The Terry Pratchett Thread: For the sake of prisoners and the flight of birds

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > The Terry Pratchett Thread: For the sake of prisoners and the flight of birds

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ClydeFrog: Apr 13, 2007; my body is a temple to an idiot god

I read them all in publishing order and it was brilliant. I actually loved the first two because I'd never encountered anything like it before and remember laughing on my commute to the consternation of people around me who shuffled away slowly and carefully.

# ? Jan 29, 2021 19:24

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# ? Apr 26, 2024 10:41

Strange Cares: Nov 22, 2007; ROYAL RAINBOW!

Cardiac posted:

The trucker trilogy was the only books I hadn�t read by Pratchett and reading them after Shepherds felt like coming full circle.
Still great after all these years.

Oh dang thanks for reminding me that the Bromeliad exists! I only ever read Diggers when I was a kid, I'm genuinely excited to get to read Pratchett I haven't read before.

# ? Jan 30, 2021 02:03

Tree Bucket: Apr 1, 2016; R.I.P.idura leucophrys

Strange Cares posted:

Oh dang thanks for reminding me that the Bromeliad exists! I only ever read Diggers when I was a kid, I'm genuinely excited to get to read Pratchett I haven't read before.

They are really short, but a huge amount of fun.

Beachcomber posted:

Back around the turn of the century, the entire computer infrastructure of our high school was student run, with a faculty "advisor". Things like checking which student account printed 300+ pages on the laserjet over in the dark corner simply didn't happen.

And a student who was in the NHS, school newspaper, yearbook, literary magazine, and ΔΕΦ German Language Honor Society, who more or less lived in the library and who checked out more books than any other ten students put together, clearly didn't require any kind of supervision.

Getting strong Librarian vibes of these paragraphs, to be honest.

# ? Jan 30, 2021 05:51

BurgerQuest: Mar 17, 2009; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

I used to print books at 4 pages to a page back and front in quiet hours at a very old job, before kindles and phones big enough to read on were a thing. I have read books on an ipod.

# ? Jan 30, 2021 09:01

e X: Feb 23, 2013; cool but crude

My first Watch book was Fifth Elefant and I was really confused at first, who anybody was and what their relation to each other was, but the quality of the book easily bridges that.

And that is probably true for most discworld books.

I do remember not really caring for the Colon/ nobby side story, since it distracted from the cool espionage stuff.

PS: I also like Eric.

e X fucked around with this message at 13:06 on Jan 30, 2021

# ? Jan 30, 2021 12:52

Cardiac: Aug 28, 2012

e X posted:

My first Watch book was Fifth Elefant and I was really confused at first, who anybody was and what their relation to each other was, but the quality of the book easily bridges that.

And that is probably true for most discworld books.

I do remember not really caring for the Colon/ nobby side story, since it distracted from the cool espionage stuff.

PS: I also like Eric.

Somewhere around Fifth elephant I kinda zoomed out on the watch. Mostly because the characters were fixed as archetypes.
I always preferred the ones that brought an entire new cast into the world like for example Monstrous regiment.

Also Eric is great.

# ? Jan 30, 2021 18:04

3D Megadoodoo: Nov 25, 2010

My copy of Eric is printed ALL in colour and the alignment is hosed up on a lot of pages.

So the text is hosed up because it's black made out of colours like a pronter.

3D Megadoodoo fucked around with this message at 20:15 on Jan 30, 2021

# ? Jan 30, 2021 19:56

KellHound: Jul 23, 2007; I commend my soul to any god that can find it.

My first discworld book was Equal Rites and I was kinda luke warm on it. A friend told me to give one of the later books a try. So I read Monsterous Regiment and then Going Postal. Those got me hooked. I read the rest in order.

When I friend asks where to start in Discworld, I usually give them a run down of "If you are interested in this _____ start here." Or I get them one I think will cover a topic they enjoy. Like a friend of mine really loves Christmas stuff and has been meaning to read Discworld, so I sent him a copy of Hogfather, now he's reading the rest. I think Discworld is great for just picking up which ever sounds good to you.

# ? Feb 2, 2021 16:45

ChubbyChecker: Mar 25, 2018

fantasy parodies were a surprisingly popular genre in the 80s and the first discworld books weren't really special in that genre. he found his own thing from mort onwards

# ? Feb 2, 2021 17:24

Ccs: Feb 25, 2011

Was "I Shall Wear Midnight" well received? It'd be nice if Discworld went out with a bang, or at least a fairly good book since the last couple non-YA books showed such a decline.

