Discworld Monthly - Issue 278 - June/July 2020
↑≡1. Editorial
Hello all, a big THANK YOU is owed to all of you who sent emails, letters and an actual dragon to give me hugs since our last issue.
Seeing people is so important to my personal wellbeing and I know I am not alone in this. We normally travel over 10,000 miles a year to spend time with those we care about. At the moment we spend more time bump-starting the car because it hasn't been anywhere!
Hopefully by 2021 we will have a vaccine available and will be able to hug and see those who we love and cherish safely.
Whilst I miss all the Comic-Cons and meet-ups I know too many who lost their loved ones or their lives to Covid-19 and I really don't want anyone else to become another statistic.
Discworld related
We do have news in this issue about 2020 Discworld events, some have been cancelled, some are still going ahead.
I am currently writing an article about the history of Discworld events, if you have any information about events which happened outside of the UK and the background about how they started, do email me at rachel@discworldmonthly.co.uk with the Subject: Event History.
Under lockdown the postal services around the world have been bringing some amazing things to people and continue to do so.
We know many of you have received the DVD edition of Troll Bridge in the post, with the Blu-ray's finally trickling through to people, being able to see it in our living room on our big screen was a happy moment.
We've been supporting Daniel Knight and the team behind Troll Bridge since the thought entered Daniel's mind to adapt Troll Bridge for the screen, it's been a long time (17 years!!!!!) but it has been 100% worth the wait.
Keep looking after yourselves, keep safe and we'll do our best to do the same.
Huge Virtual Hugs for you all (because we all need them)
Rachel
PS it is my birthday on the 27th July - I will become the answer to the ultimate question!
I would like to second Rachel's thanks for all the support we received this month. It's nice to know we are not alone and our feelings are quite normal all things considered.
We've been taking the lockdown period to reorganise and rearrange our office area. In an attempt to separate our office and home lives. The procurement of several IKEA storage units has allowed us to build a physical barrier and also provide storage for all sorts of stuff that filled both spaces before.
The downside to this is 1) we are still in the process of this reorganisation and will be for a while, and 2) we've only just got access back to our computer. Which is why we are running so late with this issue.
I suspect that "monthly" is going to be a very flexible measurement of time for the foreseeable future. We'll put out issues when we either have enough information to fill an issue or something time sensitive comes up. But don't worry there is still plenty of news still to come - it's just not on the horizon yet.
Stay safe and healthy and we'll see you on the other side.
Jason
If anyone is interested we'll do an online Discworld Quiz at the end of August. You know the kind of trivia that we include so it will be of that leve. Let us know if you might be interested by emailing rachel@discworldmonthly.co.uk if enough interest is shown we'll sort out what platform we'll do it on.
You may have noticed that since issue 274 some changes have been made to the way we display affiliate links in the newsletter. We are still working out the best way to move forward and hope the improvements we have made this month will make life easier for you, our ever faithful reader, and for us the archivers of the news.
If you have something you'd like to chat with other fans about, why not send us a readers' letter, to info@discworldmonthly.co.uk
--
Jason Rincewind Anthony-Rowlands (Editor and Wizzard) info@discworldmonthly.co.uk
Rachel Anthony-Rowlands (In love with the game Carcassonne) rachel@discworldmonthly.co.uk
Richard Massey (Virtually disappeared)
If you want to make a small, purely optional, financial donation to the upkeep of the newsletter please use our Paypal account info@discworldmonthly.co.uk
We'd like to thank all those that have already helped, you really do make a difference.
↑≡1.1 Important Information
We have several places where you can get up to the minute news and information about all things Discworld from Discworld Monthly.
Facebook: Discworld Monthly Facebook Page
Twitter: @dwmoook
Instagram: Discworld Monthly on Instagram
And our website, discworldmonthly.co.uk which contains loads of information about the books, stage productions around the world, interesting articles, back issues and our merchandise shop.
↑≡1.2 Submissions
Want to make your opinions about the Discworld known to the world?
Have you been to see a play or a Discworld related event and want to write a review about it?
Then get writing! We are always on the lookout for exclusive articles and reviews to share with our readers so don't hesitate, email us today with the subject Article/Review at rachel@discworldmonthly.co.uk
If you are putting on a stage production or know of a stage production near you, please email us and let us know about that too.
We happily advertise all stage productions for free and we can help in other ways too. Email rachel@discworldmonthly.co.uk with the Subject line "Stage Production".
The deadline for submissions to issue 279 of Discworld Monthly is the 8th August 2020 (Whatever that day is)
↑≡1.3 Merchandise
Discworld Monthly has an amazing (if we say so ourselves) range of mugs , badges , fridge magnets , keyrings , and window stickers for sale worldwide.
