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Is Pyramids the book that talks about camels doing differential calculus in their heads?
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Apr 2, 2011 17:18
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LooseChanj posted:Is Pyramids the book that talks about camels doing differential calculus in their heads? That's the one.
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Apr 2, 2011 17:18
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RobattoJesus posted:My quest to read all the books consecutively hit a bit of a road-block with Pyramids. Don't worry about Small Gods. You'll love it.
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Apr 2, 2011 18:06
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I'm not a big fan of Pyramids either. There's some cool foreshadowing with names, but it's drifting and threat-free for the most part. For my money it's the second weakest book of the Disc.
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Apr 2, 2011 18:18
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Evfedu posted:There's some cool foreshadowing with names The names raises the question of when Small Gods is on the Discworld timeline. It seems like it takes place before the other books (when Mightily Oats were kid for example the more tolerant version of Omnianism had been around for some time) and yet the philosophers appears in both Pyramids and Small Gods.
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Apr 2, 2011 18:42
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No, I felt the same way about Pyramids. When I finally got around to reading the books after several years of 'You haven't read the Discworld books?!'[1] I went through them in a haphazard order, coming around to Pyramids because I kept getting told how awesome it was. I really liked the first half in A-M, but the second half just dragged for me, and I genuinely couldn't care, although I liked the philosophers. I read it right after Small Gods, so Dios just felt like another Vorbis. It's been so long now since I've read them that they're pretty interchangeable in my head, and I can't remember which bit happened in what. [1]I'm related to Pterry and have the same surname
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Apr 2, 2011 18:44
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And a very cool avatar username combination too. Though as I do recall, Dios is the luckier of the two.
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Apr 2, 2011 18:48
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Alhazred posted:The names raises the question of when Small Gods is on the Discworld timeline. It seems like it takes place before the other books (when Mightily Oats were kid for example the more tolerant version of Omnianism had been around for some time) and yet the philosophers appears in both Pyramids and Small Gods. Apart from the usual "Men In Saffron" explanation for that, I'm sure that in one of the books it talks about philosophers (I think) using the same names again and again. Not sure though.
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Apr 2, 2011 19:53
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Alhazred posted:The names raises the question of when Small Gods is on the Discworld timeline. It seems like it takes place before the other books (when Mightily Oats were kid for example the more tolerant version of Omnianism had been around for some time) and yet the philosophers appears in both Pyramids and Small Gods. If you buy the Thief of Time explanation/copout of chronology then it doesn't really matter in the end. e;f,b
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Apr 2, 2011 19:54
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Probably it is safe to ignore the opinions of anyone who didn't like Small Gods.
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Apr 2, 2011 20:06
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I read the Discworld books in order from the beginning, and I really enjoyed Pyramids. Then when I read them again I didn't like it very much. I enjoyed the parts about the Assassin's guild, and the references to Egyptian mythology (of which I was nuts about once upon a time) but it's just not a great story. The characters are all quite two-dimensional and uninteresting, and despite Djelibeybi becoming a bit more advanced in the world it felt like nothing had really happened. Small Gods, on the other hand, I loved the first time I read it and I've loved it every time since then. At the time I likened it to Pyramids because it took place outside of the established Discworld settings (Rincewind, Witches, Death - and by the time of Small Gods, the Watch) and I felt that it added a lot to the world. But it doesn't really. It's not as bad as, say, Moving Pictures, but it's not great (though Moving Pictures introduced Gaspode the Wonder Dog, who is brilliant). For a PYF style list, my top five would have to include Small Gods, Night Watch, Jingo, Wyrd Sisters and (perhaps controversially) Interesting Times. The bottom five would be The Colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic, Soul Music, Moving Pictures and Pyramids. I'm probably alone in these lists though.
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Apr 5, 2011 00:26
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The best part of Pyramids is the bit about Ptraci's accent: Teppic remarks that when speaking the "common tongue" she has an "accent" that makes her pronounce all words that start with the letter T as if they started like her name, with a silent P. I found the book pretty forgettable on the whole, but that had me in stitches.
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Apr 5, 2011 01:33
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PateraOctopus posted:The best part of Pyramids is the bit about Ptraci's accent: Teppic remarks that when speaking the "common tongue" she has an "accent" that makes her pronounce all words that start with the letter T as if they started like her name, with a silent P. I found the book pretty forgettable on the whole, but that had me in stitches. Linguistically, that's actually perfectly possible. Even in english, consonants are pronounced with subtle differences depending on where they appear in combination with other letters. Our writing system only reflects the differences that are important to us - so Ptraci could speak a dialect where 't' is pronounced differently if it appears at the start of a word, denoted by a silent P (kind of like 'q' requiring a 'u' in english). When speaking Common, it would be logical for her to pronounce word-initial 't' forms as 'Pt' out of habit. Obviously that's not what Pratchett was going for, but it's a pretty cool instance of reality being at least as strange as fantasy. v  v
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Apr 5, 2011 02:07
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Praptcheptt.
