Terry Pratchett article and video

Sir Terry Pratchett has a new Discworld novel ("Snuff") on the shelves, and The Age has an excellent article (with video) with Sir Terry discussing his work and his struggles with Alzheimers.  We'll have a review of the book up soon (yes, I've already read it), but until then, enjoy!

Terry Pratchett 2010 Challenge: Lords And Ladies

I'm already up to 5 books in the Terry Pratchett 2010 Challenge (including reading the newest--Unseen Academicals--twice), and my initial promise to review them in the order read my have to fall by the wayside as I pull further ahead. However I'm going to stick with it for now to give a quick review of Lords And Ladies.

Lords and Ladies is one of the "Lancre" novels, dealing with the sleepy little kingdom of Lancre, in the heart of the Ramtop Mountains. Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Magrat, having returned from foreign lands (recounted in the previous "Witches Abroad") and resume their meddling in local affairs. Unfortunately the peace of the village is shattered by the arrival of Elves, a cruel, magical race from another dimension. The plot is (extremely loosely) based on A Midsummers Night Dream--but with the elves as the bad guys.  Will the witches be able to put aside their interpersonal conflicts in order to save the day?  Well yes, of course they do, but it's how they do that's important.

I have to admit I've never been as big a fan of the Lancre novels as the other Discworld novels (with the exception of Maskerade, which is one of my all time favourites) but it's a solid story. The addition of visiting members of Unseen University adds to the fun, but my problem with the Lancre novels remains the same. Granny Weatherwax is abrasive,and Magrat is annoying wet. Nanny Ogg is the only character who I can really connect with. Not to say it's a bad novel--once I got into it I enjoyed it immensely, as I always do.

Terry Pratchett Challenge 2010: Guards, Guards.

So we're a couple of weeks into the challenge now, and I've finish two books: Lords and Ladies (review upcoming) and Guards, Guards.  Since I'm going to at least try and review in the order that I read them, let's start with Guards, Guards.

This is the frst in the ongoing subseries of Discworld books known as the "Watch "novels.  Unlike the "Lancre" novels and the "Death" novels, the Watch novels sprang forth pretty much fully formed, and although they've evolve to become one of the cornerstones of the Discworld series (as members of The Watch now appear in virtually every Discworld novel set in Ankh Morpock) at the same time has changed the least.

The Night Watch are the joke of Ankh Morpock--sort of the Discworld equivalent  Police Academy.  Under the direction of Captian Vimes, a bitter, alcoholic cynical idealist, the Watch serves as a collecting point for the venal, the lazy, the uneducated and the uncouth--all in the form of Sergeant Colon and Coporal Nobby.  And those are their best qualities! As the story gets underway it's clear that this state of affairs has been going on for quite some time.

All this changes with the arrival of Carrot--the 6' dwarf (by adoption).  Carrot is honest, upright, keen and an eternal optimist--in other words, a real pain in the ass.  In Ankh Morpock terms, he has the life expectancy of a whelk in a grinder.  And yet....somehow Carrot weaves a special magic all his own.  Things that would get anyone else severely insulted before being even more severely killed actually work for Carrot.

This dynamic pretty much exists through all the Watch novels, but this is where it began.

As for the story, it's a very clever little detective story well-disguised as a fantasy novel.  The reason why Guards, Guards works (and it works so well) is because Pratchett approached it as a mystery novel that was funny, rather than a funny novel with a mystery. A dastardly, if unlikely, plot involves a secret society employing a dragon to usurp the Patrician and crown a puppet king on the throne of the City.  I'm not going to give a blow-by-flame account of the plot--suffice to say it not only packs a lot of laughs, but it does manage to elicit genuine suspense throughout.

As mentioned before, the characters are so well written and developed that Pratchett has had to do very little beyong the occasional  tweaking in subsequent novels.  It's not the best Watch Novel, but the distance between it and the best is trifling at most.

For details on the Terry Pratchett Challenge 2010 click on the following link:

Terry Pratchett Challenge, 2010

So I'm going to participate in my first blog challenge: ReadingAdventures: Terry Pratchett 2010 Challenge

Here are the rules:

The challenge will start from 1 December 2009 and run through to 30 November 2010. There are several different levels of participation for you to choose from:

1-3 books - Cashier at Ankh-Morpork Mint
4-5 books - Guard of the City Watch
6-8 books - Academic at the Unseen University
9-10 books - Member of Granny Weatherwax's Coven
10-12 books - Death's Apprentice

You can either be reading the books for the first time, rereading, or even watching the TV adaptations if you like! As long as everyone has fun I will be happy! Please also do not feel limited to only reading the Discworld books as any books by Terry Pratchett will count for this challenge.

To a certain degree, this is not exactly a challenge for me--I'm usually rereading a Discworld novel at some point (sometimes two). In fact, when I found out about this a couple of days ago, I was about 20 pages away from finishing Guards, Guards--so I get to start the challenge one up. Now I'm reading Lords And Ladies. I'll keep you updated on my progress towards Death's Apprentice.