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Wossname - October 2020 - Main issue
Wossname
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
October 2020 (Volume 23, Issue 10, Post 1)
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WOSSNAME is a free publication offering news, reviews, and all the other stuff-that-fits pertaining to the works of Sir Terry Pratchett. Originally founded by the late, great Joe Schaumburger for members of the worldwide Klatchian Foreign Legion and its affiliates, including the North American Discworld Society and other continental groups, Wossname is now for Discworld and Pratchett fans everywhere in Roundworld.
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Editor in Chief: Annie Mac
News Editor: Vera P
Newshounds: Mogg, Sir J of Croydon Below, the Shadow, Mss C, Alison not Aliss
Staff Writers: Asti, Pitt the Elder, Evil Steven Dread, Mrs Wynn-Jones
Staff Technomancer: Jason Parlevliet
Book Reviews: Annie Mac, Drusilla D'Afanguin, Your Name Here
Puzzle Editor: Tiff (still out there somewhere)
Bard in Residence: Weird Alice Lancrevic
Emergency Staff: Steven D'Aprano, Jason Parlevliet
World Membership Director: Steven D'Aprano (in his copious spare time)
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INDEX:
01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH
02) EDITOR'S LETTER
03) THE *^%%!@@$^&&** WATCH
04) ODDS AND SODS
05) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
06) DISCWORLD MEETING GROUPS NEWS
07) AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE
08) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
09) CLOSE
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01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH
The Twitterverse speaks...
"…you've chosen to adapt the author's work because, presumably, you admire their writing. If you think you can improve on their humour/drama/characterisation you should really be writing your own plots and not torturing theirs."
– Stephen Briggs, quoting himself from pre-2010 (Adapting Books for the stage, p.325)
"I've taken liberties with Terry – many of which he's seen and approved... but I always write with Terry looking over my shoulder, and with the idea that he will be there on the night."
– Mr Briggs again
"It seems to be Hot Fuzz meets Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire"
– Sperocaof
"I had hoped for better. Your dad's work, told truly, could have brought so much more hope into our world. Not just comic mutterings, but genuine thought and belief in the good in humanity, while we curse the bad and humiliate it, until it retreats into the corners again."
– OtheFarm
"I have the same feelings about this as Lord Vetinari does about mime artists."
– aqaurianwoman
"I just watched the trailer. I'm traumatised. I can only imagine how you must feel, Rihanna. I'm so sorry some of your father's best characters have been done this disservice."
– ESLandEyeshadow
"They really sbouls[sic] have stuck with the rather wholesome story about the actual character. This shows casting smacks of tokenism and I feel bad for the actor they chose to play Cheery"
– theboyd86
"But Vimes .....what have they done to Vimes ........"
– Jay_Long_626
"I've never seen someone take a source material so rife for adaptation, and royally fuck it up so badly. It's so far off the mark its insane. Its Mario Bros movie bad."
– wasduk1
"'A new, original series’ in the bio. My word, the big brass balls on those folks"
– JohnPMerrigan
"Why mutilate a beloved fantasy series for some names and lines just because it’s ‘fantasy’? Of course you have to make changes when adapting a book to TV, but this is just a ridiculous adaptation."
– Tom_Pleasant
"Oh good bloody Lord. How wrong does this look? And is Anna Chancellor playing Lord Vetinari? There’s playing fast and loose, there’s taking liberties and then there’s shitting all over something. Given the popularity of Sir Terry’s work, I’m anticipating this dying. Badly."
– lennylaw
"It is pretty damn funny though. I mean Guards! Guards! is a book about a guy who steals a book he doesn’t understand, tries to take over, creates mayhem and ends up getting more than just a little bit burnt."
– TinyOwlWorkshop
"There was a show made a couple of years ago called Zapped that was like if you took Maid Marian and her Merry Men and blended it with Discworld. That was closer to an authentic The Watch than this will be."
– GuanoLad
"In the immortal words of Sir Samuel, #thisisnotmycow"
– alli_the_bug
"There’s a big difference between writing something for the love of the original (hello Good Omens), and writing something using the original for personal gain (oh my, is that the time?). And it shows."
– Santillatron
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02) LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR
Things are looking up down here in EcksEcksEcksEcks pandemic-wise, but your Editor seems to have left her brain in her other Wossname suit. This is a bit of an eleventh hour cobbled-together issue, as we wait on tenterhooks to find out when life will get back towards something resembling normal...
However, Pratchett plays are being performed again in Australia! The Brisbane Arts Theatre already staged Feet of Clay and is currently presenting Dodger (for details, see item 5). Here's hoping that the rest of the Australian states can get back to Pratchetting soonest!
And speaking of Pratchett plays, here be a note regarding one of last month's Merch Corner featured items, from Stephen Briggs via Twitter: "Just been told that, regrettably, the publishers are again kicking down the road the publication date for the next three Discworld plays (‘Lords & Ladies’, ‘Hogfather’, ‘The Shakespeare Codex’). The pandemic is behind the not-unexpected further delay."
https://twitter.com/StephenPBriggs/status/1312068125416984577
And now, on with the show...
– Annie Mac, Editor
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03) THE *^%%!@@$^&&** WATCH
So. Trailers for The Watch. Which I have no intention of linking to. I suffered through them; whether you want to or not is very much your own decision...
By Alison Flood in the Guardian:
"The award-winning science fiction and fantasy author Aliette de Bodard was one of many to criticise the new trailer. De Bodard said she was 'super disappointed', and would not be watching the adaptation. 'I feel someone took my teenage years and just repeatedly trampled them while setting them on fire,' she wrote on Twitter. 'I’m a big fan of remixing things and adapting them, and I don’t expect any adaptation to be faithful in the sense of rigidly following books. But... you cannot take the core of what makes the story, remove it, and then change every single character and still call it the Watch,' said de Bodard. 'I see absolutely NOTHING of the books in the trailer. I see vigilantism (which Vimes ABHORS) being justified … I see Vimes as some kind of funny, incompetent seeming policeman, and that is NOT what Vimes is about. Vimes is drunk. Vimes is angry. But Vimes is never anything less than sharp.' ... Neil Gaiman, who co-wrote Good Omens with Terry Pratchett and shepherded the recent adaptation as showrunner, added his voice to hers. Fans, he pointed, out, like the source material, 'so if you do something else, you risk alienating the fans on a monumental scale. It’s not Batman if he’s now a news reporter in a yellow trenchcoat with a pet bat'...."
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/oct/12/bbc-the-watch-shares-no-dna-with-terry-pratchett-work-daughter-rhianna
By Kervyn Cloete on Critical Hit:
"Don’t get me wrong. I absolutely love every single one of the late British author’s hilarious fantasy novels that I’ve read, but I haven’t obsessively read all of them and can’t remember every single detail. Even with that though, watching the first trailer for The Watch, BBC America’s upcoming adaptation of Pratchett’s beloved series of stories focused on the City Watch of the sprawling city of Ankh Morpork, I had to go… 'What?' When the first pics and character descriptions for The Watch debuted back in January, it was already clear that the series was taking HUGE liberties with Pratchett’s creations. But I still don’t think I was ready for just how different this was going to look and feel... Pratchett’s daughter Rhianna had to publicly announce that the show “shares no DNA” with the original books and that her family had no creative input on it. And I can’t blame that preemptive washing of the hands, as I’m really not feeling the updated, almost steampunk aesthetic here, nor am I a fan of Richard Dormer’s weird Jack Sparrow-like mannerisms as Sam Vimes, the Captain of the City Watch, and arguably Pratchett’s most beloved character creation. Then there are all the other massive departures from the source, like making Lady Sybil (Lara Rossi) Vime's[sic] wife, gender-swapping Lord Vetinari (Anna Chancellor), Constable Cheery (Jo-Eaton Kent) no longer being a dwarf, etc. Your mileage with these changes and more may vary..."
https://www.criticalhit.net/entertainment/the-watch-first-trailer-and-clips-show-a-very-different-version-of-terry-pratchetts-world/
...and that Stephen Briggs tweet about taking liberties:
"I've taken liberties with Terry – many of which he's seen and approved... but I always write with Terry looking over my shoulder, and with the idea that he will be there on the night."
https://twitter.com/StephenPBriggs/status/1316694595045142536
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04) ODDS AND SODS
4.1 REMINDER: DISCWORLD AND BEYOND IN DORSET
When: now – 5th December 2020
Venue: Red House Museum and Gardens, Quay Road, Christchurch BH23 1BU (phone 01202 482860)
Times: Tuesday to Friday 10am – 5pm; Saturday 10am – 4pm
Tickets: free admission, "however, please pre-book your preferred visiting time for all members of your party, including children." Tickets are available online via
https://bit.ly/3gZvvGd
"If you do not have a pre-booked visiting time or arrive late, the venue will do their best to accommodate you, but cannot guarantee you will be able to visit. During your visit to Red House Museum and Gardens, please follow all social distancing and hygiene guidelines. Thank you for your understanding."
https://www.paulkidby.com/event/discworld-beyond-8/
http://www3.hants.gov.uk/redhouse
4.2 UPDATES: THE TERRY PRATCHETT BOOK CLUB
On the website of publishers Tor, Emmet Asher-Perrin continues a Discworld discussion page. In this month's instalment, Mort finishes and Sourcery begins:
"Okay so, various characters tell us that Death doesn’t really understand emotions at all because he doesn’t have glands or whatever, but… his confusion over existence is an entirely human thing regardless. I mean, the conversation that Death is having during the Serpent Dance is absolutely a conversation I’ve had with people about things that they find fun that just don’t resonate with me, and a conversation I’ve heard other people have. It’s a familiar conundrum in trying to relate to people, and then the way he tries to convince himself it’s fun by repeating it is just very relatable is all I’m saying. And that’s really Death’s charm, as a character, the fact that these things he’s learning are not very far off from what we all do... What’s happening to Mort is certainly the more dynamic part of the story, of course. With his myriad of mistakes and his becoming too real and his threats to poor old Albert, all to save a princess he barely knows for reasons he doesn’t fully understand..."
