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Xander77 posted:I'm trying to read through Shepherd's Crown. It manages to replicate the horrible experience of talking to a relative suffering from Alzheimer's in text form. Oh good, yet another reason why I will not read that book, the first being the death of Granny Weatherwax. My grandmother passed away recently, but she'd been gone for years before that. Alzheimer's is, in many ways, the worst disease a person can suffer from because it takes away what makes a person a person, and leaves us someone broken and lost.  EDIT: Sorry about the broken tag! Screaming Idiot fucked around with this message at 18:56 on May 14, 2016 |
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May 14, 2016 18:34
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The Evil Thing posted:Wasn't this actually a thing, though? Naive young noblemen and impressionable housemaids falling in love was a bad time for everyone involved. Having the housemaids turn and face the wall whenever a member of the family went past certainly wasn't a great solution, but must have done something, or the practice wouldn't have caught on. I always thought that sidestory merely served to reinforce the greater "the nobs are untouchable" issue that Vimes rails against and eventually overcomes -- more or less.
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Jul 24, 2016 20:55
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Reading Asprin's Myth Adventures books after reading Discworld is like eating a stale, re-heated Big Mac after eating a delicately-seasoned, perfectly-cooked steak. I have a soft spot for Myth Adventures because it was my dad's favorite book series -- the man's bookshelves were filled with off-beat sci-fi and fantasy novels, including the Stainless Steel Rat Choose-Your-Own Adventure paperback -- but they're objectively awful, especially the later novels. Still love Aahz, though. I still read his dialogue in my dad's voice. 
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Jul 28, 2016 04:03
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Harry Harrison's work has been described by Pratchett as the funniest SF he'd ever read, and I stand by that. The Stainless Steel Rat books are hilarious and the first Bill, the Galactic Hero is wonderful, although the later books are unreadable incoherent pun-afflicted dreck. Terry Pratchett has risen to become my favorite author because of how detailed his world is. He's one of those rare writers who made his world-building count for something, who can make what begins as a one-note gag into a compelling plot point in later books, who can give his readers a real sense of progress. He wrote better books under the influence of Alzheimer's than most famous writers did in their prime. He could write serious, horrible scenes without relying on gratuitous violence and rape -- remember the basements of the Cable Street watchhouse in Night Watch? Pratchett was such a good author he made Death a lovable character. That's an achievement I've yet to see replicated.
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Jul 29, 2016 04:22
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Alhazred posted:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_(DC_Comics) Thank you for quoting two examples of "Death as a sympathetic character" done badly. I especially dislike Gaiman's take on the concept and I share Sam Keith's opinion about it, while Pratchett's Death manages to be completely true to Keith's sentiment -- he's certainly cold and hard, and certainly not pleasant to look upon -- while being likeable. He's not perky and bouncy and goofy: he is Duty Personified, cold and impersonal, but compassionate enough to realize that there are times when sparing a life and changing the world is necessary. Pratchett's Death is a well-written character with deep motivations and solid in-universe logical foundations. Gaiman's Death is a pretentious masturbatory fantasy. I never liked Susan, though. Susan is just heinously grating and pretty much superfluous to the plot, especially since almost a quarter of her dialogue is bashing her grandfather or being snotty to her Wacky Animal Companions.
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Jul 30, 2016 04:08
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People give criticize Reaper Man quite a bit for being too silly, but it was one of my favorites. From the hilarious inversion of the heroic undead attacking the evil shopping mall, to the surprisingly touching story of "Bill Door" learning exactly why people fear death, to the antics of the Unseen University faculty, it's everything a Discworld book ought to be. LORD, WHAT CAN THE HARVEST HOPE FOR, IF NOT FOR THE CARE OF THE REAPER MAN?
