Discworld Monthly - Issue 96: April 2005

1. Editorial

Welcome to issue 96. At the end of this month hundreds of Discworld fans will be gathering at Wincanton in Somerset for The Cunning Artificer's spring event. There will be signings, a Maskerade, games of Thud and Watch Out, a sausage supper, a charity auction and a chance to meet up with friends both old and new.

Discworld Monthly will be celebrating its 7a birthday next issue. So if you want to join me at one of the many bars in Wincanton, the more the merrier.

--
Jason Anthony (Editor) info@discworldmonthly.co.uk
William Barnett (Deputy Editor)
Richard Massey (Tomb Raider)

2. News

From Colin Smythe: (CPSmythe@aol.com)

From the latest Transworld catalogue,

THUD! Koom Valley? That was where the trolls ambushed the dwarves, or the dwarves ambushed the trolls. It was far away. It was a long time ago. But if he doesn't solve the murder of just one dwarf, Commander Sam Vimes of Ankh-Morpork City Watch is going to see the battle fought again, right outside his office. With his beloved Watch crumbling around him and war-drums sounding, he must unravel every clue, outwit every assassin and brave any darkness to find the solution. And darkness is following him. ISBN 0-385-60867-5 1 October 2005

WHERE'S MY COW? A Discworld picture book. Illustrated by Melvin Grant. At six o'clock every day, without fail, with no excuses, Sam Vimes must go home to read Where's My Cow?, with all the right farmyard noises, to his little boy. There are some things you have to do. It is the most loved and chewed book in the world. But his father wonders why it is full of moo-cows and baa-lambs when Young Sam will only ever see them cooked on a plate. He can think of a more useful book for a boy who lives in a city. So Sam Vimes starts adapting the story. A story with streets, not fields. A book with rogues and villains. A book about the place where he'll grow up. ISBN 0-385 60937-X 1 October 2005

A HAT FULL OF SKY has been included in the 2005 New York Public Library Books for the Teenage list.

The Australian Discworld Convention (www.ausdwcon.org/) has produced some pre-convention T-shirts for the Convention to be held in Melbourne in January 2006.

BursarVixen (www.bursarvixen.com) have produced the shirts in the UK so that fans in Europe can get them without paying high shipping costs.

BVE are making no profit from the sale of these shirts via their website. All proceeds, once production and credit card fees have been paid, go towards helping the event in Australia.

These shirts are available in S, M, L, XL and XXL sizes. Please show your support for the Convention by purchasing a T-shirt.

BursarVixen are also coordinating UK-based fans wishing to benefit from bulk booking savings on flights and accommodation should they wish to attend the Convention. Please e-mail paul_kruzycki@bursarvixen.com to express your interest in travelling to XXXX to bring a touch of UK fandom to the Aussies!

Wrap it up! Bonsai Trading, in collaboration with the Cunning Artificer, have released gift wrap featuring an unusual stamp-based design, showing pieces of parcel wrapping containing all sorts of Discworld-esque names and addresses!

Strictly limited to a run of only 2000 sheets, this may not be around for long, as the stamp collecting community are snatching it up at quite a speed!

To see the wrap, visit ~~bonsai.discworldmonthly.org~~, and click on the stamps section.

If you're new to the world of Discworld stamps though, be sure to visit www.discworldstamps.com and get yourself in on the latest collecting craze!

Discworld Convention 2006 - Membership News

The initial membership forms for 2006 have now been sent out to all those who attended in 2004. If you didn't attend the 2004 Convention but would like a membership form for 2006 email info@dwcon.org

At the 2004 Convention a system of guilds was in operation. This time round guild membership will be allocated on a first come first served basis with the date of joining as the reference point. So if you want to take part in the guilds system get your membership soon.

