Terry Pratchett interview • Non-Gaming • Books • Eurogamer.net

Khanivor 29 Nov 2005 18:58:12 44,800 posts
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It's a fairly long one too.

kdsh7 29 Nov 2005 19:02:43 1,273 posts
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woo! cheers for that!

And how good is "Thud!"?! Part of me just wants him to give up on all the characters and write the chronicles of Sam Vimes

ProfessorLesser 29 Nov 2005 20:03:25 19,693 posts
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A summary, anyone? Any mention of a film yet?

Sam Vimes is obviously t2h wIN, but I like his other characters as well. Particularly the Wizards, and Death. Death is the greatest character of the entire... er, series.

Chtulie 29 Nov 2005 20:21:38 809 posts
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ProfessorLesser wrote:
A summary, anyone? Any mention of a film yet?

Sam Vimes is obviously t2h wIN, but I like his other characters as well. Particularly the Wizards, and Death. Death is the greatest character of the entire... er, series.

Don't forget granny Weatherwax. She's scarier then death, and a story where she and Vimes are on opposite sides would be one hell of a thing.

ProfessorLesser 29 Nov 2005 20:24:51 19,693 posts
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Weatherwax had a couple of total shite books though. Vimes, Death and the wizards are uniformly excellent.

terminalterror 29 Nov 2005 20:27:02 18,932 posts
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I saw him a few weeks ago speaking at the Oxford Union Society. Very interesting and he let slip that a film might be on its way.

MetalDog 29 Nov 2005 20:28:52 24,076 posts
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When I was living in Ireland I wrote to Terry Pratchett (middle of nowhere, no internet, you write letters). I told him I liked his stuff and that Lord Vetinari was my favourite character and asked if we'd see any more of him. He wrote back, saying only, "I'm planning on shooting Lord Vetinari in my next book."

What a bastard =)

Chtulie 29 Nov 2005 20:39:20 809 posts
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ProfessorLesser wrote:
Weatherwax had a couple of total shite books though. Vimes, Death and the wizards are uniformly excellent.

Jingo was less then excellent and so was the last continent.
The books overall might not live up to the standards of the other books (imo only the recent books are starting to finally get really close to that seminal height of Small Gods after a dip from such books as Thief of Time), but not really at the fault of the main characters here discussed.

Except Equal Rites, where Pratchett was just starting to find his own take on the genre after parodising it in the Colour of Magic and making an almost straight/typical fantasy tale with the Light Fantastic.

ProfessorLesser 29 Nov 2005 20:50:52 19,693 posts
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I liked Jingo, and I particularly like the Last Continent. I've been saying 'no worries' habitually ever since then.

I don't think there was a dip after Small Gods, just that Small Gods was very good. A couple of the witches books between now and Small Gods were very good indeed. Have to say, though, The Monstrous Regiment and Night Watch are absolute belters.

Bunda 29 Nov 2005 20:53:01 5,246 posts
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kdsh7 wrote:
woo! cheers for that!

And how good is "Thud!"?! Part of me just wants him to give up on all the characters and write the chronicles of Sam Vimes

THUD is great. It totally introduces a whole new side of things.

Summary: Brick, a troll lost in Ankh-Morpork, finds a troll gang to hang out with. They are basically druggies, and with the anniversary of Koom Valley coming up, tempers are flaring with the dwarves. It's up to Sam Vimes and his crew to avert destruction of the entire city, as well as avoid getting too many audits by an un-named taxman.

Bunda 29 Nov 2005 20:53:55 5,246 posts
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Chtulie wrote:

ProfessorLesser wrote:
A summary, anyone? Any mention of a film yet?

Sam Vimes is obviously t2h wIN, but I like his other characters as well. Particularly the Wizards, and Death. Death is the greatest character of the entire... er, series.

Don't forget granny Weatherwax. She's scarier then death, and a story where she and Vimes are on opposite sides would be one hell of a thing.

Vimes and Weatherwax hardly ever interact though.

But, yeah, I could see that. I wonder if ol' Terry himself is reading this?

