Tag: Footnotes

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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How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Comedy/Satire, Fantasy10 Comments

Publisher: Orbit (Trade Paperback – 6 August 2024)

Series: Dark Lord Davi – Book One

Length: 395 pages

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

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Hilarious author Django Wexler presents one of the funniest and most memorable fantasy novels of 2024 with the deeply addictive How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying.  Serving as the first book in Wexler’s new Dark Lord Davi series, How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying was an extremely amusing book that has been on my radar for a while due to its amazing-sounding plot.

It’s a tale as old as time.  An ordinary human becomes trapped in a mythical fantasy realm and is subsequently lauded as the prophesied hero of legend, destined to rule the kingdom and defeat the conquering Dark Lord.  But what happens when the human protagonist gets sick of living and dying as the hero?

That’s the question that falls to Davi, a young woman who has become trapped in a bloody and predictable time loop.  Constantly forced to become the leader of the soon-to-be-destroyed humans of The Kingdom, Davi has tried time and time again to organise an army capable of defeating the oncoming and everchanging Dark Lord, only to fail and die in agony in over 200 inventive ways.  After nearly a thousand years of playing the hero and losing in brutal fashion, Davi has had enough and decides that if you can’t beat them, become them.

Determined to take control of her destiny, Davi sets out to do the direct opposite of every other loop.  If the Dark Lord always wins, then this time Davi will take her place at the top of the winning side and become the new Dark Lord herself.  But first she must pull together a band of followers from the various non-human races of the realm and bring her loyal minions to the Convocation where the new Dark Lord is chosen, far away in lands she’s never even seen.  Standing between Davi and her destiny lie multitudes of deadly landscapes, brutal enemies, and all manner of unique obstacles that a Dark Lord in training needs to overcome.  Armed with her wits, her accumulated knowledge of the world, the ability to use her own death to her advantage, and an insane amount of humorous confidence, Davi may be able to do the impossible and finally win.  But Davi will soon learn that becoming the Dark Lord isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be.

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying was a highly entertaining and insanely captivating read that I honestly could not get enough off.  Featuring a brilliant scenario that Wexler plays to comedic perfection, combined with dark humour and a uniquely insane protagonist, How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying is an outstanding novel that I had so much fun reading.

I must admit that I instantly loved the very fun premise of this book which saw the protagonist decide to take on the role of the Dark Lord after hundreds of failed attempts to survive as the hero.  Wexler did an outstanding job setting this idea up in the first couple of chapters of How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying, and you are quickly intrigued by the combination of a bloody time loop, a despondent, if hyper, protagonist, and the entire change of plan said protagonist embarks upon.  As such, you are completely onboard as soon as Davi starts to implement her plan, and the resulting carnage proves to be highly entertaining and fun.  After multiple bloody failed attempts to start her new turn to darkness, Davi soon begins to get into her groove as the next Dark Lord, recruiting a small band of minions, and taking the first steps to proving she has what it takes to rule.

Davi’s subsequent quest to become the Dark Lord involves an intense adventure arc, as she leads her army through various fun fantasy locations.  Along the way to her destination, Davi engages in different schemes to recruit new followers, especially when she encounters some chaotic communities whose internal strife she is able to exploit.  The story devolves into an awesome combination of intrigue, humorous encounters, fantasy action and personal character growth, as the protagonist becomes more comfortable with the Dark Lord lifestyle.  After several extended sequences at key locations, the protagonist eventually reaches her goal and begins her trials to become the new Dark Lord.  However, nothing at the trials is what it seems, and Davi is forced to deal with multiple enemies from her various pasts to survive.  There are some great moments in this final part of the book, including tragic betrayals, heart-felt romance, intriguing revelations, and some big fights, all of which leads to an interesting open-ended conclusion that will ensure readers come back for the next book in the series.

I had an exceptional amount of fun with How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying, and Wexler had a fantastic style that really appealed to me.  Told exclusively from the slightly crazed first-person perspective of the protagonist, readers are treated to Davi’s highly excitable inner thoughts as she recounts her journey to becoming the Dark Lord.  This proved to be a great medium to explore the more complex elements of the plot, and I appreciated how Wexler was able to succinctly dive into time-loop and Davi’s place in it, while also moving the plot along.  The author also introduces a serviceable and intriguing fantasy world the plot of How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying, which proved interesting to explore.  While a little basic in places, Wexler does feature some excellent concepts here, and readers will enjoy watching Davi explore it with her own unique perspective, especially as she forms new ideas about the supposedly evil wilders (non-human creatures) as she works with them.  While some of these concepts are a little complex at times, everything honestly works extremely well for the entertaining plot, and I really appreciated how effectively the author was able to explore and utilise his fantastic ideas.

While all these great concepts help to craft a unique book, what holds everything together and keeps the reader’s attention is the relentless comedy that Wexler injects into nearly every page of How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying.  I really connected to Wexler’s humour in this book, and I found myself chuckling away for large chunks of it.  Thanks to the slightly cracked protagonist, the reader is bombarded with a constant array of jokes, hilarious commentary, and over-the-top moments, as Davi combats the horrors both in front and behind her with humour.  A lot of this humour was driven by the protagonist having a modern, nerdish perspective in a crazy fantasy world, and her reactions ranged from sarcastic to goofy.  Wexler also makes great use of an array of continuous footnotes to tell additional jokes outside the flow of the narrative, or to really expand on an interesting or funny point.  I am a big fan of the use of footnotes for comedic purposes (blame my Terry Pratchett upbringing), and Wexler made it work really well here.  The author also relies on quite a lot of highly adult humour throughout the book, which helped to give How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying an interesting flair.  While I could see some readers not liking how continuously risqué the book got, or how over-the-top the humour is in general, I personally felt that it worked and allowed for quite an amusing, if slightly randy, experience.

Talking of crazy humour, I must highlight the fantastic central protagonist of How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying, Davi.  A modern-day and highly nerdy woman who finds herself trapped in this recurring fantasy adventure without any idea of how she got there, Davi is an interesting figure, and you really connect with her as the plot continues, especially as a lot of hilarity is drawn from her outrageous behaviour and thoughts.  Davi is constantly cracking jokes, making sarcastic inner observations and meta commentary, often driven by her modern experiences, and it’s hard not to be amused by her antics.  She also has some great, often ridiculous interactions with the various fantasy creatures she encounters, and I liked seeing her unusual persona connect with these more serious creatures.