The Convention organisers have set up a mailing list to discuss the convention. More information can be found at www.dwcon.org/mailman/listinfo/2006

Latest news: The new look 2006 Convention website has been recently introduced. For more information look at www.dwcon.org

Terry will be at The Guardian Hay Festival located in the Brecon Beacons National Park. The event takes place from 27th May - 5th June. Terry will be on stage on the 29th May at 11:30 for what is described as a talk with Paul Blezard. More information from www.hayfestival.com/

Terry will share his memorable experiences of orangutans and his hopes and fears for their future conservation at a special charity event called "Encounters with Kusasi" on Wednesday 13th April 2005.

There will also be an exclusive opportunity to preview "From Orphan to King," a Tigress Productions film for the BBC's Natural World series. The documentary examines the epic story of Kusasi, the famous male orangutan at Camp Leakey in the Tanjung Puting National Park, and follows his life from orphan rescued by Professor Birute Galdikas, to his position as king among orangutans.

A wine and canape reception will conclude the evening. This will provide the opportunity to meet Terry Pratchett, Professor Galdikas, members of the Tigress Productions team and other special guests. The event takes place at BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly, London W1 with doors opening at 6.30pm for 7.30pm

There is a minimum donation: 25GBP (excluding reception) or 85GBP (including reception).

To order tickets, send a cheque payable to the "Orangutan Foundation" to: Orangutan Foundation, 7 Kent Terrace London, NW1 4RP or call 020 7724 2912.

[DWM will not be able to attend this special evening so please send us a report if you manage to get to the event. - Ed]

Discworld Dates...

This section will contain events that you need to keep in your diary. Entries will remain until they go out of date. New entries will include the word [New] next to them. If this section gets too large we will start pruning entries.

[New] The Kuopio City Theatre in Finland is performing Wyrd Sisters (as Noitasiskot in Finnish) until May. For more information visit ~~kulttuuri.kuopio.fi/teatteri/~~ or for an English version visit ~~kulttuuri.kuopio.fi/teatteri/english/~~

Unseen Theatre Company will be performing Interesting Times from March 17th to April 2nd (Wednesdays to Saturdays at 8pm)at the Backhouse Theatre, 255 Angas St. Adelaide. Tickets cost 15 AUD for Adults, 12 AUD for Concessions, 10 AUD for groups of 10 or more or 30 AUD for the Thai Hutt Dinner Deal (meal and ticket).

For bookings contact BASS 131246 or Betty 82962004. More information at www.unseen.com.au

The Westoning Players will be performing Mort in Westoning on 31st March, 1st and 2nd April 2005. Evening performances start at 7.45 and a Saturday matinee performance starts at 2.30.

The venue is in the Village Hall at Westoning (MK45 5JL), located 2 miles east of Junction 12, off the M1.

Tickets are 6.00 GBP for adults, 5.00 GBP for concession (10-18 and 60+). For groups of 10 or more there is a 10% discount.

The box office is on 01525-752858 or email bazandshe@ntlworld.com to book tickets.

For more details visit our website at www.westoning-players.co.uk

Auditions for the Kennet Amateur Theatrical Society (www.kats.org.uk) production of The Truth are taking place on Mondays and Thursdays between 4 April and 14 April in Thatcham, Berkshire. KATS would love to welcome new members so if you are interested in taking part, contact John Hicks on john.hicks@kats.org.uk.

WyrdFest, the first German Convention which takes place in July 2005, now has its own website located at ~~www.wyrdfest.de/~~

The 2005 Clarecraft Event will take place on 29th - 31st July 2005 at its usual venue of Warren Farm. The theme of the event will be Monstrous Regiment. Details will soon appear at www.clarecraft.co.uk

Kennet Amateur Theatrical Society will be performing The Truth by Terry Pratchett as adapted for the stage by Stephen Briggs from 11 to 13 August 2005 at Kennet School in Thatcham (off J13 of the M4). Tickets are priced at 7GBP for adults and 5GBP for children/OAPs and can be ordered via their website www.kats.org.uk. Full details of the show including information on how to bid for some very special Discworld-related items in the sealed-bid auction can also be found on the website.

