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wossnameWossname
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
February-March 2021 (Volume 24, Issue 2, Post 1)
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WOSSNAME is a free publication offering news, reviews, and all the other stuff-that-fits pertaining to the works of Sir Terry Pratchett. Originally founded by the late, great Joe Schaumburger for members of the worldwide Klatchian Foreign Legion and its affiliates, including the North American Discworld Society and other continental groups, Wossname is now for Discworld and Pratchett fans everywhere in Roundworld.
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Editor in Chief: Annie Mac
News Editor: Vera P
Newshounds: Mogg, Sir J of Croydon Below, the Shadow, Mss C, Alison not Aliss
Staff Writers: Asti, Pitt the Elder, Evil Steven Dread, Mrs Wynn-Jones
Staff Technomancer: Jason Parlevliet
Book Reviews: Annie Mac, Drusilla D'Afanguin, Your Name Here
Puzzle Editor: Tiff (still out there somewhere)
Bard in Residence: Weird Alice Lancrevic
Emergency Staff: Steven D'Aprano, Jason Parlevliet
World Membership Director: Steven D'Aprano (in his copious spare time)
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INDEX:
01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH
02) EDITOR'S LETTER
03) ODDS AND SODS
04) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS
05) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
06) DISCWORLD MEETING GROUPS NEWS
07) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
08) CLOSE
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01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH
"So I've watched the whole series, and... wow. It sure is something. Pondering how it's possible to incorporate this particular story into the Discworld canon–not to mention that Ankh Morpork and those character versions–I was left with the inescapable conclusion that the series is essentially Trousers of Time fan fiction, describing a leg of Discworld that has so many differences from the main trouser leg that it's almost completely different. And yet, there is one key difference that supersedes all others: In the trouser leg of BBC's The Watch, Terry Pratchett is not particularly funny & this is probably his first book."
– reddit user u/hanleybrand's "fan theory" re The watch
"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.."
– Sir Pterry
"If I heeded all the advice I've had over the years, I'd have written 18 books about Rincewind."
– millions are deeply relieved that Sir Pterry *didn't* listen to his fans sometimes
"I must confess the activities of the UK governments for the past couple of years have been watched with frank admiration and amazement by Lord Vetinari"
– ah, Sir Pterry, if only you'd known what was to follow since you said that on Usenet...
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02) LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR
It's been six years this week. I miss him. That's all. But then, somewhere out there is a small asteroid called 127005 Pratchett, named by NASA for the author. And once upon a time there was a sea turtle called Psephophorus terrypratchetti, named by palaeontologist Richard Kohler. "...as long as his name is still spoken...", you know? GNU Terry Pratchett, forever in the Overhead.
The pandemic ate my calendar, so this is a short February *and* March issue. More next month, hopefully!
And now, on with the show...
– Annie Mac, Editor
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03) ODDS AND SODS
3.1 THE WOSSNAME MEMORIAL POEM
Yes, I'll trot this out every year on the anniversary of Sir Pterry's death, because it illustrates the depth of my love for his work. – Ed.
THE LOVE SONG OF TDJ PRATCHETT
By Weird Alice Lancrevic, with apologies to the shade of Thomas Stearns Eliot
Let us go then, you and I,
When the Rimfall is spread out against the sky
Like a victim on Quetzovercoatl's altar
Let us go, through certain dark Ankh-Morpork streets,
As Cumbling Michael bleats
Of restless nights in Elm Street's cheap bedsits
And Harga's restaurant with greasy chips
Streets that follow like a Fools' Guild argument
Of a humorous intent
To lead you to an overt wealth of... footnotes!
Oh, do not play Greek Chorus
Let us go and dance Dark Morris.
In the room the wizards come, unseen
Talking of thaumic octarine.
The Morpork smog that rubs its back upon the window-panes,
The river-fug that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes,
Licked its tongue into the corners of the Bucket,
Lingered upon the gargoyles guarding drains,
Let fall upon its back the black of lithe Assassins,
Slipped by the terrace, writhed round Sator Square,
And seeing that it was a soft Sektober night,
Curled once around the Tump, and fell asleep.
And indeed there will be crime
Under Ankh-born fumes that slide down Easy Street,
Rubbing grey-black upon the window-panes; Disc-ing itself
There will be crime, and barely time
To prepare a voucher for the Thieves that you may meet;
There will be time to say the number Eight,
And time for all Devices wrought by dwarfs
That lift this brawling City toward its fate;
Time for Schleppel, time for Reg,
And time yet for an Igor's deft incisions,
And for a Sweeper's history revisions,
Before the taking of meat and two veg.
In the room the wizards come, unseen
Making a joke about the Dean.
And indeed there will be time
To wonder, 'Do I dare? Will Vimes go spare?'
Time to turn back Time and deeds repair,
With P.L.T. making horrors of my hair –
[They will say: 'How she stoops, to wear the tin!']
My armoured breasts, my collar fastened firmly 'neath my chin,
My pedigree's the oddest, but blue-blooded via lupine kin –
[They will say: 'But she's a vegetarian!']
Do I dare
Disturb the multiverse?
In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which the Moon will soon reverse.
For I have known the grags already, known them all –
Have known the meetings, mineshafts, Ankhian ruins,
I have squandered all my gold in greasy spoons;
I know the old life's dying, like an axe's fall
Beneath the bustle under cellar rooms.
So should I mention Koom?
And I have known the toffs already, known them all –
The eyes that damn you with a far too inbred phrase,
And when I am relegated, tossed like Mr Pin,
When I am told 'No comment!' by Lord Rust,
Then how should I begin
To spit out all Spike's butt-ends from the Golem Trust?
And how should I presume?
And I have known the 'girls' already, known them all –
Arms of that painted Guild, pale, white and calm
(But in the lamplight, best of Mrs Palm's!)
Is it scumble from a dish
That makesh me shpeak like thish?
Arms that twine around a client, or cap a maiden's fall.
And should I rent a room?
How soon should I dig in?
. . . . .
Shall I say, I have lurked at dusk in Morpork's streets
And watched the Clacks that clatter from the roofs
Midst lonely geeks with code-books, changing shifts in towers? . . .
I should have been a cruel wild banshee's claws
Scuttling between the Trouserlegs of Time.
. . . . .
And 'til well past noon, Young Sam will sleep so peacefully!
Smooth is his breathing,
Asleep . . . tired . . . or merely teething
Safe in his bed, here beside you and me.
Should I, after teetotal libations,
Have the strength to foil yet more assassinations?
But though I have cursed and shouted, growled and coughed,
Though I have seen my head [grown slightly bald] fetch ever higher prices
I am no genius – but I'm cool in crisis;
I have seen the sternest of my Watchmen flicker,
And I have seen the eternal Death of Rats go SNH, and snicker,
And in short, I was pissed off.
And would it have been worth it all, and sweet,
After millennium hand and shrimp for tea,
Among the Faculty, among some talk of Sourcery,
Would it have been worth while
To endure Ridcully's hassling with a smile,
To have squeezed the universe's rubber sheet
To roll it toward some thaumic insurrection,
To say: 'We are wizardry's future, come have fun
'Come HEX me up a treat, H.E.M. is neat!'
If one, scoffing a sausage inna bun,
Should say: 'That is not what I meant to eat.
'That is not real named meat.'
And would it have been worth it, after all,
Would it have been worth while,
After the battles and the broadswords and the trampled thrones,
After the sagas, after the horse cheese, after the skirts I chased from Rim to Hub –
And dine-chewers for my grub? –
It is 'barbarian' to say just what I mean!
But seen by a magic lantern through a silken Agatean screen:
Would it have been worth while
If one, scuttling a Dark Lord or storming Io's gate
To turn larks into legends, should say:
'That's not a hero's fate,
'That's not a deathless hero's fate.'
