Discworld - As Good as Any Man

Monstrous Regiment is another book that has our favorite characters in it only peripherally.  Even Death appears as only an apparition or hallucination.  But it is another fun read.  It even only has fantasy elements as things that have been established.  Sure there's a vampire and a troll in the regiment, but they're just treated as people.

The end is left a little open ended as to just what is going to happen, and leaves you wondering.

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Recurring themes and characters that appear in this book:

Angua, Sergeant

Black Ribbon – the Uberwald League of Temperance

Borogravia

Buggy Swires, Corporal

Burleigh and Stronginthearm

Cabbage

Death

Havelock Vetinari, Patrician

Jolly Sailor Tobacco

Leonard of Quirm

Lord Ronald Rust

Low King of the Dwarves, Rhys Ryhsson

Nuggan
Offler, the Crocodile-Headed God

Om

Otto Chriek

Reg Shoe, Corporal

Sam Vimes, Knight, Duke, Commander

Tacticus, General

The Ankh-Morpork Times

The Clacks System

The Unorthodox Potato Church

William de Worde

Discworld: Crivens!

With Wee Free Men, Pratchett introduces Tiffany Aching, a nine-year-old girl who will become a witch and will be the main character in his final book which will be coming out soon.  This is another books written for Juveniles, and was originally described as not being part of the Discworld.  However, slowly we hear familiar country names and places. 

There is also the return of the Nac Mac Feegle, the little pictsies from Carpe Jugulum.  These are a different tribe, but they will be the ones we learn so much about.

And other than short stories, I think this is the first Discworld book that doesn't have Death in it.

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Recurring characters and themes that appear in this book:

Big Yan

Daft Wullie

Granny

Granny Aching

Hamish

Jolly Sailor Tobacco

Lancre

Miss Perspicacia Tick

Mrs. Snapperly
Nanny

Not-as-big-as-Medium-Sized-Jock-but-bigger-than-Wee-Jock Jock

Pictsies / Wee Free Men

Quirm College for Young Ladies

Rob Anybody

Roland, son of the Baron

Special Sheep Liniment

The Baron of the chalk

The Goode Childe’s Book of Faerie Tales

The Nac Mac Feegle

The Queen of the Fairies

Tiffany Aching

Wentworth Aching

Yellow sick toad

Discworld - Watching the Past

Night Watch is an immediate parallel sequel to Thief of Time.  The sudden storm that stops the glass clock appears at the beginning of the book, and the fracturing of time is what drops Sam Vimes into the past.  The other part I really like about the book is the cover created by Paul Kidby.

This is one of the first covers that Kidby did for the Discworld.  And he shows that he is as amazing as Alex Ross in his abilities to make a collage of made up people into something that almost looks real.  Kidby took the original Rembrandt painting that has come to be called "The Night Watch" and repopulated the painting with the characters from the book.

Here is the Rembrandt's original painting:

Most people know that it only came to be called "The Night Watch" because of the protective varnishes that were regularly added to it aged and darkened hiding the image.

Now here is Kidby's cover artwork:

And, this being the internet there is a comparison graphic:

All because Pratchett inspired a great modern artist.

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Recurring themes and characters appearing in this book:

“Leggy” Gaskin, corporal

“Mayonnaise” Quirke, Corporal

Angua, Sergeant

Borogravia

Burleigh and Stronginthearm
Cable Street Particulars

Carrot Ironfoundersson, Captain

Cheri Littlebottom, corporal

Clacks

Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler

Dark Empire

Death

Detrtitus, Sergeant

Dolly Sisters
Downey, Assassin’s Guild

Dr. “Mossy” Lawn

Drumknott, secretary

Elm Street

Events of Guards Guards

Events of The Fifth Elephant

Events of Thief of Time

Fred Colon, Sergeant (Corporal)

Harry King

Havelock Vetinari, Patrician, Assassins’ Guild

High Energy Magic Building

Igor, Constable

Lord Ronald Rust

Lord Selachii

Lord Snapcase, Patrician

Lord Venturi

Lord Winder, Patrician

Lu Tze, History Monk

Madam Meserole (Aunt to Vetinari)

Marco Soto, History Monk

Mr. Slant, Lawyers’ Guild

Mrs. Content, midwife

Mrs. Rosey Palm

Mustrum Ridcully, Archchancellor UU

Nobby Nobbs. Corporal

Old Tom, UU bell

Ping, Corporal

Ponder Stibbons

Qu, History Monk

quantum

Reg Shoe

Sam Vimes, Duke, Knight, Commander

Stronginthearm, Sergeant

Swires, Constable

Sybil Ramkins-Vime, duchess

The Agony Aunts

The Ankh-Morpork Times

The Assassins’ Guild

The Broken Drum

The Bursar

The Librarian

The Monks of History

Uberwald

Uberwald League of Temperance

Unseen University

Visit, Constable

Wallace Sonky

Wilikins, butler

Discworld - Oh Rats!