18-21 August 2005, Ankh-Morpork - The German Terry Pratchett Fan Club is holding its second cooperative convention with Tolkiens Erben e.V. at the Freusburg near Siegen in Germay. Like last year there will be a combined programme of Discworld and Tolkien activities (including the presentation of Discworld games, baking Dwarf Bread, performing the stick-and-bucket-dance and many more), gallons of mead and medieval music. You can order tickets at www.schicksalsfest.net

Wadfest 2005 will take place over the weekend of the 2nd to 5th September 2005 at a new campsite. More details can be found at the Wadfest website www.wadfest.co.uk

The First Australian Discworld Convention will take place in Melbourne Australia from 20th-22nd January 2006. More details can be located at www.ausdwcon.org/

Sorry, there are no small ads this month.

3. Readers' Letters

If you have any letters or comments, please email them to info@discworldmonthly.co.uk

We assume any correspondence is eligible for use in the newsletter unless otherwise stated, including the sender's email address. We may also edit your letters to make the newsletter shorter.

It is vitally important that you don't pass off other people's work as your own. If you use information from other resources please let us know so we can give proper credit.

The best letter of the month will receive a Kiss the Cook print supplied by Bonsai Trading. Bonsai Trading is the Discworld store that brings you Clarecraft figurines, diaries & calendars, Thud and much more. ~~bonsai.discworldmonthly.org~~

*
* From: "Sam Young" <sam@samyoung.co.nz
*
Thanks very much for your thoroughly entertaining newsletter. I find the comments interesting and often very enlightening. There are some intensely well-read and erudite individuals out there in the ether.

This time, however, I felt that I might be able to shed some light on Christin Keck's question in issue 95, regarding Maskerade and the meaning of Mogadored.

I have never been quite sure which one of the following meanings I feel is most likely to be correct in the context (ie that Granny Weatherwax looks rather stunning in her makeup etc - all paid for by Nanny's newly-negotiated royalty fees). It may well a combination of all three, and I would be interested to know what other readers think.

(1) Mogador is a lovely, lovely place now known as "Essaouira" in Morocco. It was mostly designed by a gifted French architect, Theodore Cornut. Unesco declared Essaouira/Mogador a World Heritage site in 2001 (link whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=753).

(2) Le Theatre Mogador (link www.mogador.net) in Paris was originally designed by an Englishman (Bertie Crew), and built by another Englishman & financier (Sir Alfred Butt) as part of "l'Entente Cordiale" between Britian & France in 1919 after WW1. The Theatre has had several hugely grand and expensive refurbishments in its history, opening each time to enormous pomp and theatrical success.

(3) Vaughn Monroe & his orchestra was in the top 10 in Bitain in 1949 with a song "The Rich Maharaja of Magador [sic]" (talk about a mixed culture there! An Indian 'earl' & a misspelled Moroccan town). This song told the story of the Grandee who was rich, but who wanted to learn dance and was thoroughly cleaned out of all his wealth in the process of learning by a sly wee minx (words at ~~www.geocities.com/maree_armstrong/MiscellaneousLyrics.html~~). Interestingly, Vaughn Monroe had a desire to become an opera singer, earning him a host of nicknames for his rich baritone including "the Voice with Hairs on Its Chest" and "Old Leather Tonsils."

If anyone has any other ideas I would be really interested to hear.

DWM replies: We would like to thank everyone who wrote in with various meanings of Mogadored, others included an occasional substitute for "buggered" but apparently stronger, ribbed silk used to make neckties and the commercial name of a drug that is used to treat chronic insomnia. Our favourite meaning was suggested by Liz Lovell listed below.

*
* From: "Liz Lovell" <lovellk@bigpond.com
*
Mogadore = Loves cats?

DWM replies: Liz gets this month's Letter of the Month.

*
* From: "David Woodall" <D.Woodall@uea.ac.uk
*
In reply to Anne Morrison's inquiry in Issue 95 about Vimes' "bespoke tailoring" comment. In Ankh-Morpork, seamstress is, of course, a euphemism for a 'Lady of Negotiable Affection' (not "ill repute" - many in the Guild are spoken highly of in certain circles!). 'Madame' is also a traditional title for a female brothel keeper. Thus, her comment about "old seamstress" means "former prostitute".