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Jul 31, 2016 04:02
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precision posted:The thing I always remember no matter how many years past is the first footnote explaining Glod the Dwarf. And we have to love Glod's descendant, Glod Glodson, in Soul Music. The whole Band With Rocks In has wonderful chemistry and Glod has some of the best quips in the whole series. Glod: *brandishing a trumpet* My name's Glod. I can blow anything. Imp y Celyn: You must be very popular. Glod: You can't get me in there, the doors aren't wide enough. CMOT Dibbler: What? The doors are huge, of course you'll fit! Glod: No, because you'd have to drag the whole street in on account of me holding onto it. Glod: *after hearing the name "The Band with Rocks In"* I like it, short and dirty. Like me. Glod: I don't think I've ever sweated so much in my whole life! I'll have to change this vest any day now. And the Blues Brothers references in that book were glorious. It'd be my favorite in the series if it wasn't for Susan whining half the time.
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Aug 4, 2016 04:13
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precision posted:I should probably get around to doing a complete re-read of the series. Most of the Disc novels I read as they were published (I think Mort was current when I found The Light Fantastic at, of all places, a loving K-Mart). "I meant," said Ipslore bitterly, "what is there in this world that truly makes life worth while?" Death thought about it. "CATS," he said eventually, "CATS ARE NICE." Oh, Death. 
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Aug 7, 2016 04:52
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Canuckistan posted:We're on a mission from Glod! That entire section makes me laugh out loud to this day. "We're a piano. Don't mind us." "Okay."
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Aug 7, 2016 20:59
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I like the way Pratchett describes the way gargoyles move: "It's a shame Rincewind has never seen poor-quality stop-motion animation, because that's exactly what they looked like."
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Aug 8, 2016 03:35
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Fact: Cheery Littlebottom is the most adorable character in the entire series and ties with Cuddy (RIP) and Glod Glodson as Best Dwarf. Sorry Rhys, but you were kind of a dick to Vimes during the whole Koom Valley incident and that detracts from your score. And I really wish Brick had shown up more often after Thud!; his being adopted by Detritus brought a tear to my eye.
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Sep 11, 2016 04:34
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Beefeater1980 posted:They're great but surely Carrot is the best dwarf? No, Carrot is just The Worst Dwarf. He's tall and handsome and a genius but so very simple and likeable and lovable and it's totally not weird at all that Angua thinks of herself as his dog and everyone loves him and on and on and on. He's a parody that accidentally turned into an example of what Pratchett was parodying. I let out a little cheer when Wolfgang went Goku on his rear end. I really liked Carrot in Guards! Guards! and Men at Arms, but he got a little insufferable after that. In mitigation I do love how he is literally the only person on the Disc with the idea to ask Death about a murder. It's an obvious idea in hindsight.
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Sep 12, 2016 04:39
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chiasaur11 posted:Uh, no. It's hosed up. Yeah, the part of my quote you bolded was meant to be sarcasm -- Angua and Carrot's relationship is more than a little suspect to me and it's another reason why I sort of wished she had just stayed in Uberwald at the end of The Fifth Elephant to help fix werewolf/dwarf/human/vampire relations. Speaking of Nobby, I have to say that he's one of the more well-developed characters in the Watch. Every book has him change a little, display a little more of his background (especially in Night Watch, which could bring a man to tears), until in the end he's finally settled down in a stable relationship with a goblin. He's a background character, but he's a solid background character and one of Pratchett's more notable successes.
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Sep 14, 2016 22:55
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Flipswitch posted:Yo dudes, I'm getting my girlfriend into the Discworld novels, what do you guys think is a good starter? I was recomemnding something like Going Postal or Small Gods first, my dad thinks Equal Rites or Guards! Guards! would be better. Small Gods is a good starter because it doesn't require a lot of Discworld foreknowledge beyond what you can see in my avatar, but Guards! Guards! introduces us to Vimes, who is basically the most consistently well-written protagonist in the entire series. Going Postal is okay, but it's something you read when you've read all the really good Discworld books and need something to tide you over until you can read the good Discworld books again. Pyramids is another good starting book, with some of its high points making it almost as good a piece of theological/philosophical literature as Small Gods, and its low points some pretty chuckle-worthy geometry gags. Stay away from The Amazing Maurice, though. Aside from the Rat King -- who was actually pretty damned creepy for what it turned out to be -- the book is completely forgettable.