While it is easy to get lost in Davi’s comedic persona, the further you get into the book, the more apparent it is that her cracked behaviour has been brought on by the constant trauma from her hundreds of deaths and the accompanying thousand years of experience that she has lived through as part of her fantasy adventure.  The initial exposure to her early trauma and rage at the start of the book gives you enough of a glimpse of this that you appreciate her turn to the dark side, but you see even more of it as the story continues.  A lot of this is because, even after years of watching everyone die, she still cares about the people around her, and the impacts of her decisions start to wear on her.  While she maintains her zany persona for much of the book, a new romance and a dark change in her circumstances towards the end of the book nearly break her, and I felt that Wexler did an outstanding job of trying to humanise her there, especially as she sometimes gives off uncaring, immortal vibes.  Thanks to these deeper personality traits, as well as her comedic nature, I really grew to appreciate to Davi as main character, especially as she is a lot more capable and competent thanks to her experiences, although she still makes some interesting mistakes (never sleep with your minions, everyone knows that).  As such, I look forward to seeing how her story continues, especially as things are likely to get even more out of control for her.

Overall, How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler was an awesome book that I honestly found to be quite addictive.  The fantastic central scenario is greatly enhanced by the author’s outrageous humour and clever storytelling, and it allows for quite an outstanding read.  Slick, unique and very, very funny, How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying was one of the more unique fantasy novels of 2024, and if you are in the mood for a great laugh, then this is the book for you.  I personally am very excited to see how the Dark Lord Davi series continues in the future, and the second novel, Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me, is set for release in May 2025.

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Warhammer 40,000: Death or Glory by Sandy Mitchell

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comedy/Satire, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Throwback Thursday, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer8 Comments

Death or Glory Cover 2

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 28 February 2006)

Series: Ciaphas Cain – Book Four

Length: 8 hours and 50 minutes

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

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After recently getting through awesome Warhammer 40,000 novels like Straight Silver and Sabbat Martyr, I was in the mood for even more fantastic fiction, so I decided to check out the always reliable Ciaphas Cain series by Sandy Mitchell with Death or Glory.

The Ciaphas Cain books are an outstanding and highly entertaining Warhammer 40,000 series that shows the grimdark universe in a whole new light.  Written by talented author Sandy Mitchell (a pseudonym of Alex Stewart), the Ciaphas Cain books follow an unlikely hero, Commissar Ciaphas Cain.  Despite being a Commissar, officers who are supposed to be embodiments of duty, discipline and bravery, Cain is a highly practical and fearful man who wants to stay alive in the deadly Warhammer 40,000 universe.  However, his attempts to stay out of the fight usually result in him getting thrust into even more danger which he needs to survive using his trademark cunning and manipulation tactics.  His various adventures have also turned him into a legendary hero throughout the Imperium of Man, something that results in even more trouble for unlucky Commissar.

The Ciaphas Cain books are always a lot of fun to read, especially as Mitchell takes a comedic take to the Warhammer universe.  Loaded with unlikely coincidences, clever humour and over-the-top characters, the first three Ciaphas Cain novels, For the Emperor, Caves of Ice and The Traitor’s Hand, have been extremely awesome and this is easily one of my favourite Warhammer 40,000 series.  As such, when I needed something particularly entertaining to listen to, I chose the fourth book in the series, Death or Glory.

Relatively young Commissar Ciaphas Cain is not yet the hero of the Imperium he is fated to become, although he has already started to gain a reputation he doesn’t believe he deserves.  After stopping a genestealer infestation, Cain and the artillery unit he is attached to are ordered to the planet of Perlia, which has fallen under siege by the orks.  Happy to spend the next war far behind the lines with the artillery, Cain is unprepared for the dangers to come.

Upon arriving in the Perlia system, the ship Cain is travelling aboard comes under ork attack and Cain has no choice but to rapidly disembark in an escape pod.  Trapped with his aid, Jurgen, Cain’s pod is shot down before they can be rescued, which results in them crashlanding on Perlia.  Hoping to find sanctuary after a harrowing adventure in space, Cain is horrified to discover that they have crashed into the wrong side of the planet and are currently stuck well behind enemy lines.

Knowing that the only way to survive the ork hordes is to rejoin the main Imperial army, Cain has no choice but to embark on a dangerous road trip across the continent.  However, with thousands of brutish orks in the way, Cain will need help to survive.  Pulling together an unlikely army of scattered troops and desperate civilians, Cain heads off into the desert, hoping to find his salvation.  Their resulting journey will pit them against the full ork army and help turn Cain into a legend known throughout the galaxy.

Death or Glory was another exceedingly fun and deeply captivating entry in the Ciaphas Cain series that once again places Mitchell’s complex protagonist in all manner of trouble.  Action-packed, clever, and filled with excellent humour, Death or Glory was an outstanding read that I could not get enough of.

I really enjoyed the awesome story that Mitchell came up with for Death and Glory, particularly because it was a somewhat fresh take on the usual narrative.  Rather than following Cain as he works with his regiment to stop a hidden threat, Death or Glory shows Cain alone (except for Jurgen) and behind enemy lines on an ork controlled world.  Acting as a prequel to the previous novels in the series, you see the slightly younger Cain attempt to find his way back to safety, only to encounter multiple groups of refugees and scattered soldiers who turn to him for leadership.  The resulting story turns into a hilarious combination of Mad Max, Laurence of Arabia, and Kelly’s Heroes, as Cain leads his band, many of whom are crewing crude ork vehicles, across the ork controlled territories, including a vast desert.  There are several amazing battle scenes that see the humans fight back against the orks in desperate situations, often won thanks in part to Cain’s tactical insight and his unlikely manoeuvres designed to keep him alive.  This is a non-stop story, and you get really drawn into the constant travel, fighting and attempts at survival that emerge.  The orks prove to be great antagonists for the story, especially as Mitchell provides them as a mostly serious enemy.  While they are slightly underpowered in the face of the unbeatable Cain, and you do see the inherently sillier side of them, Mitchell also makes sure to showcase their prowess and brutality, which keeps the stakes high and the story even more captivating.  Ending on a final battle where Cain showcases his unlikely heroism by pure chance, Death or Glory had me hooked with its story the entire way through, and I loved the fantastic scenario that Mitchell came up with.

I have mentioned in previous reviews of the Ciaphas Cain series that Mitchell has an outstanding style that really enhance the story and bring out the innate humour within.  This is once again the case for Death or Glory, as the story is primarily told in the chronicle form from Cain’s perspective.  These unvarnished insights into Cain’s mind paint a vivid and fun picture of the events he was involved in, and you get some interesting insights into his actual motivations.  This fun story is further enhanced by the fact the memoirs have been modified by Cain’s associate, Inquisitor Vail, as she adds in a variety of notes, additional information, in-universe historical texts and footnotes.  Not only are these delightful additions informative and serve as a great way to quickly insert details of the larger war into the plot, but they are also quite funny due to the author’s sarcastic tone.  I love some of the entertaining jokes that emerge in the footnotes, especially as it allows the author to quickly reference certain ridiculous elements of life in the Warhammer universe, many of which are parodies of classic British activities.  These additional notes really change the tone of the entire book, and I love how it allows Mitchell to turn Death and Glory into something far more than a typical war story.

