Re: Soul Music

Sadly Soul Music was the first Terry Pratchett book that was long enough for me to invoke the 150 page rule. I wanted to like this book, but I couldn’t.

Re: Pyramids

If you’re reluctant to commit to reading even a sub-series of Terry Pratchett‘s Discworld books, Pyramids is a pretty good standalone sampler of his humor. Teppic, heir to the kingdom of Djelibeybi, is a good-hearted character, even if he is training to be an assassin. The first third of the book is dominated by his […]

Re: Reaper Man

Somewhat like Guards!, Guards!, it took me a while to read Reaper Man, by Terry Pratchett, but this time it was because I kept having to stop and laugh and read bits out loud if anyone was within earshot. Somewhat like Mort, Death takes a leave of absence, only this time it’s forced on him, […]

Re: Guards, Guards

I first encountered Guards! Guards!, by Terry Pratchett, in a BBC Radio adaptation, and based on the number of torrents available if you search for it, a lot of people liked it a lot more than I did. When I got around to reading the book, there were just enough funny bits to keep me […]

Re: Mort

In Mort, Terry Pratchett gives us the first in-depth look at the life of Death. The scythe. The room full of life-timers. The great white charger, Binky. Death goes on holiday, leaving his apprentice, Mort, in charge. Maybe not such a good idea, considering that young Mortimer was the last lad on offer on prenticing […]

More Pratchett, some witches

I actually read Equal Rites far more recently than I first read the next two “witch books” by Terry Pratchett, so all I knew was that I liked them. Even on rereading Wyrd Sisters and Witches Abroad, the moment I put them down I can’t remember one bit of the story, or which book or […]

Re: Equal Rites

After all the grousing I’ve done about how much I dislike Terry Pratchett‘s wizard’s, I’m overdue for talking about how I like his witches, starting with Equal Rites. For one thing, it has a wonderful opening line. This is a story about magic and where it goes and perhaps more importantly where it comes from […]

Re: Bears

“Bears” by Leah Bobet opens with one of those sweeping statements that just beg to be justified: Ninety-eight percent of all fictional deaths are directly attributable to being eaten by bears. Bullshit, you say? What about those shooting and stabbings and drownings and beatings and death by Doomed Gay Manlove? Well, it’s not my problem […]

My Pratchett Project

First, a quick heads-up: I’ll be travelling this week, so the posts may get even more irregular. So I’m going to use this trip as an excuse to deal with some old material I’ve been meaning to finish. For one thing, I’ve been sitting on the notes I began when I decided I was going […]

Re: Craphound

“I, Row-Boat” was so enjoyable, it reminded me to look for more from Cory Doctorow, and I went all the way back to his first professional sale, “Craphound.” This story is available in a variety of formats, from hard-copy to podcast, and they all start the same: Craphound had wicked yard-sale karma, for a rotten, […]