Discworld marathon blog...
- Thread starter Quatermass
- Start date
One thing I noticed in your reviews is that you're prone to very long sentences with a lot of comma's in them. Now, I'm not a native English speaker myself but in Dutch language this is kind of frowned upon. These long sentences don't make for a bad read or detract from what your saying mind you. I just noticed it - and if you're submitting your writings anywhere, the judges will notice it too.
I hope it's okay for me to comment on your writing style instead of the content
I hope it's okay for me to comment on your writing style instead of the content
Willem said:
One thing I noticed in your reviews is that you're prone to very long sentences with a lot of comma's in them. Now, I'm not a native English speaker myself but in Dutch language this is kind of frowned upon. These long sentences don't make for a bad read or detract from what your saying mind you. I just noticed it - and if you're submitting your writings anywhere, the judges will notice it too.
I hope it's okay for me to comment on your writing style instead of the content
I hope it's okay for me to comment on your writing style instead of the content
Tonyblack said:
Willem said:
One thing I noticed in your reviews is that you're prone to very long sentences with a lot of comma's in them. Now, I'm not a native English speaker myself but in Dutch language this is kind of frowned upon. These long sentences don't make for a bad read or detract from what your saying mind you. I just noticed it - and if you're submitting your writings anywhere, the judges will notice it too.
I hope it's okay for me to comment on your writing style instead of the content
I hope it's okay for me to comment on your writing style instead of the content
REVIEW: Mort
The character of Death from the Discworld series was one I like as a character. Although I got into Soul Music first (mostly because of Cosgrove Hall's adaptation), I have a soft spot for many of the Death-related books. And while the first is not the best Death book by far, it still shows a lot of promise...
Death has taken a fancy to getting an apprentice, so he hires the gangling, inquiring country boy Mort. Young Mort may not have to be dead to be right for the position, but he has a lot to learn as he works in Death's household, in the company of manservant Albert, and sixteen-for-over-thirty-years Ysabell, the adopted daughter of Death. For to tamper with the fate of an individual is to invite disaster, and as Death begins to pass his duties, and more, to Mort, Mort makes a hormone-fuelled decision to save the life of Princess Keli of Sto Lat, and the results could mean a fate worse than death...
The Death of The Colour of Magic is not portrayed as sympathetically as he was in later books, although even in The Light Fantastic, he starts to show signs of who he will become. Undoubtedly, this is the story that begins Death's true evolution as a character. And while Ysabell was introduced in The Light Fantastic, she also evolves here as a character.
This story is more of a study, then, in character than it is of any real plot, and while this does have some detriment to the book, it is still a good work, showing how Mort and Ysabell grow up (signified, in part, with Mort insisting on being called by his name, and you see where Ysabell as truly accepted him when she finally does), and how Death evolves, being able to feel (after his own fashion, that is) compassion and trying to reconcile compassion with the harsh nature of his own duties. They are the true stars of the book, with Albert, Keli, and Cutwell, entertaining as they are, more or less along for the ride. Death undergoing 'human' experiences while Mort becomes more like Death is both funny and tragic, given the impending doom on the way.
Unfortunately, what Mort has in character, it lacks in plot. Mort making a mistake during his duties out of compassion is a good concept and explored fairly well, and the resolution isn't exactly cliched, but I feel that more could have been made of Keli being 'non-existant', as it was an intriguing concept that could have been mined for more humour than it did. This is also a much more serious novel, and while serious can be good, it doesn't quite mesh as well as it should with the style of these earlier books.
Mort is a good book overall, but it's fairly run-of-the-mill as Discworld books go, merely clearing the decks for better stories to come. However, Death is clearly a character with a lot of mileage in those bones. Not to mention that he makes sure that there is truth to that phrase, NON TIMETIS MESSOR.
Special New Utterance Rating Trial: Hmm.
First words: This is the bright candlelit room where the lifetimers are stored- shelf upon shelf of them, squat hourglasses, one for every living person, pouring their fine sand from the future into the past.
Last words: I PREFER AU REVOIR, he said.
The character of Death from the Discworld series was one I like as a character. Although I got into Soul Music first (mostly because of Cosgrove Hall's adaptation), I have a soft spot for many of the Death-related books. And while the first is not the best Death book by far, it still shows a lot of promise...
