Category: Series - Discworld - JARED R. LOPATIN

MOVING PICTURES by Terry Pratchett (Print)

10/18/2025

#10 - Discworld

The commentary on the film industry was good but I just couldn't fall into this one as much as I wanted to. Not quite enough Death, of course (there never is). However, I enjoyed Pratchett's genius being applied to the thinly veiled applications of film technology to the Discworld. It became a little repetitive at moments. The payoff, though, was a delight. Pratchett's subversion of genre is always fun to read. I also like that the mechanics for all of this were set up in previous books.

3/5

Quotes:

"The whole of life is just like watching a click [film], he thought. Only it's as though you always get in ten minutes after the big picture has started, and no one will tell you the plot, so you have to work it all out yourself from the clues."
"Darkness was everywhere, all the time, just waiting for the lights to go out. [...] Just waiting for reality to snap."
"Magic wasn't difficult. [...] The trick was to do magic and get away with it."

ERIC by Terry Pratchett (Paperback)

8/24/2025

#9 - Discworld

This is a shorter book but a delightful one. We're back to Rincewind and Death (two of my faves). Plus, I love a bit of reimagination when it comes to cosmology and the afterlife. I also love that at the top of every page of this novel, the word FAUST is crossed out and ERIC is written in its place. It's just playfully delightful as Pratchett tends to be. I have a feeling this is going to be expanded upon in later novels and I'm eager to see how it relates to the greater Discworld...well, world. To place so much in the hands of two incompetents with someone else really pulling the strings, it's probably inadvertent in its metaphorical relatability, though I'm unsure that anything Pratchett does is inadvertent.

5/5

Quotes:

"Rincewind glanced sidelong at the parrot, who had been unnaturally silent for some time and was now cowering up against his ear like an elderly spinster in a strip club." (45)
"'Multiple exclamation marks,' he went on, shaking his head, 'are a sure sign of a diseased mind.'" (115)

GUARDS! GUARDS! by Terry Pratchett (Paperwork)

8/17/2025

#8 - Discworld

I had fun with this. It didn't go anywhere I thought it was going to, but that's pretty common with Pratchett, I've come to find. I see that this is the first in the City Watch series and I am quite curious to see how it all plays out, especially for Vimes and Carrot. Plus, love Lady Ramkin and I'm hoping for more of her. I'm hoping (but not expecting) for a return of the dragons, or at least some dragons. The more the Patrician features, the more I'm intrigued. I don't think this is my favorite line of story arcs (Death definitely holds first place with Witches in the second) but this might be taking third.

4.75/5

PYRAMIDS by Terry Pratchett (Paperback)

7/24/2025

#7 - Discworld

I love a bit of Egyptian mythology and a dash of timey-wimeyness; Pratchett delivers beautifully on this. This was a recipe made for my interests and I had a wonderful time diving into the twists and turns of this novel. It's a delightful romp through the "Old Kingdom" and it opens a new facet of the Discworld. Plus, one of my old favorites, Death, makes an appearance. I can't actually think of a novel where Death hasn't shown up yet and I'm fine with that. Pratchett takes the familiar and makes it his own, truly. His way of writing tickles the fancy in ways that can also be found in the likes of Adams and Fforde.

Quotes:

"It's a mistake trying to cheer up camels. You may as well drop meringues into a black hole." (353)

4.5/5

WYRD SISTERS by Terry Pratchett (Paperback)

7/5/2025

#6 - Discworld

Practhett clearly knows his theatre. Especially his Shakespeare. I mean, one could have guessed from the title that this would wander vaguely through the general plot of the Scottish play and one would have been correct. I really enjoyed the three witches - each with their own personalities and idiosyncrasies. It was a bit of a slow start for me, though. I didn't really fall into it until about midway through. I believe (I could be wrong) this is the first book without Rincewind and we only get a cameo from Death. Pratchett is still genius in his descriptions. I find myself heartily amused by many of his sentences. I'm curious to see how this whole world is really going to come together to affect each other. Lancre is a new setting, though we've seen the Ramtops before. It's taking me longer to get through this series but I am determined to go through them all.