If you love the idea of The Watch series, we have our very own Vimes and Errol range available for your delight.
If you want something a bit more personal, you can always show your love for your favourite Discworld newsletter with a personalised Discworld Monthly mug.
↑≡2. News
2.1 Discworld Lego
Over at the Lego Ideas website another Great A'Tuin model has been proposed and once again, like the previous model, this one has managed to reach 10,000 votes which is the target required before Lego will consider talking to the copyright owners. It remains to be seen if this project will go any further but take a look and see what might happen or might have been.
↑≡2.2 Clarecraft Collectors' Guide Completed
Trish Baker from Clarecraft has been working on the Collectors' Guide to Discworld Figurines from Clarecraft. The Collectors' Guide was originally available as a ring bound volume. Later updates have been released via web sites. Trish has now finally finished the project for all the Clarecraft figures. You can now see all the new pages as PDF over at:
clarecraftdiscworldcollectorsguide.co.uk
Trish still has a few copies of the original book available to purchase from the website.
↑≡2.3 Marc Burrows - The Magic of Terry Pratchett Book Launch
Marc's book launch will happen online on the 30th July at 7pm. It promises to be a fun hour with a Q&A and a quiz alongside an interview with Marc about the book.
To find out more, make sure you sign up to Marc's newsletter over at Terry Pratchett: A Biography before Friday 17th July to get all the info of how to get an invite.
↑≡2.4 All the Discworld's a Stage - Volume TWO - Minor Update
The latest information is that this book has been delayed until November.
We can confirm that this will contain the scripts for the play adaptations of Hogfather, The Shakespeare Codex and Stephen Briggs' adaptation of Lords and Ladies and they will get separate releases as well as in the combined edition.
All the Discworld's a Stage : Vol 2 will be released by Oberon Modern Playwrights. With 312 pages of script delight to entertain you and thrill you, we do also expect these three play scripts to come out as individual books.
View our affiliate links to order All the Discworld's a Stage: Volume 2↑≡2.5 Rhianna Pratchett releases a book.
Many of you would have seen the news that Rhianna Pratchett has written a book. Not any old story type book but a Fighting Fantasy book.
Those of you of a certain age will remember the legendary books by Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson where you took a pencil, paper and a die and played your way through the adventure that unfolded with each choice or roll of the die.
Rhianna has joined the ranks of FF legends by writing this new adventure which is called Cyrstal of Storms.
It's due out on the 1st October and I personally cannot wait to get my hands on it. I love FF books (and Choose your own adventure books) and to have a new author's take on the classic formula is one I relish ! Who wants to take bets on me dying on page 34?
You can pre-order it from any good book shop or help us out by ordering through our affiliate links below!
View our affiliate links to order Crystal of Storms↑≡2.6 The Big Book of Modern Fantasy
Terry wrote a fair whack of short stories over time, many of which have appeared in anthologies all over the place. (We have no clue which of Terry's stories is in this)
A new anthology is due out at the end of the month called The Big Book of Modern Fantasy.
Published by Penguin books it is exactly what it says on the cover with 91 stories !
"The stories in this collection represent twenty-two different countries, including Russia, Argentina, Nigeria, Columbia, Pakistan, Turkey, Finland, Sweden, China, the Philippines, and the Czech Republic. Five have never before been translated into English.
From Jorge Luis Borges to Ursula K. Le Guin, Michael Moorcock to Angela Carter, Terry Pratchett to Stephen King, the full range and glory of the fantastic are on display in these ninety-one stories in which dragons soar, giants stomp, and human children should still think twice about venturing alone into the dark forest.
ISBN - 9780525563860
Around 20GBP
View our affiliate links to order The Big Book of Modern Fantasy↑≡2.7 Other Book Releases
Publishing dates have been screwed around by COVID-19, but if you have already pre-ordered, your order should still stand.
We now have a few new affiliates in our programme so you have more choice as to where to buy things from. We gained Book Depository, Blackwells and Forbidden Planet in the last couple of months.
Immediate releases - aka July
The Magic of Terry Pratchett by Marc Burrows. Published by Pen and Sword, it's release date is the 30th of July.
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In August
The City Watch Journal is due out on the 6th August 2020, this beautiful journal is also part of the theme of City Watch items coming this year.
Priced at 16.99GBP, the journal is available to pre-order now.
View our affiliate links to order The City Watch JournalOn the 20th August,Terry Pratchett's Discworld City Watch Collector's Edition 2021 Calendar
Priced at 14.99GBP, the calendar is available to pre-order now.
View our affiliate links to order Discworld Calendar 2021---
In September
The Time-Travelling Caveman and other stories
Available in 4 different formats from the 3rd September.
