Tag: Bill Nighy

Mort by Terry Pratchett

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comedy/Satire, Extended Universe, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Throwback Thursday1 Comment

Publisher: Gollancz/Penguin Audio (Audiobook – 1987)

Series: Discworld – Book Four/Death – Book One

Length: 7 hours and 18 minutes (Planer version)/7 hours and 57 minutes (Clifford version)

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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My dive into the always outstanding Discworld series by the legendary Terry Pratchett continues with one of the earlier classics, Mort, a clever and highly entertaining novel that still hits hard after all these years.

Readers of this blog will be aware of my obsession for all things Discworld, which I have been a mega fan of for many years.  I have had the very great pleasure of reading all the books in the Discworld series multiple times, and I honestly love everything about them, so much so that I even named this blog after a key setting in the series.  I’ve recently been having one of my periodic re-reads of the series, which has seen me finally review some of my favourite Discworld entries, including Pyramids, Guards! Guards!, Moving Pictures, Small Gods and Men at Arms.  The next entry in the series I decided to reread was the wonderfully compelling Mort.  The fourth book in the series, this is one of the earlier Discworld novels and serves as the first book in the Death sub-series.

They say that death comes for everybody, but on the Discworld that statement couldn’t be more true, as everyone will eventually encounter Death, the black-robed, scythe wielding skeleton who personifies the end of life.  However, not all encounters with Death are the same, as terminally unqualified teenager Mort is about to discover, as instead of taking his life, Death offers Mort a job.

Suddenly saddled with the responsibilities of being the apprentice of Death, Mort finds his life a lot more complicated.  Reaping the souls of the recently departed is one thing, but learning to walk through walls and deal with the unlikely whims of his new master is another, especially as Death seems determined to set Mort up with his adopted daughter Ysabell.  However, the big problems begin when Mort impulsively decides to change fate and save the life of a young princess destined to die.

Forced to find a way to stop the diverging threads of reality while keeping the princess alive, Mort soon discovers that being the Grim Reaper isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.  Worse, with the real Death suddenly discovering the joys of life, Mort’s own humanity is starting to slip away.  Can Mort and a group of unlikely companions save reality, or will he have to face his final judgement at the hands of the universe’s most unyielding employer?

Mort was a particularly impressive Discworld novel from Pratchett, especially as it was probably the book where the author finally found his true writing groove.  Fun, thoughtful and featuring a clever and concise story, Mort was an outstanding read, and I once again powered through in very short order.  As such, Mort gets a very well-deserved five-star rating from me and is a particularly awesome Discworld novel to check out.

I loved the very impressive story that Pratchett came up with for Mort, which takes the concept of Death finding an apprentice and going to the extreme with it.  Starting at an initially slow pace that introduces the key characters of Mort and Death, you soon get invested in Mort’s tale of young man coming into his own in a very unusual field.  Things get interesting quickly when Mort decides to save the life of a young princess destined to die and soon splits reality down the middle.  This leads to a very addictive middle section, as Mort attempts to save the princess while also ensuring reality doesn’t split apart.  At the same time, Death, who finds his time freed up thanks to his assistant, begins to wonder around the world learning about humans and trying to have fun.  The resulting outlandish interactions with Death are a great counterpoint to Mort’s storyline, especially as this results in the apprentice starting to obtain his own powers, often with hilarious results.

Everything cleverly and quickly leads up to the big final third of the novel, where a less-than-human Mort and a scrappy Ysabell attempt to do a disappeared Death’s duty, while also finding a way to save the doomed princess, whose own attempts to stay in reality have been less than successful.  At the same time, fun supporting character Albert, Death’s manservant, returns to his old profession on the Disc and tries to find the original Death, who has found his own unlikely niche in the mortal world.  This final third of Mort is extremely fun, fast-paced and surprisingly impactful, especially as the author keeps raising the stakes for the protagonists, and you are very much unable to stop reading it as you try to see where all the entertaining storylines are going.  However, it’s the inevitable showdown between Death and Mort that really ties everything together perfectly.  Their intense, deeply personal and perfectly showcased duel is amazing, especially as it expertly builds off all the character growth in the novel.  Ending on a hopeful note that sets the tone for a great character going forward, you come away from Mort very happy and with an interesting new outlook on life and its always-grinning counterpart.

I really enjoyed how Mort came together, especially as this is the Discworld novel where Pratchett perfects the style and storytelling methods that make his later novels such a treat to read.  As such, Mort is an early classic in the series, so much so that it is a perfect entry point for new Discworld fans, who get to see a lot of key ideas develop here, while also being introduced to the author’s humour and clever storytelling.  Mort definitely benefited from Pratchett developing a more concise storytelling style here, keeping the narrative a little more focused than the previous novels, and this works as a well-crafted standalone read.  Pratchett also does an outstanding job combining cool fantasy elements with outrageous humour and complex characters, and the result is a very entertaining read that will appeal to a wide range of readers.  Part coming-of-age story, part examination of an extreme mid-life crisis, Mort’s narrative hits a lot of generational notes, and while some of his ideas about splitting reality and the nature of the Discworld are a little complex, Pratchett ensures that readers can completely follow his thought all the way to the fantastic conclusion.

As with all Discworld books, Pratchett imbues Mort with an amazing level of humour, and I loved how intensely funny this novel was at times.  Despite Mort essentially being a novel about mortality and destiny, this is a very light-hearted novel thanks to the entertaining characters and the unusual situations they find themselves in.  There are several different levels of humour contained within Mort, ranging from obvious jokes and over-the-top situations to well-setup references or clever name gags, as well as the subtly funny footnotes that really dive into the absurdity of this flat world that lies atop a giant turtle.  Some of the funniest parts of Mort lie in the usually hardboiled and cynical inhabitants of the Disc suddenly encountering Death in unlikely scenarios.  This becomes particularly prevalent later in the novel when Death leaves the job to Mort and wanders the world looking to understand “fun”, and the various scenes with Death fishing, going to parties, getting drunk, gambling and even searching for a job, are particularly hilarious, especially as everyone else involved in these situations is either deeply unsettled or completely terrified.  Other great jokes involve wizards coming to terms with an apparently animated statue, very long-running bar tabs, fun, if short-lived, political intrigues, unlikely deaths, and the young protagonist upsetting everyone by unwittingly walking through walls.  I laughed myself silly multiple times in Mort, even though I had heard all the jokes many times before, and you are guaranteed to have a lot of fun with this great Discworld entry.

As with all of Pratchett’s novels, Mort features an excellent array of entertaining characters, whose unique arcs add some excellent power to book’s overall narrative.  The cast of Mort was particularly compelling and well-rounded, and I think that Pratchett did a great job of introducing some excellent new figures while also making use of one of the best side-characters in the entire series.  Unsurprisingly, most of the novel’s focus settles on the titular character of Mortimer (Mort), a young teen who unexpectedly finds himself the apprentice of Death.  Shown at the start of the book to be an awkward and unusually thoughtful figure, Mort’s storyline revolves around his attempts to fit in, learn his unlikely trade, and the interesting relationships that form thanks to his new position.  Pratchett works in a very compelling coming-of-age narrative around Mort, especially as he grows into his new role and gains the confidence that comes with finding oneself, while also walking the fine line between morality and duty.  However, there is a definite dark edge to Mort’s storyline towards the end, as Mort starts to lose his humanity and becomes more like Death, and it falls to the rest of the characters to keep him human.  Pratchett did a really good job introducing and building up Mort as a complex young character, and he ended up being one of the author’s better one-shot protagonists.

While much of the book is focused on Mort, the character who constantly steals the show is Death.  The literal personification of death on the Discworld, Death appeared in the first three novels in the series, serving as an ethereal and often entertaining figure on the sidelines who occasionally haunted the author’s original protagonist.  Pratchett cleverly expands on Death in this book, showcasing him as a wise and implacable figure doing his duty in a dispassionate way.  However, his interactions with humans, especially Mort, soon start to change his personality, especially as he becomes curious about life and tires of his eternal station.  This allows him to become a particularly entertaining figure in the second half of the book, as he roams the Disc in unlikely situations, trying to learn how to have fun.  His various ponderings on mortality and human nature result in some hilarious moments, and there are so many fantastic and funny interactions that occur here.  However, it is the final third of the book where you get a real sense of Death’s character; at first, he wistfully tries to embrace life, only to leave that behind when confronted by the actions of Mort.  The anger and sadness that accompany his return to his role and his confrontation with Mort is extremely powerful, and you can’t help but feel for him as he faces an impossible choice, as well as rejection from those he loves.  An overall excellent first deep dive into the character of Death from Pratchett, and you can really see why the author wrote several more books around this character going forward.

Aside from Mort and Death, the rest of the main cast of Mort is quite concise and contains an excellent blend of distinctive and impactful characters.  This includes Death’s adopted daughter, Ysabell, a seemingly spoiled princess and lover of over-the-top romance, who is initially antagonistic to Mort.  Despite her attitude, Ysabell soon turns into quite a likeable and sympathetic character, especially when certain traumas from her unusual life become apparent.  Due to her having some of the more emotionally poignant dialogue and character moments in the book, Ysabell is an excellent part of Mort, and I liked how Pratchett paced her storyline.  The other major resident of Death’s domain featured in this story is Albert, the mysterious servant determined to hide his past from Mort and Ysabell.  Pratchett does an excellent job of setting him up as a bigger figure within the Disc’s history, and his explosive return to form after some entertaining scenes between him and a threatening Mort are a highpoint of the book.  Other major characters include Princess Keli, a young princess who finds her sudden reign made even more difficult due her convoluted existence, and young wizard Igneous Cutwell, who serves as a great foil to the more serious Mort and Keli and becomes an excellent comic relief for the book.  Throw in an array of over-the-top minor Discworld characters whose lives briefly become that much more interesting due to their interactions with either Death or Mort, and Mort has an especially fun cast that Pratchett uses to great effect within this masterful novel.

I must once again highlight the amazing audiobook formats that are my favourite ways of enjoying the Discworld series.  I honestly have so much fun with the Discworld audiobooks, mainly because the format does such an incredible job of showcasing Pratchett’s legendary humour and inventive worldbuilding, and there is frankly no better way to enjoy this cool series.  Like the rest of the series, Mort has two particularly awesome unabridged audiobook versions, both of which come highly recommended by me.  This includes the old-school version narrated by the legendary Nigel Planer, who provided his voice to over half the unabridged Discworld audiobooks.  As with all the Discworld books he narrated, Planer does a remarkable job in this early entry in the series, and I loved the impressive array of voices that he utilised in Mort.  Due to this being the first Death audiobook, Planer had a ton of fun featuring his amazing Death voice, which combines beautifully with some of the other new character tones he had to come up with for this novel.  His great voice work also helped to showcase some of Pratchett’s excellent jokes and key bits of humour, and you really get drawn into the author’s brilliant story and fantastic writing with this classic audiobook release.

Despite my love for the Planer version of Mort, which in some ways is still the definitive audiobook version of this novel, I must also really hype up the new Mort audiobook that was recently released.  Part of the recent rerecording of the Discworld audiobooks I have spruiked in previous reviews, this new version of Mort was extremely awesome, and in some ways it surpasses the old-school version.  Coming in with a runtime of just under eight hours, around half an hour longer than the Planer version, this was a brilliant listen, especially with the impressive combined voice work of Sian Clifford, Peter Serafinowicz and Bill Nighy.

Sian Clifford (of Fleabag fame) did an excellent job as the main narrator for this audiobook, reading out most of the story and the voices of the associated cast.  This results in a swift, well-voiced and deeply compelling version of Mort, and I loved how effectively Clifford brought the story to life and helped to showcase the author’s great humour.  You really get drawn into the cool narrative as Clifford reads it out, and I enjoyed her fresh take on many aspects of the audiobook.  Despite Mort being a rather male character dominated entry in the sub-series, Clifford did an excellent job portraying the cast, and there are some great voices featured here, including of some iconic figures from other sub-series (her Rincewind voice was sufficiently terrified and grovelling).  Clifford clearly has fun when it comes to some of the more outrageous members of the cast, such as Albert, while her take on Princess Keli was excessively regal, and captured both her irritation at the events unfolding around her, while also showcasing her fear and uncertainty.  I must also highlight the voice Clifford provides for the main character, Mort, as the narrator really paints a great picture of a gangly, uncertain teenage boy who starts to come into his own as he gains confidence, and more.  I particularly enjoyed the clever voice changes that Clifford did later in the book, especially when Mort started becoming more like his employer, and the corresponding changes to Death’s voice were just perfect.  This was honestly some amazing voice work from Clifford, and I look forward to listening to her narration of the other Death audiobooks, especially once Susan is brought in as the main character.

While Clifford is amazing, I felt that Peter Serafinowicz clearly stole the show in Mort, playing his character to perfection.  Voicing the recurring character of Death in all the new Discworld audiobooks whenever he appears in the plot, Serafinowicz hits listeners with a deep and final tone that perfectly portrays the Discworld’s Grim Reaper in all his bony glory.  For most of the audiobooks, this is just a fun extra inclusion, as Death only appears in a few hilarious scenes.  But for Mort, this is much more of an involved role, as Death is one of the book’s main characters, and so much of the book’s humour and complex narrative is based around Death interactions with humanity.  As such, Serafinowicz has a ton of fun voice Death through various unusual situations and emotional states, all while keeping up the foreboding Death voice.  The clever and subtle changes to this voice that Serafinowicz makes are extremely impressive, and the humour that results from hearing Death engage in these unlikely scenarios and conversations cannot be overstated.  I also must highlight one brilliant sequence where Serafinowicz hilariously hummed the classic funeral march in his Death voice in response to the text describing Death walking away humming a tune.  Details like that in Serafinowicz’s performance, as well as the increased utilisation of Death in this audiobook, really enhanced the overall impact and humour of Mort, and I loved every second I spent listening to it. 