Now, a seamstress (in the non-euphemistic sense) is someone who does practical sewing, simple repairing of clothes and so on, whilst a bespoke tailor is someone who makes very high quality clothes to order - someone of Saville Row, London for example - in short, a seamstress is to a bespoke tailor what a chip shop is to a gourmet restaurant. Vimes suspects that Madame was what was known in the 16th-18th centuries as a Courtesan. These were ladies - the best were supposedly in Italy - who would, if required, provide the normal services of any Lady of Negotiable Affection, but whose main function was to provide companionship to a well bred gentleman. They would be expected to dress and act fashionably, know about art, poetry and literature, be able to hold their own in a conversation with wit, intelligence and knowledge, and basically be presentable in high society - the sex was almost an afterthought.

So, to translate their conversation, Madame suggests that Vimes was thinking "former prostitute", and Vimes replies that actually he was thinking "Courtesan".

DWM replies: David manages to summarize a topic about which we were inundated with replies. Not sure what this says about our readership.

*
* From: "Jude Lowes" <virginia@arcanesight.net
*
I am 12 and have written a review of one of my favorite Discworld books, The Fifth Elephant:

Sam Vimes; alone, tired, confused and without his trousers. Pitted against werewolves, vampires and dwarfs. The man sent to protect him; an assassin at the highest level, armed with a palm dagger, a one-shot crossbow and a diamond blade sown into his hat (for that extra bit of oomph). So I guess there's just no room for an Ankh-Morpork copper in Uberwald, which means Vimes is going to have to make some.

The Fifth Elephant is Terry Pratchett's 24th Discworld novel, and by far one of the best, combining humour with (mild) violence, and (milder) horror. Following the winding path of fantasy, this book comes across many mythical and real creatures - showing that no race is perfect, and no one is immortal. Each creature is as "terrifying" as the next; from humans to trolls. I would recommend this book for older readers, or true Terry Pratchett fans, as swearing plays a part. As do people with no trousers. But these people are too busy fighting for their life to mind about this. Don't despair though - I have good news: this person finds another pair, which belong to Uncle Vanya (don't ask).

Personally, I found it an amazing book, and couldn't put it down until the end. It leads you to imagine what each and every character looks like, but don't go looking for them on the cover. This may prove disappointing.

So, the final verdict. I, as a true fan, would give this book a high mark. It's definitely one of the best, compared with books like Carpe Jugulum and Going Postal. So my verdict: 9.5 out of 10. I can't say why I've deducted 0.5 from the final score, but giving it 10 just doesn't seem right.

In a word, Brilliant!

*
* From: "Corbetts Bookshop Tring" <corbettstring@btconnect.com
*
Please can you sort out the following mystery.

I am a bookshop manager and have recently noticed that when I try to get new paperback copies for stock of our Terry Pratchett Discworld books, Corgi are slowly changing all new stock to very tasteful, black covers. This has happened so far to Sourcery and The Light Fantastic. We cannot get the previous covers and are bereft. Can you use your greater influence to find out whose brainchild this is, and why. Customers loved the previous covers and when they wish to replace a copy they have either thumbed too much, or lent and not received back, or just to get that one title they missed first time round, they are maddened by the change.

The covers became part of the book's image, it is heresy to change them. You can tell we feel strongly about this in Tring.

WB replies: I wholeheartedly agree. For me, the original Josh Kirby cover were a huge part of the excitement of a new Discworld novel.

*
* From: "Booch y Celin" (Email address witheld)
*
The current issue of "Tricycle: The Buddhist Review" includes a profile of the late Master Seung Sahn (1927-2004), described as America's first Korean Zen Master (Spring 2005 issue, page 22-23).

