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Mukaikubo posted:Small Gods is almost in a class by itself; it doesn't really feel fair to discuss it with the other Discworld books. I'm not sure right now if I'd call it my favorite, though I probably would, but I'd have absolutely no hesitation in calling it the best if the concept of quality divorced from my own enjoyment really makes much sense. As for the others, hmm. Thief of Time, Jingo, Fifth Elephant, Night Watch, and Witches Abroad would be in some order a non-Small Gods top five for me that likely would change in order from mood to mood. Each and every one has a Scene that just is incredible; Vimes' monologue to Carcer after catching him, Vetinari and the Minaret, "Find the one that is real."... mmm. I have to say the takeaway scene in Night Watch for me is a bit during the siege, that starts off with "In a few hours the shops out there were expecting deliveries, and they weren't going to arrive." I have to say it is the most poetic description of logistics I have ever read, it really paints a vivid picture of what is going on.
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Jun 24, 2011 01:38
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I think Small Gods could legitimately be considered good literature, or at least the closest Terry's ever gotten to it.Alhazred posted:The library? Tories, cuts, closed, gently caress everything etc.
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Jun 24, 2011 02:12
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AXE COP posted:I think Small Gods could legitimately be considered good literature, or at least the closest Terry's ever gotten to it. Awww dammit, I discovered Discworld in the local and secondary school library when I was twelve  .
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Jun 24, 2011 03:41
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Konstantin posted:I have to say the takeaway scene in Night Watch for me is a bit during the siege, that starts off with "In a few hours the shops out there were expecting deliveries, and they weren't going to arrive." I have to say it is the most poetic description of logistics I have ever read, it really paints a vivid picture of what is going on. Ankh-Morpork, and if you ask me this is one of Pratchett's true triumphs, lives, breathes and sweats more like a real city than any other fictionalized city in any book, in any genre. There are so many bars, coffee houses, markets, squares, temples, gambling dens, picture houses, gate houses, river barges, smelting plants, highwaymen, guardsmen, tollmen, troll splatters, racist groups, minority groups, majority groups, guilds, schools and late-night takeaways and they all have a place and they all work together and if they don't then it all falls apart. And Pterry has just illustrated this in a way no other author ever has for me, with great help from Vimes and Vetinari but mostly just through short passages or minor but important plot points explaining how everything works. It's fascinating, and one of the reasons I prefer Ankh-Morpork books over any other ones.
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Jun 24, 2011 05:00
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AXE COP posted:The mall story was kind of crap but the Wizards made up for it. I just now realized that the mall story was probably meant to be an homage to "Dawn of the Dead." But with the wizards fighting off zombie shopping carts in a mall. Since there wasn't an actual reason for a mall to exist in universe, Pratchett created one. It doesn't make it a good storyline, but now I understand why that subplot exists. thrakkorzog fucked around with this message at 10:58 on Jun 24, 2011 |
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Jun 24, 2011 09:31
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Nilbop posted:And Pterry has just illustrated this in a way no other author ever has for me, with great help from Vimes and Vetinari but mostly just through short passages or minor but important plot points explaining how everything works.
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Jun 24, 2011 20:36
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Presto posted:There's a story of when he was on some panel with other fantasy authors at a con or something, and the topic was designing a fictional city. Terry's answer was that you have to start by asking how the water gets in and how the crap gets out, and the other authors didn't like that so much. That's because they want to make Gondolin and he wants to make London.
