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
Category: Fantasy
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
The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 20: Hogfather
Christmas stories are a comparatively recent phenomenon in literature (Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol was published in 1843, less than 200 years ago) but Christmas as we know it today can probably be dated to a similar age: frankly, if we hadn’t had the Victorians and their fascination with cards, trees and carols, Christmas might … Continue reading The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 20: Hogfather
A Novel Ian Appreciates: Quest For Lost Heroes by David Gemmell
David Gemmell sprang to almost immediate attention with the publication of his first novel, Legend, in 1984. In the years after that he wrote twelve more novels about the Drenai, the people who were defending their land from the incursions of Ulric, the Nadir Warlord. These sequels and prequels cross centuries of time and space … Continue reading A Novel Ian Appreciates: Quest For Lost Heroes by David Gemmell
The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 19: Feet Of Clay
This 19th Discworld novel begins with some golems building a king for themselves and Commander Vimes creating a coat of arms for himself, as befits a man who has recently married into the aristocracy. It gets progressively less normal after that. Feet Of clay is the 19th Discworld novel and the third Watch novel. As … Continue reading The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 19: Feet Of Clay
The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 18: Maskerade
Since several of the previous Discworld books had dealt with populist topics like movies and music and theatre and exposed some of the ridiculousness of them, it seemed only fair that Pratchett would take a good hard look at one of the most elitist art forms and give that a good solid kicking as well. … Continue reading The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 18: Maskerade
A Series Ian Likes: Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
Earthsea is an archipelago made up of dozens of islands. The inhabitants enjoy a mostly quiet, but sometimes hard, life They also enjoy a healthy respect for the wizards who live among them. One of those wizards is Sparrowhawk, who rose from humble beginnings on the island of Gont, before travelling to Roke and learning … Continue reading A Series Ian Likes: Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 17: Interesting Times
When we last saw Rincewind, he was walking nonchalantly, calmly and fast out of the Disc’s version of Hell, accompanied by Eric, the titular demonologist of that adventure. Since then he has been living on a tropical island leading a dull and uneventful life where his only concern is where his next meal is going … Continue reading The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 17: Interesting Times
The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 16: Soul Music
After exploring some of the big issues of life in the last few books, Soul Music marked a bit of a return to the Pratchett of old, with loads of puns, slapstick and a menace from beyond-the-universe-we-know. It’s the story of Imp y Celyn, bard. Having had an argument with his father on the nature … Continue reading The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 16: Soul Music
The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 15: Men At Arms
After their triumph in Guards! Guards!, Captain Samuel Vimes and his squad of watchmen are on the up and up. Lord Vetinari has charged Vimes with the task of recruiting more watchmen… but there’s a catch: Vetinari is insistent that they need to be representative of all the races resident in Ankh-Morpork. So Vimes recruits … Continue reading The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 15: Men At Arms
Stuff Ian Likes 