Wossname – June 2012 – main issue

[News and reviews about the works of Sir Terry Pratchett]

Wossname
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
June 2021 (Volume 24, Issue 6, Post 1)

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WOSSNAME is a free publication offering news, reviews, and all the other 
stuff-that-fits pertaining to the works of Sir Terry Pratchett. 
Originally founded by the late, great Joe Schaumburger for members of 
the worldwide Klatchian Foreign Legion and its affiliates, including the 
North American Discworld Society and other continental groups, Wossname 
is now for Discworld and Pratchett fans everywhere in Roundworld.
********************************************************************

Editor in Chief: Annie Mac
News Editor: Vera P
Newshounds: Mogg, Sir J of Croydon Below, the Shadow, Mss C, Alison not 
Aliss
Staff Writers: Asti, Pitt the Elder, Evil Steven Dread, Mrs Wynn-Jones
Staff Technomancer: Jason Parlevliet
Book Reviews: Annie Mac, Drusilla D'Afanguin, Your Name Here
Puzzle Editor: Tiff (still out there somewhere)
Bard in Residence: Weird Alice Lancrevic
Emergency Staff: Steven D'Aprano, Jason Parlevliet
World Membership Director: Steven D'Aprano (in his copious spare time)

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INDEX:

01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH
02) EDITOR'S LETTER
03) ODDS AND SODS
04) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
05) DISCWORLD MEETING GROUPS NEWS
06) ROUNDWORLD TALES
07) AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE
08) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
09) CLOSE

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01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH

"There are some books that I adore in audiobook format because of the 
marriage of the skill of the writer and the performance of the narrator. 
Two of my absolute favorite examples of this are Jim Dale reading the 
Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling and Stephen Briggs reading anything 
by Terry Pratchett. Both of these amazing narrators have become 
synonymous with the books they have narrated for me. I can’t think of 
Harry Potter without hearing Jim Dale in my head voicing the characters 
and the Nac Mac Feegle from Wee Free Men will forever be in the voice of 
Stephen Briggs. In these cases, the narrator brings a new dimension to 
the story that can bring it to life in a whole new way."
– librarian Tracy Briseno of the Ames Public Library

"I wrote that in the days when I thought fantasy was all battles and 
kings. Now I’m inclined to think that the real concerns of fantasy ought 
to be about not having battles, and doing without kings."
– The Author, musing in 1991 on The Carpet People

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02) LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR

I never thought that by June of 2021 I would still be publishing 
Wossname in the middle of a pandemic, but here we are. I do hope that 
all you Readers are still safe and well! Down here in the Land of 
Fourecks we seem to be (mostly) staying on top of things, but as 
Covid-19 continues to mutate and rage around Roundworld, nothing is a 
certainty yet.

Meanwhile, if you've been seeing the hashtag #50YearsofTerry on social 
media and wondering how that adds up since The Colour of Magic was 
published in 1983, remember that The Carpet People was first published 
twelve years before that!

*

Here be a couple of lovely videos from the past. If I've posted these 
links before, blame it on pandemic brain...

Sir Pterry, Ian Stewart, and Jack Cohen discuss the Science of Discworld 
series in 2012:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CMdTlbGhXQ

The Author muses, in 2008, on twenty-five years of Discworld:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDF4AHZFQdw

*

Rhianna Pratchett recently tweeted "That’s a hell of a resting place. 
100% Pratchett approval. GNU Steven Thornton"
https://bit.ly/3jd3oYO

Also GNU motor neurone disease sufferer Noel Conway, who died this month 
after famously battling for the legalisation of assisted dying in the 
UK. Details for those who want to know more: https://bbc.in/3qoXwNq

And another Australian state – South Australia – has, after much debate 
and multiple submissions, passed a voluntary assisted dying bill. Some 
details:

https://ab.co/3h1NzBf

*

Your Editor has bought many marvellous things from the Discworld 
Emporium over the decades, and will continue to do so. Wossname wishes 
Bernard and Isobel and their team the happiest possible semi-retirement 
and a productive future full of Discly art and crafts! See item 3.0 
below for the details.

And now, on with the show...

– Annie Mac, Editor

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03) ODDS AND SODS

3.0 THE DISCWORLD EMPORIUM: AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Usually on Roundworld, it takes a war to close an embassy. But sometimes 
what it takes is time – a lot of it – and a pandemic. Over to you, Mr 
and Mrs Cunning Artificer and company, for the sad news:

"After twenty years of welcoming Terry Pratchett fans through our door, 
we regrettably announce that our bricks and mortar shop is on a long 
hiatus and will remain closed to the public for the foreseeable future. 
Over the past few years and especially since the events of 2020, our 
mail-order service has expanded exponentially. The Ankh-Morpork Post 
Office (Wincanton branch) is busier than ever packing and shipping our 
online orders, and what was once our shop space has now been fully 
transformed into a fantastically frantic mailroom facility!

"Our founding members Bernard and Isobel have also had a taste of 
retirement over lockdown . . . and they really rather like it! In their 
thirtieth year of bringing Discworld to life and with a combined age of 
155, this indomitable duo feel it an appropriate time to step away from 
shop duties to enjoy their twilight years in the company of fine gin, 
books and grandchildren. They will of course remain a huge part of the 
Emporium and the Discworld family at large, and while you can’t get rid 
of Bernard that easily we hope you’ll all understand their need for a 
bit more time in their lives and join us in wishing them an incredibly 
happy and well-deserved retirement indeed!

"Being such a tiny team with a toddler in the ranks, it is now crucial 
that we devote our limited resources to designing our wares, managing 
our website and to looking after our customers all over the world. You 
can be assured that it'll be the same folks at the end of a phone call 
or clacks should you ever wish to make contact with us, and our 
reknowned building will remain emminent on Wincanton High Street serving 
as our Headquarters, where we’ll be busy designing and shipping our 
Discworld merchandise behind closed doors.

"Although this news may be very sad to many who have made or dreamt 
about a Pratchett pilgrimage to Wincanton, after two decades of the 
Emporium, thirty years since our creation of the first Discworld 
Merchandise as Clarecraft and fifty years since the publication of 
Terry’s first novel, the Carpet People, there is a lot to celebrate and 
look forward to this year. We’re also working on a brand new Discworld 
Emporium website due for launch this Autumn which will make visiting us 
online even easier, especially for all our wonderful friends and 
customers in the European Union!

"We would like to thank our many visitors and supporters for making our 
little literary shop such a special place, and for helping us to bring 
the magic of Terry Pratchett’s books to life over the years. We hope you 
will continue to support us as the turtle moves ever onwards through the 
cosmos.

"All the best & a hard-boiled egg,
"Bernard, Isobel, Ian, Reb, Sarah, Eilis, Chris and Tipu the (bastard) cat!"

To view this announcement in its proper place, and to peruse the 
Emporium's cornucopia of magic(k)al wares, go to:

https://bit.ly/2UvTjvu

3.1 OLD, NEW, ULTIMATE: BOOK RELEASE NEWS

3.1a The Ultimate Discworld Companion!