The final actor featured in this audiobook is the legendary Bill Nighy, who also has a recurring role in all the new Discworld audiobooks.  Nighy has a very important job of narrating all the various footnotes that Pratchett includes in his text, and his gentle voice really brings out the subtle humour hidden in these footnotes.  While Nighy doesn’t get much to do in Mort due to author only featuring a few footnotes in this novel, he still makes an impact, and I’ve really enjoyed how expertly he enhances these clever inclusions.  Honestly, all three of these narrators did an outstanding job in this new version of Mort, and I deeply appreciated how well their compelling performances blended into one impactful listen. As such, Mort is best enjoyed on audiobook, and whether it be the classic Planer version, or the new one with extended cast, you will have a wonderful time listening to it.

As the above rambling pages no doubt prove, I have a lot of love for Mort which was an excellent early Discworld novel from Terry Pratchett.  Featuring some excellent storytelling and fully embracing the clever writing style and comedic charm that made the later Discworld novels so damn awesome, Mort was a brilliant read, and one that proves impossible to put down.  An outstanding novel that really shows how impressive Pratchett could be as an author; Mort comes highly recommended and is guaranteed to be enjoyed by any reader.

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Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comedy/Satire, Extended Universe, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Murder Mystery, Throwback Thursday3 Comments

Publisher: Gollancz/Penguin Random (Audiobook – 1993)

Series: Discworld – Book 15/City Watch – Book Two

Length: 12 hours and 58 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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After yet another re-read, the classic fantasy satire novel, Men at Arms remains as one of my favourite Discworld novels by the late, great Terry Pratchett, especially as its new audiobook version breaths fresh life into the always impressive novel.

Readers of this blog will have noticed that I have been on a real Discworld rampage lately, having re-read several books from my absolute favourite fantasy series.  Much of this is due to the recent release of a cool new audiobook version of all the Discworld books, featuring an awesome array of new narrators and vocal talents.  This new format has proven particularly awesome for books like Pyramids, Moving Pictures and Small Gods, and I have been eager to see how some of the books in my favourite Discworld sub-series, the City Watch books, come across with the new narrators.

While I have a lot of love for all the books in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, my absolute favourites come from the City Watch sub-series.  Following the unlikely members of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, a rag-tag team of guards generally looked down upon by the entire city, the City Watch books features an exceptional combination of fantasy and crime fiction elements, wrapped up in Pratchett’s usual satirical humour, as the protagonists investigate a series of dastardly crimes in the supernatural Discworld.  The series started perfectly with the awesome novel Guards! Guards!, which I reviewed last year, and Pratchett did an outstanding job following this up with the brilliant sequel, Men at Arms.

After saving the sprawling and eternally crime-ridden city of Ankh-Morpork from a fire-breathing dragon, the men of the Night Watch are still at work protecting the city, even though most of the city wishes they didn’t exist.  Despite their previous escapades, it’s a bad time to be a copper in Ankh-Morpork, with species tension between the dwarfs and the trolls at boiling point, while the powerful guilds disregard the Watch’s non-existent authority.  Worse, the Night Watch has been forced to accept three diversity hires, and must now contend with a mad dwarf, a thick troll and a woman (gasp) amongst their ranks.

Despite this, when an explosion at the Assassin’s Guild literally rocks the city, it falls to Captain Samuel Vimes and his small squad to investigate the heist hidden by the blast, despite the deliberate orders of the city’s tyrannical ruler to stop.  Determined to wrap up the case before his impending marriage and retirement, Vimes is soon forced to contend with a series of unusual, but seemingly linked murders, many of which have been caused by a lethal weapon never seen on the Disc.

With riots on the streets, and assassins and fools dodging their questions, all the members of the watch, including their contentious recruits, will need to work together to solve the murders before the city descends into chaos.  But how will they fare when going up against the most dangerous criminal mind the city has ever seen, one determined to bring back the Ankh-Morpork’s ancient kings, while wielding a dangerous new weapon that could change the entire Disc forever?

Even after many, many re-reads, Men at Arms continues to shine as one of Pratchett’s better books.  Featuring an epic crime fiction narrative, loaded with impressive characters, fantastic humour and great use of Pratchett’s iconic Discworld setting, Men at Arms is a complex, emotionally charged and deeply moving read that I could honestly read 100 times and still not get bored with.  A brilliant novel that unsurprisingly gets an instant five-star rating from me.

Pratchett wrote some exceptional narratives throughout his career, but few stand up to Men at Arms in terms of complexity, cleverness and emotional impact.  Expertly reintroducing the cast of Guards! Guards!, while also bringing in some impressive new support characters, Men at Arms starts off an excellent pace, as Pratchett cleverly examines the changes to the characters, sets up the new case, while also showcasing the motivations of the apparent main antagonist.  From there, it doesn’t take long for a dark series of crimes to take place, with Vimes and his squad investigating despite the apathy of the rest of the city.  Pratchett does a lot of excellent set up in the early part of the book, and the reader soon becomes invested in the investigation, especially as the book begins to follow a series of deaths, some of which were caused by a particularly deadly weapon that modern readers will be all-too familiar with.  Some great character arcs are also introduced here, as the extended cast all hit their own various problems they are forced to overcome, with Vimes dreading his eventual retirement, Carrot feeling the added responsibility, the fun buddy-cop arc between Detritus and Cuddy, and Angua dealing with her own problems.  The author sets up and expands on these arcs throughout the book perfectly, providing additional emotional impact, as well as some interesting side angles on the main storyline.

While the first half of the novel sets everything up perfectly, it is in its second half where Men at Arms truly shines.  Pratchett keeps raising the stakes of the story, with more victims, run-ins with the shadowy antagonist, and the Watch characters attempting to understand the nature of the weapon that has been turned against the city.  The author throws in some interesting wrinkles to the case, which shadow who the true villain is, while other events throw emotional shade across several of the characters.  The various connected character arcs start to come together perfectly as the book continues, and you go into the final stretch with a range of emotions around you.  While ostensibly a comedy, Pratchett chooses to hit the tragedy element of the plot really hard in the lead up to the finale, with some big moments that will leave you speechless.  The big end reveal and confrontation is exceptional, and I loved how well all the storylines and cleverly setup plot points came together.  Everything leads up to a very desperate struggle that helps to define some of the main characters in some very powerful ways.  Pratchett chooses to leave the book on a hopeful note that sets the expanded course for the future City Watch books, while also providing some interesting insights into one of the main characters and his role in the city.  An overall epic narrative that twists, turns and keeps you guessing, while constantly entertaining and emotionally charged.

As with his other books, Pratchett perfectly sets out Men at Arms with impeccable writing, and I loved how this complex novel came about.  Featuring his usual impressive blend of fantasy and humour elements at its base, Men at Arms is both intriguing and quite funny in equal measures, and I love the subtle comedy that runs through it.  Many of these scenarios involve classic fantasy scenarios being seen through the eyes of self-aware characters, allowing the situation to be taken up to an 11, with sarcastic commentary from the witnesses.  This humour is well enhanced by several of its best characters, including a fantastic new buddy cop routine, with members of two separate and historically antagonistic species forced to work together and eventually becoming friends.  Some of the other hilarious moments in the book include unlikely members of the city’s population being conscripted into the Watch, unfunny clowns, unconventional investigation methods, and other subtle humour.  You also have to love the brilliant footnotes that seek to enhance the story and showcase just how ridiculous the Discworld is by providing additional details about the universe and the people within it.  All this results in a brilliant and highly entertaining fantasy read, and that’s before you even get to the great crime fiction elements of the story.

As with Guards! Guards!, Men at Arms stands out from the rest of the Discworld series due to the way that Pratchett provides a complex and compelling crime fiction narrative.  Focused on an explosive heist that eventually results in a series of brutal murders, Men at Arms tries to envision how firearms would disrupt the Discworld.  This allows for quite a captivating crime fiction narrative, which I feel was a much better mystery than Guards! Guards!.  Advancing more into police procedural territory than its predecessor, the mystery of Men at Arms proves to be top rate, with the protagonists going after an already known villain for much of the book.  Much of the early story involves the protagonists trying to unfurl the antagonist’s plan and discover how he committed the crime, which allows for some great scenes as the Watch inexpertly investigate.  Pratchett cleverly twists the fact that think you know who the antagonist is towards the end of the book, and I love how well he switched this key story element, especially as the implied true villain of the story is far more sinister than just evil humans.  I really enjoyed how well Pratchett sets up this mystery in Men at Arms, and even after so many re-reads there are still additional subtle clues and foreshadowing that I’m only just picking up on.  The police procedural elements of the story are also extremely well handled, with a lot of humour focused around three very unlikely recruits joining the already scruffy outsiders who make up the Watch.  All these elements come together extremely perfectly and allow for readers of various genres to come into Men at Arms and have an incredible time.

Due to Pratchett’s excellent writing style, Men at Arms does work quite well as a standalone novel, and new readers can generally enjoy this book without any prior knowledge of the Discworld series, especially once they get caught up in the cool story and amazing humour.  However, I do feel that to get the best experience with Men at Arms, readers really do need to have checked out Guards! Guards! first.  The continuing storylines, history of the city and character arcs all come into play extremely well in Men at Arms, and you get a much more complete experience viewing all City Watch novels in order.  There is also a continuation of some character arcs from the standalone novel, Moving Pictures, especially as a few major characters from there get a recurring role in this new sub-series.  As such, I would say that Men at Arms is a novel more aimed towards Pratchett’s established fans, with those who loved Guards! Guards! guaranteed to enjoy its impressive sequel and the compelling direction Pratchett starts to take the City Watch books in.  It helps that the author continued to explore the crumbling and crime-ridden city that is Ankh-Morpork in this Men at Arms, providing even more details about its governance, mindset and people.  This includes really expanding on the species tension between the dwarfs and trolls and showcasing it as a major plot point while also paralleling real-life racial tensions.  This focus on dwarf and troll conflict becomes a major plot point of the Discworld going forward (especially in the later City Watch books), and its setup here was spectacular.  Combine that with the changes that happen to the Watch at the end of the book, and Men at Arms is an important entry in the wider Discworld context, especially as so many key City Watch storylines start here.

While there are so many amazing writing elements to Men at Arms, few things top the exceptional character work that ensured that this novel was far more than just a funny fantasy novel with crime fiction elements.  Instead, the complex and heartfelt dives into its extensive main cast ensured that Men at Arms was one of the more powerful and emotionally charged entries in the Discworld (a very impressive feat).  The combination of returning protagonists from previous books, as well as a few outstanding new characters, allows for a range of different plot perspectives and personal storylines, and Pratchett effortlessly works to make you invested in all these character arcs before hitting you with intense tragedy and powerful moments.

At the centre of the plot lies main character Captain Samuel Vimes, the cynical veteran leader of the Night Watch, who has finally found happiness and romance in his life.  Now on course to retire and become a man of leisure, Vimes must deal with the horror of becoming the thing he hates most: a rich civilian.  Dealing with it by diving into one last investigation, Vimes finds himself facing everything he hates about his job, including bureaucracy and the whims of powerful people, resulting in some brilliantly chaotic scenes.  While it does seem that Vimes’s role in this story is slightly diminished compared to in other City Watch books, especially in the centre, he is still a major part of the book, and Pratchett writes some excellent storylines around him being the dogged and worn-down investigator pushing against authority and trying to solve one more crime.  The focus on his identity as a copper, the sacrifices he makes for his fellow officers, as well as the horror at having to give up the job are major parts of his character arc, and there are some truly heartbreaking moments when he realises he must give it all up.  This is well balanced with his heartwarming romance with his unlikely partner, Lady Sybil Ramkin, whose well-meaning support and determination help to make Vimes a better person.  However, it is the major sequence when Vimes finally encounters the antagonist which really provides the best look at the character.  Forced to decide between being a good cop or a figure of vengeance (a battle that rears its ugly head for Vimes many times during the series), Vimes truly hits his mental and moral limit as he faces down his adversary, and it is one of the most powerful scenes in the entire Discworld series.

While Vimes is the main character of the City Watch series, the focus of Men at Arms is a little more skewed more towards Corporal Carrot Ironfoundersson, as Pratchett expands on his excellent introduction in Guards! Guards!.  Now firmly a part of Ankh-Morpork society, Carrot has evolved from naïve newcomer to a seasoned police officer who knows literally everyone in the city.  Fully utilising his natural charisma, Carrot proves to be a major force for law and order in the city.  I loved how much Pratchett enhanced Carrot in this sequel, as his personality evolves due to his role and responsibility, and despite still appearing quite naïve and obedient, Carrot showcases some impressive intelligence driving much of the investigation.  I especially appreciated the various scenes where Carrot managed to outfox many of the city’s more dangerous figures who fall for the dumb copper routine.  Despite his new confidence and ability to bring out loyalty in others, Pratchett makes sure to show that Carrot isn’t infallible, and you see some vulnerability at times. Carrot also serves as the moral centre of the book, bringing out the best in the other members of the Watch.  His interactions with Vimes in the final confrontation were very heartfelt, especially as he keeps the man he admires most from doing the wrong thing, while the way he handles the antagonists goes to show that he is truly a good man, who you better pray you never face.  I also think that his talk with Vetinari at the end of the book was one of the best scenes in Men at Arms, especially as he truly surprises the Patrician, while also dancing around the tricky subject of Carrot’s potential position as heir to the throne.  His decision to refuse power and ensure that Vimes will be there instead really helps you keep faith in the good of people, and this was frankly Carrot’s best book.

