After the success of The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents (2001) it was inevitable that Terry Pratchett would turn his hand to another Discworld novel for children. Although, given his turnover of books at this time, Maurice could have just been the advance guard for the Tiffany Aching novels that seemed to dominate the … Continue reading The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 30: The Wee Free Men
Category: Comedy
The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 29: Night Watch
His Grace, Commander Samuel Vimes is pursuing Carcer, a cold-hearted killer. However, it’s also the eve of the birth of his first child and the 30th anniversary of the Glorious Revolution Of The Twenty-Fifth of May, a people’s uprising that happened during a brief period of turmoil in the city of Ankh-Morpork’s recent past. During … Continue reading The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 29: Night Watch
The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 28: The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents
Way back in Reaper Man, mention was made of a fraudulent ridder of pests by the name of “The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents.” At the time, it was regarded as a humourous aside that riffed on the cynical nature of humanity via the legends of the Pied Piper, but it was a germ … Continue reading The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 28: The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents
The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 27: The Last Hero
Way back in 1990, Gollancz showcased the work of artist Josh Kirby with a book filled with his artwork and an accompanying short story by Terry Pratchett. Eric, as it was titled, was a lavish affair that showed off Kirby’s talents as an artist beyond his facility for cover pages. Like a lot of fans, … Continue reading The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 27: The Last Hero
The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 26: Thief Of Time
Susan Sto Helit, daughter of Mort and Ysabell, granddaughter of Death, has taken up a teaching position, discovering that she is rather good at it, too. She has achieved some degree of normality, and even her ability to manipulate reality has become something that she utilises with much less of the disdain and doubt that … Continue reading The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 26: Thief Of Time
The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 25: The Truth
Terry Pratchett hadn’t written a novel that didn’t feature a Wizard, Witch, Watchman or Death since Soul Music, so when The Truth was published, featuring the exploits of William de Worde as he sets up the city of Ankh-Morpork’s first proper newspaper, it was a breath of fresh air. William didn’t come out of nowhere, … Continue reading The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 25: The Truth
A “Biography” Ian Likes: I, An Actor by Nicholas Craig
Now Ego is on the stage and walking swirly-burly. A thought. What a strange word ‘stage’ is: sta-ge, ssssssstttttttaaaaaagggggeeeeeeee, stage. Trembling, Ego reaches the microphone (so no need to project). ‘Must speak,’ thinks Ego, ‘must kiss. No, must speak first – then kiss.’ Words tumble. Nicholas Craig’s memoir begins, like all the best showbiz memoirs, … Continue reading A “Biography” Ian Likes: I, An Actor by Nicholas Craig
The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 24: The Fifth Elephant
Long ago, it is said, there was a fifth elephant perched atop the shell of Great A’Tuin. But it fell into space and came crashing down in the wilds of Uberwald, providing the later inhabitants with a vast supply of raw fat to be mined for their future profit. Thousands of years later, Commander Samuel … Continue reading The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 24: The Fifth Elephant
The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 22: The Last Continent
The oldest – and possibly least useful – piece of writing advice is to write what you know about. Most authors of Speculative Fiction (that’s Science Fiction and Fantasy under one roof) have chosen to ignore that and taken on a whole shelf of arcane and niche knowledge in order to cultivate their readership. By … Continue reading The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 22: The Last Continent
The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 21: Jingo
The start of Jingo features the introduction of the magical island of Leshp which makes a reappearance after being submerged for what appears to be most of recorded history and then, fairly predictably, becomes a pawn in the territorial disputes of the countries around the Circle Sea, chiefly the city of Ankh-Morpork and the country … Continue reading The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 21: Jingo
Stuff Ian Likes 