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Grex Books Item 94: Terry Pratchett
Entered by snib on Wed Aug 2 22:50:26 UTC 2000:

Discussion for anyone into Terry Pratchett books, esp. Discworld series

10 responses total.

#1 of 10 by mcnally on Thu Aug 3 22:20:24 2000:

  I've read and enjoyed several of Pratchett's books, but his style seems
  to get tired after a while -- I think I probably read four or five of his
  books a few years ago and at this point I could barely begin to guess 
  which characters and events came from which books; they all blur together
  in one big discworld muddle..

  He does, in fact, have decent comic style, but there's not enough variation
  between his books to keep me interested in reading more..

#2 of 10 by snib on Fri Aug 4 11:44:18 2000:

If you haven't read any in the past few years, then you won't realise how much
his style has matured over the books.  The first 4 or 5 boks are rather
repetetive, but after that he really diversifies, whilst at the same time
keeping certain characters or themes constant.  I suggest you try reading the
City Watch books - "Guards, Guards", "Men at Arms", "Feet of Clay", "Jingo",
and "The Fifth Elephant" - all incorporate a mixture of DW humour and
whodunnit styles.  Also, have u read the Nomes trilogy?  Completely different
setting from DW, you might prefer it.  Go on, give it a go!

#3 of 10 by jazz on Fri Aug 4 13:29:14 2000:

        I loved Pratchett and Gaiman's work together (which, to judge from
Gaiman's books, is primarily Gaiman's influence) but I've not really been
taken with Pratchett's work alone.  _Good Omens_ was hillarious;  nothing
forthcoming from Pratchett has left me rolling half as often.

#4 of 10 by snib on Fri Aug 4 14:36:18 2000:

re #3: What are the most recent Pratchett books you've read?

#5 of 10 by jazz on Fri Aug 4 15:02:28 2000:

        _Feet of Clay_.  Wasn't too memorable.

#6 of 10 by snib on Fri Aug 4 15:45:48 2000:

I thought it was one of the best!  The way he interlinks different plot lines
at the end is brilliant.  Try Soul Music or Moving Pictures.

#7 of 10 by jazz on Fri Aug 4 16:28:56 2000:

        It wasn't *funny* though.  And the plot construction wasn't
particularly deep for a comedy, let alone a mystery or thriller, though it
did involve more than one plot line.  Compare anything Gaiman's written -
say _Neverwhere_ for an idea fo who was doing the work in the duo.

#8 of 10 by snib on Sat Aug 5 18:41:39 2000:

It's not the *plot* that's meant to be the funny bit, it's the phrases and
nuances that he uses in thetext and the footnotes, and the way he manipulates
the characters.

#9 of 10 by jazz on Sun Aug 6 14:47:59 2000:

        No, you're missing my critique.  I didn't say that the plot wasn't
particularly funny, I said the books weren't particularly funny.  To me. 
Whether an individual really gets a kick out of reading a set of comdey novels
is going to have a raterlarge influence in their review of the set.

#10 of 10 by snib on Sun Aug 6 21:37:36 2000:

Ok, I accept the fact that different people have different likes and dislikes
when it comes to novels.

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