I also have to highlight the fantastic and fun duo that was the newly instated watchmen, Cuddy and Detritus, the later of whom previously appeared in Moving Pictures.  An unusual dwarf and the thickest of trolls, the two make for a particularly unlikely and chaotic duo, which Pratchett uses to full effect as the book continues.  Thanks to the enmity that exists between their respective species, Cuddy and Detritus spend much of the early part of Men at Arms bickering with each other, including in one scene in the middle of a riot.  However, after being forced to work together, the two form a grudging bond, especially when Cuddy stops seeing Detritus as a dumb troll.  I loved how well Pratchett took the classic odd-couple police partner trope and twisted it around the compelling species-rivalry theme of the book, and the fun dynamic that forms between the new friends is a major highlight of the book.  The various sequences that follow the big scene that defines these two partners are some of the most powerful in the entire Discworld.

Following on the heels of Cuddy and Detritus is Angua, the other new recruit to the Night Watch.  Angua is an interesting figure in the story, mainly because she’s one of the few people able to see how ridiculous the entire Night Watch is.  The subsequent storylines surrounding her potentially doomed romance with Carrot and her desire to keep her status as a werewolf secret from everyone, add some excellent alternate perspectives to the plot, and Pratchett did an outstanding job setting her up as a compelling figure for the rest of the series.  It helped that for this first book she worked as a bit of a double act with the small talking street dog, Gaspode, who also previously appeared in Moving Pictures.  Gaspode proves to be a fantastic wise-cracking counterpoint to Angua, and it was hilarious to watch him mess with the various human characters who refuse to believe he can talk.  Their resulting storylines about investigating the crime as canines, as well as the unlikely dog rebellion brewing within the city, works well with the other character focused arcs, and it was fun to get a little more closure on Gaspode’s story after his previous appearance.

Other great supporting characters in Men at Arms includes the returning members of the City Watch, Sergeant Colon and Corporal Nobbs.  While not as well utilised in this book as the rest of the City Watch series, they still prove to be a fantastic addition to the supporting cast.  Entertaining backers to the various other character-driven storylines, both show interesting depths in this book, whether it’s Colon acting as a put-upon drill sergeant, or Nobby’s use of his quartermaster past to obtain a collection of weapons.  Other members of the city also prove to extremely entertaining, with the tyrannical Lord Vetinari being the highlight.  The way in which Vetinari manipulates Vimes throughout the entire novel, while also understanding the true nature of most of the city’s residents is highly impressive, and I love that he stayed on as a major character after Guards! Guards!.  Throw in a complex arrangement of well-hidden antagonists, including an idea of violence that takes on a familiar form, and the cast of Men at Arms proves quite exceptional.  I really cannot emphasise just how much these carefully written character arcs and complex personal storylines increased the impact and emotional power of this novel, and you will come away loving everything about them.

I doubt anyone will be too surprised that I am about to write several paragraphs about Men at Arms’s epic audiobook formats, which I have long described as the very best way to enjoy Pratchett’s stories.  I honestly love all the Discworld audiobooks and luckily for connoisseurs, there are two outstanding versions of the Men at Arms audiobook that you can check out.

The first of these is the classic edition that was released back in 1996 and which is read by Nigel Planer.  Planer, who is one of my favourite audiobook narrators, lent his voice to most of the early Discworld novels, and is a key reason why I love Discworld books in this audio format.  Planer unsurprisingly does an amazing job with Men at Arms, especially as he perfectly captures Pratchett’s complex humour and intense story arcs with his brilliant narration, with every element of the book coming across in an exceptional and addictive manner.  This includes the brilliant characters, many of whom Planer previously voiced in other Discworld books.  Planner does an amazing job once again diving into these unique characters throughout Men at Arms, and the way he effortlessly portrays each character and shows their full personality and emotional range is just amazing.  He frankly provides the definitive portrayal for all the City Watch characters, and I honestly love the passion he brings to the Men at Arms audiobook. 

While the Nigel Planer audiobook version is always going to be a favourite of mine, I also have come to deeply appreciate the latest Men at Arms audiobook.  Part of a newly released collection of Disworld audiobooks that feature an interesting array of British talents bringing their vocal skills to Pratchett’s classic tales, this new Men at Arms audiobook is very impressive and is just as easy to get lost in at the classic Planer version.  Featuring the amazing cast of Jon Culshaw, Peter Serafinowicz and Bill Nighy, this Men at Arms audiobooks has a runtime just short of 13 hours, which is a few hours longer than Planer version.  However, the excellent array of narrators really makes it worth a listen.

The heart of this new Men at Arms’ audiobook is British radio and television personality Jon Culshaw, who dove into this role in a very impressive manner.  Culshaw really makes the story his own with his take on the novel and the characters, resulting in a very different feel that fans of the original Planer version will really appreciate.  Part of the reason why it was so good was that Culshaw brought back the excellent character voices and tones he previously used in Guards! Guards!, many of which provide great and often gritty new takes on some classic characters.  This includes a much rougher and despair filled Vimes, which fits the darker places Pratchett took the character in Men at Arms, especially when he goes up against the system.  His voice for Carrot captures the same keenness and naiveté that we saw in the previous book, however Culshaw’s vocal work also backed up Carrot’s excellent character development as the protagonist came into his own.  His voices for Lord Vetinari and Nobby Nobbs were also a ton of fun, with the dark and insister tones of Vetinari stealing every scene he is in, while Culshaw’s Nobby voices sounded appropriately similar to David Bradley or Jon Pertwee, which is just hilarious.  Culshaw also did an excellent job with several newly introduced City Watch characters, and I felt he got ever new additional cast members’ voice down perfectly.  My favourite was probably the troll Detritus, as Culshaw worked hard to showcase his massive and rocky troll nature, as well as his serious and slow personality.  This excellent vocal work from Culshaw ensured that the core of this Men at Arms audiobook was extremely impressive, and I really could listen to Culshaw’s take on these epic characters all day long.

As with all books in this new collection of Discworld audiobook’s, Culshaw’s main narration was perfectly backed up by recuring voices of Bill Nighy and Peter Serafinowicz. Both play key parts in this audiobook, with Nighy providing the narration for the footnotes, while Serafinowicz was the voice of Death whenever he appeared. These performances were once again perfect, and I especially loved Nighy’s excellent work with the vital, comedic footnotes.  Nighy really enhances the impact and value of these footnotes with his calm and impressive voices, and I especially loved his take on some of the more entertaining footnotes, including one where he partially sings a bad folk song.  Serafinowicz’s role in Men at Arms is also very fun, as he brings the fan-favourite character of Death to life.  Death has several great appearances in Men at Arms, and hearing Serafinowicz’s excellent voice suddenly appear amongst the general narration really increases the impact of the character.  Both Bill Nighy and Peter Serafinowicz’s inclusions were extremely fun, and I felt that they were combined with Culshaw’s main narration in a very impressive way.  These three brilliant British talents ensured that the new version of Men at Arms was particularly impressive, and while the original audiobook will always remain one of my favourite ways to enjoy Men at Arms, this new version is very much worth a listen and will likely inspire a new generation of Discworld fans.

Well, I think that my above excessive ramblings have probably made the point by now that I deeply enjoyed Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett.  One of the best Discworld and City Watch novels, Men at Arms was a glorious, captivating and moving read that perfectly blended crime fiction, fantasy and satire into one truly addictive and impactful book.  Clever, sharp and loaded with truly exceptional characters, Men at Arms was Pratchett at his very best, and I cannot recommend this book enough, especially on audiobook.  I can think of no higher praise for Men at Arms than to once again state that I will never get bored with this exceptional book, and it inspired me to continue the series and re-listen the next City Watch book, Feet of Clay.

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Pyramids by Terry Pratchett

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comedy/Satire, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Throwback Thursday5 Comments

Publisher: Gollancz/Penguin Audio (Audiobook – 1989)

Series: Discworld – Book Seven

Length: 9 hours and 8 minutes (Planer version)/9 hours and 53 minutes (Enoch version)

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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After having an amazing time checking out the new audiobook versions of Guards! Guards!, Small Gods and Moving Pictures, I continue my latest revisit to Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series.  This time, I examine another one of my favourites with the deeply entertaining seventh novel in the overall series, Pyramids.  An outstanding standalone Discworld novel, Pyramids is a brilliant read that sees a young king go forth and then return to the insanity of his kingdom in a fun satire of ancient Egypt and its perception in Western media.

There are many mysterious realms on the magical Discworld, which travels on the back of four giant elephants standing on the back of a giant turtle.  However, few are more ancient than the tiny river kingdom of Djelibeybi.  Formerly a great empire that ruled over an entire continent, Djelibeybi is a mere shadow of its former self, its wealth drained away by the pyramids constructed to house its dead kings.  Nothing ever changes in Djelibeybi, that is until its young prince decides to get an education.

Prince Pteppicymon (Teppic), future ruler of the kingdom, has been sent away to the Assassins Guild of Ankh-Morpork, both to get the finest education on the Disc, and to learn a way to finally make his kingdom some money.  However, upon graduating, Teppic is forced to return to home when his father suddenly dies in embarrassing circumstances.

Now the god king of Djelibeybi, Teppic hopes to modernise his kingdom and introduce the comforts of the outside world.  However, Teppic has returned to a strange land he no longer understands and finds his desire for modernisation stymied by the controlling high priest Dios, whose intense love of tradition has long restricted Djelibeybi.  However, despite the best attempts of Dios, change is coming to the old kingdom, as a dark figure in the finest black stalks the city, while a massive new pyramid begins to mess with reality.  When disaster strikes, the people of Djelibeybi find themselves beset by both their gods and their dead, and only their king can save them.  But first, Teppic will need to work out how to find his kingdom again.

Pyramids continues to stand the test of time as one of my favourite Terry Pratchett books, as this compelling and wildly entertaining Discworld novel takes you on a wild ride through ancient kingdoms and eternal tradition, and every dangerous thing that comes with them.  An outstanding addition to the series that keeps you laughing the entire way through, Pyramids was peak Pratchett and gets another easy five-star rating from me.

I love the outstanding narrative that Pratchett came up with for Pyramids, which tells a fun adventure tale in an entertaining ancient Egypt facsimile.  While the narrative structure of Pyramids is slightly more basic than some of Pratchett’s other books, I think it is still quite a compelling story that keeps the reader entertained from start to finish.  Broken into several sections, Pyramids starts with an excellent introduction that showcases Teppic attempting to take his final exam at the Assassin’s Guild.  This proves to be a great fun opener, and I loved how Pratchett interspersed the over-the-top test with multiple flashbacks that showcase both Teppic’s childhood in Djelibeybi and his early days at the guild.  This works to set up a lot of key early story elements, while also serving as a memorable start, as the cool scenes of assassin testing are some of my favourites in the entire book.  This first section of Pyramids ends with Teppic finding out his father has died through an unlikely divine messenger, and he returns to Djelibeybi to take the throne.

Pratchett follows up this impressive introduction with a good central part of the story as you return to Djelibeybi proper and Teppic learns the downside to being a king.  Pratchett really works to explore the downsides of the kingdom, as Teppic begins to realise he is just a puppet with the high priest Dios truly in control.  There are some hilarious moments here, especially when it comes to the ridiculous traditions and history of Djelibeybi, and Teppic works well as a great outsider character who finally sees how silly everything is, although he is still bullied into constructing the biggest pyramid ever.  Pratchett also takes the time to introduces a colourful array of supporting characters with some compelling story arcs, including two ambitious embalmers, a disfunction family of pyramid builders, and the handmaiden Ptraci, who Teppic accidentally sentences to death.  His desire to save her leads to many of these issues coming to a head, with Teppic forced to flee from Dios, only to find himself trapped outside of the kingdom when the Great Pyramid goes off and splits Djelibeybi into its own reality.

This brings Pyramids into a compelling interim phase, as Teppic and Ptraci find sanctuary in Ephebe, while the trapped kingdom goes to madness, as all their many beliefs come to life, although not in the way they’d hoped.  I liked the fantastic contrast between the supernatural craziness going on in Djelibeybi and the more human-based chaos Teppic encounters in Ephebe as he tries to get answers out of the philosophers, before finally returning to the kingdom to save the day.  Eventually able to return thanks to a thirsty camel and an easily confused sphinx, Teppic works to destroy the Great Pyramid.  At the same time, several of the ongoing Djelibeybi storylines come together nicely, as the dead of the kingdom, including Teppic’s father, discover the truth about why they were mummified, and this leads to an outstanding and eventually explosive concluding sequence.  Pratchett wraps this up nicely with all the key characters getting the ending they deserve, and he leaves this story on yet another hopeful note that hints at an interesting future for the characters and the kingdom.

As with all the Discworld books, Pratchett does a wonderful job of telling a fun and compelling story in Pyramids that hooks you early with its fantastic elements, entertaining plot, complex satire, and great characters.  An interesting standalone entry in the Discworld series, Pyramids has a more straightforward story that is well split amongst an interesting cast of figures, each of whom find their role in the kingdom altered in some way, and I loved the chaotic plot that emerged.  Pratchett has a lot of fun exploring some great themes in Pyramids, including people attempting to break free of tradition (literally), and finding yourself.  The critique of unnecessary and restricting tradition works well as a central story element, and Pratchett leans into it heavily, showcasing how it can styme progress and lead to a slow death of a culture.  Thanks to that author’s great use of humour, you really begin to appreciate just how damaging or ridiculous some traditions can be, and I always get a chuckle at the hilarious sequences where Teppic’s over-long title is repeatedly read out again and again.

While there is some focus on death and assassination, for the most part Pyramids is a really light-hearted entry in the series, especially as Pratchett leans into the examination of ancient Egypt with its doppelganger in Djelibeybi and resulting satirisation of how ancient Egypt is portrayed in modern culture brings much of the book’s laughs.  Most of this becomes really apparent thanks to Teppic’s newly found modern sensibilities, but Pratchett also throws in some puns and lines that people with some knowledge of ancient Egypt will appreciate, and frankly I find a fun new joke every time I read this amazing book.  Many of Pratchett’s more modern takes on some of more well-known elements of Egyptian culture are very fun, with a lot of jokes about mummies, the economics of pyramid building, and what handmaidens do, proved to be really entertaining.

