The twentieth bestseller for the UK's fastest selling author.
Terry Pratchett is one of the most popular authors writing today. He lives behind a keyboard in Wiltshire and says he 'doesn't want to get a life, because it feels as though he's trying to lead three already'. He was appointed OBE in 1998. He is the author of the phenomenally successful Discworld series and his trilogy for young readers, The Bromeliad, is scheduled to be adapted into a spectacular animated movie. His first Discworld novel for children, THE AMAZING MAURICE AND HIS EDUCATED RODENTS, was awarded the 2001 Carnegie Medal.
Has the energy of The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the
inventiveness of Alice in Wonderland...It has also an intelligent
wit and a truly original grim and comic grasp of the nature of
things
*The Sunday Times*
Has the energy of The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the inventiveness of Alice in Wonderland...It has also an intelligent wit and a truly original grim and comic grasp of the nature of things -- A. S. Byatt * The Sunday Times *
Pratchett's best-known creation is "Discworld," in particular the fantastic medieval urban city-state Ankh-Morporkh, populated by humans, dwarves, and trolls aligned in a firm social pecking order. A keen observer of human behavior, Pratchett portrays nearly every conceivable type of Earthly people, and they work through social issues as the "Discworld" stories unfold. Jingo takes on discrimination and xenophobia as the crusty Sam Vimes, leader of the city's policing Watch, heads off war with the neighboring land of Klatch. Hogfather is a bit less accessible, possibly because most characters are so abstract. Discworld's equivalent of Santa Claus, the Hogfather has a price on his head. Death plays a large part, and his diminutive rodent counterpart, the Death of Rats, also appears. Death's granddaughter Susan is the worldly heroine who saves the day in this adventure involving the city's Magicians. Similar to the "Discworld" novel Reaper Man, Hogfather is an optional purchase. Jingo is highly recommended, especially if your patrons appreciate British humor. Nigel Planer is a stunning narrator in these stories, delivering a wide range of voices and styles while remaining wonderfully energetic and consistent.DDouglas C. Lord, Hartford P.L., CT Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
The master of humorous fantasy delivers one of his strongest, most conventional books yet. Discworld's equivalent of Santa Claus, the Hogfather (who flies in a sleigh drawn by four gigantic pigs), has been spirited away by a repulsive assassin, Mr. Teatime, acting on behalf of the Auditors who rule the universe and who would prefer that it exhibited no life. Since faith is essential to life, destroying belief in the Hogfather would be a major blow to humanity. It falls to a marvelously depicted Death and his granddaughter Susan to solve the mystery of the disappeared Hogfather, and meanwhile to fill in for him. On the way to the pair's victory, readers encounter children both naughty and nice; gourmet banquets made of old boots and mud; lesser and greater criminals; an overworked and undertrained tooth fairy named Violet; and Bilious, the god of hangovers, among other imaginative concepts. The tone of much of the book is darker than usual for Pratchett‘for whom "humorous" has never been synonymous with "silly"‘and his satire, too, is more edged than usual. (One scene deftly skewers the Christmas carol "Good King Wenceslas.") Pratchett has now moved beyond the limits of humorous fantasy, and should be recognized as one of the more significant contemporary English-language satirists. U.K. rights: Victor Gollanz, The Cassell Group; trans., first serial, dramatic, audio rights: Ralph Vicinanza. (Nov.)
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