https://www.tor.com/2020/10/02/terry-pratchett-book-club-mort-part-iii/
...and the rest:
"Yet again, we come back to the concept belief shapes reality. And this is ultimately why I am all for the Great Expectations redux that is Ysabell and Mort, because of this moment. Pratchett is so exceptional at taking these incredibly profound actions and bits of dialogue and just dropping them into the text and walking away from them, which I love because it forces the reader to really mark them and imbue them with meaning. He’s trusting us to be smart and get it. So when Ysabell sits on Mort and tells him that he’s not Death because he is what she believes him to be, my face screws up, I get all teary, and it’s time to close the book and walk away for a little while. That’s it – a distillation of what the book is saying about belief shaping reality and people, but also this perfectly laid out map of how love exerts pressure over our lives. Belief is reality, and Mort is saved because someone who loves him sees him, and believes him to be simply who he is..."
https://www.tor.com/2020/10/16/terry-pratchett-book-club-mort-part-iv/
...and the start of Sourcery:
"The first thing that catches me in this book is Rincewind thinking how irritated he is that you’re supposed to be good at magic to be a wizard: 'He knew he was a wizard, deep in his head. Being good at magic didn’t have anything to do with it. That was just an extra, it didn’t actually define somebody.' And that… is a very odd but enlightened sort of viewpoint, isn’t it? Maybe not in the sense of professions, but in the sense of how we talk about what we do in life. We get caught on the idea of quality, and let it destroy our ability to be and do things all the time. Like the hobby problem that many people have – we all think that we have to be good at the hobby to enjoy it, to do it. But expertise is not the be all and end all of life. It’s a facet. And it’s good to place value on expertise, to respect, even place importance on it for yourself. But you can adore something and not be good at it; music; the written word; math; science..."
https://www.tor.com/2020/10/23/terry-pratchett-book-club-sourcery-part-i/
4.3 DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS
* The Ineffable Con (Good Omens fan convention) was held online this year due to the pandemic and was apparently a rousing success, even if it narrowly missed having a "perfect number" of virtual attendees (661 instead of 666). A limited edition of the original form of Good Omens ("William the Antichrist"), signed by Neil Gaiman, Rob Wilkins and Douglas Mackinnon, was auctioned on eBay, with a winning bid of £1,001. All the proceeds of the auction went to Alzheimer's Research UK. If you wish to see what went on at the convention, late tickets are still available for purchase until 17th November at https://bit.ly/3jt0n30
* The Cabbagecon (Dutch Discworld convention) has been rescheduled for 2022. Hoping for more cabbage, less corona by then...
https://www.dutchdwcon.nl/en/welcome-3/
* The original Discworld Convention (UK) has also been rescheduled 2022.
https://2020.dwcon.org/news/dates-announced-for-the-discworld-convention-2022/
* The 2021 Irish Discworld Convention is now scheduled for 8th–11th October 2021 at the Cork International Hotel.
https://2021.idwcon.org/index.php
4.4 DEPARTMENT OF ACCIDENTALLY HUMOROUS VEGETABLES
A tale of normal-looking onions versus a confused Hex:
"The Seed Company by EW Gaze, in St John's, Newfoundland, had wanted to post a seemingly innocent advert for Walla Walla onion seeds on Facebook. But to their surprise, it was rejected for being 'overtly sexual'. In a statement on Wednesday, the social media company apologised for the error made by its automated technology. The ad flagged by Facebook showed Walla Walla onions, known for their size and sweet flavour, piled in a wicker basket with some sliced onion on the side. It took store manager Jackson McLean a moment to realise what the issue was with the posting, he said. Then he figured out that 'something about the round shapes' could be suggestive of breasts or buttocks. He knew his customers would find the ad rejection funny, and posted the photo, along with the automated Facebook message warning 'listings may not position products or services in a sexually suggestive manner', to the company page... 'We use automated technology to keep nudity off our apps, but sometimes it doesn't know a Walla Walla onion from a, well, you know,' Facebook Canada's head of communications, Meg Sinclair, told BBC. 'We restored the ad and are sorry for the business's trouble.' The company is in the process of digitising its whole inventory to make shopping online more accessible amid the coronavirus pandemic, Mr McLean said, and that included boosting some advertisements, like the onion one, on Facebook. The Walla Walla onions, 'an older onion variety', had recently brought back in stock by customer request, and are now selling fast due to their newfound notoriety, he said. 'We've sold more in the last three days than in the last five years,' said Mr McLean..."
https://www.bbc.com/news/54467384
4.5 THE MERCH CORNER
Hogswatch is a-coming, even if in this pandemic year it feels like last Hogswatch was only yesterday! But keeping in touch and exchanging gifts is perhaps even more important now...
* Hogswatch cards!
Selections from Paul Kidby's exquisite Hogswatch cards are still available!
"Hogswatch, the ‘jolly’ festival celebrating the Winter Solstice and the New Year across much of the Main Continent and various other areas of Discworld. It falls on the 36th of December, the New Year beginning on the 1st of Ick. It includes elements similar to our own Roundworld Christmas, including the rather sinister Hogfather. We much prefer Death and Albert take on proceedings . We’re delighted to offer this fantastic collection of high quality Hogswatch cards featuring a selection of well-loved characters. All A5 cards are only £2.95 each and come complete with coloured envelope. The message inside each card is shown below the images. Featuring the stunning artwork of artist Paul Kidby, these are again long-standing favourites."
In addition to Death as the Hogfather, the selection includes festive-season versions of Nanny Ogg, the Librarian, the Canting Crew, Igor and Scraps, Lord Downey, TWO Death of Rats cards (one with stocking, one reflected in a bauble), and more!
Paul Kidby Hogswatch cards are all priced at £2.95 each. For ore info, and to order, go to:
https://discworld.com/products/hogswatch-cards/
Note: other classic Kidby cards are also available, if less seasonal, as are the lovely Paper Panda silhouette Discworld character cards, all also priced at £2.95 each. For more info, and to order, go to:
https://discworld.com/products/greetings-cards/
and https://discworld.com/products/sepia-cards/
...and finally, on the card front, a set of six pleasant cards by re-release hardcover artist Joe McLaren:
"Whether birthday, wedding, Christmas, Hogswatch, Soul Cake Day or funeral, our set of cards has a Discworld greeting for any occasion! Illustrated by Joe McLaren, the artist behind the Discworld Collector's Library hardback edition books, these stunning art cards feature some of our favourite Terry Pratchett's personalities! Each set includes six illustrations originally created for the official 2016 Discworld Calendar starring the Librarian; Nanny Ogg, Magrat and Granny Weatherwax; C.M.O.T. Dibbler; Hogfather; Death and the Death of Rats & Errol the swamp dragon."
Supplied with six ivory envelopes
Each card measures 155 x 155mm and is priced at £ 12. per set (not sold individually). For more info, and to order, go to:
https://www.discworldemporium.com/stationery/415-discworld-greeting-cards
* Discworld Masks!
A set of three masks (The Ankh-Morpork City Watch, The Grumpy Librarian and The Three Witches), UK-made from 100 per cent polyester "3 layer fabric with elastic ear loops woven with air jet textured PES", water and dirt repellent and machine washable. Timely merchandise, as it looks as if we'll all be needing them for a while yet...
Each set of masks is priced at £20. For more info, and to order, go to:
https://discworld.com/products/masks/discworld-masks-complete-set/
Also, each of the three masks is also available at the price of £8 each.
https://discworld.com/products/masks/discworld-masks-night-watch/
https://discworld.com/products/masks/discworld-masks-the-grumpy-librarian/
https://discworld.com/products/masks/discworld-masks-the-three-witches/
https://discworld.com/products/masks/
* Discworld puzzles!
Two new puzzles join the collection! Hex (difficulty rating Mildly Fiendish) and the Shades (rated Fiendishly Difficult), featuring illustrations by David Wyatt. each completed puzzle measures approximately 70 x 50cm, while the puzzle boxes themselves are 20.5 x 25.6 x 6.3cm.
The Shades:
"Will you survive a visit to the Shades? or will you end up in a thousand pieces?! Welcome to the belly (or should that be the bowels) of Ankh-Morpork – a fiendish melting pot of beggars, thieves, seamstresses, deviants, miscreants and Discworld's diamonds in the rough. This 1000-piece puzzle features a suitably shady illustration of the most notorious neighbourhood from Terry Pratchett's Discworld! Negotiate a tangled web of wonky walls, crooked rooftops and even more crooked characters as the Shades appears before your eyes. Along the way you'll encounter a cast of Ankh-Morpork's toughest characters from officers of the City Watch to ladies of negotiable affection, along with guild houses and alleyway antics! Each puzzle includes a fold out poster to assist your puzzling endeavours and is presented in a splendid book box with magnetic closure that will look right at home on your bookshelves."
https://www.discworldemporium.com/games-toys/658-the-shades-jigsaw-puzzle
Hex: "Peek into Unseen University's High Energy Magic Building where students and faculty gather to consult Discworld's famous thinking engine, Hex! It's the perfect Discworld puzzle for the 'IT' crowd and those of a thaumatological bent! Each puzzle includes a fold out poster to assist your puzzling endeavours and is presented in a splendid book box that will look right at home on your bookshelves. Includes such components as the Mouse, FTB (Fluffy Teddy Bear), Anthill Inside, waterwheel (complete with ram skulls), hourglass, aquariums and BRL (Big Red Lever) plus lots of other gloriously geeky little details and hidden references to make the most practical Pratchett fans, puzzlers and computer programmers say +++Mr. Jelly! Mr. Jelly!+++ Includes a free fold-out print to aid your puzzling endeavours and a splendid spellbook box that you'll want to keep chained to your bookshelf!"
https://www.discworldemporium.com/games-toys/659-hex-jigsaw-puzzle
Note: the Games and {puzzles page features all sorts of other goodies, including more Discworld jigsaw puzzles, colouring books, and Thud! (the game):
https://www.discworldemporium.com/35-games-activities
* Discworld hoodies!
