lower their risk of dementia, even if it runs in the family, by living a healthy lifestyle, research suggests. The study of nearly 200,000 people showed the risk fell by up to a third. The team at the University of Exeter said the results were exciting, empowering and showed people were not doomed to get dementia. The findings were revealed at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference. The researchers gave people a healthy lifestyle score based on a combination of exercise, diet, alcohol and smoking... The study followed 196,383 people from the age of 64 for about eight years. It analysed people's DNA to assess their genetic risk of developing the disease. The study showed there were 18 cases of dementia per 1,000 people if they were born with high risk genes and then led an unhealthy lifestyle. But that went down to 11 per 1,000 people during the study if those high-risk people had a healthy lifestyle. The figures might seem small, but that is because your mid-60s are relatively young in terms of dementia. The researchers say cutting dementia rates by a third would have a profound impact in older age groups where the disease is more common..."

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-48963215

4.3 ORANGUTAN NEWS

From BBC News:

"There's some good news about the survival rates of orangutans in protected forests on the Malaysian island of Borneo. Numbers have stabilised over the last 15 years, according to a new study by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). But the number of orangutans in areas of forest where palm oil is farmed have fallen in the same period. As a result, WWF is warning that the manufacturing of palm oil can have a devastating effect on the animals. The study – which the WWF says is the biggest ever done on any great ape in the world – shows that efforts to help endangered orangutans survive seem to be paying off. Huge patches of forest in the country are now protected, and around 70% of the region's orangutan population now live in those reserves. In two areas of the country where forest management has been introduced numbers increased from 5,376 to 5,933 during the last 15 years..."

https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-49036245

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

05) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS

Editor's note: as Wossname normally only comes out once every month, do check the Wossname blog for information on plays that might fall between issue dates! Go to https://wossname.dreamwidth.org/ for interim updates.

5.1 DISCWORLD PLAYS

* THE TRUTH IN PERTH, FOURECKS (JULY)

ARENAarts are currently staging their production of The Truth!

When: remaining shows are on the 21st, 25th, 26th and 27th July
Venue: Roxy Lane Theatre, Ninth Avenue and Roxy Lane, Maylands 6051, Western Australia (phone 0417 922 732)
Time: 8pm all evening shows; 2pm matinee on 21st July
Tickets: AU$22 ($16 concession), available by phoning TAZTix (9255 3336) or online via https://bit.ly/2RRUOyA or by clicking on the The Truth poster at www.TAZTix.com.au

https://www.facebook.com/ROXY-LANE-Theatre-127318198218032/
https://bit.ly/2RVzetd

* MEN AT ARMS IN CARDIFF (AUGUST)

Peculiar Productions continue the Cardiff tradition of fine Discworld plays with a new production of Men at Arms! "The City Watch needs men! And women, of course. Not to mention dwarfs, trolls, gargoyles, and whatever Nobby Nobbs actually is. Commander Vimes needs to make sure they can all get along, and fast – because no-one else can stop a deadly secret that stalks the streets…"

When: 21st–24th August 2019,
Venue: The Gate Arts Centre, Cardiff
Time: 7pm all shows
Tickets: £9 (concessions £7), now available online via https://peculiarproductions.co.uk/tickets/

"Proceeds from this performance will go to Nerve Tumours UK."

https://peculiarproductions.co.uk/

And later this year...

* MASKERADE IN BRISBANE (SEPTEMBER)

Brisbane Arts Theatre continue their justified love affair with Discworld plays with a new production of Maskerade!

When: 14th September–12th October 2019 (Thursdays through Sundays)
Venue: Brisbane Arts Theatre, 210 Petrie Terrace, Petrie Terrace, QLD 4000
Time: all Thursday shows 7.30pm, all Friday and Saturday shows 8pm, all Sunday shows 6.30pm
Tickets: $23–34, available online at https://bit.ly/2IOWLdw or via the
box office (phone (07) 3369 2344)

https://www.artstheatre.com.au/maskerade

* MASKERADE IN ELTHAM[1] (OCTOBER)

Eldorado Musical Productions will be staging their production of Maskerade in October!

When: 9th–12th October 2019
Venue: Bob Hope Theatre, Wythfield Road, Eltham SE9 5TG (box office phone 0208 850 3702)
Time: 7.45pm all evening shows; matinee at 2.30pm on the 12th
Tickets: £15 (£13 on opening night), not yet available but will be via https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/bob-hope-theatre and from the Box Office which is open Tuesdays through Saturdays 10am–1pm.

http://www.eldoradomusicalproductions.co.uk/maskerade/4594338795

[1] Note for Fourecksians: that's Eltham in Greater London, not the one in Melbourne – Ed.

* GOING POSTAL IN EMERALD, FOURECKS (OCTOBER)

The Gemco Players will present their production of Going Postal in October! "Moist von Lipwig was a con artist, a fraud and a man faced with a life choice: be hanged, or put Ankh-Morpork's ailing postal service back on its feet. It was a tough decision. With the help of a golem who has been at the bottom of hole in the ground for over two hundred years, a pin fanatic and Junior Postman Groat, he's got to see that the mail gets through. In taking on the evil chairman of the Grand Trunk Semaphore Company, and a midnight killer, he's also got to stay alive. Getting a date with Adora Bell Dearheart would be nice, too. In the mad world of the mail, can a criminal succeed where honest men have failed and died? Perhaps there's a shot at redemption for man who's prepared to push the envelope..."

