Pratchett II: The Wrath of Om

[Werthead]

Wasn't I Shall Wear Midnight supposed to be the final Tiffany novel?

No. It was only supposed to be the final YA Tiffany novel. He said at the time that Tiffany and the witches may return, but if they do they'll be folded back into the main series as Tiffany has gotten older.

Whether that's still the plan or not is unclear. He may have simply changed his mind.

[The BlackBear]

Been meaning to go back and read a lot of Pratchett. And have just realised I haven't actually read that many of them.

Working out which one's I've read:

I'm pretty sure there are one or two I missed, and have read but can't remember from the title.

• The Colour of Magic (1983) (Rincewind)
  
• The Light Fantastic (1986) (Rincewind)
  
• Equal Rites (1987) (Witches)
  
• Mort (1987) (Death)
  
• Sourcery (1988) (Rincewind)
  
• Wyrd Sisters (1988) (Witches)
  
• Pyramids (1989) (One-off)
  
• Guards! Guards! (1989) (City Watch)
  
• Faust Eric (1990) (Rincewind)
  
• Moving Pictures (1990) (One-off)
  
• Reaper Man (1991) (Death)
  
• Witches Abroad (1991) (Witches)
  
• Small Gods (1992) (One-off)
  
• Lords and Ladies (1992) (Witches)
  
• Troll Bridge (1992) (Short story)
  
• The Colour of Magic: The Graphic Novel (Graphic Novel)
  
• Men at Arms (1993) (City Watch)
  
• Theatre of Cruelty (1993) (Short story)
  
• The Light Fantastic: The Graphic Novel (1993) (Graphic Novel)
  
• The Streets of Ankh-Morpork (1993) (Map)
  
• Soul Music (1994) (Death)
  
• Interesting Times (1994) (Rincewind)
  
• Mort: A Discworld Big Comic (1994) (Graphic Novel)
  
• The Discworld Companion (1994) (Companion)
  
• Maskerade (1995) (Witches)
  
• The Discworld Mapp (1995) (Map)
  
• Feet of Clay (1996) (City Watch)
  
• Hogfather (1996) (Death)
  
• The Pratchett Portfolio (1996) (Art)
  
• The Unseen University Challenge (1996) (Quizbook)
  
• Jingo (1997) (City Watch)
  
• The Unseen University Diary (1998) (Diary)
  
• The Last Continent (1998) (Rincewind)
  
• Carpe Jugulum (1998) (Witches)
  
• The Sea and Little Fishes (1998) (Short story)
  
• A Tourist Guide to Lancre (1998) (Map)
  
• The Ankh-Morpork City Watch Diary (1999) (Diary)
  
• The Fifth Elephant (1999) (City Watch)
  
• The Science of Discworld (1999) (Science)
  
• Nanny Ogg's Cookbook (1999) (Recipes)
  
• Death's Domain (1999) (Map)
  
• The Assassins' Guild Yearbook and Diary (2000)
  
• The Truth (2000) (One-off)
  
• Guards! Guards! (Graphic Novel) (2000) (Graphic Novel)
  
• The Fools' Guild Yearbook and Diary (2001) (Diary)
  
• Thief of Time (2001) (Death)
  
• The Last Hero (2001) (Rincewind, although this is debatable)
  
• The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents (2001) (One-off, children's)
  
• The Thieves' Guild Yearbook and Diary (2002) (Diary)
  
• Night Watch (2002) (City Watch)
  
• Death and What Comes Next (2002) (Short story)
  
• The Science of Discworld II: The Globe (2002)(Science)
  
• The Wyrdest Link (2002) (Quizbook)
  
• The (Reformed) Vampyre's Diary (2003) (Diary)
  
• The Wee Free Men (2003) (Wee Free Men)
  
• The New Discworld Companion (2003) (Companion)
  
• Monstrous Regiment (2003) (One-off)
  
• A Hat Full of Sky (2004) (Wee Free Men)
  
• Going Postal (2004) (Post Office)
  
• Once More* *With Footnotes (2004) (Compilation of short works)
  
• The Art of Discworld (2004) (Art)
  
• The Discworld Almanack (2005) (Almanack)
  
• Thud! (2005) (City Watch)
  
• Where's My Cow? (2005) (Picture Book)
  
• The Science of Discworld III: Darwin's Watch (2005) (Science)
  
• Wintersmith (2006) (Wee Free Men)
  
• The Post Office Diary (2007) (Diary)
  
• Making Money (2007) (Post Office)
  
• Unseen Academicals (2009) (The Wizards, Rincewind)
  
• I Shall Wear Midnight (2010) (Wee Free Men)
  
• Snuff (2011) (City Watch / Sam Vimes)
  
• Raising Steam (2013) (Post office)
  

Contrary to what I found a few pages back, I loved Thud. Snuff was terrible. And I picked up Dodger thinking it was discworld. I loved when the Nac Mac Feegles too.