ProfessorLesser 29 Nov 2005 20:55:19 19,693 posts
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/deliberately doesn't read Bunda's stupid spoiling post

Chtulie 29 Nov 2005 20:59:50 809 posts
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ProfessorLesser wrote:
I liked Jingo, and I particularly like the Last Continent. I've been saying 'no worries' habitually ever since then.

I don't think there was a dip after Small Gods, just that Small Gods was very good. A couple of the witches books between now and Small Gods were very good indeed. Have to say, though, The Monstrous Regiment and Night Watch are absolute belters.

A diffirence in taste then, Jingo is where Carrot went and got telepathic/empathic superpowers beyond the ken of many a mortal men, plus it seemed a little too light a look at war, the Last Continent felt like 'the last Rincewind book to thank the fans and to make sure I'll never have to write another'.

Not a Dip right after Small gods, but a bit of a dip in the few books before The Truth.

Belter=?

(Monstrous Regiment had a bit of a stretch with the ammount of female soldiers, though it was very much improbable but not impossible, and Nightwatch had an awkward beginning, to fit the story in the discworld universe and keeping the books chronological, but otherwise I thought rather excellent examples of sci-fi/fantasy as a reflection of reality)

Bunda 29 Nov 2005 21:00:14 5,246 posts
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ProfessorLesser wrote:
/deliberately doesn't read Bunda's stupid spoiling post

Its not a spoiler!

I don't say how it comes out, though. And belive me, it's not at all like you would expect.

XD

Bunda 29 Nov 2005 21:01:44 5,246 posts
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Chtulie wrote:

ProfessorLesser wrote:
I liked Jingo, and I particularly like the Last Continent. I've been saying 'no worries' habitually ever since then.

I don't think there was a dip after Small Gods, just that Small Gods was very good. A couple of the witches books between now and Small Gods were very good indeed. Have to say, though, The Monstrous Regiment and Night Watch are absolute belters.

A diffirence in taste then, Jingo is where Carrot went and got telepathic/empathic superpowers beyond the ken of many a mortal men, plus it seemed a little too light a look at war, the Last Continent felt like 'the last Rincewind book to thank the fans and to make sure I'll never have to write another'.

Not a Dip right after Small gods, but a bit of a dip in the few books before The Truth.

Belter=?

(Monstrous Regiment had a bit of a stretch with the ammount of female soldiers, though it was very much improbable but not impossible, and Nightwatch had an awkward beginning, to fit the story in the discworld universe and keeping the books chronological, but otherwise I thought rather excellent examples of sci-fi/fantasy as a reflection of reality)

I must say I loved Night Watch. That book was one where you need to read it four or five times to get it all.

What is a belter?

ProfessorLesser 29 Nov 2005 21:02:51 19,693 posts
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A belter? Corker. Cracker. Art thou not of the realm, prithee?

Chtulie 29 Nov 2005 21:03:37 809 posts
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Bunda wrote:

Chtulie wrote:

ProfessorLesser wrote:
A summary, anyone? Any mention of a film yet?

Sam Vimes is obviously t2h wIN, but I like his other characters as well. Particularly the Wizards, and Death. Death is the greatest character of the entire... er, series.

Don't forget granny Weatherwax. She's scarier then death, and a story where she and Vimes are on opposite sides would be one hell of a thing.

Vimes and Weatherwax hardly ever interact though.

But, yeah, I could see that. I wonder if ol' Terry himself is reading this?

I hope he's writing or has written the last discworld novel, the discworld variant of the manhattan project (he's stated before that aftert such a development there isn't much futher he can take that realm), somehwerre in secret to be published once he isn't capable continuing the series anymore, so there's a rather grand finale to the whole thing*.

*to swithc media and authors: kind of like how Garth Ennis' 'Punisher: the End' has already been published. It doesn't matter how he ends his run, if there'll be a decline in his writing or whatever, there ending has been written and it is Good.

