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The Terry Pratchett Thread

It's been been a few years since I last read a Pratchett Novel, but I'm still tempted to blame him for my lack of sleep last night. Yesterday afternoon I stumbled across the Discworld MUD (online text adventure game). I logged on to try it out, and spent eighteen straight hours at it.

I'm astonished at how vast and detailed the game is, and I've only barely had a chance to look around the Ankh-Morpork section. (Ankh-Morpork is itself only a small area of the game. You also have Klatch, Uberwald, the Counterweight Continent and lots more.)

Here's the website for those interested: http://discworld.starturtle.net/lpc
You can direct link to it via telnet (which is what I'm doing) or a MUD client at discworld.atuin.net via Port 23. But you really should look at the website. I wasted a few hours before figuring out some things they make clear on the site.)

ETA:

From the website:
Welcome to Discworld MUD

Discworld MUD is a multiplayer, text-based, online game (a MUD, or text MMORPG) based on the Discworld books by Terry Pratchett. On Discworld you will meet many of the characters from those books. Terry's books are humorous fantasy and the game retains the comical, fun feel of the books.

We are a fully-featured and well-established MUD with many possibilities for player interaction: 14 areas (domains) totalling over a million rooms, the opportunity to become a member of one of 6 guilds, a citizen of one of the many city-states on the Disc, run your own shop, own your own house, write for the local newspaper, and much more!
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I subscribe to a Discworld newsletter, this is from a report on the Discworld convention that took place over the bank holiday weekend.

One of the most anticipated panels of the weekend was The Watch Team Interview. This promised to provide some much requested information about some of the upcoming TV adaptations. The first shock, however, was the announcement that rather than working with third parties, Terry and Rob have created a new production company of their own named Narrativia. Rob had the vision of Narativia more than five years ago but it has only recently been possible to put all the plans and ideas into motion. A full press release will be coming in a couple of weeks and we'll send out a special edition when we get it. Narrativia needed a producer so they asked Rod Brown (ex The Mob and PrimeFocus) to join the company in that role. The final director of the company is Terry's daughter Rhianna who has become very influential in the computer games market (having recently reinvented Lara Croft). Rhianna has spent several years building her writing skills on games and has also written a screenplay for a film. She now feels she is ready to work with her father on the Discworld adaptations. Narrativia has teamed up with independant writer Guy Burt - whose recent projects include a recent episode of The Borgias. During the interview it became obvious that Guy is a huge Discworld fan with plenty of character knowledge and a lot of enthusiasm. Wherever possible Narrativia have secured film, TV, digital and merchandise rights to Terry's books. Narrativia will be working on two projects initially: An adaptation of Good Omens and a 13 part police procedural, post-watershed, drama called The Watch. The Watch will feature new stories and new characters as well as existing characters we know and love. Rhianna has spent time working out how forensics might work on the Disc and is planning on bringing Igorina (a cousin of Igor) into the watch as their forensics officer. At the moment both projects are at very early stages - but this all sounds very exciting and I can't wait to see what they produce.
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There is a new book out this month 'Dodger'.

I also just finished 'Snuff' but in audio book format, and I really liked it.

I am going to go through the entire discworld series in audio book after I finish Harry Potter, which is read by Stephen Fry and just fantastic.
 
Pixel42 said:
I subscribe to a Discworld newsletter, this is from a report on the Discworld convention that took place over the bank holiday weekend.
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Now that sounds very interesting.

Tatyana said:
There is a new book out this month 'Dodger'.

I also just finished 'Snuff' but in audio book format, and I really liked it.

I am going to go through the entire discworld series in audio book after I finish Harry Potter, which is read by Stephen Fry and just fantastic.
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Anything read by Stephen Fry is fantastic, and he does a great job of Potter. I've found a channel on youtube with the whole of QI contained therein. I'm onto series 5 so far.
 
ShadowSot said:
I enjoyed the Long Earth a lot, I'm always into alternate reality stories. I thought it was on the whole pretty good, not sure why people accuse it of rambling.
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I enjoyed The Long Earth too, but I did so much more as I reached the end and gradually gave up on reading Pratchett book. I think what can seem rambling about it and is very untypical for Pratchett is the structure of the book. Pratchett is a great craftsman of narrative, and this book doesn't have as much of it as I'm used to from a Pratchett book. It reads like a travel log (because it basically is), meaning that it is mostly concerned with the description of a world. The Discworld books, on the other hand, are structured more in a classic dramatic fashion: Setup of a conflict, escalation of the conflict, climax and end. There's always some hidden goings-on that explain the entire thing and are central to the story, but aren't revealed until the climax.

TLE, on the other hand, goes "we went to a place, then to another, found out a couple things, then went on". There is a central problem, but they aren't really working towards solving it, they are just travelling harder to find out what it even is. There are lots of bits especially in the first half that do the Stephen King-like setup of a world through sidetracking storylines, but don't lead anywhere tangible or are explored much longer than you are used from Pratchett, who usually really doesn't give you a lot that isn't really meaningful.

