Because it works quite ____ing well for adding a certain conversational emphasis giving the whole thing a certain ____ing ineffable air of menace. That's ____ing why.
The black-on-black eyes stared imploringly at Brutha, who reached out automatically, without thinking…and then hesitated.
HE WAS A MURDERER, said Death. AND A CREATOR OF MURDERERS. A TORTURER. WITHOUT PASSION. CRUEL. CALLOUS. COMPASSIONLESS.
“Yes. I know. He’s Vorbis,” said Brutha. Vorbis changed people. Sometimes he changed them into dead people. But he always changed them. That was his triumph.
He sighed.
“But I’m me,” he said.
Vorbis stood up, uncertainly, and followed Brutha across the desert.
I made a game! Hotline Maui. Requires mouse and keyboard.
The black-on-black eyes stared imploringly at Brutha, who reached out automatically, without thinking…and then hesitated.
HE WAS A MURDERER, said Death. AND A CREATOR OF MURDERERS. A TORTURER. WITHOUT PASSION. CRUEL. CALLOUS. COMPASSIONLESS.
“Yes. I know. He’s Vorbis,” said Brutha. Vorbis changed people. Sometimes he changed them into dead people. But he always changed them. That was his triumph.
He sighed.
“But I’m me,” he said.
Vorbis stood up, uncertainly, and followed Brutha across the desert.
The black-on-black eyes stared imploringly at Brutha, who reached out automatically, without thinking…and then hesitated.
HE WAS A MURDERER, said Death. AND A CREATOR OF MURDERERS. A TORTURER. WITHOUT PASSION. CRUEL. CALLOUS. COMPASSIONLESS.
“Yes. I know. He’s Vorbis,” said Brutha. Vorbis changed people. Sometimes he changed them into dead people. But he always changed them. That was his triumph.
He sighed.
“But I’m me,” he said.
Vorbis stood up, uncertainly, and followed Brutha across the desert.
"I even wrote a bit underneath asking <Granny> to be a godmother," <Magrat> said, sitting down in front of the mirror and scrabbling among the debris of makeup. "She's always secretly wanted to be one."
"That's something to wish on a child," said Agnes, without thinking.
Magrat's hand stopped halfway to her face, in a little cloud of powder, and Agnes saw her horrified look in the mirror. Then the jaw tightened, and for a moment the Queen had just the same expression the Granny sometimes employed.
"Well, if it was a choice of wishing a child health, wealth and happiness, or Granny Weatherwax being on her side, I know which I'd choose," said Magrat.
Up to Guards Guards in my Discworld revisiting now that the series is sadly done.
If you were looking for the point he sold his soul to satan for the ability to write gold, it's clearly here. Up to now they have been very good books and a steady improvement, but this book is a quantum leap ahead.
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Golden YakBurnished BovineThe sunny beaches of CanadaRegistered Userregular
Guards! Guards! is something special, that's for sure. The first major Watch book, for a start. I have the graphic novel as well - your mileage may vary on the art, but the dialogue is faithful and there's something great on every page.
'Do you see anything odd about that tower, sargeant?'
'Werl, it looks like there's a dragon on it, don't it sir. Only when you look properly, you can see its just ivy and shadows and that.'
'Nope, looks like a dragon. You can see the wings folded up.'
'Beg pardon sir, but that's just broken stonework giving the effect.'
'What do you suppose is causing the effect of a gigantic pair of wings unfolding?'
'I think that's caused by a gigantic pair of wings unfolding, sir.'
'Spot on, sargeant.'
Got through all the Watch books, all the Witch books (including ER and the Tiffany books). Now working through the standalones, on Moving Pictures. (Started the rereading with Small Gods just because). After this I'm going to put the rereads on hold for a bit since I saw the The Long Utopia was out and picked that up yesterday.
Got through all the Watch books, all the Witch books (including ER and the Tiffany books). Now working through the standalones, on Moving Pictures. (Started the rereading with Small Gods just because). After this I'm going to put the rereads on hold for a bit since I saw the The Long Utopia was out and picked that up yesterday.
OOOH MYYY GOOOOD~
Damn it, I was just at Chapters today and I didn't think to check - I wasn't even sure what kind of future that series had.