[Jussi]

No. It was only supposed to be the final YA Tiffany novel. He said at the time that Tiffany and the witches may return, but if they do they'll be folded back into the main series as Tiffany has gotten older.

Whether that's still the plan or not is unclear. He may have simply changed his mind.

Thanks.

[lokisnow]

Okay, I finished Raising Steam.

It's not that good. If you like trains, which I do, you'll probably find some of it interesting, but there's a linearity and didacticism to plotting and character that seems just wrong most of the time. It feels like a draft, at times it feels very dictated (meaning some of the prose around the dialogue sounds like someone talking outloud about the scene rather than how it would be written) and perhaps it really needed to be edited heavily, tightened with some things obscured, and other things foreshadowed better (in the manner of most discworld books). The book acts as a sequel to the the plot lines of The Fifth Elephant and Thud and of Going Postal and Making Money. But even though, after the first fifty pages, the book is completely about Moist von Lipwig, it never really feels like a book about him. I sort of wish that this book had followed up on The Truth, rather than Making Money, because the main character there is great, and a bit of distance from the center of events would have made the development of steam all the more interesting.

Additionally some of the world building seems a bit "what" within the novel. With Discworld you expect the worldbuilding to fit the novel, for example, the Susan books might be more victorian england and advanced than you'd expect in the Rincewind books, but you don't really expect the worldbuilding to be haphazard within the text of the novel. This book feels like that, with Pratchett moving all over the place and when he needs something to be just so for steam to work, well it happens and the world building shifts on a dime so that can work now. I mean, you need a huge infrastructure of coal and ore mining and smelting and on and on to develop alongside rail for the rails to be able to built and then it's just there overnight more or less. The beginning of the book is better at all this, often acknowledging these issues, but once the plot of the book is initiated around page 90 or so, then all this is pushed by the wayside for the plot. In a sense the book is similar to Moving Pictures or Soul Music, but no where near as good as either of those entries, it's perhaps most comparable to Monstrous Regiment but without that books charm. I think Pratchett broke a record for least funny discworld book ever.

And perhaps worst of all, Vimes doesn't seem very much like Vimes, ever in this book, nor does Vetenari. Even the Low King seems rather off from Fifth Elephant. Moist is totally flat and dimensionless for all that you're constantly being told lines didactic like, "Moist felt he was really growing and maturing as a person." Nobby and Colon come off okay, but they're the only ones.

[Jussi]

Aidan Moher reviewed Raising Steam:

http://aidanmoher.com/blog/review/2014/01/review-of-raising-steam-by-terry-pratchett/

[MinDonner]

I liked it, somewhat. Even an inferior Discworld book is still a decent read, and it was very readable, even while being far too much of a direct sequel to a whole bunch of prior ones, as opposed to most earlier Discworlds which mostly work as standalones. I liked the potted history of the railways, even as ridiculously compressed as it was. And I enjoyed it better than either Snuff or Thud, even though both of those were technically more polished.

I think I'm now maybe just making more allowances because of his condition, whereas previously it was just a writer losing his touch, now he has an excuse. :dunno: Can't say as I'm massively looking forward to any further books from him, but I will keep on reading them till the end.

[Gertrude]

I started this one, got distracted and have never gotten back to it. I want to finish it, but I am in no hurry. That makes me so sad.

[Independent George]

I started reading Discworld over Thanksgiving (beginning with Guards! Guards!, then winding back to the beginning) and have been reading nonstop ever since. I'll be back to this thread later, when I no longer have to worry about spoilers (I'm only up to Witches Abroad), but... how did I never read him until now?

What I love about this series is that between all the jokes and parodies, the characters are so rich and vital... There's real heart to them. It's so much more than I expected, and I'm mad at myself for not reading it earlier.