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Jun 24, 2011 20:39
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Presto posted:There's a story of when he was on some panel with other fantasy authors at a con or something, and the topic was designing a fictional city. Terry's answer was that you have to start by asking how the water gets in and how the crap gets out, and the other authors didn't like that so much. Are the answer to both questions the same answer? [edit] I live in a thousand year old English city, with many water ways and rivers, cattlemarkets and docks, etc. The city evolved/grew around the waterways. Ak Gara fucked around with this message at 21:01 on Jun 24, 2011 |
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Jun 24, 2011 20:58
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Mukaikubo posted:Small Gods is almost in a class by itself; it doesn't really feel fair to discuss it with the other Discworld books. I'm not sure right now if I'd call it my favorite, though I probably would, but I'd have absolutely no hesitation in calling it the best if the concept of quality divorced from my own enjoyment really makes much sense. As for the others, hmm. Thief of Time, Jingo, Fifth Elephant, Night Watch, and Witches Abroad would be in some order a non-Small Gods top five for me that likely would change in order from mood to mood. Each and every one has a Scene that just is incredible; Vimes' monologue to Carcer after catching him, Vetinari and the Minaret, "Find the one that is real."... mmm. Compromise? Small gods is the best book not part of any of the main story archs in Discworld. Night's Watch is the best storyarch discworld book? Smallgods remained one of my all time favorite books, everything about it is just brilliant, the characters, the humor, the pacing, the story.
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Jun 25, 2011 05:23
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Small Gods also had the genius pun of the celibate Brother Nhumrod.
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Jun 25, 2011 05:26
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It's weird how you remember details wrong in books, I could have sworn there was a part where Vimes and Ned Coates have a quiet moment and talk about how he's from the future and some other stuff. Unless I skipped a couple pages it was only 1 sentence and it was Coates thinking Vimes was from the past rather than the future.
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Jun 25, 2011 12:18
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rejutka posted:Small Gods also had the genius pun of the celibate Brother Nhumrod. Wow, I loved Small Gods and thought I got everything, but I totally missed that. Time for a re-re-read...
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Jun 26, 2011 02:32
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I missed it,too, for years until about fifteen seconds before I posted that.
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Jun 26, 2011 03:07
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Octavian posted:Wow, I loved Small Gods and thought I got everything, but I totally missed that. Brother Nhumrod's obsession with melons will make more sense to you now.
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Jun 26, 2011 03:48
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Fun fact: Nhumrod, i.e. Nimrod is not just a slang term for idiot, which is what most think when they read Small Gods. Nimrod is a biblical name, one of Noah's great grandsons and in some stories, was in charge of building the tower of babel!
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Jun 26, 2011 07:09
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Presto posted:There's a story of when he was on some panel with other fantasy authors at a con or something, and the topic was designing a fictional city. Terry's answer was that you have to start by asking how the water gets in and how the crap gets out, and the other authors didn't like that so much. Well I'm no author, but from D&D and stuff you generally find it easier to make work if you start city design from those unglamorous angles. It does a lot of the work for you when you're looking for a place to dump a plot(lets see, I need secret underground tunnels, ah hah, the sewers from back when the water table was higher, now abandoned!). Once you got those done you can just go with your big ideas and plonk them down or shift things around to fit. Unless its a oneshot or something, then I guess you don't have to care about consistency since nobody's going to see enough of it to notice.
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Jun 26, 2011 08:49
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Nimrod was a mighty hunter, I know that much from Sunday School.
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Jun 26, 2011 13:21
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Isn't the joke "numb rod" ?
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Jun 27, 2011 11:33
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Paragon8 posted:Isn't the joke "numb rod" ? It is all of them. Terry is that good with words.
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Jun 27, 2011 11:48
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thebardyspoon posted:It's weird how you remember details wrong in books, I could have sworn there was a part where Vimes and Ned Coates have a quiet moment and talk about how he's from the future and some other stuff. Unless I skipped a couple pages it was only 1 sentence and it was Coates thinking Vimes was from the past rather than the future. There is, it's in a breif lull in the climactic street fight between the Watch and Carcer's Unmentionables. Night Watch posted:
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Jun 28, 2011 14:40
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So apparently we're getting not one but TWO Discworld based bordgames this year, the one called Ankh Morpork with Vetenari going missing that's been posted here and one based on and called Guards Guards that I haven't seen any news about before I saw it mentioned in SFX. There are a few previews scattered around that give details on how it plays. http://thegaminggang.com/2011/03/guards-guards-a-discworld-playtest-report/ Thought some might be interested in that, we're also getting some new information on Snuff on the 13th. thebardyspoon fucked around with this message at 23:52 on Jul 10, 2011 |
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Jul 10, 2011 23:49
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So in trying to fulfill my Pratchett collection, I ended up with an extra copy of The Last Continent. If anyone wants it, I will ship it to you for free. Drop me a PM or email me at benwagner at g mail.