When: 11th–26th October 2019 (Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only)
Venue: Gem Community Arts Centre, 19 Kilvington Drive, Emerald, VIC 3782
Time: all Friday and Saturday shows 8pm; Sunday matinees 2pm
Tickets: prices TBA. Tickets will be available online via https://www.trybooking.com/BAGWG from 9pm on 11th August

https://gemco-players.squarespace.com/whatson/2018/12/5/going-postal

* JOHNNY AND THE DEAD IN LEEDS (NOVEMBER)

Leeds Children's Theatre will be presenting their production of Johnny and the Dead in November! "Sell the cemetery? Over their dead bodies ... Not many people can see the dead (not many would want to). Twelve-year-old Johnny Maxwell can. And he's got bad news for them: the council want to sell the cemetery as a building site, but they'd better watch out – the dead have learnt a thing or two from Johnny. They're not going to take it lying down ...especially since it's Halloween tomorrow. Besides, they're beginning to find that life is a lot more fun than it was when they were ... well ... alive. ​Particularly if they break a few
rules."

When: 6th–9th November 2019
Venue: Carriageworks Theatre main auditorium, Millennium Square, Leeds LS2 3AD
Time: all evening shows (Wednesday through Friday) 7pm, Saturday matinee 1pm and afternoon show 5.30pm
Tickets: adults £14.50, concessions £12.50, under-16s £10.50, family £46, available from the Box Office (phone 0113 376 0318; address Leeds Town Hall, The Headroom, LS1 3AD, open 10am–6pm Monday to Saturday), or by by email (boxoffice@leeds.gov.uk), or online via the theatre's website, although their calendar doesn't yet stretch to November: https://www.carriageworkstheatre.co.uk/plan-your-visit/how-to-book-tickets/

"The Box Office will charge a fee for postage if you wish to have your tickets mailed out. Family Tickets, restricted view seats and special offers are rarely sold online and should be purchased over the phone or in person."

www.leeds-childrens-theatre.co.uk

5.2 REVIEWS

LORDS AND LADIES IN ROLEYSTONE FOURECKS

By Kimberley Shaw on Stage Whispers:

"A full house braved the cold (take a blanket and dress warmly) for a fantasy filled evening. The set is very simple, which is not surprising given the company needs to strike and reset mid-production, but some excellent carry on set pieces (Daniel Ramsell and Brad Towton), gorgeous costumes (co-ordinated by Penny Ramsell) and highly stylised make-up (Yvette Drager-Wetherilt) brought magic to the show. Lighting and sound are always a challenge in a new and non-purpose built venue, but have been expertly realised by Ellie Vance. With a cast of two dozen it is impossible to mention everyone, but there were some impressive performances... Particularly memorable characterisations in a hard working ensemble included Callum Presbury's expertly crafted Jason Ogg and Seren Mould's loveable and believable Shawn Ogg. Billy Darlington was an appropriately unflashy King Verence, and Sam Barnett showed there are no small parts as Casanunda. Paul Treasure made a brief but very impressive appearance as The Long Man, in a brief but very impressive costume..."

http://www.stagewhispers.com.au/reviews/lords-and-ladies

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

06) DISCWORLD MEETING GROUPS NEWS

The Broken Drummers, "London's Premier Unofficially Official Discworld Group" (motto "Nil percussio est"), will next meet on Monday 5th August at
7pm at The Monkey Puzzle, 30 Southwick Street, London W2 1JQ.

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

*

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

*

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

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

*

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

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

*

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

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

*

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

The next CoSG events will be a Games Day at La Scala Cafe, Unley on 21st July; the Monthly Dinner at The Seven Stars Hotel on 25th July; and a book discussion of The Last Hero at Kappy's Tea and Coffee on 10th August.

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

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

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

www.cityofsmallgods.org.au

*

The Broken Vectis Drummers meet next on Thursday 1st August (probably) from 7.30pm at The Castle pub in Newport, Isle of Wight. For more info and any queries, contact broken_vectis_drummers@yahoo.co.uk

*

The Wincanton Omnian Temperance Society (WOTS) next meets on Friday 2nd August (possibly) at Wincanton's famous Bear Inn from 7pm onwards. "Visitors and drop-ins are always welcome!"

*

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

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

*

Sydney Drummers (formerly Drummers Downunder) meet next on Monday 5th August (possibly) at 6.30pm in Sydney at 3 Wise Monkeys, 555 George Street, Sydney 2000. For more information, contact Sue (aka Granny Weatherwax): kenworthys@yahoo.co.uk

*

The Treacle Mining Corporation, formerly known as Perth Drummers, meet next on Monday 5th August (possibly) at Old Shanghai, 123 James Street, Northbridge, Perth, Western Australia. For details join their Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Perth.Drummers/ – or message Alexandra Ware directly at <alexandra.ware@gmail.com>

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

07) AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE

Mostly Good Omens this month, of course!

By blogger niya2003:

"I absolutely adored the two leads. David Tennant as Crowley and Michael Sheen as Aziraphale are fantastic actors (no surprise) and they nailed the dynamic between the two polar-opposite protagonists. Truly, every scene they're in is a joy to watch and it's safe to say that they steal the show. If anything, watch it for them. Another worthy thing of note is that the show is hilarious. Really. Neil and Terry when put together are a powerhouse of unique comedic storytelling, and despite the dramatic stakes at large, every episode gave me something to laugh about. Not to mention the tight and clever script (done by Gaiman himself!) that certainly kept me invested throughout the show's six-hour runtime. Production and costume design was very impressive, really showing the creativity of the crew when it came to bringing both the book's real and otherworldly locations and inhabitants to life. The stark contrast between the grimy and flea-ridden Hell to the pristine, white-washed Heaven is truly a sight to behold. When comes to the things I didn't like regarding this show, there's not a lot to say, honestly. Some people have already made comparisons regarding certain plot points and events from the book being omitted from the show, but as a person who hasn't read the book (yet), I can't make these sorts of negative opinions..."