Standard hardback will be 15.99GBP
View our affiliate links to order The Time-Travelling Caveman and other stories - Standard EditionSlipcased deluxe edition will be 25GBP
View our affiliate links to order The Time-Travelling Caveman and other stories - Slipcase EditionAudiobook edition 6.99GBP.
View our affiliate links to order The Time-Travelling Caveman and other stories - AudiobookeBook 8.99GBP
View our affiliate links to order The Time-Travelling Caveman and other stories - eBook---
In October
The Ankh-Morpork Archives Vol 2 - due October 2020
View our affiliate links to order The Ankh-Morpork Vol 2---
In November
Illustrated Guards! Guards!
There are two versions of this glorious illustrated edition due out in November 2020
With each of the editions containing 12 full page colour illustrations and series of pencil drawings, these editions of Guards! Guards! follow the format of the illustrated Good Omens that were released last year.
View our affiliate links to order Illustrated Guards! Guards! - Standard Edition View our affiliate links to order Illustrated Guards! Guards! - Slipcase EditionThe Dunmanifestin editions are being delayed until 2021
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RE-SCHEDULED for publication in April 2021
A new collection of short stories by various authors will be published by Puffin books.
The Puffin Book of Funny Stories has stories and extracts from best-loved classic authors Joan Aiken, Terry Pratchett, Dick King-Smith, Rebecca Elliott, Humza Arshad, Henry White, Julian Clary, Sam Copeland and other contemporary writers.
ISBN-13: 978-0241434734
Price 7.99GBP in the UK in paperback, 3.99GBP on kindle
View our affiliate links to order Puffin Book of Funny Stories↑≡3. DiscTrivia
This month, Jason is asking some of the questions from the Wyrdest Link quiz that took place at the Llamedos Holiday Camp..
| Q1. | In Carpe Jugulum, how does Igor know a storm is coming? |
| Q2. | In the Fifth Elephant - BCB is the term for what? (Found in the lower fat layers?) |
| Q3. | In Going Postal, what method of filing did Archancellor Ridcully employ? |
| Q4. | During Hogfather, what scared Chickenwire? |
| Q5. | What does Horace the cheese eat? |
The answers as usual can be found at the end of this issue.
↑≡4. Review: The Magic of Terry Pratchett - Marc Burrows
Reviewed by Jason
First up - full disclosure. During the process of writing this book Marc Burrows has been in communication with Rachel and she has helped with fact checking certain parts of the book, she was also part of the proof-reading team and we have provided a number of the photos that we have taken over the years, that appear in the book. My involvement has been minimal - just a single chat with Marc a few months ago.
Marc Burrows has written the first full biography of Sir Terry Pratchett from his birth, his early upbringing, through his school, work experience, writing career, PCA and to his Death and shortly after. It's probably fair to say that the largest part of the biography deals with Terry's early life and it's the part of Terry's life I knew the least amount about. Marc has done a remarkable job in pulling together information from multiple sources to find the right narrative path though Terry's history. Marc is clear to point out that wherever there are multiple recollections events from different people he has tried to work out which one is closest to the truth. For example Terry claimed that when he started working for The Bucks Free Press as a cub reporter that he saw a dead body on his first day. Marc went through the back issues of the newspaper and there doesn't appear to be a report that closely matches Terry's recollection for several months after him starting. Narrativia says that the first day would provide a more satisfying story and given the number of times the story has been retold it's hard to find the truth any more.
Marc is keen to quote sources wherever possible, to the point where it starts to drive you mad. This does tend to die down after a while but it is something that jarred a little. Marc also has a tendency to, maybe, overdo the footnotes a bit. I know it's a tribute to Terry but still - slow down on the footnotes - It probably isn't too bad in the real book - I've been reading this on a PDF copy on my Kindle!
When talking about Terry's writing. Marc seems to often confuse his opinion with fact. There are several times when he makes definitive statements based on his opinion. For the most part I tend to agree with what he has said but if you are a fan of Sourcery for example you may take exception to some of his comments on it.
I was very pleasantly surprised to see my name, and that of Discworld Monthly, mentioned in the book.
So, did I enjoy the book. Yes I did, I thought I knew quite a lot about Terry but I also learned a lot more. It is comprehensive but there is still lots to tell in Terry's story - perhaps the official biography, whenever we eventually see it, fills in some of the blanks. This is a very well researched book and a must for fans that want to find out that little bit more about Terry. I can't wait for my print copy to arrive.
Update 12th July: My advanced copy of the actual book arrived today. So I can talk a little about the physical book. The cover looks great, but the yellow end papers and pages themselves are made of thin stock, meaning you can see the text through the pages. In the text dense pages it really isn't an issue but it would have been nicer if the publishers had used a thicker stock. The photo section in the middle of the book looks great and is printed on very nice glossy paper. The photos are all in black and white which (while surprising as the ones we supplied were in colour) has a tendency to make them look nice and sharp. There is a good range of photos which may be new to many readers.