Let's say, while for example the Discworld novels are constructed like a Jenga tower and collapse at the climax, TLE is more like an anthill and the climax is a gardener carefully shovelling off the top part.

Again, I did enjoy it. It's really good. It just isn't very Pratchetty.
 
New book ordered. During the past year or two I have been re-reading the Disc World - read them all in sequence, starting early 1980s, but am very pleasantly surprised to find out how very much \I am enjoying the re-reading. Not reading in order; just coming to the end of 'Wyrd Sisters'.

I put a link on favourites to the newsletter a while back but had forgotten about it - must remember to look at it more often. I think I'll have to organise a day in Wincanton, Ankh-Morpork's twin!
 
In 'Wyrd Sisters', Magrat meets Verence, the Fooll, and in another book, (the title of which I forget just at the moment, but which I read quite recently!!), they get married. In the latter, Magrat talked about a letter from Granny to Verence which she eventually finds. However, does anyone happen to know in which book the letter was written, and what it said? If I remember correctly, there's another book where Magrat is a bit upset because Verence never actually proposes!

:D Yes, I do realise that this is a completely trivial question and is not vital to life, but just wondered ....
 
Dave Rogers said:
The non-proposal, Magrat finding the letter and the wedding all happen in Lords and Ladies, IIRC.

Dave
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Ah, yes- 'Lords and Ladies' - thank you!:) I suppose I shall have to have another listen!
 
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SusanB-M1 said:
New book ordered. During the past year or two I have been re-reading the Disc World - read them all in sequence, starting early 1980s, but am very pleasantly surprised to find out how very much \I am enjoying the re-reading. Not reading in order; just coming to the end of 'Wyrd Sisters'.

I put a link on favourites to the newsletter a while back but had forgotten about it - must remember to look at it more often. I think I'll have to organise a day in Wincanton, Ankh-Morpork's twin!
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I am about to launch into the whole series again in order by audiobook.

I find I am not reading much recreationally, I am reading either science journals or travel books, but it really isn't the same thing.

I do bring one book with me to read on holiday so I am more or less 'forced' to read it.
 
I bought my copy of 'Dodger' the other day and the blurb indicates that it's not a Disc World book. Has anyone read it? What are your opinions on it, please?
 
New book by PTerry:

A Blink of the Screen: Collected Short Fiction

"A collection of shorter fiction from Terry Pratchett, spanning the whole of his writing career from schooldays to Discworld and the present day."



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Read Dodger the other day.

Incredibly readable. It's basically a comedic Dickens novel but written from the point of view of 'Dodger' - pretty much The Artful Dodger from Oliver Twist but with a few changes.

Dickens is a central character, as are several other real people (though they are obviously based-on rather than actual historically realistic)

It reminds me a little of the style of 'Science of the Discworld'. It's clearly Pratchett, but in a non-Discworld setting he obviously can't let loose with hs full flights of fantasy and has to rein it in a little.

A very enjoyable read, if I had to criticise, it was a little too 'perfect' in places - Dodger almost never puts a foot wrong, and there never seems to be a real sense of menace.

That said, I read it in one day and enjoyed it immensely.
 
SusanB-M1 said:
I bought my copy of 'Dodger' the other day and the blurb indicates that it's not a Disc World book. Has anyone read it? What are your opinions on it, please?
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Good fun, same style as 'Nation', and set in a similar (although slightly fictionalised) version of Victorian England.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aL_M6ijPBE

Here's something you might enjoy: Discworld set to radio. I spent last Saturday night working on a coif and listening to "Guards! Guards!" It's obviously a bit different from the books, but definitely one of the better translations I've seen--er, heard.
 
Worm and Mashuna
Many thanks for your comments. i can now look forward to it, knowing I won't be disappointed!

Dinwar
Thank you for the link - I'll have a look later.
 
Moss said:
I had the feeling Snuff re-iterated a lot of the themes of Unseen Academicals. With some country trappings.
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Huh. It didn't remind me at all of Unseen Academicals. What it did remind me of was The Fifth Elephant. Except that the setting was based on Jane Austen instead of Bram Stoker. :)
 
About three years ago I think, there was a book called something like, 'what is evolution?'. It was a larger, square-shaped hardback, with many photographs, coloured pages, etc and was aimed at younger people. I thought I was shown a paperback edition of this a few weeks ago in Waterstone's, but when I phoned today, they couldn't recall it.

Does anybody remember it, please?
 
Dinwar said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aL_M6ijPBE

Here's something you might enjoy: Discworld set to radio. I spent last Saturday night working on a coif and listening to "Guards! Guards!" It's obviously a bit different from the books, but definitely one of the better translations I've seen--er, heard.
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My son and I listened to that audiobook during a long, long drive. I still can't decide if I like the reader (no idea who it was); I thought for a long while that he was quite boring, and there was more than one occasion on which he used the wrong voice for a character. Still, by the end of it I was dreading our gasoline and bathroom breaks when I would have to stop listening. (Note: I had already read the book).
 
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