https://bit.ly/2LsSfCN

Blogger Victor de la Cruz was very impressed:

"Each of these stories would make a good miniseries of their own. Well, maybe not the one about the witch hunters. That's the weakest one. But the rest? They're actually really good, especially the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter bits. These seemingly disparate story threads don't really feel connected at the start. In fact, some of them are introduced abruptly right in the middle of the miniseries. Yet, they're all worked into this massive storyline involving the end of the world and, by the end, they just gel and congeal into something that does fit in right well. Suffice to say, Good Omens is well written and paced really nicely. I do wish they did spend a little more time on a couple of the subplots as, like I said, they felt like they could make for a grand story on their own. As good as those side stories are, it's the duo of Crowley and Aziraphale that is the highlight of Good Omens... That's not to say that the supporting cast aren't good. In fact, I can't really see a weak link with anyone in Good Omens. John Hamm's Archangel Gabriel is hilarious as he's just the boss that thinks he knows what best when he actually doesn't. The kid who plays the Anti-Christ is fantastic as he has to play innocent and naive and then switch things up later on. Adria Arjona is cute and charming as Agnes Nutter's last descendant and tasked with identifying and stopping the Anti-Christ. Michael McKean's bumbling and dim-witted Witchfinder Sergeant Shadwell is also good… but when isn't Michael McKean not good? But the performance that stands out is Frances McDormand as God. You don't see her as she just narrates the story for the most part and doesn't appear at all in the miniseries. But her delivery of all her lines is just so dry and perfect. Still, everyone is really good here and a tour de force in acting..."

https://bit.ly/2Y0zsAG

Blogger Savannah Floore considers the miniseries a reasonable effort:

"Michael Sheen and David Tennant are perfectly cast in their roles. Their performances compliment each other perfectly. Tennant's Crowley saunters around like a rock star and Sheen's Aziraphale remains prim and proper, all the while bickering and bantering about anything and everything. Their performances were the magic ingredient that kept me binging. The miniseries falters a bit when it shifts focus on the other characters. It's still held together by Neil Gaiman's clever writing and great performances, but once the camera cuts to anyone other than Aziraphale and Crowley, something changes. Something would feel off; the magic not quite as strong. It feels as if the other actors didn't quite get into the world of Good Omens like Sheen and Tennant were able to. Those scenes would pull me out of the series, at least until the dynamic duo returned. Good Omens is a delightful Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett adaptation that remains faithful to their original voice. Led by the terrific performances of Michael Sheen and David Tennant, the series makes light of Armageddon and shows us that good and evil isn't always black and white..."

https://bit.ly/2GgT1yM

Blogger Charlotte L Tracey was delighted:

"This is definitely a series I am going to want to rewatch over and over and over again... And I swear, I'll get around to rereading the book again soon. I think it would be a lot of fun to reread it again now that I've watched the series. Since I have the free trial of Amazon, I intend on watching some shows I've been wanting to watch, but haven't had the chance to yet. I'll likely end up buying Good Omens on DVD so that I can watch it whenever I want and won't have to keep paying for an Amazon Prime account, but just this once at least, dealing with Amazon was worth it for the glory that is Good Omens. Thank you Neil Gaiman and Sir Terry Pratchett for writing such a wonderful book, and thank you Neil Gaiman and all the actors and everyone else involved in the show making process for making Good Omens something Pratchett would have loved and something that all of us will love forever! Slán go fóill"

https://bit.ly/2xVH0dk

Blogger Joker on the Sofa had reservations:

"I always compared Good Omens to the song 'Under Pressure.' It's thoroughly enjoyable, to be sure, and the product of a collaboration between two absolutely brilliant minds, but it's not the best product of either of the authors. That said, it's still a really fun book and has a lot of amazing character moments that clearly arise by having the creations of two very different writing styles interacting. One thing that consistently works about the book are all of the fun intercalary passages depicting the strange things happening as the world approaches the end times and all of the fun prophecies put forth by Agnes Nutter. This TV show is a solid adaptation of the material, but the material is difficult to adapt. The beauty of much of the writing of Good Omens is the almost lyrical language that the two authors carry into the narrative and the multitude of fun, well-developed characters. Even with the huge amount of narration in this series, it's still tough to get the humor to the screen without literally reading the entire thing. The series manages to do this well enough, mostly through having a lot of clever cuts and framing devices for different scenes. The fact that most of the characters are color coded and heavily distinctly costumed also helps to elaborate on their backstories without having to dwell on them. I particularly love what they did with the Antichrist's friends, coloring them as the horsemen of the apocalypse. The thing is, though, they still can't quite visually represent the same level of quirky humor and the endearing descriptions that are found in the novel. The show is definitely cute and funny, but only a handful of the scenes have any real staying power and only a few of the jokes really showcase the strengths of the source material... Overall, it's not the best show on TV, but it is definitely a pretty solid one..."

https://bit.ly/2LrE9lm

Blogger Perfectly Tolerable admits to being a bit confused:

"Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman are hilarious. I rarely ever read the forward or the after-the-book add-ons, but I read both in Good Omens. I loved reading Terry's thoughts on Neil and vice versa. They both have super unique personalities and, just based on their snippets before and after the book, its obvious that they get along great and have a great sense of humor. I definitely want to read more books by both of them. (its a good thing they have written a kajillion books between the two of them) I have no idea what to rate Good Omens. I absolute loved it, but at the same time I feel like I missed a lot? I am not religious and I am not British so I didn't understand a lot of the references and jokes. I want to give it 5 stars, but if I didn't understand it can I really rate it that high?..."