Bunda 29 Nov 2005 21:05:44 5,246 posts
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Chtulie wrote:

Bunda wrote:

Chtulie wrote:

ProfessorLesser wrote:
A summary, anyone? Any mention of a film yet?

Sam Vimes is obviously t2h wIN, but I like his other characters as well. Particularly the Wizards, and Death. Death is the greatest character of the entire... er, series.

Don't forget granny Weatherwax. She's scarier then death, and a story where she and Vimes are on opposite sides would be one hell of a thing.

Vimes and Weatherwax hardly ever interact though.

But, yeah, I could see that. I wonder if ol' Terry himself is reading this?

I hope he's writing or has written the last discworld novel, the discworld variant of the manhattan project (he's stated before that aftert such a development there isn't much futher he can take that realm), somehwerre in secret to be published once he isn't capable continuing the series anymore, so there's a rather grand finale to the whole thing*.

*to swithc media and authors: kind of like how Garth Ennis' 'Punisher: the End' has already been published. It doesn't matter how he ends his run, if there'll be a decline in his writing or whatever, there ending has been written and it is Good.

It has been good, but I'm still sad to see it go, if this is indeed the end.

So you want him to stop writing?

Chtulie 29 Nov 2005 21:06:58 809 posts
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ProfessorLesser wrote:
A belter? Corker. Cracker. Art thou not of the realm, prithee?

Sooo, does that mean it is that a good or a bad thing?

And nope, not of the realm and never have been. In fact, we got rid of 'our' king almost 400 years ago (but then went and actually elected a new one a few years later*).

*David Edding's world in the Belgariad (iirc) has a surprisingly neat analog for Europe, doesn't it?

ProfessorLesser 29 Nov 2005 21:08:52 19,693 posts
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Belter = a good thing, with British earnest.

Bunda 29 Nov 2005 21:10:36 5,246 posts
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Chtulie wrote:

ProfessorLesser wrote:
A belter? Corker. Cracker. Art thou not of the realm, prithee?

Sooo, does that mean it is that a good or a bad thing?

And nope, not of the realm and never have been. In fact, we got rid of 'our' king almost 400 years ago (but then went and actually elected a new one a few years later*).

*David Edding's world in the Belgariad (iirc) has a surprisingly neat analog for Europe, doesn't it?

Not of the realm either, and you're a load of help. Belter, corker and cracker. Hmm. A belter could be the person at the airport who puts your bags on the belt. A corker is the person who corks your vino, and a cracker is the crunchy, usually square wheat product that is edible.

Edit: didn't see your post. It's all so clear now.

Damn.

Edited by Bunda at 21:11:27 29-11-2005

Chtulie 29 Nov 2005 21:13:00 809 posts
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Bunda wrote:
It has been good, but I'm still sad to see it go, if this is indeed the end.

So you want him to stop writing?

Hell no. If I could I'd make sure people like him, Miyazaki and so could keep on working for all eternity.

But I do know all things do come to an end, especially all the good things. So I'm just hoping the Discworld series will go out with a very memorable end. Which'd be quite something for a fantasy series or a long runnign series, as they usually tend to just, I dunno, simply... peter out. Most often they go on too long and some times they stop too short.
This being both long running as well as a fantasy series, well...

Bunda 29 Nov 2005 21:15:04 5,246 posts
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Chtulie wrote:

Bunda wrote:
It has been good, but I'm still sad to see it go, if this is indeed the end.

So you want him to stop writing?

Hell no. If I could I'd make sure people like him, Miyazaki and so could keep on working for all eternity.

But I do know all things do come to an end, especially all the good things. So I'm just hoping the Discworld series will go out with a very memorable end. Which'd be quite something for a fantasy series or a long runnign series, as they usually tend to just, I dunno, simply... peter out. Most often they go on too long and some times they stop too short.
This being both long running as well as a fantasy series, well...

Yeah, the DUNE series by Frank Herbert petered out after the third book. I think Terry's got enough ideas to go for a while more. The Hardy Boys series lived through 58 books, all of them good.

Chtulie 29 Nov 2005 21:16:43 809 posts
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ProfessorLesser wrote:
Belter = a good thing, with British earnest.