The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents was billed as Pratchett's first juvenille book.  Juvenille as in for juniors or marked with a "J" in a library.

IT's a fast read, btu it isn't necessarily just for kids.  Much like Garth Nix and his Abhorsen books, aq good author can put some deep themes into a juvenille book.  Pratchett has sometimes had naive adults use phrases like "Wouldn't it be nice if everyone was nice."  Adn while that's a nice dream, all but the most naive know that'll never happen.

One of Pratchett's recurring themes is racism, but wrapped and disguised as speciesism usually Humans against Dwarves or Trolls.  This time it Humans against Rats.  And while it's a twist on "The Pied Piper of Hamlin", this one is also about getting outside your head and realizing that while life may be a story, it's not always going to follow the narrative.

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Recurring themes and characters appearing in this book:

Death

Death of Rats

Maurice

Rat Kings

Purple Wobbly Bit

Uberwald

Sto Lat

Sgt. Doppelpunkt (Colon)

Cpl. Knopf (Nobby)

Unseen University

Discworld - A Time for Dying

So this is it, Thief of Time is my favorite Discworld book.

It's a book in the Death sereis, and it's has Susan in it.  But it also has the History Monks, and the introduction of "slicing time".  And then just everything about the Auditors learnign about living.  They had a bit of that at the end of Hogfather, but the poroblem is that those that die don't have a chance to warn the remainign Auditors what it's like to be alive.

But the greatest thing about this book is how it showcases Pratchett's skill of the slow, but constant, build as well as the interweaving of story threads.  There are the threads of Susan, Death, Lobsang and Lu Tze, Jeremy, the Auditors, Ronnie, and the story of Wen.  All of these come together neatly, and, literally, the storm hits just over halfway through the book.

And then, the events directly lead to Night Watch, which may be my number two favorite.

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Recurring themes and characters in this book:

“The Hedgehog Song”

Almanack de Gothic

Ankh-Morpork

Binky

Bonsai Mountains

Borogravia

Brutha

Cabbage

Death

Death of Rats

Dhlang (The Things from the Dungeon Dimensions)

Events in Small Gods

Greebo

Igor

Igorina

Koom Valley

Lancre

Leonard of Quirm

Lu Tze

Marco Soto

Mrs. Marietta Cosmopolite

Muntab

Nanny Ogg

Old Man Trouble

Qu

Quoth the Raven

Rule One

Susan Sto Helit

The Apocryphal Apocalypse

The Auditors

The Brothers of Cool

The Bunch of Grapes

The Clacks System

The Dysk

The Four (Five) Horsemen

The History Monks

The Listening Monks

The Opera House

The Quirm School for Young Ladies

The Ramtops

The Royal Art Museum

The Thieves’ Guild

Tooth Fairy

Twurp’s Peerage

Uberwald

Weaver family of Lancre

Discworld - The Ankh-Morpork Times

In The Truth, much of the underlying theme is seeing characters whose minds we've been inside of in previous books from the perspective of outsiders.  We know Vimes, Angua, and the Patrician, but now it's about how the common person interacts with them.

The Truth also adds additional acceleration to the technology of Ankh-Morpork and the Discworld.  We've had engraving and the printing press, but movable type is a big step.

Of course, we'll be learning why technology is so skewed after the end of Thief of Time.

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Recurring characters and themes in this book:

"Millennium hand and shrimp."

“Sixpence is sixpence.”

“A lie can run around the world while the truth is getting it’s boots on.”