https://perfectlytolerable.com/2019/06/13/good-omens/

Blogger Fat Nat's reaction:

"Good Omens feels disappointingly safe, a facsimile of the book that doesn't always translate well to screen. Indeed, the best material in Good Omens comes when Gaiman is willing to risk taking a detour from the books. In particular, the decision to focus on the bromance between Aziraphale and Crowley, our heroic angel and demon respectively, pays off tremendously. Tennant and Sheen have chemistry in abundance, to the point where I did have to wonder whether there was some flirting going on somewhere (there wasn't. I don't think). They are the beating heart of the show, a joy to watch and a much needed emotional anchor. In fact, the best episode of the series spends half an hour tracking their friendship through time, and is all the richer for it. Unfortunately, other storylines don't do as well. Understandably, Gaiman does his best to stick close to the book, but (at least in my case) this leaves readers somewhat underwhelmed, as even the biggest TV budget can never really match your imagination for spectacle. Furthermore, unlike Tennant and Sheen, other stars (from Jack Whitehall to Adria Arjona to Sam Taylor Buck) fail to inhabit their roles, instead giving forgettable portrayals of characters who needed a spark of invention to bring them to life..."

https://fatnatsfilmtalk.wordpress.com/2019/06/10/natflix-good-omens/

Blogger Brandon, having read Good Omens, thinks it may well be his gateway drug to Discworld:

"You can see both of the authors' influence in the story. Pratchett's trademark silliness gels well with Gaiman's gothic style to create a mixture of Douglas Adams and DC's Constantine comics. Obviously, the end of the world is a serious matter, but not serious enough that the two authors couldn't find some humor in it. The footnotes were a nice touch that led to many laugh-out-loud moments. The book was at its best when it was poking fun at the mishandling of a giant war between good and evil... This is my first Terry Pratchett novel and my fourth(?) Neil Gaiman. To be honest, Gaiman has been pretty hit or miss for me over the years. I didn't particularly like American Gods or his Batman work, but I enjoyed both Neverwhere and The Ocean at the End of the Lane. I think this is my favorite one yet of his and I don't know if that means I'll love Pratchett. To be honest, the idea of jumping into the Discworld series seems overwhelming (forty-one novels!), but I'm more open to it now than I had been previously."

https://bit.ly/2JCVHZt

Blogger Kathryn gives it four stars out of five:

"Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman was an absolutely fascinating read and not just because of the premise which is in itself hilarious but in large part due to the to authors behind it who I think of as being very, very different. I've read most of Neil Gaimans books and enough of Terry Pratchetts to have a good grasp of his way of writing and Neil Gaiman, to me, has always felt very grounded in his writing. And what I mean by that is even when he's been writing about weird shit happening like in Neverwhere, Anansi Boys and Coraline, I've read it but never felt like 'oh I'm reading something weird' but rather just 'of course there's London Below' or 'well naturally she wants to sew buttons onto her eyes!'. When you try to explain it to someone else it sounds insane but when you read it, it feels natural and in place. Pratchett on the other hand, well the books of his I've read, Going Postal. Hogfather and The Colour Of Magic (The Discworld is big ok, I'm working on it), they feel a little like a fever dream in comparison. The Colour Of Magic is I think the best example to use because it was the worlds introduction to the Discworld and when I read it, I was sort of expecting him to hold my hand in explaining the Disc, A' Tuin and whatever the hell Octarine is but in actuality Pratchett just kind of went 'YEET. Enjoy my world turtle and amnesia magic kids. K bye.'... So yeah, I personally think that these are two very different authors with very different styles of imagination so a book shared by them really could have been an utter mess. But after reading Good Omens I think it was a sturdy collaboration although personally I think the book feels more Pratchett than Gaiman..."

https://bit.ly/2xW21Va

...while blogger Anita gives it the full five:

"This is an enchanting tale of bungling Armageddon. This particular interpretation of how the world would come undone (aside of the actual Biblical version) was first a novel by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Every chapter is hilarious, I laughed so hard at parts of the book I had to re-read it. In my humble opinion this mini-series is one of the best book-to-small screen translations I've seen in ages. Really, not since Harry Potter book-to-big screen have I seen such an accurate translation. I believe a great deal of the credit lies with Susanne Smith the casting director. Casting some of Hollywood's biggest names as well as auditioning unknown child actors for the Antichrist's posse. Perfect!... and our main key player the ever charming, boyishly handsome 11 year old Antichrist Adam Young (Sam Taylor Buck). Director Douglas Mackinnon with authors Gaiman and Pratchett poke fun of Truth, Error, Good, and Evil. Breaking down the barriers of the horror society has as its own Devil. I'm telling you folks this is HILARIOUS STUFF. From the opening credits to the ending credits you will laugh. And if you have read the book you will really love the opening credits. They are spectacular..."

https://bit.ly/2Slrm4o

...as does blogger Point Stick:

"My favourite non-Discworld work is without question Good Omens, co-written with Neil Gaiman, which almost got a full post to itself. Whilst I do enjoy Mr Gaiman's works, he's probably not going to feature here again, but Good Omens is a work of genius... It's a fantastic book. It's funny the whole way through, the drama moves at a good pace and the characters are wonderful. And the recent Amazon Prime adaptation is easily the best TV adaptation I've ever seen... I do think there were a few things that didn't quite work well in adaptation, and some of the things that were cut (like the bikers) really were an unfortunate loss because that was one of my favourite moments in the book, but it's still damn good and one of the best book adaptations I've seen in a long time. I do think that people unfamiliar with the source material might struggle to understand (or just miss) some things, or be confused why some jokes or plotlines are getting focus relative to others. Also, YMMV as to whether all of the jokes land: in order to preserve the wordplay and jokes that only work verbally, they chose to have the series be narrated by the Voice of God. That allowed them to get a lot of things in that couldn't have worked otherwise, but it can feel a bit pedantic at times.."