Much of the rest of the major jokes of Pyramids revolved around the varied reactions to the crazy events that seem to occur everywhere in the Discworld.  I personally laugh myself silly at the spontaneous football commentary that emerges when the various gods of Djelibeybi start to fight over the sun, and the resulting moments of theological debate end in a funny and snappy way.  The sequence with the Sphinx also makes for quite an entertaining inclusion, and Teppic’s assessment and rewriting of the classic riddle into a much more correct metaphor proves to be a lot of fun.  Finally, the opening assassin’s examination sequence is both tense and funny, and there is something about Pratchett imagining undergraduate assassins getting tested in a similar manner to student drivers that really shows off the inherent silliness of this series.  Throw in Pratchett’s usual array of clever puns, well-placed footnotes and witty dialogue, and Pyramids turns into a particularly funny read that still makes me laugh after all these years.

Out of all the amazing Discworld novels, Pyramids might be one of the best entries for a reader to start to explore this amazing series.  The very first standalone Discworld novel, Pyramids can be easily read without any knowledge of any of the previous books, and you really get a good sense of the larger setting and Pratchett’s ability to craft elaborate parodies of certain cultures or genres in a brilliant, self-contained manner.  While some of the elements of Pyramids are reutilised in some of the later books (the philosopher-filled city of Ephebe for one), for the most part none of the characters or storylines here are ever revisited, and you can really dive into Pyramids at any point of your Discworld reading experience.  The opening extended sequence set around Teppic’s exams and flashbacks does provide one of the best examinations of the Assassin’s Guild, a fun institution in the Discworld series, and it was really fun to see them in action here, even if the assassins do get slightly nerfed in some of the future books (especially the City Watch ones).  I do personally think that Pyramids was one of his true early classics, and this book lays at the start of a very big run of some of Pratchett’s best works, especially as he fully finalised his preferred style here.  As such, this is a great read for Discworld readers of all experiences, especially those looking to dip their toe into this amazing universe, and this is a very impressive example of Pratchett’s style and humour.

I do have to also provide a quick shoutout the fantastic array of characters featured within Pyramids, whose compelling storylines and well-thought-out story arcs really compliment the main narrative and help Pratchett explore his intricate central themes.  The main character, Teppic, serves as a great central figure for Pyramids, and his unlikely outsiders perspective allows for much of the plot change and chaotic moments.  Ptraci’s journey from passive handmaiden to unstoppable force of nature was very well handled, and I loved how Pratchett showcased just how much impact a suddenly confident woman can have on the world.  I also always find it quite hilarious that the previous king, Pteppicymon XXVII, only truly finds himself in death, and his later interactions with the embalmers Dil and Gurn lead to some truly heartwarming moments.  The Ptaclusp dynasty of pyramid builders added some fun family chaos to the mix, and their representation of the new generation taking over from the old was quite entertaining, even if the brothers (Ptaclusp IIa and Ptaclusp IIb) had differing views on what the future should be.  Teppic’s classmates from the Assassin’s Guild also added some excellent colour, especially the overconfident Chidder, although I felt that it was a shame that most of those great characters introduced in the opening part of the book where never utilised again.

Out of all the characters featured within the book, my favourite was probably Dios, who can probably be considered the antagonist of Pyramids.  The High Priest of Djelibeybi, Dios is the main administrator of the country, who strictly adheres to tradition and ritual and doesn’t allow Teppic to make any changes or independent decisions.  A strict and rigid person capable of bending anyone to his will, Dios is restricting tradition personified, and the lengths he goes to keep Djelibeybi the same is quite fascinating, while his struggles to keep Teppic in line lead to some amusing moments.  I honestly feel that Dios was one of Pratchett’s more compelling antagonists, as while he does some bad things he’s not actually a bad person; instead he’s someone stuck in the trap of always doing things a specific way and is incapable of thinking any other way.  You honestly feel a little sympathetic for him at times, especially when the full scope of his service is revealed, and while he continues to make the wrong decisions for the future of Djelibeybi, you can kind of understand why he is the way he is.  The final fate of Dios was really well written, if a little horrifying if you actually stop to think about it, although it fulfills his wish of everything staying the same.  A truly complex figure who plays off the rest of the outrageous and outgoing characters extremely well, Dios really tied this book together and I loved how well Pratchett featured him in Pyramids.

Unsurprisingly to anyone who has read my other rambling Discworld reviews, I have a lot to say about Pyramids on audiobook.  Audiobooks are my favourite way to enjoy any book, with the Discworld audiobooks being an exceptionally good example of how this format can make an already awesome novel even better.  Like the rest of the series, Pyramids has two really good unabridged audiobook versions, both of which come really recommended by me as brilliant ways to check out a classic book from Pratchett.

The first of these audiobook formats is the old-school version narrated by the legendary Nigel Planer.  I have mentioned Planer a few times over the years due to his exceptional work voicing over half the unabridged Discworld audiobooks and he remains one of my favourite audiobook narrators as a result.  His ability to come up with new character voices for every single audiobook was just incredible, and I love all his cool vocal choices, especially in Pyramids.  His take on the various characters was quite inspired, and you really get all the characters’ unique personalities, including Teppic’s modern spirit, Dios’s controlling reliance on tradition, the exasperation of the dead former king, and the overpowering personality of Ptraci.  Planer also perfectly showcases all the best jokes in Pyramids, including the fantastic over-the-top sequences where Dios repeats Teppic’s title, or the hilarious scene where the priest provides commentary for the divine fight for the sun.  I have so much love for all of Planer’s original Discworld work, and Pyramids is a particular favourite of mine as he takes that verbal gags that Pratchett sets up and makes them his own.

While the Planer version of Pyramids was the one that I grew up with, I have also had the pleasure of listening to the newer Pyramids audiobook that provides a fresh take on the story.  Part of the same Discworld audiobook series I have recently enjoyed for Guards! Guards!, Moving Pictures and Small Gods, this new version of Pyramids was also extremely good with some great voice work and a compelling pace.  Featuring a runtime just shy of 10 hours, this new audiobook is slightly longer than the Planer version and features the amazing voice work of Alfred Enoch, Bill Nighy and Peter Serafinowicz, with Enoch acting as the main narrator.

Enoch, who is probably best known for his role in the Harry Potter films, did an outstanding job as the main narrator for Pyramids, and I really appreciate his take on the compelling story.  His more youthful voice gave this version of Pyramids some additional energy, and you really move through the main story extremely quickly as a result.  I also really enjoyed how some of the protagonists turned out in this version of Pyramids, and while Enoch lacks the full range of fun character voices that Planer had, he still provides some impressive and fitting tones that expertly captures the various characters.  I felt that his voice for Teppic was especially well done, with his hopeful personality really shining through, while his voice for Dios had the commanding and controlling edge that it needed.  I felt that Dios was probably Enoch’s best voice, especially when it comes to the repetitive gag of having to intone Teppic’s full title.  I also actually quite like the voice he used for Ptraci, which was markedly different to the voice that Planer utilised in his version.  Enoch’s Ptraci voice was a little more curious and confident at times, and I got a much different personality vibe in this version which was quite interesting.  Enoch also ensured that his version of Pyramids stood out by pronouncing some of the character names in a different manner to Planer, mainly because he kept the P silent when it appears at some of the names (for example, Ptraci becomes Traci).  While this was a noticeable difference from the Planer version, I really liked it, as it actually captured Pratchett’s intended pronunciation based on how P is used in ancient Egyptian.  This ended up being an exceptional performance from Enoch, and one that I had a lot of fun with.

On top of Enoch’s main narration, this version of Pyramids also featured the voices of Bill Nighy and Peter Serafinowicz, who have the same roles in every audiobook of this new run.  Both play key parts in this audiobook, with Nighy voicing the various footnotes, while Serafinowicz was the voice of Death whenever he appeared.  Both provided an exceptional performance here, with Nighy in particular giving some excellent gravitas to the essential and humour-laden footnotes.  Serafinowicz’s role in Pyramids was a little more limited, mainly because Death only appeared a couple of scenes, but he really captured this awesome anthropomorphic personification perfectly when he did appear, providing a booming and impactful Death voice that was a lot of fun to hear.  Both Bill Nighy and Peter Serafinowicz’s inclusions were worked into Enoch’s overarching narration extremely well, and I felt that the three complemented each other nicely throughout the audiobook.  This ended up being an overall impressive take on Pyramids, and the new narrators really knew what they were doing here.  As such, this version also comes recommended, and while the Nigel Planer version is still living in my head rent free, this new take on Pyramids was very fun and I enjoyed hearing some new voices take it on.

Overall, Pyramids proved to be quite an awesome book, and I really think it was one of Terry Pratchett’s better early Discworld novels.  Featuring an outstanding story with some fantastic humour, Pyramids is an absolute joy to read, and I loved seeing the author’s distinctive parody of ancient Egypt.  Clever and loaded with complex comedic gold, Pyramids still cracks me up every time I read it, and I cannot recommend this book enough to anyone interested in checking out the exceptional Discworld books, especially in either of its epic audiobook formats.

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Small Gods by Terry Pratchett

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comedy/Satire, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Throwback Thursday5 Comments

Publisher: Gollancz/Penguin Audio (Audiobook – 1993)

Series: Discworld – Book 13

Length: 9 hours and 55 minutes (Planer version)/11 hours and 38 minutes (Serkis version)

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Thanks to an excellent road trip, I managed to revisit several awesome entries from the iconic Discworld series by the legendary Terry Pratchett, and it is time to highlight one of the very best books that Pratchett wrote, Small Gods.

I have never made any secret of the fact that I love all things Terry Pratchett, as the Discworld books were the formative series of my youth.  A massively popular collection of loosely connected novels set on a flat world carried through space on the back of four elephants atop a giant turtle, the Discworld books present a range of unique fantasy adventures backed with exceptional comedy and satire.  This series is so much fun, and I honestly love every single Discworld book, having read them all multiple times, usually while laughing myself silly.  Indeed, I am such a big fan of this series that I named my blog after a location in the universe.  Despite my overwhelming love for all things Discworld, I haven’t reviewed too many of the books on this blog, with Moving Pictures and The Last Continent previously being the only exception.  However, thanks to some great road trips giving me opportunities for revisiting some classics, I have recently published reviews for Guards! Guards! and an additional review for Moving Pictures.  I also recently re-listened to the impressive and thoughtful 13th entry in the series, Small Gods. An outstanding standalone novel that seeks to blend religious commentary with Pratchett’s strong humour and complex satire, Small Gods is one of the more thoughtful and moving Discworld books and is a must read for all fans of the franchise.

Floating through space on the back of a giant turtle, the Discworld is a place of magic, wonders, strange creatures and, unfortunately for the mortals just trying to live their lives, gods.  Instead of the wise and beatific beings we hope them to be, the gods of the Disc are a capricious and vain lot, empowered by the belief of their human worshippers.  But what happens when a mighty god loses his believers?

The militant nation of Omnia is an empire dedicated to the fervent worship of the Great God Om, an all-powerful being who knows all, sees all and is the only true god in the world.  The problem is none of that is true.  Instead, Om is a self-obsessed god among many, who barely pays attention to the people fighting in his name.  More importantly, he is currently residing in the body of a tortoise, stripped of nearly all his divine power, and the only person who can hear him is a simple novice, Brutha, who isn’t fully convinced that the talking tortoise smiting him with tiny thunderbolts is his god.

Determined to get back on top and find out why he lost his power, Om recruits Brutha as his unlikely prophet.  However, Brutha has his own problems as the sinister head of Omnia’s Quisition, Vorbis, has taken an interest in him.  Forced to accompany Vorbis on a diplomatic mission, Brutha soon begins to understand that the world is a far bigger place than he realised, and that there is something very wrong at the heart of his nation.

As the tides of history take Brutha and Om into strange new places, the two find themselves encountering unexpected dangers, including dangerous ideas, sinister eagles, rebels determined to prove that the world isn’t round, deranged philosophers and the small gods that lurk in the dark places.  To survive, Brutha will need to have faith in his god, but more importantly, Om will need to have faith in Brutha, especially when his own religion is turned against them.

After yet another re-read, Small Gods remains one of my favourite Discworld novels, and this is one of the very best examples of Terry Pratchett’s unique style and imagination.  A hilarious, yet thought-provoking read that cleverly dissects religion, divinity and people’s beliefs, Small Gods quickly grabs your full attention and refuses to let go until it’s powerful, terminal end.

I have so much love for the outstanding narrative that Pratchett pulled together for Small Gods, which tells one of the more unique standalone tales in the Discworld series.  I must admit, even after many reads, I am still very impressed that Pratchett decided to examine the nature of religion and belief through the lens of a hilarious odd-couple story that evolves into a road trip narrative.  Starting off on a very entertaining note with the unsuspecting new prophet of Om, Brutha, encountering his god in the form of a small, battered tortoise, Pratchett does a good job of introducing the nation of Omnia and its place in the wider setting.  This proves to be an effective start to the book, and a lot of the early themes and wider issues surrounding the nation of Omnia are well set-up.  You also get a great examination of the book’s three main characters, and their compelling early interactions in Omnia sets up a lot of the book’s character-driven narratives.  After this excellent introduction, Small Gods’ plot then moves to the bordering nation of Ephebe, which proves to be an intriguing centre of the novel, not only because it has some of the more entertaining sequences, but also because it begins to expand on some of the ideas from the front of Small Gods and you are given a good understanding of both Om’s situation and Brutha’s growth as a character.