"These are classic hooded sweatshirts. We use AWDis Hoodies which are 280gsm in weight. They have a double-fabric hood with self-coloured draw cord, front pouch pocket, ribbed hem & cuffs and set in sleeves. Twin needle stitching detail to armholes, hems & cuffs. 80% cotton / 20% polyester."
Available are the Ankh-Morpork City Watch (yellow on dark grey with front pouch pocket), Unseen University in UU colours, Unseen University crest on grey background, and Anthill Inside (white on black).
Each Discworld hoodie is priced at £28-£30 depending on size; sizes are available from Small (suits Sally) to 5XL (suits Bluejohn). For more info, sizing chart, and to order, go to:
https://discworld.com/products/hoodies/
* Reminder: The Ankh-Morpork Archives, Volume Two (now available to order)
"Containing material unavailable for twenty years – this is a comprehensive guide to the capital city of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, getting to the heart of Ankh-Morpork’s secrets, societies and guilds. Ankh-Morpork is a bottomless pit of secrets. It’s time to unearth a few more . . . In the second volume of this confidential guide, brave travellers are made privy to the inner workings of more illustrious Ankh-Morpork societies. Disabuse yourself of notions of professionalism under which you may hold the City Watch; discover what serious business is undertaken by the Fools’ Guild (joking is no laughing matter); and, should you be lucky, achieve true enlightenment through the teachings of Lu-Tze. One thing’s for sure: after you’ve read this book, Ankh-Morpork’s Guilds are going to need to come up with new ways of doing things. Completely revamped and redesigned, this full-colour book contains material from Discworld Diaries across the decades."
Each copy of The Ankh-Morpork Archives, Volume Two is priced at £25 and will be published on 29th October 2020. For more info, and to order, go to:
https://bit.ly/3lxmhUV
...and for a copy at the same price, hand-signed by Paul Kidby:
https://shop.paulkidby.com/the-ankh-morpork-archives-volume-ii/
4.6 ROUNDWORLD TALES: THE NOTTINGHAM CHEESE RIOT
No, Horace had no part in this – but there were definitely rolling cheeses and Feegle levels of violence!
In late 18th century England there were widespread food shortages and price-gouging of basic foods, mostly caused by poor harvests. The Nottingham cheese riot began at the annual Nottingham Goose Fair in October of 1766, occasioned by merchants from Lincolnshire trying to take home the Nottinghamshire cheeses they had purchased. Locals protested at the removal of "their" cheese and violence ensued, with looting, vandalism – and hundreds of cheese wheels being rolled through the streets of Nottingham, one of which knocked down the mayor as he was attempting to restore order. "Events apparently became tense in the evening when ‘some rude lads’ engaged several Lincolnshire traders who had purchased up to ‘sixty hundred of cheese’. The traders were ‘threatened they should not stir a cheese till the town was first served’.
As some locals had taken up arms and set roadblocks throughout the city to keep the "foreign" merchants corralled, the owner of one looted warehouse organised a posse on horseback to hunt down and recover the stolen cheeses, but they were unsuccessful, partly as the local magistrate refused to sign search warrants for the missing cheeses and a mob of women and children threw stones until the posse gave up. According to a record of the time, "The people were so exasperated that their violence broke loose like a torrent; cheeses were rolled down Wheeler-gate and Peck-lane in abundance, many others were carried away, and the Mayor, in endeavouring to restore peace, was knocked down with one in the open fair... encouraged by the successful expropriations and the fun of bowling down gentlemen, an unknown number of people left the town centre and went down to the River Trent to search the warehouses situated near the bridges, before returning again after finding no cheese there... they broke the windows belonging to the house, tore the pavement and threatened destruction to all who opposed them: It was thought prudent to discharge the lads in custody and then [the crowds] retreated."
Then the military were called in, in the form of the 15th Dragoons who were already garrisoned in the town. Shots were fired, resulting in some injuries, and ironically, in the death of one farmer who was mistaken for a looter. The unrest carried on for several days. For some time after the riots, wagons transporting cheese travelled in convoys with an armed escort.
Sources: various, including Wikipedia and "A People’s Histreh Pamphlet" (Loaf On A Stick Press, 2011, ISBN 978-0-9569139-1-3)
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05) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
DODGER IN BRISBANE, FOURECKS (OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2020)
And we have a live one! The Brisbane Arts Theatre in Fourecks, great supporters of Pratchett plays, recently staged their production of Feet of Clay (unnoticed by those of us "south of the border", and slackly overlooked by our Queensland Newshound), and are right now presenting – wait for it – the Stephen Briggs adaptation of Dodger!
"Dodger is a sewer scavenger who spends his days sifting through the murky underbelly of Victorian London; but when he rescues a young girl from a vicious assault, he begins to realise that things overground are even murkier than down in the sewers. As Dodger attempts to unravel the mystery of the attack, he finds himself ducking, weaving and dodging his way through high society with London’s most famous literary and political figures. But can he find the attackers before they find him?"
When: now through 14th November 2020
Venue: Brisbane Arts Theatre, 210 Petrie Terrace, Brisbane, QLD 4000
Time: Fridays and Saturdays 8pm, Select Thursdays 7:30pm, Select Sundays 6:30pm
Tickets: $36 (Concession/Group $29, Student Rush: $16), available via https://aubat.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/639
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06) DISCWORLD MEETING GROUPS NEWS
Remember, one day, possibly in the not too distant future, Discworld fans will be able to meet in the real Roundworld again. So keep this information handy! Also note there are a few updates below.
The Broken Drummers, "London's Premier Unofficially Official Discworld Group"
BrokenDrummers@gmail.com or nicholls.helen@yahoo.co.uk or join their Facebook group at https://bit.ly/3jtYLGo
NOTE: the Drummers are still meeting occasionally via Zoom. Check out the above links for updates!
*
Drumknott's Irregulars
Facebook https://bit.ly/31FlSrq or Google Groups https:groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/drumknotts-irregulars or join us at our next event."
*
The Victorian Discworld Klatch
https://www.facebook.com/groups/VictorianDiscworldKlatch
*
"The Gathering of the Loonies (Wincanton chapter)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/373578522834654/
*
The Pratchett Partisans
https://www.facebook.com/groups/pratchettpartisans/ or contact Ula directly at uwilmott@yahoo.com.au
*
The City of Small Gods
www.cityofsmallgods.org.au
UPDATE: "What are we doing while we're stuck at home due to COVID-19? Given that our normal social gatherings can't happen while everyone's under lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are instead trying to host regular activities and discussions online. Most of these will be done via our Discord Server – https://discord.gg/3RVzsyJ – which has several text chat channels and a few voice chat channels as well. We will still use our Facebook group – https://facebook.com/groups/cityofsmallgods – to coordinate scheduled events. When things get back to normal... (semi-) regular social 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.
"We'll try to keep this page up to date (no promises!) but always check emails on the mailing list or our Facebook Group for further details of these events."
*
The Broken Vectis Drummers
broken_vectis_drummers@yahoo.co.uk
*
The Wincanton Omnian Temperance Society (WOTS) meets at Wincanton's famous Bear Inn when social gatherings are possible.
*
The Northern Institute of the Ankh-Morpork and District Society of Flatalists normally meet at The Narrowboat Pub in Victoria Street, Skipton, North Yorkshire, 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)
Contact Sue (aka Granny Weatherwax): kenworthys@yahoo.co.uk
*
The Treacle Mining Corporation, formerly known as Perth Drummers https://bit.ly/2EKSCqu – or message Alexandra Ware directly at <alexandra.ware@gmail.com>
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07) AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE
Blogger The Mind Reels on Wyrd Sisters:
"With word plays, nods to classic plays, and even the occasional pop culture riff (I see you Marx Brothers) the series continues to delight, and makes me chuckle, and sometimes even laugh aloud. I won’t lie, it took me a little while to slip into this one, but once I was there I loved how Pratchett doled out his tale, and twisted the usual fantasy, stage and fairy tale tropes to meet his own needs, and it pays off wonderfully. I’ve yet to be disappointed by any of these books, but I have to say once again, I’m glad I waited before I started reading them. I really wouldn’t have appreciated them when they first came out. And of course now I can read them all one after another without having to wait for the next one to be published..."
https://themindreels.com/2020/10/21/wyrd-sisters-1988-terry-practhett/
Blogger Lovely and Grateful recommends The Wee Free Men:
"Tiffany is such an appealing protagonist, with a strong moral compass, courage, common sense and determination, and this is such a refreshing fantasy tale full of autonomous, empowered women from Tiffany and her late grandmother to the Kelda who rules the fearsome Nac Mac Feegle, and even the evil Fairy Queen. The Wee Free Men is a fun little story that plays around with fairytale tropes, and it’s a great witchy read..."
