I have to say, Making Money was a bit disappointing compared to Going Postal
I didn't find it disappointing, I just thought it wasn't as good. Didn't make it disappointing in my eyes tho.
But yeah, Kirby's illustration's messed me up for a loooong time. I read a few of the books when I was quite a bit younger, so when I heard Twoflower as being described with four eyes and then seeing him on the cover with literally four eyes, I just thought he really had four eyes. And I also thought Rincewind was some old bugger for far too long.
Also, I think as far as a Golden Age for terry, I'd put it earlier than 1991, maybe 89 or so when Guards! Guards! came out. But I'd say it's still going. While Making Money was a little weaker than the batch of novels preceding it, and there were a few other slightly worse-off-thought-not-by-any-means-bad eggs in there, the line of books from Guards! Guards! to Making Money have been fantastic.
Which makes it even worse, because he's still writing some of his best stories even now.
It helps that he is the author of the character of DEATH. Seriously, when I went through my existensialist phase, reading about DEATH (Reaper Man) was all I needed to snap out of it.
Yes, one day we will all die and there is nothing we can do about it. But DEATH is not Evil, he is just very very good at HIS job.
And the fact that he allways TALKS LIKE THIS. Pure genius, so simple yet so definitive. Lets you know all you need to know about DEATH, without any fuss.
Well, an the author of the character of DEATH. I'm amused that he's friends with Neil Gaiman, who wrote our other modern archetypal image of Death. I still imagine that most of the time they spent writing Good Omens arguing about which version of Death the book's would more closely model. We're lucky they didn't just give up and rip off the Castlevania interpretation.
I think their two versions of death are more similar then you'd initially think. Both aren't "evil", which is the typical interpretation of death. Both have a sense of humour about the whole thing, etc.
Starting THUD! tomorrow. One of the few I haven't read.
Has anyone mentioned the underrated Truckers trilogy yet? The first Pratchett books I read. Still great.
Proto on
and her knees up on the glove compartment
took out her barrettes and her hair spilled out like rootbeer
The point that must be made is that although Herrena the Henna-Haired Harridan would look quite stunning after a good bath, a heavy-duty manicure, and the pick of the leather racks in Woo Hung Ling's Oriental Exotica and Martial Aids on Heroes Street, she was currently quite sensibly dressed in light chain mail, soft boots, and a short sword. All right, maybe the boots were leather. But not black.
Kirby was an accomplished illustrator- some of his old magazine covers and promotional posters can be found online- and by comparison the garish mishmashes for his Discworld covers felt really out of place to me. Damn distinctive, though.
We'd talked about this in The Writer's Block, and yeah, the main thing is that Terry's being very philosophical about it. I think that man could continue to write irreverent and great fantasy works right up until a giant mechanised beetle falls from the sky and squashes his house- politely, of course- and even then he'd be kicking aside mortar and dodging metal mandibles to get to his Mac.
I was looking at the Men at Arms cover, and I was wondering where the heck Vimes is supposed to be.
He's kind've tucked away to the side. He's holding a bottle and looks like a fairly heavy guy.
Yeah, I do like the newer stuff better, but Kirby's Nobby always seemed right to me. His trolls stuck in my head for a long time too, even after he'd stopped doing the covers.
I actually really enjoyed the first nome book, but less so the second and third. It was odd though, in my county libaries there was a decreasing number of copies of each book as the series continued. Nomes 3 (or whatever it's name is) was some sort of holy grail with two copies apparently in existance - one in a prison, and the other somewhere in the ether....
Good books and a really imaginative look at humans from a different perspective. The cover art was the only art I enjoyed from the old illustrator, it kind of suited the feel.
He's apparently the most stolen author in the UK :P might explain that phenomenon
You mean they steal author's in the UK? In the US, thats called kidnapping. ba-dum-bum-ching!
Anyways, as a salute to Pratchett and the hope that he still has many years of enjoyment left in him, I went out and bought Monstrous Regiment today. Should get to reading it over winter break.
chrono_traveller on
The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it. ~ Terry Pratchett
He's apparently the most stolen author in the UK :P might explain that phenomenon
You mean they steal author's in the UK? In the US, thats called kidnapping. ba-dum-bum-ching!
Anyways, as a salute to Pratchett and the hope that he still has many years of enjoyment left in him, I went out and bought Monstrous Regiment today. Should get to reading it over winter break.