While there is a definite focus on humour in Death or Glory, there is still a ton of action and intense adventure here, as Mitchell draws inspiration from classic desert war movies.  The carnage of the orks is bleak, the battles are hard, and the situation is desperate as Cain and his comrades navigate the desert.  These darker elements play off the humour of Death and Glory extremely well, and I loved the complex narrative that emerged.  I enjoyed how Mitchell kept up the same excellent level of humour and compelling story elements that the previous entries were known for, and there was a strong effort to keep it consistent with the previous books.  You do notice that Mitchell utilises a bit of repetition in his books, with similar lines and descriptions used again and again.  While this is not too noticeable if you take a break in between books, it is very apparent for chain readers.  Still, this is a minor issue that Mitchell does a good job of dispelling in Death or Glory with the more unique storyline.

Like most of the entries in this series, Death or Glory can be read as a standalone novel with no real pre-knowledge of the previous books needed to enjoy it.  Indeed, Death or Glory is set earlier than the other Ciaphas Cain books, so this is a good entry point to the larger series.  There are a few references to the other Ciaphas Cain books, which established fans will enjoy, and Mitchell also provides clever hints at future events Cain will have to encounter.  Death or Glory also serves as a very fun introduction to the ork faction, especially as our protagonist has never encountered them before.  This allows the reader to get a fresh outside perspective on these alien characters, while also including details that hardcore Warhammer fans will appreciate.  As such, Death or Glory proves to be an awesome addition to the series that will appeal to fans of all levels and could easily spark a new reader to fall in love with Warhammer 40,000 fiction.

A recurring highlight of this series is the fantastic characters who populate the narrative, particularly main protagonist Ciaphas Cain.  Cain is a particularly complex Warhammer 40,000 character, mainly because he is both a renowned hero and a self-serving coward who only wants to avoid a fight.  Portrayed as a fun combination of Blackadder and Flashman, Cain is shown to be purely selfish, with his every move calculated to keep himself alive.  However, through accident or something else, his plans often backfire, forcing him into over-the-top dangerous situations that ensure others see him as an amazing hero.  This is on full display in Death or Glory as Cain pulls together a band of survivors that gets far larger and more chaotic the further they get along.  Despite his plan being designed to get himself to safety, many see him as a heroic revolutionary leader, which he is forced to maintain to keep his band of protectors loyal to him.  It is quite fun to see everyone misinterpret his decisions, and several fictional historical texts showcase the process of overexaggerating his deeds in hilarious detail.  However, despite all his protestations to the reader about being a coward, you once again see that there is far more to Cain than he lets on.  Rather than being a terrible person, he is just a sensible and tactically aware figure in a universe where the actions of unachievably brave heroes are constantly lauded.  This has led Cain to completely underestimate his own self-worth, even though he is routinely shown to be an impressive fighter, clever tactician, and caring leader.  I love this complex look at Cain, especially as his self-deprecating account ensures he is even more likeable, despite his selfish habits, and you really get drawn in to his crazy adventures.

Aside from Cain, several other figures were impressive in Death or Glory.  The most prominent, at least from impact on the book, is Cain’s associate Inquisitor Vail.  Despite not actually appearing as a character in the main adventure, Vail’s presence is strongly felt as she is the one editing and presenting Cain’s fictional memoirs.  As such, you are constantly gifted with Vail’s overlying narration and notes, especially as she provides greater context to the story and translates some of Cain’s wilder claims.  Thanks to her sarcasm, as well as her personal insights into Cain’s actual character, Vail provides a fantastic alternate viewpoint of events, and it is always fun to see her call out Cain for his lies and terrible writing style.  The other major character you must talk about is Cain’s aid and reliable bodyguard, Jurgen.  The Baldrick to Cain’s Blackadder, Jurgen is generally shown to be an unhygienic, smelly, and slightly dim companion who is utterly loyal to Cain.  However, despite this appearance, Jurgen proves to be an interesting and likeable figure, and he forms an excellent partnership with Cain.  His skills are well on display in Death or Glory, mainly due to his intimate knowledge about orks, and he once again showed himself to be an unappreciated part of Cain’s ultimate victory.  Throw in a band of intriguing survivors who flock around Cain, including several capable soldiers, a somewhat insane Tech-priest and determined troop of civilians, and Death and Glory had some great characters you can’t help but root for.

I have mentioned multiple times in the past that the best way to enjoy a Warhammer 40,000 novel is in its audiobook format.  Nowhere is that truer than the Ciaphas Cain books, which make excellent use of multiple narrators to expertly adapt the fantastically funny content of the novels.  Death or Glory is an outstanding example of this, as the brilliant production and excellent narrators produced something that I powered through very shortly, even with its nearly nine-hour long runtime.  The intense action, compelling story and outstanding humour is all amazingly highlighted in this format, and I especially loved the four amazing narrators who were brought in to voice the characters.  This includes returning favourites Stephen Perring and Penelope Rawlins, who fulfill their respective roles perfectly.  Perring is probably the most prominent narrator of the bunch as he voices all the chapters told from Cain’s perspective.  Perring is an awesome narrator as he perfectly captures the chaotic characters featured within the book, especially Cain and  Jurgen.  His portrayal of Cain is probably the best, as he expertly showcases the protagonist’s exterior boldness, as well as his interior fear and deep humanity.  Jurgen of course also comes out very well, and I love how Perring captures Jurgen’s unique persona and unquestionable loyalty to Cain.

While Perring voices the main chapters, Penelope Rawlins is just as important as she voices Inquisitor Vail, who writes the prelude, chapter introductions, additional material and footnotes that are scattered throughout the book, providing editorial notes and material to make the story more organised.  Rawlins’ voice is seamlessly worked into the main plot multiple times throughout the course of the audiobook, and I like how well her inclusions work with Perring’s main narration, especially as Rawlins perfectly captures both Vail’s sarcasm and the clear admiration she has for Cain.  This audiobook would not be as entertaining or clever as it is without these clever insertions by Rawlins, and she adds just as much to the production as Perring does.  In addition, Death and Glory brings two new narrators to the series with Joe Jameson and Richard Reed, who voice in-universe historical texts and autobiographies included to provide additional context to Cain’s ramblings.  I was very happy to hear from both familiar narrators, as Jameson lent his voice to the Necromunda novel Fire Made Flesh by Denny Flowers, as well as the Legacy of the Mercenary King series by Nick Martell (The Kingdom of Liars, The Two-Faced Queen and The Voyage of the Forgotten), while Reed narrated The Infinite and the Divine by Robert Rath, The Twice-Dead King series by Nate Crowley (Ruin and Reign) and Grim Repast by Marc Collins.  I really liked Jameson and Reed’s performances as a result, although both were a little underutilised thanks to the constraints of the narrative.  Still, these four narrators provided some exceptional voice work, and I had an amazing time listening to them throughout the course of this audiobook.  As such, Death and Glory comes very highly recommended in its audiobook format, and there is no better way to enjoy this book.