Altogether Andrews

Angua, Sergeant

Ankh-Morpork

Arnold Sideways

Blind Io

Cabbage

Carrot Ironfoundersson, Captain

Carter of Lancre

Cheery LIttlebottom, Corporal

Charlie
Chrysoprase

Coffin Henry

Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler

Death

Death of Rats

Detritus, Sergeant

Dis-organizer

Djelibeybi

Duck man

Events in Jingo

Events in Moving Pictures

Events in Soul Music

Fiddyment, Constable

Foul Ole Ron

Fred Colon, Sergeant

Gaspode

Harga / Harga's House of Ribs

Harry King

Havelock Vetinari, Patrician

Hobson's Livery Stable

Hughnon Ridcully, High Priest of Blind Io

Lady Margolotta of Uberwald

Lady Selachii

Lancre

Mr. Crisplock, Engraver’s Guild (Maskerade)

Mr. Hong and his fish shop

Mr. Slant

Mrs. Palm, Seamstressess’ Guild

Muntab / The Muntab Question

Mustrum Ridcully, Archchancellor UU

Nobby Nobbs, Corporal

Offler the Crocodile-Headed God

Omnia

Otto Chriek

Parrot labeled "Dog"
Queen Molly, Beggars’ Guild

Rufus Drumknott

Sacharisa Crisplock

Sam Vimes, Duke, Commander, Knight

Sto Helit

The Ramtops

Thatcher of Lancre

The Agatean Empire (IT)

The Alchemists’ Guild

The Ankh-Morpork Times
The Assassins’ Guild

The Beggars’ Guild

The Breccia

The Bucket

The Bursar, Dimwiddy

The Clacks

The Dowager Duchess of Quirm (GG)

The Dungeon Dimensions

The Engravers’ Guild

The Mended Drum

The Seamstresses’ Guild

The Thieves’ Guild

The Uberwald Temperance Movement

The Unorthodox Potato Church (named in Monstrous Regiment)
The Unreal Estate

Twurp’s Peerage

Uberwald

Unseen University

Verence II, King of Lancre

Weaver of Lancre

William deWorde

Wuffles

Discworld - Watch the Old World

So we return to international intrigue with The Fifth Elephant.  The excitement level on this one ramps up quickly.  We've heard of Igor before (as the bartender at Biers and helping the Magpyrs), but here we learn of the Igor network and their creed of "What goes around comes around."

There is also the introduction of the Clacks system (semaphore towers) which will play such a big part in the future books.

I think that I'm becoming soft and sentimental in my years.  I know that there are several books to go in the series, but just thinking about the end coming brings tears to my eyes, and the touching bits in the stories seem that much more poignant.  The part in this one that almost brought out a sob was when Angua is asking Carrot to be the one to put her down.

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Recurring characters and themes appearing in this book:

"Hi Ho Song"

"Personal isn't the same as important."

Albrecht Albrechtson

All Jolson
Almanack de Gothic
Angua von Uberwald, Sergeant

Ankh-Morpork

Baron von Uberwald

Baroness Seraphine von Uberwald

B'hrian Bloodaxe

Bluejohn, Corporal

Borogravia

Cabbage

Carrot Ironfounderson, Captain

Cheery “Cheri” LIttlebottom, corporal

Clacks system

Death

Deep Dwarves

Detritus, Sergeant

Done-It Duncan

Dorfl, Constable

Downspout, Constable

Drumknott, secretary

Dwarf Bread Museum

Events of Men at Arms

Flint. Corporal (sergeant temporarily)

Fred Colon, Sergeant (captain temporarily)

Gaspode

Genua

Gimlet / Gimlet's Delicatessan

Havelock Vetinari, Patrician

Igor

Lady Margolotta

Lancre

Leonard of Quirm

Lord Rust

Lord Selachii
Mrs. Content, midwife

Muntab

Nobby Nobbs, corporal

Reg Shoe, constable

Rhys Rhyson, Low King

Sam Vimes, Commander Duke Sir

Stoneface Vimes

Swires, lance-constable

Sybil Ramkin-Vimes, Duchess

The Assassins' Guild

The Bunch of Grapes

The Campaign for Equal Heights

The Dark Clerks

The Fools' Guild

The Marquis of Fantailer
The Ankh-Morpork Opera House

The Prophet Ossory

The Ramtops

The Seamstresses' Guild

Twurp's Peerage

Uberwald

Visit-the-Non-Believer-With-Explantory-Pamplets “Washpot”, constable

Wilikins, butler

Sick and Twisted with Kevin Kline

So, when I started out with the intent of writing this blog it was going to be about the chain of events that led to Jennifer and me watching "Soapdish" this weekend.  But then I had some additional interesting thoughts.

As it started, we were looking for a movie to watch and came across one with Maggie Smith and Kevin Klein in it called "My Old Lady".  It's about a man who inherits an apartment from his father and learns there is under un viager.  Towards the end there is a possibility the woman he sleeps with is his half-sister, and so when the movie was done and we wanted to watch something else, I said, "Well, since we had the chance of incest in this one, we should watch his other one that almost had incest 'Soapdish'."