I really liked Monstrous Regiment. It's pretty damn dark in places, I thought. The feminist aspects are interesting and it obviously resonated to me personally as a sort of parody of general Eastern European or specifically Balkan politics.
So, I'm setting aside the books I want to read over the winter break. Because of this news, I've set aside both Good Omens and the Rincewind the Wizard omnibus I bought from the Science Fiction Book Club (these omnibi can be handy).
Don't judge the series just on the Rincewind books, by the way. They can be really funny, but he's just not a particularly deep character. He's just a big coward, which works for humour but less so for overall quality.
I really liked Monstrous Regiment. It's pretty damn dark in places, I thought. The feminist aspects are interesting and it obviously resonated to me personally as a sort of parody of general Eastern European or specifically Balkan politics.
Me likey that book.
Me too. He even managed to sneak Vimes in.
And labeling things as an Abomination Unto Nuggan is a wonderful stress reliever.
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Golden YakBurnished BovineThe sunny beaches of CanadaRegistered Userregular
Don't judge the series just on the Rincewind books, by the way. They can be really funny, but he's just not a particularly deep character. He's just a big coward, which works for humour but less so for overall quality.
I always like Rincewind best when he's driven into a corner, when there are things even he isn't cowardly enough to do. I think the best example of this is at the end of The Last Continent, when there's nothing left for him to do but rage against what seems to be inevitable (and Death in particular). He's a coward, but he's also a good person. Plus he came up with that great quote in Last Hero:
Don't judge the series just on the Rincewind books, by the way. They can be really funny, but he's just not a particularly deep character. He's just a big coward, which works for humour but less so for overall quality.
Oh yeah, I know that. I've already read Reaper Man and Small Gods. I got the omnibus for convenience sake and I'm going read that since it contains the first Discworld books, which I haven't read yet. I need to see where it all began.
Don't judge the series just on the Rincewind books, by the way. They can be really funny, but he's just not a particularly deep character. He's just a big coward, which works for humour but less so for overall quality.
Oh yeah, I know that. I've already read Reaper Man and Small Gods. I got the omnibus for convenience sake and I'm going read that since it contains the first Discworld books, which I haven't read yet. I need to see where it all began.
That also reminds me, I have started The Light Fantastic about 3 times now, still haven't finished it. Maybe I should pick it up again and see if I can get through it this time.
chrono_traveller on
The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it. ~ Terry Pratchett
Also, as this seems a good enough thread as any, in the Wikipedia article for the Guild of Assassins it says the price on Rincewind's head is AM950,000. Does anyone know if this is true and, if so, why is it so hight?
I don't know if it's true or not, but I have a possible explanation as to why it might be.
Rincewind is, as Ridcully put it in Interesting Times, a survivor. He does everything possible to not meet Death in a professional setting. Much like with Vimes (although not as proactive), any Assassin trying to kill Rincewind will find his task nearly impossible and filled with frustration at every turn. Rincewind has survived every continent (including the 99% poisonous FourEcks), has gone over the Rim twice, and has literally been to hell and back.
AM950,000 might be a little on the low side, if you ask me.
Totally... she had the attitude down perfectly. They did a really good job casting that show. Except Teatime, who was all kinds of . They even put Terry in towards the end. Oh god, I'm going to start crying again.
Is there a proper order to read the Discworld series in?
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Quoththe RavenMiami, FL FOR REALRegistered Userregular
edited December 2007
No proper order, but it might be best to pick a "chain" and read those in order. You can read the Watch books, the Witch books, the Rincewind books, the Susan books, the Tiffany books, or you can just read the stand-alones. And now that there's more than one Moist book, you can read those too.
Whoever said Night Watch was the best one... yes. Also Thud! and Reaper Man. But there is a special place in my care chip for Thief of Time, which has the Monks of History.
I can't cite this but I am absolutely certain he said there was one more book left in the series in some interview or another. In the same interview he said it would be the last Rincewind book. And Vyolynce, that is a GREAT theory.
Rincewind has always been a favorite of mine, I mean, he is Death's hobby for bugger-all.
Also, going by the Lspace timeline he spend about a year or so (Disc time, not Dungeon Dimensions time) in the Dungeon Dimensions.
At the end of Sourceror (which some people say is weak but I see as a fantastic way to end the Promotion by Inhumation tradition at Unseen University) after he BEAT the Sourceror.