Now that there are no new Discworld novels to come (and rightly so, for 
which your Editor is grateful to the Wisdom of Rhianna), the Ultimate 
Discworld Companion will be the last Discworld companion you'll ever 
need! Booktopia has this to say about it:

"The absolute, comprehensive, from Tiffany Aching to Jack Zweiblumen 
guide to all things Discworld, fully illustrated by Paul Kidby... 
There's an awful lot of Discworld to keep track of. But fear not! Help 
is at hand. For the very first time, everything (and we mean everything) 
you could possibly want to know has been crammed into one place. If you 
need a handy guide to locales from Ankh-Morpork to Zemphis . . . If you 
can't tell your Achmed the Mads from your Jack Zweiblumens . . . If your 
life depends on distinguishing between the Agatean Empire and the Zoons 
. . . Look no further. Compiled and perfected by Stephen Briggs, the man 
behind The Ultimate Discworld Companion's predecessor Turtle Recall, 
this is your ultimate guide to Sir Terry Pratchett's beloved fantasy world."

The Ultimate Discworld Companion will be released on 11th November and 
can already be pre-ordered in hardcover and ebook forms from various 
sources including Waterstones and Booktopia. We'll keep you posted!

3.1b Joe McLaren hardcovers!

As tweeted by @terryandrob: "The Discworld Hardback Library is complete! 
The Tiffany Aching series and Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents 
join the collection in beautiful hardback. Illustrated by the brilliant 
Joe McLaren"

The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, and Wintersmith are now available 
to purchase, while I Shall Wear Midnight, The Shepherd's Crown and 
TAMAHER will be released on 23rd September of this year. These are 
lovely things (your Editor has several of the series already), perfect 
as gifts for a child to treasure in the way that older generations 
treasured The Wind in the Willows.

3.2 CLASSIC JOHNNY MAXWELL

Here be a couple of gems from some years back that you may have missed: 
telly versions of two of the Johnny Maxwell series. Yes, they were 
afternoon shows for a younger audience, and yes, neither one had much of 
a budget, but both are competent, charming, and lovingly crafted with 
respect for the source material – more than can be said for a recent 
bigger-budget Discworld-themed show. There are a few changes from the 
books in each, but it's a testament to the respect shown by the 
programme makers that none cause any great departure from the feel of 
the original stories. (Note: the video of Johnny and the Dead is of less 
than sterling quality but still well watchable!)

The BBC miniseries of Johnny and the Bomb, starring a very young George 
Mackay as Johnny and Zoe Wanamaker as a true-to-"life" Mrs Tachyon:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXf4RQ19eHE

The ITV telefilm of Johnny and the Dead, starring a different actor 
(Andrew Falvey) as Johnny, and also starring Brian Blessed as Bill 
Stickers and George Baker as Alderman Bowler:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqpD0yl8f2k

3.3 DISCWORLD GAMES NEWS

The latest word from Dave Brashaw and the Backspindle lads!

"The Collector’s Edition of Discworld Clacks preorder is now LIVE! 
Preorder the Collector’s Edition of #Discworld Clacks and receive one of 
five Limited Edition Discworld character bookmarks FREE with your game. 
These bookmarks will not be available anywhere else.

"As we value every customer, all preorders placed via our website will 
be posted to you before copies go on general release to retail outlets. 
We are aiming to do this by 1 October 2021.

"The Collector’s Edition of Clacks includes stunning miniatures of Moist 
von Lipwig on Boris, a Deep Dwarf, and twelve Clacks Towers. It also 
includes a brand new mini-game called Goblin Glory for you to test your 
skills as a Clacks’ operator against your friends.

"In addition to the Limited Edition Bookmark, every order via our 
website will be entered into a draw to win this new unopened 1st Edition 
copy of our Guards! Guards! boardgame.

"The draw will be done live on Facebook prior to the commencement of 
shipping of the Collector’s Edition of Discworld Clacks games. Until 
then it will be guarded by the Backspindle Dragons! Get ready to take on 
the Post Office, and recreate the race from the book Going Postal by Sir 
#TerryPratchett. The Collector's Edition of Discworld Clacks boardgame..."

Each copy of the Collector's Edition of Clacks is priced at £34.99 plus 
shipping (EU £10, Australia £24, rest of the world £20. For more info, 
and to preorder, go to:

https://bit.ly/2UsvEMq

3.4 MORE PRATCHETT PROJECT TALKS

The next Pratchett Project talk is available to watch on YouTube! 
‘Leaving Early to Avoid the Rush’: Pratchett, Perry and Contemporary 
Pessimism, by Oliver Rendle:

https://youtu.be/tYJ90gPzVMI

And here's a round-up of all the previous ones so far...

Space in Pratchett's Narrative Networks by Matthew Roughan:
https://youtu.be/mQ7HwMyjOPM

Political Idealism in the Discworld Novels by Ruchira Mandal:
https://youtu.be/FlBjXXa3v6A

The Big Wahoonie: Ankh-Morpork as Cross-Media Urban Imaginary by Helena 
Esser:
https://youtu.be/RUTwLO33zKA

The Wilkins speaks! Assisting Terry Pratchett, an interview with Rob 
Wilkins from the Pratchett Project Conference 2020:
https://youtu.be/Izh_EZ-mb8g

Allusions and Cultural References in Terry Pratchett’s Jingo: 
Translation and Understanding, by Damon Tringham:

https://youtu.be/NdbKghKxmnc

Humour, parody and satire in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels by Kamil 
Karas:

https://youtu.be/btRiFbH48dI

3.5 ORANGUTAN NEWS

A spectacular orangutan photograph by Thomas Vijayan, "The World is 
Going Upside Down", won first prize in the Nature TTL Photographer of 
the Year 2021 competition, beating 8,000 entries from around the world:

"'Thomas's image is really unique, and immediately stood out to the 
judging panel,' said Will Nicholls, founder of Nature TTL. 'The unique 
perspective and composition means you are immediately trying to figure 
out what exactly you are looking at.' Mr Vijayan took the photo in 
Borneo, where he selected a tree that was in the water so he could get a 
good reflection of the sky and create the upside-down effect..."

https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-57335458

3.6 THE MERCH CORNER

* The Chalk jigsaw puzzle!

"Visit the Chalk and peer into the Feegle Mound of Rob Anybody and the 
Chalk Hill Clan with young witch and Big Wee Hag Tiffany Aching!
Illustrated by David Wyatt, our Fiendishly Difficult Discworld Jigsaw 
puzzle will have you shouting CRIVENS! and WAILY WAILY! as you piece 
together a bucolic vision of Tiffany Aching's homeland. From the White 
Horse to the Trilithon, you'll spot lots of magical features from Terry 
Pratchett's Discworld books in this view of the beautiful green chalk 
downlands that roll away to the Ramtops beyond. Look out for Granny 
Aching's hut and shepherdess, a Shepherd's Crown, a 'ship' moving at 
high speed, a cheese wearing a kilt and a hat full of sky plus many more 
little details! You'll need the 'hiddlins of hagglin' (and possibly a 
thimble of scumble) to get this puzzle into one piece! Each puzzle 
includes a fold out poster to assist your puzzling endeavours and is 
presented in a splendid 'book' box inspired by Tiffany Aching's diary 
that will look right at home on your bookshelves!"