I'm thinking of reading the Tiffany Aching books in the coming months as I've gotten back into this series. I picked up The Fifth Elephant and Jingo on sale, wish I had actually bought more. They're as good as I remember.

# ? Feb 3, 2021 19:43

Boxturret: Oct 3, 2013; Don't ask me about Sonic the Hedgehog diaper fetish

I liked it fine, but I also liked Snuff and Raising Steam so :shrug:

# ? Feb 3, 2021 19:46

Rhymenoserous: May 23, 2008

My Lovely Horse posted:

I like Vimes' manic energy, but I also liked Christopher Meloni in Happy! and that was essentially the same performance. Come to think of it as a show it owes a lot to Happy! and maybe Doom Patrol.

Doom patrol is paced well, is clever and shows off its wit in subtle ways. Meanwhile this is one of the worst adaptions I�ve ever seen.

# ? Feb 4, 2021 03:59

ConfusedUs: Feb 24, 2004; Bees?
You want fucking bees?
Here you go!
ROLL INITIATIVE!!

Ccs posted:

Was "I Shall Wear Midnight" well received? It'd be nice if Discworld went out with a bang, or at least a fairly good book since the last couple non-YA books showed such a decline.

I'm thinking of reading the Tiffany Aching books in the coming months as I've gotten back into this series. I picked up The Fifth Elephant and Jingo on sale, wish I had actually bought more. They're as good as I remember.

It's the least of the Tiffany Aching books, but it's way better than Snuff or Raising Steam

# ? Feb 4, 2021 05:08

Jedit: Dec 10, 2011; Proudly supporting vanilla legends 1994-2014

Ccs posted:

Was "I Shall Wear Midnight" well received? It'd be nice if Discworld went out with a bang, or at least a fairly good book since the last couple non-YA books showed such a decline.

I'm thinking of reading the Tiffany Aching books in the coming months as I've gotten back into this series. I picked up The Fifth Elephant and Jingo on sale, wish I had actually bought more. They're as good as I remember.

Well, I Shall Wear Midnight isn't the last Tiffany Aching book. But yes, it was well received. I actually rate it slightly higher than A Hat Full of Sky, which is my least favourite of the five.

# ? Feb 4, 2021 09:49

Ccs: Feb 25, 2011

Jedit posted:

Well, I Shall Wear Midnight isn't the last Tiffany Aching book. But yes, it was well received. I actually rate it slightly higher than A Hat Full of Sky, which is my least favourite of the five.

Oh i didn't know about The Shepherd's Crown for some reason. But glad to hear.

# ? Feb 4, 2021 15:11

Pham Nuwen: Oct 30, 2010

ConfusedUs posted:

It's the least of the Tiffany Aching books, but it's way better than Snuff or Raising Steam

Raising Steam is the only Pratchett book I started and couldn't finish. I bought the hardcover edition but gave it away. It made me sad.

# ? Feb 4, 2021 17:28

Cardiac: Aug 28, 2012

Ccs posted:

Was "I Shall Wear Midnight" well received? It'd be nice if Discworld went out with a bang, or at least a fairly good book since the last couple non-YA books showed such a decline.

I'm thinking of reading the Tiffany Aching books in the coming months as I've gotten back into this series. I picked up The Fifth Elephant and Jingo on sale, wish I had actually bought more. They're as good as I remember.

The Tiffany aching books are great.
At the were coming out alongside some of the Watch books and always felt like a fresh breath to the increasing staleness of the Watch series.
Sometimes it felt like the watch series came out because people like their series and old characters and it sold books, while there was a different energy outside the watch. Vimes the supercop became kinda boring along the series.

# ? Feb 4, 2021 19:39

e X: Feb 23, 2013; cool but crude

Giving him superpowers really wasn�t necessary. Nightswatch would have been a great capping stone.

# ? Feb 4, 2021 23:24

SirSamVimes: Jul 21, 2008; ~* Challenge *~

Thud! was excellent though.

# ? Feb 4, 2021 23:27

Cardiac: Aug 28, 2012

SirSamVimes posted:

Thud! was excellent though.

Indeed. One of my favorites. Brainy Detritus rules.
It is not like any of them are close to being bad, just that they became increasingly generic as that series progressed.

# ? Feb 5, 2021 05:30

Boxturret: Oct 3, 2013; Don't ask me about Sonic the Hedgehog diaper fetish

Cardiac posted:

Indeed. One of my favorites. Brainy Detritus rules.
It is not like any of them are close to being bad, just that they became increasingly generic as that series progressed.