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Jul 12, 2011 19:17
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In case anyone thinks this is interesting, whoever manages Terry Pratchett's Facebook site has revealed which five characters first appear in Snuff. It's not a terrible big revelation, but I'll spoiler it in case someone really want to discover it themselves: 1. Lord Vetinari 2. Drumknott 3. Commander Sir Samuel Vimes 4. Sergeant Cheery Littlebottom 5. Captain Carrot
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Jul 13, 2011 12:54
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Iacen posted:In case anyone thinks this is interesting, whoever manages Terry Pratchett's Facebook site has revealed which five characters first appear in Snuff. Man, I am so glad to find out that Vimes is in this book. I mean, that's just an unexpected surprise.
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Jul 13, 2011 20:27
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Glad he revealed that Drumknott is in so early because without him there was no way I was going to buy this book.
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Jul 13, 2011 22:10
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thebardyspoon posted:Glad he revealed that Drumknott is in so early because without him there was no way I was going to buy this book. I hope the question of which type of folder is best is cleared up once and for all!
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Jul 14, 2011 16:03
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Iacen posted:4. Sergeant Cheery Littlebottom You'd think there'd be something between sergeant and captain, because this character's been pretty much an integral part of the Watch for ages. But yeah I'm shocked that an Ankh Morpork book has Dogbotherer in.
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Jul 15, 2011 00:04
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Random aside, I just realized Mrs Earwig was trying to call herself Arch-Witch.
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Jul 15, 2011 12:08
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Somehow I've had this impression for years that Discworld is a tough read and I've...not really avoided it, but put off checking it out for a long time. I finally decided it was time the other day and picked up The Color of Magic and it was the complete opposite of what I expected. I ended up liking it better than Hitchhiker's Guide because it moves along at a much better clip and it's equally as funny even it tends more towards slightly subtle jokes than the wacky, can't miss it style of HHG. All in all it ended up being one of the more enjoyable things I've ever read.
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Jul 21, 2011 03:18
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TOOT BOOT posted:Somehow I've had this impression for years that Discworld is a tough read and I've...not really avoided it, but put off checking it out for a long time. That's the first book I think, and they only get better. Wait'll you get to the Guards series. I think those are the strongest as they have the most interaction between characters and the most continuity. I feel like I've grown up seeing Vimes go from a poor beat cop to what he is now. The Death series, Wizard series, and Witches series are also great.
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Jul 21, 2011 05:49
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You are in for a treat my friend, as it gets better with each book.
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Jul 21, 2011 06:13
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SeanBeansShako posted:You are in for a treat my friend, as it gets better with each book. I am so ecstatic to read this. I never entertained the thought of reading the Discworld series because fantasy books have always been a miss for me, never a hit. Well, I just got done with 'The Colour of Magic' last night and holy poo poo, I'm picking up 'The Light Fantastic' for my Kindle next. I seriously wasn't expecting the humor to be so charming, and Rincewind is a great protaginist. I can't tell you how happy I am to hear from various people that it gets better, especially when I didn't think it could. My only gripe, which doesn't even have to do with the book itself, is that it just feels like a series I should own a physical copy of, but I find the cover art for any available English version ugly as hell. I don't know what level of blasphemy I'm incurring by saying that, but it's just a superficial and personal critique.
