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There's not a Stross thread, is there? Pity.
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Dec 17, 2011 07:04
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Pope Guilty posted:There's not a Stross thread, is there? Pity. There's been one but I haven't seen it near the front page in probably months.
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Dec 17, 2011 10:07
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Pope Guilty posted:There's not a Stross thread, is there? Pity. He's been brought up in the Space Opera thread a few times at least.
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Dec 17, 2011 10:45
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I think it got archived; I can no longer find it with search, and that's a reliable way to know something's in archives. (Sure wish I could figure out how to search archives.)
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Dec 17, 2011 18:22
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inklesspen posted:(Sure wish I could figure out how to search archives.)
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Dec 18, 2011 00:19
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If anyone needs a late Christmas gift, Amazon UK has all the Watch novels for only 15 pounds, which is pretty much nothing for 7 books.
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Dec 23, 2011 15:06
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So yesterday on University Challenge one of the guys playing said he was currently working on the latest Pratchett TV adaptation. Do we know what that is?
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Dec 23, 2011 15:09
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thebardyspoon posted:So yesterday on University Challenge one of the guys playing said he was currently working on the latest Pratchett TV adaptation. Do we know what that is? Must be The City Watch mini series?
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Dec 23, 2011 15:11
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mllaneza posted:Nobody is ever allowed to complain about the difference between the US and UK covers of anything. Ever. We even get hatless Dresden Files covers!    Don't even mention the US Fuller Memorandum cover, it's just, egh.
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Dec 26, 2011 18:32
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Kerbtree posted:Don't even mention the US Fuller Memorandum cover, it's just, egh. It does successfully convey "well now I am hosed", which is a large part of Bob's thought process, I think. But it kind of looks more appropriate for Discworld than the Laundry. (And now we are back on topic.)
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Dec 26, 2011 18:57
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John Dough posted:If anyone needs a late Christmas gift, Amazon UK has all the Watch novels for only 15 pounds, which is pretty much nothing for 7 books. Down to 10 quid now, I bought these because some of my copies weren't in english and some where falling apart. Thanks for the link
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Dec 27, 2011 02:13
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inklesspen posted:It does successfully convey "well now I am hosed", which is a large part of Bob's thought process, I think. But it kind of looks more appropriate for Discworld than the Laundry. (And now we are back on topic.) Fuller Memorandum seems like a pretty goddamn tame example of "bad American covers." Without the weird skull in a hood (who the hell is that supposed to be?) I would have had no complaints with the cover. It let me see clearly what Bob looks like (with, yes, a great 'oh bugger' expression) and it had a pretty tastefully subtle depiction of the pyramid. We really need a separate Stross thread, I want a place to impatiently anticipate The Apocalypse Codex 
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Dec 27, 2011 03:02
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We've had two, I think (though I can only find this one (archives link)). Basically what happens is the discussion dies down and it gets archived and then forgotten. Might be better to stick with one of the genre megathreads?
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Dec 27, 2011 03:34
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For some reason, one channel here showed The Hogfather. I say for some reason because Terry Pratchett is almost unknown in Denmark. Only the first four books, I think, have been translated. And I think that Hogfather is best film adaption yet. The sets are gorgeous, Death is both sinister and sympathetic, The Death of Rats is adorable, the wizards bumbling and so on. I also liked Going Postal, which I just got around to see last week. It changed the plot quite a bit, but I still think it worked. I really like that victorian-esque Ankh-Morpork they have created for these Sky movies. If they use that for the Watch-series (if it ever becomes real) I'd be very happy!
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Dec 27, 2011 11:09
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Can someone please point me towards a rough order of books to start someone on Terry Pratchett? I've been reading them for so long I'm not sure where someone should start to get a handle on his humour and also on the discworld universe. Should I start them on Good Omens and then move sideways?
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Dec 27, 2011 11:24
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I'd recommend giving them Small Gods first, then start through them in published order. It doesn't matter really, but published order makes the most sense chronologically and for character development. They might find it a bit difficult to start with though, as the first few books aren't quite as good. Maybe skip the first few, then go back to them a bit later? Personally, I started with Mort, which worked pretty well. Going through a bunch of the Watch books first, then going back to the beginning would also work fairly well, I'd think. Since Good Omens is a separate world, and probably the best thing both Pratchett or Gaiman have ever produced, I'd say it's also a very good place to start.