No! I am not King Verence, nor was meant to be;
I'm just a tender Tomjon, one who'll do
To thrill the punters, steal a scene or two
Advise the prince; he jingles, but he's cool,
Deferential to the senior Ogg
Mildly thick, gracious, and fond of his wife;
Full of high purpose, but a bit agog;
At times, indeed, a cliche brought to life –
Almost a perfect Fool.
I grow old . . . I grow old . . .
I shall yet wear midnight when the nights are cold.
Shall I shout 'Io's not blind!'? Do I dare to speak of Klatch?
I shall wear black pointy headgear, and fly on brooms of thatch
I have heard the Beggars, canting to the Watch.
I do not think that they will beg from me.
We have seen young vampires gliding past the Moon
Combing the land for humans to attack
Venting their blood-lust stylishly in black.
We have lingered on the shambling Circumfence
By sea-trolls wreathed with foam against the sky
Till Great A'Tuin takes us, and we fly.
3.2 HOW TO EVISCERATE A CONDESCENDING INTERVIEWER...
...by one Terry Pratchett in the mid-Nineties. Here be an extract from an interview that was published in the hardcopy edition of The Onion in 1995, as transcribed by high fantasy author Patrick Rothfuss:
"Onion: You’re quite a writer. You’ve a gift for language, you’re a deft hand at plotting, and your books seem to have an enormous amount of attention to detail put into them. You’re so good you could write anything. Why write fantasy?
Pratchett: I had a decent lunch, and I’m feeling quite amiable. That’s why you’re still alive. I think you’d have to explain to me why you’ve asked that question.
O: It’s a rather ghettoized genre.
P: This is true. I cannot speak for the US, where I merely sort of sell okay. But in the UK I think every book— I think I’ve done twenty in the series— since the fourth book, every one has been one the top ten national bestsellers, either as hardcover or paperback, and quite often as both. Twelve or thirteen have been number one. I’ve done six juveniles, all of those have nevertheless crossed over to the adult bestseller list. On one occasion I had the adult best seller, the paperback best-seller in a different title, and a third book on the juvenile bestseller list. Now tell me again that this is a ghettoized genre.
O: It’s certainly regarded as less than serious fiction.
P: (Sighs) Without a shadow of a doubt, the first fiction ever recounted was fantasy. Guys sitting around the campfire— Was it you who wrote the review? I thought I recognized it— Guys sitting around the campfire telling each other stories about the gods who made lightning, and stuff like that. They did not tell one another literary stories. They did not complain about difficulties of male menopause while being a junior lecturer on some midwestern college campus. Fantasy is without a shadow of a doubt the ur-literature, the spring from which all other literature has flown. Up to a few hundred years ago no one would have disagreed with this, because most stories were, in some sense, fantasy. Back in the middle ages, people wouldn’t have thought twice about bringing in Death as a character who would have a role to play in the story. Echoes of this can be seen in Pilgrim’s Progress, for example, which hark back to a much earlier type of storytelling. The epic of Gilgamesh is one of the earliest works of literature, and by the standard we would apply now — a big muscular guys with swords and certain godlike connections — That’s fantasy. The national literature of Finland, the Kalevala. Beowulf in England. I cannot pronounce Bahaghvad-Gita but the Indian one, you know what I mean. The national literature, the one that underpins everything else, is by the standards that we apply now, a work of fantasy.
Now I don’t know what you’d consider the national literature of America, but if the words Moby Dick are inching their way towards this conversation, whatever else it was, it was also a work of fantasy. Fantasy is kind of a plasma in which other things can be carried. I don’t think this is a ghetto. This is, fantasy is, almost a sea in which other genres swim. Now it may be that there has developed in the last couple of hundred years a subset of fantasy which merely uses a different icongraphy, and that is, if you like, the serious literature, the Booker Prize contender. Fantasy can be serious literature. Fantasy has often been serious literature. You have to fairly dense to think that Gulliver’s Travels is only a story about a guy having a real fun time among big people and little people and horses and stuff like that. What the book was about was something else. Fantasy can carry quite a serious burden, and so can humor. So what you’re saying is, strip away the trolls and the dwarves and things and put everyone into modern dress, get them to agonize a bit, mention Virginia Woolf a few times, and there! Hey! I’ve got a serious novel. But you don’t actually have to do that. (Pauses) That was a bloody good answer, though I say it myself..."
https://blog.patrickrothfuss.com/2015/08/thoughts-on-pratchett/
3.3 VACCINATING THE LIBRARIANS!
Nine great apes at the San Diego Zoo – four orangutans and five bonobos – have been vaccinated against COVID-19! From the BBC:
"One of the recipients was a 28-year-old female Sumatran orangutan named Karen who had garnered headlines at the zoo when she became the first ape to undergo open-heart surgery in 1994. Each of the nine animals received two doses of an experimental vaccine originally designed for dogs and cats, and are all doing well with no adverse reactions, zoo spokesperson Darla Davis said. Zoo officials went ahead with the shots due to concerns about the animals' wellbeing after a troop of eight gorillas at the affiliated San Diego Zoo Safari Park fell ill with COVID-19 in January, marking the first known transmission of the virus to great apes. The eight gorillas, including a 48-year-old male "silverback" named Winston who suffered from pneumonia and heart disease, have since improved and appear to be on their way to a full recovery, Ms Davis said. Winston was treated with a variety of medications, including a coronavirus antibody therapy for non-humans... The orangutans and bonobos selected for immunisation were among the great apes at the zoo considered the most at risk of catching the virus and among the easiest to inoculate. Staff vaccinated the animals by distracting them from the needle with treats..."
https://ab.co/3cho5xC
3.4 ALL THE PRATCHETT SCREEN ADAPTATIONS, RANKED
On Screen Rant, Matt Morrison ranks and reviews them all:
"With 41 books in his Discworld series alone (including all the books aimed at children, middle-grade readers and young adults), it's no wonder that Terry Pratchett is one of the most frequently adapted authors of modern literature. His books have been adapted into graphic novels, video games, and stage musicals. The stage plays based on his work are particularly popular with amateur dramatics companies, due to Pratchett's emphasis on character and clever wordplay that lend themselves well to the melodrama of the theatre. Despite this versatility, it's the TV adaptations of Pratchett's works that have introduced him to the greatest number of people. These adaptations vary wildly, with some being close to the original work though lacking in a big budget and others featuring big budgets while only paying lip service to the books that allegedly inspired it. A rare few managed to build upon the original work to create something that was a fitting tribute to Sir Terry Pratchett's imagination and genius..."
The rankings cover Good Omens, the two Johnny Maxwell books that have so far been adapted, The Colour of Magic, Hogfather, Going Postal, Wyrd Sisters, Truckers, Soul Music, Troll Bridge, and, yes, The Watch, with synopses and comments for each. Well worth a read!
https://bit.ly/3rAXKRt
3.5 UPDATES: THE TERRY PRATCHETT BOOK CLUB
On the website of publishers Tor, Emmet Asher-Perrin continues a Discworld discussion page. This month's instalments take us from the last parts of Pyramids to most of Guards! Guards!:
"This section is basically a “Who’s Who” of Greek culture and philosophy, with all the fellows at the Symposium matching up to famous names in philosophy and history and the rest. The names that Pratchett selects for his pastiched historical figures are also references unto themselves half the time — copolymer is the term for a compound plastic, and antiphon is a call-and-response phrase you get in choirs. I do like his Herodotus stand-in, and how bad he is at telling stories about the Tsortean Wars. In this case, there’s a little more to lean on here, because we know a bit more about how the ancient Greeks lived, and Britain in particular has always been incredibly enamored of Greek culture and history. Herodotus did genuinely to go Symposiums like this and make money this way, and said Symposiums were genuinely just excuses to hang out and get drunk and argue philosophical points, and we’ve even got a listener here to play the role of the second guy in Socratic dialogues. The idea of Pythagoras being so wasted that he’s stuck on his dislike of pi is hilarious. The thought of Aesop crunching away on celery while you’re trying to talk is similarly excellent... "
https://bit.ly/3t8YbCR
"I think this could have worked if the historical alignment had been a little bit sharper in its execution, but then you would’ve had to make some sect of the Ephebians the rulers of Djelibeybi at this point in their history, or something down that road. Smashing it all together is weirdly sloppy for Pratchett, and it takes away from the book’s overall impact as a complete story. It’s distracting because he keeps using Greek references all over the place; Ozymandias is name-checked, which is the Greek name for Ramesses II; Ptraci is rolled up in a carpet when she presents herself to Teppic at the end, just like Cleopatra was said to have done when she wanted to be smuggled in to see Julius Caesar. The only non-Hellenized reference here that really stands out is the first ancestor Khuft, who I imagine is meant to be a stand-in for the pharaoh Khufu. Then it gets even messier with a biblical reference when Teppic parts the river, which sure didn’t happen on the Nile in the Bible, so who can say what we’re going for at that point. I know it’s not the only story where waters part, but you have to know that’s the first one that’s going to come to mind when you invoke both Egypt and god powers... We could all use a reminder now and then that tradition for tradition’s sake is not a reason to do anything, that power isn’t eternal, and that we cultivate resilience by refusing to fear what is new. There’s some scholarship via Stefan Eckman about the kingdom being a sort of “time polder”, described as a sort of bubble where history is locked into a pattern (largely due to Dios in this case), and that’s an interesting conceit. But the story doesn’t really land the way it could because its foundation is too precarious..."