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Apr 5, 2011 22:57
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A Handy List To Skip If You Are New To The Series: Pyramids Moving Pictures Equal Rites Colour of Magic and Light Fantastic until-you're-already-sold-on-the-idea Monstrous Regiment until-you-don't-have-any-other-books-to-read
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Apr 7, 2011 04:40
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Isn't there a scene in Moving Pictures about some one (the main characters friend?) taking a test which only has the question "what is your name?", and he answers like My name is Konec Hry which is the name I use and underlines it and stuff. Because that's a really funny scene and the only one I remember from that book.
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Apr 7, 2011 10:14
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Konec Hry posted:Isn't there a scene in Moving Pictures about some one (the main characters friend?) taking a test which only has the question "what is your name?", and he answers like My name is Konec Hry which is the name I use and underlines it and stuff. Because that's a really funny scene and the only one I remember from that book.
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Apr 7, 2011 11:56
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The only thing I really remember from Moving Pictures is Gaspode the Wonder Dog.
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Apr 7, 2011 12:38
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I feel like I'm the only guy who enjoyed both Soul Music and Moving Pictures sometimes.
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Apr 7, 2011 15:27
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SeanBeansShako posted:I feel like I'm the only guy who enjoyed both Soul Music and Moving Pictures sometimes. I enjoyed Soul Music and Moving Pictures, though Soul Music didn't click with me until my second or third reading for some reason. But then again I also enjoyed Monstrous Regiment, which seems to pop up on people's list of least favourite Discworld books with depressing regularity.
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Apr 7, 2011 16:30
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Nilbop posted:Equal Rites Hey I liked Equal Rites! <  >
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Apr 7, 2011 17:32
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SeanBeansShako posted:I feel like I'm the only guy who enjoyed both Soul Music and Moving Pictures sometimes. I don't know how you could NOT enjoy Soul Music if you like Blues Brothers. And I always thought Moving Pictures was underrated - certainly one of my least favorite Discworld books, but still a great book.
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Apr 7, 2011 19:35
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Quizitastrix posted:Hey I liked Equal Rites! < I know I'm not going to be some unbiased watermark by which the books are judged, but Equal Rites was the only book in the series that made me think "Man, this just reads like bad fantasy." I can see why some people would like it though.
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Apr 7, 2011 21:54
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Nilbop posted:I know I'm not going to be some unbiased watermark by which the books are judged, but Equal Rites was the only book in the series that made me think "Man, this just reads like bad fantasy." I can see why some people would like it though. I would have to agree. I've read just about every Discworld novel out there, except the first children's book. I cannot remember the name, but it had the piper and the rodents. I did not much care for Equal Rites. Also Pyramids. However Small Gods made me think about religion, and it was hilarious 
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Apr 8, 2011 05:16
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I'm actually surprised that this thread isn't more active. I <3 Terry Pratchett with all my heart. I know it sounds gay, but I freaking love him! Has anyone here read the latest book following the little girl? I can't remember the exact name unfortunately but she's a witch Also when will the book Raising Taxes be released? Has anyone here even gone to his book signings? It's shameful really, I live a half hour away from Dublin, he teaches at Trinity college, and I have yet to see the man in person. I fear if I do I might kidnap him and hope his wisdom and dry sense of humour will rub off on me.... But in all seriousness, his books are amazing! Has anyone noticed the writing difference from the first two books and onwards? A portion of the lore that was laid down in the first two, such as saying a spell makes you instantly forget it and somewhat drugged up, seems completely omitted. Also he is now leaning more on the comedy side than the scientific/fantasy side of things, which I think are for the better.
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Apr 8, 2011 08:21
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Nilbop posted:A Handy List To Skip If You Are New To The Series: I rather liked Equal Rites (which I reread just last year), even if Granny wasn't quite the Granny we know back then, and the University was at its infancy, same with Lancre. And it of course gained a lot with the connection to ISWM too. Monstrous Regiment gets better with rereading in my opinion. I didn't like it the first time around, but now I'm quite fond of it.
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Apr 8, 2011 09:53
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Decius posted:I rather liked Equal Rites (which I reread just last year), even if Granny wasn't quite the Granny we know back then, and the University was at its infancy, same with Lancre. And it of course gained a lot with the connection to ISWM too. Equal Rites was okay, nothing special to me. It seems it's a hit or miss with people it seems. However I do agree with everything on that list besides Monstrous Regiment. I guess that's my Equal Rites. The first two books really are not for those who are new to the series, yet they're the most hilarious I find, or amongst the hilarious :') Pyramids....I didn't like it. Plain and simple. I read it because it was a Terry Pratchett Discworld novel. I have re-read the Discworld novels twice except that one.