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Dec 27, 2011 12:58
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Iacen posted:I really like that victorian-esque Ankh-Morpork they have created for these Sky movies. If they use that for the Watch-series (if it ever becomes real) I'd be very happy! I think they are using the art of Paul wonderfully for set design and background. Modern Ankh-Morpork certainly fits more in my mind with a mixture of Renaissance, Georgian and Victorian influences.
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Dec 27, 2011 16:03
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Speaking of, any word on the progress of the Watch show?
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Dec 27, 2011 18:11
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Adeptus posted:I'd recommend giving them Small Gods first, then start through them in published order. It doesn't matter really, but published order makes the most sense chronologically and for character development. They might find it a bit difficult to start with though, as the first few books aren't quite as good. Maybe skip the first few, then go back to them a bit later? Personally, I started with Mort, which worked pretty well. I would agree with Small Gods if wildfire1 (or whoever) is having to 'sell' a more stereotypical literary-fiction reader, someone who might otherwise turn their nose up at the Discworld books as fantasy, on picking up Discworld at all. However, if they're already sold on the idea of Discworld and just want a good place to dive in, I'd argue they should start with Guards!, Wyrd Sisters or Mort and specifically save Small Gods for a treat later on.
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Dec 27, 2011 19:50
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JerryLee posted:I would agree with Small Gods if wildfire1 (or whoever) is having to 'sell' a more stereotypical literary-fiction reader, someone who might otherwise turn their nose up at the Discworld books as fantasy, on picking up Discworld at all. However, if they're already sold on the idea of Discworld and just want a good place to dive in, I'd argue they should start with Guards!, Wyrd Sisters or Mort and specifically save Small Gods for a treat later on. She's specifically sold on the idea of Death as a main character and what that implies in the world, as well as the style of humour so I might see if I can find Mort and start her there. Thank you both for your help.
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Dec 28, 2011 00:44
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If that's the case Reaperman might be a better choice since there's more focus on Death and his role in the Discworld Universe. The whole business with Windle and the mall all stems from Death's absence after all.
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Dec 28, 2011 01:45
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Personally I'd recommend reading the Death books in order, Mort is still great in its own stance, and it is just adds to the pay off as you read the new(er) ones.
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Dec 28, 2011 02:34
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I am just reading the books in publication order and I am up to Mort. I think they were great and the Rincewind books did a good job of setting up the Discworld for me. The footnotes are by far the best thing. I think reading them from the start was a good move since you get introduced to Death in the Rincewind novels and in Mort they come back to it. Hopefully every book will have references like these.
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Dec 28, 2011 16:52
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Just finished Snuff after I bought it as a gift for my grandmother. I really didn't like Unseen Academicals - I read it immediately after a full read-through of the series and it seemed stilted and un-Pratchetty, like an old pair of shoes not fitting nearly as well as you remember. I chalked it up to his disease and got really depressed; Snuff was a great read and it's really satisfying to know we can't count him out yet. It was relentless funny and tight from cover to cover like all the Guards books. It felt like a retread of some of the themes Vimes faced in Night Watch, Vetinari's  I'M OKAY WITH DRUGS PSA was really out of place(Drumknott even acknowledges it), I was hoping to see more of Willikins/Silver but it proved to be irrelevant, and we didn't really spend enough time with Stratford to hate his guts like we did with Carcer, Gilt or the Dragon King. But I had a great time with it and I think every Discworld book should have a Nac Mac Feegle somewhere in it.A question I've been debating a long time: Are the Young Adult books worth the read? Yeah, they're Discworld, but half the fun is Pratchett's solid, clever writing and I would only imagine that'd be the first to go if you're lowering your reading level.
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Dec 29, 2011 16:23
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Yes, yes and yes. The Tiffany Aching books are great and lose none of the charm compared to the rest of the series.
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Dec 29, 2011 16:35
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Yeah, they're basically the usual discworld books without all the debauched sex, needless violence, and casual swearing. So, uh, they're basically the usual discworld books. They're really very good, and although the first one might be a little on the small-words side of things, it's because she's like nine years old in it. They're definitely worth the read.
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Dec 29, 2011 18:21
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The first book also has some of the best stuff he's written in it, mainly the way Tiffany remembers the legend of her grandma and when she shows up dressed as Little Bo Peep at the end made me tear up the first time I read it. There's this sense of awkwardness I think of lot of us can relate to when it comes to interacting with older relatives (especially grandparents) that Tiffany deals with and I think the payoff is brilliant.
