Guards! Guards!


Book Description

“Patchett demonstrates just how great the distance is between one- and two-joke writers and the comic masters whose work will be read into the next century.” —Locus Magic, mayhem, and a marauding dragon combine for extraordinary fun in this cheeky Discworld novel from New York Times bestselling author Terry Pratchett. Insurrection is in the air in the city of Ankh-Morpork. The Haves and Have-Nots are about to face off. Again. It’s old news to Captain Sam Vimes of the city’s ramshackle Night Watch. But this time, something is different—the Have-Nots have found the key to a dormant, lethal weapon that even they can’t fully control, and they’re about to unleash a campaign of terror on the city. Long believed extinct, a draco nobilis can now be seen patrolling the skies above Discworld's greatest city. Not only does this unwelcome visitor have a nasty habit of charbroiling everything in its path, but it’s also soon crowned King. Can Vimes, Captain Carrot, and the rest of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch restore order (before it's burned to a crisp)? The Discworld novels can be read in any order but Guards! Guards! is the 1st book in the City Watch collection and the 8th Discworld book. The City Watch collection in order: Guards! Guards! Men at Arms Feet of Clay Jingo The Fifth Element Night Watch Thud! Snuff




Split Heirs


Book Description

High comedy, low pratfalls, and thrilling derring-do combine in a magical and fantastic epic about the Ancient and Honorable Kingdom of the Hydrangeans; the mighty, though rather stupid, warrior Gudge; and the mysterious Black Weasel. "Confusion reigns in this often funny, frequently precious fantasy about usurped thrones and lost heirs. After the Gorgorian barbarians conquer the civilized kingdom of Hydrangea, their leader Gudge makes himself king, marries Hydrangean Princess Artemisia and settles down to a highly satisfactory life of drinking and debauchery. Royal triplets, separated at birth because of a Gorgorian superstition that multiple births suggest the mother's infidelity, receive very different upbringings. The only girl, Avena, is brought up in the palace as Prince Arbol, heir to the throne and a fearsome swordsman. One brother, Wulfrith, is raised by a shepherd; although a young ewe is his favorite companion, his size makes him a fearsome battler. The other brother, Dunwin, reared by the outlawed wizard Clootie, develops into a talented magician. To this basic brew Watt-Evans (the Ethshar series) and Friesner (Gnome Man's Land ) have added a couple of dragons, some attempted seductions, mistaken identities and misguided spells to produce a lighthearted fantasy." -- Publishers Weekly




Wyrd Sisters - Playtext


Book Description

Terry Pratchett takes Shakespeare's Macbeth and then turns it up 'till the knob comes off. It's all there - a wicked duke and duchess, the ghost of the murdered king, dim soldiers, strolling players, a land in peril. And who stands between the Kingdom and destruction? Three witches. Granny Weatherwax (intolerant, self-opinionated, powerful), Nanny Ogg (down-to-earth, vulgar) and Magrat Garlick (naïve, fond of occult jewellery and bunnies). Stephen Briggs has been involved in amateur dramatics for over 25 years and he assures us that the play can be staged without needing the budget of Industrial Light and Magic. Not only that, but the cast should still be able to be in the pub by 10 o'clock! Oh, and a world of advice omitted from the play text: LEARN THE WORDS Havelock, Lord Vetinari







Nation: The Play


Book Description

Following the National Theatre's success with plays based on novels by well-loved children's writers like Philip Pulman (His Dark Materials), Jamila Gavin (Coram Boy) and Michael Morpurgo (War Horse), the National now stages Mark Ravenhill's exhilarating adaptation of Terry Pratchett's witty and challenging adventure story in a major Christmas production for 2009. A parallel world, 1860. Two teenagers thrown together by a tsunami that has destroyed Mau's village and left Daphne shipwrecked on his South Pacific island, thousands of miles from home. One wears next to nothing, the other a long white dress; neither speaks the other's language; somehow they must learn to survive. As starving refugees gather, Daphne delivers a baby, milks a pig, brews beer and does battle with a mutineer. Mau fights cannibal Raiders, discovers the world is round and questions the reality of his tribe's fiercely patriarchal gods. Together they come of age, overseen by a foul-mouthed parrot, as they discard old doctrine to forge a new Nation.




Bystander 27


Book Description

After his pregnant wife is senselessly killed in a clash between the mysterious super-powered 'costumes', ex-Navy SEAL Jon Hayes fights to discover the truth about their identity and origins. For Jon Hayes, the super-powered 'costumes' are just part of ordinary life in New York City, until the day his pregnant wife Melanie is senselessly killed in a clash between Captain Light and The Jade Shade. But as Hayes struggles to come to terms with his loss, and questions for the first time who the costumes are and where they come from, the once sharp lines of his reality begin to blur... If Hayes wants to uncover the shocking truth about the figures behind the costumes, and get justice for his fallen family, he'll have to step out of the background, and stop being a bystander. File Under: Superhero Fantasy [ It’s Clobberin’ Time | Hayes One | Panel Beater | No Capes ]




Small Gods


Book Description

'You should do things because they're right. Not because gods say so. They might say something different another time.' Religion is a competitive business in the Discworld. Everyone has their own opinion and their own gods, of every shape and size - all fighting for faith, followers, and a place at the top. So when the great god Om accidentally manifests himself as a lowly tortoise, stripped of all divine power, it's clear he's become less important than he realised. In such instances, you need an acolyte, and fast. Enter Brutha, the Chosen One - or at least the only One available. He wants peace, justice and love - but that's hard to achieve in a world where religion means power, and corruption reigns supreme . . . 'An intriguing satire on institutionalized religion corrupted by power . . .' Independent 'Deftly weaves themes of forgiveness, belief and spiritual regeneration' The Times The Discworld novels can be read in any order but Small Gods is a standalone.




The First Discworld Novels


Book Description

This is how the Discworld began. Here is the sapient pearwood Luggage, a mobile trunk which launders any clothes put in it and incidentally homicidally defends its owner. Here is Twoflower, an innocent tourist in a world of nightmares and fairy tales gon




Wyrd Sisters


Book Description

Terry Pratchett’s fantasy classic Wyrd Sisters, a novel in the Discworld series, is the story of Granny Weatherwax, the most highly regarded non-leader a coven of non-social witches could ever have. Generally, these loners don't get involved in anything, mush less royal intrigue. but then there are those times they can't help it. As Granny Weatherwax is about to discover, though, it's a lot harder to stir up trouble in the castle than some theatrical types would have you think. Even when you've got a few unexpected spells up your sleeve. Granny Weatherwax teams with two other witches — Nanny Ogg and Margat Garlick - as an unlikely alliance to save a prince and restore him to the throne of Lancre, in a tale that borrows — or is it parodies — some of William Shakespeare's best-loved works.




Interesting Times


Book Description

'There is a curse. They say: may you live in interesting times . . .' This is the worst thing you can wish on a citizen of Discworld. Especially for the magically challenged Rincewind, who has already had far too much excitement in his life. Unfortunately, the unlucky wizard always seems to end up in the middle of, well, absolutely everything. So when a request for a 'Great Wizzard' arrives from the faraway Counterweight Continent, it's obviously Rincewind who's sent. For one thing, he's the only one who spells wizard that way. Once again Rincewind is thrown headfirst into a dangerous adventure. For the oldest empire on the Disc is in turmoil and Chaos is building. And, for some reason, someone believes Rincewind will have a vital role in the coming war . . . 'Pratchett is a comic genius' Daily Express 'Funny, delightfully inventive, and refuses to lie down in its genre' Observer Interesting Times is the fifth book in the Wizards series, but you can read the Discworld novels in any order.