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The novels
Possible future novels Pratchett has occasionally hinted at other possible future Discworld novels. These include I Shall Wear Midnight, a Tiffany Aching book hinted at in The Art of Discworld, Nation (about a nation consisting of one person - From Orange Word interview), Unseen Academicals (about football at the Unseen University - From an Alternative Nation interview.) the title of which would parody Scouting for Boys. Short stories There are also four short stories by Pratchett based in the Discworld: "Theatre of Cruelty" (1993), "Death and What Comes Next" (2002; both are available online.), "Troll Bridge" (in After The King: Stories in honour of J. R. R. Tolkien, 1992; reprinted in The Mammoth Book of Comic Fantasy edited by Mike Ashley, 1998) and "The Sea and Little Fishes" (in Legends, anthology of novellas taking place within popular fantasy cycles edited by Robert Silverberg, 1998). All four stories, as well as Discworld miscellany as the history of Thud and the Ankh-Morpork national anthem have been collected in a compilation of all Pratchett's short work, Once More* With Footnotes. The Mapps Furthermore, there are four "Mapps": The first two were drawn by Stephen Player, based on plans by Pratchett and Stephen Briggs, the third is a collaboration between Briggs and Kidby, and the last is by Paul Kidby. All also contain booklets written by Pratchett and Briggs. Science books Pratchett has also collaborated with Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen on three books using the Discworld to illuminate popular science topics. Each book alternates chapters of a Discworld story and notes on real science related to it. The books are: Associated publications Other Discworld publications include: Quiz books Two Discworld Quiz books have been compiled by David Langford: Diaries Most years see the release of a Discworld Diary and Calendar, both usually following a particular theme. The Diaries released so far are: There were no diaries for 2004 - 2006, as Pratchett and Stephen Briggs were worried about running out of ideas. The Discworld Almanak - The Year of The Prawn can also be listed with the diaries, as its format and general contents are very similar. Stealth Philosophy Throughout many of his novels, Pratchett employs what has been dubbed "Stealth Philosophy": he will hide philosophical struggles, questions, and arguments within the texts, without (often) overtly stating them. Pratchett is concerned about the philosophy of ethics, the philosophy of religion, the mind as well as topics related to popular science - lampooning the usual misunderstandings of concepts like quantum physics and theory of Relativity. His good witch, Granny Weatherwax, takes the form of an archetypical evil crone: His good public servant, Lord Havelock Vetinari, is an assassin and a tyrant, but acting in his city's best interests as a benevolent dictator nonetheless. In general, Pratchett presents the notion that to be good quite often results in being perceived as bad or evil by the very people you're doing good for, and in many of his stories image is eventually overcome, without fanfare, by substance. , said Death. – Hogfather In the "elf" books as elsewhere, he presents the notion that our "world" is subjective, and is constructed internally. In particular, that it is constructed out of stories. Related to this is the idea that most of our experience is filtered out before it reaches consciousness: You build little worlds, little stories, little shells around your mind and that keeps infinity at bay and allows you to wake up in the morning without screaming! – A Hat Full of Sky "All right," said Susan, "I'm not stupid. You're saying humans need ... fantasies to make life bearable." "Tooth fairies? Hogfathers?" "So we can believe the big ones?" "They're not the same at all!" "Yes. But people have got to believe that or what's the point—" – Hogfather Also in the Elves books he presents elves as nasty, evil creatures, as they are in original English folk songs and stories e.g. Tam Lin, quite in contrast with how they were portrayed by Tolkien which is more commonly known these days. "Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder. Elves are marvellous. They cause marvels. Elves are fantastic. They create fantasies. Elves are glamorous. They project glamour. Elves are enchanting. They weave enchantment. Elves are terrific. They beget terror. The thing about words is that meanings can twist just like a snake..." Nobody said elves were nice. Elves are bad. – Lords and Ladies A large portion of Carpe Jugulum is about internal "struggles", and how pieces of our mind do not always agree with other pieces of our mind (and how some of us feel we have "Darker" selves within us, that we keep deep, deep down). Aside from the obviously "split" mind character (Perdita and Agnes), it is shown that even characters as decisive