christie malry
Scholar
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Dear crikey we've got to count ourselves lucky there then. Mind you, HHGTTG worked out OK...
The Terry Pratchett Thread
- Thread starter H3LL
- Start date
Dear crikey we've got to count ourselves lucky there then. Mind you, HHGTTG worked out OK...
Flo
Illuminator
Keep away from the Unseen Library editions - Seriously yummy and a terrible money-pit
Villain ! Do you realise how many booksellers in Geneva thought they were safe until at least september ? I had planned to go shopping for potting soil tonight, not books ? Don't you feel guilty for all those little plants that'll have to wait until tomorrow night to get potted ?
H3LL
Illuminator
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Don't you feel guilty for all those little plants that'll have to wait until tomorrow night to get potted ?
Nope
"I meant," said Ipslore bitterly, "what is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?"
Death thought about it.
"CATS," he said eventually. "CATS ARE NICE". - TP
.Death thought about it.
"CATS," he said eventually. "CATS ARE NICE". - TP
Kotatsu
Phthirapterist
Which, as such, has no bearing on how I experience the books, does it? I can easily imagine that he's richer than most trolls in England put together, but that does not conflict with my feeling that the later books feel rushed and, well, very thin in content considering how thick they are.
I agree. The evidence I need is in your signature. It's a good quote (the second one).
3point14
Pi
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I wasn't disputing that you felt they were rushed, indeed I couldn't dispute really if you said you felt they were awful, that's your feeling after all, just saying that as far as I'm aware, Terry has no need to rush a book for fiscal reasons, and that the book you read is likely to be the book he wanted to write. (If he did need the money, at least that might be an excuse for the rushed feeling, as it is, it just means that (to you) he's not that good at pacing.) Apologies if it came across as confrontational
Interestingly, large numbers of the earlier discworld books were written very quickly indeed, for a good few years there was one published every six months.
JoeTheJuggler
Penultimate Amazing
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Doesn't Netflix require proof that you're of the human species, Nobby?
3point14
Pi
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It's okay, he's got a note from the Patrician.
malbui
Beauf
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Another big Pratchett fan here... I was on holiday last week and took along the first two Tiffany Aching books that I'd been saving up for a couple of days of R&R. I'm now pretty much up to date - in paperback, at least.
Favourites? Feet of Clay, as it's a kicking detective story, and Fifth Elephant for its take on international relations. Jingo would be up there as well.
Oh yeah, and it's English all the way. I read as much as possible in the orginal, but especially stuff like Pratchett where translation is only ever going to be an approximation.
Favourites? Feet of Clay, as it's a kicking detective story, and Fifth Elephant for its take on international relations. Jingo would be up there as well.
Oh yeah, and it's English all the way. I read as much as possible in the orginal, but especially stuff like Pratchett where translation is only ever going to be an approximation.
Kotatsu
Phthirapterist
I wasn't disputing that you felt they were rushed, indeed I couldn't dispute really if you said you felt they were awful, that's your feeling after all, just saying that as far as I'm aware, Terry has no need to rush a book for fiscal reasons, and that the book you read is likely to be the book he wanted to write. (If he did need the money, at least that might be an excuse for the rushed feeling, as it is, it just means that (to you) he's not that good at pacing.) Apologies if it came across as confrontational
No worries. I believe I owe you exactly the same apologies. I blame being bored at work, bad weather and also capitalism for good measure.
I think pacing is part of it, but not all. There's just too many things I don't particularly care for in the newer books. Above all towers the abomination that is the Igors. It was fun in the first book, to a limited extent. But I feel the Igor-jokes are the same ones in every book. Just variations. And I don't like this modernisation of Ankh-Morpork, and the fact that VIRTUALLY NO ONE has names that couldn't pass as real names in the real world. They are all Mr. Jones and Mrs. Henderson and so on. At most, we get a Mr. Pin, but that's not as fanciful as the names used to be.
Maybe it's just some sort of misplaced nostalgia?
Then maybe my problem is that he doesn't write them fast enough?
3point14
Pi
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Apology accepted (We're so civilised!!
)The Discworld has become more serious and realistic over the years. In TCOM the whole of Ankh-Morpork was burnt down just so that he could get in a gag or two about it, that's not really possible now, I guess. I think the lack of silly names are part of that. FWIW, I agree a little about the Igors, and I am slightly worried that it lowers the risk quotient for the lead charachters in The Watch if they can just be stitched back up every time.
FWIW, I've got a feeling Granny may die soon. Just a hunch based on things in the Tiffany Aching books.
eir_de_scania
Thinker
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Hawk one
Emperor of the Internet
3point14 said:
Oh, you don't need to worry too much about that. Because in Night Watch, you'll notice how the Watch's Igor was in fact telling he could have revived the killed dwarf officer, but Vimes had put his foot down. So he won't just use them as an excuse for any miracles. And heck, in "Going Postal", Grout was sent to the hospital (which we indirectly and later finds out employs its own Igor), and the miracle was rather that he didn't need much healing after all.
And more importantly, Pratchett has only let two important characters survive throughout the whole book, and then dying in another one: Mort and Ysabell. Really, go take a check. If they're alive when the book ends, odds are really, really good that they'll keep on living throughout all other books they appear in. And this happened long before Igors came onto the scene.
Of course, now that you know this, you might feel that there won't be much risk to any lead characters whenever you read a new book.
Of course, now that you know this, you might feel that there won't be much risk to any lead characters whenever you read a new book.
I'm kind of hoping Carrot will die soon. The character doesn't have much more to add, I think, and it would make for an interesting story.
Hawk one
Emperor of the Internet
Actually, I agree with you on this. Carrot's interesting-ness is a bit like Rincewind, in that the consequences of his actions are much more far-reaching than expected. And I liked Thud!, but I think Pratchett's having a bit of a struggle with Carrot, which is possibly why most of the action around Carrot happened in an indirect manner (i.e. it happened in the scenes between Angua and Sally).
Kotatsu
Phthirapterist
Apology accepted (We're so civilised!!
Hooray!
But I think I liked that better. I am a great fan of Robert Rankin, who often seem to do whatever he wants just to be able to make a good joke (1). I like the unpredictability of his books. The knowledge that the main character may not survive (although if it is a recurring character, he may of course live in the next book anyway).
I actually think Vimes sort of has it coming. It would be very interesting to see what would happen to the Watch --- and the entire city! --- if he were to die. It's hard to think of any new honours he might receive when he's solved the next mystery and saved everyone again.
---
(1) And the old ones are the best.
Kotatsu
Phthirapterist
Doesn't Gaspode die in The Fifth Elephant? Or do I misremember?
Of course, he may not really count as an important character the way, say, Nanny Ogg does.
No, he lands on another wolf.
IIRC, His final scene in that book is him howling for Bum's death and then wandering off.
Hawk one
Emperor of the Internet
Actually, the final scene with Gaspode is that he uses his powers of speech to hitchhike a trip with a coal wagon headed for Ankh-Morpork.
And the very last scene is with Carrot and Angua getting back to the office and putting things back to where they were in the Watch.
Also, it's Gavin's death. Bum was just the lone wolf who'd been captured by some villagers.
And the very last scene is with Carrot and Angua getting back to the office and putting things back to where they were in the Watch.
Also, it's Gavin's death. Bum was just the lone wolf who'd been captured by some villagers.