Unseen Academicals

[Inkthinker]

Anyone else check out the new Pratchett?

I'm all terribly torn about it... I love Terry Pratchett and the Discworld, I've been reading them every year, steady as clockwork, since the late 80's when I found a copy of Equal Rites at the library, worked backwards to The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic, then everything else I could find at the time, and I've not missed a single one since then.

And so it always stings a bit when he writes one that isn't... well, it's not bad.... but I can't say it's very good, either.

No story spoilers to follow (in this post, can't promise there won't be further in the thread), but I do want to mention what I thought of it.

It's a good book, it's fun, it's what I might call "a breezy read", but what I think bothers me about it is that this book is inconsequential. It's obstensibly an Unseen book, centered around the usual cast of wizards and staff at Unseen University, and it's got cameos by some of the watch (only Angua and Vimes, in short parts where really anyone could have filled in but you get the impression that he knows fans like to see old characters are still around), and of course Vetinari, but by the end of the book nothing major has happened. A couple of UU staff have shifted, but we come into the story after the facts. New characters are introduced, but they're not particularly well-fleshed out, and none of them seem strong enough to carry a novel alone. I'd be very surprised if we encounter any of them again in more than a cameo role themselves, with the exception of one main character, and then only because there's some hints in the narrative concerning larger plot arcs that were introduced in previous books (most notably Thud!). There's some hints and suggestions at the ongoing renaissance that's been spreading over the Disc in various ways for ten books or more now, but none of that is the focus of this book.

Perhaps I'm fretting because Pratchett has alzheimers, and so none of us know how many more proper Discworld adventures we'll get anymore. I feel like there shouldn't be anymore throwaway one-shots like this, books where it's a fun time, but nothing really happens. I would say this is literally is most inconsequential Discworld novel... if there's one novel of the Disc you can afford to skip, it's this one.

And that makes me sad.

It's still worth reading if you're a fan of the series, like myself. But if that's the case, you can't skip it... you'd read it if it were written with crayon and only five pages long. It's Pratchett, and the Disc, and so you'll consume it voraciously as I did. But don't be surprised if you reach the end and you feel like you've filled up on empty calories.

I hope he doesn't make this a regular thing. I really hope this is just a light, breezy, simple novel because he's been very busy lately, but he wanted to get a book out to make sure everyone knows he's still in the game, and now that he's back to work we'll get a return to substance. The last Tiffany Aching book I Shall Wear Midnight is up next, and that one can't (I pray) be as inconsequential as Unseen Academicals because it caps the cycle, and should wrap up the slow but powerful growth of its character and leave her as much as full witch as any.

But unless you're a major fan of the wizards, or soccer... well, it's a good book. Just not a great one.

[Tik]

Well, I really enjoyed it. Mr Nutt has become one of my favorite Discworld characters and I could easily see more books about him.

I have to disagree that this book is inconsequential. It has the biggest shake up of the Unseen Faculty since Ridcullys introduction in Moving Pictures! We find out the whys, the hows, and the consequences of said shake up....you cant really miss that out. Pyramids, Small Gods, and Monstrous Regiment are far far more inconsequential in my opinion. This book also acts for Mr Nutts species in much the same way that Feet of Clay acts for golems. With this in mind, I think later books will acknowledge this development.

All in all, a really good book!

[Haydn C]

I enjoyed this book alot but I do know what you mean Inkthinker.

It didn't have the same, I can't think of the right word, impact maybe, on me as say Nightwatch, Nation or The Amazing Maurice did.

It was good but almost felt like a filler or bridge to a forthcoming book. Trev Likely was great though and the scene with Glenda getting drunk and having an inner discussion with the booze she was drinking was fantastic.

[Paul Newell]

I enjoyed this one more than Making Money. I can see what you mean about the quality slipping from previous efforts....Sadly it appears, to me anyway, to be the affects of the Alzheimers...The last couple of books have been slightly "lesser" than each's predecessor. :(

[Typo Lad]

To me, I actually enjoyed it a bit more than Making Money. I liked that there were so many stories going on at once - you had Riddicully's arc, Nutt's arc, Juliet's arc, and Glenda's arc... all neatly tying together. Also, Tik's right on this - there are lots of changes to the status quo, which is something Pratchett has been doing since at least Thud!, changing the well-worn settings around. In this case, it was the University.

