I didn’t think this book would be so emotionally difficult to get through. As readers of someone else’s fiction, it’s difficult to remember that there’s a real, down-to-earth, eats-and-breathes human behind the characters and fake world we so fall in love with. Terry Pratchett is himself, and even though Discworld was born from his head like Athena from Zeus, he’s not Discworld or any of the characters in it. In fact, to read his nonfiction is to sit in a very earthly room beside him […]
He’s Not A Hero, But He’s the Best Man for the Job
I would totally read Terry Pratchett’s ink blotter or scribbled napkin, so my opinion on anything Pratchett is probably a little biased. However, “Going Postal” is my all-time favorite Discworld novel, and its one of his best. This is my third read of this book, and since I’m using it for a guest lecture on building an ‘invented’ world, I really paid attention to how Pratchett made the story. It’s just short of brilliant, and I wish I could have seen this man storyboard because […]
I see now what everyone meant about latter Pratchett.
“It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone’s fault. If it was us, what did that make Me? After all, I’m one of Us. I must be. I’ve certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We’re always one of Us. It’s Them that do the bad things.” Jingo is an anti-war book in […]
Douglas Adams, Terry Gilliam, and Martin Freeman walk into a bar….
I have long wanted to read this, but the sheer number of volumes in the series was intimidating. I started it last year (or the year before) but was put off by the incessant silliness of it all. Which isn’t to say I don’t appreciate silliness, but I do have to be in the mood for it. And to that point, Terry Pratchett’s voice is unmistakable, here. It is equal parts Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Terry Gilliam, with a splash of bumbling charm that Martin […]
An emotional but worthwhile journey
There was much less sobbing than I expected, even considering what happens right at the beginning of the book (no spoilers). I am mad at the universe for taking Pratchett from us so soon (especially since I’ve been rereading Douglas Adams and I’m mad about that all over again), but I knew Pratchett wouldn’t let me down. His final Discworld book checks back in with Tiffany Aching, teenage witch and all-around badass. The elves are trying to break out of fairyland and wreak havoc in […]
Travel is so broadening.
Another installment of the adventures of Granny Weatherwax. This time, she’s left her home to travel the world and glare at foreigners. She and Nanny Ogg decide to ‘help’ Magrat to be a Fairy Godmother, with interesting results. This book examines fairy tales and the power of story in shaping how people interpret their lives. Magrat inherits the magic wand of Fairy Godmothering and has to travel to far-away Genua to perform her duties to her god child, who is basically Cinderella. Granny and Nanny […]
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