Rachel and I will be involved with Marc's on-line book launch at the end of July. I've been asked to create a quiz that will test Marc's trivia knowledge. I will be interested in seeing how well he gets on against his launch party guests.
You can still pre-order the Magic of Terry Pratchett directly from Marc Burrows's website at:
Or if you prefer from our various affiliate links.
View our affiliate links to order The Magic of Terry Pratchett - Marc Burrows↑≡5. Competition: The Magic of Terry Pratchett
This month we have a copy of The Magic of Terry Pratchett to give away. See our review above to find out what we thought of the book… and don't worry it's a spare copy. We are definitely keeping ours.
In order to win a copy of The Magic of Terry Pratchett you need to send your answer along with your postal address to competitions@discworldmonthly.co.uk by 8th August 2020.
| Q1. | It was recently reported that early in his career Terry interviewed a very famous author under a by line of Marcus. Who was the famous author? |
Your address will only be used for sending out your prize should you be the lucky winner. Once prizes are sent out all address details will be destroyed. Entries received after the closing date or sent to any other address will be ignored. No more than one entry per person will be accepted - multiple entries will result in a ban from the competition. Failure to answer the questions or provide your postal address will prevent you from being entered into the competition. Answers to the questions must not be posted to any websites before the competition ends. The judges' decision is final. The competition is open to all readers.
The winner will be announced in the next issue.
↑≡6. A morning with Daniel Knight… …and Christian Bloch and Ahren Morris.
Written by David Moger.
Snowgum films put up a Facebook Post advertising an online discussion night about Troll Bridge with Daniel, Christian and Ahren, and as I was not working I thought "why not?" so I signed myself up.
Discussion night turned out to be 9.30am UK time, so while many of the attendees were drinking beer I had to be content with cups of tea. The attendees were mostly professional filmmakers and film students skilled in special effects and digital animation. This is because it was put on by DLF – Digital Labourers Federation - an Australian non-profit social group which acts as a contact point for people in the digital arts industry.
The format was individual talks by Daniel, Christian and then Ahren, followed by a big Q and A with all three and then split off into smaller groups with one of them for more questions.
Daniel talked about the start of the idea, with good quality fan films being made of Star Wars and other film franchises, the thought that he could do this, the early filming of the prologue, and working with Terry. If you have the DVD or Blu-Ray it is similar content to the "making of" videos, but a lot of the information on the fan fiction films was new to me.
Christian talked about the effects, and how the small army of volunteers worked. As volunteers gained experience on the project they seemed to go either one of two ways. Either they did their bit and left, equipped with a show reel of their work, or they stayed and in some cases supervised the work of others, as happened with animating the horse.
There was a digital "boot camp" for new animators giving the things they needed to know before they were set to work, and the boot camp documentation seemed to be a major project in itself, as was version control of the animators.
Ahren finished up this section with his short talk, and then things moved on to Q and A. When the group broke up into smaller groups I ended up with Daniel twice! He was asked what he is working on next, and he is writing scripts for three films. One is a true story of Antarctic exploration, one is about a post-apocalyptic theatre troop bringing culture to the masses, (ie the cannibals, mutants, androids and other ne'er-do-wells who populate Mad Max movies) and the third is a single-hander inside a space ship's escape pod. Daniel said the advantage of working on three different things is that when he hits a block with one he has something else to move on to.
After this there was a networking section where the techies talked to each other, so at that point I left them to it. It was a very interesting morning and I learned a lot, including some things on Youtube to look up. There was a lot more than is contained on the Troll Bridge extras videos. It really brought home how many people worked on the project and how difficult it must have been to coordinate things to get the finished product. It was a very enjoyable way to spend the morning.
↑≡7. A request from Scree
As transcribed by David Moger
Hello dere.
Dis is an appeal on behalf of trolls under bridges everywhere.
In dese uncertain times it is easy to forget dose who work far away in der countryside and are badly affected by der locking down and der short walks everyone has to do. Wid all of dis people are not going to der far away bridges where most bridge trolls live. If nobody is crossing dere bridges, dese bridge trolls have no income. In normal times bridge trolls rely on der stupid humans crossing dere bridges to get robbed. Widdout dis income der bridge trolls are suffering.
Der bridge trolls need gold and dey are just not getting enough. "What do dose big old trolls need gold for?" I hear you ask. Well how do you tink dey get der bridge repaired when bits fall off? Dose dwarfs don't come cheap. When dey are not trying to cut bits off of us wid dere axes, and we are not trying to squish dem or hit dem wid our big clubs, dem dwarfs are repairing der bridges for gold. No gold means der bridges don't get repaired and fall down, so der bridge troll is out of business and der bridge is not dere any more.