I would also, although this is unlikely to happen, like to see more back story on the Tower of Art.
I wish there were some compilations out there. Having to buy each book individually is a bit of a pain. I've always wanted to read the series, 'cause I love the games, but it's just a bother collecting them all.
Although; are the audiobooks any good? They're a tad on the expensive side on iTunes (which is par for the course, I suppose), but if they're worth listening to, that might be a viable alternative to getting the books individually. I see Nigel Planer reads Colour of Magic :O
Cherrn on
All creature will die and all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai.
oh man. i saw part of the title from the main page and i thought he was going to have been diagnosed with cancer or something, but this is way worse. he's been one of my favorite authors consistently since my childhood. one of my favorite possessions, for example, is an extremely ratty old copy of good omens that i managed to get both neil gaiman and terry p to sign.
jeeze, this sucks. i was just waiting to start the new discworld over christmas break, too
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WearingglassesOf the friendly neighborhood varietyRegistered Userregular
edited December 2007
There are hardbounds in sets of three books. There are the Death Trilogy, the Gods Trilogy, the Witch trilogy, Rincewind, and Watch.
By this, do you mean, Wyrd Sisters, Witches Abroad, and Lords and Ladies?
I know it's probably stupid to ask, but there was one before that (If you consider Equal Rites a Witch book), and two after them (Maskerade and Carpe Jugulum)
Also, as this seems a good enough thread as any, in the Wikipedia article for the Guild of Assassins it says the price on Rincewind's head is AM950,000. Does anyone know if this is true and, if so, why is it so hight?
I don't know if it's true or not, but I have a possible explanation as to why it might be.
Rincewind is, as Ridcully put it in Interesting Times, a survivor. He does everything possible to not meet Death in a professional setting. Much like with Vimes (although not as proactive), any Assassin trying to kill Rincewind will find his task nearly impossible and filled with frustration at every turn. Rincewind has survived every continent (including the 99% poisonous FourEcks), has gone over the Rim twice, and has literally been to hell and back.
AM950,000 might be a little on the low side, if you ask me.
You're basically correct. The price comes from the Assassins' Guild Yearbook and Diary 2000, one of the series of diaries which add detail and awesome Kidby illustrations to some of the institutions of the Disc. The details are:
Open Commission: Rincewind (Assistant Librarian at UU) (AM$950K). Mr Rincewind is one of nature's survivors. He seems not to be a violent man, but Assassins attempting this commission seem to find themselves the victims of unexplained accidents - falling slates, lightning strikes - or, and this is worth noting, being waylaid by Mr Rincewind's travel accessory.
The diary doesn't mention who is willing to pay, but it may be that the commission was, er, commissioned in The Colour of Magic due to his dealings with Twoflower, and the offer has never been withdrawn.
Could be that the assassins are paying this out of their own pocket in the unlikely event that it happens, in the mean time weeding out overly cocky underlings / young ones who see going after Rincewind as easy money.
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I didn't find it disappointing, I just thought it wasn't as good. Didn't make it disappointing in my eyes tho.
But yeah, Kirby's illustration's messed me up for a loooong time. I read a few of the books when I was quite a bit younger, so when I heard Twoflower as being described with four eyes and then seeing him on the cover with literally four eyes, I just thought he really had four eyes. And I also thought Rincewind was some old bugger for far too long.
Also, I think as far as a Golden Age for terry, I'd put it earlier than 1991, maybe 89 or so when Guards! Guards! came out. But I'd say it's still going. While Making Money was a little weaker than the batch of novels preceding it, and there were a few other slightly worse-off-thought-not-by-any-means-bad eggs in there, the line of books from Guards! Guards! to Making Money have been fantastic.
Which makes it even worse, because he's still writing some of his best stories even now.
I think their two versions of death are more similar then you'd initially think. Both aren't "evil", which is the typical interpretation of death. Both have a sense of humour about the whole thing, etc.
Starting THUD! tomorrow. One of the few I haven't read.
Has anyone mentioned the underrated Truckers trilogy yet? The first Pratchett books I read. Still great.
took out her barrettes and her hair spilled out like rootbeer
We'd talked about this in The Writer's Block, and yeah, the main thing is that Terry's being very philosophical about it. I think that man could continue to write irreverent and great fantasy works right up until a giant mechanised beetle falls from the sky and squashes his house- politely, of course- and even then he'd be kicking aside mortar and dodging metal mandibles to get to his Mac.