https://bit.ly/3esQenZ
"The clichés that Pratchett cleaves to here are a fantasy in and of themselves. He’s ultimately parodying something that doesn’t exist in the real world. I’m not saying that he’s unaware of the issues here entirely; the makeup of the City Watch that Carrot enters is a fairly good representation of the sort of people who often populate bodies of law enforcement... Carrot occupies a special place in my heart for being one of the few “Lawful Good” (as the D&D parlance goes) characters I genuinely like. As an alignment, I’m mostly against it, partly due to my own chaotic leanings, but also because it’s difficult to find examples of that type who don’t make the concept of lawfulness distasteful. Being down with authority is not an attribute I’ve ever personally prized, but Carrot comes by it honestly–because it’s a matter of literalness, not belief in the “goodness” of law..."
https://bit.ly/38u9q0H
"The description of Vimes’s alcoholism is maybe one of the most affecting, upsetting segments in the entire Discworld series. Getting back to the Watch House, pulling that bottle out of his desk without even noticing he’s done it, waking up drunk after hours have passed him by. It’s given to us with such clear narration, such simplicity, that it makes the moment of his waking that much more unsettling. Then on the flip side of that, there’s the Supreme Grand Master thinking that once they’ve installed the king, he can give up the magic they’re doing 'any time I like.' Which is addiction speak 101. So even though these two haven’t met, we’re being shown that this is ultimately one addiction unknowingly battling another... The introduction of Sybil Ramkin and her whole operation is a pitch-perfect sendup of the sort of people who breed dogs and horses, and all the minutiae that entails, and how it can utterly absorb someone’s life. Of course, the key difference here is that Sybil really adores her dragons, which certainly isn’t true of every dog or horse breeder. Some people really just are in it for getting prizes at racing and show dog competitions, a sphere dominated by the superrich. With Lady Ramkin, we see someone who isn’t really in it for glory or money or status. This is her area of focus and study in addition to being her passion. She just really loves dragons, okay?...
"In essence, Sibyl is the Bruce Wayne of this outfit. Which is good because they desperately need one. And I say this with a great deal of affection, because I love Sybil and I also love her relationship with Vimes as it grows through these stories. For all their differences, they’re an extremely well-matched pair, and I do think they’re better rendered than any of the relationships Pratchett shows us up until this point in the Discworld books. I think this is because their vulnerabilities as people are better rendered than any of his previous pairs. They’re both lonely, and they’re both people who might come off tough or prickly at first glance, when they’re genuinely anything but..."
https://bit.ly/3byE6Qo
"Pratchett’s description of the dragon here is where we get a proper bit of Smaug-ian narrative, if such a thing could be said to exist. The explanation of what it feels like to be this creature, and how they feel about being used, it’s all just very evocative and chilling and well done. So are the bits about L-space, which really gets me thinking – when you start out with Discworld books, Pratchett is a little less precise on how he talks about magic and space-time and all of that. As we go on, things get much clearer, even if they’re still inherently unknowable, which I love... There are just so many great bits in this section with Carrot being so preposterous, and also so very good, in that painfully earnest but lovely way. I’d actually forgotten the charge bit with the palace guards, but on rereading, my brain instantly went 'oh no, he thinks you mean actually charge them physically' because it’s a goofy joke, but it’s still a darned funny one... Pratchett is very explicitly criticizing how there’s a part of humanity (in the genes, as it were) that genuinely wants to believe that certain people are grouped off, special and above everyone else. Ankh-Morpork is a city full of individuals that go about their own business–they’re a community because they occupy this space together, and there’s a certain code that comes with being crammed in like that. But the instant a 'king' shows up, everything becomes about catering to that idea, to that individual. Of course, it’s illustrated more comically when Colon goes off about this, only to snap at Nobby for calling him by his first name; point being that Colon is all for hierarchy, he just wants the one he recognizes..."
https://bit.ly/3cmolLK
3.6 ...AND YES, ANOTHER REVIEW OF THE WATCH...
By Joseph Ellis on Sunriseread:
The references to other realities, particularly with the technology from “Roundworld” being brought over into Discworld by experiments at Unseen University, made it harder to suspend disbelief and accept the world of the series as independent. But, as it turns out, that’s part of the point. In episode 7, The Watch makes it utterly clear that the multiverse is full of different versions of Discworld. For readers familiar with multiverse fiction (or just readers familiar with the many iterations of the Marvel Universe, numbered for convenience), fully admitting this construction lightens the burden on The Watch to be a familiar adaptation. This Sam Vimes isn’t the same Sam Vimes we know—because, in episode 7, we see two different versions of the same character. And while as viewers we already knew that, having the story itself make that an important, pivotal piece of information changes the way the story functions.
If The Watch had somehow been able to communicate in its first two episodes that this was the “Discworld: The Musical” (I’m not kidding) version of Pratchett’s universe, then the amount of time spent with members of the cast behind musical instruments would have felt natural. Music is a core storytelling tool for the television series, and by the end, it comes together and works. The problem is that too many Pratchett fans gave up on the series long before it hit the point where everything clicked.
In some ways, this is a true shame, because the cast delivered stellar performances throughout. Richard Dormer’s physical acting in the role of Vimes is stellar, managing both comedic and serious scenes with equal aplomb. Jo Eaton-Kent’s Cheery, a non-binary (by the final episode) dwarf, is a delight. Marama Corlett makes viewers believe her brooding werewolf Angua could kick everyone’s ass despite being half their size. Adam Hugill as Constable Carrot embodies the earnest fantasy hero. Lara Rossi delivers a Sybil Ramkin that has as large a presence on screen as her physically-larger novel version exudes on the page. Samuel Adewunmi’s villainous Carcer has enough pathos that viewers might almost have rooted for his redemption up until his actions in the finale, and Bianca Simone Mannie’s Wonce is inspired; both villains are drawn from more minor characters in the novels and given greater depth for the series, a departure that results in making them some of the more interesting, nuanced inventions of the show.
But despite that, the reason The Watch never quite managed to bring even its own Discworld to life was the shorthand of silliness for satire. Pratchett’s novels are beloved because they’re funny, it’s true, but his humor isn’t just goofy or absurd (although it swings that way on occasion). Much of the fun is in the way the humor is used not to lighten the scene, but to illuminate it..."
https://bit.ly/3cjdO3P
...and a not-a-review, originally in tweet thread form, from Twitter user Hannah Elspeth akafor_every_helen:
"Okay, look, this is why I am so upset by #TheWatch adaptation. I think I read my first #Discworld book a couple of decades ago, as a young teenager. I'd never read anything like it in my life. After that I went to the library every week & meticulously hunted for them, over years... The #Discworld books gave me a grounding in empathy and the complexity of human nature in a way no other book has. When I call Terry Pratchett a philosopher, I am not joking. I am being entirely sincere, because he was one of the brightest minds I've ever come across.