So spare a fort for your local bridge troll. If you have a bridge near you and you is out for your Patrician-ly mandated exercise please consider walking over dat bridge. A small dink on der head is a small price to pay for the well-being of your local bridge troll.
Alternatively you can donate by sending a clacks to PayTroll. And our friendly and professional staff will come around to your house and collect the gold in a friendly and professional manner. We use a smaller club for der house calls so you will soon be up and about again having never left the comfort of your home.
And don't worry about catching der lurgy dat is causing all of der problems. Us silicareous life forms do not transmit der lurgy dat der humans are hiding from. But if you see a troll about to sneeze you had better take cover behind something substantial, like a building, or a mountain.
So please tink about der bridge trolls in dis time of unprecedentedness Please help dem keep dere bridges open and in good nick, and help keep bridge trolls and ageing barbarians employed.
And please remember, when visiting your local bridge troll, it is most important to leave your goat at home.
Tank you.
↑≡8. Birthdays
Everyone has a birthday. If you know someone who would like a mention or if you would like your birthday included in the listings, send us an email the month before your birthday and we will add it to the list! Email rachel@discworldmonthly.co.uk Subject: Birthday
Happy Birthday to everyone who has a birthday this month especially Peter Cate, Sheila Wicks, Elaine McCabe, Philip Newson, Sara Blinks, Jennifer Brehl, Sharon McGuiness, Mark Ayling, Dave Sherman, Milly Cranfield, Rob Prosser, Adele Anderson, Kirstine Heald, Jean Guittet, Sue Crooks, Jacqui Lawrence, Simon Musson, Sam Richardson, Martin Wallace, Christian Bloch, Sally Baker, Marie Gallagher, Isabel Dodds, Pete Charles, Stuart Wrighton, Fenja Hill, Jelmer Graafstra, Tracey Degg, Kieron Alice Young, EJ Burr, Captain Shivers, Zoe Conlon, EJ Burr, Patty Panek, Kerry-Ann Adamson, Elaine Mina Hazlehurst, Cat Lamin, Pete Cate, Frankie Wright, Barbara Preston, Rachel Scanlon, Harmony Maverick, Adrian France, Cheryl Smith, Alan Keatinge, Phoenix Beau, Tricia Rasberry, Andew Eldred-Tyler,and Julie Speeder.
Happy August Birthday greetings to: Brex, Joel Franklin, Mark Elliott, Tony Perkins, AJ Tucker, Stephen Caldecott, David Washbrook, Kitty Jones, Jon-Paul Jones, Pam Hicks, Sarah Jane Taylor, David Zabiela, Kielan Donahue, Catrine Smith, Phil Chadwck, Andrea Richardson, Harrie Cater-Pugh, Mark Elliott, Christine Hendzlik,
↑≡9. 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 edit your letters in whatever way we feel fit.
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.
We make an editorial decision on what letters to include. Sometimes the opinions expressed in a letter are not the same as our own but we reserve the right to publish them nevertheless. You might not like the content of the letters we publish and we encourage you to write in your own constructive letters explaining your points of view. We will not shy away from you including letters that question our views and expect our readers to be able to accept that not everyone has the same point of view on all subjects.
Please bear in mind that the Discworld Universe does NOT include The Watch TV series and thus if we read deeply between the lines, it looks like we will only get the one season of it anyway whether you love it or hate it - Rachel
Last month I pondered how long people had been members of this mailing list. We received a few emails on this subject,
* From: "Norman Dunbar" Norman@dunbar-it.co.uk
Further to my most recent email, I found the edition I won Letter of the Month in. It was Issue 90 when I was on a different email address! So I go back even further than I thought.
As ever, take care everyone and stay safe.
* From: "Sarah Pereira" thegirlwiththeamazingrhymingname@yahoo.co.uk
Sending distance hugs!
This is the oldest copy I still have [issue 86 - Ed] but it looks like I signed up to the group in February 2001??
Thank you for all your hard work.
The turtle moves!
* From: "Merriwyn Spicer-Wensley" merriwyn@gmail.com
You mentioned you wondered who had been subscribing forever, which prompted me to look up how long I had been a subscriber. I'm a relative whippersnapper at only 13 years contiguous subscription of your total 23.