Sandy Mitchell continues to write one of the most entertaining Warhammer 40,000 series out there with this fourth entry in the epic Ciaphas Cain series.  An outstanding and hilarious novel that I absolutely powered through, I cannot recommend Death or Glory enough, and you will fall in love with this brilliant book.

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Throwback Thursday – For the Emperor by Sandy Mitchell

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comedy/Satire, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Throwback Thursday, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer16 Comments

Warhammer 40,000 - For the Emperor Cover

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 23 December 2003)

Series: Ciaphas Cain – Book One

Length: 8 hours and 57 minutes

My Rating: 4.75

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I’ve already put up one Throwback Thursday post today, for the cool Warhammer 40,000 novel, Kingsblade by Andy Clark, but the fun doesn’t end there as I am also going back to 2003 and reviewing the hilarious and deviously clever novel, For the Emperor by Sandy Mitchell, which is easily one of the funniest Warhammer books I have ever read.

Anyone who has paid the slightest bit of attention to my recent review habits would probably have noticed that I am quickly and doggedly powering through a ton of the top books in the Warhammer 40,000 range of fiction.  Not only did I recently finish off the epic Eisenhorn trilogy by Dan Abnett (featuring Xenos, Malleus and Hereticus), but I have also checked out several cool standalone novels, including Grim Repast by Marc Collins, Deus Encarmine by James Swallow and Sepulturum by Nick Kyme.  All these books are exceedingly impressive examples of Warhammer 40,000 fiction that featured their own unique elements, such as galaxy spanning conspiracies, intense horror elements, or a futurist homage to classic, gritty cop stories.  However, the one thing that they all tended to lack was a substantial and notable sense of comedy.  That is where my next entry comes in as I have finally had a chance to explore the first book in the iconic Ciaphas Cain series by Sandy Mitchell (a pseudonym for author Alex Stewart), For the Emperor, which had me laughing like crazy.

In the millennia when the forces of humanity fought to maintain the Imperium of Man, many heroes have risen from amongst the ranks of the Imperial Guard, gloriously leading mankind’s armies against the traitors, the heretics and the xenos.  Of these, few are spoken of with as much reverence and respect as the famed Commissar Ciaphas Cain, a living legend of duty, honour and courage.  Known throughout the Imperium for his daring exploits that have seen him survive the harshest of battlefields and continually lead his forces to victory, Commissar Cain is considered by many to be one of the greatest heroes of the age.

However, everything everyone knows about Cain is a lie.  In reality, he is a conniving coward who only seeks to avoid the horrors of the battlefield by any means necessary, in order to survive and make it to retirement.  Blessed with remarkable survival instincts, Cain has managed to stay alive against impossible odds many times, which has led many to believe he is a true hero capable of anything.  However, Cain’s ill-earned fame and reputation is a double-edged sword, as he is constantly chosen to journey to the worst battlefields in the Imperium, where his bad luck ensures he is in the thick of the fighting.

His latest mission sees him assigned to a newly formed Imperial Guard regiment suffering from horrific infighting and a lack of discipline.  Determined to install unity and respect amongst his new regiment, primarily so they don’t shoot him in the back, Cain is confident that he has found a relatively safe assignment.  However, his bad luck once again sees him in the thick of it, as his regiment is transferred to the backwater planet Gravalax, where a delicate situation is unfolding.  The inhabitants of Gravalax are attempting to defect to the alien Tau, who come with a message of peace and the Greater Good.  Not wishing to face the Tau and their superior technology, Cain works hard to avoid an upcoming war and ensure diplomacy will prevail.

However, after the Tau ambassador is assassinated and tensions are enflamed across the planet, Cain begins to suspect that there is more in play than he previously expected.  A shadowy conspiracy is hoping to start a war between the Tau and Imperium on Gravalax, and Cain is right in the middle of their plot.  To survive and avoid yet another war, Cain needs to work with a beautiful inquisitor to find out who is behind the attempted carnage before it is too late.  But his investigation reveals a far more dangerous enemy than expected, one that is determined to destroy all before it, starting with the terrified Cain.

Wow, oh wow, now that was a pretty damn fun book.  I had heard many times before how awesome and entertaining the Ciaphas Cain books were, and For the Emperor really did not disappoint.  Featuring a compelling story loaded with clever, dark humour, For the Emperor is a very easy book to fall in love with, and I ended up coming away really impressed with Sandy Mitchell’s amazing writing and comedic ability.

For the Emperor’s narrative itself is pretty interesting as it follows Cain through one of his most notable adventures.  Told in a chronicle perspective from Cain’s own memoirs (which may or may not be the most reliable source of information), you get to see the true Commissar Cain as he finds himself thrust into another adventure.  After a quick and very intriguing introduction, with notes from Cain’s associate, Inquisitor Amberly Vail, the story initially details Cain’s attempt to unify and control the Valhallan 296th-301st composite Imperial Guard regiment (eventually the Valhallan 597th).  These initial chapters showcase many aspects of the compelling protagonist, his deep cunning and determination to avoid damage, while also taking the time to introduce several of the major supporting characters.  The story changes after a few chapters as Cain and his new regiment arrive on Gravalax, where Cain must contend with the Tau, who are influencing parts of the local population.  Unlike most Warhammer 40,000 novels, the story doesn’t revolve around a war between the Imperial Guard and the Tau; indeed the focus on the plot is avoiding the conflict as two rival races attempt to find a diplomatic solution.  Unfortunately, some hidden force is attempting to start a war between the Tau and the humans, and Cain soon finds himself trying to maintain the peace, primarily for his own benefit.  After several intriguing and entertaining side missions, the plot eventually sees Cain and the new Inquisitor Vail lead a small, expendable force into the lair of their true enemy.  While I won’t go into detail about who they face, it results in a series of gruesome and deadly battles, where Cain’s survival skills are really put to the test.  Mitchell features a ton of action, intrigue, and odd-couple team-ups for this final major sequence, and you are really drawn into the intense storytelling, with even Cain’s sense of humour failing to cut through the brutal nature of the conflict.  Everything ends on a compelling, if slightly dark note, and you come away from the story pretty damn satisfied and ready for another intriguing adventure from this hilarious protagonist.