https://lovelyandgrateful.wordpress.com/2020/10/19/the-wee-free-men-by-terry-pratchett/
Blogger Delamortia's review of Small Gods:
"Terry Pratchett ventures in explaining the origin of religions, how people quickly in the name of said religions turn them into institutes of fear, the launching pad for power and control; and the essence of evil embodied by Deacon Vorbis. Vorbis is Om’s greatest law enforcer, radiating dreadfulness and truly believes in the righteousness of his own violence; while Om was inexplicably manifested as a tortoise and thus learns about his own religion and its consequences through his own neglect. I wouldn’t say that I necessarily cared about Brutha and Didactylos & co. One can learn everything there is about evil and goodness through Vorbis and Death instead. Through darkness we see the light... the book as a whole is surprisingly heavy and slow-burning. Om incarnated as a tortoise is certainly a treat, and Brother Nhumrod is a much needed comic relief in a book drenched in suffering, fear, and confusion. Small Gods is definitely one of the more somber books (quite aligns to the latter books in the City Watch series), if only it could carry a little more humor..."
https://delamortia.wordpress.com/2020/10/12/small-gods/
...and of Unseen Academicals:
"Unseen Academicals is hardly about either the university or the football game itself, but rather an exploration of the self. The game is only the playground of such inspections (hah!), the background for four young persons to connect with the self they can’t help being born into... As the story progresses, each is forced to question who they are / what they want to be vs the unwritten social rules. It’s warm and familiar in the crab bucket and any attempt to crawl out might prove to be fatal, is it still worth it to align yourself to something that keeps tugging at your sleeve... Surprisingly enough, Trev Likely is my favorite character in the sea of characters that make any Discworld book for me: the wizards in UU, Vetinari, and the Sam. He first appears to be a lazy bastard who kicks a tin can on the street and gets involved in petty tumbles. However, it’s revealed that he suffers from much childhood trauma by the death of his idolized father. Talk about a shattered dream. Through the progression of the story, Trev becomes more aware of himself and sincerely wants to be better. First impressions can be deceitful. But as per tradition, arm in arm with the sharpness in social observation, Unseen Academicals never lacks its wickedly funny side and one-liners..."
https://delamortia.wordpress.com/2020/10/13/unseen-academicals/
Blogger Jonathan Feinstein returns with his thoughts on The Science of Discworld (Darwin's Watch)audiobook:
"It is hard to keep up with fields you have not studied since you were an undergrad. To their credit, this did not happen very often nor did it ruin my enjoyment of the books. This time around, however, there was less of that and we have an interesting view on Darwin’s Theory of Evolution and of how it evolved itself. Along the way, they discuss many known theories of how life came to be, both ancient, medieval and modern, spending much of their time, naturally on views that were accepted from the 18th to 21st Century. They actually give time to the so-called “Scientific Creationism,” before showing where it falls apart to show its superstitious core and even point out that many religious experts accept Darwinian Evolution because knowing how God created life, does not necessarily mean He/She did not. In short, they give time for most commonly vocalized views on the subject. Some of the lectures are long and a bit boring, however, and mostly tolerable only because Terry Pratchett’s on-going story of the wizards of Discworld and their patronage of their creation “Roundworld” (aka Earth) keeps us reading/ listening for the next chapter. However, in all this is the compelling argument for evolution by natural selection and a sound debunking of the less scientifically based hypotheses we hear of from the less-informed sources and done in a way that I think high school students really ought to be exposed to no matter where they are. The point of an education, I think, is to learn how to judge for yourself what and what not to accept in a hopefully rational and intelligent manner and the arguments in this book are an excellent guide to this when it comes to natural selection. Although, I admit, I really kept reading for the story..."
https://jonathanfeinstein.wordpress.com/2020/10/11/an-audio-book-review-this-should-be-a-text-in-every-highschool/
Blogger Ed Bedford's thoughts on the Discworld series:
"It would, of course, be wrong to say that all the books are equally good and Pratchett in explaining continuity errors admitted that it was just because he improved as an author and so decided to change aspects of characterisation. Yet this development of writing style can also be an advantage. Pratchett improved as a writer, but also changed in tone, for his early books are exceptionally funny parodies of the fantasy genre, films and so on, whereas his later books focus more on serious satire. This means that you can reach for a brilliantly funny book, which mildly takes the piss out of filmic expectations, or you can reach for a book, still laugh out loud comic at points, that is a serious examination of the role of the police within society. This expanse of topic and approach – for really it is not a series of books, but rather a world of interlinked series, linked just as tangentially as human history – is what brings me back to these books so often..."
https://edbedfordblog.wordpress.com/2020/10/15/book-review-the-discworld-books-by-terry-pratchett/
Blogger Joe Kessler praises Night Watch:
"I think the reason I love this novel so much is that Vimes is fundamentally a hero with clarity of right and wrong in a murky and uncertain moment where many are tempted to descend to their worst impulses. He has the benefit of coming from a later era, but he’s still a beacon for the people around him and a model for what peacekeeping should be. (The scenes of him training up his fellow guards, I now realize, are a lot like Raoden rallying the Elantrians towards good civic leadership in another favorite of mine.) I’m so moved by this effort to improve a small corner of the world, and so caught up in the personal struggle not to despair over the things that nevertheless can’t be saved..."
https://lesserjoke.home.blog/2020/10/13/book-review-night-watch-by-terry-pratchett/
Blogger Ken Powell gives props to Witches Abroad:
"In a post-modern world on the brink of environmental disaster while (at the time of writing) on the brink of economic disaster through a pandemic, there is an existential crisis being forced upon everyone, rich or poor. If Harari, in ‘Sapiens’ is right, -that we all live by stories, by myths, by lies that we all sign up to, to continue pretending they’re real – what happens when those stories go out of our control? The story of capitalism is doing exactly that right now as the unthinkable has occurred, industries en masse are sinking as one, and governments battle between saving lives or saving economies. You can have one or the other, it seems; you can’t have both. Pratchett is a genius at making you face such deep conundrums, yet simultaneously giving you the escape from reality you probably sought from picking up a fantasy humour novel in the first place. You don’t come away feeling dejected or miserable, weighed down by the problems or impossibilities of the world. He always leaves us with a smile on our face, a feeling of contentedness and a sense of waving – not a ‘goodbye’ to the characters, but a ‘see you later’..."
https://writeoutloudblog.com/2020/10/04/book-review-witches-abroad-by-terry-pratchett/
Blogger and author Michael J Ritchie contemplates The Long Utopia:
"The series continues to stagger, although here we are spending much more time in worlds we already know rather than constantly exploring new ones. Is this a bad thing? I don’t know. I love the explorations and getting to see a collection of strange Earths where evolution and geology took hold differently. However good those are, however, one has to concede that they don’t necessarily move the plot along. Here, plot is everything. We also get flashbacks to the 1800s to find out about the history of steppers – in those days called waltzers – and the introduction of yet another race happens, this time the cybernetic beetles. One of the characters we’ve grown to enjoy also dies here, which is a shame when there’s still a book to go, but I’m intrigued as to how what has been set up will pay off in the finale. The characters continue to lace everything with humour, and the worlds are vivid and interesting, although I do always find myself wanting more detail..."
https://fellfromfiction.wordpress.com/2020/10/11/the-long-utopia-by-terry-pratchett-stephen-baxter-2015/
And to finish on a hot topic, blogger Dungeon Grumbling's thoughts on those The Watch previews:
"I should point out that I’m not going into this expecting a perfect, or even a close, adaptation of the original works. Given what we currently know that would be an exercise in futility. What I want to try and evaluate here is the BBC America’s version of the City Watch series. I want to see what they have done with it... I feel like they have captured the shambles that is Ankh-Morpork, the weird mix of grime and dirt and the very jarring nature of old and new evolving in one place that has always added depth to the city and made it feel real, a place where people live and work and improve things and things aren’t perfect because cities aren’t perfect and don’t follow nice straight lines. I’m slightly worried that they go to far on it, and the “electricity” aspects become too common but from what I’ve seen in the photos and the trailer I can get on board with current levels of technology...
"A TV series doesn’t have the same capacity to add depth to characters that you can in a book. It’s hard to show internal monologues in a visual medium, and you don’t have the same time to devote to character building, it needs to be more immediate for the TV audience. However even with these caveats I just don’t understand some of the choices that have been made... What in the name of Offler’s handbag have you done with Sybil? We’ll come back to questions of diversity and the physical aspects in the casting section later but here I’m looking purely at her characterisation. Book!Sybil is polite, she is reserved, she is an incredibly shrewd negotiator that can go blow for blow with the Low King of the Dwarfs and she wields her old school network like a troll wields a club in one of the most amazing displays of soft power ever put to paper. She is on the same level of political shrewdness as Vetinari for crying out loud, and on top of all of that, what really makes her amazing is that she is all of this and still kind, gentle and caring. She doesn’t need a weapon to be badass, though she can make do if needs must. It pains me to imagine her as some sort of vigilante fighter because apparently that is what we need to show a strong female character now. Heavens forbid that, you know, they might actually be strong on their own terms rather than having to adopt society’s masculine interpretation of what strength is..."