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Apr 8, 2011 10:03
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I'm currently reading through Witches Abroad and it has really made me laugh out loud. The Witches are just such great characters and Greebo is a bonafied badass.
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Apr 8, 2011 10:24
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The best bit of Witches Abroad is Nanny Ogg wrestling with foreign languages. "It means the Old (Male) River. Words have sex in foreign parts." "I wouldn't be at all surprised." (or something like that)
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Apr 8, 2011 10:43
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Greebo is a badass!!! The witches are so cool Mistress Weatherwax still remains my favourite though, but you can always rely on Nanny Ogg as well My number one all time favourite is Small Gods, I just think that's brilliant
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Apr 8, 2011 10:53
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John Charity Spring posted:The best bit of Witches Abroad is Nanny Ogg wrestling with foreign languages. Granny Weatherwax trying to master a joke in that one always makes me smile. Plus Nanny Ogg and her boots. Half of us here certainly had a Nan like Nanny Ogg admit it.
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Apr 8, 2011 13:44
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SeanBeansShako posted:Granny Weatherwax trying to master a joke in that one always makes me smile. Plus Nanny Ogg and her boots. Mine looked like Nanny Ogg but had the personality of Granny Weatherwax, but meaner.
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Apr 8, 2011 13:49
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mentor07825 posted:I'm actually surprised that this thread isn't more active. I <3 Terry Pratchett with all my heart. I know it sounds gay, but I freaking love him! Has anyone here read the latest book following the little girl? I can't remember the exact name unfortunately but she's a witch The Tiffany Aching books are all pretty superior for the Young-Adult-ish market. I Shall Wear Midnight isn't my favorite of them, but it is still pretty drat good. In that vein make extra special sure to find a copy of Nation, which was a sort of recent non-Disc YA book he did. It's fantastic all over. And Raising Taxes doesn't have a release date that I know of, nor can we be absolutely sure Terry's going to get a chance to write it given his tragic health issues despite his heroic writing output. However, there is definitely an upcoming Watch book called "Snuff" that's coming out in October. And the Watch books have mostly been my favorite of his Discworld writing, so that's likely to be good as well.
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Apr 8, 2011 15:19
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ThaGhettoJew posted:The Tiffany Aching books are all pretty superior for the Young-Adult-ish market. I Shall Wear Midnight isn't my favorite of them, but it is still pretty drat good. In that vein make extra special sure to find a copy of Nation, which was a sort of recent non-Disc YA book he did. It's fantastic all over. It really is sad about his condition  I've never cried over a celebraty's death but I know that when I hear of Terry Pratchett's passing I'm going to bawl my eyes all over the place :'(I didn't know about that one, I will absolutely keep a lookout for Nation. Thank you for giving me the heads up man!!! I would've been ignorant of its existence otherwise if you haven't told me Thank you!I enjoy those books. Especially Thud! When that book had all the criminals being nice just to avoid the poo poo storm that Vimes would give when he came back was hilarious!! It also just goes to show how diabolical the Vetinari really is as well, or at least further into him. I don't think we've hit what he really is all about. I'll keep a look out for Snuff though Thanky you!
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Apr 8, 2011 15:35
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There's something about Witches Abroad that I just really hate. I read it once, and didn't like it and it put me off reading any other Witches books for a while. After reading some of the others and enjoying them I went back to it, and I just can't get into it. Maybe I'll give it one more shot.
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Apr 8, 2011 17:41
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Maybe you decided not to see the elephant?
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Apr 8, 2011 17:44
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KTS posted:There's something about Witches Abroad that I just really hate. mentor07825 posted:Has anyone here even gone to his book signings?
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Apr 8, 2011 23:28
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Flatscan posted:Mine looked like Nanny Ogg but had the personality of Granny Weatherwax, but meaner. Mine looked like Nanny Ogg and acted exactly like her, but for all the fornicating as far as I knew and owned a pub and was awesome every day.
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Apr 9, 2011 00:18
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Anyone been listening to the Mort radio play on the iPlayer? It's pretty decent I thought. The voice of Death seems a bit odd after watching the televised adaptations.
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Apr 9, 2011 10:20
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Flipswitch posted:Anyone been listening to the Mort radio play on the iPlayer? It's pretty decent I thought. The voice of Death seems a bit odd after watching the televised adaptations. All four radio plays are fantastic. The Witches one less so because Wyrd Sisters just didn't do it for me, but Guards! Guards! is spot on (Welsh Carrot!) and Small Gods is just as good as you'd expect it to be.
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Apr 9, 2011 20:30
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