I got my opening day copy of Unseen Academicals and have enjoyed the first half of the book so far.
Some quotes from the book.
“It is a well-known fact in any organization that, if you want a job done, you should give it to someone who is already very busy.” p. 26
“They were hefty men with a look of having been carved out of Bacon.” p.73
“Just one, then,” said Glenda. “That should balance out the rat.” p. 142 [If read in context this is a hoot]
It is very disturbing that this is probably going to be one of the last handful of books that he writes. He can no longer touch-type and will be moving to dictation.
For me, it had been going real well till I hit the patch about Glenda and the fashion store. that stopped me dead and two days later i haven’t started back.
but Mustrum is about my favorite Discworld character and he’s been at his best.
this exchange had me bowing to the pratchett wit:
**“ow do I know I can trust you?” said the urchin.
“I don’t know,” said Ridcully. “The subtle workings of the brain are a mystery to me, too. But I’m glad that’s your belief.”**
So, UU magicians parts first-rate, don’t care much for Glenda. Got some hopes for Nutt. Plan to get back to it this weekend.
Thanks for the heads up that it’s out. I now have it on my Kindle and have started up … I’m excited! Back to not wasting my time here while there’s Pratchett to read!
…dancing about spoilers. Unseen Academicals has a spiritual element to it quite like Feet of Clay, probably one of my top 5 favorites. Worth, as it were.
Nation has a lot of these worth themes. Our protagonists worth in the society they create.
“…within acceptable college statutes…”
“…upholstery, which had experienced humanity in all its manifold moods and insurgencies.” p.294 [you had that couch in college, if you were male]
“…my colleague professor Rincewind…” p.344 [Those who can’t, teach]
“Why is there a certain cast of the military mind which leads sensible people to do again, with
gusto, what didn’t work before.” p. 229
Okay, finished it. Fun. Good. Not his best ever but enjoyable.
More ribald and punny humor that he often has I think …
“… after a week of Juliet’s presence many of the faculty were subject to (mostly) unfamiliar longings and strange dreams, and were finding things rather hard …”
" … they cigars are - ‘That is a fallacy!’"
“’…Just speak with a little ore class, eh? You don’t have to sound like - ’ ‘My fare, lady?’”
But perhaps a profound bit too - this from the Patrician:
“’ … Every world spins in pain. If there is any kind of supreme being, I told myself, it is up to all of us to become his moral superior.’”
I would love to know more of Pepe’s backstory.
As for the the fashion and sports - well both are covering the ways in which we belong as a group. aren’t they. Team or lipstick, I think he’s saying it’s all in the Shove.
DSeid – you marked some wonderful passages. I am afraid that at least one got by me.
BTW I read with a pen to mark passages - how do you annotate with your Kindle?
For some reason, the scene that strikes me most is when Ponder looks around and sees Rincewind putting on his sock.
The D- Archancellor Henry thing was… unexpected.
I noticed this book has a lot more gratuitous raunchiness than most of his previous books. I mean, The Truth had its humorous vegetables, and in Small Gods Brutha comes a cross a rock that is “very unexpected”, but here almost every other joke had something to do with sex. And it wasn’t even plot-related like in The Last Continent, or character-related like anything in the vicinity of Nanny Ogg. It just struck me as uncharacteristic of him.
I’ve always been trouble by Tolkien’s treatment of orcs as always chaotic evil. Actually, depicting any sentient race as completely bad has never gone down well with me, but the aforementioned species has an additional pathos for me, since they were made from normal people. So I applaud Pterry saying what I’ve always thought.
On the other hand, Nutt’s story was pretty predictable- “Ooh, look here’s one of those monsters who’s been given an education and see how he’s nice and articulate? Maybe those monsters are only monsters because people are so mean.”
I’m going to have to reread it. I didn’t like Going Postal when I first read it, and now I think it’s great. Maybe I’ll like this one more on subsequent readings.
With the new book out, it’s probably time to resurrect the Discworld Book Club. I’m busy catching up on new posts, so I am officially declaring this Someone Else’s Responsibility.
You just click to start a highlight and click again where you want it to stop and it gets put in your clippings file. I’ve become a big fan of its dictionary function but now I’ve already forgotten the word that began with an “e” that meant explaining something in an excessively wordy manner … dang.
One thing that I noticed about this book was that while Pratchett layered on the references thick, they were almost all references to existing Discworld books. Hwel the playwright. Rincewind and his sock (and the Hat). The buried golems of Making Money. Forgiveness. If you knew music, you got the references in Soul Music; if you happened to have the translation of Gutenburg fresh in your mind, you immediately knew who Gunilla was in The Truth. For this Discworld book? You kind of have to know Discworld.