I thought smart Detritus was Men at Arms? When he gets trapped in the freezer with Cuddy? Or am I confused

# ? Feb 5, 2021 05:38

withak: Jan 15, 2003; Fun Shoe

Boxturret posted:

I thought smart Detritus was Men at Arms? When he gets trapped in the freezer with Cuddy? Or am I confused

Later on someone makes him a refrigerated helmet so he can be smart outside of freezers.

# ? Feb 5, 2021 05:41

Boxturret: Oct 3, 2013; Don't ask me about Sonic the Hedgehog diaper fetish

withak posted:

Later on someone makes him a refrigerated helmet so he can be smart outside of freezers.

Oh right I forgot about that! I really need to read these books again.

# ? Feb 5, 2021 05:43

Cardiac: Aug 28, 2012

Boxturret posted:

I thought smart Detritus was Men at Arms? When he gets trapped in the freezer with Cuddy? Or am I confused

I might be confused.
Although the statement still holds.

# ? Feb 5, 2021 05:44

Trin Tragula: Apr 22, 2005

Thud has a couple of extremely high-quality Detritus moments, even though they aren't his mathematical theory of everything.

quote:

'Midder Chrysoprase he wanna see you,' he said sulkily.

'Is that so?' said Vimes.
'He wanna see you now,' said the troll.

'Well, he knows where I live,' said Vimes.

'Yeah. He does.'

Three words, smacking into the silence like lead. It was the way the troll said them. A
suicidal kind of way.

The silence was broken by the steely sound of bolts being shot home, followed by a
click. The trolls turned. Sergeant Detritus was taking the key out of the lock of the
Watch House's big, thick double doors. Then he turned round and his heavy hands
landed on the trolls' shoulders.

He sighed. 'Boys,' he said, 'if dere was a PhD in bein' fick, youse wouldn't be able to
find a pencil.'

The troll who'd uttered the not-very-veiled threat then made another mistake. It must
have been terror that moved his arms, or dumb machismo. Surely no one with a
functioning brain cell would have selected that moment to move their arms into what,
for trolls, was the attack position.

Detritus's fist moved in a blur, and the crack as it connected with the troll's skull
made the furniture rattle.

Vimes opened his mouth and shut it again. Trollish was a very physical language.
And you had to respect cultural traditions, didn't you? It wasn't only dwarfs who were
allowed to have them, was it?
...
The stricken troll rocked for a second or two, and then went over forwards in one
rigid movement.

Detritus walked across to Vimes, kicking the recumbent figure en passant.

'Sorry about dat, sir,' he said, and his hand clanged on his helmet as he saluted.
'Dey got no manners.'

'All right, that's enough; said Vimes, and addressed the remaining, suddenly-veryalone
messenger. 'Why does Chrysoprase want to see me?'

'He wouldn't tell der Brothers Fick that, would he' said Detritus, grinning horribly.
There was no swagger left now.

'All I know is, it's about der killin' o' the horug,' mumbled the messenger, taking
refuge in surliness. At the sound of the word the eyes of every watching dwarf
narrowed further. It was a very bad word.

'Oh boy, oh boy, oh' Detritus hesitated.

'-boy,' said Vimes out of the corner of his mouth.

'-boy!' said Detritus triumphantly. 'You are makin' friends like nobody's business
today!'

quote:

'I thought trolls didn't have kings these days,' said Vimes. 'I thought every clan ruled
itself.'

'Right, right,' said Detritus. 'Look, Mister Vimes, he Mr Shine, okay? We don't talk
about him much.' The troll's expression was a mixture of misery and defiance.
Vimes decided to go for a weaker target. 'Where did you find him, Brick? I just want
to-'

'He came callin' to help you!' snarled Detritus. 'What you doin, Mister Vimes? Why
you go on askin' questions? Wi' the dwarfs you have pussy feet, must not upset 'em,
oh no, but what you do if dey was trolls, eh? Kick down der door, no problem! Mr
Shine bring you Brick, give you good advice, an' you talk like he bein' a bad troll! I'm
hearin' now where Captain Carrot, he tellin' the dwarfs he the Two Brothers. You fink
that make me happy? We know dat lyin' of dwarf lie, yes! We groan at it lyin' yes!
You want to see Mr Shine, you show humble, you show respect yes!'

This is Koom Valley again, thought Vimes. He'd never seen Detritus this angry, at
least at him. The troll was just there, reliable and dependable.

At Koom Valley, two tribes had met, and no one blinked.

'I apologize,' he said, blinking. 'I didn't know. No offence was meant.'
...
The troll thought about this. 'No,' he said, 'but maybe dere's some finkin' you could
leave behind.'