I loved the first three books and the setting of the Long Earth and how each book holds a major revelation about the nature of the universe that gets wilder and wilder... definitely going to track down a copy the very next chance I get.
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chiasaur11Never doubt a raccoon.Do you think it's trademarked?Registered Userregular
Got through all the Watch books, all the Witch books (including ER and the Tiffany books). Now working through the standalones, on Moving Pictures. (Started the rereading with Small Gods just because). After this I'm going to put the rereads on hold for a bit since I saw the The Long Utopia was out and picked that up yesterday.
Let me know if it's good.
Considering how much I hated the Long War, my current default plan is ignoring the rest of that series.
MorninglordI'm tired of being Batman,so today I'll be Owl.Registered Userregular
edited August 2015
I'm up to men at arms of my publishing order read through. I picked up some of these books so far back the last third or so of his biblio isnt in the book.
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The Long {Whatever} all felt like some fun ideas, a little bit of Science Fiction-y exploration of fun idea and not a terribly large amount of story. They aren't bad but they don't really feel like a Pratchett book. They feel more like Baxter-lite where he brainstormed with Terry.
The Long {Whatever} all felt like some fun ideas, a little bit of Science Fiction-y exploration of fun idea and not a terribly large amount of story. They aren't bad but they don't really feel like a Pratchett book. They feel more like Baxter-lite where he brainstormed with Terry.
Yeah, the only part of the series that actually feels like Pratchett was the stepper device being powered by a potato...
The Long {Whatever} all felt like some fun ideas, a little bit of Science Fiction-y exploration of fun idea and not a terribly large amount of story. They aren't bad but they don't really feel like a Pratchett book. They feel more like Baxter-lite where he brainstormed with Terry.
Yeah, the only part of the series that actually feels like Pratchett was the stepper device being powered by a potato...
I have to admit to something...
When I read The Long Earth and got to Lobsang, I rolled my eyes in exasperation because Pratchett has shoehorned the name "Lobsang" into every Tibetan reference he could make. Surely there's more than one name in that culture. Is there some Australian-centric joke about that name that I don't even recognize?
In fact, doesn't Lobsang in TLE mention early on that his name isn't Lobsang, but that's what he answers to because it amuses him?
GNU Terry Pratchett
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Spoilered until images are unborked.
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chiasaur11Never doubt a raccoon.Do you think it's trademarked?Registered Userregular
The Long {Whatever} all felt like some fun ideas, a little bit of Science Fiction-y exploration of fun idea and not a terribly large amount of story. They aren't bad but they don't really feel like a Pratchett book. They feel more like Baxter-lite where he brainstormed with Terry.
Yeah, the only part of the series that actually feels like Pratchett was the stepper device being powered by a potato...
Or similar Martian vegetable.
Everything Lobsang related too.
I liked Lobsang a lot better in TLE, when it wasn't quite clear if he was a reincarnated motorcycle repairman, an AI that earnestly believed it was a reincarnated motorcycle repairman, or an AI that had realized that its legal position looked a LOT better if it claimed to be a reincarnated motorcycle repairman, so might as well bullshit the courts and get away clean. Things leaned much harder to options 1 and 2 in the sequel, and that was just... dull.
The Long {Whatever} all felt like some fun ideas, a little bit of Science Fiction-y exploration of fun idea and not a terribly large amount of story. They aren't bad but they don't really feel like a Pratchett book. They feel more like Baxter-lite where he brainstormed with Terry.
The mood was a deliberate collaboration, but the original idea was Terry's.
GR: Terry, when did you begin the book, and how did the collaboration with Stephen come about?
TP: After The Color of Magic [1983] was sent to the publishers, I was wondering what to do next. I started an elongated short story about the quantum earths, and I had a vague idea that I could turn it into a novel. I once drove past a pub in Bristol, England, and I saw a horse being pushed through the pub door, and I thought, "Why is that happening?" I started off with a man who just found a way of getting into another world, and he was more or less taking a Noah's Ark through with him, putting pigs in and so on. How it happens is, you get the ideas and you play about with them, you take them where you think you want to go.
But The Color of Magic became very successful quite fast, so I thought this [short story about other worlds] looks like an SF book, not a fantasy book. Since fantasy is doing well, I'll write another fantasy book. So in fact, the acorn that was going to be The Long Earth laid there in my cupboard in my office for quite a long time.