"I remember in #SmallGods, when he described the way that gods would die when the structure of a religion grew around them like a tomb, and people worshipped the hierarchy of the church and the comfort of ritual. I remember when Granny Weatherwax was asked, when she needed to choose between a mother in labour or the baby, if she would ask the father which one to save, and she said that he had loved his wife for years, but never known the child, and why would she hurt him by asking? I remember when Sam Vimes explained his 'boots theory of economics', that the rich are rich because they can buy high quality products that last, and the poor stay poor because they have to buy cheap products that constantly must be replaced, and end up spending the most. And in Carpe Jugulum when a priest loses his faith in a religion that is overcome by ritual and evangelism, it is an atheist that helps him get it back by explaining that if you really believe in something, want to make a difference, you put your whole self into it & never stop. And, and, and..."
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1314655976327393280.html
The original tweet thread can be found here:
https://twitter.com/for_every_helen/status/1314655976327393280
3.7 THE MERCH CORNER
* New Discworld Collector's Library editions!
"Coming soon to the Discworld Collector's Library... It's been a long wait, but at long last the Tiffany Aching series and The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents will finally be available in beautiful hardback editions as part of the spectacular Discworld Collector's Library later this year!"
The new editions will be published on 23rd September 2021 and will include The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, Wintersmith, I Shall Wear Midnight, The Shepherd's Crown, and The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents. Each volume is priced at £14.99 and all new volumes are now available for pre-order. For more info, and to pre-order, go to:
https://www.discworldemporium.com/19-new-books
"Joe McLaren's cover artwork is yet to be revealed, but after years of waiting for these books to come to fruition a few more months of wondering won't hurt! For those wanting to indulge in the entire collection all in one go, each new title will be added to our Complete Collection of Discworld Collector's Library editions as soon as they are published!" More info here:
https://bit.ly/30wmMFp
* The Illustrated Guards! Guards!
"This edition features ten glorious full-colour illustrations and further pencil drawings by Terry Pratchett's artist of choice, Paul Kidby."
Each copy of The Illustrated Guards! Guards! is priced at £30. For more info, and to order, go to:
https://bit.ly/2OiEWYE
* A new Discworld Companion!
Yes, there's a new and even more comprehensive Discworld Companion due out later this year! The Absolute – or possibly, Ultimate – Discworld Companion, by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs, will be published by Gollancz in both hardcover and paperback versions on on 11th November 2021!
"If you're looking for the ultimate authority on probably the most heavily populated – certainly the most hilarious – setting in fantasy literature... If you need a handy guide to Discworld locales from Ankh-Morpork to Zemphis... If you want help telling Achmed the Mad from Jack Zweiblumen... If your life depends on being able to distinguish the Agatean Empire from the Zoons...look no further than THE ABSOLUTE DISCWORLD COMPANION – fully updated by the encyclopaedic Stephen Briggs and fully illustrated by the kaleidoscopic Paul Kidby!"
The Absolute (or possibly Ultimate) Discworld Companion can be pre-ordered now, at the Fourecksian price of AU$34.89 (hardcover) or AU$26.15 (paperback), with delivery to Australia included. A deal not to be missed! For more info, and to pre-order, go to:
https://bit.ly/3byGOFy
3.8 THE OFFICIAL PLAYWRIGHT SPEAKS!
During the pandemic, Stephen Briggs has been reading short extracts from assorted Discworld (and other Pratchett) books to the online public. On his website, he says, "I'm grateful to Rob Wilkins for giving me permission to record some daily snippets of solid gold Pratchett for his fans during this difficult time. I've done two hundred but, with no end in sight to the current restrictions, I've had to give up the daily readings. I'll still be adding to them, though – just not quite so regularly."
Here be the link to the lot: https://bit.ly/3byDOZO
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04) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS
Nullus Anxietas 7a has been gong through some changes...
"As you all know we have postponed the Australian Discworld Convention until 8th–10th April 2022. However, we plan to celebrate the original dates with a virtual event on Saturday 3rd July 2021, tentatively from 6pm to 12am AEDT (Sydney time). This will be a chance for us all to catch up and have some fun. This will be open to all convention members, attending and supporting. We are thinking of:
A fiendish Discworld quiz
A costume event
A radio play
Maybe a couple of special guests for a virtual Klatch
And perhaps a visit to the Ankh Morpork palace dungeon? It's easy to enter, not so easy to escape
And a bedtime story to finish"
https://bit.ly/2Obrd69
"Nullus Anxietas 7a–The Australian Discworld Convention–will be held in Sydney on 8th to 10th April 2022
Due to the current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic, we have made the decision to postpone the convention from its original dates. Please note that some pages or images on the website may still contain references to the original dates in July 2021. Please bear with us as we organise these changes."
https://2022.ausdwcon.org/
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05) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
* NEW STEPHEN BRIGGS DISCWORLD SCRIPT BOOKS
Attention amateur theatre companies! Now that there may be an eventual end in sight to the Covid-19 pandemic and it may be time to start planning the return of Discworld to the stage, note that three new official Discworld scriptbooks have been published this month: The Shakespeare Codex, Lords and Ladies, and Hogfather. All three are now available direct from the publisher (Bloomsbury).
Each scriptbook is priced at £9.89 (paperback) or £8.79 (ebook). For more information, and to purchase, go to:
The Shakespeare Codex: https://bit.ly/3rD40YL
Lords and Ladies: https://bit.ly/3eoXfpT
Hogfather: https://bit.ly/3bzxPUE
* MURDER IN ANKH-MORPORK IN ABINGDON (NOVEMBER 2021)
At last! From the Studio Theatre's website:
"16 November 2021 marks 50 years of Terry as a published author. By a delightful coincidence, the revised dates for our delayed Discworld play – MURDER IN ANKH-MORPORK – are the same week as that anniversary. 'The Carpet People' was published on 16 November 1971. And on 17-20 November 2021, we will be staging a celebration of Terry's work – featuring some of his best-loved characters – the Ankh-Morpork's City Watch. We are delighted that the show will be officially sponsored by Terry's Estate.
"We wanted to stage a play involving the Ankh-Morpork Night Watch. But we'd already staged all of Stephen Briggs' dramatizations [sic] featuring this noble group of guardians of justice. By coincidence, this year also marks the thirtieth anniversary of our first Pratchett play (and the first Pratchett dramatisation ever) – Wyrd Sisters. Stephen got special permission to put together an affectionate mash-up incorporating characters and bits from Guards! Guards! , Thud! and Feet of Clay, woven respectfully into the core plot of Men at Arms. All Terry."
When: 17th – 20th November 2021
Venue: Unicorn Theatre, Checker Walk, Abingdon OX14 3JB
Time: evening performances at 19.30, plus a 14.30 matinee on Saturday 20th November
Tickets: £12, available for purchase from 14th September – keep an eye here for details!
https://www.studiotheatreclub.com/murder-in-ankh-morpork
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
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/2YrPGW7
NOTE: the Drummers are still meeting occasionally via Zoom. Check out the above link 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
"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>
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
07) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
Full cast of the Red Cliffs Players' recent production of Guards! Guards!: https://bit.ly/2OAWq2t
The excellent logo for next years's Nullus Anxietas Discworld convention: https://bit.ly/3br37gu
Some fine Discworld art by Peter Stanimirov. I feel many of his character renderings are miles off the mark or overly derivative, but when he gets it right he *really* gets it right...
Magrat:
https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/028/232/179/large/peter-stanimirov-2019-magrat-garlick.jpg?1593860996
The unusual suspects (some definite failures here, but Granny is perfect!):
https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/028/232/503/large/peter-stanimirov-rex-a-pratchett.jpg?1593862290
...and an absolutely stunning portrait of The Author himself:
https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/028/232/512/large/peter-stanimirov-sir-terry-pratchett.jpg?1593862371
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08) CLOSE
Gaze Cottage, Sir Pterry's longtime home that was recently put up for sale (see last issue), has been sold subject to contract. Let's hope the new owner loves it the way The Author did!