Ok then.

Btw, is it just me or has the discworld aquired a somewhat real world darker edge in recent books? Or Pratchett's writing. Monstrous Regiment, Nightwatch and especially Going Postal (haven't read Thud! yet, waiting for the softcover) have moments where Pratchett's writing seems to actuall convey his anger at real world problems completely unfiltered.

ProfessorLesser 29 Nov 2005 21:19:22 19,693 posts
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Probably just coincidence. I didn't think all that much of Going Postal, though.

Bunda 29 Nov 2005 21:20:12 5,246 posts
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Chtulie wrote:

ProfessorLesser wrote:
Belter = a good thing, with British earnest.

Ok then.

Btw, is it just me or has the discworld aquired a somewhat real world darker edge in recent books? Or Pratchett's writing. Monstrous Regiment, Nightwatch and especially Going Postal (haven't read Thud! yet, waiting for the softcover) have moments where Pratchett's writing seems to actuall convey his anger at real world problems completely unfiltered.

I think his anger pops through at times, but Thud is a light-hearted(er) book then some of the other ones.

Chtulie 29 Nov 2005 21:20:43 809 posts
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ProfessorLesser wrote:
Probably just coincidence. I didn't think all that much of Going Postal, though.

Any specific reasons why?

ProfessorLesser 29 Nov 2005 21:22:12 19,693 posts
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No. Can't remember any specifics. I just wasn't wowed by it. I can't even remember the storyline now. It had its moments, though.

Lutz 29 Nov 2005 21:41:12 48,870 posts
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kdsh7 wrote:
woo! cheers for that!

And how good is "Thud!"?! Part of me just wants him to give up on all the characters and write the chronicles of Sam Vimes

Thud! is great, a real return to old style Pratchett IMO, especially after the didaster that was the Fifth Elephant.

I'm curently re-reading most of the discworld. Just finished off Thief of Time and Soul Music, and now halfway through the awesome Reaper Man.

We need the following:

Death Book
City Watch Book
Death Book
City Watch Book
Death Book
City Watch Book
Death Book
City Watch Book

etc etc.

Cthulie: Pratchett has alsways been like that. Moving Pictures for example is a direct attack at cinemas, Reaper Man at shopping centres, The Truth at newspapers etc and the WHOLE series is a poke at the stupidity of mankind.

Jingo is where Carrot went and got telepathic/empathic superpowers beyond the ken of many a mortal men,

Can't say I recall that? It was his whole "krisma/king" thing going on... ?

Chtulie 29 Nov 2005 21:58:35 809 posts
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Lutz wrote:
Cthulie: Pratchett has alsways been like that. Moving Pictures for example is a direct attack at cinemas, Reaper Man at shopping centres, The Truth at newspapers etc and the WHOLE series is a poke at the stupidity of mankind.

Jingo is where Carrot went and got telepathic/empathic superpowers beyond the ken of many a mortal men,
Can't say I recall that? It was his whole "krisma/king" thing going on... ?

The whole thing where discworld is a reflection of the real world is pretty much the reason why I'm reading the series (once I left my teenage years I became thoroughly sick of escapism).
Well, that and his good humor and his very appealing humanist philosophy.
It's just that in the most recent books there are times where the usual poking fun at the flaws of society seems like furious anger at some flaws of society. There is, for instance, very little humor or even glossing over the exploitation practises of the Grand Trunk Company in going postal, there are points in Monstrous Regiment where the abuse of women in christian conservative religious societies isn't a parallel fo the real world but a direct copy of the real historic thing. There was genuine frustration in the low intelligence of a group of people in the Truth (there's the bit where the protaginist completely loses it over dinner and pretty much assaults the people nearby for being so little minded), and I think Nighwatch with it's civil war and urban warfare, well...
It's a far cry from his more good natured conflicts of , for instance, Interesting Times or the more abstract conflicts as in, again for instance, Hogfather.

It's like the mirror that Discworld presents is becoming, here and there, a window.