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Sep 15, 2016 06:35
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To be fair, I think the "secret heir of Ankh-Morpork" thing changed from "possible plotline" to "running gag" and Carrot became (slightly) better for it. And Vimes is an interesting character because despite living almost literally next door to the largest concentration of magical power and wisdom in the known world, he insists on sticking to the rules. Magic's a living, dangerous thing that'll rise up and bite you in the rear end the moment you take it for granted. Vimes would trust his notebook and cardboard soles over some spell cast by a wizard whose ties to sanity and the laws of physics are tenuous at the best. I like how as the series progresses otherworldly things begin to fade. Indeed, in Raising Steam the wizards and Sweeper only had token appearances -- appearances which I personally believe should have been cut out since they're pretty obvious notes from Pratchett to tell us, "Yes, these characters still exist, and they, too, are completely okay with non-magical, non-quantum engineering."
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Sep 19, 2016 04:03
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Rand Brittain posted:Speaking of Death's ALL CAPS, which voices do people like best for Death? I find that most of the people doing Death tend to overdo the exaggerated bass in a way that makes it hard to emote and comes out stiff. Nigel Planer did the best Death, I think, by overplaying the implied gravitas of Death's unique voice. Death doesn't really emote -- emotions need glands, and Death's fresh out of those -- so he would use the same "tolling of the iron bells of impending entropy" tone of impending doom whether the subject at hand was the end of the world or his favorite brand of biscuit. I gotta cut Briggs some slack with Sweeper's voice, though. A bad Chinese accent with hints of lower-class British suits his character perfectly. "Is it not written, 'there's a lot going on we don't know about?'" And Briggs's take on the Auditors was hilarious -- a flat, generic, almost American accent really worked with the characterization. I wish we could have heard more from the Auditors, and I wish even more that Unity LeJean didn't commit suicide at the end.
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Sep 28, 2016 07:30
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I'm reading through Mo0nstrous Regiment again and it's nowhere near as bad as some people have claimed. It's not the basket of chuckles some Discworld books are, but it's a solid read and easily as good or better than any of the Tiffany Aching books. Maladict's 'Nam flashbacks are some of Pratchett's best examples of absurd humor and the rest of the book manages to convey the horrors of war without glorifying it -- the description of the gray-faced men with coats tightened over their torsos is haunting. I know some people claim the "twist" of all the main characters being secretly women being contrived, but that's no twist at all: the wars have gone on for so long that there aren't any fighting men left.
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Oct 9, 2016 04:38
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I think we can all at least agree that Jack Jackrum is right up there with Vimes in terms of sheer badassery. "Upon my oath, I am not a violent man!" *stab*
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Oct 10, 2016 05:07
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Disgusting Coward posted:It never sat easily with me how Pratchett could be so "omg war is icky hell oh no grey faced coat men" and then spend about 33% of the book wanking over how awesome and deadly Jackrum is. The ability to both have a cake and eat it probably involves those bloody quantums. Jackrum being badass wasn't really shown as a good thing, though. Jackrum might have been a hero, but "he" is every bit as much a butcher and Pratchett doesn't shy away from it. The section Alhazred quoted shows that; Jackrum is the sort who makes the gray-faced men in tightened coats, then smiles about it over a cup of hot sweet tea.
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Oct 12, 2016 02:59
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People Also Overlook Just How Wonderful The Golem Characters Tend To Be. Pump 19 and Gladys Were Both Bright Spots In The First Two Moist Von Lipwig Books And Dorfl's Cameos Are Always Hilarious.
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Oct 22, 2016 04:51
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Is it just me, or is the TV adaptation of Going Postal awful? I watched it yesterday and the only good part was Terry's cameo at the end.