And finally, in these uncertain and often disheartening times, it's reassuring to know that the Encyclopaedia Britannica, repository of pretty much all knowledge worth preserving, has an entry for Sir Pterry. Read it here:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Terry-Pratchett
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) 2021 by Wossname for the Klatchian Foreign Legion
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
February-March 2021 (Volume 24, Issue 2, 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) ODDS AND SODS
04) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS
05) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
06) DISCWORLD MEETING GROUPS NEWS
07) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
08) CLOSE
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH
"So I've watched the whole series, and... wow. It sure is something. Pondering how it's possible to incorporate this particular story into the Discworld canon–not to mention that Ankh Morpork and those character versions–I was left with the inescapable conclusion that the series is essentially Trousers of Time fan fiction, describing a leg of Discworld that has so many differences from the main trouser leg that it's almost completely different. And yet, there is one key difference that supersedes all others: In the trouser leg of BBC's The Watch, Terry Pratchett is not particularly funny & this is probably his first book."
– reddit user u/hanleybrand's "fan theory" re The watch
"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.."
– Sir Pterry
"If I heeded all the advice I've had over the years, I'd have written 18 books about Rincewind."
– millions are deeply relieved that Sir Pterry *didn't* listen to his fans sometimes
"I must confess the activities of the UK governments for the past couple of years have been watched with frank admiration and amazement by Lord Vetinari"
– ah, Sir Pterry, if only you'd known what was to follow since you said that on Usenet...
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
02) LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR
It's been six years this week. I miss him. That's all. But then, somewhere out there is a small asteroid called 127005 Pratchett, named by NASA for the author. And once upon a time there was a sea turtle called Psephophorus terrypratchetti, named by palaeontologist Richard Kohler. "...as long as his name is still spoken...", you know? GNU Terry Pratchett, forever in the Overhead.
The pandemic ate my calendar, so this is a short February *and* March issue. More next month, hopefully!
And now, on with the show...
– Annie Mac, Editor
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
03) ODDS AND SODS
3.1 THE WOSSNAME MEMORIAL POEM
Yes, I'll trot this out every year on the anniversary of Sir Pterry's death, because it illustrates the depth of my love for his work. – Ed.
THE LOVE SONG OF TDJ PRATCHETT
By Weird Alice Lancrevic, with apologies to the shade of Thomas Stearns Eliot
Let us go then, you and I,
When the Rimfall is spread out against the sky
Like a victim on Quetzovercoatl's altar
Let us go, through certain dark Ankh-Morpork streets,
As Cumbling Michael bleats
Of restless nights in Elm Street's cheap bedsits
And Harga's restaurant with greasy chips
Streets that follow like a Fools' Guild argument
Of a humorous intent
To lead you to an overt wealth of... footnotes!
Oh, do not play Greek Chorus
Let us go and dance Dark Morris.
In the room the wizards come, unseen
Talking of thaumic octarine.
The Morpork smog that rubs its back upon the window-panes,
The river-fug that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes,
Licked its tongue into the corners of the Bucket,
Lingered upon the gargoyles guarding drains,
Let fall upon its back the black of lithe Assassins,
Slipped by the terrace, writhed round Sator Square,
And seeing that it was a soft Sektober night,
Curled once around the Tump, and fell asleep.
And indeed there will be crime
Under Ankh-born fumes that slide down Easy Street,
Rubbing grey-black upon the window-panes; Disc-ing itself
There will be crime, and barely time
To prepare a voucher for the Thieves that you may meet;
There will be time to say the number Eight,
And time for all Devices wrought by dwarfs
That lift this brawling City toward its fate;
Time for Schleppel, time for Reg,
And time yet for an Igor's deft incisions,
And for a Sweeper's history revisions,
Before the taking of meat and two veg.
In the room the wizards come, unseen
Making a joke about the Dean.
And indeed there will be time
To wonder, 'Do I dare? Will Vimes go spare?'
Time to turn back Time and deeds repair,
With P.L.T. making horrors of my hair –
[They will say: 'How she stoops, to wear the tin!']
My armoured breasts, my collar fastened firmly 'neath my chin,
My pedigree's the oddest, but blue-blooded via lupine kin –
[They will say: 'But she's a vegetarian!']
Do I dare
Disturb the multiverse?
In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which the Moon will soon reverse.
For I have known the grags already, known them all –
Have known the meetings, mineshafts, Ankhian ruins,
I have squandered all my gold in greasy spoons;
I know the old life's dying, like an axe's fall
Beneath the bustle under cellar rooms.
So should I mention Koom?
And I have known the toffs already, known them all –
The eyes that damn you with a far too inbred phrase,
And when I am relegated, tossed like Mr Pin,
When I am told 'No comment!' by Lord Rust,
Then how should I begin
To spit out all Spike's butt-ends from the Golem Trust?
And how should I presume?
And I have known the 'girls' already, known them all –
Arms of that painted Guild, pale, white and calm
(But in the lamplight, best of Mrs Palm's!)
Is it scumble from a dish
That makesh me shpeak like thish?
Arms that twine around a client, or cap a maiden's fall.
And should I rent a room?
How soon should I dig in?
. . . . .
Shall I say, I have lurked at dusk in Morpork's streets
And watched the Clacks that clatter from the roofs
Midst lonely geeks with code-books, changing shifts in towers? . . .
I should have been a cruel wild banshee's claws
Scuttling between the Trouserlegs of Time.
. . . . .
And 'til well past noon, Young Sam will sleep so peacefully!
Smooth is his breathing,
Asleep . . . tired . . . or merely teething
Safe in his bed, here beside you and me.
Should I, after teetotal libations,
Have the strength to foil yet more assassinations?
But though I have cursed and shouted, growled and coughed,
Though I have seen my head [grown slightly bald] fetch ever higher prices
I am no genius – but I'm cool in crisis;
I have seen the sternest of my Watchmen flicker,
And I have seen the eternal Death of Rats go SNH, and snicker,
And in short, I was pissed off.
And would it have been worth it all, and sweet,
After millennium hand and shrimp for tea,
Among the Faculty, among some talk of Sourcery,
Would it have been worth while
To endure Ridcully's hassling with a smile,
To have squeezed the universe's rubber sheet
To roll it toward some thaumic insurrection,
To say: 'We are wizardry's future, come have fun
'Come HEX me up a treat, H.E.M. is neat!'
If one, scoffing a sausage inna bun,
Should say: 'That is not what I meant to eat.
'That is not real named meat.'
And would it have been worth it, after all,
Would it have been worth while,
After the battles and the broadswords and the trampled thrones,
After the sagas, after the horse cheese, after the skirts I chased from Rim to Hub –
And dine-chewers for my grub? –
It is 'barbarian' to say just what I mean!
But seen by a magic lantern through a silken Agatean screen:
Would it have been worth while
If one, scuttling a Dark Lord or storming Io's gate
To turn larks into legends, should say:
'That's not a hero's fate,
'That's not a deathless hero's fate.'
No! I am not King Verence, nor was meant to be;
I'm just a tender Tomjon, one who'll do
To thrill the punters, steal a scene or two
Advise the prince; he jingles, but he's cool,
Deferential to the senior Ogg
Mildly thick, gracious, and fond of his wife;
Full of high purpose, but a bit agog;
At times, indeed, a cliche brought to life –
Almost a perfect Fool.
I grow old . . . I grow old . . .
I shall yet wear midnight when the nights are cold.
Shall I shout 'Io's not blind!'? Do I dare to speak of Klatch?
I shall wear black pointy headgear, and fly on brooms of thatch
I have heard the Beggars, canting to the Watch.
I do not think that they will beg from me.
We have seen young vampires gliding past the Moon
Combing the land for humans to attack
Venting their blood-lust stylishly in black.