The Chalk jigsaw puzzle is rated "moderately fiendish". Each puzzle 
measures approximately 70 x 50cm (the puzzle box measures 20.5 x 25.6 x 
6.3cm) and is priced at £19.50. For more info, and to order, go to:

https://bit.ly/35PdVRI

* Discworld t-shirts!

Because sometimes summer does happen... "Our Discworld T-shirt range is 
the most extensive selection of authorised, licensed Discworld designs 
you will find anywhere. We have taken the time to source only the finest 
quality and we have a wide variety of popular characters and designs so 
you can take the Discworld with you wherever you go.
Don’t forget to check what styles are available in each design as many 
are offered in both classic unisex fit and ladies fit."

** Death with Kitten T-shirt: https://bit.ly/3dcA4gS

** Dark Side of the Turtle T-shirt: https://bit.ly/3xVV1F5

** Feeglespotting T-shirt: https://bit.ly/2U3wK1a

** Fabricati Diem T-shirt: https://bit.ly/2SpaYnV

** City Watch T-shirt: https://bit.ly/3wX718X

https://discworld.com/products/t-shirts/

* The official Ankh-Morpork passport!

Yes, these can still be sourced from the Embassy, even if one can no 
longer apply in person...

"Issued exclusively by The Ankh-Morpork Consulate here at the Discworld 
Emporium in Wincanton, each passport is individually numbered by 
letterpress and pre-endorsed ready for you to fill in as imaginatively 
as you wish. Contains vital information on prohibited goods, currency 
and work permits along with immigration stamps from around the Disc 
along with space for stamps should you visit the Discworld Emporium in 
person, or any other place that is silly enough to stamp your passport."

Each Ankh-Morpork passport is priced at £10 and measures 100x140mm. For 
more info, and to order, go to:

https://bit.ly/2UzCnnP

3.7 ALZHEIMER'S NEWS

A BBC report on the drug Aducanumab, which might – might be of help for 
Alzheimer's sufferers

"Aducanumab targets the underlying cause of Alzheimer's, the most common 
form of dementia, rather than its symptoms. Charities have welcomed the 
news of a new therapy for the condition. But scientists are divided over 
its potential impact because of uncertainty over the trial results... In 
March 2019, late-stage international trials of aducanumab, involving 
about 3,000 patients, were halted when analysis showed the drug, given 
as a monthly infusion, was not better at slowing the deterioration of 
memory and thinking problems than a dummy drug. But later that year, the 
US manufacturer Biogen analysed more data and concluded the drug did 
work, as long as it was given in higher doses. The company also said it 
significantly slowed cognitive decline... For around 500,000 people 
affected in the UK, those eligible for aducanumab will be mostly in 
their 60s or 70s and at an early stage of the disease... Prof Bart De 
Strooper, director of the UK Dementia Research Institute, said the 
decision to approve aducanumab marked 'a hugely significant milestone' 
in the search for treatments for Alzheimer's disease. In the past 
decade, more than 100 potential Alzheimer's treatments have flopped. But 
while he hoped it would prove a turning point for millions of people 
with the condition, he said there were 'still many barriers to overcome'..."

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-57383763

3.8 PRATCHETT BOOK CLUB UPDATES

On the website of publishers Tor, Emmet Asher-Perrin continues a 
Discworld discussion page. This time it's Moving Pictures, so get your 
banged grains ready...

Part one:

"I think one of my favorite things within this section is the 
Patrician’s spy telling him that the alchemists liked Dibblers food 
while they were watching the moving picture. The spy doesn’t know what 
they were actually doing because they wouldn’t let him in, but it’s 
obviously in reference to the sort of garbage we’re always eating at 
movie theaters. The idea of certain activities being tied to specific 
(usually bad) food is an undeniably human oddity. Why do we want hot 
dogs at baseball games? Why do we eat the world’s worst 'nachos' while 
being entertained? Why is half the point of going to the movies shoving 
M&Ms in your face?... I was also fascinated by the conversation among 
the alchemists about how films should work, whether they should be 
purely educational and how 'tasteful' they should be and so on. Pieces 
of the talk invoke the eventual censorship that ruled Hollywood for a 
few decades after they’d been allowed free reign at their inception. And 
then there’s Dibbler’s arrival, which heralds the seedier snake oil 
aspects of Hollywood..."

https://bit.ly/3qnFz1T

Part two:

"The contradictions of Hollywood are well laid out here; the fact that 
it encourages all sorts of people to work together in harmony who would 
normally never share space; the way everyone is concerned with only 
their own advancement in the system and no one else’s; the expectation 
to change to fit that system. Rock’s question about whether he should 
get his nose done, and the way everyone changes their names, and Dibbler 
using words like 'exotic' when he’s just being racist, they’re all 
examples of how the system encourages conformity while using what’s 
'foreign' to make money. They need camels and elephants, Dibbler is 
lying about where Ginger came from, but Rock is still worried that his 
nose is too 'stereotypically' troll. Even Samuel Goldwyn, the man 
Silverfish is based on, changed his name for show business..."

https://bit.ly/3xQUzHX

Part three:

"Victor thinks to ask Ginger what she wanted to be before acting in 
moving pictures was a option, and her response is 'I didn’t know. I just 
knew I didn’t want to be a milkmaid.' Y’all. Okay, so there’s a thing 
that you will hear in film and theater and most performing arts 
professions, often from teachers and other professionals and that is: If 
you can picture yourself doing anything else with your life, go do that 
instead. The point being that it’s so hard to 'break into' these 
industries that you can spend the majority of your career (and life) not 
doing anything. So if it isn’t your One True Passion, you should 
probably seek out that other passion you’ve got because you’re likely to 
be more pleased with that outcome. It’s a pretty garbage piece of advice 
to my mind because it ignores why that problem exists in the first 
place; it’s not tough to break into the system just because it is, but 
because these industries are fueled by nepotism and geared toward people 
with massive amounts of privilege. You cannot get away from it... Ginger 
later points out that when the circus came through town, everyone 
cheered the tightrope girl, but they wouldn’t even allow her to climb a 
tree, which is another aspect of that escape: The appeal of acting (and 
writing and directing and) is creating a life outside the parameters 
assumed for you. This is part of the reason why it’s not considered a 
respectable job..."

https://bit.ly/3gSdah5

...and part four:

"There’s a theme here about the idea of fame and stardom being a far cry 
from the reality, and that’s what we see happening with Ginger. She has 
this trance-like dream of being the most famous person in the world, but 
on being confronted with her “adoring public,” she freezes in a panic. 
Actual fame is a beast of a thing to navigate, and the trick used here 
(telling her to essentially act her way through it) is a common trick 
that many performers use. In fact, it’s so ingrained that people tend to 
believe that they have a good read on their favorite famous people, that 
they know them to some extent. These are called parasocial 
relationships, and they’ve been getting a lot of psychological study in 
recent years because it is a genuinely fascinating phenomenon—the belief 
that you can truly know a person from what they display to the public on 
press tours, red carpets, even social media accounts, when so many of 
these personas are carefully constructed for mass consumption. We’ve 
gone so far down this particular rabbit hole culturally that we’ve 
turned it into its own form of performance art. What Ginger is doing 
here is the first steps of that..."

https://bit.ly/3x1vcTK

3.9 A WONDERFUL REMINISCENCE

Here we have another gem, this time from five years ago – Colin Smythe 
and Irish author Lisa McInerney share some of their favourite Pratchett 
quotes which were then considered for inclusion in "Seriously Funny: the 
Endlessly Quotable Terry Pratchett". By Martin Doyle for The Irish Times:

"Lisa McInerney, winner this month of both the Baileys Prize for Women’s 
Fiction and the Desmond Elliott Prize for The Glorious Heresies, is a 
devotee of Pratchett’s work. Asked for her favourite, she responded: 'Oh 
God, so many. One that I almost tweeted earlier: "May you live in 
interesting times" which you’ll probably know is a reference to a myth 
about there being such a curse in China. And right now I think we’re 
living in interesting times. My other favourite Pratchett quote is from 
Soul Music, where Death is collecting money and someone gives him a 
penny, just for this line: THANK YOU, said the grateful Death. I 
honestly think that that’s a case of an author coming up with a killer 
pun and writing an entire book around it'...

