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The_Doctor posted:Snuff wasn’t great for me, and I never finished it. Right at the start, Wilikins had a completely different personality from his previous appearances and it felt like everyone was off. I second this. I liked Murder Wilikins, and think him and Vimes have some really fun moments where they can actually see each other as peers, but Terry starting to lean in hard on Wilkin's sordid past is... I guess I can chalk it up to character development??? At best?
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Dec 24, 2023 03:32
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I enjoyed Unseen Academicals a lot more on a reread focusing on the idea of what it meant to be an orc in a fantasy setting and overcoming the crab bucket mentality. The football stuff felt like the main driving force the first time I read it but more like window dressing on the reread. I also really liked Snuff, perhaps not quite as much as The Fifth Elephant and Thud, but I think it was a worthy extension of the themes of those books, if let down a bit in execution. Raising Steam was a struggle though.
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Dec 24, 2023 05:41
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Rand Brittain posted:I didn't really thing that Unseen Academicals is particularly bad, except that it assumes the reader is intimately familiar with British football history (particularly jokes like "You think it's all over?" which make absolutely no sense in the novel without that context). Absolutely - a lot of the jokes were completely lost on me. The Last Continent felt marginally less so, but still pretty "I know that's supposed to be a reference, but I don't get it". I guess British and American readers will inevitably have picked up a lot more about Australia due to cultural osmosis than a German like me  Also, I'm almost through Tiffany Aching's Guide to Being a Witch (not a slow reader, but I'm stretching it out and reading it in tiny installments whenever I'm on the privy), and my former assessment still holds - it's completely and utterly fine, almost offensively so. I think I'll start a complete reread of the series in 2024. Dave Syndrome fucked around with this message at 10:00 on Dec 24, 2023 |
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Dec 24, 2023 09:57
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Rhianna Pratchett, bless her, but I've never seen anything she's written that is better than blandly competent. Not that she has to or should be expected to be her dad obv
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Dec 24, 2023 10:17
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Youremother posted:I second this. I liked Murder Wilikins, and think him and Vimes have some really fun moments where they can actually see each other as peers, but Terry starting to lean in hard on Wilkin's sordid past is... I guess I can chalk it up to character development??? At best? It goes back to Jingo, so I'm not seeing what the complaint is. The most off key note in Snuff is that It's the only Discworld novel in which Death doesn't appear.
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Dec 24, 2023 10:36
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Jedit posted:The most off key note in Snuff is that It's the only Discworld novel in which Death doesn't appear. Ironic considering the title
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Dec 24, 2023 12:03
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Narsham posted:I’ve now read the complete works except for Dodger, which I gave up on halfway through. That one is stylistically distinct, following in a form I don’t enjoy, and suffers the twin disadvantages of not having characters I like and not being particularly funny. I bought Dodger at a bookstore and was halfway through reading it on the bus ride back before I realized I'd borrowed it from the library and finished reading it then so that probably tells you how memorable it was.
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Dec 24, 2023 12:41
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sebmojo posted:Rhianna Pratchett, bless her, but I've never seen anything she's written that is better than blandly competent. Not that she has to or should be expected to be her dad obv I don't think I've ever read anything else written by her, except having played Mirror's Edge and enjoyed it a lot as a game, but it's hard to glean a particular writing style from an action game.
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Dec 24, 2023 13:29
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Jedit posted:It goes back to Jingo, so I'm not seeing what the complaint is. The whole joke in Jingo, though, is that war is so desperate and dehumanizing that it can turn even Vimes’s stereotypical butler, who had never done anything more violent than slice a ham, into an ear-biting psychopath. The later books change him into having always been the psychopath, before Vimes ever met him, to the point where in Snuff he’s killing Vimes’s enemies so Vimes doesn’t have to suffer the moral compromise of doing it himself. We can argue whether this was a good change (pre-Thud Willikins was walking wallpaper, while post-Thud he can have conversations with Vimes), but it’s definitely a change in how the character was written. Willikins tags along during Fifth Elephant, remember, and there’s no indication that Vimes views him as an asset in a fight there the way he does Cheery or Detritus.
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Dec 24, 2023 14:27
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Dave Syndrome posted:I don't think I've ever read anything else written by her, except having played Mirror's Edge and enjoyed it a lot as a game, but it's hard to glean a particular writing style from an action game. She did tomb raider too, which was ok.