We have lingered on the shambling Circumfence
By sea-trolls wreathed with foam against the sky
Till Great A'Tuin takes us, and we fly.
3.2 HOW TO EVISCERATE A CONDESCENDING INTERVIEWER...
...by one Terry Pratchett in the mid-Nineties. Here be an extract from an interview that was published in the hardcopy edition of The Onion in 1995, as transcribed by high fantasy author Patrick Rothfuss:
"Onion: You’re quite a writer. You’ve a gift for language, you’re a deft hand at plotting, and your books seem to have an enormous amount of attention to detail put into them. You’re so good you could write anything. Why write fantasy?
Pratchett: I had a decent lunch, and I’m feeling quite amiable. That’s why you’re still alive. I think you’d have to explain to me why you’ve asked that question.
O: It’s a rather ghettoized genre.
P: This is true. I cannot speak for the US, where I merely sort of sell okay. But in the UK I think every book— I think I’ve done twenty in the series— since the fourth book, every one has been one the top ten national bestsellers, either as hardcover or paperback, and quite often as both. Twelve or thirteen have been number one. I’ve done six juveniles, all of those have nevertheless crossed over to the adult bestseller list. On one occasion I had the adult best seller, the paperback best-seller in a different title, and a third book on the juvenile bestseller list. Now tell me again that this is a ghettoized genre.
O: It’s certainly regarded as less than serious fiction.
P: (Sighs) Without a shadow of a doubt, the first fiction ever recounted was fantasy. Guys sitting around the campfire— Was it you who wrote the review? I thought I recognized it— Guys sitting around the campfire telling each other stories about the gods who made lightning, and stuff like that. They did not tell one another literary stories. They did not complain about difficulties of male menopause while being a junior lecturer on some midwestern college campus. Fantasy is without a shadow of a doubt the ur-literature, the spring from which all other literature has flown. Up to a few hundred years ago no one would have disagreed with this, because most stories were, in some sense, fantasy. Back in the middle ages, people wouldn’t have thought twice about bringing in Death as a character who would have a role to play in the story. Echoes of this can be seen in Pilgrim’s Progress, for example, which hark back to a much earlier type of storytelling. The epic of Gilgamesh is one of the earliest works of literature, and by the standard we would apply now — a big muscular guys with swords and certain godlike connections — That’s fantasy. The national literature of Finland, the Kalevala. Beowulf in England. I cannot pronounce Bahaghvad-Gita but the Indian one, you know what I mean. The national literature, the one that underpins everything else, is by the standards that we apply now, a work of fantasy.
Now I don’t know what you’d consider the national literature of America, but if the words Moby Dick are inching their way towards this conversation, whatever else it was, it was also a work of fantasy. Fantasy is kind of a plasma in which other things can be carried. I don’t think this is a ghetto. This is, fantasy is, almost a sea in which other genres swim. Now it may be that there has developed in the last couple of hundred years a subset of fantasy which merely uses a different icongraphy, and that is, if you like, the serious literature, the Booker Prize contender. Fantasy can be serious literature. Fantasy has often been serious literature. You have to fairly dense to think that Gulliver’s Travels is only a story about a guy having a real fun time among big people and little people and horses and stuff like that. What the book was about was something else. Fantasy can carry quite a serious burden, and so can humor. So what you’re saying is, strip away the trolls and the dwarves and things and put everyone into modern dress, get them to agonize a bit, mention Virginia Woolf a few times, and there! Hey! I’ve got a serious novel. But you don’t actually have to do that. (Pauses) That was a bloody good answer, though I say it myself..."
https://blog.patrickrothfuss.com/2015/08/thoughts-on-pratchett/
3.3 VACCINATING THE LIBRARIANS!
Nine great apes at the San Diego Zoo – four orangutans and five bonobos – have been vaccinated against COVID-19! From the BBC:
"One of the recipients was a 28-year-old female Sumatran orangutan named Karen who had garnered headlines at the zoo when she became the first ape to undergo open-heart surgery in 1994. Each of the nine animals received two doses of an experimental vaccine originally designed for dogs and cats, and are all doing well with no adverse reactions, zoo spokesperson Darla Davis said. Zoo officials went ahead with the shots due to concerns about the animals' wellbeing after a troop of eight gorillas at the affiliated San Diego Zoo Safari Park fell ill with COVID-19 in January, marking the first known transmission of the virus to great apes. The eight gorillas, including a 48-year-old male "silverback" named Winston who suffered from pneumonia and heart disease, have since improved and appear to be on their way to a full recovery, Ms Davis said. Winston was treated with a variety of medications, including a coronavirus antibody therapy for non-humans... The orangutans and bonobos selected for immunisation were among the great apes at the zoo considered the most at risk of catching the virus and among the easiest to inoculate. Staff vaccinated the animals by distracting them from the needle with treats..."
https://ab.co/3cho5xC
3.4 ALL THE PRATCHETT SCREEN ADAPTATIONS, RANKED
On Screen Rant, Matt Morrison ranks and reviews them all:
"With 41 books in his Discworld series alone (including all the books aimed at children, middle-grade readers and young adults), it's no wonder that Terry Pratchett is one of the most frequently adapted authors of modern literature. His books have been adapted into graphic novels, video games, and stage musicals. The stage plays based on his work are particularly popular with amateur dramatics companies, due to Pratchett's emphasis on character and clever wordplay that lend themselves well to the melodrama of the theatre. Despite this versatility, it's the TV adaptations of Pratchett's works that have introduced him to the greatest number of people. These adaptations vary wildly, with some being close to the original work though lacking in a big budget and others featuring big budgets while only paying lip service to the books that allegedly inspired it. A rare few managed to build upon the original work to create something that was a fitting tribute to Sir Terry Pratchett's imagination and genius..."
The rankings cover Good Omens, the two Johnny Maxwell books that have so far been adapted, The Colour of Magic, Hogfather, Going Postal, Wyrd Sisters, Truckers, Soul Music, Troll Bridge, and, yes, The Watch, with synopses and comments for each. Well worth a read!
https://bit.ly/3rAXKRt
3.5 UPDATES: THE TERRY PRATCHETT BOOK CLUB
On the website of publishers Tor, Emmet Asher-Perrin continues a Discworld discussion page. This month's instalments take us from the last parts of Pyramids to most of Guards! Guards!:
"This section is basically a “Who’s Who” of Greek culture and philosophy, with all the fellows at the Symposium matching up to famous names in philosophy and history and the rest. The names that Pratchett selects for his pastiched historical figures are also references unto themselves half the time — copolymer is the term for a compound plastic, and antiphon is a call-and-response phrase you get in choirs. I do like his Herodotus stand-in, and how bad he is at telling stories about the Tsortean Wars. In this case, there’s a little more to lean on here, because we know a bit more about how the ancient Greeks lived, and Britain in particular has always been incredibly enamored of Greek culture and history. Herodotus did genuinely to go Symposiums like this and make money this way, and said Symposiums were genuinely just excuses to hang out and get drunk and argue philosophical points, and we’ve even got a listener here to play the role of the second guy in Socratic dialogues. The idea of Pythagoras being so wasted that he’s stuck on his dislike of pi is hilarious. The thought of Aesop crunching away on celery while you’re trying to talk is similarly excellent... "
https://bit.ly/3t8YbCR
"I think this could have worked if the historical alignment had been a little bit sharper in its execution, but then you would’ve had to make some sect of the Ephebians the rulers of Djelibeybi at this point in their history, or something down that road. Smashing it all together is weirdly sloppy for Pratchett, and it takes away from the book’s overall impact as a complete story. It’s distracting because he keeps using Greek references all over the place; Ozymandias is name-checked, which is the Greek name for Ramesses II; Ptraci is rolled up in a carpet when she presents herself to Teppic at the end, just like Cleopatra was said to have done when she wanted to be smuggled in to see Julius Caesar. The only non-Hellenized reference here that really stands out is the first ancestor Khuft, who I imagine is meant to be a stand-in for the pharaoh Khufu. Then it gets even messier with a biblical reference when Teppic parts the river, which sure didn’t happen on the Nile in the Bible, so who can say what we’re going for at that point. I know it’s not the only story where waters part, but you have to know that’s the first one that’s going to come to mind when you invoke both Egypt and god powers... We could all use a reminder now and then that tradition for tradition’s sake is not a reason to do anything, that power isn’t eternal, and that we cultivate resilience by refusing to fear what is new. There’s some scholarship via Stefan Eckman about the kingdom being a sort of “time polder”, described as a sort of bubble where history is locked into a pattern (largely due to Dios in this case), and that’s an interesting conceit. But the story doesn’t really land the way it could because its foundation is too precarious..."