[Independent George]

Just finished Soul Music. It's not his best book - for the first time, I felt like the myriad subplots got in the way of the main story instead of fleshing it out - but the Death storyline packed enough punch that I don't care. After spending so much time falling in love with the characters from Mort, it was a bit of a gut punch to realize who it was in the carriage in the opening, and the realization of just what could cause Death to abandon his post so soon after the events of Reaper Man. It couldn't be helped, and even knowing that they wouldn't have it any other way, I can't help but grieve. And that scene towards the end where Susan also lets herself finally feel the loss... I'm not going to review the book itself, but I think I've read enough of Discworld now that I feel comfortable sharing a few thoughts on the series as a whole.

Spoilers through Soul Music are below, for anyone hasn't read up to where I am.

First, this being a GRRM forum, I can't help but do a compare and contrast. Discworld, as a whole, might be a 'softer and lighter' alternative to Westeros' darker and grittier, but that doesn't make it any less moving, honest, or heartfelt. That the good guys always triumph doesn't make it any less real to me, or any less complex. And it means every loss - like Mort & Ysabel, Cuddy, Mrs. Flitworth, Windle Poons - weighs even heavier. Even Brutha, whose death comes a hundred years after the story, and whom we get to follow to the afterlife (where he immediately demonstrates his greatness one last time), can't help but cause a few pangs of sadness. It also makes the happy points - like Ludmilla & Lupine running off under the moonlight - feel more satisfying, because they are earned.

Second, I'm really glad I started with Guards! Guards!, because The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic really aren't that good. They're funny, but they lack the heart of the later books. It got dramatically better with Equal Rites, and Sourcery proved that there was a lot of story that could be told with Rincewind. Sourcery was probably the first great Discworld novel, but because it's tied in with Rincewind's earlier tales, Guards! Guards! is probably the best place for new readers to start.

I think I've gotten to most of the major arcs now, and I'm torn between the Death and the City Watch stories as my favorites. Not surprisingly, the Death stories carry more weight, but there's nevertheless something satisfying about the City Watch. Carrot is, by definition, a simple heroic character, but that doesn't make him any less interesting. I'm really looking forward to see how things go with Angua, and Vimes might be the most well-rounded character in the story. I love Vimes.

I've liked every Witches of Lancre story, but they seem to take a while to build up steam; in each case, I found myself slogging through the early goings before getting thoroughly engrossed. Both Witches Abroad and Lords and Ladies managed to introduce some genuinely chilling horror elements in them, without ever losing the characteristic Discworld charm and humour. Also, Magrat kicking elfin ass produced some of the most fist-pumpingly exciting and awesome scenes of the series thus far. That scene where Shawn is struggling to come to terms with Magrat - the nicest and softest of the coven - having just shot an elf through the eye with a crossbow made me stop and put the book down and take a break.

Anyway, I've still got a lot left to read. I'm not looking forward to being finished, because I want it to go on forever. I'm also not looking forward to reading Mort over again, given what I now know. Even if they did technically live happily ever after, I can't help but feel saddened by how short ever after wound up being.

[Jussi]

http://www.locusmag.com/Perspectives/2014/02/terry-pratchett-talking-to-other-monkeys/

‘‘I want to do another Tiffany Aching novel, too. Have you heard of Steeleye Span? They’re an English folk group, and they’re putting quite a lot of Tiffany Aching in an album inspired by Wintersmith. When you see her again she’ll be a bit older than she was in the last novel, of course, because I can do that sort of thing, but I think she’s going to have different problems from now on. I write these days in what I call ‘carpet squares.’ I do a bit, noodle around, see what it looks like. I’ve got carpet squares all over the place! I know there’s a story in there somewhere. I’ve got most of it in my head, but I don’t know what the ending is, although I think she’s going to tell me what it is when I’m good and ready. Like Commander Vimes, Tiffany writes her own dialogue. Well, not actually writes it, because if I believed that I’d be in the nuthouse, but you know what I mean.”

[Angalin]

I've finished Raising Steam, which was okay. However, I want to know

what happens next with the goblins. It feels like they've been built up as this downtrodden species of incredible talent and ingenuity, and now that they're more accepted, look out Discworld. So what's supposed to stop them from stomping on trolls, dwarfs and humans the way they've been stomped on? That aspect feels like it could become very dark, which would make sense in another series - Discworld doesn't seem to me to be the right one to explore it, is all. Pratchett's MO in Discworld has always been to use tragic relief, rather than the other way round

[Independent George]

THE OLD MEN HELPED US! THOU SHALT NOT KILL. SHAME. SORROW.

