Tag Archives: The Librarian

Book review

The Last Hero (Discworld 27), by Sir Terry Pratchett, 2001

I haven’t yet worked out why this matters to me, but for some reason it does. If you look up a list of Discworld novels on the internet today it will tell you there are 41, starting with The Colour of Magic and ending with The Shepherd’s Crown. There are many other Discworld books, from guides to the streets of Ankh-Morpork to Nanny Ogg’s recipe book.

The-last-hero.jpg

But it was not always thus. The list of Discworld novels used to run Thief of Time (26); Night Watch (27 – now 29), omitting The Last Hero (now 27) and The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents (now 28), both of which at the time were firmly non-canonical “other” Discworld stories. By ‘the list of Discworld novels’ I am mainly referring to the list as published in each new instalment of the series. I have a first edition of Night Watch for example, which shows this order, and categorised The Amazing Maurice as a Discworld story. I can perfectly understand why, for marketing purposes, Pratchett’s publisher would want to differentiate the novels written for younger readers – essentially the Tiffany Aching books – although I am not convinced that the differences between the younger reader novels and the mainstream Discworld novels are all that significant. Over time this distinction might fade, and they will just be considered part of the golden thread of the series. The Sir Terry website maintained by his publishers lists the Tiffany Aching books both in the main series of novels and in the younger reader section (along with the carpet People, Truckers, Dodger etc) in classic having their cake and eat it fashion.

The only real difference between the Last Hero and (say) Thief of Time i.e. a conventional Discworld novel is that The Last Hero is illustrated. It’s not a comic book – there are no speech bubbles – but there are illustrations on every page, and it was always conceived as such. It could be published without the illustrations as a Discworld novella, but that would be ripping the heart out of the novel (or whatever it is) because the illustrations, by Paul Kidby add significantly to the text. Kidby was at this point (2001) just taking over as the principal Discworld illustrator from Josh Kirby who was to die the year The Last Hero was published.

The plot is a very conventional Discworld adventure. Cohen the Barbarian sets off with his Silver Horde to return fire to the home of the Gods, Cori Celesti. A message is received by Lord Vetenari, Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, warning him that if their quest succeeds, the world will end. He assembles an unlikely team to stop them –  Leonard of Quirm, Captain Carrot, and the world’s worst wizard, the irrepressible Rincewind, backed up by the wizards of the Unseen University. They travel into space and round/under the world in a contraption invented by Leonard, in scenes that combine multiple references to the Apollo missions with echoes of Jules Verne and Dan Dare thrown in, arriving just in time to save the day, inevitably. It’s great fun, and a wonderfully fresh addition to the series. I thought I had read all the Discworld novels already, but because of the issues I mentioned in the opening of this post (at far too great a length!) I had missed this one. It was a wonderful to discover another chapter in the Discworld story.

Standard
Book review

Lords and Ladies (Discworld 14) by Sir Terry Pratchett, 1992

“In the beginning there was nothing, which exploded”. I suspect most readers would identify this as something Douglas Adams wrote, rather than his successor in genius, Sir Terry Pratchett.  It sets the tone for this wonderful novel. But perhaps I shouldn’t use this term, because as Lords and Ladies points out

“Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder.
Elves are marvellous. They cause marvels.
Elves are fantastic. They create fantasies.
Elves are glamorous. They project glamour.
Elves are enchanting. They weave enchantment.
Elves are terrific. They beget terror.
The thing about words is that meanings can twist just like a snake, and if you want to find snakes look for them behind words that have changed their meaning.
No one ever said elves are nice.” 

This is just one aspect of the genius of Sir Terry – his ability to use language creatively to make us think deeply about language and beyond, to a very serious discussion about power and responsibility within society.

Of course there is a lighter side to this novel. It includes one line much loved by Discworld fans:

“Nanny Ogg looked under her bed in case there was a man there. Well, you never knew your luck.”

I first read Lords and Ladies a long time ago. I have a vague memory of being slightly disappointed. But one of the many wonderful things about STP as a writer is his re-readability; I honestly can’t think of another writer whose novels retain their freshness and originality on multiple re-readings in the way Sir Terry’s do. In a word, I was wrong, Lords and Ladies is magnificent.

It follows chronologically immediately following the events of Witches Abroad. I could easily be wrong about this but I think this is one of the few times in the series that STP does this (The Colour of Magic/The Light Fantastic being the other example that springs to mind.) This gives the reader the impression that they are enjoying a continuing narrative, an adventure in real time. Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Magrat Garlick return from their adventure in Genua to find that while they have been away the people of Lancre have neglected their defence against the dark arts lessons. In particular the witches’s warnings about the Dancers, a mysterious stone circle outside the village have been ignored. With Lancre’s magical protections weakened and unguarded, a portal to the world of the elves is opened.

But as you will have seen above, these elves are not the noble creatures of MiddleEarth- they are amoral monsters that use “glamour” to alter human’s perceptions of them. The elves break into the Discworld and cause carnage at Magrat’s wedding, to be confronted (and OK, yes, spoilers, ultimately defeated) by a feat of magic that only Granny W could pull off. There is a sub-plot featuring a visit by the Arch-Chancellor and the Librarian to the wedding, but otherwise that is pretty much it – a fairly unsubstantial piece in terms of the plot. But reading STP for this plotting would be very much missing the point – you need to read him for his characterisation and his ideas.