After Making Money, I was wondering if he was setting up a Lipwig or Vimes as potential new Patricians, down the line. Now I'm wondering if it's maybe time for a female Patrician...

Also, is this his first book with a gay character?

[Inkthinker]

The changes to the University staff largely revolve around the Dean and the idea that other schools of wizardry around the Disc are rising up... Ponder reveals that he has a controlling vote on the staff as a result of his combined responsibilities, but I'll be surprised if that comes up again as more than a footnote. We have a new Professor in the form of Doctor Hix (who was kinda funny). Adrian Turnipseed got a promotion, but that's scraping the barrel of bit characters, isn't it? I recognize the shifts in the status quo, but they all feel like he's shifting pieces around on the chessboard, rather than making any actual moves.

I'm waiting to read I Shall Wear Midnight before I really blame his condition... I'm inclined to believe that what I'm perceiving in this book it's more of an issue of trying to write while newly diagnosed, undergoing treatment and so forth, rather than a permanent loss of ability. ISWM is a book that wraps up a series (and an excellent series at that), it'll require his A-game, and if he can't bring there, then I'll really worry.

And even then, I'd still buy everything he writes... for all my bitching here and elsewhere, I'll stand by the statement that even the weakest Pratchett is still better than 99% of every other author's strongest works. He could write pamphlets and I'd go out of my way to get 'em. If he wrote bathroom grafitti, I'd want to know which walls and whether I would need to wear a wig and dress to get in.

[Paul Newell]

Originally Posted by Inkthinker

I'm waiting to read I Shall Wear Midnight before I really blame his condition... I'm inclined to believe that what I'm perceiving in this book it's more of an issue of trying to write while newly diagnosed, undergoing treatment and so forth, rather than a permanent loss of ability. ISWM is a book that wraps up a series (and an excellent series at that), it'll require his A-game, and if he can't bring there, then I'll really worry.

Same here.

And even then, I'd still buy everything he writes... for all my bitching here and elsewhere, I'll stand by the statement that even the weakest Pratchett is still better than 99% of every other author's strongest works. He could write pamphlets and I'd go out of my way to get 'em. If he wrote bathroom grafitti, I'd want to know which walls and whether I would need to wear a wig and dress to get in.

Totally agree. :)

[Haydn C]

Originally Posted by Typo Lad

To me, I actually enjoyed it a bit more than Making Money. I liked that there were so many stories going on at once - you had Riddicully's arc, Nutt's arc, Juliet's arc, and Glenda's arc... all neatly tying together. Also, Tik's right on this - there are lots of changes to the status quo, which is something Pratchett has been doing since at least Thud!, changing the well-worn settings around. In this case, it was the University.

After Making Money, I was wondering if he was setting up a Lipwig or Vimes as potential new Patricians, down the line. Now I'm wondering if it's maybe time for a female Patrician...

Also, is this his first book with a gay character?

I agree that it was a more enjoyable book than Making Money. I am a great fan of the way he changes the staus quo, it keeps me coming back for more.

I had thought that Pratchett was sowing the seeds of Lipwig becoming the next Patrician but a female Patrician, now that is a great idea.

[Matt]

I'm roughly 3/4 of the way through the book and I have to say ... it's not up to Pratchett's usual standards. The humour which is found so strongly in novels like Night Watch or Jingo simply seems to be missing from this one.

It's still a fine book and well worth reading but ... I don't know if it's introducing so many characters at once or that it's a matter of the book centring around the concept of football (which I really don't care one jot about). It's not one of the better Discworld tales.

[Matt]

Finished this yesterday.
Ending was predictable but fine.

One question came to my head, though. Is Lady Margolotta the same woman we see a young Havelock with in Night Watch?

[Typo Lad]

No, that's the aunt who raised him.