"Colin Smythe, the Trinity College Dublin graduate who published 
Pratchett’s first five books and has been his agent since 1987, 
admitted: 'I can’t remember Terry telling me any jokes. Both poor memory 
and because he must have kept them to put in his books. Over the last 
decade, I think we talked about facts, research for the book he was 
working on, that sort of thing.'... So what is his favourite Terry 
Pratchett quotation? “Too many to choose from. But how about... 
"Susan... it wasn’t a good name, was it? It wasn’t a truly bad name, it 
wasn’t like poor Iodine in the fourth form, or Nigella, a name which 
means ‘oops, we wanted a boy’. But it was dull. Susan. Sue. Good old 
Sue. It was a name that made sandwiches, kept its head in difficult 
circumstances, and could reliably look after other people’s children. It 
was a name used by no queens or goddesses anywhere. And you couldn’t do 
much even with the spelling. You could turn it into Suzi, and it sounded 
as though you danced on tables for a living. You could put in a Z and a 
couple of Ns and an E, but it still looked like a name with extensions 
built on. It was as bad as Sara, a name that cried out for a prosthetic 
H." Far too long, I know. How about a talking raven on a battle-field, 
looking for eyeballs and other scraps, saying ‘Carrion regardless. 
That’s what I say.’? “Or the cleric in a band that went off with all its 
takings, and was arrested. ‘And what did they do with that felonious 
monk?’..."

https://bit.ly/2U2Uy5j

Editor's note: if you don't already have a copy of Seriously Funny, here 
be a link:

https://bit.ly/3qoatXT

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

04) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS

4.1 AUDITIONS

Want to participate in the Brisbane Arts Theatre's upcoming production 
of Carpe Jugulum? Here's your chance! Auditions for Carpe Jugulum will 
take place on 11th July, but go to the webpage and register ASAP, as 
registrations are essential:

https://www.artstheatre.com.au/get-involved/auditions/

4.2 FORTHCOMING PLAYS

*MORT IN SUBURBAN MELBOURNE, FOURECKS (SEPTEMBER 2021)

"How good is it to see Fourecksian Discworld productions getting back to 
normal?", it said here in last month's issue. We may have spoken too 
soon... The eagle eyed among you will note that this production was due 
to be presented this month, but pandemic-related issues meant it had to 
be moved. Now rescheduled for later this year. Here's hoping!

The CPP Community Theatre will present Stephen Briggs' adaptation of 
Mort in September: "When Mort and his father attend the Sheepridge 
hiring fair in the hope that this year Mort will finally get an 
apprenticeship, they didn’t expect the day to end with death. But at 
least Death offered Mort a job! As Death’s apprentice, Mort gets to 
travel and meet interesting people… well, for a short time anyway. But 
once Mort is trusted to take on the Duty by himself, trouble brews, as 
Mort lets his heart rule his head… Adapted by Terry Pratchett and 
Stephen Briggs from the fourth of Terry’s wildly successful Discworld 
novels, Mort brings the Discworld to the stage. Come and see how Mort 
gets out of the trouble he’s caused!" (NB: " Please note strobe lighting 
will be used during this performance.")

When: 10th–16th September 2021
Venue: The Basin Theatre, Doongalla Rd & Simpsons Rd, The Basin, 
Bayswater, Victoria 3154 (Melway Reference 66A6)
Time: 10th, 11th, 15th, 16th 8pm; 18th 5pm/twilight; also, matinee on 
the 11th at 2pm
Tickets:available shortly! Watch this space or enquire via email 
(tickets at cppcommunitytheatre.com.au) or phone 0450 804 856 (between 2pm 
and 5pm)

https://bit.ly/35O5rdK

* CARPE JUGULUM IN BRISBANE (SEPTEMBER–NOVEMBER 2021)

It's a change of Discworld for the Brisbane Arts Theatre later this 
year! Instead of the formerly announced Feet of Clay, this September 
will see the staging of Carpe Jugulum: "In this life there are givers 
and takers. It’s safe to say that vampires are very much in the latter 
camp... It’s common sense not to invite vampires into your home (unless 
you want a permanent house guest, that is) – however the King of Lancre 
has invited the city’s newest fanged residents to celebrate the birth of 
his daughter… and they have no intention of leaving… ever. As the 
residents of Lancre are about to discover – it’ll take a lot more than 
garlic and crucifixes to take back their home."

When: 11th September–6th November 2021
Venue: Brisbane Arts Theatre, 210 Petrie Terrace, Brisbane, Queensland 4000
Time: Fridays and Saturdays 8pm, select Thursdays 7:30pm, select Sundays 
6:30pm (check calendar when booking)
Tickets: $36 (concessions/groups $29, Student Rush $16; $2 transaction 
fee applies), available online via 
https://aubat.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/5866

https://www.artstheatre.com.au/productions/carpe-jugulum/

4.3 REVIEWS

* REVIEW: MAKING MONEY IN BRISBANE, FOURECKS

By Oliver Gough for Theatre Haus:

"The sharp wit and offbeat fictional world of legendary British fantasy 
author Sir Terry Pratchett are taken on by the company in the three-act 
comedy, ‘Making Money’. The stage adaptation by Stephen Briggs is drawn 
from Pratchett’s 2007 novel of the same name... Set design in this 
production by Steven Beeston and Tim Pierce is impressive, with detailed 
Roman archways and shopfronts backed up by an intricate city skyline 
built into the top of the set. Complimenting this set is lighting design 
from David Willis, which highlights that skyline with a red glow from 
the back wall and dynamic use of spotlights throughout. Strong choices 
in lighting design, plus dynamic sound design from Zoe Power, are 
particularly on display in the underwater vault scenes as the stage is 
transformed into a blue, bubbling and echoey chamber. Costume design by 
Frances Foo, assisted by Kirily Jago, is also impressive...

