Jump to content

Terry Pratchett


Michelle

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 524
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Ooh, I just HAD to vote for my favourites, although some of the groups were very hard to choose from! In the end I went for:

 

A - Witches Abroad

B - Moving Pictures

C - Making Money

D - Sourcery

E - Reaper Man*

F - Night Watch**

G - Equal Rites

H - Going Postal

 

* This was the trickiest decision for me as I love all 4 of these books pretty much equally, but RM was the first DW nove I ever read, so I ended up choosing that one as it's responsible for gettingm e into DW in the 1st place.

** This is the only group I had absolutely no bother deciding as this is my fave DW novel!

 

Interestingly, I voted for both the books "starring" Moist Von Lipwig (groups C & H), and only 1 City Watch book, despite that sub-series being my favourite (the subsets being City Watch, Witches, Wizards, Industrial Revolution, Ancient Civilisations and Death). So I ended up with my voting being taken up by the following subsets:

 

City Watch - 1 (F)

Witches - 2 (A, G)

Industrial Revolution - 3 (B, C, H)

Death - 1 (E)

Wizards - 1 (D)

Ancient Civilisations - 0

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

34494.jpg

Synopsis:

"Another world is colliding with this one," said the toad. "All the monsters are coming back.""Why?" said Tiffany.

"There's no one to stop them.

There was silence for a moment.

Then Tiffany said, "There's me."

Armed only with a frying pan and her common sense, Tiffany Aching, a young witch-to-be, is all that stands between the monsters of Fairyland and the warm, green Chalk country that is her home. Forced into Fairyland to seek her kidnaped brother, Tiffany allies herself with the Chalk's local Nac Mac Feegle -- aka the Wee Free Men -- a clan of sheep-stealing, sword-wielding, six-inch-high blue men who are as fierce as they are funny. Together they battle through an eerie and ever-shifting landscape, fighting brutal flying fairies, dream-spinning dromes, and grimhounds -- black dogs with eyes of fire and teeth of razors -- before ultimately confronting the Queen of the Elves, absolute ruler of a world in which reality intertwines with nightmare. And in the final showdown, Tiffany must face her cruel power alone....

This is book number 30 in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel. This is a Tiffany Aching novel, a young adult twist on the Witches novels. Tiffany is called upon to rescue her brother from the Queen in an alternative universe and for help she has the Wee Free Men and a Toad. She calls upon powers she didn't know she possessed - the witch in her comes out as she fights the Queen of the Elves with just a frying pan.

I found this story slow to start but by half way through I was hooked. The Wee Free Men are hilarious! I loved that they just wanted to drink and fight! The end made me laugh, when poor Rob Anyone thought he might have to marry Tiffany - his fear was funny! I liked Tiffany too. She was headstrong, determined and inventive. She kept fighting and wouldn't let anyone take/insult her brother - although it was OK for her too.

As usual, Pratchett has written a fantastic novel. It is funny, full of action and with great characters. I would have liked Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax to feature more in this book but Tiffany was a delightful character. This is aimed at young adults but that doesn't come through or ruin this book. This has everything you would expect from Pratchett and is well worth reading.

4-stars.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

34511.jpgSynopsis:

Polly becomes Private Oliver Perks, who is on a quest to find her older brother, who's recently MIA in one of the innumerable wars the tiny nation of Borogravia has a habit of starting with its neighbors. This peevish tendency has all but expended Borogravia's ranks of cannon fodder. Whether Sergeant Jackrum knows her secret or not, he can't afford to be choosy, as Perks and her/his comrades are among the last able-bodied recruits left in Borogravia. This collection of misfits includes the aforementioned vampire (reformed and off the blood, thank you), troll, and macabre Igor, who is only too happy to sew you a new leg if you aren't too particular about previous ownership. Off to war, Polly/Oliver learns that having a pair of, um, socks is a good way to open up doors in this man's army.