[Note: there's a lot more, quite a lot more, but worth reading it all – Ed.]
https://dungeongrumbling.com/2020/10/19/my-thoughts-on-bbc-americas-the-watch/
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
08) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
The cast of Brisbane Arts Theatre's recent production of Feet of Clay:
https://bit.ly/2FWBsH8
Murder in Ankh-Morpork poster, courtesy of Stephen Briggs on twitter:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ej9JyyGXsAAVTlf?format=jpg&name=small
https://twitter.com/StephenPBriggs/status/1314850769464627202/photo/1
A smiling Paul Kidby in front of some of the Discworld and Beyond exhibit pieces at the Red House Museum:
https://twitter.com/PaulKidby/status/1319959959166197760
A superb Luggage birthday cake:
https://twitter.com/sianytweet/status/1314644681179922432/photo/1
And another amazing cake, this one for Discworld fan and redditor Beccy aka _oh_for_fox_sake_:
https://bit.ly/37A2Nu7
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
09) CLOSE
Right then, that's it for now. Mind how you go, and we hope to 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) 2020 by Wossname for the Klatchian Foreign Legion
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
October 2020 (Volume 23, Issue 10, 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) QUOTES OF THE MONTH
02) EDITOR'S LETTER
03) THE *^%%!@@$^&&** WATCH
04) ODDS AND SODS
05) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
06) DISCWORLD MEETING GROUPS NEWS
07) AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE
08) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
09) CLOSE
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01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH
The Twitterverse speaks...
"…you've chosen to adapt the author's work because, presumably, you admire their writing. If you think you can improve on their humour/drama/characterisation you should really be writing your own plots and not torturing theirs."
– Stephen Briggs, quoting himself from pre-2010 (Adapting Books for the stage, p.325)
"I've taken liberties with Terry – many of which he's seen and approved... but I always write with Terry looking over my shoulder, and with the idea that he will be there on the night."
– Mr Briggs again
"It seems to be Hot Fuzz meets Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire"
– Sperocaof
"I had hoped for better. Your dad's work, told truly, could have brought so much more hope into our world. Not just comic mutterings, but genuine thought and belief in the good in humanity, while we curse the bad and humiliate it, until it retreats into the corners again."
– OtheFarm
"I have the same feelings about this as Lord Vetinari does about mime artists."
– aqaurianwoman
"I just watched the trailer. I'm traumatised. I can only imagine how you must feel, Rihanna. I'm so sorry some of your father's best characters have been done this disservice."
– ESLandEyeshadow
"They really sbouls[sic] have stuck with the rather wholesome story about the actual character. This shows casting smacks of tokenism and I feel bad for the actor they chose to play Cheery"
– theboyd86
"But Vimes .....what have they done to Vimes ........"
– Jay_Long_626
"I've never seen someone take a source material so rife for adaptation, and royally fuck it up so badly. It's so far off the mark its insane. Its Mario Bros movie bad."
– wasduk1
"'A new, original series’ in the bio. My word, the big brass balls on those folks"
– JohnPMerrigan
"Why mutilate a beloved fantasy series for some names and lines just because it’s ‘fantasy’? Of course you have to make changes when adapting a book to TV, but this is just a ridiculous adaptation."
– Tom_Pleasant
"Oh good bloody Lord. How wrong does this look? And is Anna Chancellor playing Lord Vetinari? There’s playing fast and loose, there’s taking liberties and then there’s shitting all over something. Given the popularity of Sir Terry’s work, I’m anticipating this dying. Badly."
– lennylaw
"It is pretty damn funny though. I mean Guards! Guards! is a book about a guy who steals a book he doesn’t understand, tries to take over, creates mayhem and ends up getting more than just a little bit burnt."
– TinyOwlWorkshop
"There was a show made a couple of years ago called Zapped that was like if you took Maid Marian and her Merry Men and blended it with Discworld. That was closer to an authentic The Watch than this will be."
– GuanoLad
"In the immortal words of Sir Samuel, #thisisnotmycow"
– alli_the_bug
"There’s a big difference between writing something for the love of the original (hello Good Omens), and writing something using the original for personal gain (oh my, is that the time?). And it shows."
– Santillatron
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
02) LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR
Things are looking up down here in EcksEcksEcksEcks pandemic-wise, but your Editor seems to have left her brain in her other Wossname suit. This is a bit of an eleventh hour cobbled-together issue, as we wait on tenterhooks to find out when life will get back towards something resembling normal...
However, Pratchett plays are being performed again in Australia! The Brisbane Arts Theatre already staged Feet of Clay and is currently presenting Dodger (for details, see item 5). Here's hoping that the rest of the Australian states can get back to Pratchetting soonest!
And speaking of Pratchett plays, here be a note regarding one of last month's Merch Corner featured items, from Stephen Briggs via Twitter: "Just been told that, regrettably, the publishers are again kicking down the road the publication date for the next three Discworld plays (‘Lords & Ladies’, ‘Hogfather’, ‘The Shakespeare Codex’). The pandemic is behind the not-unexpected further delay."
https://twitter.com/StephenPBriggs/status/1312068125416984577
And now, on with the show...
– Annie Mac, Editor
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
03) THE *^%%!@@$^&&** WATCH
So. Trailers for The Watch. Which I have no intention of linking to. I suffered through them; whether you want to or not is very much your own decision...
By Alison Flood in the Guardian:
"The award-winning science fiction and fantasy author Aliette de Bodard was one of many to criticise the new trailer. De Bodard said she was 'super disappointed', and would not be watching the adaptation. 'I feel someone took my teenage years and just repeatedly trampled them while setting them on fire,' she wrote on Twitter. 'I’m a big fan of remixing things and adapting them, and I don’t expect any adaptation to be faithful in the sense of rigidly following books. But... you cannot take the core of what makes the story, remove it, and then change every single character and still call it the Watch,' said de Bodard. 'I see absolutely NOTHING of the books in the trailer. I see vigilantism (which Vimes ABHORS) being justified … I see Vimes as some kind of funny, incompetent seeming policeman, and that is NOT what Vimes is about. Vimes is drunk. Vimes is angry. But Vimes is never anything less than sharp.' ... Neil Gaiman, who co-wrote Good Omens with Terry Pratchett and shepherded the recent adaptation as showrunner, added his voice to hers. Fans, he pointed, out, like the source material, 'so if you do something else, you risk alienating the fans on a monumental scale. It’s not Batman if he’s now a news reporter in a yellow trenchcoat with a pet bat'...."
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/oct/12/bbc-the-watch-shares-no-dna-with-terry-pratchett-work-daughter-rhianna
By Kervyn Cloete on Critical Hit:
"Don’t get me wrong. I absolutely love every single one of the late British author’s hilarious fantasy novels that I’ve read, but I haven’t obsessively read all of them and can’t remember every single detail. Even with that though, watching the first trailer for The Watch, BBC America’s upcoming adaptation of Pratchett’s beloved series of stories focused on the City Watch of the sprawling city of Ankh Morpork, I had to go… 'What?' When the first pics and character descriptions for The Watch debuted back in January, it was already clear that the series was taking HUGE liberties with Pratchett’s creations. But I still don’t think I was ready for just how different this was going to look and feel... Pratchett’s daughter Rhianna had to publicly announce that the show “shares no DNA” with the original books and that her family had no creative input on it. And I can’t blame that preemptive washing of the hands, as I’m really not feeling the updated, almost steampunk aesthetic here, nor am I a fan of Richard Dormer’s weird Jack Sparrow-like mannerisms as Sam Vimes, the Captain of the City Watch, and arguably Pratchett’s most beloved character creation. Then there are all the other massive departures from the source, like making Lady Sybil (Lara Rossi) Vime's[sic] wife, gender-swapping Lord Vetinari (Anna Chancellor), Constable Cheery (Jo-Eaton Kent) no longer being a dwarf, etc. Your mileage with these changes and more may vary..."
https://www.criticalhit.net/entertainment/the-watch-first-trailer-and-clips-show-a-very-different-version-of-terry-pratchetts-world/
...and that Stephen Briggs tweet about taking liberties:
"I've taken liberties with Terry – many of which he's seen and approved... but I always write with Terry looking over my shoulder, and with the idea that he will be there on the night."
https://twitter.com/StephenPBriggs/status/1316694595045142536
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04) ODDS AND SODS
4.1 REMINDER: DISCWORLD AND BEYOND IN DORSET
When: now – 5th December 2020
Venue: Red House Museum and Gardens, Quay Road, Christchurch BH23 1BU (phone 01202 482860)
Times: Tuesday to Friday 10am – 5pm; Saturday 10am – 4pm
Tickets: free admission, "however, please pre-book your preferred visiting time for all members of your party, including children." Tickets are available online via
https://bit.ly/3gZvvGd
"If you do not have a pre-booked visiting time or arrive late, the venue will do their best to accommodate you, but cannot guarantee you will be able to visit. During your visit to Red House Museum and Gardens, please follow all social distancing and hygiene guidelines. Thank you for your understanding."
https://www.paulkidby.com/event/discworld-beyond-8/
http://www3.hants.gov.uk/redhouse
4.2 UPDATES: THE TERRY PRATCHETT BOOK CLUB
On the website of publishers Tor, Emmet Asher-Perrin continues a Discworld discussion page. In this month's instalment, Mort finishes and Sourcery begins:
"Okay so, various characters tell us that Death doesn’t really understand emotions at all because he doesn’t have glands or whatever, but… his confusion over existence is an entirely human thing regardless. I mean, the conversation that Death is having during the Serpent Dance is absolutely a conversation I’ve had with people about things that they find fun that just don’t resonate with me, and a conversation I’ve heard other people have. It’s a familiar conundrum in trying to relate to people, and then the way he tries to convince himself it’s fun by repeating it is just very relatable is all I’m saying. And that’s really Death’s charm, as a character, the fact that these things he’s learning are not very far off from what we all do... What’s happening to Mort is certainly the more dynamic part of the story, of course. With his myriad of mistakes and his becoming too real and his threats to poor old Albert, all to save a princess he barely knows for reasons he doesn’t fully understand..."