https://bit.ly/3esQenZ
"The clichés that Pratchett cleaves to here are a fantasy in and of themselves. He’s ultimately parodying something that doesn’t exist in the real world. I’m not saying that he’s unaware of the issues here entirely; the makeup of the City Watch that Carrot enters is a fairly good representation of the sort of people who often populate bodies of law enforcement... Carrot occupies a special place in my heart for being one of the few “Lawful Good” (as the D&D parlance goes) characters I genuinely like. As an alignment, I’m mostly against it, partly due to my own chaotic leanings, but also because it’s difficult to find examples of that type who don’t make the concept of lawfulness distasteful. Being down with authority is not an attribute I’ve ever personally prized, but Carrot comes by it honestly–because it’s a matter of literalness, not belief in the “goodness” of law..."
https://bit.ly/38u9q0H
"The description of Vimes’s alcoholism is maybe one of the most affecting, upsetting segments in the entire Discworld series. Getting back to the Watch House, pulling that bottle out of his desk without even noticing he’s done it, waking up drunk after hours have passed him by. It’s given to us with such clear narration, such simplicity, that it makes the moment of his waking that much more unsettling. Then on the flip side of that, there’s the Supreme Grand Master thinking that once they’ve installed the king, he can give up the magic they’re doing 'any time I like.' Which is addiction speak 101. So even though these two haven’t met, we’re being shown that this is ultimately one addiction unknowingly battling another... The introduction of Sybil Ramkin and her whole operation is a pitch-perfect sendup of the sort of people who breed dogs and horses, and all the minutiae that entails, and how it can utterly absorb someone’s life. Of course, the key difference here is that Sybil really adores her dragons, which certainly isn’t true of every dog or horse breeder. Some people really just are in it for getting prizes at racing and show dog competitions, a sphere dominated by the superrich. With Lady Ramkin, we see someone who isn’t really in it for glory or money or status. This is her area of focus and study in addition to being her passion. She just really loves dragons, okay?...
"In essence, Sibyl is the Bruce Wayne of this outfit. Which is good because they desperately need one. And I say this with a great deal of affection, because I love Sybil and I also love her relationship with Vimes as it grows through these stories. For all their differences, they’re an extremely well-matched pair, and I do think they’re better rendered than any of the relationships Pratchett shows us up until this point in the Discworld books. I think this is because their vulnerabilities as people are better rendered than any of his previous pairs. They’re both lonely, and they’re both people who might come off tough or prickly at first glance, when they’re genuinely anything but..."
https://bit.ly/3byE6Qo
"Pratchett’s description of the dragon here is where we get a proper bit of Smaug-ian narrative, if such a thing could be said to exist. The explanation of what it feels like to be this creature, and how they feel about being used, it’s all just very evocative and chilling and well done. So are the bits about L-space, which really gets me thinking – when you start out with Discworld books, Pratchett is a little less precise on how he talks about magic and space-time and all of that. As we go on, things get much clearer, even if they’re still inherently unknowable, which I love... There are just so many great bits in this section with Carrot being so preposterous, and also so very good, in that painfully earnest but lovely way. I’d actually forgotten the charge bit with the palace guards, but on rereading, my brain instantly went 'oh no, he thinks you mean actually charge them physically' because it’s a goofy joke, but it’s still a darned funny one... Pratchett is very explicitly criticizing how there’s a part of humanity (in the genes, as it were) that genuinely wants to believe that certain people are grouped off, special and above everyone else. Ankh-Morpork is a city full of individuals that go about their own business–they’re a community because they occupy this space together, and there’s a certain code that comes with being crammed in like that. But the instant a 'king' shows up, everything becomes about catering to that idea, to that individual. Of course, it’s illustrated more comically when Colon goes off about this, only to snap at Nobby for calling him by his first name; point being that Colon is all for hierarchy, he just wants the one he recognizes..."
https://bit.ly/3cmolLK
3.6 ...AND YES, ANOTHER REVIEW OF THE WATCH...
By Joseph Ellis on Sunriseread:
The references to other realities, particularly with the technology from “Roundworld” being brought over into Discworld by experiments at Unseen University, made it harder to suspend disbelief and accept the world of the series as independent. But, as it turns out, that’s part of the point. In episode 7, The Watch makes it utterly clear that the multiverse is full of different versions of Discworld. For readers familiar with multiverse fiction (or just readers familiar with the many iterations of the Marvel Universe, numbered for convenience), fully admitting this construction lightens the burden on The Watch to be a familiar adaptation. This Sam Vimes isn’t the same Sam Vimes we know—because, in episode 7, we see two different versions of the same character. And while as viewers we already knew that, having the story itself make that an important, pivotal piece of information changes the way the story functions.
If The Watch had somehow been able to communicate in its first two episodes that this was the “Discworld: The Musical” (I’m not kidding) version of Pratchett’s universe, then the amount of time spent with members of the cast behind musical instruments would have felt natural. Music is a core storytelling tool for the television series, and by the end, it comes together and works. The problem is that too many Pratchett fans gave up on the series long before it hit the point where everything clicked.
In some ways, this is a true shame, because the cast delivered stellar performances throughout. Richard Dormer’s physical acting in the role of Vimes is stellar, managing both comedic and serious scenes with equal aplomb. Jo Eaton-Kent’s Cheery, a non-binary (by the final episode) dwarf, is a delight. Marama Corlett makes viewers believe her brooding werewolf Angua could kick everyone’s ass despite being half their size. Adam Hugill as Constable Carrot embodies the earnest fantasy hero. Lara Rossi delivers a Sybil Ramkin that has as large a presence on screen as her physically-larger novel version exudes on the page. Samuel Adewunmi’s villainous Carcer has enough pathos that viewers might almost have rooted for his redemption up until his actions in the finale, and Bianca Simone Mannie’s Wonce is inspired; both villains are drawn from more minor characters in the novels and given greater depth for the series, a departure that results in making them some of the more interesting, nuanced inventions of the show.
But despite that, the reason The Watch never quite managed to bring even its own Discworld to life was the shorthand of silliness for satire. Pratchett’s novels are beloved because they’re funny, it’s true, but his humor isn’t just goofy or absurd (although it swings that way on occasion). Much of the fun is in the way the humor is used not to lighten the scene, but to illuminate it..."
https://bit.ly/3cjdO3P
...and a not-a-review, originally in tweet thread form, from Twitter user Hannah Elspeth aka
for_every_helen:"Okay, look, this is why I am so upset by #TheWatch adaptation. I think I read my first #Discworld book a couple of decades ago, as a young teenager. I'd never read anything like it in my life. After that I went to the library every week & meticulously hunted for them, over years... The #Discworld books gave me a grounding in empathy and the complexity of human nature in a way no other book has. When I call Terry Pratchett a philosopher, I am not joking. I am being entirely sincere, because he was one of the brightest minds I've ever come across.