https://bit.ly/2YXlZLl

Blogger Marisa:

"Adaptations are a tricky thing. Reading a book gives you a high level of control on the material, you are director, actor for all of the parts, set designer, composer, editor and audience. When a book is adapted into a film or a show, it's difficult to get all these things to sound like one voice. What's impressive about Good Omens is that it remains faithful to the original material while also managing to be its own thing. The starting point is a solid script that incorporates the best bits of the book and adds some more (Gabriel, I'm looking at you) without making any of it look forced or… translated from a different medium. And sure, I wished I'd seen every single scene in the book (I would have payed to see Sister Mary Loquacious' career change from satanic nun to management training) but that is not what makes a good adaptation 'good'. It's the way those scenes are brought to life. If there are prizes for casting directors, Good Omens' casting directors should win all of them. Crowley's part seems written for David Tennant and I cannot think of a better Aziraphale than Michael Sheen's. I'm glad they added that long intro at the beginning of episode 3 (speaking of stuff which was not in the book) because it showed the monumental scale of their friendship and gave us the chance to appreciate even more the nuances in Sheen's and Tennant's masterful acting... All six episodes are directed by Douglas Mackinnon, who has managed to infuse the series with a distinctive personality perfectly in line with the feel-good tone of the story. The feeling is, to borrow and rework a line from the show, one of love..."

https://bit.ly/2SkDcMd

Blogger Sam Sewell-Peterson:

"Gaiman adapts his own co-authored work almost to the letter here. All the novel's witty, mischievous and often silly jokes at the expense of the subjects of religion (Divine Plan/ineffability), pedantry ('Angels aren't occult, we're ethereal') and human nature (anything involving Queen or the M25) are present and correct. There are of course revisions and expansions as well, the strongest of which is seen in the third episode, which has a 25 minute pre-title sequence of new material that sees Crowley and Aziraphale entertainingly bumping into each other at various points throughout human history. Sheen and Tennant aren't exactly how I imagined Aziraphale and Crowley (also for the record I've also been pronouncing Crowley wrong since I read the book), but from their first scene grumbling on top of the Garden of Eden's perimeter wall all doubts melted away. They are an obscenely good pairing, playfully ripping into each others' increasingly human quirks and nudging each other to and fro on the moral line despite seemingly the most content inhabiting and hanging out in the comfy grey area in the middle. The cast is bolstered by John Hamm as a sneering blowhard Archangel Gabriel, Michael McKean as a crusty and backwards Witchfinder Sergeant Shadwell and Adria Arjona as frustrated modern witch Anathema Device, whose ancestor predicted this whole end of the world thing. Also look out for fun cameos from the League of Gentlemen and Just A Minute's own Nicholas Parsons (just lost non-British readers there)... It's a shame, but it's right that we'll never get a sequel book or series. A sequel is set up in both versions by the emergence of a second manuscript of prophesies which Anathema chooses not to read in the book, and burns on screen. It's likely why after we get to the novel's ending the TV show has Aziraphale and Crowley get called to answer for their perceived crimes, before they both of course wriggle out of any real punishment. That's the matter closed, and this story ended definitively by Neil out of respect for Terry. I don't think it ever really hit me before how closely Aziraphale and Crowley's friendship echoes Pratchett and Gaiman's, how the characters' personalities are so clearly based on them and how they all love good sushi (though I do remember seemingly subconsciously giving Aziraphale a Pratchett-esque lisp in my head as I read the book)..."

https://sspthinksfilm.com/2019/06/16/review-good-omens-2019/

Blogger Jenna Leis:

"One of the things I really loved about the show was how true to the book it was. With Neil Gaiman as show-runner and writer of all six episodes they made sure to stick to the book almost like a script. Unfortunately Terry Pratchett passed away in 2015 but this was one of his last wished for Gaiman to take on a project like this. Which I am so glad he did. You could almost follow along with the narration in the book. I think this is a testament to the original book being so well written and having Gaiman head the project to make sure any changes they do make still fit. I think the only thing I was slightly sad to see was the omission of the Hells Angels that follow the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. It is understandable though that with such a huge book and limited number of episodes you had to cut somethings. One major addition we see though is the opening of episode 3, which is what David Tennant said in an interview as 'the longest cold open in the history of television'. There is over 30 minutes before the opening title even comes on. It takes you through the history of Aziraphale and Crowley as they go from the Garden of Eden and follows them through the centuries. It even has them in Shakespearean England watching a struggling Shakespeare get an audiance for Hamlet. (Ok I can't be the only one that was really hoping Tennant would hope on stage and take over with Hamlet's soliloquy. I mean he played my all time favorite version of Hamlet.) Anyway this journey through time is not in the book but there are moments that are alluded to in it that have now been more fleshed out. I really enjoyed this and it is probably my favorite episode because of these scenes. I think it was a great addition..."

https://bit.ly/2YXIpMz

Blogger Bethany:

"My dad has been trying to get me to read Terry Pratchett for years. His argument was always that they were funny reads that were aimed at young adults. My argument was always that the young adult books I was reading at the time were full of werewolves and vampires and dystopian love triangles so, like, whatever Before I moved away to the other side of the world, he gave me his copy of 'Good Omens', by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. It's a battered old book, obviously well-loved. I accepted it, and attempted to want to read it about a year and a half ago, but I just couldn't make myself care for it. However, I'm nothing if not a bandwagoner, and a massive David Tennant fan. So, in the wake of the new Amazon Prime show based on the show, I decided to pull my finger out and try again to read the book. I'm not sure what's changed in the past year and a half, but I read the preface in a spare couple of minutes I had on my lunch break, and, despite myself – dammit, I laughed... Overall, I did enjoy this book. It pains me to say it, Dad, but I think you were right about Terry Pratchett all along. It's an entertaining, weird, maze of a read, and I didn't really want it to end..."

https://bit.ly/30DqcEo

Blogger Kit Campbell:

"While I'm not done with the mini-series, I am enjoying it. I don't remember the book terribly well so I'm unsure how close it is to the original story. There's obvious upgrades to bring the story into the present versus 1990 when the book came out (technology mostly), but beyond that, I just don't really remember. I mean, I do remember the book. Or I remember reading the book. It probably was at least a decade ago, if not longer. Books are interesting that way, aren't they? Some stand out, and you remember them throughout the years. Others just fade away into a vague memory, and you couldn't remember anything about them if you tried. I remember Good Omens because it was the last chance I was giving Neil Gaiman. Have you ever run into that? You pick up an author that you should like, but something's just not working for you. When I picked Good Omens up (and I actually think it was a birthday present or something) I had already read Neverwhere (lovely worldbuilding, lacking on plot and characterization) and Stardust (very different from the movie, more about that in a second) and had not particularly liked either of them, and was about to give Neil Gaiman up as Not For Me... But I liked Good Omens. I especially identified with Aziraphale, who basically just wants to be left alone to read his books. And I am glad I did read it, because my logic at the time was that, since I had liked it, and because I hadn't particularly liked the other things Neil Gaiman had written, I should look more into Terry Pratchett, and the Discworld books are a gift (my favorite that I've read thus far is Equal Rites)..."

https://landsquidattack.wordpress.com/2019/06/12/good-omens/

Blogger Bethlily:

"I decided to pick this book up on a whim after binge watching the recent TV adaptation and completely falling in love with it. and I completely fell in love with the book as well. this is just such an utterly unique and absolutely brilliant story. I really, really loved this book. it was everything that I hoped that it would be and so much more. I am so impressed by how truly the show stuck to the original book. I honestly picked this book up fully expecting myself to be saying that the show was better and that the book was a bit meh compared to it but I was so wrong. The book was brilliant. I listened to that whole audiobook in just a couple of days. I just couldn't stop listening, despite already knowing the story because of the TV show. It was still able to completely pull me in and keep my attention. I can definitely see why so many people have read this book over and over again. It is so griping and funny and just utterly unique. It is just an absolutely brilliant book from two absolutely incredible authors..."

https://bit.ly/2GfOPz8

English professor and blogger KR Burt:

"I chose to assign an intro to lit class Good Omens; this decision was made before I realized the timing of the release of the tv version. The resulting assignment is a research paper looking into basic tropes and how the novel applies, ignores, tweaks, or generally deals with said set of expectations and conditions. The beginning of class very nearly coincided with the tv release, so there was a good bit of media attention to both the pending tv release as well as its source novel. Two particular themes kept showing up in the reviews and predictions: the comedy (success, failure, possible dated-ness) and romance/gender (especially the nature of Aziraphale's and Crowley's relationship, and the presence and treatment of female characters). The thing with the comedy got me thinking about how a group of early-ish career college students in a not-large urban-ish area in the Southern United States were going to be able to appreciate nearly 30-year old British language and comedy. Never mind the possible research subject, I was starting to wonder about just following the story..."

https://medievalbooksandmore.wordpress.com/2019/06/15/how-to-learn-or-explore-the-comedy-of-good-omens/

Blogger Katie Staten considers the oral complexity of Good Omens, novel and series:

"Good Omens has been a bit under fire since the new TV series on Amazon kindled a whole new audience's love for it. Well, what do you expect? You create a piece of media steeped in religion-based comedy, you're bound to see some mixed responses. But one of the reasons for the backlash is rooted in, frankly, one of Good Omens' best elements: its clever subversion of the oft-unquestioned concepts that Heaven is always good, Hell is always evil, and mere humans are always, somewhat helplessly, caught between the two... As we go on through the story, especially on screen, we discover the reason humans seem to be a greater force than either Heaven or Hell: Imagination... We expect Hell to be full of beings that play dirty, behave with brutality, and only care about getting what they want. But we also expect that Heaven will be full of love and compassion. Good Omens gives us a glimpse into a different world—one in which Heaven and Hell truly are two sides of the same coin, both equally unforgiving and equally more interested in being right than in being righteous..."

https://bit.ly/2SkU3yx

...and the rest...

Author and blogger Amber Boudreau on her love for Pratchett's works:

"I came to the works of Mr. Pratchett when I was in graduate school working on my Masters of Science. Lucky for me I happened to know someone who had every book of the Discworld Series tucked away on his bookshelves. My dad generously loaned me every copy. I read them in order and have my favorites, but in truth, the Tiffany Aching Series of books holds a special place in my heart. For some reason, I can't get enough of The Wee Free Men and make every book club I've ever joined read it. I also find its sequel, A Hat Full of Sky, to be that rare work that may surpass the original. I'm still waiting for their adaptation. The third book in the series, The Wintersmith, holds a special place in my memory because that was the book that brought Pratchett to Milwaukee in 2006 for a signing. The weather was dodgy, my husband got home late from work, neither of us was at our best, but I still wanted to go. We arrived late, but they still had copies of the books. I bought two. One for my dad and one for my aunt, another fan of the Disc. We caught the tail end of Mr. Pratchett's talk and then got in the back of the line because I was not leaving without getting those books signed. How did we pass the time? I don't recall, but when I made it up to the table, I'd mustered the courage to tell Mr. Pratchett how his books had helped me finish my master's thesis. The woman at the table asked what I was studying, perhaps thinking I would respond with something appropriate like, English. I told her Geology. She smiled..."