# ? Feb 5, 2021 15:10

Terror Sweat: Mar 15, 2009

Trin Tragula posted:

Thud has a couple of extremely high-quality Detritus moments, even though they aren't his mathematical theory of everything.

Too bad he's dead in the show

# ? Feb 5, 2021 17:13

Devorum: Jul 30, 2005

Terror Sweat posted:

Too bad he's dead in the show

Killed by generic crossbow bolts in slo-mo while The Pixies play.

The band, not the mythological beings.

# ? Feb 6, 2021 05:32

Shoehead: Sep 28, 2005; Wassup, Choom?
Ya need sumthin'?

Please tell me it wasn't Where is my Mind?

Jesus Christ

# ? Feb 6, 2021 06:36

Devorum: Jul 30, 2005

Shoehead posted:

Please tell me it wasn't Where is my Mind?

Jesus Christ

Deep down in your secret heart, you already know the answer: of course it was.

# ? Feb 6, 2021 06:42

Terror Sweat: Mar 15, 2009

Shoehead posted:

Please tell me it wasn't Where is my Mind?

Jesus Christ

Lmao

# ? Feb 7, 2021 00:34

JesustheDarkLord: May 22, 2006; #VolsDeep; Lipstick Apathy

Devorum posted:

Killed by generic crossbow bolts in slo-mo while The Pixies play.

The band, not the mythological beings.

Um the band is just called Pixies

# ? Feb 7, 2021 01:59

massive spider: Dec 6, 2006

I can�t remember a single thing that happened in Raising Steam and thought Vimes was in it due to it having a very similar cover art to the also forgettable Snuff, and it�s made me hesitant to read Shepard�s Crown. I�d rather leave the series on a high.

JesustheDarkLord posted:

Um the band is just called Pixies

I�ve always hated this, the band themselves don�t even keep it consistent and their best of is called Death to the Pixies. You need to work harder than that if you�re going to make it a thing like say, Swans.

massive spider fucked around with this message at 12:29 on Feb 8, 2021

# ? Feb 8, 2021 12:22

Jedit: Dec 10, 2011; Proudly supporting vanilla legends 1994-2014

massive spider posted:

I’ve always hated this, the band themselves don’t even keep it consistent and their best of is called Death to the Pixies. You need to work harder than that if you’re going to make it a thing like say, Swans.

Frank Black doesn't even keep his own name consistent, let alone that of the band. He wouldn't be the first or last to drop a The, though. I'm reasonably sure that the Breeders did it at least once, and to keep the chain going Throwing Muses dropped their The when they got signed.

(Also read The Shepherds Crown because it's good.)

# ? Feb 8, 2021 13:07

Beachcomber: May 21, 2007; Another day in paradise.; Slippery Tilde

massive spider posted:

I can’t remember a single thing that happened in Raising Steam and thought Vimes was in it due to it having a very similar cover art to the also forgettable Snuff, and it’s made me hesitant to read Shepard’s Crown. I’d rather leave the series on a high.

I wish I'd done this. Perfect stopping point is I Shall Wear Midnight.

# ? Feb 9, 2021 12:19

Gravitas Shortfall: Jul 17, 2007; Utility is seven-eighths Proximity.

The first chapters of Shepherd's Crown are amazing, the rest reads weirdly like Discworld fanfic in places. :smith:

# ? Feb 12, 2021 14:26

Beachcomber: May 21, 2007; Another day in paradise.; Slippery Tilde

Gravitas Shortfall posted:

The first chapters of Shepherd's Crown are amazing, the rest reads weirdly like Discworld fanfic in places.

Thank you for putting it into words. This was also my experience.

# ? Feb 13, 2021 10:11

Cardiac: Aug 28, 2012

Gravitas Shortfall posted:

The first chapters of Shepherd's Crown are amazing, the rest reads weirdly like Discworld fanfic in places.

Well, given what was written by Pratchett and what just existed as notes, this is an apt and accurate description.

# ? Feb 13, 2021 20:13

Alhazred: Feb 16, 2011

Just read the Long Earth and I really liked it. It felt like Rendezvous With Rama, a couple of people (plus an AI who may or may not be a reincarnated tibetan) exploring a really weird phenomenon.

# ? Feb 14, 2021 11:26

Xarn: Jun 26, 2015

Long earth was good read, but I gave up shortly after starting the third book.

# ? Feb 14, 2021 13:13

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# ? Apr 26, 2024 10:41

Snowmankilla: Dec 6, 2000; True, true

Yeah, I liked the long earth, but by the time the second one came out I couldn�t keep the characters straight.

# ? Feb 14, 2021 18:29

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > The Terry Pratchett Thread: For the sake of prisoners and the flight of birds

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