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Dec 24, 2023 19:28
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The issue with Tomb Raider was that cutscene-Lara was scared young girl in way over her head. Gameplay-Lara was unholy offspring of Terminator and Predator, hunting people for sport, whos biggest issue with jumping into 10 armed enemies was how terribly unfair it was to those 10 guys. The story was probably fine, but as a whole the game made me learn the term ludonarrative dissonance and is the first (and only) game I quit over that. E: The torture porny parts didn't help either. Xarn fucked around with this message at 20:47 on Dec 24, 2023 |
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Dec 24, 2023 20:44
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Counterpoint: there is a moment when you get the grenade launcher and some NPC shouts a warning “she’s got a GRENADE LAUNCHER” with absolute terror in his voice, and it is glorious.
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Dec 24, 2023 21:49
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Pre-Snuff Wilikins worked in part because he mirrored Vimes's struggles to blend in with high society as someone who had already done it. Someone who understood, and the street tough past was something that just rarely came up. It was a bit of familiarity in Vimes's world that he could trust. In Snuff it seemed to become his defining character rather than a contrasting quirk.
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Dec 24, 2023 23:47
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My impression is that Wilikins in the country behaves differently from Wilikins in the city, though there’s no doubt Pratchett’s handling of his characters declined over this period.
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Dec 25, 2023 01:29
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Nova is getting the books Carpe Jugulum, The Fifth Elephant and The Truth as gift from Santa. Imma write something as an inscription and I have a few ideas. To Nova, a traveler in the vast expanse of stories. As you embark on this literary journey, just remember – running away can sometimes lead you right where you need to be. May your feet be swift, your wits swifter, and your path filled with interesting detours. - Rincewind Or To Nova, a young mind poised on the brink of understanding the delicate balance between order and chaos. In the intricate game of life, play your pieces wisely, and always be aware of the moves happening around you. The game is afoot, my dear. - Lord Vetinari I also snagged a copy of Nation as well
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Dec 25, 2023 01:56
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Tᴏ Nᴏᴠᴀ Oғ ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴀᴛʜs ɪɴ ғʀᴏɴᴛ ᴏғ ʏᴏᴜ, ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴇᴀsᴛ ᴛʀᴀᴠᴇʟʟᴇᴅ. Tʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ I ʜᴀᴠᴇ ɴᴏᴛ ʜᴀᴅ ᴄᴀᴜsᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴠɪsɪᴛ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴏɴʟʏ ᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɴᴅ ᴡɪʟʟ ᴡᴇ ᴍᴇᴇᴛ. I ʜᴏᴘᴇ ᴛᴏ ʜᴇᴀʀ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴏʀɪᴇs ʏᴏᴜ ᴡɪʟʟ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴀᴄᴄᴜᴍᴜʟᴀᴛᴇᴅ ᴏᴠᴇʀ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴛɪᴍᴇ. Tʜᴀᴛ ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇ ᴀ ᴅᴀʏ ᴇᴠᴇɴ I ʟᴏᴏᴋ ғᴏʀᴡᴀʀᴅ ᴛᴏ. Mᴀʏ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ʙᴇ ᴍᴀɴʏ sᴜᴄʜ ᴛᴀʟᴇs ᴛᴏ ᴛᴇʟʟ. - Dᴇᴀᴛʜ
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Dec 25, 2023 02:04
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To Nova: remember, you can’t run away from everything but you can run away from most things so it’s always worth a try -Rincewind. To Nova: with the right friends and an open mind you can find an adventure dang near anywhere! -Twoflower To Nova: make sure to take care of your teeth -Cohen
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Dec 25, 2023 02:17
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Nova, Always remember to give the cute little doggy a sausage. Woof woof, Gaspode
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Dec 25, 2023 03:44
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Y'all are too kind. I may have to put one in every book.
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Dec 25, 2023 04:03
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For the low hanging bananana Ook. -The Librarian
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Dec 25, 2023 05:18
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Beachcomber posted:bananana I respect people who know when to quit.
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Dec 25, 2023 07:53
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Happy Hogswatch one and all! Hope you put out a pork pie for the Hogfather tonight!