https://www.tor.com/2020/10/02/terry-pratchett-book-club-mort-part-iii/
...and the rest:
"Yet again, we come back to the concept belief shapes reality. And this is ultimately why I am all for the Great Expectations redux that is Ysabell and Mort, because of this moment. Pratchett is so exceptional at taking these incredibly profound actions and bits of dialogue and just dropping them into the text and walking away from them, which I love because it forces the reader to really mark them and imbue them with meaning. He’s trusting us to be smart and get it. So when Ysabell sits on Mort and tells him that he’s not Death because he is what she believes him to be, my face screws up, I get all teary, and it’s time to close the book and walk away for a little while. That’s it – a distillation of what the book is saying about belief shaping reality and people, but also this perfectly laid out map of how love exerts pressure over our lives. Belief is reality, and Mort is saved because someone who loves him sees him, and believes him to be simply who he is..."
https://www.tor.com/2020/10/16/terry-pratchett-book-club-mort-part-iv/
...and the start of Sourcery:
"The first thing that catches me in this book is Rincewind thinking how irritated he is that you’re supposed to be good at magic to be a wizard: 'He knew he was a wizard, deep in his head. Being good at magic didn’t have anything to do with it. That was just an extra, it didn’t actually define somebody.' And that… is a very odd but enlightened sort of viewpoint, isn’t it? Maybe not in the sense of professions, but in the sense of how we talk about what we do in life. We get caught on the idea of quality, and let it destroy our ability to be and do things all the time. Like the hobby problem that many people have – we all think that we have to be good at the hobby to enjoy it, to do it. But expertise is not the be all and end all of life. It’s a facet. And it’s good to place value on expertise, to respect, even place importance on it for yourself. But you can adore something and not be good at it; music; the written word; math; science..."
https://www.tor.com/2020/10/23/terry-pratchett-book-club-sourcery-part-i/
4.3 DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS
* The Ineffable Con (Good Omens fan convention) was held online this year due to the pandemic and was apparently a rousing success, even if it narrowly missed having a "perfect number" of virtual attendees (661 instead of 666). A limited edition of the original form of Good Omens ("William the Antichrist"), signed by Neil Gaiman, Rob Wilkins and Douglas Mackinnon, was auctioned on eBay, with a winning bid of £1,001. All the proceeds of the auction went to Alzheimer's Research UK. If you wish to see what went on at the convention, late tickets are still available for purchase until 17th November at https://bit.ly/3jt0n30
* The Cabbagecon (Dutch Discworld convention) has been rescheduled for 2022. Hoping for more cabbage, less corona by then...
https://www.dutchdwcon.nl/en/welcome-3/
* The original Discworld Convention (UK) has also been rescheduled 2022.
https://2020.dwcon.org/news/dates-announced-for-the-discworld-convention-2022/
* The 2021 Irish Discworld Convention is now scheduled for 8th–11th October 2021 at the Cork International Hotel.
https://2021.idwcon.org/index.php
4.4 DEPARTMENT OF ACCIDENTALLY HUMOROUS VEGETABLES
A tale of normal-looking onions versus a confused Hex:
"The Seed Company by EW Gaze, in St John's, Newfoundland, had wanted to post a seemingly innocent advert for Walla Walla onion seeds on Facebook. But to their surprise, it was rejected for being 'overtly sexual'. In a statement on Wednesday, the social media company apologised for the error made by its automated technology. The ad flagged by Facebook showed Walla Walla onions, known for their size and sweet flavour, piled in a wicker basket with some sliced onion on the side. It took store manager Jackson McLean a moment to realise what the issue was with the posting, he said. Then he figured out that 'something about the round shapes' could be suggestive of breasts or buttocks. He knew his customers would find the ad rejection funny, and posted the photo, along with the automated Facebook message warning 'listings may not position products or services in a sexually suggestive manner', to the company page... 'We use automated technology to keep nudity off our apps, but sometimes it doesn't know a Walla Walla onion from a, well, you know,' Facebook Canada's head of communications, Meg Sinclair, told BBC. 'We restored the ad and are sorry for the business's trouble.' The company is in the process of digitising its whole inventory to make shopping online more accessible amid the coronavirus pandemic, Mr McLean said, and that included boosting some advertisements, like the onion one, on Facebook. The Walla Walla onions, 'an older onion variety', had recently brought back in stock by customer request, and are now selling fast due to their newfound notoriety, he said. 'We've sold more in the last three days than in the last five years,' said Mr McLean..."
https://www.bbc.com/news/54467384
4.5 THE MERCH CORNER
Hogswatch is a-coming, even if in this pandemic year it feels like last Hogswatch was only yesterday! But keeping in touch and exchanging gifts is perhaps even more important now...
* Hogswatch cards!
Selections from Paul Kidby's exquisite Hogswatch cards are still available!
"Hogswatch, the ‘jolly’ festival celebrating the Winter Solstice and the New Year across much of the Main Continent and various other areas of Discworld. It falls on the 36th of December, the New Year beginning on the 1st of Ick. It includes elements similar to our own Roundworld Christmas, including the rather sinister Hogfather. We much prefer Death and Albert take on proceedings . We’re delighted to offer this fantastic collection of high quality Hogswatch cards featuring a selection of well-loved characters. All A5 cards are only £2.95 each and come complete with coloured envelope. The message inside each card is shown below the images. Featuring the stunning artwork of artist Paul Kidby, these are again long-standing favourites."
In addition to Death as the Hogfather, the selection includes festive-season versions of Nanny Ogg, the Librarian, the Canting Crew, Igor and Scraps, Lord Downey, TWO Death of Rats cards (one with stocking, one reflected in a bauble), and more!
Paul Kidby Hogswatch cards are all priced at £2.95 each. For ore info, and to order, go to:
https://discworld.com/products/hogswatch-cards/
Note: other classic Kidby cards are also available, if less seasonal, as are the lovely Paper Panda silhouette Discworld character cards, all also priced at £2.95 each. For more info, and to order, go to:
https://discworld.com/products/greetings-cards/
and https://discworld.com/products/sepia-cards/
...and finally, on the card front, a set of six pleasant cards by re-release hardcover artist Joe McLaren:
"Whether birthday, wedding, Christmas, Hogswatch, Soul Cake Day or funeral, our set of cards has a Discworld greeting for any occasion! Illustrated by Joe McLaren, the artist behind the Discworld Collector's Library hardback edition books, these stunning art cards feature some of our favourite Terry Pratchett's personalities! Each set includes six illustrations originally created for the official 2016 Discworld Calendar starring the Librarian; Nanny Ogg, Magrat and Granny Weatherwax; C.M.O.T. Dibbler; Hogfather; Death and the Death of Rats & Errol the swamp dragon."
Supplied with six ivory envelopes
Each card measures 155 x 155mm and is priced at £ 12. per set (not sold individually). For more info, and to order, go to:
https://www.discworldemporium.com/stationery/415-discworld-greeting-cards
* Discworld Masks!
A set of three masks (The Ankh-Morpork City Watch, The Grumpy Librarian and The Three Witches), UK-made from 100 per cent polyester "3 layer fabric with elastic ear loops woven with air jet textured PES", water and dirt repellent and machine washable. Timely merchandise, as it looks as if we'll all be needing them for a while yet...
Each set of masks is priced at £20. For more info, and to order, go to:
https://discworld.com/products/masks/discworld-masks-complete-set/
Also, each of the three masks is also available at the price of £8 each.
https://discworld.com/products/masks/discworld-masks-night-watch/
https://discworld.com/products/masks/discworld-masks-the-grumpy-librarian/
https://discworld.com/products/masks/discworld-masks-the-three-witches/
https://discworld.com/products/masks/
* Discworld puzzles!
Two new puzzles join the collection! Hex (difficulty rating Mildly Fiendish) and the Shades (rated Fiendishly Difficult), featuring illustrations by David Wyatt. each completed puzzle measures approximately 70 x 50cm, while the puzzle boxes themselves are 20.5 x 25.6 x 6.3cm.
The Shades:
"Will you survive a visit to the Shades? or will you end up in a thousand pieces?! Welcome to the belly (or should that be the bowels) of Ankh-Morpork – a fiendish melting pot of beggars, thieves, seamstresses, deviants, miscreants and Discworld's diamonds in the rough. This 1000-piece puzzle features a suitably shady illustration of the most notorious neighbourhood from Terry Pratchett's Discworld! Negotiate a tangled web of wonky walls, crooked rooftops and even more crooked characters as the Shades appears before your eyes. Along the way you'll encounter a cast of Ankh-Morpork's toughest characters from officers of the City Watch to ladies of negotiable affection, along with guild houses and alleyway antics! Each puzzle includes a fold out poster to assist your puzzling endeavours and is presented in a splendid book box with magnetic closure that will look right at home on your bookshelves."
https://www.discworldemporium.com/games-toys/658-the-shades-jigsaw-puzzle
Hex: "Peek into Unseen University's High Energy Magic Building where students and faculty gather to consult Discworld's famous thinking engine, Hex! It's the perfect Discworld puzzle for the 'IT' crowd and those of a thaumatological bent! Each puzzle includes a fold out poster to assist your puzzling endeavours and is presented in a splendid book box that will look right at home on your bookshelves. Includes such components as the Mouse, FTB (Fluffy Teddy Bear), Anthill Inside, waterwheel (complete with ram skulls), hourglass, aquariums and BRL (Big Red Lever) plus lots of other gloriously geeky little details and hidden references to make the most practical Pratchett fans, puzzlers and computer programmers say +++Mr. Jelly! Mr. Jelly!+++ Includes a free fold-out print to aid your puzzling endeavours and a splendid spellbook box that you'll want to keep chained to your bookshelf!"
https://www.discworldemporium.com/games-toys/659-hex-jigsaw-puzzle
Note: the Games and {puzzles page features all sorts of other goodies, including more Discworld jigsaw puzzles, colouring books, and Thud! (the game):
https://www.discworldemporium.com/35-games-activities
* Discworld hoodies!