"I remember in #SmallGods, when he described the way that gods would die when the structure of a religion grew around them like a tomb, and people worshipped the hierarchy of the church and the comfort of ritual. I remember when Granny Weatherwax was asked, when she needed to choose between a mother in labour or the baby, if she would ask the father which one to save, and she said that he had loved his wife for years, but never known the child, and why would she hurt him by asking? I remember when Sam Vimes explained his 'boots theory of economics', that the rich are rich because they can buy high quality products that last, and the poor stay poor because they have to buy cheap products that constantly must be replaced, and end up spending the most. And in Carpe Jugulum when a priest loses his faith in a religion that is overcome by ritual and evangelism, it is an atheist that helps him get it back by explaining that if you really believe in something, want to make a difference, you put your whole self into it & never stop. And, and, and..."
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1314655976327393280.html
The original tweet thread can be found here:
https://twitter.com/for_every_helen/status/1314655976327393280
3.7 THE MERCH CORNER
* New Discworld Collector's Library editions!
"Coming soon to the Discworld Collector's Library... It's been a long wait, but at long last the Tiffany Aching series and The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents will finally be available in beautiful hardback editions as part of the spectacular Discworld Collector's Library later this year!"
The new editions will be published on 23rd September 2021 and will include The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, Wintersmith, I Shall Wear Midnight, The Shepherd's Crown, and The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents. Each volume is priced at £14.99 and all new volumes are now available for pre-order. For more info, and to pre-order, go to:
https://www.discworldemporium.com/19-new-books
"Joe McLaren's cover artwork is yet to be revealed, but after years of waiting for these books to come to fruition a few more months of wondering won't hurt! For those wanting to indulge in the entire collection all in one go, each new title will be added to our Complete Collection of Discworld Collector's Library editions as soon as they are published!" More info here:
https://bit.ly/30wmMFp
* The Illustrated Guards! Guards!
"This edition features ten glorious full-colour illustrations and further pencil drawings by Terry Pratchett's artist of choice, Paul Kidby."
Each copy of The Illustrated Guards! Guards! is priced at £30. For more info, and to order, go to:
https://bit.ly/2OiEWYE
* A new Discworld Companion!
Yes, there's a new and even more comprehensive Discworld Companion due out later this year! The Absolute – or possibly, Ultimate – Discworld Companion, by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs, will be published by Gollancz in both hardcover and paperback versions on on 11th November 2021!
"If you're looking for the ultimate authority on probably the most heavily populated – certainly the most hilarious – setting in fantasy literature... If you need a handy guide to Discworld locales from Ankh-Morpork to Zemphis... If you want help telling Achmed the Mad from Jack Zweiblumen... If your life depends on being able to distinguish the Agatean Empire from the Zoons...look no further than THE ABSOLUTE DISCWORLD COMPANION – fully updated by the encyclopaedic Stephen Briggs and fully illustrated by the kaleidoscopic Paul Kidby!"
The Absolute (or possibly Ultimate) Discworld Companion can be pre-ordered now, at the Fourecksian price of AU$34.89 (hardcover) or AU$26.15 (paperback), with delivery to Australia included. A deal not to be missed! For more info, and to pre-order, go to:
https://bit.ly/3byGOFy
3.8 THE OFFICIAL PLAYWRIGHT SPEAKS!
During the pandemic, Stephen Briggs has been reading short extracts from assorted Discworld (and other Pratchett) books to the online public. On his website, he says, "I'm grateful to Rob Wilkins for giving me permission to record some daily snippets of solid gold Pratchett for his fans during this difficult time. I've done two hundred but, with no end in sight to the current restrictions, I've had to give up the daily readings. I'll still be adding to them, though – just not quite so regularly."
Here be the link to the lot: https://bit.ly/3byDOZO
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04) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS
Nullus Anxietas 7a has been gong through some changes...
"As you all know we have postponed the Australian Discworld Convention until 8th–10th April 2022. However, we plan to celebrate the original dates with a virtual event on Saturday 3rd July 2021, tentatively from 6pm to 12am AEDT (Sydney time). This will be a chance for us all to catch up and have some fun. This will be open to all convention members, attending and supporting. We are thinking of:
A fiendish Discworld quiz
A costume event
A radio play
Maybe a couple of special guests for a virtual Klatch
And perhaps a visit to the Ankh Morpork palace dungeon? It's easy to enter, not so easy to escape
And a bedtime story to finish"
https://bit.ly/2Obrd69
"Nullus Anxietas 7a–The Australian Discworld Convention–will be held in Sydney on 8th to 10th April 2022
Due to the current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic, we have made the decision to postpone the convention from its original dates. Please note that some pages or images on the website may still contain references to the original dates in July 2021. Please bear with us as we organise these changes."
https://2022.ausdwcon.org/
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
05) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
* NEW STEPHEN BRIGGS DISCWORLD SCRIPT BOOKS
Attention amateur theatre companies! Now that there may be an eventual end in sight to the Covid-19 pandemic and it may be time to start planning the return of Discworld to the stage, note that three new official Discworld scriptbooks have been published this month: The Shakespeare Codex, Lords and Ladies, and Hogfather. All three are now available direct from the publisher (Bloomsbury).
Each scriptbook is priced at £9.89 (paperback) or £8.79 (ebook). For more information, and to purchase, go to:
The Shakespeare Codex: https://bit.ly/3rD40YL
Lords and Ladies: https://bit.ly/3eoXfpT
Hogfather: https://bit.ly/3bzxPUE
* MURDER IN ANKH-MORPORK IN ABINGDON (NOVEMBER 2021)
At last! From the Studio Theatre's website:
"16 November 2021 marks 50 years of Terry as a published author. By a delightful coincidence, the revised dates for our delayed Discworld play – MURDER IN ANKH-MORPORK – are the same week as that anniversary. 'The Carpet People' was published on 16 November 1971. And on 17-20 November 2021, we will be staging a celebration of Terry's work – featuring some of his best-loved characters – the Ankh-Morpork's City Watch. We are delighted that the show will be officially sponsored by Terry's Estate.
"We wanted to stage a play involving the Ankh-Morpork Night Watch. But we'd already staged all of Stephen Briggs' dramatizations [sic] featuring this noble group of guardians of justice. By coincidence, this year also marks the thirtieth anniversary of our first Pratchett play (and the first Pratchett dramatisation ever) – Wyrd Sisters. Stephen got special permission to put together an affectionate mash-up incorporating characters and bits from Guards! Guards! , Thud! and Feet of Clay, woven respectfully into the core plot of Men at Arms. All Terry."
When: 17th – 20th November 2021
Venue: Unicorn Theatre, Checker Walk, Abingdon OX14 3JB
Time: evening performances at 19.30, plus a 14.30 matinee on Saturday 20th November
Tickets: £12, available for purchase from 14th September – keep an eye here for details!
https://www.studiotheatreclub.com/murder-in-ankh-morpork
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
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/2YrPGW7
NOTE: the Drummers are still meeting occasionally via Zoom. Check out the above link 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
"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>
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
07) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
Full cast of the Red Cliffs Players' recent production of Guards! Guards!: https://bit.ly/2OAWq2t
The excellent logo for next years's Nullus Anxietas Discworld convention: https://bit.ly/3br37gu
Some fine Discworld art by Peter Stanimirov. I feel many of his character renderings are miles off the mark or overly derivative, but when he gets it right he *really* gets it right...
Magrat:
https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/028/232/179/large/peter-stanimirov-2019-magrat-garlick.jpg?1593860996
The unusual suspects (some definite failures here, but Granny is perfect!):
https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/028/232/503/large/peter-stanimirov-rex-a-pratchett.jpg?1593862290
...and an absolutely stunning portrait of The Author himself:
https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/028/232/512/large/peter-stanimirov-sir-terry-pratchett.jpg?1593862371
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
08) CLOSE
Gaze Cottage, Sir Pterry's longtime home that was recently put up for sale (see last issue), has been sold subject to contract. Let's hope the new owner loves it the way The Author did!
And finally, in these uncertain and often disheartening times, it's reassuring to know that the Encyclopaedia Britannica, repository of pretty much all knowledge worth preserving, has an entry for Sir Pterry. Read it here:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Terry-Pratchett
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) 2021 by Wossname for the Klatchian Foreign Legion