STP really hit his stride at this point in the Discworld history, and never really took a misstep thereafter. So many great novels to come.

 

 

Standard
Book review

Guards! Guards! (Discworld 8) by Terry Pratchett, 1989

“They may be called the Palace Guard, the City Guard, or the Patrol. Whatever the name, their purpose in any work of heroic fantasy is identical: it is, round about Chapter Three (or ten minutes into the film) to rush into the room, attack the hero one at a time, and be slaughtered. No one ever asks them if they want to. 
This book is dedicated to those fine men.” 

I was really looking forward to reaching Guards! Guards! in my Discworld reread. It is the novel in which Sam Vimes and the city’s night watch first appear, as well as featuring an extended role for the wonderful librarian.guards

A secret brotherhood, the Unique and Supreme Lodge of the Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night, plot to overthrow the Patrician Havelock Vetenari by using a dragon summoned from wherever it is that all the dragons went.  As plans go this has some weaknesses, not least the dragon’s reluctance to return to its own realm once the people have been gulled into accepting a new puppet king. The fine men of the Night Watch, who at full strength are Captain Vimes, Sergeant Colon, Corporal Nobbs, and Lance Constable Carrot Ironfoundersson, set out restore order, aided by their new deputy, the Librarian.

Vimes is a drunk, fit only for the Watch, a small group of incompetents suited for bell ringing and running away. Newly appointed Constable Carrot is the exception to this rule. Brought up by a dwarf family (a great visual joke that Elf obviously borrowed) he is a strapping young man full of enthusiasm and youthful idealism for the rule of law – his first act on being sworn in is to arrest the head of the Thieves’ Guild.

Vimes begins investigating the dragon attacks, and in doing so meets Lady Sybil Ramkin, a magnificent swamp dragon breeder (That is, she is magnificent, not the swamp dragons, which are to royal dragons what chihuahuas are to great danes). She gives him a pet dragon, Errol, and offers help in the investigation. While the Brethren’s plan initially works and the Patriarch is deposed, the dragon returns unexpectedly during the coronation, eats the prospective king, and takes up residence in the palace. He seems to be able to control Vetinari’s chief minister Wones, clearly the Supreme Master of the brethren all along, through telepathy. A new order is imposed in which tributes are paid to the dragon in the form of gold, jewels, and a monthly human sacrifice.  I won’t give away the finale because I am getting soft in my old age, but suffice to say fans of Shrek won’t be taken by surprise.

A commonly asked question about Discworld is where to start? At the beginning is always the best place, of course, but I would accept that it takes quite a bit of determination to face the prospect of the 40 or so novels in the series. If you are not convinced you have the stamina for the long haul, and want to sample Sir Terry when he had really hit his stride, then Guards! Guards! is a great starting place. You don’t need to have read any of the preceding novels as a precondition to enjoying Guards! – it works well as a stand alone narrative. It also introduces you to a range of characters who you will grow to love, if you have a heart. I’ve written before and often about my love for this series, and I would still argue that Granny Weatherwax is one of the greatest female characters in all literature (yes, I am well aware that sounds preposterously overstated – I stand by every word.) But Sam Vimes is the character with the most interesting story arc – he starts this novel as a broken wreck of a man, and by the end of the series he – well, things get a lot better for him. It’s a story of redemption through public service, and that may sounds pompous but it’s true nonetheless.

Rereading these novels is a joy, in part because you know what is to come and can spot all the small moments of foreshadowing. Vimes and Lady Ramkin’s relationship is that rare thing, a believable romance between two characters past their prime. The other source of pleasure in the novels is the “spot the pop culture reference” game STP loves to play – the text refers playfully to Sherlock Holmes, (“There was also the curious incident of the orangutan in the night-time”) Casablanca, Evelyn Waugh, Dirty Harry, and the Hobbit, to name just a few.

Guards! is written with an obvious love for books, bookshops, and libraries. This shines through in the many references to the importance of these in our lives and the special place in hell reserved for people who don’t respect them.

“The truth is that even big collections of ordinary books distort space, as can readily be proved by anyone who has been around a really old-fashioned secondhand bookshop, one that looks as though they were designed by M. Escher on a bad day and has more stairways than storeys and those rows of shelves which end in little doors that are surely too small for a full-sized human to enter. The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read.” 

Creating the beloved librarian to protect the Unseen University’s library was a great gift.

Last but not least I can never read Pratchett without being reminded yet again of his awesome ability to turn a phrase, comedic, philosophical or otherwise. Here are just a few random examples:

“They felt, in fact, tremendously bucked-up, which was how Lady Ramkin would almost certainly have put it and which was definitely several letters of the alphabet away from how they normally felt.”

“Someone out there was about to find that their worst nightmare was a maddened Librarian. With a badge.”

“A good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read.”

“The three rules of the Librarians of Time and Space are: 1) Silence; 2) Books must be returned no later than the last date shown; and 3) Do not interfere with the nature of causality.”

“… a metaphor … is like lying but more decorative.”

“His sister had been sent down to the village to ask Mistress Garlick the witch how you stopped spelling recommendation.”

Glorious.

 

Standard