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Nov 10, 2016 07:10
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Konstantin posted:Ridcully is silly now, but that's because he can be. He personally built the university into what it is, and probably killed dozens of would be Archchancellors before his reforms took hold. He's a lot like Vetinari, in that he certainly could kill, but he spends his efforts building an environment where he doesn't need to. And because Ridcully can suplex any wizard unfortunate enough to try to invoke dead man's pointy shoes. That's one reason why I hate the Going Postal adaptation so much -- it erases all the characters save for the barest stereotype. In the adaptation Lipwig was as likeable and charismatic as a half-brick, Vetinari was robbed of all the nuance that places him on the knife-edge between a benevolent ruler and a vicious despot, and Ridcully was the most generic wizard since Gandalf. Soul Music was a better adaptation, even with the crappy animation and questionable editing -- at least it had a drat decent soundtrack. It even gave us lyrics for "A Wizard's Staff Has A Knob On It!"
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Nov 28, 2016 05:46
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Shepherd's Crown was hard to read, but it was worth it. Not because it's slow or tedious or badly plotted -- it isn't -- but because it's pretty much the last Pratchett thing there is and will be.
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Jan 11, 2017 22:03
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Jedit posted:I don't know how matters stand in Germany, but Terry Pratchett is officially the author whose books are most frequently stolen from UK libraries. A donation of his books is only likely to be refused on basis of condition. Let's hope some guild licenses were shown or else a lot of people are going to end up covered in bruises and banana skins.
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Feb 10, 2017 09:02
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Hogfather was all right, but Going Postal was just cringe-inducing. They made Moist Von Lipwig completely unlikable and Adora Belle completely generic, with all of her "flaws"removed the instant the movie was over. Mr. Pump was pretty awesome though, even if they had to wreck the story just to fit him in a bit more. The best part of the movie was Sir Terry's cameo at the end, and his last line sums the movie up completely. "What an embuggerance."
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Feb 25, 2017 10:43
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SeanBeansShako posted:The A story of Hogfather is pretty decent, It's the B story with the Unseen University and the shower that drops the ball. But only because the movie can't add the context of BS Johnson's incompetence. Really, the movie would have been better if it had just removed more content to focus on the main aspects of the story. And also if it had been animated. Discworld simply doesn't work with live action characters, but it's never had quality animation. Give us a cartoon series with the Kidby designs and style and you'd have a winner. Or do it like this: 
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Feb 25, 2017 15:52
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Jedit posted:Are you suggesting that Cosgrove Hall didn't do quality animation? Cosgrove Hall was on-par with the CD-I Zelda games and in most cases didn't even try to follow Pratchett's descriptions or characterization. At least the soundtrack of Soul Music was pretty good.
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Feb 28, 2017 07:04
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Alhazred posted:There is a point in the Fifth Elephant where VImes straight up murders a guy. He's also perfectly aware about the fact that he committed murder and the only reason he can live with himself is that he didn't make a snappy one liner. To be fair, he followed the rules to the letter, if not the spirit, and Wolfgang was on a killing spree at the time and Vimes had no other way to stop him. Vimes did intend to kill Wolfgang, but if circumstances were different then Vimes would have found some other way.
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Mar 14, 2017 03:27
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TerryCheesecake posted:It's worth noting Jonathan Jones is an art critic and a massive, massive wanker. I'm glad someone agrees with me. While his review made a few good points, it reeks of "heh, fantasy? You should try reading real books, plebian"  and even if I wasn't a Pratchett fan I would have thought him a pretentious dick.Not every single character of every single book needs to be rich with nuance and backstory and sympathetic qualities. Vorbis, in this instance, is as much an idea as he is a character -- he is repression and cruelty and broken faith personified, everything that is wrong with the Omnian faith in one man. He isn't a "psycho" as Jones put it; he is incredibly, disquietingly sane. His pleasure at making others commit atrocities isn't just sadism, it's the pleasure at knowing what he is doing is right, that he is honoring his god and honoring his faith and Doing What Must Be Done -- something that has been done since the concept of religion came about and is done to this day. Vorbis is evil, but he isn't the cackling madman Jones claims, but instead a living example of how a man can become everything that goes against what it means to be faithful. If Vorbis is two-dimensional, it's because he scourged away any further dimensions for being unnecessary and sinful. And he neglects to add that Vorbis isn't utterly without sympathetic points; he languishes in the desert for -- to him -- an eternity as he finally understood his sins. Vorbis is as much a victim of his church's faith as any of his own victims; he was raised not to question, to seek out dissent and stamp it out before it grows, to show his love for his fellow man with heated knives. Teatime, however, is just a loony and that's fine, because really, who makes plans to kill the Hogfather. GodFish posted:I think you've all forgotten unquestionably good dog Gaspode the wonderdog. "Story of my life."