I really liked the fun way Mitchell wrote For the Emperor, as everything is set out to enhance the inherent comedy of the book.  While there is a ton of impressive action, adventure and intrigue, at their core all the Ciaphas Cain books are very light-hearted and add a more humorous spin to the grim Warhammer universe.  Indeed, I was getting some major Blackadder vibes from For the Emperor, as much of the plot sees the supposedly noble protagonist attempting to weasel his way out of actually getting into a fight.  Pretty much every interaction or thought in this book had me chuckling in some way, and I appreciated some of the clever jokes or references that Mitchell scattered throughout.  I also deeply enjoyed the cool chronicle format of the story, as Cain’s antics are made even funnier when you see it from his eyes.  At the same time, Mitchell includes a ton of extra notes and excerpts from other in-universe texts that not only provide intriguing context, but also add to the humour, especially as the intentionally over-the-top opinions and bad writing highlights just how crazy other members of the Warhammer 40,000 universe are.  There are also a series of notes, footnotes and quotes from supporting character Inquisitor Vail sprinkled throughout the plot to provide some additional insights, often in a humorous way.  I always deeply enjoy the use of a good footnote in fiction, especially due to my love of Terry Pratchett’s novels, and I felt that Mitchell utilised them perfectly throughout For the Emperor.  Not only do they provide additional information, but Vail’s footnotes often directly contradict Cain’s opinions and descriptions of events, and ensure a much more complex and complete overall story.

While the focus is often on the humour, Mitchell also does write a pretty compelling military thriller as the main story, which ties well into the wider Warhammer universe.  The focus on the intense conspiracy and the outbreaks of rebellion and war fit into the more humorous feel of the book extremely well, and you get quite an impressive story as a result.  There are also some rather dark moments scattered throughout the novel as well, and they provide a rather interesting contrast to the more comedic elements.  Having the character deal with some heavy moments, like being forced to kill an innocent man, provides some great balance to the story, and despite the lighter tone, you are always reminded just how grim the overlying universe truly is.

I deeply enjoyed Mitchell’s unique take on the Warhammer universe that was featured in For the Emperor, especially thanks to who is telling the story.  Most of the Warhammer 40,000 books you experience either follow a bold warrior or a common soldier, many of whom see the universe through lens of duty or ignorance.  However, the Ciaphas Cain books provide a much more down-to-earth view as the cynical Cain sees events as they truly are and he knows deep down just how deadly the universe and his own comrades are.  I really liked this alternate view of the franchise from a protagonist and it, and the inherent humour of the story, help to make this book really stand out from some other novels.  At the same time, Mitchell adds in some compelling and fascinating insights to the Tau, and other factions to the story, which really help to expand out the universe and ensure that there is plenty there for all Warhammer readers.  The examination of a more diplomatic route from the usually xenophobic Imperium of Man was also pretty damn fascinating, and it really helps to showcase how pragmatic some of Mitchell’s characters are.  This lighter tone, as well as the fun references to some other classic Warhammer 40,000 novels, ensures that all fans of the franchise are going to have an amazing time with this book, and I personally found it to be a welcome change of pace between a few heavier Warhammer novels I have recently read.  For the Emperor would also serve as a pretty good entry point into the Warhammer 40,000 universe, especially as you get a good idea of how crazy everything is, while also getting to have a laugh at it.  As such, this is an extremely good Warhammer novel, and I now fully understand why the Ciaphas Cain books are so beloved by the fandom.

I can’t mention For the Emperor without discussing the awesome and extremely entertaining collection of characters that Mitchell successfully introduces here.  For the Emperor features a substantial and compelling cast, each of whom brings something special to the story and helps to either enhance the humour or the more serious aspects of the book in their own special way.

The most important of these characters is of course Commissar Ciaphas Cain, through whose memoirs we see most of the plot unfold.  A legendary hero of the Imperium, Cain is one of the more unique figures in Warhammer 40,000 fiction, mainly because he doesn’t deserve his inflated reputation.  While he acts the great hero and everyone is in awe of his reputation, in reality he is a craven figure who is actively trying to avoid the universe’s various wars and stay alive.  Thanks to his narration throughout the book, you see him constantly manipulating the situation to his advantage.  Literally every single action he takes is done to benefit him and him alone, with an appropriate explanation or excuse to keep people from getting suspicious.  Even his more heroic actions in the book (stopping a riot, defending the Tau ambassadors, visiting the enemy stronghold) are only done because they serve him in some way or when he can’t get out of doing it without dying or losing his ill-gained fame.  I absolutely loved this unique character feature, as not only is it hilarious to see how he manages to weasel out or manipulate situations but it ensures that he is the complete opposite of the usual gruff and ultra-serious Commissar characters that are such a big part of franchise (Gaunt and Yarrick, for example).

While it would be easy to dislike such a selfish character, you really grow to enjoy Cain and his hilarious and cynical viewpoint of the universe, which is the source of much of the book’s comedy.  It also helps that nearly every one of his actions backfires on him in some way, as his attempts to stay out of the fighting usually see him put into an even worse situation.  His intriguing narration through his journals (which have been seized and classified for political reasons), adds to the comedic and emotional impact of the story, especially as you get to see him weigh his actions with the benefit of hindsight (although he is usually unrepentant).  Of course, Cain is also the textbook definition of an unreliable narrator, and you have to wonder at the truth of his words sometimes.  I did like how Mitchell tried to show that despite his desire to avoid combat, Cain is actually a pretty capable warrior and commander, and that he wouldn’t be as effective a leader if he weren’t trying to keep up his lies.  There are also some flashes of humanity and deeper emotions scattered throughout the book, and you can see that there is a good person in there somewhere, even if it is buried far beneath his instincts for self-preservation.  Honestly, Cain might be my most favourite Warhammer character since Kal Jerico, and I had such a fun time seeing his antics in For the Emperor.

Aside from Cain, I really need to highlight Inquisitor Amberly Vail, who finds herself investigating the same conspiracy Cain gets wrapped up in.  Vail is a very fun character in this book as she not only presents the fictional version of For the Emperor to the reader, but she has a big role in the actual plot.  Vail serves as Cain’s love interest, but she also is the only person in the book who sees right through Cain and knows what he truly is.  Watching her manipulate the seasoned conman is quite cathartic, and the two make an effective and interesting team throughout the book.  However, I felt that Vail’s best contribution to the novel comes in the form of her notes and footnotes throughout the account, especially as they constantly call out Cain for his actions and keep his narration mostly honest by filling in some crucial gaps.  It as also very fun to see the various different versions of Vail that appear throughout the book, as you see both how she presents herself to the reader, and the slightly altered version of her that Cain sees.  This really makes her stand out as a central character in this series and her funny notes and corrections deeply enhanced the already entertaining plot.

Another major character I need to mention is Cain’s aide-de-camp, Jurgen, the Baldrick to Cain’s Blackadder.  A stooped, smelly and scruffy being, Mitchell has made Jurgen as Baldrick-like as possible (including a scene in which he comes up with a cunning plan), and I loved every damn second of it.  Firmly believing that Cain truly is the hero he claims to be, Jurgen faithfully serves Cain, and it is a lot of fun to see the two play off each other, especially as Jurgen is honestly the most honest and likeable character in the entire book.  The rest of the cast, which include schemers, professional soldiers, and various Tau, also have their moments, and I really liked how they were portrayed in the book.  However, they all share one particularly defining feature: they all believe Cain is a hero and are led around by his manipulations.  Watching these generally smart people fall for Cain’s lies is a great part of the book’s plot, and I had so much fun seeing them act the fool in this one specific way.  Overall, though, For the Emperor has some outstanding characters to it, and it will be fun to see how they are utilised in the other Ciaphas Cain books.