"These are classic hooded sweatshirts. We use AWDis Hoodies which are 280gsm in weight. They have a double-fabric hood with self-coloured draw cord, front pouch pocket, ribbed hem & cuffs and set in sleeves. Twin needle stitching detail to armholes, hems & cuffs. 80% cotton / 20% polyester."
Available are the Ankh-Morpork City Watch (yellow on dark grey with front pouch pocket), Unseen University in UU colours, Unseen University crest on grey background, and Anthill Inside (white on black).
Each Discworld hoodie is priced at £28-£30 depending on size; sizes are available from Small (suits Sally) to 5XL (suits Bluejohn). For more info, sizing chart, and to order, go to:
https://discworld.com/products/hoodies/
* Reminder: The Ankh-Morpork Archives, Volume Two (now available to order)
"Containing material unavailable for twenty years – this is a comprehensive guide to the capital city of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, getting to the heart of Ankh-Morpork’s secrets, societies and guilds. Ankh-Morpork is a bottomless pit of secrets. It’s time to unearth a few more . . . In the second volume of this confidential guide, brave travellers are made privy to the inner workings of more illustrious Ankh-Morpork societies. Disabuse yourself of notions of professionalism under which you may hold the City Watch; discover what serious business is undertaken by the Fools’ Guild (joking is no laughing matter); and, should you be lucky, achieve true enlightenment through the teachings of Lu-Tze. One thing’s for sure: after you’ve read this book, Ankh-Morpork’s Guilds are going to need to come up with new ways of doing things. Completely revamped and redesigned, this full-colour book contains material from Discworld Diaries across the decades."
Each copy of The Ankh-Morpork Archives, Volume Two is priced at £25 and will be published on 29th October 2020. For more info, and to order, go to:
https://bit.ly/3lxmhUV
...and for a copy at the same price, hand-signed by Paul Kidby:
https://shop.paulkidby.com/the-ankh-morpork-archives-volume-ii/
4.6 ROUNDWORLD TALES: THE NOTTINGHAM CHEESE RIOT
No, Horace had no part in this – but there were definitely rolling cheeses and Feegle levels of violence!
In late 18th century England there were widespread food shortages and price-gouging of basic foods, mostly caused by poor harvests. The Nottingham cheese riot began at the annual Nottingham Goose Fair in October of 1766, occasioned by merchants from Lincolnshire trying to take home the Nottinghamshire cheeses they had purchased. Locals protested at the removal of "their" cheese and violence ensued, with looting, vandalism – and hundreds of cheese wheels being rolled through the streets of Nottingham, one of which knocked down the mayor as he was attempting to restore order. "Events apparently became tense in the evening when ‘some rude lads’ engaged several Lincolnshire traders who had purchased up to ‘sixty hundred of cheese’. The traders were ‘threatened they should not stir a cheese till the town was first served’.
As some locals had taken up arms and set roadblocks throughout the city to keep the "foreign" merchants corralled, the owner of one looted warehouse organised a posse on horseback to hunt down and recover the stolen cheeses, but they were unsuccessful, partly as the local magistrate refused to sign search warrants for the missing cheeses and a mob of women and children threw stones until the posse gave up. According to a record of the time, "The people were so exasperated that their violence broke loose like a torrent; cheeses were rolled down Wheeler-gate and Peck-lane in abundance, many others were carried away, and the Mayor, in endeavouring to restore peace, was knocked down with one in the open fair... encouraged by the successful expropriations and the fun of bowling down gentlemen, an unknown number of people left the town centre and went down to the River Trent to search the warehouses situated near the bridges, before returning again after finding no cheese there... they broke the windows belonging to the house, tore the pavement and threatened destruction to all who opposed them: It was thought prudent to discharge the lads in custody and then [the crowds] retreated."
Then the military were called in, in the form of the 15th Dragoons who were already garrisoned in the town. Shots were fired, resulting in some injuries, and ironically, in the death of one farmer who was mistaken for a looter. The unrest carried on for several days. For some time after the riots, wagons transporting cheese travelled in convoys with an armed escort.
Sources: various, including Wikipedia and "A People’s Histreh Pamphlet" (Loaf On A Stick Press, 2011, ISBN 978-0-9569139-1-3)
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05) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
DODGER IN BRISBANE, FOURECKS (OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2020)
And we have a live one! The Brisbane Arts Theatre in Fourecks, great supporters of Pratchett plays, recently staged their production of Feet of Clay (unnoticed by those of us "south of the border", and slackly overlooked by our Queensland Newshound), and are right now presenting – wait for it – the Stephen Briggs adaptation of Dodger!
"Dodger is a sewer scavenger who spends his days sifting through the murky underbelly of Victorian London; but when he rescues a young girl from a vicious assault, he begins to realise that things overground are even murkier than down in the sewers. As Dodger attempts to unravel the mystery of the attack, he finds himself ducking, weaving and dodging his way through high society with London’s most famous literary and political figures. But can he find the attackers before they find him?"
When: now through 14th November 2020
Venue: Brisbane Arts Theatre, 210 Petrie Terrace, Brisbane, QLD 4000
Time: Fridays and Saturdays 8pm, Select Thursdays 7:30pm, Select Sundays 6:30pm
Tickets: $36 (Concession/Group $29, Student Rush: $16), available via https://aubat.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/639
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06) DISCWORLD MEETING GROUPS NEWS
Remember, one day, possibly in the not too distant future, Discworld fans will be able to meet in the real Roundworld again. So keep this information handy! Also note there are a few updates below.
The Broken Drummers, "London's Premier Unofficially Official Discworld Group"
BrokenDrummers@gmail.com or nicholls.helen@yahoo.co.uk or join their Facebook group at https://bit.ly/3jtYLGo
NOTE: the Drummers are still meeting occasionally via Zoom. Check out the above links for updates!
*
Drumknott's Irregulars
Facebook https://bit.ly/31FlSrq or Google Groups https:groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/drumknotts-irregulars or join us at our next event."
*
The Victorian Discworld Klatch
https://www.facebook.com/groups/VictorianDiscworldKlatch
*
"The Gathering of the Loonies (Wincanton chapter)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/373578522834654/
*
The Pratchett Partisans
https://www.facebook.com/groups/pratchettpartisans/ or contact Ula directly at uwilmott@yahoo.com.au
*
The City of Small Gods
www.cityofsmallgods.org.au
UPDATE: "What are we doing while we're stuck at home due to COVID-19? Given that our normal social gatherings can't happen while everyone's under lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are instead trying to host regular activities and discussions online. Most of these will be done via our Discord Server – https://discord.gg/3RVzsyJ – which has several text chat channels and a few voice chat channels as well. We will still use our Facebook group – https://facebook.com/groups/cityofsmallgods – to coordinate scheduled events. When things get back to normal... (semi-) regular social 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.
"We'll try to keep this page up to date (no promises!) but always check emails on the mailing list or our Facebook Group for further details of these events."
*
The Broken Vectis Drummers
broken_vectis_drummers@yahoo.co.uk
*
The Wincanton Omnian Temperance Society (WOTS) meets at Wincanton's famous Bear Inn when social gatherings are possible.
*
The Northern Institute of the Ankh-Morpork and District Society of Flatalists normally meet at The Narrowboat Pub in Victoria Street, Skipton, North Yorkshire, 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)
Contact Sue (aka Granny Weatherwax): kenworthys@yahoo.co.uk
*
The Treacle Mining Corporation, formerly known as Perth Drummers https://bit.ly/2EKSCqu – or message Alexandra Ware directly at <alexandra.ware@gmail.com>
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07) AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE
Blogger The Mind Reels on Wyrd Sisters:
"With word plays, nods to classic plays, and even the occasional pop culture riff (I see you Marx Brothers) the series continues to delight, and makes me chuckle, and sometimes even laugh aloud. I won’t lie, it took me a little while to slip into this one, but once I was there I loved how Pratchett doled out his tale, and twisted the usual fantasy, stage and fairy tale tropes to meet his own needs, and it pays off wonderfully. I’ve yet to be disappointed by any of these books, but I have to say once again, I’m glad I waited before I started reading them. I really wouldn’t have appreciated them when they first came out. And of course now I can read them all one after another without having to wait for the next one to be published..."
https://themindreels.com/2020/10/21/wyrd-sisters-1988-terry-practhett/
Blogger Lovely and Grateful recommends The Wee Free Men:
"Tiffany is such an appealing protagonist, with a strong moral compass, courage, common sense and determination, and this is such a refreshing fantasy tale full of autonomous, empowered women from Tiffany and her late grandmother to the Kelda who rules the fearsome Nac Mac Feegle, and even the evil Fairy Queen. The Wee Free Men is a fun little story that plays around with fairytale tropes, and it’s a great witchy read..."
https://lovelyandgrateful.wordpress.com/2020/10/19/the-wee-free-men-by-terry-pratchett/
Blogger Delamortia's review of Small Gods:
"Terry Pratchett ventures in explaining the origin of religions, how people quickly in the name of said religions turn them into institutes of fear, the launching pad for power and control; and the essence of evil embodied by Deacon Vorbis. Vorbis is Om’s greatest law enforcer, radiating dreadfulness and truly believes in the righteousness of his own violence; while Om was inexplicably manifested as a tortoise and thus learns about his own religion and its consequences through his own neglect. I wouldn’t say that I necessarily cared about Brutha and Didactylos & co. One can learn everything there is about evil and goodness through Vorbis and Death instead. Through darkness we see the light... the book as a whole is surprisingly heavy and slow-burning. Om incarnated as a tortoise is certainly a treat, and Brother Nhumrod is a much needed comic relief in a book drenched in suffering, fear, and confusion. Small Gods is definitely one of the more somber books (quite aligns to the latter books in the City Watch series), if only it could carry a little more humor..."