Steve and I have known each other for a long time, because every time you go to an SF convention you're bound to meet each other. I thought he was the best hard-core SF leader we had in the UK. We were sitting together at a party, and I asked him if he would like to have a go at this, and that was it, really.
SB: I think we've known each other for 20 years now. At first we were just playing around with the idea of collaborating for The Long Earth. We kind of got carried away.
GR: What were the advantages and pitfalls of cowriting a novel?
SB: It was an interesting clash of styles. There were some interesting moments—various hissy fits, tantrums.
TP: I think it was one hissy fit each and one shared.
SB: Terry would start with the characters, and let them work out their own story in a way. Whereas, coming from a hard SF background, I'm more used to working out timelines and maps and trying to map out the universe we're going to explore conceptually.
TP: Folks, he actually turned up with some spreadsheets!
SB: And a box file with maps. Terry was appalled.
TP: I was impressed at first, then appalled. I think twice when we were working—especially when we were doing the last draft—one of us would say to the other, "You did a pretty good job on that bit," and the other one would say, "Hang on, you wrote it." We were actually cleaning up after one another, gluing things together in the right places, but still keeping the same mood.
I have read a lot of Baxter. The vast majority of the characters in the long earth series feel more human than Baxters frequent exposition regurgitating logic bots.
Pratchett isn't just whacky joke characters. He's also got a fantastic grasp of truly rounded characters, of people. Baxters ideas and Pratchetts ideas are mixed together very firmly. It results in characters you wouldn't normally find in a Baxter book: characters with flaws, with motivations of their own that occasionally run against the main plot, not just there to be the curious science literate expository device. Their combined presence is everywhere and the instances you can point to something and say "thats definitely all pratchett" or "that's definitely all Baxter" are quite rare. Most of these books are Baxchett/Praxter. You can see that many parts have been edited by both, probably several times, each time leaving their individual flavour. For example, a character will show Baxter style introspection and explanation, followed by a pratchett style human reaction to that explanation.
Strata and Dark side of the Sun had a pretty similar mood to these books much of the time. They weren't anywhere near as lighthearted as Discworld.
A particularly important point: the way that humans have spread out and explored this world is extremely Pratchett. He understands the wider social consequences of a new discovery very well, how everyday people would react to it, whereas Baxter is more about the drive to explore and discover for its own sake, with the finer details of what everyday people in society do in reaction to these discoveries usually glossed over.
Great example being that gap world where there is no earth, with the earth next door getting populated by all those ex Nasa and various Space enthusiasts who couldn't give up on space even though everyone else in society is busy spreading out amongst the various earths.
Whenever the characters go into that place you can feel Pratchett's influence really strongly.
I greatly enjoy these books on their own merits, since I like both Baxter and Pratchett. Baxter is one of those authors that just blew my teenage mind wide open.
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Apothe0sisHave you ever questioned the nature of your reality?Registered Userregular
I have to admit to something...
When I read The Long Earth and got to Lobsang, I rolled my eyes in exasperation because Pratchett has shoehorned the name "Lobsang" into every Tibetan reference he could make. Surely there's more than one name in that culture. Is there some Australian-centric joke about that name that I don't even recognize?
In fact, doesn't Lobsang in TLE mention early on that his name isn't Lobsang, but that's what he answers to because it amuses him?
There is an Australia Monty Python sketch where everyone is called Bruce. I've not read TLE so I am just going off context cues in your post, so apologies if I am not saying anything helpful.
The Long {Whatever} all felt like some fun ideas, a little bit of Science Fiction-y exploration of fun idea and not a terribly large amount of story. They aren't bad but they don't really feel like a Pratchett book. They feel more like Baxter-lite where he brainstormed with Terry.
The mood was a deliberate collaboration, but the original idea was Terry's.
To elaborate: there's a 1986 story called "The High Meggas" which deals with most of the concepts - world-skipping, The Gap, etc. It just focuses on one guy and his desire to avoid the authorities, though, rather than looking at how all of society deals with it.
So a few towns away from me is a Free Library. Some guy set up some air tight bookshelves in his yard and the concept is that you can take any books you want and leave any books you want, as long as they aren't porn or something terrible in nature.