The plot of Small Gods takes a powerful turn around halfway through, when Brutha helps further Vorbis’s schemes, only to then attempt to flee and do the right thing.  However, thanks to the influence of a rival god and unexpected technology, Brutha and Om are inadvertently stranded in the desert with a helpless Vorbis.  The following extensive scenes in the desert are probably the best parts of Small Gods, especially as Brutha begins to think for himself, and the philosophical clashes he has with Om set him up as the protagonist both the reader and the Omnians need.  Pratchett really dives into what it is to be human and divine in this section of the book, and I deeply appreciate the rich character development featured within these sections of the plot.  These desert scenes become even more impactful when Pratchett throws in a major obstacle for Brutha that threatens to push him over the edge into despair.  You really feel for Brutha as he has his crisis of faith, only to maintain his humanity in the last confrontation with Vorbis.  The subsequent scene on the metal turtle was very tense, and while I know some people dislike the end of Vorbis, I thought it was a very clever sequence, especially as Pratchett set up the hunting eagle perfectly.  Pratchett continues to wrap up the rest of the narrative in a very satisfying way, and while the war sequence might have been a little unnecessary, it allowed some great character arcs to come together and showed how much Om had grown as a god.  The final scene with Brutha once again showing his humanity no matter what, ended the book on satisfying and heart-felt note, I appreciated the hopeful tone Pratchett concluded his brilliant story on.  An overall impactful and moving narrative that brought together a lot of complex plotlines and character moments and ensured you were hooked the entire way through.

I have always believed that Small Gods was one of Pratchett’s better written books, as he effortlessly blended a complex fantasy narrative that examined religion with his typically brilliant humour and some outstanding characters.  Featuring one of his most complex and thought-provoking plots, Pratchett achieves so much with his intriguing inclusions, all without slowing down the speed of the book and keeping the tension and emotional charge of the book on high.  Introducing a cool new setting, Small Gods works well as a standalone entry in the larger series that cleverly expands on some previously introduced features, such as the selfish and somewhat stupid gods of the Disc, as well as cool locations like Ephebe (which was previously featured in Pyramids).  Due to its lack of major connections to the other entries in the Discworld series, Small Gods is a rather excellent introduction to Pratchett’s style and ability to dive into heavy topics with comedic content.  Like all of Pratchett’s books, Small Gods is hilarious, and I love the many different levels of humour contained with the book, that range from obvious jokes at over-the-top situations, subtle witticisms often contain within well-placed footnotes, to clever word or name gags.  Some of this humour is so subtle that it often goes over the reader’s head the first time, and you honestly need multiple readings to full appreciate every single joke or gag that Pratchett thought up (I still discover new jokes I previously missed every time I read a Pratchett novel).

However, the thing that ensures Small Gods stands out amongst the other brilliant Discworld novels is the author’s clever and insightful breakdown of religion and godhood on the Disc, which is both fascinating and entertaining.  A lot of the book’s powerful messaging, complex themes and some of the best humour, comes out of the exploration of the divine and how it relates to both this crazy fantasy setting and the real world.  While Pratchett does provide a lot of jokes about religion throughout the ages, he does it in a very intelligent and delicate way that makes the reader think.  Rather than simply dunking on religions and focussing on the negatives, Pratchett instead subtly satirises the institutions, manipulative leaders and unthinking traditions that can often complicate or weaponise religion.  A large amount of the plot revolves around Vorbis and the Omnian church violently trying the repress the idea that the world is flat and on the back of a giant turtle.  While this is primarily a fun parody of the Catholic church’s suppression of Galileo’s claims about the Earth orbiting the sun (and which is now both funnier and sadder, thanks to flat earthers), it also examines how some people utilise religion as an excuse for violent action and manipulate faith for their own ends, which is a powerful recurring them throughout the book.

At the same time, Pratchett also focuses on a compelling central character with true faith who explores the meaning of religion and how it impacts his people.  Seeing a likable character like Brutha recognise the problems in his nation allows readers to reflect and see the flaws in the organised religions Pratchett is parodying, while also appreciating the messages that these religions should strive for.  The various complex discussions, personal revelations and jokes within Small Gods allow for a very insightful read that reportedly resonates with both atheists and pro-religious figures (Pratchett apparently received a lot of fan mail from both groups who thought Small Gods was written for them).  I personally think that Pratchett’s thoughts and messages were extremely perceptive and layered with a great understand of humanity, and indeed many his compelling criticism or organised religion and how it is weaponised are more relevant now than when Small Gods was written, especially as it could also apply to other traditional institutions that are being abused.

Pratchett perfectly rounds out this incredible writing by featuring some of his very best characters, including several very complex figures who mature and evolve throughout the course of the book’s plot.  This includes the main protagonist, Brutha, a simple novice who finds himself the only person left who can hear Om due to his genuine belief in the god rather than in the institutions that surround the religious practices.  While initially portrayed as a somewhat dull and unthinking novice, you soon begin to realise that there is much greater complexity within Brutha, as well as the fact that he is a genuinely nice person held back by his simple ideas of life and faith.  Thanks to his interactions with Om, who provides greater clarity to his religious beliefs, as well as his experiences outside his insular nation, Brutha begins to evolve quickly as a person, gaining a greater appreciation for the wider world, as well as beginning the understand that the world isn’t quite as black and white as he believed.  It was fascinating to see Brutha develop as the book continues, especially as he begins to doubt his faith and rebel against the church and the god that had been his entire life.  His interactions with Om were quite entertaining, as the two eventually become a fun duo of equals, although Brutha does get the upper hand over his god in quite an entertaining and refreshing manner.  Brutha was also well defined by his relationship with the book’s antagonist, Vorbis, and their discussions about truth prove to be quite defining for Brutha as an inspiration for his rebellion.  However, unlike the rest of the cast, Brutha resists becoming the monster that Vorbis wants him to be, and his subsequent demonstrations of faith, reason and humanity, really set him up as one of Pratchett’s best and most likeable central protagonists.

Brutha is well matched by his god, Om, who honestly is one of the best deities featured in the Discworld series.  Formerly an all-powerful and arrogant god who didn’t care about his believers, Om finds himself suddenly trapped as a helpless tortoise who must desperately cling to Brutha to survive.  Om proves to be quite a fascinating and entertaining figure in Small Gods, especially as Pratchett perfectly portrays him as formerly powerful being who must now rely on the mercy of others.  His initial arrogance is very entertaining, and his subsequent wheedling manipulation of Brutha was a great follow-up that worked to keep him in the story.  However, it was his eventual co-evolution with Brutha that turned Om into a particularly compelling protagonist.  Despite his resistance, his bond to Brutha shapes him and forces him to see the world through human eyes, and the subsequent discourse on philosophy, life and how religion should be as they wander the dessert impacts Om just as much as Brutha.  This eventually causes them to reach an interesting and heartfelt religious partnership, and it was fascinating to see the previously selfish Om risk it all to save Brutha, especially when he is confronted by other gods who act the same way he used to.  I loved seeing this powerful and positive development in a divine figure, and Om really ended up being a compelling secondary protagonist with some of the best jokes.

While Brutha and Om are the heart and soul of Small Gods, this book would not be as impactful without its brilliant villain, Vorbis.  A cruel and unflinching figure, Vorbis is probably Pratchett’s most ruthless antagonist, who utilises the mechanisms of the church to achieve his goals.  However, rather than being a purely evil figure, Vorbis is shown to be simply someone who understands human nature and uses this knowledge to achieve his self-determined goals, which in some ways is worse than an obvious villain.  Pratchett does an outstanding job showcasing Vorbis’s dark, insular nature, and you come to really appreciate just how sinister he is, especially as his actions inspire other people to do evil things to try and match him.  He becomes even more immoral when compared to the very innocent Brutha, the only person that Vorbis occasionally sees as a real threat to his plans due to his legitimate belief, and their various interactions and discussion about the true nature of the world are quite powerful.  Pratchett features Vorbis perfectly throughout the book, and his final appearances, where he finally understands his own nature, are very satisfying to behold.

The rest of the cast of Small Gods are also quite impactful in their own way.  The blind philosopher, Didactylos, proves to be a fantastic voice of reason in the story, especially compared to the rest of the insane philosophers of Ephebe, and his very simple philosophy and viewpoint on life and truth give the characters, and the readers, much to think about amongst the discussions on religion.  Didactylos’s nephew, Urn, came across perfectly as a machine-obsessed proto engineer, whose storylines go in some interesting philosophical directions, especially when he realises what his inventions will be used for.  I had a very fun chuckle at the inclusion of Cut-Me-Own-Hand-Off Dhblah, a fun Omnian equivalent to the always entertaining Ankh-Morpork native, Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler, while the Sweeper, Lu Tze, gets a great introduction as a secret history monk who occasionally changes events for the better.  Finally, the zealous Sergeant Simony, who leads the internal Omnian revolution against Vorbis, proves to be a very impressive figure who, despite being a fervent misotheist (someone who hates one specific god), has a belief in freedom and the turtle that matches Brutha’s faith in Om.  Simony serves as a very good example of just how far Vorbis can drive someone trying to do the wrong thing to achieve their goals, and I felt that he matched the fervour and faith of the other major characters in some fascinating ways.  This cast of characters was overall superb, and I really appreciated how well they complimented each other’s story arcs, as well as the intelligent themes Pratchett was trying to get across.

As with all the Discworld novels, I have enjoyed Small Gods as both a physical novel and an audiobook, and frankly this epic story comes across extremely well in all formats.  However, I have a very special place in my heart for the Discworld audiobooks, and the outstanding stories, elaborate characters and impressive and clever humour always comes across extremely well in this format.  I have had the great pleasure of listening to Small Gods multiple times over the years, and I want to highlight the two different unabridged version of Small Gods.

The first audiobook version of Small Gods is the original production narrated by Nigel Planer.  Small Gods was a particularly impressive example of Planer’s voice work, as he had to come up with unique voices for a range of unusual characters.  The Planer version of Small Gods is the one that I grew up with, and it is engrained in my mind as a result, especially as the narrator effortlessly moves through Pratchett’s many complex ideas and plots and brings them out in a fantastic and humours manner.  Planer provides all the voices in his version of Small Gods, and he perfectly encapsulated all the key figures of the book with his exceptional narrations.  You really get the full range of these character’s personalities and emotions through Planer’s voice work, and I loved his clever takes on Pratchett’s distinctive cast.  As such, the Planer version of Small Gods is probably the gold standard for all Discworld fans, and it will always have a very special place in my heart.

There is also a recently released version of Small Gods that is narrated by three brilliant British talents, and which was the version I most recently enjoyed.  This new Small Gods audiobook features a runtime of around 12 hours, which is a little longer than the roughly 10-hour long Planer version and provides an interesting new take on the novel.  I really enjoyed the voice cast for this new audiobook, as not only do we once again get Peter Serafinowicz and Bill Nighy in their recurring roles, but it also features the primary narration of actor Andy Serkis.

Serkis, who has also narrated a recent version of The Lord of the Rings books that is worth checking out, does an exceptional job in Small Gods, ensuring a very fun experience for all listeners.  While there are some tonal shifts in this audiobook that fans of the Planer version may find a little surprising or jarring, for the most part I think Serkis matches and even occasionally exceeds Nigel Planer’s performance, and I very much enjoyed his take on the book.  His basic narration of Small Gods matches Pratchett’s style and humour extremely well, and I love how effectively he moves the story along, perfectly capturing the complex tone and energy of the plot.  However, it is Serkis’s entertaining voices that were the highlight of this version of Small Gods, as the characters are each given unique tones that fit their personalities in some fantastic ways.  His voice for Brutha, the central character, was extremely good, and I loved how well Serkis captured Brutha’s transformative journey and complex personality.  Utilising a fitting rural voice for the protagonist, Serkis successfully showcases Brutha’s changing mentality and deep moral roots with his narration, and you can honestly imagine this intriguing figure every time the narrator voices him.

In comparison to Brutha, the voices for Vorbis and the Great God Om were a lot more elaborate by necessity, and I really appreciated the fantastic tones that Serkis choice for these entertaining figures.  My favourite was probably the voice used for Vorbis, as the narrator gifted this antagonist a deep, rich and lingering voice that honestly put me in mind of Tony Jay or Alan Rickman with some added oily sinisterness.  This impactful voice perfectly fit Vorbis’ menacing personality, and whenever the listener hears the voice, you know bad stuff is about to go down for the rest of the cast.  As for Om, Serkis provides him with an unrefined and laddish voice with a Liverpool accent.  This interesting voice choice matched Om’s uncaring and selfish personality extremely well, and I liked how well Serkis’s chosen tone for this divine figure played into the overarching theme that gods on the Discworld aren’t as sophisticated as everyone assumes they are.  Most of the rest of the voices in Small Gods work extremely well, with Sergeant Simony and Cut-Me-Own-Hand-Off Dhblah having memorable voices as a result.  However, I felt that the strong American accents that Serkis assigned to Didactylos and Urn really didn’t work, and failed to match the tone of the rest of the audiobook.  While Serkis was probably trying to distinguish these two from the other Ephebian philosophers, their voices honestly grated on me, and I really wish he’d have tried something else.  Still, the rest of Serkis’ voice work was amazing, and I cannot emphasise how incredible most of his narration of Small Gods turned out to be.

Serkis’s main narration was perfectly enhanced with the inclusion of Peter Serafinowicz and Bill Nighy in their recurring roles from the new Discworld audiobooks.  Serafinowicz provides the voice of Death whenever he appears in this audiobook, which is a lot of fun as Serafinowicz has an extremely entertaining Death voice that captures the anthropomorphic personification in all his skeletal glory.  His multiple appearances in Small Gods, leading key character towards the desert of judgement, were very awesome, and I loved hearing Serafinowicz converse with the other characters as Death.  The audiobook production team does an excellent job sliding the Death voice into Serkis’s main narration seamlessly, and I love it when Serafinowicz’s voice suddenly appears during dangerous scenes, heralding that someone is about to die, and ensuring there is some great tension as you watch the other characters slowly realise something is very wrong.  Nighy, on the other hand, narrates the various footnotes that Pratchett included in his text, providing an extra layer of humour.  While there are relatively few footnotes in Small Gods, it is a key role that Nighy perfectly fulfils, and his calm, consistent tones, echoing Peter Jones’s similar role in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy radio and TV editions really highlighted the subtle comedy of these footnotes. These three exceptional actors come together perfectly and provide an outstanding overall performance that I could not get enough of.  This was a truly exceptional audiobook that I think is on par with the previous Planer version, and I would strongly recommend both audiobooks as an amazing way to enjoy Small Gods, especially if you need to listen to something while travelling.