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Dec 29, 2011 19:58
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Kasonic posted:A question I've been debating a long time: Are the Young Adult books worth the read? Yeah, they're Discworld, but half the fun is Pratchett's solid, clever writing and I would only imagine that'd be the first to go if you're lowering your reading level.
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Dec 30, 2011 15:47
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Kasonic posted:A question I've been debating a long time: Are the Young Adult books worth the read? Yeah, they're Discworld, but half the fun is Pratchett's solid, clever writing and I would only imagine that'd be the first to go if you're lowering your reading level.
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Dec 30, 2011 22:01
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thebardyspoon posted:So yesterday on University Challenge one of the guys playing said he was currently working on the latest Pratchett TV adaptation. Do we know what that is? Well according to this it's going to be Unseen Academicals, in which case we'll get to suffer through David Jason's Although I've got to admit I'm interested in seeing what they do with Nutt. The kind of orc prosthetics that come to mind (pretty much thinking of LotR) would be difficult to build a likeable protagonist on top of. I hope I'm wrong, of course, but Mr Pump fell a bit flat last time, and their lack willingness to really show trolls or even dwarfs so far makes me wonder whether they're going to rein in the orcishness a bit.
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Jan 1, 2012 22:37
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Dr. Sno alluded to reading Discworld books to kids. Which books do ya'll think would be suitable, say, for grades (*not* ages) 4-6? (Besides Amazing Maurice, which came to mind first?) Tartarus Sauce fucked around with this message at 04:24 on Jan 3, 2012 |
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Jan 1, 2012 23:38
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Tartarus Sauce posted:Dr. Sno alluded to reading Discworld books to kids. The Tiffany Aching books seem perfect for this sort of thing, and Nation would probably be great too. As far as the main Discworld books go, there's a few more adult-orientated themes in there, but they're still fairly appropriate for younger kids. Maybe the Death books would be a good place to start, or possibly the more recent Moist stories?
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Jan 2, 2012 00:00
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Thanks, Adeptus! Oh, and feel free to name any books you think would make particularly good class read-alouds, too!
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Jan 2, 2012 00:29
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Tartarus Sauce posted:Thanks, Adeptus! I've been going through all the audiobooks on my mp3 player at work, and I'll keep looking for you.
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Jan 2, 2012 18:45
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The Death books might be a bit much for 4-6 year olds, because as much as Death is Pratchett's very own creation, he is also Death, and as much as we like to treat kids as uniquely savvy that's still a scary concept for someone that wee. Plus Mort has a bunch of murders in it. I'd stick with the Aching books.
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Jan 2, 2012 18:48
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The Bromeliad is a fun series that would be great for kids. Amazon link
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Jan 2, 2012 19:00
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Nilbop posted:The Death books might be a bit much for 4-6 year olds, because as much as Death is Pratchett's very own creation, he is also Death, and as much as we like to treat kids as uniquely savvy that's still a scary concept for someone that wee. Plus Mort has a bunch of murders in it. I'd stick with the Aching books. 4-6 graders, which is a bit older. I don't know exactly how US grades work, but it think thats around 10-12 ish? Give or take a bit? I've also just remembered the Johnny Maxwell books - Only You Can Save Mankind, Johnny and the Dead and Johnny and the Bomb. It's been years since I read them, so I can't really vouch for the quality, but I think I remember them being good. They're aimed for readers around about that age and are much shorter than the average Discworld book, so might be suitable for reading to a classroom.
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Jan 2, 2012 19:16
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The only problem with them is that they may have dated a bit. Only You Can Save Mankind is especially... 1990. I mean, I loved them when I read them around 2000 or so, but the references and so on are getting ever further into the past.
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Jan 2, 2012 20:10
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I've only read Only You Can Save Mankind (in primary school, in 1994, oh Jesus) and it had some great chapters. It was incredibly dated, being centred around a videogame as it was. And it was invested very well in the world of gamers and to an extent programmers, but the game was Space Invaders in complexity. Dear God I hope they've changed the cover by now. The illustration of the alien on the front just makes them completely ... blergh.
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Jan 2, 2012 22:59
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Wasn't Johnny and the Dead decent done as a TV series? I watched it when I was quite young.
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Jan 3, 2012 00:02
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