* From: "Zimbee" zimbee@gmail.com
Just wanted to drop you a line, since you asked first issue subscribers to get in touch. At the time I was frequenting the alt.fan.pratchett Newsgroup as a college student at UNLV (Las Vegas, NV, USA) hailing from Bulgaria where I had discovered Pratchett the previous year via the illustrated translation of Eric. As you pointed out, everything was harder to come by and I used to comb through bookstores in Vegas trying to get my hands on books. There was a Bookstar store - long defunct - that was walking distance from the dorms and one day I found Pratchett books there! Squeal!
I was a computer science student and spent a lot of time in the computer lab for homework and hanging out. That's where I discovered the newsgroups. I was somewhat active in a few, but especially alt.fan.pratchett. Then one day something popped up about a fanzine. I subscribed and have received and read every issue. Went through several email addresses.
Thank you for all the years of information and hard work! Discworld Monthly is something I always look forward to and love reading.
Annie
* From: "Helen Williamson" h_e_w@yahoo.com
Just to let you know I have been a subscriber since issue 1 - and on the same email address!
Jason replies: Wow, thanks Annie and Helen (and anyone else still reading It's been an honour to have you with us for the journey) .
* From: "Cherie Lyon" sea_lyon@yahoo.com
RE: Klatchian Foreign Legion
I was a charter member of the um, hang on it's written here...
Right. Foreignlegend..
Lance corporal...
Hang on I wrote it on my uniform....
Lyon. That's it. At your service.
Only there was this guy who enlisted, see, they called him Beau Nidal, and the D'hregs... come on, you can't forget THEM.
Anyway, there are a lot less D'hregs now, and I'm here to enlist.
Thanks in advance.
Jason replies: I am sure there is some kind of coded message in here. But I can't remember how to decode it.
* From: "Dennis Pelton" lookoutmountainbookstore@gmail.com
May you live in Interesting Times
A short* commentary on contrasts in the writings of Sir Terence David John Pratchett OBE
Before I begin, do you remember that writing teacher, somewhere around when you were 16, who wanted you to write a paper where you "compare and contrast" a whatchamacallit with a doohickey? I wish I had written this back then.
Also, just a quick side remark: it is exceptionally brilliant that STP brings back Rincewind (last seen in Eric, written in 1990) and Twoflower (last seen in The Light Fantastic, 1986) and Cohen (ditto) and updates them for a new story written in 1994. Without being critical, I'd say Rincewind and Twoflower are rather one-dimensional in those earlier stories. To use the same characters and make them into real human beings with cares and lives - especially Two Flower - is absolutely marvelous.
On to the compare & contrast segment:
Sir Terry always writes characters that are well defined. That, of course, leads to differences in the way they think about, and react to, situations. In the novel Interesting Times this gives us some particularly poignant contrasts. Here are the ones that grabbed me:
- Ridcully, a man who *gets things done* vs. The Faculty, who *avoid* getting anything done as much as possible.
- Rincewind, always afraid of everything vs. Cohen the Barbarian, never afraid of anything.
- Twoflower, always seeing the best possible interpretation of whatever happens vs. Rincewind, always seeing the worst.
- The Silver Horde, determined to be as ignorant as possible except in their special area of expertise vs. Teach, well-educated and believing that education and culture are good.
- Lord Hong vs. Cohen...here's where it really gets interesting. Lord Hong is the best at everything and he knows it. He longs for a worthy opponent who can engage with him, to challenge him in subtle and ingenious ways. (He would love to play chess with Vetinari.) But the challenge he gets is from Cohen the Barbarian, who is as subtle as a whack upside the head with a 2x4. Cohen has successfully faced down everyone and everything since he was a boy and it's not so much that he is confident he can overcome anything that life can throw at him - he's pretty sure he'll fail, and die, some day - but that he will meet every challenge head-on.
- And the biggest characters of all, The Agatean Empire vs. Ankh-Morpork. Not in the sense of a military conflict (the original push by Vetinari was to prevent such a thing) but a difference of philosophy. A different concept of the organization of government. I love this especially because both are, on the surface, totalitarian governments with a single man in charge (The Emperor/The Patrician) . The differences are brought out in the novel through commentary by Rincewind, Cohen, and Twoflower.
I could go on, but instead I recommend you give Interesting Times a re-read with this perspective fresh in your mind.
* And not particularly scholarly
* From: "Gina Sonneville" embletog@gmail.com
Hilarious Holiday Camp
In March this year, just before the world went into lockdown and everything got surreal, we went to the Discworld holiday camp in Llamedos.
I have been to a few Discworld events over the years and when Rachel made her April Fool announcement at the Irish Discworldcon in Cork, my con buddy and I decided we had to try and make it to the Llamedosian holiday camp.
I have never been to Llanelli and was delighted to find it such a charming town. The hotel was set upon a hill and was small enough to feel personal but large enough to accommodate the gathering fans.