And then, I thought he was really great in "A Fish Called Wanda" but... wait.  Wasn't there an incest twist to that one?  Sure, Otto and Wanda weren't really brother and sister, but everyone else thought they were, and there was Wanda's great line about how her intentions wouldn't be different if he really was her brother.

Maybe, I should look through some of his other movies and see if there are any others that have an incest theme in them.

Discworld - Vampires, Pictsies, and Phoenixes

This is last book that Pratchett writes from the perspective of Granny Weatherwax.  We'll see her again a few times, but after this only as Tiffany Aching sees her.

I liked the bit of mystery in this one, as well as following Agnes Nitt.  It's also only the second time we've met an Igor, but the Igor that works at Biers in Ankh-Morpork doesn't have the stereotypical speech impediment of those fresh from Uberwald.  Also the concept of "what comes around goes around" is introduced which I think is pretty amazing way of making Igors a kind of karmic force.

And the cool part is that we get to immediately return to Uberwald in the next book The Fifth Elephant.

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Recurring characters and themes in this book:

Agnes "Perdita" Nitt

Ankh-Morpork

Bad Ass

Beastiality Carter

Bergholdt Stuttley “Bloody Stupid" Johnson

Big Jim Beef, Troll

Binky

Black Aliss / Alison Weatherwax

Blind Io

Borogravia

Brutha

Casanunda

Cena, The Prophet

Events of Small Gods

Granny Esmerelda Weatherwax

Greebo

Hodgesaargh, Falconer

Igor

Jason Ogg

Lancre

Lily Weatherwax

Magrat Garlick, Queen

Millie Chillum

Mrs. Scorbic, Cook

Muntab / The Muntab Question

Offler, the Crocodile-Headed God

Om/Omnia

Ossory, The Prophet

Queen Griminir

Quite Reverend Mightily-Praiseworthy-are-Ye-Who-Exalteth-Om Oats

Shawn Ogg

Simonites (Simony, Sgt.)

Skund

Slake

Spriggins, Butler

Tacticus, general

The Baron of Uberwald

The Death of Rats

The Nac Mac Feegle

The Ramtops

Uberwald

Unseen University

Vaelock Vetinari, The Patrician

Verence II, King
Young Esmerelda

Discworld - Lancre Witch Trials

"The Sea and Little Fishes" first appeared in Legends, a large anthology of stories that authors were asked to contribute to in order to expand their worlds.  It had many great shorts in it, but this one was the primary reason that I bought the book.

In hardback.

That it was a short story set in Lancre as a witches book, I couldn't pass it up.  When I read the tease that Pratchett had taken the idea of witch trials and turned it into something the witches had come up with, then I was more than ready for the book.

And the story doesn't disappoint.  It's a tight short story, almost a novella by Discworld standards, and you learn even more, just how dangerous Granny can be,

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Recurring characters and themes in this book:

Agnes Nitt
Death
Events in Lords and Ladies
Gammer Beavis
Granny Esmerelda Weatherwax
King Verence II
Lancre
Letice Earwig
Nanny Gytha Ogg
Old Mother Dismass
Pewsey Ogg
Poorchick and his cow
Witch Trials
Zakzak Stronginthearm

Discworld - A Wizzard in the Outback

So, I seem to have fallen behind on my posting.  I keep these posts as drafts while I'm reading, and update the recurring portion, but I got more caught up in reading (and the weekend) than posting.

The Last Continent is another book that is okay in my estimation, but not great.  It has lots of fun stuff in it, and the ending once Rincewind gets down to work is good, but otherwise it's a book that's just a compilation of things about Australia.

Otherwise, it's a fun light story.  And again, Rincewind finds a distant relative.

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Recurring characters and themes appearing in this book:

Albert

Galder Weatherwax, archchancellor 

Binky

Bill Rincewind, archchancellor BU
Bonsai Mountains

Bugarup University
Cohen the Barbarian

Death

Doughnut Jimmy

Dried Frog Fills

Dwarf Bread

Events from Eric

Fair-Go Dibbler

Genua

Hex

Lancre (blue cheese)

Mr. Hong’s Fish Restaurant

Mrs. Whitlow

Mustrum Ridcully, Archchancellor UU

Old Tom

Ponder Stibbons

Prophet Ossory

Purple Wobbly Bit

Rincewind

The Bursar

The Chair of Indefinite Studies

The Death of Rats

The Lecturer in Recent Runes

The Librarian

The Lost Wizard Colony

The Luggage

The Senior Wrangler

The Tezumen

Unseen University

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