as Granny Weatherwax have inner "selves" that they struggle with. The concept of racial hatred is touched upon often when Trolls and Dwarves are present and forms a significant plot pillar in Thud!. Discworld has relative lack of recurring or overarching villains. Many of Pratchett's potential villains, such as Lord Vetinari and Lord Downey, are too complex or multifaceted to be simplistically characterised as "evil", while other more standard villains, such as Lord Rust, are depicted merely as egocentric dullards. Principal villains in Discworld novels tend to die or be put similarly out of action by the story's end. The Lovecraftian creatures from the Dungeon Dimensions cannot be considered evil in any true sense, since they are utterly amoral. There are however two groups of villains that featured prominently in many of the stories and have, in their own ways, come to represent the force of 'wrongness' in the Discworld: the Auditors of Reality and the Elves. These two races are, in many respects, opposite ends of the same spectrum. The Auditors, cosmic bureaucrats who prefer a universe where electrons spin, rocks float in space and imagination is dead, represent the perils of handing yourself over to a completely materialist and deterministic vision of reality, devoid of the myths and stories that make us human. The Elves, innately psychopathic beings who seek to dominate people by usurpring their free will with glamour and false magic, represent the dangers of giving yourself over completely to stories and superstition. Together they appear to reflect the philosophy Pratchett expresses in Hogfather; that while the stories we weave may not be true, we still need them to continue our existence. However, it would be wrong to categorise the Auditors or Elves simply as 'evil'. While their actions cause misery, it is merely incidental. Elves do not understand the suffering they cause as they have no empathy, while the Auditors are simply a form of supernatural jobsworth. Stage adaptations Stage adaptations of eleven Discworld novels have been published, with proceeds from the rights going to charity. The adaptations are by Stephen Briggs (apart from Lords and Ladies by Irana Brown), and were first produced by the Studio Theatre Club in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. They include adaptations of The Truth, Maskerade, Mort, Wyrd Sisters, and Guards! Guards! Stage adaptations of Discworld novels have been performed on every continent in the world, including Antarctica. Film adaptations Due in part to the complexity of the novels, Discworld has been difficult to adapt to film - Pratchett is fond of an anecdote of a producer attempting to pitch an adaptation of Mort in early 1990s but told to "lose the Death angle" by US backers There have been several aborted attempts at bringing stories from the Discworld to the silver screen: Animated adaptations Animated adaptations of Soul Music and Wyrd Sisters were produced by Cosgrove-Hall Productions for Channel 4 in 1996. These are available on DVD and VHS in the US from Acorn Media. The soundtrack to Soul Music was also released on CD. Radio adaptations There have been several BBC radio adaptations of Discworld stories, including Wyrd Sisters, Guards! Guards! (narrated by Martin Jarvis), The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, Mort and Small Gods. Audio book adaptations Most of Pratchett's novels have been released as audio books, both abridged (read by Tony Robinson) and unabridged (earlier ones read by Nigel Planer or Celia Imrie, later ones by Stephen Briggs). Music Role-playing games Pratchett co-authored with Phil Masters two role-playing game supplements for Discworld, utilising the GURPS system: An unofficial online supplement to this is: Computer games Available computer games are: Board game There is also a Discworld board game, Thud, created by puzzle compiler Trevor Truran. Card game There is an adaptation of the card game Cripple Mr Onion from the novel Witches Abroad. Merchandise Various other types of related merchandise have been produced by cottage industries with an interest in the books, including Stephen Briggs, Bernard Pearson, Bonsai Trading and Clarecraft. Miscellaneous Pratchett first explored the idea of a disc-shaped world in the novel Strata (1981); however this is SF parodying a. o. Larry Niven's Ringworld and the flat world there is a projected version of the Eurasian hemisphere of Earth. Characters in Discworld books have been named after real people. The first of these was Colette in Maskerade, whose "fascinatin' earrings" are briefly commented on by Granny Weatherwax. This is a reference to Colette Reap, who wore "Anorankh" earrings – small figurines of an ankh wearing an anorak – to one of Pratchett's signings. But usually people appear in the books by bidding for the privilege in charity auctions. See also | |||||||||||
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