Unlike the larger cons there were no celebrity appearances, the atmosphere of the whole weekend was fan-driven, gloriously funny, highly social and really relaxed.
The programme was full enough to keep us all entertained but if you wanted to withdraw for quiet time that was also fine. I think because there were fewer of us and it was billed as a fully immersive interactive weekend, everyone went above and beyond to contribute. The costumes were gorgeous and it was such a smiley experience, my grin muscles ached for days after.
The food was basic and tasty and plentiful, the serving staff were lovely and friendly and completely bemused by the assortment of witches, dwarves, barbarians and general reprobates, all shepherded and cared for exquisitely by the con committee.
The committee were all dressed in purple coats and were brilliant at getting everyone involved and making sure we were all happy. Bizarre and funny signs appeared on walls and catchphrases were bounced around.
Because this was the first con of this type, there were very few traditions to observe so we had to make our own traditions. This was liberating and funny – massive hat tip to Dai the druid who gamely fell to the floor every time we chanted 'Die Dai Druid die' and must have been so bruised by the end of the weekend. This proved so popular that out of humanity we gave him a ten minute let before gleefully killing him again. Each time Dr Hix stepped in to revive him by utilising his necromancy post-mortem communication skull ring. Fans of the sitcom 'Hi-de-Hi' will have recognised references with truly a Discworldian flavour.
The whole weekend was incredibly well organised and delightfully amateur, with beautifully printed accessories and a superb goody-bag. I treasure my miniature bucket and spade. It was a truly unique and funny event and I would highly recommend it to anyone with a sense of fun.
One of my favourite moments came on the Sunday night, the last night of the weekend, when a group of middle aged/elderly gentlemen from the roundworld came to check in at the reception (there was an event on the Monday in the hotel) and wandered in bemusement through the extravaganza that was the costume ball.
From the Friday and for the rest of the weekend, we had the hotel to ourselves and it became a little jewel of glittery delight – a Llamedosian utopia. Thank you to all the Purple coats, you were absolutely brilliant and funny and amazing. Everything seemed to be very Terry, with kindness and hilarity. Schwiiing! I look forward to attending the next one.
↑≡10. Stage Productions
Of course, most if not all of the productions that would normally appear here have been cancelled or postponed due to COVID-19. We really hope that once the current situation has resolved itself the productions will be rescheduled and we can get our regular dose of Pratchett performances.
Whilst we would love to get to every event and play to write reviews and articles about them, we just don't have enough time, petrol and a wide enough spread of friends to borrow the couch for the night. But you, our wonderful readers do have the time, petrol and often don't need the couches as the event or play is on your doorstep!
We don't have English degrees here and you don't need one either to write something for Discworld Monthly!
PS. If you know of a play or event that we don't know about (shock horror) , email us. We like the surprise!
All submissions should be emailed to rachel@discworldmonthly.co.uk or info@discworldmonthly.co.uk
Don't forget to visit Pratchett Stage Productions for our most up-to-date list of stage productions.
All plays are currently cancelled until further notice.
↑≡11. Discworld Conventions and other Events
The UK Discworld Convention has been postponed until 2022.
CabbageCon 2020 is currently going ahead in October 2020.
Paul Kidby's Discworld and Beyond exhibition in Hereford has unfortunately been cancelled but they hope the next venue in Christchurch, nr Bournemouth UK goes ahead in October.
↑≡12. Recurring Fan Meetings
By their very nature the listing of recurring fan meetings remains static. So we've moved the full listings to our website at Recurring Fan Meetings
The newsletter will only include any listings that are new or have changed within the last 30 days.
↑≡13. Small Ads
If you want to try to sell your unwanted / duplicate Discworld items to other fans (and its legal for you to do so) email us at info@discworldmonthly.co.uk with the subject "Ads" and a short description of what you have and how fans can contact you. Discworld Monthly only lists the ads and is not responsible for the contents, validity or reliability of the ads or the buyers and sellers.
Hi everybody, due to a move I am planning to sell my Discworld collection by Clarecraft, as I don't want the pieces to have to suffer in the dark of the attic. I am selling about 65 pieces, including the small Discworld DW015, Captain Carrot with the wrong batch number, Ponder Stibbons, Maurice and all his rodents. Also available are the event pieces Roderick the Hippo of Ankh (although very slightly damaged but I think repairable as hardly noticeable) , Bill Door and Nancy the Pig, and the POS "From out of the Page" as are 16 Coat of Arms (I think only the 10 year Anniversary Shield is missing) .
For a complete list of items, including information regarding tent cards, boxes and individual
pictures of the items, send me an email to ccdwsale@gmx.de . One or two items have slight chips, which should be repairable and are hardly recognisable. Please note that the collection is located in Germany and postage might be higher than from England. If somebody would be
interested in buying the complete collection (my preferred option) , I would be willing to meet somewhere to be decided and hand over the collection personally. The whole collection has so far been displayed in a cabinet without direct sunlight and has been in a non-smoking household.
