The Shepherd's Crown - Terry Pratchett

The Shepherd's Crown - Terry Pratchett - 288 pages

Well, here we are at the end.  There's a lot to say about this book, and not a lot; it's the last Discworld novel, it's the last adventure, it's a compass that shows bits and pieces of where the stories of Discworld would have headed if Pratchett had more time to tell us.

The upshot of the story itself is that Tiffany inherits a legacy and consequently, a problem with the elves (a problem not so dissimilar to the one that started her adventures in witching).  But I think the bigger story here is the story of the book itself: while the plot holds together, it's clear in this book more than the others that Pratchett ran out of time to finish it.  What he wrote about seemed to weigh heavily on him both within the context of the novel and the context of his personal struggle (the story of Esme's last day, and the aftermath, for example) and it was written through the filter of an illness that dulled some of Pratchett's stylistic sparkle on the page.  At the end of the book is a brief explanation: some portions of the story were written a few years prior to publication, but some were left to the end and didn't have the luxury of Pratchett's usual comb through to bring the details into focus.  It shows.  It shows in the less lively attitudes of the Feegles, and the sink of Gytha Ogg into cronehood.  It shows in the brevity of what's shared, and in the tone and delivery of a story that had more to say than what was said.  It shows in the nods to all the major players on the Disc, all the little loose ends tied up.  Pratchett knew this would be his last published novel, and this was the goodbye he could give us.

How much of that impression was colored by my own sadness at reading the last novel by a writer whose books were milestone reading throughout my formative years?  He wrapped it up so nicely for us, writing a story of passing and legacy and hope for more adventures in the future, that I'm not sure it really matters.  He left us with the impression that life, whether here or on the Disc, will carry on, and we're better for having shared the adventure.

Equal Rites - Terry Pratchett

Equal Rites - Terry Pratchett - 272 pages

So, here we are at the beginning of my literary love affair with Granny Weatherwax, who has become one of my personal (if fictional) heroes.  To be fair, the first time I read this book, I was in middle school and feeling deeply affected by the idea that perceived gender roles were limiting my ability to expand my adolescent horizons (specifically, I'd been told earlier that year that I couldn't play the saxophone because girls played flutes and that was that).  Fast forward to twenty (plus) year later, and here I am, still wondering sometimes why exactly we're still dealing with social issues like glass ceilings and wage gaps.  Still relevant?  This book.

I will say, as one of Pratchett's early adventures with the witches, this one is lacking the depth and breadth of character you'll get six books in, and some of Esme's opinions were fairly shocking considering her later adventures, but again...this was the first real toe in the pool of her lifetime as told by Sir Pratchett, and reading it again after having read the whole arc of her story was just as thought-provoking as the first time all those years ago.

The Dragons of Crumbling Castle and Other Tales by Terry Pratchett

Dragons of Crumbling Castle and Other Tales by Terry Pratchett - 336 pages
(14 short stories)

This is a collection of some of Terry Pratchett's short stories written as a teenager.  He did do a little tweaking to the stories to update them a little bit.

It was interesting to read of some of Pratchett's characters from his novels in their earliest forms.  This is definitely a great book for those who like his work.  I listened to it on audio and it was well done.

Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett

Unseen Academicals: A Novel of Discworld by Terry Pratchett --- 416 pages

This is the 37th novel in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, and was the first one published after he announced that he had been diagnosed with a variety of Alzheimer's that impairs visual recognition and short term memory but leaves the sufferer all too aware of the slow, insidious decline of his mental abilities. 

That said, this is one of Pratchett's most brilliant efforts in a long-running series that very few authors can match. Pratchett's comic genius has been compared to P.G. Wodehouse and this is a story that Wodehouse would have loved.

The Patrician of Ankh-Morpork has decided it's time to regularize the until now completely unregulated game of football, and the Shove that surrounds the matches. To do this he involves the wizards at Unseen University, whom are inveigled into fielding a team to challenge the footballers of the city --- use of magic strictly forbidden on the field. Let's just say this is the "War and Peace" of football combined with a Romeo and Juliet motif, a Dwarf fashionista, and the rehabilitation of one of fantasy's most iconic villians.

A British television network that has created three previous made-for-TV films of three Discworld novels is making a film of this one too. I have all the books and the DVDs in my personal library. There are few writers who do really intelligent fantasy and even fewer who can do really intelligent comic fantasy. I'm happy to say that Pratchett continues to write and has published several novels subsequent to this one.  Long may he fight the good fight!

Click HERE to read Terry Pratchett's comments on how the story came together.

Click HERE to read a fan discuss both the book and how Pratchett is coping with his disability.

Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett

Raising Steam: A Discworld Novel by Terry Pratchett --- 365 pages

The 40th --- believe it or not, the 40th! --- book by Terry Pratchett, the acclaimed British author of some of the funniest fantasy ever written, much of it set on his own creation of the Discworld, an alternate reality universe that operates according to a set of magical principles that mirror the absurdity of our own.

Raising Steam is the third book to focus on the career of ultimate con man Moist von Lipwig, who has been persuaded to put his talents to better use by Lord Vetinari, the Patrician who rules Ankh-Morpork with a velvet-gloved steel touch. Moist is allowed to live under an indefinitely suspended sentence of death so long as he carries out the tasks assigned him by the Patrician. So far these have included reforming the defunct Post Office and rescuing the new clacks service in Going Postal, and reorganizing the Royal Bank and restoring the Royal Mint in Making Money.

Now in Raising Steam Moist is put in charge of shepherding a game-changing technological advance without unraveling the entire social fabric of the Discworld in the process. Dick Simnel has invented steam locomotion, and the world will not be the same again. As if that's not enough, the uber-conseervative elements among the dwarves are stirring up trouble for the Low King, who has championed change and interspecies cooperation.

In the midst of all the fun, Pratchett has tucked in some pithy observations on the inevitability of change, and the pros and cons of embracing technology's mixed blessings. Pratchett is an author who provides a very big payoff for your willing suspension of disbelief. Raising Steam, as Dick Simnel would say, is gradely!

Click HERE to read a review of Raising Steam in the Washington Post.   

Click HERE to visit Terry Pratchett's web site and read about Raising Steam.

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman --- 412 pages

Anyone who reads fantasy today will recognize the names Pratchett and Gaiman as two bestselling grand masters of the genre. But in 1985 when the two met, they were both just starting out; and fame and fortune were still some years ahead. This collaboration, the result of that chance encounter, helped get the ball rolling.

The world is ending next Saturday. The armies of good and evil are massing for the Big Event. Everything seems to be on schedule and all according to the Ineffable Plan. Except for a little mix-up involving the Antichrist. Then there's the angel and the demon who have spent so may eons living among mortals they aren't all that keen to give up their comfortable lifestyle. A witchfinder has fallen head over heels for a witch. And the Four Motorcyclists of the Apocalypse prove to be directionally challenged.

Pratchett and Gaiman's take on Armageddon is an epic of snarky satire, laced with irreverent historical and literary digressions. Highly recommended for those who like their fantasy salty. P.S. A film or television series based on the book has been rumored for several years.

Dodger by Terry Pratchett

Dodger by Terry Pratchett --- 360 pages

Terry Pratchett is arguably the finest writer of comic fantasy in the late 20th-early 21st century. His Discworld novels comprise a universe unique and complete in itself, and in addition to these he has written a number of fantasy novels for children and teens --- of which Dodger is the latest example.

The tale takes place in a setting we instantly recognize as Dickensian England; early 19th century, Victoria only lately come to the throne, with guest appearances by Sweeney Todd, Sir Robert Peel, Charlie Dickens himself and a young and ambitious Ben Disraeli. Young Dodger has lived by his wits on the streets of London since escaping from the workhouse where he was consigned as a foundling child. He started life as a mudlark and is now a tosher --- a person who searches for small items that can be salvaged from the muck of London's ancient sewers.

One night during a raging storm, Dodger stumbles upon a young woman trying desperately to escape from two brutal captors. He rushes to her assistance, aided by the timely appearance of two gentlemen, who prove to be the social reformer Henry Mayhew and the newspaperman Charles Dickens. Much to his amazement, Dodger finds himself embarked upon a whole new career as a most unlikely hero.   

The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter

The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter --- 336 pages

Obviously intended to be the first in a series, this collaboration between Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter, both award-winning science fiction/fantasy authors, has gotten rave reviews from a lot of critics. I'm a huge fan of Terry Pratchett, but this book disappointed me.

Yes the scope is epic and the premise is intriguing: the discovery of untold multiple  versions of Earth and a means of traveling to them that involves a concept called "stepping," a kind of sideways movement between consecutive but differently-evolved realities.

Some of the elements are distinctively Pratchett, especially the potato-powered Stepper devices, the "trolls" and the "elfs" that inhabit the parallel Earths, even the cogito ex machina (formerly a Tibetan motorcycle repairman) named Lobsang who is the one of the main characters.

The rest of it is like a new fashioned Jules Verne novel, with long vistas of exposition occasionally interrupted by brief flashes of action. It just failed to float my boat.