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Mar 29, 2017 00:20
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Canuckistan posted:I like this post. Thank you. I like your posts too! Another thing I forgot to mention was that Brutha and Vorbis are in a way mirror images of one another -- had Brutha never made contact with Om, Brutha could eventually have become like Vorbis. It's easy to imagine a young Vorbis as malleable and amenable to Omnian indoctrination as Brutha, whose intelligence and stubborn and powers of unthinking doublethink would work to elevate him, especially since the Quisition values those who reserve their questions only for their prisoners. There but for the grace of Om and all that.
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Mar 29, 2017 13:21
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Reene posted:I'm amazed at how wrong a person can be about Small Gods. It was the first Discworld book I ever read and is still my favorite. The ending still makes me tear up every time I go back for a re-read. The apparent inability to understand what the book was about on a basic level and how beautifully Pratchett put the story together right up to the last paragraph just kills me. No see it doesn't have real moral conflicts like a kid trying to jerk it while his parents are trying to get into the bathroom That's something worth running to the bookstore to buy
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Apr 2, 2017 07:14
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A lot of Pratchett's antagonists are absolutely human and believable; look at Mr. Pin and Mr. Tulip and Lord de Word -- the first two are motivated by greed, the latter and his associates by haughtiness and racism. They all happen to have sympathetic sides as well, flashes of humanity and insights into their pasts that make them more than two dimensional setpieces. I need to read The Truth again soon, that was such a good book. MUSIC VIZ ROCKS IN! 
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Apr 12, 2017 01:58
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Night Watch and Monstrous Regiment do that to me too. Pratchett's work ought to be required reading in school. For both history and English.
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Aug 23, 2017 02:25
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The part where the Sams enter the jail in Cable Street is probably the darkest thing Pratchett ever wrote. You know a section is dark when a seven-foot-tall robed scythe-wielding skeleton is comic relief.
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Aug 23, 2017 03:01
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Jerry Cotton posted:It's the worst because it's about football Terry just tried to do too much in one book, leaving a lot of dangling plot threads.
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Sep 28, 2017 08:32
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The one thread I thought I could be free in. THE ONE THREAD.
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Oct 21, 2017 23:37
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It took an extremely long time for me to realize Sweeper is the one who saved the toddlers at Harry King's compound and not actually Moist. I'm still not sure whether I like the twist or not.
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Oct 22, 2017 18:10
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The Evil Thing posted:
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Oct 25, 2017 08:24
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Meyers-Briggs Testicle posted:All right thread: what is the WORST discworld book? The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents was really, really forgettable. Pratchett's YA books usually work because he writes them the same way he would for adults -- sometimes they're even darker than his "mature" novels -- but TAMaHER just didn't click. It's not bad -- Pratchett can't do bad -- but it wasn't that good. I also have to say The Color of Magic if we compare it to the others since it's obvious he was still finding his voice. It wasn't a coherent narrative and most of the characters are cookiecutter even for parody, and forgettable on top of it.
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Oct 28, 2017 16:55
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I'm reminded of Nome, Alaska. Also, Pratchett would be very disappointed at the word "retarded" used a pejorative.
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Nov 11, 2017 08:54
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