Cheers
Walter
↑≡14. The End
This month's issue is brought to you by not office moves, face masks and packets of pringles!
The deadline for submissions to issue 279 of Discworld Monthly is the 8th August 2020 !
↑≡14.1 Supporting Discworld Monthly
Discworld Monthly was created as a totally free newsletter and will continue to remain so for as long as it continues. However, the costs of maintaining the website, postage, travel etc. add up. If you feel you would like to make a small contribution towards these costs please consider doing so via: PayPal
Our account for Paypal is info@discworldmonthly.co.uk
You can also purchase items from our range of licensed Discworld Monthly products from: Discworld Monthly Shop
↑≡14.2 eBook Editions
Since issue 166 we have produced a version of Discworld Monthly that is formatted better for the Amazon Kindle eBook reader and since issue 186 we also produce an ePub version for other eBook readers such as the Kobo, Nook and Sony readers.
You can download either version from Discworld Monthly eBooks
↑≡14.3 Contact Information
We prefer information to be sent via email info@discworldmonthly.co.uk or rachel@discworldmonthly.co.uk but can also accept information via post at the following addresses: Discworld Monthly, 20 Cambrian Place, Pontarddulais, Swansea, SA4 8RG, United Kingdom
↑≡14.4 Latest Book Information
This Discworld Monthly website a list of books on our website with the cover blurb and direct links to UK, US and Canadian Amazon websites.
Terry Pratchett books at Discworld Monthly
You can also find a list of our affiliates at:
Discworld Monthly Affiliate Links
We have an extensive Terry Pratchett biography with a tick list you can print out at:
↑≡14.5 Subscription Information
To subscribe to Discworld Monthly simply enter your email address in the form on the Discworld Monthly web page. Our web site contains all back issues and links to other Pratchett sites.
To unsubscribe please follow the instructions at the end of this email.
↑≡14.6 Trivia Answers
| Q1. | In Carpe Jugulum, how does Igor know a storm is coming? |
| A1. | The top of his head tingles |
| Q2. | In the Fifth Elephant - BCB is the term for what? (Found in the lower fat layers?) |
| A2. | Burnt Crunchy Bits |
| Q3. | In Going Postal, what method of filing did Archancellor Ridcully employ? |
| A3. | The First Available Surface method |
| Q4. | During Hogfather, what scared Chickenwire? |
| A4. | A wardrobe from his childhood, with a carved face he imagined whispered things |
| Q5. | What does Horace the cheese eat? |
| A5. | Mice |
14.7 Small Print
We make every effort we can to ensure the information in this newsletter is accurate and legal. All trademarks are recognized as the property of their respective owners, whoever they may be. Discworld (R) is a registered trademark of the Estate of Sir Terry Pratchett used under licence.
↑≡14.8 Thanks
Thanks for reading this issue of 'Discworld Monthly'. We hope you enjoyed it. If you have any comments, complaints or suggestions for the future of this newsletter please email the editor : info@discworldmonthly.co.uk
↑≡14.9 The Final Word...
*Rachel here*
We may not be perfect designers, or award winning journalists but we do our best to keep you all entertained and informed about all things Terry. We do have some ethics though. We like our news to be current, up to date and factual with a solid source. We don't like posting rumours but occasionally the source it comes from is 98 percent solid so we will tell you it's a rumour and confirm it when we have a 100 percent confirmation. Our own articles are written by us for us only. You won't find articles from other publications here unless it's a formal press release about an adaptation, book release or event or something we actually wrote for someone else unless they begged us to publish it (OK not begged but some of our lovely friends do ask us occasionally to boost something) . [NB I say we are not award winning but Discworld Monthly did win Website of the Month for Issue 3 back in a different century. It would be nice to win something much more recent, or even just get acknowledged #justsaying]
Whilst you keep reading it, we'll keep on writing it because we love Terry's books just as much as you do.
GNU Terry Pratchett...
Affiliate Links
- All the Discworld's a Stage: Volume 2
- Crystal of Storms
- The Big Book of Modern Fantasy
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- The City Watch Journal
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- The Time-Travelling Caveman and other stories - Standard Edition
- The Time-Travelling Caveman and other stories - Slipcase Edition
- The Time-Travelling Caveman and other stories - Audiobook
- The Time-Travelling Caveman and other stories - eBook
- The Ankh-Morpork Vol 2
- Illustrated Guards! Guards! - Standard Edition
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- Puffin Book of Funny Stories
- The Magic of Terry Pratchett - Marc Burrows