For those who haven’t ventured off Discworld, I just finished Terry Pratchett’s “The Carpet People” today and I really enjoyed it. Interestingly, he originally wrote it and had it published when he was seventeen, then went back after getting famous and, at age forty-three, reworked it and republished it. I don’t know how much of the seventeen year old’s voice is left, but if it is very much, then he must have been a very clever seventeen year old indeed.
The story is about people who live in a carpet. By way of understanding, the largest city on the carpet is about this big -> . About as big as a period, that is. The main character, inasmuch as there is a main character in many of his works, is a Munrung named Snibril whose brother is chief of his tribe. The tribe is in a rather distant part of the Dumii empire. A snafu–or more properly a safu–in the Empire’s census tips off the Munrungs that something may be amiss.
An adventure is thrust upon our heros that involves an unemployed general, a pragmatic wise man, the dwarf-like Deftmenes, the evil Mouls, the mysterious Wights–a strange race who remember interesting things, and the even more mysterious Fray.
The book is philosophically deeper than I’d imagine a seventeen year old’s mind would be. The Wights offer a very potent reply to Vonnegut’s “Slaughter House Five”.
As usual, Pratchett’s sense of humor is there and thoroughly enjoyable. If you enjoy his stuff, then check this book out. If you don’t enjoy his stuff, then you must be touched in the head…
I think I’m relatively unique in that I discovered Mr Pratchett’s work through The Carpet People. From there, I moved on to the Dark Side of the Sun and Strata books, and then the Truckers/Diggers/Wings trilogy. It wasn’t until a few years after reading those that I discovered the majesty that is the Discworld. I have yet to discover a Pratchett work that I didn’t enjoy.
It ends with the carpet’s owner’s dog pissing on the carpet and drowning everybody except a family of survivors. Thus there is a repeating cycle of Noah-esque flood stories running across the carpet until the dog goes to obedience training and the Carpet People think that god has decided to favor them. Then the house burns down. Nah. I’m not going to tell you what happens.
I think The Carpet People is a very good book. I was amused at the foreword in which Pratchett told us the book was by two authors, himself, and himself at age 17. Which meant he didn’t have to split the royalties too.
Some of the ideas that crop up in Discworld (and the Johnny books) do also appear here, such as characters who remember things before they happen.
Definitely read The Dark Side of the Sun too. Very funny and quite good science fiction.