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Dec 25, 2023 07:57
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I've been listening to the recent-ish audiobook of Hogfather while doing all my pre-Christmas prep and post-Christmas Lego building and food digestion, and it's been a real delight. It's been too long since I just sat down and enjoyed some Discworld. Gonna set a Pork Pie out on the last night of the year, as is proper, not this 25th of December nonsense, though.
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Dec 25, 2023 08:01
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The_Doctor posted:Happy Hogswatch one and all! Hope you put out a pork pie for the Hogfather tonight! Hogswatch is technically both New Year's and the winter solstice. 
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Dec 25, 2023 11:02
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sebmojo posted:Periodic reminder that the biography is incredibly good, and if you are a fan you should pick it up* It's the one non Pratchett book on my Pratchett bookshelf. I feel Terry would have approved.
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Dec 27, 2023 00:17
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Ive never had this happen to me. I got a copy of Nation for Xmas. I was reading it at my kiddos dance convention and another parent asked me what I was reading. I try to tell her how much Terry's work means to me. I talked about 15 minutes about all the Discworld reading I've done to Nova, the lessons and themes exhibited in his works . She then asks about Nation, I told her I just started but it's a story about colonization but from the POV of two adolescent survivors of traumatic. So she asks where he's from and I say he's British and she goes "oh another white guy making BIOPIC stories without any context. I'm sure he's a nice guy but he's gonna get it all wrong" She hasn't even read the book! I was just slackjawed. I really had no response other than "I just started the book and his past efforts really show his dedication, thought and care in talking about these subjects" but she just stopped listen when she heard he was a white guy.
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Jan 9, 2024 04:12
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Also, there’s a ton of POC people in the UK, what the hell?
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Jan 9, 2024 04:23
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The_Doctor posted:Also, there’s a ton of POC people in the UK, what the hell? Same lady also told me it was racist for white people to point. Like if you wanted to know where the bathroom is, I shouldn't stick my finger out and say "over there" . It is Oregon, and hell I'm came here from Texas as a Southern Baptist doofus but WHAT?
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Jan 9, 2024 04:30
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Terminal Yank brain, I'm afraid.
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Jan 9, 2024 04:52
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Beer_Suitcase posted:It is Oregon Well there’s your problem
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Jan 9, 2024 09:03
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King Doom posted:It's the one non Pratchett book on my Pratchett bookshelf. I feel Terry would have approved. Rob mentions that Pterry started the writing and he only finished it. So it's a co-authored book.
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Jan 9, 2024 10:34
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Jedit posted:Rob mentions that Pterry started the writing and he only finished it. So it's a co-authored book. "Only" is misleading imo. Not nice to try to erase the quality of Rob's work (either of you or himself).
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Jan 9, 2024 16:48
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Osmosisch posted:"Only" is misleading imo. Not nice to try to erase the quality of Rob's work (either of you or himself). Yeah I think it's more working from notes than finishing a mostly done book. I do have a strong, strong feeling that rob writes with a sense of Terry on his shoulder, scrutinising each word. It's a very thoughtfully crafted book.
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Jan 9, 2024 19:25
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Osmosisch posted:"Only" is misleading imo. Not nice to try to erase the quality of Rob's work (either of you or himself). I'm not erasing anything. When I say "co-authored" I don't mean it's Terry Pratchett (with Rob Wilkins) - it's the other way around.
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Jan 10, 2024 02:30
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Heads up, there is a Humble Bundle with the complete collection of Discworld novels up now. Get the entire series for $18, have to get though Kobo.com however.
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Jan 11, 2024 23:05
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The_Other posted:Heads up, there is a Humble Bundle with the complete collection of Discworld novels up now. Get the entire series for $18, have to get though Kobo.com however. No Shepherd's Crown. Edit: or the train one, but that's a blessing really.
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Jan 11, 2024 23:19
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Unavailable in the UK 
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Jan 11, 2024 23:57
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I might try to VPN it, that's a great deal
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Jan 12, 2024 00:05
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sebmojo posted:I might try to VPN it, that's a great deal Verence's Private Notebooks are for official use only and cannot leave the castle.
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Jan 12, 2024 00:07
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Beer_Suitcase posted:Verence's Private Notebooks are for official use only and cannot leave the castle. *double checks the small shard of castle brick in his pocket* All good there, no worries.
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Jan 12, 2024 00:19
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