Like most Warhammer novels I have the pleasure of enjoying, I chose to listen to For the Emperor’s audiobook format, which I maintain is one of the best ways to enjoy Warhammer 40,000 fiction.  All the best narrative and stylistic elements of For the Emperor comes through at an even higher quality when you listen to them, and you really find yourself getting drawn into the complex story while also laughing at the fun characters.  I felt that the production value behind For the Emperor was particularly impressive, as the audiobook features three separate narrators in experienced voice actors Stephen Perring, Penelope Rawlins and Emma Gregory.  Perring, who I enjoyed last year in the audiobook for Engines of Empire by R. S. Ford, serves as the primary narrator for most of the book as he voices all the characters and action in the chapters of For the Emperor told from Cain’s perspective.  Perring is an extremely awesome narrator and the range of epic voices he creates for the main cast are very impressive and really capture their personalities and unique physical characteristics.  I loved the cynical, tired and falsely noble voice that Perring utilises for the main character of Cain, and you have to mention the slimy and fun voicework for the character of Jurgen as it makes him sound even more like Baldrick.  Perring also narrates a couple of the in-text extracts (those written by a male author), and he ensures that they sound even more pompous and filled with misinformation, than you would get from a simple reading.

While Perring is the main narrator, the other two featured actors have amazing performances in For the Emperor’s audiobook which really add to the overall production.  Penelope Rawlins voices the character of Inquisitor Vail during the parts of the novel she writes, mainly her notes on the events going on and the various footnotes featured throughout the plot.  Rawlins’s take on Vail is slightly different to that of Perring, and you get a stronger sense of her intelligence and power through Rawlins voice, which I felt helps to emphasise that Cain’s perspective might not be the most reliable.  The change in narrator also ensures that the various notes from Vail really pop out in comparison to the main story so you always know when Vail is speaking to correct Cain’s memory of events.  The way that the footnotes are read out exactly where they fall in the text also works extremely well, and it ensures that Cain’s misinformation never gets a chance to sit properly.  The final voice actor, Emma Gregory, also provides a few interesting sections to the audiobook, particularly as she narrates one of the recurring in-universe texts that is quoted, written by an older version of one of the supporting characters (Guardswoman Sulla, who gets promoted to a general in the future). Gregory captures the pride and arrogance of Sulla, as well as her devotion to Cain, perfectly, and I felt that this additional performance was a great part of the production.  All this incredible voice work, as well as the amazing story that it brings to life, ensures that For the Emperor’s audiobook is particularly awesome and really worth listening to.  With a runtime of just under 9 hours, this is a really easy audiobook to get through, and I powered through it in only a couple of days, mainly because of how much fun I was having, and I cannot recommend this format enough.

Look, I think it is clear to see that I loved For the Emperor and had a fantastic time reading this awesome book.  Sandy Mitchell did something pretty special with this first entry in the epic Ciaphas Cain series, and I am now a massive fan of this series and the titular character.  Loaded with so much clever humour, fantastic Warhammer elements, and a strong and surprisingly intense narrative, For the Emperor is pretty much perfect, and there is so much for people to enjoy.  As a result, this book is particularly highly recommended, and I fully intend to get more Ciaphas Cain fun and manipulations in the future.

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Throwback Thursday – The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comedy/Satire, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Throwback Thursday12 Comments

The Last Continent Cover

Publisher: Doubleday and ISIS Audiobook (1 May 1998)

Series: Discworld – Book 22

Length: 9 hours and 57 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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This is part of my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read.  For this Throwback Thursday I take a look at one of my absolute favourite books of all time, the incredibly funny and always enjoyable The Last Continent, by legendary author Sir Terry Pratchett.

I have never made it a secret that I absolutely love the works of the late, great, Terry Pratchett, who I consider to be one of the best authors of all time.  I love and adore every single one of Pratchett’s hilarious and captivating novels, especially the entries in the wacky and wild Discworld series, a comedy fantasy series set in an absolutely insane world of magic, monsters and outrageous personalities that lies upon a disc shaped world, borne through space on the back of four elephants, who themselves are on the back of a giant turtle.  I have so much love for this outstanding and hilarious series, and I have read each and every entry in multiple times.  Heck, even the name of my blog, The Unseen Library, is taken from a fictional institution in the Discworld series!  However, despite how much I love the series, I have so far only reviewed one Discworld novel on this blog so far (Shame! Shame! Shame!), Moving Pictures, and this is something I have been meaning to rectify for some time.

I recently did a Top Ten Tuesday list where I looked at some of the funniest books I have ever read, which included several Discworld novels, and this inspired me to do a review for another Pratchett read.  I ended up going with one of my favourite Discworld novels of all time, the incredible and wildly entertaining The Last Continent, which places one of the author’s most iconic characters into the most dangerous places imaginable, Australia.  I am reviewing this book slightly out of the order I originally planned, but I figured reviewing this one now may encourage me to get to others in the future.  I should admit that I have not read The Last Continent recently, but this is one of the many Discworld novels that I have read multiple times, either in its paperback (I’ve actually got a signed copy of this book) or its audiobook format, and at this point I have it pretty much memorised.

So the first thing I should cover is:

“This is not a book about Australia.  No, it’s about somewhere entirely different which just happens to be, here and there, a bit…Australian.

Still…no worries, right?”

Welcome to EcksEcksEcksEcks (XXXX), the Discworld’s last continent.  Made by a rogue creator who snuck in after the rest of the Disc was created and kept hidden away from its other civilisations by a series of massive storms, XXXX is a deadly and dangerous place.  Filled with some of the most lethal and confusing creatures on the entire Disc and populated by a friendly, if occasionally murderous, group of people, XXXX is a hell of a place to live.  Unfortunately, everything in it is about to die as the water dries out and even the beer is getting hard to find.

Luckily for the people of XXXX, a hero has been found, one who is battling his way through the wastes and towns of the country, his legend growing all along.  But who is this road warrior, sheep shearer, horse wrangler, beer drinker and ballad-worthy bush ranger, and why is he apparently so determined to run away from his heroic destiny?

That man is Rincewind, the Discworld’s most cowardly and inept wizard, who has been bounced from one end of the Disc to the other and been chased by every sort of monster, maniac and seller of regional delicacies you can imagine.  All Rincewind wants to do is go home, and he is determined to avoid any new adventures as a chosen hero, no matter what the talking kangaroo stalking him tries to tell him.  Despite his best efforts, Rincewind once again finds himself caught up in the special craziness of the locals, and if he wants to survive, he needs to find a way to save everyone.  What’s the worst that could happen???