Well, as I am currently just getting to the end of page seven of my review for Small Gods by Terry Pratchett, I think it is a safe assumption to say that I love this amazing book.  Easily one of my favourite Discworld novels, Small Gods perfectly blends a brilliant story and amazing characters with Pratchett’s amazing wit and his uncanny insights into compelling real-world issues.  An incredible and addictive read from start to finish, Small Gods comes extremely highly recommended and can easily be enjoyed by anyone wanting a clever, funny and heartfelt read, especially on its two audiobook formats.

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Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett – Supplementary Audiobook Review

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comedy/Satire, Fantasy, Five-Star Books4 Comments

Publisher: Gollancz/Penguin Audio (Audiobook – 1991)

Series: Discworld – Book 10

Length: 9 hours and 54 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Thanks to a recent road trip, I have once again reviewed the exceptional Terry Pratchett novel, Moving Pictures, which is one of my favourite books in late Pratchett’s exceptional Discworld series.  The 10th Discworld book, Moving Pictures was a Pratchett classic that provided a satirical look at the golden age of the film industry when it mysteriously emerges on the chaotic and magic-laden Discworld.

Plot Synopsis:

The alchemists of the Discworld have discovered the magic of the silver screen. But what is the dark secret of Holy Wood hill?

It’s up to Victor Tugelbend (”Can’t sing. Can’t dance. Can handle a sword a little”) and Theda Withel (”I come from a little town you’ve probably never heard of”) to find out…

MOVING PICTURES, THE TENTH DISCWORLD NOVEL IS A GLORIOUSLY FUNNY SAGA SET AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF A WORLD GONE MAD!

Now, I feel this is a good time to point out that I have already reviewed Moving Pictures on this blog a few years ago.  I provided a pretty detailed examination of Moving Pictures in the review HERE, and lauded it’s many good points, including its compelling plot, its fantastic comedic take on the golden age of film, as well as the impressive way that Pratchett introduced or expanded upon an array of key supporting Discworld characters, many of whom went on to have key roles in other novels in the series.  All these previous points still stand, and I still deeply enjoy Moving Pictures after this new re-read, indeed I picked up on another joke or two that I have missed in previous outings.  As such, I am not going to do a whole new review about this book here, although I do want to quickly spend some time talking the new audiobook version of Moving Pictures.

Fans of this blog will know that I am a massive audiobook lover, and I love checking out compelling series in this format.  The Discworld books are one of my favourite audiobook series, and there have been some awesome versions released over the years.  When I last reviewed Moving Pictures, I talked up the original audiobook narrated by Nigel Planer, who provided his voice to over half the Discworld audiobooks.  The Nigel Planer version of Moving Pictures is the one that I grew up with, and I deeply enjoyed his exceptional take on book, especially as he provided a huge array of incredible voices to the production.  In many ways the Planer version of Moving Pictures is still the best audiobook adaptation out there, but with the recent release of all the Discworld audiobooks with a fresh team of high-profile narrators, I thought I’d give the new version of Moving Pictures a try, especially when engaged on a road trip.

The new Moving Pictures audiobook is part of a recent re-recording of all the Discworld novels, each of which features a famous British performer voicing the main plot, while acclaimed actors Peter Serafinowicz and Bill Nighy have key roles in every single production.  While these have been out for a little while, I have only listened to a couple, including Guards! Guards!, and I have so far been really impressed with how they have turned out.  This new recording of Moving Pictures was a fantastic addition to the series, and I really enjoyed the fresh take on the audiobook production.  Featuring a run time of just under 10 hours, which is slightly shorter than the Nigel Planer version, this proved to be an easy audiobook to power through in a couple of lengthy car-contained sessions.

This latest Moving Pictures audiobook production is primarily narrated by major British actor Jason Isaacs, who does an outstanding job bringing this audiobook to life.  Providing a compelling and different take on the basic narration and some of the characters, Isaacs breaths new life into the production, and I really enjoyed how he presented the book’s entertaining narrative.  Issacs’s basic voice works very well in conjunction with the other narrators working on this production, and I appreciated how smoothly and effectively he moved the plot along.  Isaacs also provides a range of excellent voices to the various characters featured within the audiobook, and I liked some of his interesting takes on Pratchett’s outrageous characters, especially as it casts them in a somewhat different light to how Planer featured them.

The main protagonist, Victor, got a pretty satisfying voice that captured both his intelligence and his role as the straight man of the story perfectly, and I felt that it was a very solid choice by Isaacs.  I also quite liked his takes on some of the more outrageous figures in the book, including the various wizards, who get fantastic crazy old men voices, Detritus the troll, whose voice has a layer of more complexity to it, and Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler, who Isaacs gifts a great greasy film producer voice.  I personally thought that his voice for Gaspode the dog was one of his better choices, especially as he perfectly captured the talking dog’s sarcastic personality and occasionally self-pitying manner.  The corresponding voice of Laddie, a dog of normal intelligence, was fantastic in comparison, and it was one that Isaacs had fun matching the dog’s breading and intentions.  Many of the other voices were also extremely well done, and while I think that Planer might have had a better grasp on a few of the characters, such as Ginger, Isaacs proved to be quite exceptional in his own right and masterfully steered this new production along.

As with all the entries in this new run of Discworld audiobooks, Isaacs’s primary narration was backed up by Peter Serafinowicz and Bill Nighy in their respective roles.  Serafinowicz provides the voice of Death whenever he appears in this audiobook, which works out extremely well even with Death’s relatively limited role in Moving Pictures.  Serafinowicz has an awesome Death voice, and I loved when it appears throughout the audiobook as it blends with Issacs’ voices very well.  Nighy continues to voice all the footnotes in the book, which is a perfect role for Nighy, as his calm, consistent tones bring some fantastic class to the story and proves to be an excellent way to highlight Pratchett’s amusing and clever annotations.  While Nighy doesn’t have too much to do in Moving Pictures as there aren’t too many footnotes, some of his takes were pretty fun, especially when he had to translate an exaggerated troll song.  These three distinctive actors did a great job vibing together in this new Moving Pictures audiobook, and they brought some great life and a unique take on this classic Discworld book.

Overall, I felt that this new version of Moving Pictures was a very worthy adaptation, and the team of Jason Isaacs, Peter Serafinowicz and Bill Nighy worked extremely well together.  While Nigel Planer’s original narration is always going to be the gold standard for me when it comes to Moving Pictures (both due to his talent and my own nostalgia), this new version was also extremely good, and will be a great way for a new generation of Discworld audiobook fans to experience this amazing entry.  As such, I would recommend this version to anyone interested in checking out Moving Pictures, and after the outstanding time I had last week, I can guarantee it is an excellent accompaniment for any descent length road trip you might need to take.

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Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comedy/Satire, Extended Universe, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Murder Mystery, Throwback Thursday14 Comments

Publisher: Gollancz/Penguin Audio (Audiobook – 1989)

Series: Discworld – Book 8 / City Watch – Book One

Length: 13 hours and 29 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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I recently revisited one of my favourite books in Terry Pratchett’s iconic Discworld series, Guards! Guards!, and I just had to review it to showcase how much fun this series can be.

I have never made any secret of the fact that I love all things Terry Pratchett as the Discworld books were one of the formative series of my youth.  A massively popular series set on a flat world carried through space on the back of a giant turtle and four elephants, the Discworld books present a range of unique fantasy adventures, backed with exceptional comedy and satire.  This series is so much fun, and I honestly love every single Discworld book, having read them all multiple times, usually while laughing myself silly.  Indeed, I am such a big fan of this series that I named my blog after a location in the universe.  Despite my overwhelming love for this series, I haven’t reviewed many Discworld books (the exception being Moving Pictures and The Last Continent).  That changes with my review of the outrageously funny Guards! Guards! which I recently enjoyed while on a road trip.

Guards! Guards! is a particularly entertaining addition to the Discworld series that I have a lot of love for.  Serving as the first book in the City Watch sub-series, Guards! Guards! sees Pratchett blend his typical fantasy and comedy elements with a complex murder mystery.  This book follows the ragtag city watch of this world’s main recurring city, Ankh-Morpork, as they try to solve a series of deaths caused by a monstrous murder weapon.  Due to its brilliant and hilarious story, as well as the fact that it perfectly sets up the rest of the awesome City Watch books, I generally consider Guards! Guards! to be one of my absolute favourite Discworld novels, and I have featured it in various Top Ten Tuesday lists over the years.

On the fantastical and impossible Discworld no place is more dangerous, corrupt or morally unhealthy as the legendary and stinking city of Ankh-Morpork.  The Disc’s largest city, Ankh-Morpork has many terrors haunting its urban depths, where life is cheap and death lurks around every corner.  However, not even the hardest criminals, deadliest wizards or most manipulative politicians are prepared for an ancient and malevolent creature that is about to be unleashed upon the city.

A shadowy secret brotherhood has engineered an elaborate plan to seize power in Ankh-Morpork through use of an unlikely weapon, a dragon.  Summoning a fully formed fire-breathing dragon to cause terror, the brotherhood hopes to use the resulting carnage to bring in their own puppet to control the city.  However, the dragon has its own ideas about what sort of terror it wants to bring down on humanity.

With the rest of the city powerless against the dragon, it falls to the ramshackle Ankh-Morpork Night Watch and its depressed captain, Sam Vimes, to try and stop it.  The only problem is the Watch are the biggest joke in the city, incapable of standing up to normal crime, never mind carnage caused by magical dragon.  But with an unnaturally keen new recruit guilting them into action, and a terrifying dragon fanatic with a crush on Vimes keeping them in line, the Watch is going to try and save the day, even if no-one wants them to.

Guards! Guards! still reigns supreme as one of my top Discworld novels from the always impressive Terry Pratchett.  Featuring a unique plot, loaded with an outstanding mix of mystery, humour and fun fantasy elements, Guards! Guards! brilliantly sets up one of Pratchett’s best sub-series while presenting its own epic and powerful story.  An exceptional read from start to finish, this book gets a very easy five-star rating from me, and I love it so damn much.

The plot of Guards! Guards! is so damn clever and is peak Pratchett in its inventiveness and impressive characters.  Presenting an entertaining and humourous noir murder investigation in a fantasy series, Guards! Guards! has a lot of moving parts to it, including some impressive character-driven story arcs, all of which come together beautifully for a particularly intense and insane story.  Starting off very strong with some great introductions to various key characters, including the young and keen Carrot Ironfoundersson, who journeys to the massive and corrupt city of Ankh-Morpork to join the Night Watch, providing fresh blood, irrepressible honesty and uncontrolled enthusiasm to the small squad of rejects and failures currently staffing it.  Carrot’s arrival corresponds with the start of a bold conspiracy, as a secretive mystic brotherhood plots to dethrone the Patrician and take over the city.  The initial scenes of this book are extremely good, and I love how Pratchett expertly sets up the entire narrative with some hilarious moments, including the opening sequence with the Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night, whose petty ideology shows you just what sort of criminal minds we are truly dealing with.

Things go in a chaotic direction as the Night Watch, led by the drunk and depressed Captain Vimes, witness a direct murder by dragon and begin their own investigation into the matter.  Pratchett expertly pivots the story around from its comedic fantasy start into a complex police procedural/noir murder investigation, as the protagonists try to find out why the dragon is terrifying the city and who benefits from the apparent crime.  At the same time, several great character arcs emerge, including a truly nice, if unconventional romance, new friendships, and a fun analysis of dragon mythology.  There is a great twist about halfway through the book as the down-and-out Night Watch witness an interesting change to the classic dragon fantasy tale that sees a unique king take over the city.

The final third of the book is some of Pratchett’s strongest writing, as Vimes identifies the true culprit and must work to undo the damage they caused.  There are some great moments in this last part of the book as Pratchett presents his own unique and hilarious take on classic fantasy tropes, including the famed million-to-one shot, the heroic rescue, and the successful defeat of a dragon.  I felt that the identity of the main villain of the story was very clever, and Pratchett sets it up well with subtle clues, although if you know Pratchett’s thoughts on certain government positions it’s not too surprising.  Still, the final confrontation between the protagonists and this villain is great, and being literal has never been so deadly.  Pratchett leaves Guards! Guards! on a hopeful note, and it’s impossible not to come away with a smile on your face.

Pratchett was really on-point when it came to writing Guards! Guards! and I loved how perfectly it came together.  As with all books in the Discworld series, Guards! Guards! features an exceptional mixture of fantasy and humour elements, as the unusual and cynical Discworld produces some unusual situations, layered in with a great plot and some fantastically complex characters.  A lot of the humour is derived from classic fantasy scenarios that are taken up to 11 and shown in outrageous manners, accompanied by sarcastic comments from the characters as they witness them.  For example, this book serves as an ode to the guards and watchmen from classic fantasy fiction, and there are some funny scenes when these self-aware guards realise how expendable they are in a fantasy story.  However, Guards! Guards! also features a brilliant third element as Pratchett also features a compelling crime fiction read, accompanied with an addictive murder mystery.