https://bit.ly/2JBqdTE

Some interesting thoughts on Rincewind and Sourcery, by blogger Feminist Quill:

"I think I can have nothing less than the greatest admiration for Sir Terry Pratchett, for this creation of his – the ultimate coward, who must save the world repeatedly. In every single book. I also love this book for reminding me every now and then of the time the great Vetinari, patrician of Ankh-Morpork, spent an entire book as 'small, malevolent, stupid' reptile. Often, when authors are starting out on a series, characters appear less developed in initial books than they do in later ones. This, along with the minor errors it produces, can be annoying – except when it's hilarious..."
https://feministquill.wordpress.com/2019/06/29/discworld-5-sourcery-rincewind-pratchett/

Another Sourcery review, from blogger Fiddlestax, but of the Josh Kirby cover rather than the words inside:

"I know it's probably sacriledge[sic] to say but I always thought his characters looked ugly and mean spirited and it's true here as well. Overall, Pratchett writes with good-hearted humour, even when writing about villains, murderers and assassins. He may have been well known as a grumpy, sharp-tongued man, but he fills his books with scenes and descriptions that almost bounce off the page with a light touch. His observations are sharp, but he was never mean-spirited. Kirby's illustrations, however, frequently depict characters as screaming creations from your worst nightmares. Take Rincewind. He may be a whiny, clumsy, coward, but he's hapless and harmless and, deep down, willing to stand up and do the right thing (when there's absolutely no other way out of a situation). He's a good guy. Here, though, he looks like a screaming hobo ready to sink his teeth into Conina's flesh. More vampire, than wizard. And speaking of which, although I know it's a pedantic point, why isn't 'WIZZARD' written on his hat? I'm not trying to be an angry fan-boy, but considering how much detail Kirby packs into his illustrations, it strikes me as odd that he missed out this bit of Rincewind lore..."

https://fiddlestax.wordpress.com/2019/06/26/sourcery-2012/

Blogger Jonathan Edward Feinstein was charmed by The Science of Discworld audiobook, read by Fenton Stevens and Stephen Briggs:

"This book was not really what I expected. Then again, I'm not sure what I expected exactly. I suppose, from the title I was expecting the authors to explain how Discworld works. That, I thought, would be interesting. For those who may not have any acquaintance with the Discworld, Pratchett's creation really is a flat disc perched on the backs of four tremendous elephants (there used to be a fifth elephant, but that is literally a different story) all perched on the shell of an even larger space-going turtle known as the Great A'Tuin. So, finding a pair of scientists to explain how that might work (I'd start with O2 tanks for the elephants and turtle) would be interesting, especially if they could explain how such a system might work. Well, we do get such an explanation… It's magic! (Thank you, E.L.O. … or Sammy Cahn). However, that's not what this book is or is about. This is a lovely combination of Pratchett's fiction with real-world science in which we are treated to a wizard's view of our world and universe..."

https://bit.ly/2YeNN0q

Rutgers University Assistant Professor of English Andrew Goldstone's fine essay on the Pratchett approach to fantasy and The Author's genius:

"I don't think any writer did more to form me than Terry Pratchett. That might be a bit of a dangerous thing for a professional literary scholar to say. It would be easier to recount how much Ulysses, say, meant to a budding adolescent highbrow. In fact, though, I suspect that as a teenager, and not only as a teenager, I had a Pratchettian reading of the novel: Joyce's Dublin as Ankh-Morpork, puns and pastiche as the engine driving the narrative language forward, the library of culture as an interdimensional transit zone, and no icon left unsmashed. In any case, I'm certain I would be a very different person if my elementary-school librarian hadn't read Truckers to us and started me on a Pratchett kick that never stopped... But I particularly feel that the pious tributes are liable to miss the convictions that underlie Pratchett's fantasy narratives. Fantasy on the Tolkien/Lewis model, which looms so large in the U.S., is saturated with religiosity, racial and gender essentialisms, authoritarianism, and the ideology of just war...

"The point, of course, is not that Pratchett was good because he is politically and philosophically appealing in a way that other fantasy authors are not. It would be terribly un-Pratchettian to go around vetting our make-believe for ideological correctness or indeed any other kind of correctness... It would also cause us to miss so much else in Pratchett – including the pulpy fun that those terrible early American paperback covers promised..."

https://arcade.stanford.edu/blogs/terry-pratchett-not-having-battles-and-doing-without-kings

[Editor's note: hat tip to author KM Alexander for providing the link in the post at https://blog.kmalexander.com/2019/06/30/without-kings/ ]

Blogger Filip Magnus gives full marks to Men at Arms:

"For Captain Samuel Vimes, things are changing. Commander of the Night Watch, going through his last days on the force before his wedding to the richest noblewoman in Ankh-Morpork, Vimes is understandably a wee bit out of it. But fear not, the good old captain still has a few tricks left up his sleeve. Some of his story beats were delightfully subversive to ye oldé detective cliché, courtesy of the masterful Pratchett twists. In a moment familiar to all fans of detective stories and bad 80s cop movies in particular, Vetinari (Patrician of the city and scariest, cleverest, Machiavelliest man alive) demands that Vimes hand over his sword and badge. It's funny but it serves to do more than just lark on a genre mainstay; it plays off of what we know about both Vimes and Vetinari's characters, the one pushing the other's strings. But even Vetinari isn't immune to the occasional miscalculation. While attempting to manipulate the good captain, he pushes a shred too far. The result? We get to see the great Patrician squirm for a minute there. Men At Arms had a few unexpected gut punches. Character deaths came sudden and unexpected, jarring me awake from what often felt like a pleasant reverie filled with Pratchett's signature humor. Death, or the threat of it can certainly sober most readers up and get the grey matter flowing. Satire of racial hatred feels poignant, true to Pratchett's style..."

https://bit.ly/2JNaIHc

Blogger Clyde Umney returns with five-star reviews of The Fifth Elephant and Night Watch:

"The Fifth Elephant moving the focus to international relations is the next logical step for the series. If Vimes has always been used as a way of observing and commenting on human nature and how people treat each other, then it makes sense for Pratchett to start looking at how nations interact with each other as well. That means, though, that The Fifth Elephant has one of the more ambitious plots of any Watch book to date, involving a crowning of a new Dwarf king, the theft of an iconic and powerful object, and the manipulations of a prominent werewolf family. That's a lot going on, and it would be easy to let this become a fantasy political thriller, albeit one with a lot of great characters. But instead, thanks to the presence of Commander Sam Vimes, it becomes something richer... while The Fifth Elephant sometimes becomes so intricate in its plotting that it's easy to forget the bigger ideas, Night Watch does something else entirely, turning the most convoluted story of any Discworld entry to date – a time travel plot! – into his most character-driven book to date, only to let even that become something more profound, looking at revolutions, losing causes, and when the desire for law and order separates from decency and morality. That Pratchett does all of that within a plot device like time travel – one of those devices that can so easily fall flat – shouldn't really be a surprise after so many books. But of course Pratchett manages to sidestep so many of the traps of the genre, giving us a tale that avoids so much of the dramatic irony and predestination that can dominate stories about traveling to the past, and instead exploring the character of Sam Vimes, and letting us see how he became the man that he is..."

https://bit.ly/2Y6JjJf

...and blogger Feminist Quill has another review, this one of Mort:

"Why Death needs an apprentice is beyond anyone's understanding. It comes to just this – even Death feels the need to be a little human sometimes... As Mort learns more about the 'business,' Death entrusts him with greater responsibilities, and has himself a little holiday. As you do. And this is what makes Death such an endearing character. He has countless cameos in other books, generally turning up whenever a witch or wizard is about to die, or when Rincewind is bang in the middle of some insane scrape. But in his own books, Death is always lonely, and always looking to chase some of that loneliness away... And it isn't just Death. His daughter Ysabelle feels the loneliness keenly as well... Pratchett has always been an excellent philosopher, in my opinion. His theorizations of complicated concepts like the space-time continuum and the fabric of reality have always been a joy to read. E.g.: See, Trousers of Time. This may be the only aspect in which the element of science fiction makes its presence felt in the Discworld books, but it plays a very significant role. What's more, Pratchett deftly weaves the emotional and the rational into a fabric of reality that we greatly enjoy reading about..."

https://bit.ly/2OaXQQG

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

08) IMAGES OF THE MONTH

A Rhianna Pratchett selfie – in Crowley's sunglasses!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D7qq5XCXYAAYVL9.jpg

...and an utterly magical photo of her father, as posted on Twitter:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D9LOQ1pWwAA3TnO.jpg

STRAIGHT OUTTA TADFIELD! The Chattering Nuns:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D7vjzlWVUAAsc99.jpg

The main cast of ARENAarts' current production of The Truth:
https://bit.ly/305auBA

...and a "staff portrait": https://bit.ly/2LtYLcC

...and the Old Firm and a very old lawyer: https://bit.ly/2xVAuTO

A wonderful (unofficial) piece of Night Watch art by loopydave:
https://hopecathieloisrebecca.files.wordpress.com/2019/06/image-1.png

Some iconographs from NADWCon 2019, as tweeted on their official account...

Two Twoflowers: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D_THKhAUEAEHCNd.jpg

Afternoon tea with Colin Smythe: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D_TxgIuUYAEMKsP.jpg

Rinpo and the Abbot, with BIKKITS!: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D_ZZGUbUIAArl4U.jpg

The Hersheba Tourism Delegation: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D_X5KY4UwAIKa-U.jpg

Interchangeable Emmas from the Sunshine Sanctuary:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D_Yoi0MVAAAD7ZD.jpg

Doctor Whiteface! https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D_flgnrUIAASJNO.jpg

A perfect Good Omens Beelzebub, if anything even better than the telly original:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D_ZSm1IUcAABOqa.jpg

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

09) CLOSE

The NADWCon 2019 auction raised about $19,000 for their chosen local and national charities. Well done, Pratchett fans!

Speaking of Pratchett fans, here be a ten minute video well worth watching – Paul Roth, a very enthusiastic fan, talks about The Shepherd's Crown, Tiffany Aching, and the excellence of Pratchett's worldviews. EDITOR'S NOTE: DO *NOT* WATCH THIS IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE SHEPHERD'S CROWN, okay?

https://earthbalmmusic.wordpress.com/2019/07/06/tiffany-aching-and-related/

...and finally, for all knitters and crocheters and, really, anyone who loves Good Omens, this absolutely magic post from Serah. Just read and enjoy. That's all I'm saying! https://talesoftwistedfibers.wordpress.com/2019/06/13/good-omens-amigurumi/

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

– Annie Mac

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

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

Copyright (c) 2019 by Wossname for the Klatchian Foreign Legion