He's kind've tucked away to the side. He's holding a bottle and looks like a fairly heavy guy.
Yeah, I do like the newer stuff better, but Kirby's Nobby always seemed right to me. His trolls stuck in my head for a long time too, even after he'd stopped doing the covers.
Good books and a really imaginative look at humans from a different perspective. The cover art was the only art I enjoyed from the old illustrator, it kind of suited the feel.
That'd be Dario Fo I belive.
And fuck, I've been saddened by this all day. Here's to you Terry, hope you have many good years and books ahead of you.
You mean they steal author's in the UK? In the US, thats called kidnapping.
Anyways, as a salute to Pratchett and the hope that he still has many years of enjoyment left in him, I went out and bought Monstrous Regiment today. Should get to reading it over winter break.
I really liked Monstrous Regiment. It's pretty damn dark in places, I thought. The feminist aspects are interesting and it obviously resonated to me personally as a sort of parody of general Eastern European or specifically Balkan politics.
Me likey that book.
Me too. He even managed to sneak Vimes in.
And labeling things as an Abomination Unto Nuggan is a wonderful stress reliever.
I always like Rincewind best when he's driven into a corner, when there are things even he isn't cowardly enough to do. I think the best example of this is at the end of The Last Continent, when there's nothing left for him to do but rage against what seems to be inevitable (and Death in particular). He's a coward, but he's also a good person. Plus he came up with that great quote in Last Hero:
"We, who are about to die, don't want to."
Oh yeah, I know that. I've already read Reaper Man and Small Gods. I got the omnibus for convenience sake and I'm going read that since it contains the first Discworld books, which I haven't read yet. I need to see where it all began.
That also reminds me, I have started The Light Fantastic about 3 times now, still haven't finished it. Maybe I should pick it up again and see if I can get through it this time.
I don't know if it's true or not, but I have a possible explanation as to why it might be.
Rincewind is, as Ridcully put it in Interesting Times, a survivor. He does everything possible to not meet Death in a professional setting. Much like with Vimes (although not as proactive), any Assassin trying to kill Rincewind will find his task nearly impossible and filled with frustration at every turn. Rincewind has survived every continent (including the 99% poisonous FourEcks), has gone over the Rim twice, and has literally been to hell and back.
AM950,000 might be a little on the low side, if you ask me.
http://wiki.lspace.org/wiki/Reading_Order
Whoever said Night Watch was the best one... yes. Also Thud! and Reaper Man. But there is a special place in my care chip for Thief of Time, which has the Monks of History.
I can't cite this but I am absolutely certain he said there was one more book left in the series in some interview or another. In the same interview he said it would be the last Rincewind book. And Vyolynce, that is a GREAT theory.
Rincewind has always been a favorite of mine, I mean, he is Death's hobby for bugger-all.
Also, going by the Lspace timeline he spend about a year or so (Disc time, not Dungeon Dimensions time) in the Dungeon Dimensions.
I would also, although this is unlikely to happen, like to see more back story on the Tower of Art.
Although; are the audiobooks any good? They're a tad on the expensive side on iTunes (which is par for the course, I suppose), but if they're worth listening to, that might be a viable alternative to getting the books individually. I see Nigel Planer reads Colour of Magic :O
jeeze, this sucks. i was just waiting to start the new discworld over christmas break, too
I know it's probably stupid to ask, but there was one before that (If you consider Equal Rites a Witch book), and two after them (Maskerade and Carpe Jugulum)
3DS: 1607-3034-6970
My favorite "series" of books is the night watch series, Vimes is totally the best character.
You're basically correct. The price comes from the Assassins' Guild Yearbook and Diary 2000, one of the series of diaries which add detail and awesome Kidby illustrations to some of the institutions of the Disc. The details are:
Open Commission: Rincewind (Assistant Librarian at UU) (AM$950K). Mr Rincewind is one of nature's survivors. He seems not to be a violent man, but Assassins attempting this commission seem to find themselves the victims of unexplained accidents - falling slates, lightning strikes - or, and this is worth noting, being waylaid by Mr Rincewind's travel accessory.
The diary doesn't mention who is willing to pay, but it may be that the commission was, er, commissioned in The Colour of Magic due to his dealings with Twoflower, and the offer has never been withdrawn.