After becoming a great master and a legendary figure in Korea, Master Seung Sahn heard there was a great hunger in the US for Zen teaching. According to the article: "He arrived with little English and took employment at a laundromat in Providence, Rhode Island. 'Within a very short time,' remembers Jane Dobisz, co-guiding teacher of the Cambridge Zen Center, 'all these students were going to the laundromat to get his teachings. He lived his life from what he called 'Don't Know Mind,' with the confidence that it would always work out - and it always did."

Now, I bet Pterry had not heard of Master Seung Sahn when he created Lu-Tse the Sweeper ... but what a great real-life example of the tradition Lu-Tse pokes good-natured fun at.

*
* From: "yoav lubelsky" <ylubelsky@yahoo.com
*
I have recently read Carpe Jugulum again and noticed that one of the Magpyr lackey vampires is named Maladicta. Do you think that its the same vampire that appears in Monstrous Regiment and if so is it meeting Granny Weatherwax that made her reconsider her evil ways and give up the "B" word for good?

*
* From: "Dawn" <Dawnazrael@aol.com
*
I recently saw on E-bay a leatherbound edition of Equal Rites, described as being a first edition with a code number quoted. I also have this leatherbound edition with the same code number inside but have no idea if it is a first edition. Was there only one print run of each leatherbound edition, making them all first editions, or is there some way of telling which is a genuine first edition?

I can't imagine ever wanting to sell my collection and go TP cold turkey, but it would be interesting to see how much my bookshelf is worth!

*
* From: "Matthia Lariviere" <rainboebite@yahoo.com
*
I would just like to make sure that all you PTerry fans living in the UK, or just anywhere in Europe or Australia, really appreciate your proximity. I live damn-near literally half way around the world, on what has got to be the farthest west chunk of rock that can be officially called Canada, otherwise known as Vancouver Island. And let me tell you, it is pure torture to read the list of twenty or so performances and festivals and tours and other misc. Discworld phenomena being executed on our round one, that I will NEVER get to experience. And in case you weren't all feeling sorry enough for me - ;o) - the last four used Discworld novels to be brought into my bookstore have all been the horribly plain and boring American versions. So be glad and rejoice at all things Discworld and remember your poor, deprived, Canadian brethren when you do.

*
* From: "Barry Howard" <barry.howard1@virgin.net
*
Great to see Terry Pratchett presenting an award to Steeleye Span at the Radio 2 Folk Awards! You see - I knew he was a closet folkie - his jokes about the music were just too accurate not to come from a good knowledge of the subject.

*
* From: "maria locht" <luna_locht@hotmail.com
*
English is not my primary language, I'm from Denmark, but I usually never (well, almost never...) have any problems figuring out the jokes/ humorous references in the Discworld books, although it sometimes takes a few re-readings to get it all. But I simply cannot figure out the "twelve and a half per cent" / "pieces of eights"-reference in Going Postal. This annoys me, since it occurs multiple times in the book, thus hinting it should be relatively obvious...! Is it hinged on seeing a verbal similarity? Is it based in something "anglo-cultural"? Or have I just gone blind from looking at it too long?

DWM replies: This is the maths bit! 12.5% is one eighth or a Piece of Eight. And a Piece of Eight is a pirate term for an old Spanish silver coin which originally had the value of eight reals [Whatever they are - Ed].

*
* From: "Joshua Sommerman" <res0haaq@verizon.net
*
I have always loved the letters from people who find an interesting tidbits on some of Pterry's subtle references to earthly goings on in the Discworld. Now it is my turn, I guess. You could say I am also a bit of a typeface design nerd as well.

In my recent re-reading of The Truth, I noticed that two of the dwarf characters share slightly misspelled names with two founding fathers of modern moveable Printing press typeface design.

Boddony the dwarf (I don't recall a surname): a nice little reference to Giambattista Bodoni who created many of the first "modern" typefaces in the late 1700's to early 1800's and was probably one of the most influential designer to date.