This is number 31 in the Discworld series, and one of the better ones :blush: The star of this story is Polly, who has disguised herself as her dead brother Oliver so she could join the army. She wants to go fight in order to find her older brother Paul. She thinks she is the only girl in the regiment, but then someone gives her a pair of socks to use as an area of her anatomy, and she starts to suspect there is another girl amongst the men, but who is it? Along with that, Polly and her comrades have become feared, after taking out a group of bandits. Polly sets off to war, and learns many things along the way.

This book had me laughing most of the way through. Terry Pratchett wrote another book that is full of adventure, humour and imagination. This novel is all about girl-power, coffee and a pair of socks! There are several images that will stay with me for a long time I think - such as Malachai the vampire having caffeine withdrawal symptoms, which I found very funny!

Again, Pratchett wrote a book full of weird and wonderful characters. I liked Polly, she was headstrong and clever; and I loved her band of brothers. Working out who was female was fun, and they were all funny in their own ways. I don't know how Pratchett came up with characters like vampires who like coffee not blood or Egors, who mend themselves with other people's body parts. His imagination is incredible.

I really enjoyed this book. It is one of my favourite from the Discworld series and I would highly recommend it.

4-stars1.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does four hearts mean four out of five?

It's been quite a while since I read it, nearly five years in fact, but I remember Monstrous Regiment as being one of Pratchett's most biting satires. Yes, it is funny, but I feel from your review that you are missing the wider point that war in all forms is ultimately pointless.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I just wanted to briefly say that I really enjoyed Unseen Academicals. Football is a subject ripe for mickey-taking, and Terry really wrung the humour and satire out of it. I liked the characters of Glenda and Mr Nutt, and I loved the fact that there was slightly more Vetinari in it than usual (he's one of my favourite characters). Great!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just wanted to briefly say that I really enjoyed Unseen Academicals. Football is a subject ripe for mickey-taking, and Terry really wrung the humour and satire out of it. I liked the characters of Glenda and Mr Nutt, and I loved the fact that there was slightly more Vetinari in it than usual (he's one of my favourite characters). Great!

 

 

I agree. I loved all the characters and I always love the humour in all the books.

now I'm looking forward to 'I Shall Wear Midnight.' that's supposed to come out in the next few months.

lyn

Link to comment
Share on other sites

64222.jpgAddition: Audiobook

 

Rating: 3/5

 

Synopsis:

 

"Arch-swindler Moist Van Lipwig never believed his confidence crimes were hanging offenses - until he found himself with a noose tightly around his neck, dropping through a trapdoor, and falling into...a government job?" "By all rights, Moist should have met his maker. Instead, it's Lord Vetinari, supreme ruler of Ankh-Morpork, who promptly offers him a job as Postmaster. Since his only other option is a nonliving one, Moist accepts the position - and the hulking golem watchdog who comes along with it, just in case Moist was considering abandoning his responsibilities prematurely." "Getting the moribund Postal Service up and running again, however, may be a near-impossible task, what with literally mountains of decades-old undelivered mail clogging every nook and cranny of the broken-down post office building; and with only a few creaky old postmen and one rather unstable, pin-obsessed youth available to deliver it. Worse still, Moist could swear the mail is talking to him. Worst of all, it means taking on the gargantuan, money-hungry Grand Trunk clacks communication monopoly and its bloodthirsty piratical head, Mr. Reacher Gilt." But it says on the building Neither Rain Nor Snow Nor Glo m of Ni t...Inspiring words (admittedly, some of the bronze letters have been stolen), and for once in his wretched life Moist is going to fight. And if the bold and impossible are what's called for, he'll do it - in order to move the mail, continue breathing, get the girl, and specially deliver that invaluable commodity that every human being (not to mention troll, dwarf, and, yes, even golem) requires: hope

 

This is number 33 in the Discworld series. As ever, it is full of action, comedy and adventure.