So, as you may be able to tell from the above synopsis, this is a bit of a crazy novel, but it is one that is always guaranteed to make me laugh, especially with its fantastic Australian-based humour.  The Last Continent is the 22nd overall entry in the Discworld series and the sixth book to focus on the character of Rincewind.  I personally have a lot of love for this particular Terry Pratchett novel, and it is probably one of my all-time favourite Discworld novels.

Pratchett came up with a pretty clever and fantastic story for The Last Continent, which sees several of his established characters get involved in wackiness all around a newly discovered continent.  The main story follows Rincewind as he tracks across the wastelands of XXXX after getting sent there at the end of his previous novel, Interesting Times (there was an accident with a butterfly), and he is now primarily concerned with trying to find a way home.  However, mysterious forces soon work to turn him into the hero who will save XXXX from a thousand-year crippling drought.  Rincewind, who is more concerned with reaching the nearest port, soon gets involved with all manner of road bandits, deadly creatures, drunken locals and an annoying talking kangaroo, all of which lead him to the secrets at the heart of this lost continent.  At the same time, the wizard faculty at Unseen University are faced with a serious problem when their trusty orangutan colleague, the Librarian, falls ill, and they require his real name to work a spell to save him.  However, the only person who knows the Librarian’s real name is Rincewind, and so the faculty blunder their way through a magical portal to find him.  However, in predictable fashion, they find themselves trapped on a weird island thousands of years in the past and forced to deal with an immature and slightly beetle-obsessed god of evolution.

I really enjoyed both story arcs contained within this book, and Pratchett did an amazing job bringing them together.  Both have some fantastic and weird elements to them and they make great use of the particular adventures and attitudes of their relevant characters.  While Rincewind is forced to run away from all manner of deadly situations you typically see here in Australia (let me tell you, the dropbears and road gangs are murder), the wizard faculty blunder their way through all manner of unique situations, mostly by ignoring what is happening to them.  Each storyline is unique and has some fantastic highlights, but the real strength is the way in which Pratchett combines them together into one cohesive narrative.  Not only are both distinctive arcs perfectly spread out and separated throughout the course of the book, but Pratchett does a fantastic job combining them together in a clever way.  This ended up serving as a great near-final adventure for Rincewind (he’s more of a supporting character in his following appearances), and I think it did a wonderful job wrapping up his main arc.  While readers should probably read some of the earlier Discworld novels featuring Rincewind (especially the preceding Interesting Times), The Last Continent can easily be read alone, and readers will have an outstanding time reading this fun and compelling comedic adventure.

In my opinion, The Last Continent is one of Pratchett’s funniest novels, although I might be somewhat biased by my own personal humour and background.  I always have an outstanding time reading this book and there are so many clever jokes and amusing references that I cannot help but laugh, no matter how many times I hear them.  This book has a lot of Pratchett’s classic humour elements to it, such as the unusual quirks of his various characters and the funny little footnotes, filled with great references and punchlines.  The author goes off on some very entertaining segues during this book, and I love some of the great jokes he came up with, especially those that make fun of Australia.

Now, despite what the author says at the front of this book, The Last Continent is clearly a parody of Australia, and Pratchett clearly enjoyed utilising every single Australian reference or cliché he could think of to craft his funny book.  The continent of XXXX is an over-the-top fantasy version of Australia, with many of the outrageous stereotypes that you would expect, as well as some more subtle choices, and it serves as a truly amusing setting for this book, especially as Rincewind perfectly plays the part of clueless tourist.  While you could potentially discount The Last Continent as merely satirising Australia, I have always seen it as something cleverer, as I think that Pratchett was more making fun of the stereotypes that outsiders came up with rather than Australia itself.  That being said, Pratchett, as a Brit, did take a few good shots, although that’s only to be expected.  As an Australian myself, I always enjoy when comedy writers try to encapsulate Australia in their works, as it is quite amusing to see what they reference.  I always thought that Pratchett did this the best with The Last Continent, as he really dived into so many aspects of Australia life, nature and culture, and there are some truly funny jokes contained within.  Australian historical or cultural icons like Mad Max, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Skippy, The Man From Snowy River, Crocodile Dundee, and Ned Kelly are utilised in this book to great effect throughout The Last Continent, and there are some truly outrageous and clever references and jokes here.

While The Last Continent is filled with many, many funny Australian jokes, a few really stick out to me.  I personally always laugh so hard when Death, wanting to learn more about the continent his elusive prey Rincewind has landed on, decides to ask his library for a list of all the deadly animals on XXXX.  However, this results in him being buried by a massive pile of reference books, including “Dangerous Mammals, Reptiles, Amphibians, Birds, Fish, Jellyfish, Insects, Spiders, Crustaceans, Grasses, Trees, Mosses and Lichens of Terror Incognita: (Volume 29c, Part Three).  This is followed up by a request for a list of harmless creatures on the continent, and a single card appears bearing the sentence “some of the sheep”.  I love that over-the-top joke about how dangerous Australia’s wildlife is (it is honestly not that bad, although my editor was bitten by a sheep the other day), and that was one of the best ways I have seen it bought up.  I also loved the references to Australian hero worship of notorious criminals such as Ned Kelly or the jolly swagman from Waltzing Matilda.  There are some amazing jokes here, from people attempting to make catchy ballads, to the prison guards providing advice and help on last words and escape possibilities, all of which capture the rebellious Australian spirit.  I particularly liked Pratchett’s version of Waltzing Matilda, which was perfect in its rhyme, its satirical analysis of the original poem, and how it fit into The Last Continent’s narrative:

“Once a moderately jolly wizard camped by a waterhole under the shade of a tree that he was completely unable to identify.  And he swore as he hacked and hacked at a can of beer, saying ‘what kind of idiots put beer in tins?’”

Other great Australian comedic sequences for me include the scene where the Unseen University wizards attempt to design a duck by committee, resulting in the mighty platypus, an impromptu Mad Max road chase with horse-drawn carts and the constant references to a certain line in our national anthem.  All of these jokes, and more, were pretty amazing and I really enjoyed seeing some of the outrageous and over-the-top elements that British culture picks up about Australia.

While I really enjoyed all the fun references to Australia, some of Pratchett’s best jokes in The Last Continent occurred during the secondary storyline that followed the faculty of Unseen University as they go back in time and encounter the god of evolution.  The author uses this part of the book to make comedic observations about time travel, evolution and advanced biology.  Not only does include a particularly hilarious sequence in which someone tries to explain the grandfather paradox to a group of wilfully ignorant wizards, but there are some truly funny jokes about evolution and biology which cleverly reference some advanced concepts and historical basis of the science.  While I read this book years ago, it wasn’t until I took some specific biology classes that I fully grasped just how intelligent some of the jokes in this part of the book are.  I personally love a book which you can come back to time and time again and find some new joke or layer to, and this is the case with The Last Continent, which no doubt still contains elements or references I’ve missed.  All of this results in a comically brilliant read, and The Last Continent remains one of my favourite Disworld reads as a result.