Gowdie the dwarf (I still do not recall a surname here either): Frederic W. Goudy designer of the lovely Goudy font (1914)

Examples of fonts created in their styles can be found at www.fonts.com or you may already have versions included in the font package installed on your computer.

Also, many thanks go out to your bookworm for recommending Brewers Dictionary of Phrase and Fable as you can catch many many more backgrounds to many of PTerry's astute references here in the sphereworld.

Looking forward to Thud!

*
* From: "Rosie" <rosieknitter@joimail.com
*
I have been meaning to write since Hogswatch. My whole family are PTerry fans having started with The Last Continent and quickly devoured the rest of PTerry's books. At Hogswatch this year my Father built gifts for two boys in the family. He spent many hours constructing and adapting two crossbows out of oak and PVC plastic pipe. They shoot PVC projectiles and are marked as "Burleigh and Stronginthearm Junior Watchmen". The boys who are 7 and 10 loved them, it became quite dangerous to walk thru the house for a time, so we set up a small firing range in the hallway. The 7 year old never set his down for a moment and was still clutching it in his arms as they drove away that evening. So I wish belated Hogswatch Greetings to All!

4. DiscTrivia

This month we have included the third set of five questions from a list sent in by Ninj Ninja ninj1@hotmail.com.

Q1.: Who tried to kill the Hogfather?
Q2.: Who did Sam Vimes take the place of in 'Nightwatch'?
Q3.: On which thoroughfare is the Dwarf bread Museum?
Q4.: Jimkin Bearhugger's Old Selected Dragon's Blood Whiskey is usually matured for how long?
Q5.: Which Golem joined the city watch?

The results, as always, appear at the end of this issue.

5. Article: What is Wyrdfest?

1.-3. July 2005 Reichartshausen (Germany)

"For Generations the Witch Trials take place annually near the Mountain Kingdom of Lancre. Witches from all over the Ramtops compete here to find out which one is second best after Esmerelda Weatherwax.

Within the last years the Witch Trials developed more and more to a kind of Festival, visited by tourists from all over the Discworld and called 'Wyrdfest' by the common people. And this year, the year of the prawn, for the first time ever a delegation of the Unseen University is present to recruit young promising wannabe wizards for their academy and to contribute to the entertainment in their way...."

The Wyrdfest is the first big German Discworld Convention by and for fans with LARP-elements and British support. A hybrid-event, part fun-convention, part Live Action Role Play.

The LARP will take place 24 hours a day and presents the background for the whole con. A Discworld tale will be told interactively during the roleplay. Everybody is encouraged to take part (costumes appreciated). If you don't want to, take it as a kind of ongoing theatre performance.

The show program ranges from the showing of the 'Lords and Ladies' movie, quiz games, theatre, several fun games (like dwarven bread tossing) to merchandising shops. The show is going to be hosted by characters from the books. The attendees and candidates can (if they like) play the roles of Discworld characters - if they take part in the LARP or not - or just enjoy the entertainment. The show program is also part of the Discworld tale of the witch trials and the LARP.

Also added to the programme is a charity auction to help the Orang Utans. Soon a list of the items will be available at ~~www.wyrdfest.de~~.

Dave "Hodgesaargh" Hodges adds: There will also be the first ever live action game of 'Watch Out' the new game invented by Trevor Truran. There will be several odd items in the auction including one of my giant pendants, signed by Terry and engraved, and lots of other weird stuff

6. Competitions

Last month we offered the opportunity to win one of three rare 'thrupny dreadful' stamps created by Bernard Pearson.

All you had to do was tell us where Bernard was on Saturday 26th February and who was with him?

The answers were in London at the Stampex Exhibition with Stuart Wrighton.

Almost everyone got one or the other question right and the majority of entries managed to answer both questions.

The three randomly selected winners are Liz Till, Lesleyann Davis and Peter Chapman.

More information about the Discworld stamps can be located at www.discworldstamps.com

Bonsai Trading have recently added a Forum to their website, to allow Discworld fans the chance to chat online with their fellow fans!