 

The star of this story is Moist van Lipwig. He is a conman, and is shocked to discover he didn't die when they hanged him for his crimes. Lord Vetinari, the city's leader has other plans for him. Instead of killing him, Moist is ordered to revive the Post Office. This seems a ridiculous task as the city has clacks. Yet a meeting with the questionable man who runs the clacks and the fact they keep breaking down leads him to take up the challenge. It is not easy - he has to contend with people trying to kill him, falling in love and fire.

 

This is another enjoyable Discworld instalment. There is great characters, competition, fire and angry women, and of course, the post! I liked Moist. He was a funny man, but also determined and clever. His previous crimes gave him a shady, yet ingenious mind that was very helpful for him, and very entertaining to read. Lord Vetinari was my favourite character in the book. His dry wit just made me laugh.

 

In the synopsis there is talk of hope. I didn't find this a big theme throughout the book. I thought the main idea was to remember there are old fashioned ways to communicate! It seemed to me that Pratchett was having a sight a dig at modern technology, and I thought that was funny.

 

This is not my favourite Pratchett book but there was nothing wrong with it. It was funny and action-packed, and full of the genius that is Terry Pratchett.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...

There's a new Watch novel coming out in October called Snuff, which sounds rather good.

 

I also thought you all might like the link to the latest Discworld Reading Order Guide (which has been updated to include Unseen Academicals) HERE.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really wish Terry would get out of Ankh Morpork for a novel or two. The last few have all been very similar in feel (Going Postal, Making Money, Unseen Academicals) and to be honest, no matter how well they are written, I'm starting to get a little bored.

Edited by Raven
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Just bought my first Pratchett book. The Colour of Magic.

 

I hae wanted to read his books for a long as I can remember and never have seemed to get it, there has always been something else I have picked up.

 

I am actually sooo excited and can't wait for it to arrive!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just bought my first Pratchett book. The Colour of Magic.

I hae wanted to read his books for a long as I can remember and never have seemed to get it, there has always been something else I have picked up.

I am actually sooo excited and can't wait for it to arrive!!!

 

His first two books, 'The Colour Of Magic' and 'The Light Fantastic' are good, but not Terry Pratchett great. I reckon his brilliance really kicks in with 'Equal Rites'. I so hope you enjoy them. He has a turn of phrase and a way of story telling that is wondrous once you have let yourself move your brain into Discworld. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

His first two books, 'The Colour Of Magic' and 'The Light Fantastic' are good, but not Terry Pratchett great. I reckon his brilliance really kicks in with 'Equal Rites'.

 

What Chrissy said!

 

I started reading Pratchett's novels waaaaaaaay back in 1988, and although I enjoyed The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic at the time, they are very crude compared to what comes after. Equal Rites is the book that really got me interested, and after that Mort, Wyrd Sisters and Guards! Guards! These four books introduce the majority of his characters, and they are all jolly good reads!

Edited by Raven
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

I recently discovered Terry. I think I've read about a dozen of his book in the last couple of months. I love them. My favorites so far are Reaper man, Small Gods, The last Continent and Witches Abroad.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Thought this would be more appropriate here than in the TV section, but I watched Going Postal on DVD last night and really enjoyed it.

 

It's been years since I read the book, so I can't say how accurate an adaptation it was, but I thought Richard Coyle was very good as Moist von Lipwig as was Claire Foy as Miss Dearheart.

 

Recommended!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Okay, all these books in the Discworld series have me confused, so I have a very great favor to ask someone who is willing.

 

I would like a list of the books in the best order to read them. I probably won't read the young adult ones, so you can leave those out.

Also, I read The Colour of Magic and didn't enjoy it, so I started the series with Equal Rites, and will continue from there.

I'm also not interested in graphic novels, if there are any with this series.

 

Anyone want to help? Please? :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay, all these books in the Discworld series have me confused, so I have a very great favor to ask someone who is willing.

 

I would like a list of the books in the best order to read them. I probably won't read the young adult ones, so you can leave those out.

 

Anyone want to help? Please? :)

Try looking HERE.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...