I have always enjoyed the great character choices contained within this book, as Pratchett brings together some old favourites, as well as a few entertaining new ones, to tell the story.  The main character of The Last Continent is Pratchett’s original Discworld protagonist, Rincewind, the cowardly and inept hero who cannot even spell “wizard” properly, but who has served as a world-saving hero on multiple occasions.  Rincewind is always a particularly fun character to follow, not only because he constantly finds himself caught in all manner of unique situations which he heroically tries to run away from (he has become quite the expert at running away), but he has a certain realistic approach to life that allows him to see through the ridiculousness around him and address it in a funny manner.  At this point in the series, Rincewind has been bounced around from adventure to adventure against his will so much that he has developed a bit of knack for knowing when it is going to happen again, including figuring out all the signs someone gives off when they are trying to con him into being a hero.  It proves to be quite entertaining to see Rincewind try to escape from people trying to drag him into the narrative, especially as all his attempts to get out of dangerous situations generally put him in even worse trouble.  It is also really worth seeing Rincewind’s reactions to the various elements of XXXX life, especially as he soon begins to realise that everyone there has some very unusual ideas about how to live and die, most of which he is very opposed to.  I really enjoyed this more mature and somewhat resigned version of Rincewind and I have to say that this is one of my more favourite adventures of his (either this or Interesting Times).  It was definitely great to see the character get a happy ending towards the end of the book for once, which he frankly deserved after his last few adventures.

While Rincewind is tearing it up in not-Australia, Pratchett also dedicates around half of The Last Continent to the characters who form the faculty of the Disc’s premier wizard school, Unseen University.  Many wizard characters have featured in the Discworld books, but this current iteration of the faculty (with the exception of the Librarian) was originally introduced in the 10th book, Moving Pictures, and has remained pretty constant ever since.  This group includes the hunting-obsessed Archchancellor, Mustrum Ridcully; the quite insane Bursar; the incredibly obese Dean; the amusing team of the Senior Wrangler, the Chair of Indefinite Studies and the Lecturer in Recent Runes; the orangutan Librarian (working in a library is dangerous work); and the long-suffering Ponder Stibbons, the youngest member of the faculty and the only one with any common sense.  Pratchett had previously done an amazing job building up all of these characters in prior books, highlighting their unique quirks and issues, including the overwhelmingly stubborn, childish and traditionalist personalities of the older wizards.  This excellent blend of personality types really makes the older wizard characters really amusing and their adventures, especially when encountering strange gods and creators who they generally ignore, are extremely funny.  While an entire book about these characters would potentially be a bit overwhelming, I think that Pratchett got the balance right in The Last Continent, and they ended up serving as a fun counterpoint to Rincewind.  Stibbons was also a particularly good straight-man to his fellow wizards, and the contrast between keen intellectualism and entrenched “wisdom” is a fantastic part of the book.  I rather enjoyed Stibbons arc in this book, especially as you get to appreciate the true depth of his frustration with his fellow wizards, although he does gain a deeper appreciation for them as the book progresses.  Other amusing storylines with the wizards includes the Senior Wrangler’s obsession with housekeeper, Mrs Whitlow, which eventually gets shared with some of the other wizards, and the uncontrollable shapeshifting infecting the Librarian, which makes for some entertaining gags.  I also really enjoyed the fact that much of the book’s plot revolves around the fact that no-one actually knows the Librarian’s name, a fun feature from the previous books, and it was interesting to see the reasons why this was the case.

Aside from this fun collection of wizard characters, Pratchett makes great use of a fine selection of supporting characters, each of whom add some fantastic fun to the overall story.  This includes a very inventive group of new characters, each of whom represent various parts of XXXX life, whether they be depressed operatic chefs, police officers more concerned with getting their charges ballads and famous last stands, bushland drovers, belligerent drinkers, desert-wandering crossdressers in a princess-themed cart and even a crazed road warrior named Mad.  Despite most of them being the result of a punchline or extended joke, Pratchett sets each of these characters up really well and ensures each of them has a fun and satisfying character arc in the book.  I also quite enjoyed the return of fan favourite character, Death, who goes on a bit of a tourist phase through the book.  I really liked Death’s random appearances throughout The Last Continent, especially as he drops some amusing anecdotes about dying in XXXX, and it was also great to see his current viewpoint on Rincewind.  Whereas before he was always determined to catch and kill Rincewind, as he was the one mortal who constantly got away from him, in this book, Death, who no longer has any idea of when Rincewind is actually going to die and is now quite fascinated by him, keeps himself appraised of his progress and is generally friendly to him, even if that freaks Rincewind out.  I also loved the appearance of another member of the extended Dibbler clan, even if the XXXX version was a parody of a certain unpleasant right-wing political figure here in Australia.  The appearance of another ruthlessly mercantile hot-food dispenser with inedible food is a great continuation of a running joke Pratchett has been using for several books, and it is one that really pays dividends in The Last Continent, when Rincewind recounts all the terrible foods he’s eaten over the years from the various Dibblers he has encountered, which then runs into a fantastic diatribe about the dangers of national delicacies, especially XXXX’s meat pie floater (a real meal here in Australia, although there is no way in hell I would ever eat one).  All of these characters add so much to the book’s story, and I love the inventiveness that Pratchett puts into them.

While I have enjoyed all the Discworld novels in their physical paperback format at one point or another, my preferred way to experience a Pratchett novel these days is in its audiobook form.  All of the Discworld novels have been turned into excellent audiobooks over the years, and The Last Continent is no exception.  Narrated by the outstanding Nigel Planer, who ended up narrating over 20 Discworld novels (The Last Continent was the penultimate Discworld book he leant his voice to), and with an easily enjoyable runtime of just under 10 hours, this is a pretty fantastic audiobook that I regularly rush through in not time at all.  I find that all the awesome jokes in this book come across in the audiobook format extremely well, even the jokes traditionally contained within the book’s footnotes, and Planer’s witty voice is always pitched at the best tone to bring out the joke’s potential.  I really appreciate the way in which Planer utilised the same voices for the various recurring characters he has used in all their previous appearances, and each of the voices fit the characters very well.  I also really enjoyed the voices he came up with all the new characters, and it was exceedingly amusing to see him come up with a range of Australian voices and accents and have them belt out a variety of outlandish slang terms.  All in all, this turns out to be an excellent audiobook version of The Last Continent and it is pretty much the only way I enjoy this novel at the moment.

As you can see from the huge review I pulled together above (I have written university essays that were shorter), I really love The Last Continent.  This fantastic Australian parody is easily one of my favourite Discworld novels, and I deeply enjoy the outstanding and entertaining story that Pratchett wove around this outrageous version of my country.  Anyone who is familiar with anything Australian is going to have an incredible time reading this book, and I honestly do not think I could give this anything less than five stars.  A highly recommended read from one of the funniest authors of all time.

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