https://delamortia.wordpress.com/2020/10/12/small-gods/
...and of Unseen Academicals:
"Unseen Academicals is hardly about either the university or the football game itself, but rather an exploration of the self. The game is only the playground of such inspections (hah!), the background for four young persons to connect with the self they can’t help being born into... As the story progresses, each is forced to question who they are / what they want to be vs the unwritten social rules. It’s warm and familiar in the crab bucket and any attempt to crawl out might prove to be fatal, is it still worth it to align yourself to something that keeps tugging at your sleeve... Surprisingly enough, Trev Likely is my favorite character in the sea of characters that make any Discworld book for me: the wizards in UU, Vetinari, and the Sam. He first appears to be a lazy bastard who kicks a tin can on the street and gets involved in petty tumbles. However, it’s revealed that he suffers from much childhood trauma by the death of his idolized father. Talk about a shattered dream. Through the progression of the story, Trev becomes more aware of himself and sincerely wants to be better. First impressions can be deceitful. But as per tradition, arm in arm with the sharpness in social observation, Unseen Academicals never lacks its wickedly funny side and one-liners..."
https://delamortia.wordpress.com/2020/10/13/unseen-academicals/
Blogger Jonathan Feinstein returns with his thoughts on The Science of Discworld (Darwin's Watch)audiobook:
"It is hard to keep up with fields you have not studied since you were an undergrad. To their credit, this did not happen very often nor did it ruin my enjoyment of the books. This time around, however, there was less of that and we have an interesting view on Darwin’s Theory of Evolution and of how it evolved itself. Along the way, they discuss many known theories of how life came to be, both ancient, medieval and modern, spending much of their time, naturally on views that were accepted from the 18th to 21st Century. They actually give time to the so-called “Scientific Creationism,” before showing where it falls apart to show its superstitious core and even point out that many religious experts accept Darwinian Evolution because knowing how God created life, does not necessarily mean He/She did not. In short, they give time for most commonly vocalized views on the subject. Some of the lectures are long and a bit boring, however, and mostly tolerable only because Terry Pratchett’s on-going story of the wizards of Discworld and their patronage of their creation “Roundworld” (aka Earth) keeps us reading/ listening for the next chapter. However, in all this is the compelling argument for evolution by natural selection and a sound debunking of the less scientifically based hypotheses we hear of from the less-informed sources and done in a way that I think high school students really ought to be exposed to no matter where they are. The point of an education, I think, is to learn how to judge for yourself what and what not to accept in a hopefully rational and intelligent manner and the arguments in this book are an excellent guide to this when it comes to natural selection. Although, I admit, I really kept reading for the story..."
https://jonathanfeinstein.wordpress.com/2020/10/11/an-audio-book-review-this-should-be-a-text-in-every-highschool/
Blogger Ed Bedford's thoughts on the Discworld series:
"It would, of course, be wrong to say that all the books are equally good and Pratchett in explaining continuity errors admitted that it was just because he improved as an author and so decided to change aspects of characterisation. Yet this development of writing style can also be an advantage. Pratchett improved as a writer, but also changed in tone, for his early books are exceptionally funny parodies of the fantasy genre, films and so on, whereas his later books focus more on serious satire. This means that you can reach for a brilliantly funny book, which mildly takes the piss out of filmic expectations, or you can reach for a book, still laugh out loud comic at points, that is a serious examination of the role of the police within society. This expanse of topic and approach – for really it is not a series of books, but rather a world of interlinked series, linked just as tangentially as human history – is what brings me back to these books so often..."
https://edbedfordblog.wordpress.com/2020/10/15/book-review-the-discworld-books-by-terry-pratchett/
Blogger Joe Kessler praises Night Watch:
"I think the reason I love this novel so much is that Vimes is fundamentally a hero with clarity of right and wrong in a murky and uncertain moment where many are tempted to descend to their worst impulses. He has the benefit of coming from a later era, but he’s still a beacon for the people around him and a model for what peacekeeping should be. (The scenes of him training up his fellow guards, I now realize, are a lot like Raoden rallying the Elantrians towards good civic leadership in another favorite of mine.) I’m so moved by this effort to improve a small corner of the world, and so caught up in the personal struggle not to despair over the things that nevertheless can’t be saved..."
https://lesserjoke.home.blog/2020/10/13/book-review-night-watch-by-terry-pratchett/
Blogger Ken Powell gives props to Witches Abroad:
"In a post-modern world on the brink of environmental disaster while (at the time of writing) on the brink of economic disaster through a pandemic, there is an existential crisis being forced upon everyone, rich or poor. If Harari, in ‘Sapiens’ is right, -that we all live by stories, by myths, by lies that we all sign up to, to continue pretending they’re real – what happens when those stories go out of our control? The story of capitalism is doing exactly that right now as the unthinkable has occurred, industries en masse are sinking as one, and governments battle between saving lives or saving economies. You can have one or the other, it seems; you can’t have both. Pratchett is a genius at making you face such deep conundrums, yet simultaneously giving you the escape from reality you probably sought from picking up a fantasy humour novel in the first place. You don’t come away feeling dejected or miserable, weighed down by the problems or impossibilities of the world. He always leaves us with a smile on our face, a feeling of contentedness and a sense of waving – not a ‘goodbye’ to the characters, but a ‘see you later’..."
https://writeoutloudblog.com/2020/10/04/book-review-witches-abroad-by-terry-pratchett/
Blogger and author Michael J Ritchie contemplates The Long Utopia:
"The series continues to stagger, although here we are spending much more time in worlds we already know rather than constantly exploring new ones. Is this a bad thing? I don’t know. I love the explorations and getting to see a collection of strange Earths where evolution and geology took hold differently. However good those are, however, one has to concede that they don’t necessarily move the plot along. Here, plot is everything. We also get flashbacks to the 1800s to find out about the history of steppers – in those days called waltzers – and the introduction of yet another race happens, this time the cybernetic beetles. One of the characters we’ve grown to enjoy also dies here, which is a shame when there’s still a book to go, but I’m intrigued as to how what has been set up will pay off in the finale. The characters continue to lace everything with humour, and the worlds are vivid and interesting, although I do always find myself wanting more detail..."
https://fellfromfiction.wordpress.com/2020/10/11/the-long-utopia-by-terry-pratchett-stephen-baxter-2015/
And to finish on a hot topic, blogger Dungeon Grumbling's thoughts on those The Watch previews:
"I should point out that I’m not going into this expecting a perfect, or even a close, adaptation of the original works. Given what we currently know that would be an exercise in futility. What I want to try and evaluate here is the BBC America’s version of the City Watch series. I want to see what they have done with it... I feel like they have captured the shambles that is Ankh-Morpork, the weird mix of grime and dirt and the very jarring nature of old and new evolving in one place that has always added depth to the city and made it feel real, a place where people live and work and improve things and things aren’t perfect because cities aren’t perfect and don’t follow nice straight lines. I’m slightly worried that they go to far on it, and the “electricity” aspects become too common but from what I’ve seen in the photos and the trailer I can get on board with current levels of technology...
"A TV series doesn’t have the same capacity to add depth to characters that you can in a book. It’s hard to show internal monologues in a visual medium, and you don’t have the same time to devote to character building, it needs to be more immediate for the TV audience. However even with these caveats I just don’t understand some of the choices that have been made... What in the name of Offler’s handbag have you done with Sybil? We’ll come back to questions of diversity and the physical aspects in the casting section later but here I’m looking purely at her characterisation. Book!Sybil is polite, she is reserved, she is an incredibly shrewd negotiator that can go blow for blow with the Low King of the Dwarfs and she wields her old school network like a troll wields a club in one of the most amazing displays of soft power ever put to paper. She is on the same level of political shrewdness as Vetinari for crying out loud, and on top of all of that, what really makes her amazing is that she is all of this and still kind, gentle and caring. She doesn’t need a weapon to be badass, though she can make do if needs must. It pains me to imagine her as some sort of vigilante fighter because apparently that is what we need to show a strong female character now. Heavens forbid that, you know, they might actually be strong on their own terms rather than having to adopt society’s masculine interpretation of what strength is..."
[Note: there's a lot more, quite a lot more, but worth reading it all – Ed.]
https://dungeongrumbling.com/2020/10/19/my-thoughts-on-bbc-americas-the-watch/
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08) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
The cast of Brisbane Arts Theatre's recent production of Feet of Clay:
https://bit.ly/2FWBsH8
Murder in Ankh-Morpork poster, courtesy of Stephen Briggs on twitter:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ej9JyyGXsAAVTlf?format=jpg&name=small
https://twitter.com/StephenPBriggs/status/1314850769464627202/photo/1
A smiling Paul Kidby in front of some of the Discworld and Beyond exhibit pieces at the Red House Museum:
https://twitter.com/PaulKidby/status/1319959959166197760
A superb Luggage birthday cake:
https://twitter.com/sianytweet/status/1314644681179922432/photo/1
And another amazing cake, this one for Discworld fan and redditor Beccy aka _oh_for_fox_sake_:
https://bit.ly/37A2Nu7
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09) CLOSE
Right then, that's it for now. Mind how you go, and we hope to 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) 2020 by Wossname for the Klatchian Foreign Legion