The blend of fantasy and crime fiction elements works incredibly well, and it is highly entertaining to watch a serious investigation consider magic, suddenly appearing dragons, and the unique background setting of Ankh-Morpork.  I also loved how many clever and subtle jokes Pratchett was able to weave in because of these crime fiction inclusions, and he ends up lovingly roasting so many classic tropes from police procedurals and noir detective novels.  Despite having read this book many times, I still laugh like crazy at all the humourous moments in Guards! Guards!, especially as you always discover a new joke or pun you previously missed.  I honestly don’t have time to list all the funny scenes in Guards! Guards!, but favourites include the various meetings of the petty and mostly incompetent Elucidated Brethren, Carrot’s naïve overreactions upon discovering crime in the city, and various musings on how to achieve a perfect, million-to-one chance.  Pratchett once again expertly backs up his humour in Guards! Guards! with a series of entertaining footnotes spread throughout the book, that prove to be nearly as much fun as the main story.  These brilliant footnotes contain additional jokes, sarcastic comments, or interesting expansions of the Discworld universe, and they always bounce off the main story perfectly, providing extra laughs and food for thought where necessary.  I really cannot emphasise just how well this blend of genres worked with Pratchett’s unique and endearing humour, and it proves impossible not to have an exceptional time while reading this book.

As with most Discworld books, Guards! Guards! works exceedingly well as a standalone novel, and I feel that anyone wanting a laugh could easily jump in and follow the story without any issues.  Due to its early position in the shared Discworld universe, you don’t have to know anything about the other entries in the overarching series to jump right in, as Pratchett goes a tad light on some of the more outrageous Discworld elements.  As such, I consider Guards! Guards! to be one of the very best entry novels to new Discworld readers.  It also proves to be a brilliant first book in one of Pratchett’s best sub-series, and so many key details of the subsequent City Watch books are introduced here.  This includes some excellent early looks at the chaotic city of Ankh-Morpork and key recurring characters in the larger universal plot.  Ankh-Morpork is a great background setting for Guards! Guards! and it was the first book completely set within the bounds of the city.  I loved seeing this crazy city in even more detail, and all the fun elements set up here help to make it an epic setting.  As such, this is a great book for any Discworld reader, new or old, and it’s one of my favourites for very good reason.

As with pretty much all of Pratchett’s works, the key things that made Guards! Guards! so impressive were the amazing and unique characters that were featured throughout the plot.  Pratchett had a real knack for producing complex, multi-layered figures who can be both comedic and tragic at the same time, and who you couldn’t help but love.  Guards! Guards! was a particularly good example of this, as Pratchett featured a range of brilliant and entertaining characters who would go on to be become major recurring figures in the Discworld canon.  Indeed, Guards! Guards! is one of the most significant books for new characters, and it is frankly amazing how many exceptional major and iconic figures were introduced here.  Each of these characters were so well written, and you have to love both their specific arcs in this book, as well as how they were expanded on in later works.

The most prominent character in Guards! Guards! is Captain Samuel Vimes.  A cynical and damaged man whose habit of calling out social inequities has seen him assigned to the joke position as head of the Night Watch, which he deals with by drinking vast amounts of alcohol.  A parody of every hard-drinking cop and private eye in classic noir fiction, Vimes starts the book with no prospects and too many dead friends.  Given new purpose when the dragon appears in the city, Vimes turns his innate rebellion to a purpose and tries policing and detecting.  Pratchett does an exceptional job setting up Vimes here in Guards! Guards!, and it is no wonder he goes on to be one of his top protagonists.  Vimes’s depressed investigative method proves quite successful, and it was entertaining to watch Vimes attempt to solve the case while sarcastically calling out his fellow citizens’ base stupidity and selfishness.  Pratchett also sets up an impressive redemption arc around Vimes, which comes about through a combination of trusted colleagues, romance, and a renewed determination to uphold the law.  While he ends the book still irritated with the world, the road forward to Vimes doing bigger and better things is well established, and you really get drawn into his arc as a result.

Another impressive character is naïve and innocent City Watch recruit, Carrot Ironfoundersson.  Due to his complex home situation and a late life revelation that he’s human rather than a dwarf (being six and a half feet tall wasn’t a clue to him), Carrot is sent to Anhk-Morpork with a desire to become a watchman, which he incorrectly believes is a noble calling.  Thanks to his literal personality and highly moral upbringing, Carrot proves to be an anathema to the lawless folks of Anhk-Morpork, as he comes to town bringing justice, enforcing obscure laws, and actually arresting thieves: “change your ways”.  A brilliant parody of ultra-righteous fantasy kings, Carrot serves as an outstanding comic relief for much of the book, especially when it comes to his wholesome interactions with the exceedingly criminal inhabitants of the city.  However, beneath his comedic cover, Carrot is written as a complex figure of change, and his ability to inspire the other characters, either through guilt or determination, leads to some big moments.  Pratchett did an amazing job with Carrot in Guards! Guards!, and it was fascinating to see how he evolves from his initial innocent personality, to a more clever, but still determined, character.

Aside from Vimes and Carrot, the other two watch characters are Sergeant Fred Colon and Corporal Nobby Nobbs, both of whom are excellent and solid comedic characters.  The stereotypical fat sergeant and dodgy corporal, Pratchett has fun setting them up as unassailable fixtures of the Night Watch as they do the jobs nature intended for them, and I love how they play off each other.  While Colon has some hilarious scenes, including his attempt at archery and his various ill-timed run-ins with the dragon, you can tell that Pratchett had a lot more fun writing Nobby.  While not all his over-the-top characteristics from the series are shown in Guards! Guards!, Nobby is still a particularly entertaining figure.  Between his coarse language, petty criminal mindset, and uncharacteristic foppish behaviours, every scene with Nobby is highly amusing, and I love how Pratchett expanded off clever stereotypes about lifetime corporals to create this wayward figure.

Outside the members of the City Watch, there are a fantastic array of figures who help to make Guards! Guards! a particularly enthralling story.  This includes one of the few female characters in the book, Sybil Rankin, a dragon-loving heiress who ends up being Vimes’s unlikely love interest.  Deliberately written as the direct opposite of a noir femme-fatale in both personality and appearance, Sybil is a force of nature, using her accumulated nobility to pull the Night Watch, especially Vimes, into her orbit.  It proves impossible not to like Sybil as you watch her confidently go after Vimes or try to put the dragon to heel, and she ends up being one of the most complicated female characters that Pratchett wrote (which is saying a lot when you think of some of his other great female characters).

The other major character that I want to separately highlight is the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, Lord Havelock Vetinari.  While he has appeared in previous Discworld novels (notably Sourcery), this is the first book that showcases him as a full character.  Generally depicted as a Machiavellian mastermind and one of the few people capable of controlling the chaotic city, Vetinari has some great early scenes.  However, it’s not until the second half of the book when you realise just how fantastic a character he is.  Deposed by the false king, Vetinari initially appears to be completely powerless in the dungeons, until Vimes is thrown in with him and begins to realise that he is still in control, especially as he’s managed to cultivate a new intelligence network (procured by providing wartime strategy to magical rats), while also getting locked in a dungeon specifically designed to keep him safe.  His subsequent scenes tormenting the book’s real antagonist and talking about the nature of humanity with Vimes really cement him as an impressive figure, and the seeds for his many later inclusions as the Disc’s ultimate political mastermind are well sown here.

While I know I’ve been going on a bit about characters (blame Pratchett for being such a good writer), I just need to highlight a few more figures who have a great role in Guards! Guards!.  This includes the Librarian, one of Pratchett’s most iconic characters, who proves to be just as much fun outside of a wizard focused book, and it was entertaining seeing him interact with a separate group of friends.  You get a great introduction to the character of Cut-My-Own-Throat Dibbler, whose mercantile tendencies are on full display here.  The unusual swamp dragon Errol proves to be an unlikely pet, and his arc about finding love and his true form was particularly heartwarming.  Finally, I must mention the book’s great antagonist, who fully embraces the mad tendencies that his position demands.  While I won’t go into too much detail about who he is, I will say I loved seeing his various internal rants about the world, and the scenes with his incompetent henchmen were so damn funny.  All these characters, plus even more hilarious figures, are instrumental to so much of Guards! Guards! brilliant charm and humour, and after being introduced to them here, it’s impossible not to follow them on their full journey.

I have had the pleasure of reading Guards! Guards! in a couple of different formats over the years, but to my mind the best way to enjoy this book, and indeed any Discworld novel, is on audiobook.  The Discworld audiobooks are something very special, and I find that the unique stories, excellent humour and elaborate characters really come across when read out by a passionate narrator.  With the recent re-release of various Discworld audiobooks, there are now two different unabridged versions of Guards! Guards! fans can enjoy, and I want to highlight them both here.

The first Guards! Guards! audiobook is the original version with the talented Nigel Planer, who narrated 22 of the original 23 Discworld audiobooks.  Guards! Guards! is one of his best performances, and it set the scene nicely for many of his subsequent Discworld audiobooks, especially as he settled on a lot of key character voices and tones here.  While it has been a little while since I’ve listened to Planer’s version of Guards! Guards!, I have enjoyed it so many times it is permanently engrained in my head (I used to grab the tape cassette version out of my local library all the time).  Planer, who does all the voices himself, really captures the essence of Pratchett’s storytelling and excels at expressing the author’s unique humour through his vocal work.  I also felt that his portrayal of many of the key characters was second to none, and he really brought to life all the City Watch protagonists, as well as some other long-running figures, in some impressive ways.  He would revisit many of these voices in multiple subsequent performances, and it is a testament to his skill that the initial tones he came up with here, worked so well in the later books.  I frankly have so much love for Planer’s original take on Guards! Guards!, which definitely still stands the test of time, and his excellent and heartfelt voice work defines many of the City Watch characters for me.

While Nigel Planers original version is perfect, current Discworld fans may be more familiar with the latest audiobook production of Guards! Guards!, which was part of a recent re-recording of all the Discworld books.  These new audiobooks each feature a different famous British performer voicing the main plot, while acclaimed actors Peter Serafinowicz and Bill Nighy have key roles in every single production.  While these have been out for a little while, I only just listened to my first one .  Coming in at a runtime of 13 and a half hours, which is a tad longer than the roughly 10-hour long Planer version, this Guards! Guards! audiobook was extremely fun, and it served as excellent entertainment on a recent road trip.

The new version of the Guards! Guards! audiobook is primarily voiced by British radio and television personality Jon Culshaw.  Culshaw is amazing in the role, and I was deeply impressed with his take on the Guards! Guards! characters.  Each unique character comes across extremely well in Culshaw’s capable hands, and I enjoyed his take on their unique characteristics and eccentric personalities.  He perfectly showcased protagonist Samuel Vimes’s drunken despair and depression, while various other key members of the watch, such as the extremely keen Carrot and the more cautious Colon, are shown extremely well.  I also felt that Culshaw did an incredible job with several complicated figures from the story, such as the infamous watchman Nobby Nobbs, who Culshaw gifts a gruff and weaselly voice that sounded a lot like David Bradley or Jon Pertwee.  His Lord Vetinari is also amazing, and the deep and threatening tones really capture the character’s dangerous nature.  Finally, I felt that his take on the main female character, Sybil Ramkin, was just perfect, and you really got the full blast of her big personality and excessive aristocratic characteristics.  Many of the other side characters were also perfectly portrayed to my mind, and I must highlight the excellent way in which he disguised the voice of the main antagonist during some key secret society scenes.

Culshaw’s primary narration is well backed up by Peter Serafinowicz and Bill Nighy in their respective roles.  Serafinowicz provides the voice of Death whenever he appears in this audiobook, which works out extremely well even with Death’s relatively minor role in Guards! Guards!.  Serafinowicz has an exceptional Death voice, and hearing it suddenly appear throughout Guards! Guards! is so damn epic, especially during one scene where Death is hiding amongst the soon-to-be deceased.  Nighy, on the other hand, narrates the various footnotes.  Nighy was a perfect choice for this, and his calm, consistent tones, echoing Peter Jones’s similar role in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy radio and TV editions really highlighted the subtle comedy of these footnotes.  I felt that all three of these distinctive actors really vibed together in the Guards! Guards! audiobooks, and the switch between them was seamless, allowing for a particularly awesome listen.  Throw in an interesting short afterword about fantasy elements by acclaimed author Ben Aaronovitch, and this proved to be a remarkable and compelling audiobook I could not get enough of.  While Nigel Planer’s original narration of Guards! Guards! is always going to live in my head rent free, I felt that this new version more than lived up to the hype surrounding it, and I really appreciated the unique and powerful performances these new narrators brought to the table.  Frankly both of the audiobook versions comes highly recommended by me, and it is impossible to be dissatisfied by them at all.

Whew, well in case you could guess from this massive review (it got away from me), I love Guards! Guards! and I have some very strong feelings for it.  One of Terry Pratchett’s best Discworld novels, Guards! Guards! is the perfect blend of fantasy, crime fiction and humour that you could ever want, and I always get wrapped up in its elaborate story.  A wildly entertaining and comedic novel from start to finish, Pratchett added so much heart to this book, and you get drawn into the impressive characters and compelling, crime fiction plot.  A brilliant start to the City Watch subseries, Guards! Guards! is so damn good, and I know I will be reading it many more times in my life.  I can think of no better way to emphasise just how amazing Guards! Guards! is than to mention that I used it to introduce the Discworld to my wife, who is now powering through the series on her own.  So do yourself a favour and check this book out now!

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The Sandman – Act II (Audiobook) by Neil Gaiman and performed by a full cast

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comics/Manga, Extended Universe, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Horror, LGBT+, Superhero, Tie-in Novel6 Comments

The Sandman - Act II Cover

Publisher: Audible Original (Audio Drama – 22 September 2021)

Series: The Sandman – Volume 2

Script: Neil Gaiman and Dirk Maggs (script adapter)

Director: Dirk Maggs

Length: 13 hours and 47 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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The gloomy and complex fantasy adventures of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman continues in this epic second audiobook volume that once again brings Gaiman’s unique imagination and characters to life with an outstanding cast of actors.

Back in 2022 I had an outstanding time listening to the first volume of the audiobook adaptation of The Sandman comic.  The original series, which started in 1989, is one of the most iconic comics of all time and features a unique adventure that only someone as twisted and imaginative as Neil Gaiman can come up with.  Following Dream, the anthropomorphic personification of dreams and human imagination, The Sandman is a truly interesting comic that blends horror, fantasy and superhero storylines together.  Some people might be more familiar with the recent Netflix series that adapted the first couple of comics and which has a second season on the way.