WORDS IN THE HEART CANNOT BE TAKEN.

Obviously, I just finished Feet of Clay. Well, I finished yesterday, and I'm still agog at how Pratchett can mix and meld the funny, moving, crazy, and sweet. I love this series. I'm plowing through 2-3 books per week, and I don't want it to end.

[SkynJay]

Feet of Clay surprised me when I reread it. It had faded into 'another Watch book' in my memory. But when I reread it I found it may be one of the best crafted in the series. So good.

[Independent George]

For a while, I was torn between going on to Hogfather, or re-reading Feet of Clay right away. The callback to the priest's death at the opening is just so sad and tragic and beautiful. Once I'm done, I'm going to go back and re-read the books by arc, starting with the Watch.

I think the Watch books have been the easiest for me to get into, partly because they're structured almost like a police procedural, and partly because their roles and setting is already well-defined. The characters are pretty well established, and each book basically involves them "detectoring" the case of the week.

Also - and this is a relative term for the Discworld - there seems to be considerably less "weirdness" to the protagonists. Vimes, Carrot, Angua, Colon, Nobby, Cheery/Cheri, and even Detritus, are all incredibly grounded as characters. Yes, half of them have superpowers, and there's the requisite weirdness that comes with the discworld, but each one is as much of an everyman as possible in the series. Vimes, Colon, and Detritus are all married and have the usual domestic issues implied in the background. Cheri and Angua are partly defined by making 'normalcy' a personal goal. Nobby is, well... Nobby ("He'd go spare!").

My favorite 'Wham' lines thus far in the series (besides the ones from Feet of Clay in my previous post):

"Good boy Laddie. Good boy Gaspode."

"Please? And ending... now?"

"Fine silk... never worn."

"WHAT HAS THE HARVEST TO LOOK FORWARD TO, IF NOT THE CARE OF THE REAPER MAN?"

[frodostark]

Reaper Man's finale was as emotional as any book has ever made me...exceptional work by Pratchett.

[Grip]

Feet of Clay surprised me when I reread it. It had faded into 'another Watch book' in my memory. But when I reread it I found it may be one of the best crafted in the series. So good.

Yeah I agree, Feet of Clays is one of the best in the series. Been meaning to do a Pratchett reread for some time now, great books in general.

Edit: Reaper Man and Small Gods are (imo) two of the best books in the series, favorites of mine. Interesting Times as well, was one of the first I read.

[Independent George]

I stayed up until 3AM last night finishing Hogfather. Death gets the baddest-ass line in the entire series so far:

HAVE YOU BEEN NAUGHTY, OR NICE?

HO. HO. HO.

The whole snowman bit immediately before makes it even better.

Edit: Reaper Man and Small Gods are (imo) two of the best books in the series, favorites of mine. Interesting Times as well, was one of the first I read.

Reaper Man, Small Gods, and Feet of Clay (in some order) are my favorites thus far. Really, all of the Watch books have managed to get better and better.

I've heard nothing but great things about Night Watch, and right now I'm torn between sticking to the plan and reading in the publication order, or skipping to just the Watch books so I can get to Night Watch faster. But if I'd done that, I wouldn't have gotten to Hogfather or Maskerade. So I think I have to stick to the plan, and just enjoy the ride.

[Apfeljunge]

stick to the plan. There is a reason night watch comes directly after thief of time. (Also, I think the series peaked with those two novels)

[Independent George]

Ok, Jingo was a bit of a disappointment. It's hard for me to say exactly why, but it just fell a little flat.

There was bound to be a bit of a letdown from the excellent Hogfather, but this was the first of the Watch books which didn't build and improve upon the previous one. The organizer reading off the alternate timeline was outstanding, but so much of the story and characterization felt forced instead of natural.

There are still some great moments, but as a whole it just didn't ring true to me.

[polishgenius]

I thought Jingo was brilliant.

In hindsight, even moreso, given that it

warns of the dangers of pointless unplanned wars and generalised anti-Muslim/Arab sentiment sparked by a terrorist attack - in a book written in 1997.