Alright...show of hands! Who HASN'T read Terry Pratchett, yet?

[rabid1st]

I ask because all must read Terry Pratchett. The Discworld is what the Buffyverse WISHES it was. Every BtVS and AtS fan or former fan must at the very least read "Carpe Jugulum" a.k.a. "the vampire one."

Find out why by checking out the quotes under CARPE JUGULUM at the following page...

http://www.digiserve.com/eescape/closet/Closet.html#Pratchett

or go to the official Pratchett site...L-Space at...

http://www.co.uk.lspace.org/books/pqf/

just click on a book title and laugh out loud.

If you start reading Pratchett you will find that he is as quotable as the Bible or Shakespeare. He is a genuine unsung satirical treasure.

And once you've read "Carpe Jugulum" you should probably go back and read the books in order. Because, while you CAN skip about a bit...some characters loop through several books having interconnected adventures.

My personal faves:

Carpe Jugulum (Vampires, Witches and Fairytale Princesses...oh, my)

Mort(Death takes on an apprentice)

Guard, Guards (all about the human soul, politics, morality and dragons), it opens with this bit of nonsense:

Fingers: "'The significant owl hoots in the night.'"
Doorman: "'Yet many grey lords go sadly to the masterless men.'"
Fingers: "'Hooray, hooray for the spinster's sister's daughter."
Doorman: "'To the axeman, all supplicants are the same height.'"
Fingers: "'Yet verily, the rose is within the thorn.'"
Doorman: "'The good mother makes bean soup for the errant boy.'"
Fingers: "What?"
Doorman: "'The good mother makes bean soup for the errant boy.'"
Fingers: "Are you sure the ill-built tower doesn't tremble mightily at a butterfly's passage?"
Doorman: "Nope. Bean soup it is. I'm sorry."
Fingers: "What about the caged whale?"
Doorman: "What about it?"
Fingers: "It should know nothing of the mighty deeps, if you must know."
Doorman: "Oh, the caged whale. You want the Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night. Three doors down."

AND CONTAINS THIS LITTLE GEM:

A number of religions in Ankh-Morpork still practiced human sacrifice, except that they didn't really need to practice any more because they had got so good at it. City law said that only condemned criminals should be used, but that was all right because in most of the religions refusing to volunteer for sacrifice was an offense punishable by death.

AS WELL AS ONE OF MY FAVORITE PRATCHETT QUOTES EVER:

There was a thoughtful pause in the conversation as the assembled Brethren mentally divided the universe into the deserving and the undeserving, and put themselves on the appropriate side.

-- The Elucidated Brethren see the light (Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!)

The Truth (Journalism and Media Bias...and well...truth)

The Hogfather (when the discworld equivalent of Father Christmas goes missing...Death takes over the job...an exploration of the importance of childhood mythology...there's also a crazed serial killer)

Wyrd Sisters (Speaking of Shakespeare and Pratchett...a delightful send up of the Bard).

So, what are you waiting for? Go...enjoy...you can thank me later! :-D

AND remember, as Buffy WISHES she once said:

On Earth, No-one Can Hear You Say "Um".

-- (Terry Pratchett, Only You Can Save Mankind)

Comments

[ladyoneill.livejournal.com]

*sheepishly raises hand*

To be fair though I did try to read the first one. I got bogged down, though. I'd think I'd really enjoy them if I tried again. Of course I stupidly sold the couple I owned on Ebay.

I do really, really love/adore/worship Good Omens, does that count?

Oh, because I suck at feedback these days, Inchobate whatever the latest chapter rocked so very much, especially Buffy's snippy comments at the end. ;)

[thisficklemob.livejournal.com]

I haven't... mostly because it was one of those things where my friends had read all the books and I knew I couldn't catch up. Like the The Mists of Avalon my freshman year of hs. Sorry.

caia

Thanks for the Ichnobate comment, Pet...

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

I was beginning to think I scared people speechless or something...as to the final line...my motto is "NO MORE WIMPY BUFFY!!"

And yes...I do know what you mean about the first book...matter-o-fact, I was surprised to see Colour of Magic on the 100 Best Books list that Queen of Thorns posted...because it really is a hard read...and the payoff with Rincewind doesn't come until a much later book. I, too, gave up on it. But then I read Carpe Jugulum and The Truth and got totally hooked.

Not all of the books are good...I didn't like a few of them...but there are so many really good ones...it makes up for the bad (and again...kinda like the Buffyverse). Yes, loving Good Omens counts loads...in my book, anyway. You might find you enjoy MORT to start....more fun times with DEATH.

[keswindhover.livejournal.com]

I am a fan. I have a special fondness for Death (and his grand-daughter)and for Sam Vimes, and the rest of his motley crew. The wizards not so much (with the exception of the Librarian, of course.) The witches I have to be a particular mood for.

[reginaspina.livejournal.com]

OK, what's the order to read them in? (Am v. anal retentive and will only read things in order ;)) The only Pratchett thing I've ever read is Good Omens, which I adore.