While I loved the show, I personally had a much better time with the audiobook version of the comics that was released a couple of years ago.  Featuring a truly exceptional cast of celebrity and established audiobook narrators, the first volume of this series was so damn good, and I loved how well it established the characters and universe of The Sandman while also adapting Gaiman’s unique vibes and dark themes.  This first volume was extremely addictive, and I made sure to listen to the second volume shortly after.  The second volume, or Act II as it will be called in this review, continues the comic storyline and features some amazing stories, fun characters and new cast members.

In a universe of strange and deadly creatures, many beings are considered immortal, but only seven siblings can truly claim to be endless.  The Endless, each a personification of a certain universal or human concept, are powerful and mesmerizing in their own way, but the most enchanting and mysterious is Dream.  Known by many names, including Morpheus, this being governs the Dreaming, a vast realm of creation’s collected dreams and stories, protecting the imagination that makes life worth living.  But circumstances outside of his control have set him on a dark path that not even he can escape from.

Still dealing with the consequences of his forced absence from his realm, Morpheus is working to recover everything he lost while avoiding the enemies he made along the way.  The most powerful of these is Lucifer, the fallen angel and lord of Hell, whom Morpheus insulted when he stormed Hell to take back his stolen helm.  Despite not wishing to cross Lucifer again, Morpheus is convinced to set right the biggest wrong of his life and free his former lover from Hell.  However, he is unprepared for the reception that awaits him as Lucifer chooses to damn him in a far more sinister way: by gifting him control of his dark domain.

Finding himself in possession of the key to Hell’s gates, Lucifer must determine who will become the new ruler of Hell.  Setting up a gala in the Dreaming, Morpheus receives visits from an array of gods, demons, angels, and other immortal beings, each of whom seek to control Hell for their own reason.  Soon, Morpheus finds himself in the middle of a host of scheming beings, many of whom will turn on their host to get what they want.  At the same time, weird things are happening in the Dreaming, as an ancient and unstable realm begins to drag in inhabitants from the real world and influence the waking world.  Can Morpheus ensure his realm stays whole whilst dealing with the most dangerous beings in creation?

This was another outstanding adaptation of The Sandman comics that was so damn epic to listen to.  Adapted by director Dirk Maggs and featuring all Gaiman’s impressive storytelling and dark characterisation, The Sandman – Act II was extremely impressive, and you really get drawn into the unique world of the original comics.  Adapting issues #21-40 and #50 of the original comics, The Sandman – Act II brings together the stories of Season of Mists and A Game of You, and several entries from Fables & Reflections.  All these adaptations are so damn good, and I love the elaborate and epic cast that helps to bring the tale to life.

Due to how the audiobook is set out, there are three distinctive parts to The Sandman – Act II, which provided their own unique stories and characters.  The first of these is titled Season of Mists, and features Morpheus finding himself wrapped up in the fate of Hell.  Starting with an entertaining and dysfunctional family dinner, where Morpheus reunites with all his siblings (bar one), the story then turns to Morpheus’s biggest regret, his relationship with the ancient African queen Nada (whose story was told in the last audiobook), which trapped her soul in Hell.  Travelling to Hell to free her, Morpheus finds that Lucifer has banished all the demons and damned souls from his realm and is abdicating as ruler, leaving the key to Hell’s gates with Morpheus.  Morpheus is soon tasked with deciding the fate of the dimension, which results in a flurry of immortal beings arriving at his home to request the key.  The resulting conference proves to be highly entertaining as Morpheus is forced to deal with all manner of bargains, schemes and betrayals as everyone seeks his favour.  I loved how the entire dramatic conference unfolds, and the interactions between the various over-the-top figures and the implacable Morpheus results in some great drama and hilarious sequences.  The conclusion of this storyline is amazing, as a new irony overtakes the denizens of Hell, Morpheus finds himself meeting various beings who will change him in the future, and the seeds are set for a new story around Lucifer (as seen in his own comic and television series).

Honestly, this is probably the best part of The Sandman – Act II, as not only is Season of Mists particularly gripping, but it makes full use of both the existing voice cast and several new figures to really enhance the content.  The battle of wits between several larger-than-life characters is extremely compelling and clever, and Gaiman does a remarkable job expanding the canon of The Sandman.  There are so many subtle and delightful character interactions scattered throughout this storyline, and listeners will love the impressively devious stakes that are being discussed.  This includes some fantastic and deep soul searching for the protagonist, who is forced to revisit one of his darkest deeds.  Thanks to his own experiences of being locked away, Morpheus understands his harsh past actions a lot better, especially when prompted by members of his family.  I always appreciated how Gaiman shows that Morpheus isn’t really a hero but a force of nature who arrogantly follows his own whims.  However, in this case he is a somewhat better person, even if he is still selfish in his actions, and it takes some real prompting for him to do the right thing.

Gaiman also makes sure to feature some additional amazing character arcs, the most intriguing being Lucifer’s when he decides to perform the ultimate rebellion against his father by abandoning Hell.  Lucifer’s portrayal by a returning Michael Sheen is exceptional, especially during his interactions with Morpheus, and his take on the events that led him to rule Hell are very powerful.  In addition to Sheen, Season of Mists also features the inclusion of several amazing new actors, each of whom are used to their full potential.  Jeffery Wright and Kristen Schaal are perfect additions to the Endless, voicing the taciturn Destiny and the bubbly Delirium respectfully.  However, it is the one-two punch of Bill Nighy as Odin and David Tennant as Loki that really sold this chapter to me.  Bill Nighy and David Tennant are two of my absolute favourite actors, and their takes on these two Norse gods are just amazing.  While Nighy brings gravitas and cruelty to Odin, Tennant’s wheedling, manipulative Loki was so damn fun, and both were the highlight of every scene there were in.  The rest of the cast in this chapter were epic as well, and this entire section was such a highlight of The Sandman – Act II, with its placement at the top of the book successfully drawing listeners in and ensuring they don’t go anywhere.

The other main storyline in The Sandman – Act II was titled A Game of You, and is an adaptation of one of the less popular comic arcs.  This story is an intriguing female-led additional to the series, which primarily follows Barbie, a minor figure from the previous The Doll’s House arc, who has uprooted her life and moved to New York to live with an eclectic mixture of residents in an apartment building.  When figures from Barbie’s long-lost dreams arrive in the waking world, Barbie is dragged back into a fantasy adventure, while her friends in New York deal with minions of the mysterious Cuckoo, a dream parasite preying on Barbie’s mind.  The resulting attempts to help Barbie result in chaos and tragedy as they trespass into the Dreaming and come face to face with Morpheus as a he fulfills an old bargain.

Now I must admit that A Game of You was a little weaker than I was hoping, especially when compared to the preceding Season of Mists.  The decision to focus on Barbie, who honestly didn’t stand out too much in her previous appearance, was an interesting choice by Gaiman, and this arc doesn’t have the most engrossing story.  However, I did still have a great time listening to this part of the audiobook, especially as it focuses on showcasing both the magic and danger of dreams, as well as the impacts that interactions with Morpheus can have on mortals.  The more distinctive fantasy focus of this story makes for a nice change of pace, and I liked how well Gaiman simultaneously showed events occurring inside and outside of the protagonist’s dreams.

One side effect of listening to A Game of You immediately after Season of Mists is that the less substantial cast is a lot more noticeable.  That’s not to say that A Game of You doesn’t have great characters.  There are some amazing figures featured here, including several unique protagonists who have compelling connections to previous story arcs from the series.  There are also some nicely progressive LGBT+ elements for a comic released in 1991-92, especially when it comes to the trans woman character, Wanda, who is handled with tact and who has a particularly impactful story arc.  There are also fewer celebrity voice appearances in this arc, although I did rather enjoy the inclusion of actress Emma Corrin of The Crown fame as the ancient witch Thessaly, as her intense and distinctive voice added a lot to this fantastic character.  While it is easy to nitpick A Game of You, especially after some of the previous arcs, this is s till a particularly impressive storyline, which is masterfully brought to life with this production, producing something that is very fun to listen to.

These two main storylines are impressively augmented by a series of short stories scattered throughout the course of the audiobook.  Most of these short stories fall between Season of Mists and A Game of You, with several more wrapping events up.  There is also a short story in the middle of Season of Mists that showcases the impacts the closure of Hell has, which leads to the Dead Boy Detectives series.  Gaiman comes up with some truly interesting and unique shorter stories to add to the main plot of the book.  Most of these stories involve various mortals or other supernatural creatures encountering either the Endless or some of Morpheus’s creations, and they usually serve as some form of cautionary tale.  I loved the intriguing underlying themes that Gaiman loaded into each story, including about the impermanence of power and examinations of the human condition, and the author also has fun in launching his distinctive characters into various historical periods.

While all the shorter stories contained in The Sandman – Act II are awesome in their own way, a couple do stand out due to their excellent stories and fantastic performances.  For example, the complex story Three Septembers and a January, retells the tale of Joshua Abraham Norton, self-declared Emperor of the United States, with Dream and his siblings shown to be responsible for his strange actions.  This story is both fascinating and dark, as you witness a man torn apart by the whims of the ethereal siblings.  Listeners grow particularly attached to this tale due to the performance of John Lithgow as Joshua Norton, who adds some excellent humour and no small amount of tragedy with his moving voice work.  Other great stories include Thermido, which sees the return of Lady Johanna Constantine from the first audiobook.  Voiced by the absolutely fabulous Joanna Lumley, this story follows Constantine as she steals into France during the height of the revolution to steal something from Robespierre.  This story was fast-paced, clever, and substantially dark, all of which helped it to stand out, especially with the compelling twists and ironic historical fates.  It was also amazing to get a whole story told by Joanna Lumley, who was somewhat underutilised in the first audiobook.  Finally, the tale August, which follows Augustus Caesar as he disguises himself as a beggar and tells his life story to a dwarf, proves to be quite impressive, especially with Brian Cox playing the titular character.  Each of these shorter stories are masterfully presented, and I loved how complex and powerful their stories were, even with the shorter length the author had to work with.

Overall, I really appreciated the entire story of this volume.  The blending of two fantastic main storylines, as well as the scattering of intriguing and unique short stories, makes for quite an epic continuous listen.  The short stories were well utilised as the director spread them out amongst the audiobook providing a good break between the two extended plotlines, as well as some fun listens in the epilogue.  Not only were all the entries in The Sandman – Act II fantastic and compelling, but each of them had such a distinctive feel that really highlights the author’s style and ability to blend various genres together into one powerful story.  The interesting array of over-the-top characters makes for quite a fantastic listen, especially as Gaiman attempts to capture the many burdens of having cosmic responsibility, while other stories look at how characters are affected by dreams and imagination.  The mixture of fantastic tales and dark moments is always cleverly undercut with moral lessons or complex observations about the human experience.  You honestly come away from The Sandman in deep thought while still being traumatised or wildly entertained by how events unfolded.  There is honestly nothing else quite like The Sandman in fiction, and I always have great admiration for the elaborate and multifaceted tales that Gaiman comes up with.

Just with the first volume of this epic audiobook collection, the production really captures the epic nature of the comic, which makes it a real joy to listen to.  Even with its runtime of nearly 14 hours, this is such an easy and addictive audiobook to listen to, and it proves hard to ever stop listening to the elaborate story that emerges.  A lot of this is down to the impressive nature of the production surrounding this audiobook, as the director goes out of his way to enhance the audio experience for the listener.  Everything about this audiobook, from the emotionally charged music, the elaborate sound effects, and the brilliant cast of actors and narrators, is designed to remind you what an imaginative and unique story you are listening to.  Heck, even the way that the various chapter titles are announced is epic, and I always get a kick out of the impressive way they are read out.  Honestly, the entire audiobook production is just perfect, and anyone who listens to it is in for an exceptional time they will not forget.

As part of my hyping up of the audiobook production, I have to highlight the sheer range of talent lending their voices to this audiobook production, without whom The Sandman – Act II would be nowhere near as exceptional as it was.  I have mentioned several of the newer voice actors in the review already, but The Sandman – Act II also featured the exceptional returning cast from the first audiobook, each of whom provided fantastic new performances that really stuck in the mind.  For example, Andy Serkis is so much fun as Matthew the Raven, while Justin Vivian Bond and Miriam Margolyes serve as fantastic and fitting versions of Desire and Despair respectively.  Kat Dennings proves to be an outstandingly effective incarnation of Death, especially as her positive portrayal captures the more compassionate and likeable version of Death that Gaiman envisioned for his comic.  Even Neil Gaiman has a key vocal role in the production, serving as the narrator who highlights events and details not captured by the dialogue.  Gaiman proves to be an impressive narrator for this story, and his distinctive and wise voice matches the feel of The Sandman perfectly.  However, most of these are overshadowed by James McAvoy, who plays the titular Sandman, Morpheus, in this production.  McAvoy is honestly perfect in this role, and the gravitas, sense of unknowing, and great sadness of this character is so perfectly portrayed by the actor’s voice.  McAvoy does such a good job portraying the imperialistic and arrogant tone and personality of Morpheus and the reader can really envision his actions and thoughts.  McAvoy honestly does the best presentation of this character it is possible to do (television series included), and you will fall in love with his take on this sinister and mysterious figure.

The Sandman – Act II is an outstanding and incredible audiobook production that does such a remarkable job of bringing more of Neil Gaiman’s iconic comic to life.  Perfectly adapting the distinctive and dark comics into a new format, listeners get the benefit of both an excellent narrative and some amazing audiobook production with a remarkable cast.  An absolute joy to listen to from start to finish, The Sandman – Act II was a brilliant follow-up to the first production, and I cannot recommend it enough.

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