I've left my Night Watch collection of Discworld books there. (Guards! Guards!, Men at Arms, Feet of Clay, and Night Watch) last week. It was hard to get rid of them but I've read them and reread them and honestly, it felt right.
Guards! Guards! is gone from the list, and someone has added Color of Magic to the library. And So It Begins.
So a few towns away from me is a Free Library. Some guy set up some air tight bookshelves in his yard and the concept is that you can take any books you want and leave any books you want, as long as they aren't porn or something terrible in nature.
I've left my Night Watch collection of Discworld books there. (Guards! Guards!, Men at Arms, Feet of Clay, and Night Watch) last week. It was hard to get rid of them but I've read them and reread them and honestly, it felt right.
Guards! Guards! is gone from the list, and someone has added Color of Magic to the library. And So It Begins.
“Do you not know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?”
Sometimes I feel like he's alive in all of us, as we continue to give the gift of PTerry.
Sometimes I feel like he's alive in all of us, as we continue to give the gift of PTerry.
"Giving the Gift of PTerry" is my exact plan for this year's holidays, and partially why I'm re-reading as many as I can. EVERYONE I usually send gifts to is going to get some sort of Pratchett book this year. I've been sort of mentally assigning books to people for a while now — I think since not long after his actual passing, really.
The Long {Whatever} all felt like some fun ideas, a little bit of Science Fiction-y exploration of fun idea and not a terribly large amount of story. They aren't bad but they don't really feel like a Pratchett book. They feel more like Baxter-lite where he brainstormed with Terry.
The mood was a deliberate collaboration, but the original idea was Terry's.
To elaborate: there's a 1986 story called "The High Meggas" which deals with most of the concepts - world-skipping, The Gap, etc. It just focuses on one guy and his desire to avoid the authorities, though, rather than looking at how all of society deals with it.
I have to say I think that is one of the more interesting bits of those books. I mean, I loved the characters with their different flaws and motivations and growth. I loved the world, but I also really enjoyed that it looked at a high level on how the world was changed. It took into account different cultures reacting differently as well.
I think that NASA void planet bit was a fantastic addition
So did anyone pick up The Long Utopia yet? I was rather disappointed with The Long War and never picked up Mars. But I just read a synopsis of Utopia and it does sound like an interesting idea... So is it good enough to get back into the series or more of the same?
Have it but not yet been able to crack it open other than to read Terry's author blurb.
Mars had some interesting ideas, but was really two books: one actually concerning the title subject, and the other covering goings-on on Earth and The Next.
I'm in the middle of The Long Mars right now, and I find myself not really liking it, but compelled to continue nonetheless. The world building is great, and I like reading about the exploration. But the story is super bare bones and basically consists of "then they saw this, and then they saw this..." It feels a lot like reading a D&D DM's guide for some new setting expansion pack.
But I'll finish it. And I'll probably read TLU, too.
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Why do you keep saying "ing"?
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Because it works quite ____ing well for adding a certain conversational emphasis giving the whole thing a certain ____ing ineffable air of menace. That's ____ing why.
Why I fear the ocean.
One of my favorite Disc World books.
One of my favourite Discworld moments.
If you were looking for the point he sold his soul to satan for the ability to write gold, it's clearly here. Up to now they have been very good books and a steady improvement, but this book is a quantum leap ahead.
'Do you see anything odd about that tower, sargeant?'
'Werl, it looks like there's a dragon on it, don't it sir. Only when you look properly, you can see its just ivy and shadows and that.'
'Nope, looks like a dragon. You can see the wings folded up.'
'Beg pardon sir, but that's just broken stonework giving the effect.'
'What do you suppose is causing the effect of a gigantic pair of wings unfolding?'
'I think that's caused by a gigantic pair of wings unfolding, sir.'
'Spot on, sargeant.'
For some reason that one kind of hit me.. just
I feel like it would have appealed to his dark sense of humor though.
OOOH MYYY GOOOOD~
Damn it, I was just at Chapters today and I didn't think to check - I wasn't even sure what kind of future that series had.
I loved the first three books and the setting of the Long Earth and how each book holds a major revelation about the nature of the universe that gets wilder and wilder... definitely going to track down a copy the very next chance I get.
Let me know if it's good.