Quotes:

"'In - In the Guild,' said thee Fool, 'we learned that words can be more powerful even than magic.'" (91)
"Ninety percent of true love is acute, ear-burning embarrassment." (171)

4.75/5

SOURCERY by Terry Pratchett (Paperback)

5/24/2025

#5 - Discworld

I wanted to like this one more than I did. The premise was interesting; the compounding of magic upon magic to create a concentration that then threatens existence. I mean, who doesn't love an apocalypse? Plus, Rincewind is back and I really enjoy him, not to mention Death showing up. There was also a little bit of a nod to GOOD OMENS with the four horsemen, though perhaps it's not such a nod as inspiration since it predates GOOD OMENS by two years. I just wasn't as invested as I wanted to be. It felt like a lot of things happened and, yet, nothing at all. Perhaps if it were the first book in the series, I would have enjoyed it more but I have a certain standard I now expect from the Discworld books and this one was slightly subpar. I do wonder if this concept and if Coin will come back in subsequent books as the full story unfolds.

3.75/5

MORT by Terry Pratchett (Print)

3/22/2025

#4 - Discworld

I finished this in the wee hours of the morning and I really enjoyed it. I think this is my favorite Discworld thus far. Death as a character is just so much fun and to add an apprentice and an adopted daughter just shows the anthropomorphic personification in a new light. One can also see how Pratchett and Gaiman influenced each other as both have some version of "putting chairs on tables" once Death's duty is done. The only thing I didn't really connect with was Mort's obsession with saving Keli. She doesn't really seem the type to be saved, though he does it, I suppose, before he actually knows her personality. He's just going on looks and who hasn't done that before? Pratchett's writing is always so light and humorous that it's easy to read just on the surface; still, looking back, I realize that he's making some serious statements about death itself. It was also nice to return to the Unseen University, which seems to be a lynchpin in the Discworld, and to see an old friend. I feel like Pratchett is really building out with MORT and giving the readers more of a foundation for what the rest of the series might include. I want more of Death as a character and I'm sure Pratchett won't disappoint.

4.75/5

EQUAL RITES by Terry Pratchett (Print)

3/8/2025

#3 - Discworld

This was a left turn from the two previous books so it took me a minute to readjust. While I miss some of the characters from THE COLOUR OF MAGIC and THE LIGHT FANTASTIC, the world has opened up with new characters in some familiar settings, like Ankh-Morpork and the Unseen University. I'm totally on board with world expansion here and I'm looking forward to seeing how these characters will interact (if they do) with some of my favorites from the first two books. I'm also loving Pratchett's gender politics journey here and the language inherent in the assigning of gendered roles like witch and wizard. I am eager to see how he defines sorcerer and warlock (though I think the latter is already vaguely defined in this book). The "wizard's battle" that occurs in this book is fun and I wish there were more of it but I understand why it isn't lingered on. I do want to know more about Wandering and the worlds that were introduced in that section - will we see more of them? Overall, I enjoyed this one. I know there are some people who say this is one of the books to start with but I'm glad I read it after reading the first two.

4.5/5

THE COLOUR OF MAGIC - Television Movie

2/27/2025

This is a rare non-book but still tangentially-related book post. I finished The Colour of Magic on Amazon Prime. I had started it when I finished reading THE COLOUR OF MAGIC, but Trymon showed up and I immediately knew I needed to stop and continue when I had finished THE LIGHT FANTASTIC. I was not disappointed. For a screen adaptation, it has the whimsy of Pratchett's writing, especially when you have the cast you have. The CGI is...questionable but fair for when it was filmed. Besides, the books themselves are so whimsical that you have to suspend disbelief in general so a little rough CGI in 2025 is no bad thing. I had a good time. Before this, I had only seen The Hogfather (which I have not yet read) so I knew I was heading Into a specific time of film-making. I would like to see the other Discworld adaptations but they're all on Acorn.

Tim Curry Is living his best life as villain Trymon, of course. David Jason (who is new to me) is a great Rincewind, really capturing some great what-I-call "Bea Arthur" moments. Sean Astin has the annoying innocence of Twoflower (it's also telling that he is the American dropped into a very British world). Laura Haddock (also new to me) is a wonderful Bethan and David Bradley as Cohen the Barbarian...just so much fun, especially having known him as Argus Filch from the Harry Potter series.

The only thing that threw me was that Prime has three episodes listed for The Colour of Magic but the story is truly wrapped by the end of episode two. Episode three starts in the middle of the story and continues to the end but it is an exact duplicate of what has gone before. I thought maybe it was a little trick since the books are so offbeat but it seems to be just a glitch.

THE LIGHT FANTASTIC by Terry Pratchett (Print)

2/24/2025

#2 - Discworld

I really enjoyed thee second of the Discworld series. It didn't end anywhere I expected but, with Pratchett, one can hardly rely on one's own expectations. A delight to see the return of Rincewind and team and yay for new characters. I especially liked learning more about the Unseen University. Strangely enough, every time I see this title, "I Sing the Body Electric" plays in my head. Specifically the version by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. I don't know why.

4.5/5