In order to celebrate and promote their new forum, we're pleased to be running a somewhat unusual competition. And it's the easiest competition ever, as there is NO question to answer!

Everyone who registers on the forum before 17th April will have their name put into a hat.

The winner, picked from the hat at random, will receive THREE envelopes of stamps (LBE's as collectors call them) and a pack of 5 sheets of the new stamp gift wrap. The winner will be announced in next month's Discworld Monthly.

Don't worry if you've already signed up on the forum - we'll be including everyone who has registered so far in the draw.

Please don't sign up for more than one forum account to try and increase your chances, we'll be checking!

To register, visit www.bonsaitrading.com, and click on the Forum link on the right hand side of the page.

We hope you'll hang around and post, and help the growth of our own Bonsai mini-community. We know there are loads of you out there so come along, raise your hand, and say 'Hello, I'm a Discaholic' to everyone!

7. Review: Once More* With Footnotes

Reviewed by Jason Anthony

Once More* With Footnotes was created as a Guest of Honour book for Terry at the Noreascon Convention in September 2004 and as such is only available from the Nesfa web site located at www.nesfa.org/press/Books/Pratchett.html

The book is thus far the most complete compilation of Terry's short stories every published. There are still a couple of notable omissions, which I suspect may be due to copyright reasons, namely: Night Dweller and History in the Faking. The book also features lots of short pieces of prose written by Terry for various and diverse entities. Pieces range from The Story of Thud (for the Discworld board) via forewords for Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable and The Wyrdest Link to the excellent No Worries that is basically an Australian tour report from the author's perspective (with only the names changed to protect the innocent) and A word About Hats.

I expect the short stories will be of most interest to Terry's fans and it is great to see so many in one place. I suspect many fans will have read one or two of Terry's short stories (we included Incubus in full in Issue 6 way back in October 1997) and will have heard of a couple more. Seeing so many in one location reminds us just how prolific a writer Terry is.

My first desire upon receiving the book was to read The Hades Business (Terry's first published short story, written when he was only 13). Terry's introduction leads us to believe he is quite embarrassed by the cliches used within it (but I guess any professional will look back at something produced over 40 years ago with slight trepidation). When reading this story you have to keep reminding yourself that it was written by a 13 year old as part of a school project. I wish I had half the skill now that Terry had at 13. I have read stories by established and much older authors that can't match the quality of the writing.

I did find the Discworld short stories, The Sea and Little Fishes, Troll Bridge and Theatre of Cruelty, more enjoyable that the others, mainly because that universe is already well defined leaving Terry more room for the story. Whist I enjoyed most of the short stories, I think Terry's work is much better suited to full novels, as this appears to give him much more room to expand his ideas.

This book is a must for any fan. You could spend several years and lots of money trying to track down half the material in this book. Which is why it represents such excellent value for money. Get over to NESFA and order your copy today.

8. The End

* Contact Information *

We prefer information to be sent via email, but can accept information via fax or post at the following addresses:

Email: info@discworldmonthly.co.uk
Post: J Anthony-Rowlands (DWM), 20 Cambrian Place, Pontarddulais, Swansea, SA4 8RG

* Latest Book Information *

Discworld paperback: Monstrous Regiment 055214941/87

Discworld hardback: Going Postal 0385603428/87

Discworld Young Adult paperback: The Wee Free Men 0552549053/87

Discworld Young Adult hardback: A Hat Full of Sky 0385607369/87

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* Disc Trivia Results *

Q1.: Who tried to kill the Hogfather?
A1.: Jonathan Teatime
Q2.: Who did Sam Vimes take the place of in 'Nightwatch'?
A2.: John Keel
Q3.: On which thoroughfare is the Dwarf Bread Museum?
A3.: Whirligig Alley
Q4.: Jimkin Bearhugger's Old Selected Dragon's Blood Whiskey is usually matured for how long?
A4.: Up to 7 minutes.
Q5.: Which Golem joined the city watch?
A5.: Dorfl

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Discworld Monthly - Issue 96: April 2005

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