Considering how much I hated the Long War, my current default plan is ignoring the rest of that series.
Why I fear the ocean.
Past tense. "Died in 2015".
which i really liked in a YA tearjerker kind of way
Not... long past.
But already very tense.
Why I fear the ocean.
Yeah, the only part of the series that actually feels like Pratchett was the stepper device being powered by a potato...
Everything Lobsang related too.
When I read The Long Earth and got to Lobsang, I rolled my eyes in exasperation because Pratchett has shoehorned the name "Lobsang" into every Tibetan reference he could make. Surely there's more than one name in that culture. Is there some Australian-centric joke about that name that I don't even recognize?
In fact, doesn't Lobsang in TLE mention early on that his name isn't Lobsang, but that's what he answers to because it amuses him?
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I liked Lobsang a lot better in TLE, when it wasn't quite clear if he was a reincarnated motorcycle repairman, an AI that earnestly believed it was a reincarnated motorcycle repairman, or an AI that had realized that its legal position looked a LOT better if it claimed to be a reincarnated motorcycle repairman, so might as well bullshit the courts and get away clean. Things leaned much harder to options 1 and 2 in the sequel, and that was just... dull.
Why I fear the ocean.
The mood was a deliberate collaboration, but the original idea was Terry's.
http://www.goodreads.com/interviews/show/787.Terry_Pratchett
I have read a lot of Baxter. The vast majority of the characters in the long earth series feel more human than Baxters frequent exposition regurgitating logic bots.
Pratchett isn't just whacky joke characters. He's also got a fantastic grasp of truly rounded characters, of people. Baxters ideas and Pratchetts ideas are mixed together very firmly. It results in characters you wouldn't normally find in a Baxter book: characters with flaws, with motivations of their own that occasionally run against the main plot, not just there to be the curious science literate expository device. Their combined presence is everywhere and the instances you can point to something and say "thats definitely all pratchett" or "that's definitely all Baxter" are quite rare. Most of these books are Baxchett/Praxter. You can see that many parts have been edited by both, probably several times, each time leaving their individual flavour. For example, a character will show Baxter style introspection and explanation, followed by a pratchett style human reaction to that explanation.
Strata and Dark side of the Sun had a pretty similar mood to these books much of the time. They weren't anywhere near as lighthearted as Discworld.
A particularly important point: the way that humans have spread out and explored this world is extremely Pratchett. He understands the wider social consequences of a new discovery very well, how everyday people would react to it, whereas Baxter is more about the drive to explore and discover for its own sake, with the finer details of what everyday people in society do in reaction to these discoveries usually glossed over.
Whenever the characters go into that place you can feel Pratchett's influence really strongly.
I greatly enjoy these books on their own merits, since I like both Baxter and Pratchett. Baxter is one of those authors that just blew my teenage mind wide open.
There is an Australia Monty Python sketch where everyone is called Bruce. I've not read TLE so I am just going off context cues in your post, so apologies if I am not saying anything helpful.
To elaborate: there's a 1986 story called "The High Meggas" which deals with most of the concepts - world-skipping, The Gap, etc. It just focuses on one guy and his desire to avoid the authorities, though, rather than looking at how all of society deals with it.
I've left my Night Watch collection of Discworld books there. (Guards! Guards!, Men at Arms, Feet of Clay, and Night Watch) last week. It was hard to get rid of them but I've read them and reread them and honestly, it felt right.
Guards! Guards! is gone from the list, and someone has added Color of Magic to the library. And So It Begins.
Sometimes I feel like he's alive in all of us, as we continue to give the gift of PTerry.
"Giving the Gift of PTerry" is my exact plan for this year's holidays, and partially why I'm re-reading as many as I can. EVERYONE I usually send gifts to is going to get some sort of Pratchett book this year. I've been sort of mentally assigning books to people for a while now — I think since not long after his actual passing, really.
I have to say I think that is one of the more interesting bits of those books. I mean, I loved the characters with their different flaws and motivations and growth. I loved the world, but I also really enjoyed that it looked at a high level on how the world was changed. It took into account different cultures reacting differently as well.
Mars had some interesting ideas, but was really two books: one actually concerning the title subject, and the other covering goings-on on Earth and The Next.
But I'll finish it. And I'll probably read TLU, too.