I have a Confession.

Posted by: schofiel

I have a Confession. - 11/06/2007 20:36

Boys and Girls,

I have only yesterday, 10:45AM BST, discovered Terry Pratchett.

Please forgive my sins.

PS: He's pretty funny, actually.
Posted by: petteri

Re: I have a Confession. - 11/06/2007 21:53

I know nothing of this Terry (Wikipedia search underway...), but Happy Birthday!
Posted by: FireFox31

Re: I have a Confession. - 11/06/2007 22:50

Happy Birthday, as well. I think I've heard of Terry Pratchet. Doesn't he (she??) sing or something.

(This post was brought to you by the year 1995, before you feigh knowledge of everything by simply searching the Internet.)
Posted by: gbeer

Re: I have a Confession. - 12/06/2007 03:27

I've seen his books on the shelves for some time. Going by the number of volumes and constant stocking, they must have a following, but the time I bought one, It just couldn't keep my interest.
Posted by: peter

Re: I have a Confession. - 12/06/2007 06:21

Quote:
I've seen his books on the shelves for some time. Going by the number of volumes and constant stocking, they must have a following, but the time I bought one, It just couldn't keep my interest.

The first half-dozen or so were really good, but IMO after that the quality tails off and they start becoming potboilers too reliant on running-jokes. The best later ones are the ones with entirely new settings and characters, so the running-jokes are scarcer: Pyramids, and, my favourite of the lot, Small Gods. Everyone should read Small Gods. Everyone should read Pratchett's collaboration with Neil Gaiman, Good Omens, too.

Peter
Posted by: LittleBlueThing

Re: I have a Confession. - 12/06/2007 08:31

Quote:
Boys and Girls,

I have only yesterday, 10:45AM BST, discovered Terry Pratchett.

Please forgive my sins.

PS: He's pretty funny, actually.


I'll forgive you - but you're going to have to evangelise to make it up to the god of Blue Screwdrivers.

"And it came to pass that in that time the Great God Om spake unto Brutha, the Chosen One:
"Psst!"
Brutha paused in mid-hoe and stared around the Temple garden.
"Pardon?" he said."

Praise be to (horns) Om.
Posted by: peter

Re: I have a Confession. - 12/06/2007 08:48

Quote:
Praise be to (horns) Om.

Amen, brother. My favourite bit of Small Gods is
Spoiler:
gur svefg cntr be fb, gur frg-hc sbe gur rntyr naq gbegbvfr guvat, gur ovg gung fgnegf jvgu "Pbafvqre gur gbegbvfr" naq raqf "Bar qnl, n gbegbvfr jvyy yrnea ubj gb syl".

If Small Gods is theistic humanism in a nutshell, that part is Small Gods in a nutshell. Amazingly, they muffed it when they did the Radio 4 adaptation: they kept most of the passage but skipped the punchline.

Peter
Posted by: LittleBlueThing

Re: I have a Confession. - 12/06/2007 09:32

Honestly, I don't remember

So I'm know on p65 (again)

"Thou Shalt Build Shallower Steps"

I don't think there are any Pratchett books that I didn't enjoy - though there are obvious peaks. Mort was another favourite.

I think the style is quite British, verbose, slightly sarcastic, clearly not self-important and with some laconic punchlines. I think it requires some acceptance - if you don't 'just get it' you need to relax and let it flow.
Posted by: pca

Re: I have a Confession. - 12/06/2007 09:41

My father, having read Small Gods and laughed all the way through, claimed it was a book every divinities student should read to put religion into perspective

I think it's probably his best work. All the others are good, that one is great.

pca
Posted by: gbeer

Re: I have a Confession. - 13/06/2007 01:21

Quote:
Quote:
I've seen his books on the shelves for some time. Going by the number of volumes and constant stocking, they must have a following, but the time I bought one, It just couldn't keep my interest.

The first half-dozen or so were really good, but IMO after that the quality tails off and they start becoming potboilers too reliant on running-jokes. The best later ones are the ones with entirely new settings and characters, so the running-jokes are scarcer: Pyramids, and, my favourite of the lot, Small Gods. Everyone should read Small Gods. Everyone should read Pratchett's collaboration with Neil Gaiman, Good Omens, too.

Peter


Pyramids, Is that a story where a small pyramid shows up at a university and grows larger with repeated inputs of energy. In the process sucking in various persons and transporting them to a universe/time when the greek gods exist, leaving the same people to embark on a strange quest to get home.

I enjoyed that one, didn't remember who wrote it.