Rabid the Librarian to the rescue...

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

And here I assume that your anal retentiveness will keep you reading even though the first book or two present a challenge? I find them structurally a bit light and stiff...usual author's first work kind of thing...

To find the complete order of this (or almost any series) go to the Kent Library Database at...

http://www.kdl.org/libcat/whatsnext.asp

type in Pratchett, Terry in the author field...(or you know...Steel, Danielle...or if you have better taste than THAT ;-D Dunnett, Dorothy).

To start you off...the first four books are...

1) Colour of Magic or (for the Americans) Color of Magic
2) The Light Fantastic
3) Equal Rites
4) Mort - The first one in order I can say I LOVED...

Re: Thanks for the Ichnobate comment, Pet...

[ladyoneill.livejournal.com]

No scaring of me. I loves me some angst and death and tears. *g*

Glad to know I'm not the only one who struggled with the first book. I don't like skipping around in series, so I'll give it another try, once I get through about two dozen books that have been taunting me for months.

My intro to this universe was actually Saber who wrote a Xander/Mort crossover a couple years ago. *g*

Saber wrote Xander/Mort? Cool!

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

Now there's a match made in...well...not Heaven. :snort:

This reminds me to seek out Saber (and here I assume you MUST mean ShadowKitten...I understand there is a NEW Saber) again...I love the old school...you, Saber, Nauti, Zero and Avalon...Carrie and I the snotty nosed upstarts...none of us with any hope of consumation...sigh...those were the days...

Rabid/Raeann

Re: Saber wrote Xander/Mort? Cool!

[ladyoneill.livejournal.com]

Xander/Mort led to Xander/Spike. Saber (yeah, that one who sadly no longer writes Buffy fic) is about the only author who can get me to read and enjoy Xander/Spike. ;)

There's an even older school of people that no longer seem to write, all of us who started ficcing the 'ship the summer after season 2. *sigh*

You're not an upstart. Upstarts are annoying. :)

Off to read your Spike/Pirate fic. I'm seeing the film tomorrow.

You and Saber were not S2?

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

I thought you were...and Nauti, too. I started ficcing the ship after Halloween...but not publically...and just in little non-romantic scenes...I wasn't committed to it until I knew JW was going to do it (after OOMM)...mostly because I was still in the X-Files fandom at that time and all my online activity was devoted to XF. Really the B/S ship is what kept me in the Buffy fandom...which is why I think JW may have made a stratigec error here in his ending of it.

But anyway, I started READING S/B fic before I started writing it and Saber was out there then...I read a lot of her work...don't remember when it was...but I think it was mid Season 4. It had to be prior to Into the Woods in S5 because that's when I started writing.

I figured most of the old school started up around Something Blue or in S2...Carrie's Memories is older...maybe old enough to be S3...I never really asked anyone before though...so...When did you write your first one for yourself? For the net? You are in the old school of S2 then?

Re: You and Saber were not S2?

[ladyoneill.livejournal.com]

Way back in the old days...*g*

I got involved in the fanficdom before onelist (which eventually became yahoogroups) existed, when the biggest and best Buffy fanfic list was Bbeta, and everyone lived at the Slayer Fanfic Archive. This was around November in season two.

After the chemistry of Becoming 2, several people started ficcing B/S (I'm sure there were some before, but the best for a long time started in that summer). Lynx, Dare, Zero, Chelle Storey, Saber, Mary Ann, and a whole bunch more. And me. I'm the only one still actively writing of that early bunch, of most of my long time friends.

It's sad, but, heck, there are so many newer authors, too, and so many new friends. :)

My first fic was actually begun before Angel lost his soul--didn't see that coming by a long shot--and before Spike was anything more to me than a rather cute bothersome evil vampire. Then he took over that fic. lol

Well...let me say...:clap:...

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

...if you actually wrote for B/A to start and then turned out the wonders of B/S that you turned out you have a very flexible mind. See, I never was inspired by Angel...and I was all about him losing his soul...because he kind of creeped me out, actually.

Not that I wasn't okay with B/A...I believed that the show would do B/A forever...but had no interest in it. It is funny...maybe because my father died before I was born I have no urge to meld with my Daddy like that...and so the waaay older man thing that so many find attractive is lost on me. ;-D

Anyway...I did read Zero and Chelle, too. Back in the day...so maybe it was earlier than Season 4.

You know...I wasn't really attached to any of the BtVS couples except B/S...I just let them come and go...I mean, I liked Oz/Willow...but I didn't mind it going South (I just missed OZ). I know I wasn't really invested in B/S as a ship until OOMM...because I just felt like the show would...well...do the average thing...and not the exceptional...so why bother investing in the exceptional. I was shocked that they took it as far as they did...and frankly am still puzzled by the WHY of that...course, in the end...they are trying again for the average: Cinderella...like THAT hasn't been done to death.

Well...off to the meet James, Pet...ttyl...