"The three-act, two-interval structure may intimidate some audiences, 
but the second two acts were much shorter, possibly throwing into 
question the need for two ten-minute intervals... On opening night, 
understudy Tom Molnar stepped up and was likeable and eloquent as an 
upper-class English Moist Von Lipwig. John Grey somewhat stole the show 
as the stern but humorous Lord Vetinari, with a killer eyebrow slant. 
Grey lifted the energy in his scenes, bringing comedic relish and 
obvious experience to the show. Steve Durber played Mavolio Bent well, 
providing a foil for more outlandish characters like the cape-swishing 
Cosmo Lavish, played by an undeniably funny and committed Jon Darbro. 
Fran Price was an audience favourite with her colourful depiction of the 
eccentric Mrs Topsy Lavish, and Nick Daly stood out with his comedic 
instincts as a bank worker and ghoulish assistant to Peter Van 
Werkhoven’s wild mad scientist character. The rest of the ensemble 
brought gusto to their roles and worked together to bring the play’s 
quirky world to life..."

https://bit.ly/35TDW2m

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

05) DISCWORLD MEETING GROUPS NEWS

Remember, one day, possibly in the not too distant future, Discworld 
fans will be able to meet in the real Roundworld again. So keep this 
information handy! Also note there are a few updates below...

A new Fourecksian meeting group joins the gang: the Purdeigh Islanders, 
based in Hobart, Tasmania. "Purdeigh (or Purdee) Island lies hubwards of 
Fourecks. Roundworld islanders are fans of the great Sir Terry Pratchett 
resident in Tasmania, the island state of Australia."

The Purdeigh Islanders is a private group. To join in, go to their 
Facebook page and see if they'll have you!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/205967619882683/

*

The Broken Drummers, "London's Premier Unofficially Official Discworld 
Group"
BrokenDrummers at gmail.com or nicholls.helen at yahoo.co.uk or join their 
Facebook group at https://bit.ly/2YrPGW7

NOTE: the Drummers are still meeting occasionally via Zoom. Check out 
the above link for updates!

*

Drumknott's Irregulars
Facebook https://bit.ly/31FlSrq or Google Groups 
https:groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/drumknotts-irregulars or join us 
at our next event."

*

The Victorian Discworld Klatch
https://www.facebook.com/groups/VictorianDiscworldKlatch

*

"The Gathering of the Loonies (Wincanton chapter)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/373578522834654/

*

The Pratchett Partisans
https://www.facebook.com/groups/pratchettpartisans/ or contact Ula 
directly at uwilmott at yahoo.com.au

*

The City of Small Gods
www.cityofsmallgods.org.au

"What are we doing while we're stuck at home due to COVID-19? Given that 
our normal social gatherings can't happen while everyone's under 
lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are instead trying to host 
regular activities and discussions online. Most of these will be done 
via our Discord Server – https://discord.gg/3RVzsyJ – which has several 
text chat channels and a few voice chat channels as well. We will still 
use our Facebook group – https://facebook.com/groups/cityofsmallgods – 
to coordinate scheduled events. When things get back to normal... 
(semi-) regular social meetings are generally held on the last Thursday 
of the month at a pub or restaurant in Adelaide. We have dinner at 
6.30pm followed by games until 9pm.

"We'll try to keep this page up to date (no promises!) but always check 
emails on the mailing list or our Facebook Group for further details of 
these events."


*

The Broken Vectis Drummers
broken_vectis_drummers at yahoo.co.uk

*

The Wincanton Omnian Temperance Society (WOTS) meets at Wincanton's 
famous Bear Inn when social gatherings are possible.

*

The Northern Institute of the Ankh-Morpork and District Society of 
Flatalists normally meet at The Narrowboat Pub in Victoria Street, 
Skipton, North Yorkshire, Details of future meetings are posted on the 
Events section of the Discworld Stamps forum: 
http://www.discworldstamps.co.uk/forum/

*

Sydney now hosts two groups of fans who meet on a regular basis.

In the CBD, The Mended Drummers (Sydney) meet on the first Monday of 
each month at Albion Place Hotel from 6.00pm. Join the Facebook Group – 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/downunderdrummers/ – for more information.

And over in the western suburbs of Sydney you can find the Western 
Drummers who meet on the third Tuesday of each month at the Nepean 
Rowers Club from 6pm. Join their Facebook Group – 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/100376433635355/ – for more information.

All we do is chat over a few drinks, with subjects ranging far and wide, 
have a Discworld themed quiz and generally enjoy the company of fellow 
discworld fans.  Sometimes we end up getting together for a Zombie Walk, 
table top games or Supanova - nothing formal, just a loose group of like 
minded people.

Editor's note: If either of these supersedes the Sydney Drummers, please 
let Wossname know! Still posting the original for now: Sydney Drummers 
(formerly Drummers Downunder)
Contact Sue (aka Granny Weatherwax): kenworthys at yahoo.co.uk

*

The Treacle Mining Corporation, formerly known as Perth Drummers 
https://bit.ly/2EKSCqu – or message Alexandra Ware directly at 
<alexandra.ware at gmail.com>

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

06) ROUNDWORLD TALES

If you've read Dodger, you will remember the kindly figure of Henry 
Mayhew, who assisted in the rescue that set the tale going. Many of us 
knew of the real Mayhew as the author of London Labour and the London 
Poor, the mid-19th century work that inspired the British government to 
begin its journey to providing social safety nets to its most distressed 
citizens. But there was much more to the man and his life than that!

Henry Mayhew was born in 1812, the fourth son of a well-to-do London 
solicitor (and father of thirteen other little Mayhews). According to 
the Encyclopaedia, young Henry ran away to sea at the age of twelve; 
according to many sources, this was because son and father did not get 
along; the boy wanted to be a research chemist but the father wanted all 
the Mayhew sons to follow him into the profession. Henry eventually gave 
in, studied law and joined the family firm, but his slapdash work nearly 
brought Mayhew senior to ruin, and they parted on such bad terms that 
Henry was cut out of his inheritance. As a result, he took up writing, 
moving in the "bohemian" arts circles, making the acquaintance of 
Dickens (as shown in its fictionalised version in Dodger), Thackeray and 
other leading lights of the age – and then became one himself, 
publishing successful plays and novels alone and in occasional 
collaboration with his younger brother Augustus.

Mayhew was co-founder of the comedic periodical Figaro, which he edited 
for four years (1835-39) before then co-founding Punch magazine (so 
beloved more than a century later by the young Terry Pratchett) in 1841, 
swerving as co-editor and "chief suggestor" until 1845. He then founded 
a daily newspaper, the Iron Times, covering news of the new railways 
(another passion shared with The Author), but it bankrupted him within a 
year, so he returned to writing, publishing more successful novels, this 
time with a distinct component of social satire. He also worked as a 
journalist, and before long, the two interests melded, in a report he 
wrote for the Morning Chronicle about the notorious slum known as 
Jacob's Island – yes, the very place where Dickens set the climax of 
Oliver Twist. According to literary historian Stephen Carver:

"‘A visit to the cholera districts of Bermondsey’ was a powerful piece 
of journalism, in which Mayhew combined his interest in chemistry with 
the devices of a novelist... Notably, he also gave various inhabitants a 
voice, interviewing and then quoting directly... This was powerful 
stuff, a vivid mix of art, science and drama. After years of select 
committees, royal commissions, questions in the House and earnest essays 
by doctors, Chronicle readers reacted to Mayhew's revelations as if they 
were new... It was a cultural tipping point; the middle classes finally 
noticed the conditions in which the majority of the urban working 
classes had to live. Almost immediately after it appeared, the Chronicle 
announced a huge investigation to be entitled Labour and the Poor, which 
‘proposed to give a full and detailed description of the moral, 
intellectual, material and physical condition of the industrial poor 
throughout England’... Mayhew would be the ‘metropolitan 
correspondent’... Mayhew's ‘letters’, published three times a week, were 
a sensation, as he set out to describe the ‘poor of London’ in terms of 
different classes – ‘as they will work, they can’t work, and they won’t 
work’ – and the different causes of their poverty... interviewed skilled 
and unskilled labourers and tradesmen, seamstresses, merchant seamen, 
the inhabitants of low lodging houses and teachers and pupils at ragged 
schools... His scientific side was always on display, with an urge to 
quantify, define, analyse and categorize, oddly in balance with his 
traits as a novelist and dramatist and, increasingly, an activist. 
Although Mayhew saw himself as a dispassionate and impartial social 
investigator, his decision to give the poor a voice was in itself a 
partisan and radical act. He ultimately broke with the Chronicle at the 
end of October 1850, in a dispute over the political censorship of his 
work and the reporting of the adverse effect of free trade on wages in 
the inequities of piecework and the ‘sweating’ system of labour. This 
came to a head when he took the side of garment workers over their 
employer, H.J. and D. Nicholl of Regent Street, one of the Chronicle’s 
prominent advertising clients... continued to publish his ‘letters’ in 
tuppenny pamphlets, now with a focus on the London ‘Street Folk’ – 
sellers, traders, street performers, artisans, labourers, and criminals, 
men, women and children – beginning with a vast exploration of the 
culture of costermongers, Cockneys hawking all manner of goods out of 
baskets and barrows from dawn till dusk and the main suppliers of food 
to the working classes..."

And the rest is, quite literally, history.

According to the Britannica, "Short of money in his later years, he 
produced much hackwork and died in obscurity." A rather ignominious end 
on the face of it, but in truth, his most significant work lives on to 
this day. And in his own day, London Labour and the London Poor had an 
enormous influence on social reformers: "The often sympathetic 
investigations, with their immediacy and unswerving eye for detail, 
offered unprecedented insights into the condition of the Victorian poor. 
Alongside the earlier work of Edwin Chadwick, they are also regarded as 
a decisive influence on the thinking of Charles Dickens...:

...and on our favourite author!

London Labour and the London Poor is still in publication, and can be 
purchased in physical form from good booksellers, or downloaded for free 
as text or as an ebook from Project Gutenberg.

Sources: Stephen Carver, in particular 
https://wordsworth-editions.com/blog/henry-mayhew-1
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Wikipedia

...and a postscript: his direct descendant Patrick Mayhew was a leading 
Thatcherite minister, and Patrick's son Jerome Mayhew is a serving Tory 
politician. Somehow one imagines Henry would not have approved!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

07) AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE

Blogger Wyrd Smythe was unimpressed by the Long Earth series and 
explains why in a long post:

"I think it’s safe to say that I am not, and probably never will be, a 
fan of science fiction author Stephen Baxter... Recently I finished The 
Long Earth, a five-book series Baxter co-authored with my all-time, 
no-exceptions, favorite fiction author, Terry Pratchett. The series is 
based on an interesting parallel worlds idea from a short story, The 
High Meggas, Pratchett wrote back in the mid-1980s. Much to my 
disappointment, I was also notably underwhelmed by this series. Which 
was something of a shock; I’ve liked – really liked – everything I’ve 
read by Pratchett. His Discworld series is my favorite series of any 
genre, but I’ve really enjoyed all his other work, too. Until now... In 
all five novels, Baxter divides our attention between several largely 
unrelated plot threads. The last two books seemed even more distracted. 
Pratchett was out of the picture by then, and Baxter’s heart doesn’t 
seem in the work any more... I found very little of Pratchett’s touch in 
any of the books, although there were definite glints and glimmers in 
the first two... Part of what made the books boring was not caring about 
the characters. They, and their efforts, just didn’t engage me. I don’t 
recommend this series unless one is already a Baxter fan. It’s 
definitely not an attraction for Pratchett fans – there’s very little of 
Sir Terry to be found..."

https://logosconcarne.com/2021/05/22/the-long-baxter/

Blogger Feminist Quill's odd review of Moving Pictures:

Moving Pictures is one of the rare times I’ve disliked a Pratchett 
book... It’s as if all the famous Pratchett Particles of inspiration hit 
him at the same time, and he had to try and write everything down 
together and make it make sense. It’s a game effort – the plot itself 
being rather original while expertly parodying Hollywood, celebrity 
culture and the movie industries in general. Humour is threaded through 
the book as usual, although what I found more interesting were the 
amusingly random characters thrown together in Moving Pictures. Victor, 
a student wizard from Unseen University, always scores exactly between 
80 and 88 on his exams. This way, he can continue to benefit from a 
scholarship left to him by his uncle (possibly forever.) Ginger is a 
former milkmaid, and doesn’t really relish the prospect of going back to 
it. They find themselves answering the call of the Holy Wood, becoming 
the Disc’s first superstars. Victor and Ginger aren’t the most 
interesting characters, but they’re joined by ‘Throat’ Dibbler, Gaspode 
the talking dog, newly minted Archchancellor Ridcully, Ancient Runes, 
the Bursaaaar, the Librarian and many other familiar faces from the 
Discworld universe. All of them have great comic scenes that are 
individually enjoyable, but put together, the effect is… exhausting. 
There’s too much happening in Moving Pictures. Too many jokes. Too many 
references. Too many subplots. To be fair, there’s always too much 
happening in Terry Pratchett novels, and when the subject matter isn’t 
as confusing, the effect is pretty great. Here, it’s just hard to keep 
track..."

https://bit.ly/3gU7V0D

...and an equally odd one of Reaper Man:

"Insofar as it deals with Death, Reaper Man is a pleasure to read. 
Unfortunately, Pratchett decides to incorporate – as one of the side 
effects of Death skiving off – what is essentially a get-off-my-lawn 
rant about shopping malls. And this part of the book – even with the 
hilarious hijinks of the wizards of Unseen University involved – is 
boring at best, and incomprehensible at worst. It’s not that those 
scenes lack in the trademark Pratchett wit or suspense. It’s just that 
(a) the fact that they’re fighting a shopping mall isn’t very obvious; 
and (b) a shopping mall isn’t a very scary idea to your average 
millennial... But no amount of intervention by rogue, semi-sentient 
shopping malls can dilute the power of Death’s part of the story. 
Assuming the name Bill Door, Death makes his way to a random farm, where 
he is hired to work as an odd-job man. Building heartwarming connections 
with the other villagers, Death finally begins to see things from the 
perspective of the, er, harvest. So to speak. Reaper Man stays with us 
long after we have finished reading it because of the tender humanity 
evinced by the anthromorphic[sic] Death. Pratchett does a great job of 
getting us invested in Death as a character – so much so that my eyes 
light up whenever he turns up in one of the Discworld books..."

https://bit.ly/3wX7NCX

...while blogger Camren Singrey doesn't exactly disagree:

"What don’t I like about Moving Pictures? In my hazy memory of binging 
every Discworld book, it didn’t leave a good impression. Knowing that my 
opinions have changed multiple times in this rereading process, I hoped 
to find myself understanding the appeal of this book in a way that I 
hadn’t before. Sadly, this time I feel mostly the same. Moving Pictures 
can take the place of my least favorite Discworld book, unless something 
changes in the future. Realistically, one of the earliest books in the 
series should win this prize, but there’s a difference there that has to 
do with expectations. The Colour of Magic is barely a proper Discworld 
book at all, but it’s funny for what it is, and I enjoy seeing Terry in 
the process of working it out. Similarly for Equal Rites, the execution 
isn’t quite there but the spirit is very much intact. Moving Pictures, 
on the other hand, comes after books like Wyrd Sisters and Guards! 
Guards! that show how much higher a Discworld novel can reach, and its 
lack of ambition is comparatively disappointing... Moving Pictures has 
some more satisfying elements. Gaspode the Wonder Dog is a great 
character and brings life to the story whenever he’s in it, and the 
gaggle of assorted animals that follow him are also quite entertaining 
(and provide some interesting foreshadowing for the events of Reaper 
Man). The wizards of Unseen University really come together as a group 
here, and fulfill their ultimate destiny of being the funniest subplot 
in a story that isn’t really about them. Detritus the troll has a pretty 
big role here and is as entertaining as he will be in future 
installments. But most of these are examples of elements that would be 
even better later..."

https://bit.ly/3dcFuse

Blogger Jamie Hall's review of Equal Rites:

"Equal Rites is definitely where Pratchett finds his own voice, now he 
has a real plot and some actual storytelling behind the wonderfully 
crafted jokes. At its core Equal Rites is a tale about equality and the 
injustices of the Discworld, and it does a great job of exploring these 
themes while maintaining a witty tone. While I greatly enjoyed the first 
two books in the series it was really Equal Rites that first got me 
hooked onto Terry Pratchett. This is a fun, humorous, and well crafted 
story about a young girl names Esk and her experiences of growing up in 
the world of magic. As the third in the series Pratchett doesn’t bother 
diving too much into the Discworld mythology, this allows him to 
progress the story much more easily, yet sadly this will leave big 
points of confusion for readers who may start their journey here... The 
biggest strength of Equal Rites is the wonderful character development 
we get to experience. Unlike the first two stories the character here 
feel more fleshed out, more real rather than simple one dimensional 
parodies of other, bigger, fantasy characters. These beings are 
charming, witty, likeable, but also hugely flawed, and it is their 
moments of self actualisation that are the most interesting to me..."

https://bit.ly/3zUsS2N

Blogger Ryan aka Muse With Me is back with thoughts on Hogfather:

"If you have even a passing interest in the series or the author, you 
have no doubt come across quotes lifted from this book at least once or 
twice. No other novel in the series has been referenced nearly as often, 
as far as I’ve seen. It’s easy to see why, it’s a very quotable book. I 
even went out of my way to watch scenes from the TV movie adaptation 
years ago too. This put me in a weird state of mind when starting this 
book, though, as there was so much unknown to me that I was excited to 
finally dig into, yet it was also a little too familiar... I just can’t 
help but imagine the story rearranged in a way that we’re more in line 
with what Susan knows, equally bewildered by Death’s wild change in 
vocation. Even though it makes sense that Susan does not know what the 
reader does, the way it unfolded stunted the pacing of the story. While 
I did find this all bothersome, I can’t deny that the reading experience 
during these sections was still enjoyable. I love how vexed Susan is by 
otherworldly forces that she cannot help but notice, driven to do 
something even when she is not obliged to, despite her desire for 
separation from it all. The antics of Archchancellor Ridcully and the 
other head wizards was entertaining as always too, the manifestation of 
the “oh god” of Hangovers being especially amusing. It played well with 
the world’s conception of gods, firmly established back in the novel 
Small Gods. These parts may not have driven the plot very much, but they 
did add a richness of character to the story, as well as tied in closely 
with the story’s motifs about belief and imagination. The parts of the 
book I absolutely adored were those about Death trying his best to 
perform the Hogfather’s duties. In his novels, Death is typically given 
a less plot-driven role, focusing more on his character but giving him 
less to actively do. This book gave us the best of both worlds, as doing 
this job is important for the outcome of the overall narrative, but much 
more emphasis is put on character..."

https://bit.ly/2UFYf1b

...and blogger Joe Kessler aka The Lesser Joke returns with his perhaps 
over-analytical and oh so presentist review of Monstrous Regiment:

"Terry Pratchett strikes a fine balance between showing the camaraderie 
and bravery of soldiers on the one hand – the reasons someone might find 
that life appealing – and the bleak inanity of military regulations and 
war itself on the other. He also shows his fantasy Discworld setting 
becoming a bit more open-minded towards people in Polly’s situation, 
many of whom have only been lacking the courage to speak out about the 
gender roles and restrictive religious teachings they privately 
disfavor. It’s pretty much a standalone volume within its series, with a 
few fun cameos from existing characters but little that would prevent a 
new reader from fully following along. And although it contains some 
minor fatphobia and a greater deal of sexism than I think the writer 
intends, plus the sort of cross-dressing plot whose essentialist view of 
anatomy leaves minimal room for a trans experience, the book overall 
presents a welcome message of questioning tradition, finding your own 
path, and accepting those who are different from you. If that sounds 
like a mixed bag, well, it is – but that’s Pratchett in a nutshell, 
really, as able to punch down at marginalized groups as up at systems of 
oppression..."

https://bit.ly/3zZ2Ag3

Self-described "social entrepreneur and bestselling author", so 
bestselling that he doesn't even merit a Wikipedia page, totally fails 
to "get" Dodger:

"I’m giving a certain amount of leeway here as I assume this is one of 
Pratchett’s books for younger readers (like his wonderful ‘Wee Free 
Men’) and therefore isn’t going to tackle themes which are too deep or 
dark. Nevertheless, it’s not awfully good. ‘Dodger’ is a book I could 
have lived my life without reading and it is certainly not a book I will 
feel the need to read again. There’s nothing terrible about it per se – 
it’s a perfectly fine story and set of characters. The book is well 
written, of course. It’s just not up to the standard of Pratchett’s 
Discworld stories. I do find it hard to explain. You can’t accuse the 
author of being a one-trick pony because the Discworld stuff just 
doesn’t work like that. The genius of Pratchett’s universe is that it 
can tackle and parody just about anything in history, politics, culture 
or society, past of present. In effect, the novels (while still all 
being comic fantasy) take on completely different flavours. Furthermore, 
when you look at books like ‘Good Omens’ (admittedly co-authored with 
the brilliant Neil Gaiman) you can see Pratchett can be utterly 
hilarious away from his magical land. So why doesn’t ‘Dodger’ work?... I 
have no great conclusion to the conundrum. My only guess is that this 
just wasn’t a good one for Pratchett. It must have seemed inspired at 
the time – for all the above-mentioned reasons – but it just came out a 
dud..."

https://bit.ly/3dvorlJ

Blogger Kizzia Mildmay explains that hard-boiled egg:

"Night Watch is, in my opinion, the best Discworld book Terry Pratchett 
ever wrote. I have re-read it at least once every year since it was 
first published, back in November 2002, always around May 25th when the 
book is set (and often a second time if I’m doing a full Discworld read 
through). Each time the rightness of the book bubbles up through the 
pages as fresh and clear and astonishing as if I were reading it for the 
first time. All of Terry’s books are, to some extent or other, about 
what it truly means to be a human living in a society. Night Watch takes 
that theme, turns it up to 11, and turns you inside out while it does so...
In order to explain exactly why it is so wonderful I’d have to spoil the 
plot and I don’t want to do that. I want you to read it for yourself 
(after reading the five books which come before it so you receive the 
maximum impact of every word, although I suspect it works as a stand 
alone too because Terry was Just That Good)."

https://bit.ly/2Spg57B

Blogger James E Hartley analyses Reaper Man:

"There is much wisdom in Windle’s post-life pre-death reflections. Life 
is indeed strange, but we the living have a hard time noticing it 
because we are too busy with the mundane details of living. Living does 
involve a lot of mundane things. Eating, Sleeping, Bathing, Dressing, 
and Tearing Unwanted Plants out of the Ground. Much like a Left Guard or 
a Third Basemen, when you are in the Game of Life, you have a hard the 
seeing the whole game. Marching along in our tiny little ruts in life, 
we do indeed have a hard time seeing how our little ruts fit into the 
larger traffic system. Thoreau screamed at you about the life of quiet 
desperation you are leading. He wants you to break our patterns. Go life 
in a cabin in the woods for a couple of years. Or whatever. Just get out 
of your rut. You read Thoreau and sigh, 'That seems a tad bit extreme.' 
Terry Pratchett has a simpler solution. Just step outside yourself and 
notice that life is strange and wonderful. For a moment, look past all 
the boring and mundane things you have to do today, and look around 
until you notice something really, really odd. Think about that oddity 
for a bit. Then, laugh..."

https://jamesehartley.com/looking-at-life-off-kilter/

Blogger Lynn found The Light Fantastic slightly lacking... or maybe not:

"I will preface this review by stating that at the moment I’m not 
totally blown away by the Discworld, but, at the same time, I had been 
warned that this could take two or three books before it really took 
hold so I’m still very hopeful. I will also clarify that last remark by 
saying I’m not disliking what I’ve read so far, so much as it hasn’t 
quite knocked my socks off in the way I’d hoped, or more to the point, 
whilst there have been quite a number of moments that have made me smile 
I haven’t had a proper laugh out loud moment just yet. I do have 
expectations though and I suspect that as I continue with Lou on this 
journey we will become attached to the characters and familiar with the 
world in a way that immerses us much more and provides a greater sense 
of connectivity... I really enjoyed certain aspects of this one. The 
forest – which has a decidedly fairytale feel and the whole visit to the 
home of Death. I loved both those scenes. Of course, everything 
Pratchett does is tongue in cheek and softly fun poking at the fantasy 
tropes but those two particular scenarios particularly stood out for me. 
To be honest, although I’ve not been totally knocked out by the two 
first books in this series, I can see myself already becoming attached. 
I like the humour, it reminds me very much of Monty Python and obviously 
Douglas Adams. To be honest, I know already, that I will love elements 
of these books because I’ve read the Tiffany Aching series which were 
excellent..."

https://bit.ly/3gT3Mde

...and finally, blogger Grainne, whose own wordcraft and vocabulary are 
fascinatingly idiosyncratic, offers a long analysis of Rincewind in 
general and Sourcery in particular:

"Came sooner, Coin, ravaged the Lore and ended the Archchancellor 
election by exhibiting a glimpse of his “virtue” and simply sat on the 
highest cathedra without much of a struggle. Then we become versed that 
the prevailing wizards are the legitimate pests as they feed on the 
proffered power no human can contest. Fortunately, our Rincewind 
perceived the signs as ominous even before the source of magic came into 
view. But unfortunately, this was another chance for an adventure he 
ardently does not want. And unfortunately, indeed, it has to be a woman 
who owns a fascinating voice to compel him to assist the 
Archchancellor’s hat on a trip to Klatch for a reason of sorts. 
Pratchett built a world in a disk. And he went on a full measure in the 
concept of domination through his book, Sourcery. The question was, “If 
wizards are powerful, why didn’t they rule the world?” I’ve read few 
books that dealt with this query and the writers replied fairly 
quick–they still made sense that imposed acknowledgement. What is 
Pratchett’s response? Or rather, how did Pratchett respond? Instead of 
reposting, he thought long and resolved the trope in all the pages of 
Sourcery. It will lose the balance. The wizards will not be contented in 
the division of domain. Like empires, they will conquer adjacent lands 
and even remote enclaves. Tectonic plates will shiver as rocks ascend 
into towers by magical summoning to fight their own kind they once 
called brothers. Shove a magically overpowered human who even traps the 
gods in an attempt to be the sole divine; you invite frozen titans 
indignant to revert the state of the world to the glacial age... 
Sourcery is a Discworld series still wealthy with wisecracks. But for a 
reader acclimated to Pratchett’s usual amount of humor, one would 
observe that the opulence curtailed..."

https://bit.ly/3wUk3UM

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08) IMAGES OF THE MONTH

The Ankh-Morpork coat of arms (and legs) does special service in the 
Discworld Emporium's semi-closing announcement:
https://bit.ly/3gWpRrc

The cast of Brisbane Arts Theatre's just-finished production of Making 
Money... and is that a ghost at the back?!:
https://bit.ly/3xQvQn0

A lovely way to go – the Discworld themed funeral of fan Steven 
Thornton: https://bit.ly/3dbwAvp

Re that funeral, Rhianna Pratchett tweeted: ""That’s a hell of a resting 
place. 100% Pratchett approval. GNU Steven Thornton"
https://bit.ly/3xSB5D2

A look at the cover for the Ultimate Discworld Companion: 
https://bit.ly/3daAnsG

That wonderful orangutan photo (as mentioned in item 3: 
https://bit.ly/3wYinJX

Possibly Your Editor's favourite photo ever of Sir Pterry, that 
accompanied the article in item 3.9 above:
https://bit.ly/3gSyB1y

...and finally, a beautiful badge created for the 2013 New York Comic 
Con 2013 by artist Justin Gerard, as posted by Pinback Travels (ask him 
about pins!):
https://bit.ly/3wVnsmv

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

09) CLOSE

It's been obvious to many people for some time now that ol' Auntie Beeb 
has jumped a lot of sharks, but this one – on Sir Pterry's own home 
ground – takes an entire bakery's worth of biscuits:

"The Watch is crossing the pond. The BBC has acquired the UK rights to 
the BBC America original series after striking a deal with international 
distributor and sister company BBC Studios. The series will debut on the 
iPlayer on Thursday July 1st and will subsequently get a linear run on 
BBC Two later this year."

https://bit.ly/3gS82K4

Right then, that's it for now. More than ever, mind how you go, and we 
hope to see you next month!

– Annie Mac

This issue can be viewed on the Clacks at 
https://wossname.dreamwidth.org/81980.html

Copyright (c) 2021 by Wossname for the Klatchian Foreign Legion

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