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Jul 21, 2011 21:56
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A. Beaverhausen posted:My only gripe, which doesn't even have to do with the book itself, is that it just feels like a series I should own a physical copy of, but I find the cover art for any available English version ugly as hell. I don't know what level of blasphemy I'm incurring by saying that, but it's just a superficial and personal critique. I think it depends partly on your region and partly on how fond you are of Josh Kirby. It's something of an ongoing debate as some people prefer Kirby's busy weird proportioned fantasy covers while others think Kidby is superior though I haven't noticed much discussion of the American covers. Generally speaking though most Discworld fans are pretty easy going regarding the covers as long as you enjoy the prose, and please continue to post in this thread with your impressions of future books. Particularly when you reach one of the classics like Small Gods as I personally love seeing how new people react to the Discworld.
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Jul 21, 2011 22:14
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Yeah, considering I read the books entirely out of order (until I caught up to his publishing schedule at Night Watch) it would be really interesting to hear someone's impressions as they went through them chronologically. Edit: I did read Eric over my vacation last week, an even quicker read than I expected, and it was pretty charming. Certainly plenty of things to make me chuckle though the ending seemed a bit abrupt.
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Jul 21, 2011 22:34
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Sophia posted:Yeah, considering I read the books entirely out of order (until I caught up to his publishing schedule at Night Watch) it would be really interesting to hear someone's impressions as they went through them chronologically. On that note, is there a graphic novel version of Eric that I've missed? The only version I own/have ever read or found is the novel (which I believe is also the shortest full-fledged Discworld novel).
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Jul 21, 2011 22:40
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I'll be happy to keep posting as I go through the books. I just feel so great about the first novel it's hard to shut up about it. I loved how Pratchett has described the Gods, especially a passage from early in the book. Something along the lines of the Gods destroying the windows of atheists. Charming is just such a good word to describe the first book, and I hope that continues. As far as chronology, I'm following this:  If there are any alternative suggestions I'm happy to hear them. Also, if someone could post a comparison of Kidby vs Kirby covers that would be great, because the same cover comes up for both searches.
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Jul 21, 2011 22:54
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A. Beaverhausen posted:I'll be happy to keep posting as I go through the books. I just feel so great about the first novel it's hard to shut up about it. I loved how Pratchett has described the Gods, especially a passage from early in the book. Something along the lines of the Gods destroying the windows of atheists. Charming is just such a good word to describe the first book, and I hope that continues. That looks pretty good. Don't be scared to drop down between the different branches and mix it up a bit. Reminds me that I need to get a copy of Where's my Cow for my nephew. We already play a silly version if I'm looking after him and we're watching out the window for my sister. "Where's your mummy? Oink Oink Is that your mummy? That's not your mummy, that's an Oink Oink Pig!" I can't remember how bastardised that is to be honest, it's been ages since I read Thud. We have fun though.
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Jul 21, 2011 23:13
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A. Beaverhausen posted:Also, if someone could post a comparison of Kidby vs Kirby covers that would be great, because the same cover comes up for both searches. http://i.imgur.com/rbcfv.jpg drunk asian neighbor posted:On that note, is there a graphic novel version of Eric that I've missed? The only version I own/have ever read or found is the novel (which I believe is also the shortest full-fledged Discworld novel). Good news mate, take look at these posts to answer your question. I also believe the graphic novel version is back in print.
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Jul 21, 2011 23:16
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I like Kirby's covers in a weird way because they somehow manage to cram the entire plot of the book onto one small paperback cover. Kidby's Night Watch owns though.
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Jul 21, 2011 23:21
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A. Beaverhausen posted:I loved how Pratchett has described the Gods, especially a passage from early in the book. Something along the lines of the Gods destroying the windows of atheists. "It was all very well going on about pure logic and how the universe was ruled by logic and the harmony of numbers, but the plain fact of the matter was that the Disc was manifestly traversing space on the back of a giant turtle and the gods had a habit of going round to atheists' houses and smashing their windows."  Also, there is one YA book (Hat Full of Sky) that's not on that diagram but other than that it is good. They should last you awhile!
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Jul 21, 2011 23:27
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