Death has taken a fancy to getting an apprentice, so he hires the gangling, inquiring country boy Mort. Young Mort may not have to be dead to be right for the position, but he has a lot to learn as he works in Death's household, in the company of manservant Albert, and sixteen-for-over-thirty-years Ysabell, the adopted daughter of Death. For to tamper with the fate of an individual is to invite disaster, and as Death begins to pass his duties, and more, to Mort, Mort makes a hormone-fuelled decision to save the life of Princess Keli of Sto Lat, and the results could mean a fate worse than death...
The Death of The Colour of Magic is not portrayed as sympathetically as he was in later books, although even in The Light Fantastic, he starts to show signs of who he will become. Undoubtedly, this is the story that begins Death's true evolution as a character. And while Ysabell was introduced in The Light Fantastic, she also evolves here as a character.
This story is more of a study, then, in character than it is of any real plot, and while this does have some detriment to the book, it is still a good work, showing how Mort and Ysabell grow up (signified, in part, with Mort insisting on being called by his name, and you see where Ysabell as truly accepted him when she finally does), and how Death evolves, being able to feel (after his own fashion, that is) compassion and trying to reconcile compassion with the harsh nature of his own duties. They are the true stars of the book, with Albert, Keli, and Cutwell, entertaining as they are, more or less along for the ride. Death undergoing 'human' experiences while Mort becomes more like Death is both funny and tragic, given the impending doom on the way.
Unfortunately, what Mort has in character, it lacks in plot. Mort making a mistake during his duties out of compassion is a good concept and explored fairly well, and the resolution isn't exactly cliched, but I feel that more could have been made of Keli being 'non-existant', as it was an intriguing concept that could have been mined for more humour than it did. This is also a much more serious novel, and while serious can be good, it doesn't quite mesh as well as it should with the style of these earlier books.
Mort is a good book overall, but it's fairly run-of-the-mill as Discworld books go, merely clearing the decks for better stories to come. However, Death is clearly a character with a lot of mileage in those bones. Not to mention that he makes sure that there is truth to that phrase, NON TIMETIS MESSOR.
Special New Utterance Rating Trial: Hmm.
First words: This is the bright candlelit room where the lifetimers are stored- shelf upon shelf of them, squat hourglasses, one for every living person, pouring their fine sand from the future into the past.
Last words: I PREFER AU REVOIR, he said.
I pretty much agree with your assessment, Q. Although I'm not convinced that Death really needs an apprentice. I think it's much more likely to be a badly thought out way of finding a companion for his daughter. The consequences are that because he lets Mort do the Duty for the sake of appearances, he let's go of himself and takes on some of Mort's humanity.
Tonyblack said:
I pretty much agree with your assessment, Q. Although I'm not convinced that Death really needs an apprentice. I think it's much more likely to be a badly thought out way of finding a companion for his daughter. The consequences are that because he lets Mort do the Duty for the sake of appearances, he let's go of himself and takes on some of Mort's humanity.
But yes, I did pick up a certain amount of Death hinting that he would like Mort to be a companion/lover for Ysabell, though his claiming (during the climax of Mort) that Mort seduced her seems to be either born of anger or (less likely) blatant hypocrisy. I'm guessing that part of the reason why Death was angry with Mort wasn't just the fact that he stuffed up, but also because Ysabell wanted to leave him. Ysabell also called her 'father' out on the fact that he had actually meddled in her life, not to mention others. And I got the impression from what Ysabell said that Death wanted to lose, but couldn't. (BTW, does anyone else have the Advent Children version of One-Winged Angel running through their head during that fight scene?)
I have to admit, I had either Christopher Lee's voice booming through my head whenever I read Death's lines, or else Gabriel Woolf. I know Lee has played Death on multiple occasions, but does anyone get Woolf's voice?
I see it as a sort of reverse version of Great Expectations, where Miss Havisham gets the young Pip (not our Pip) to come to her house and play with her ward, Estella. Miss Havisham hates men, having been jilted and she's training Estella to torture men by making them fall in love with her and then being a right b*tch to them. So Pip is supposed to fall in love with Estella in much the same way that Death thinks Mort will fall in love with Ysabell. Both Miss H and Estella insist on calling Pip 'boy'.
The big difference is that Death does this out of a sense of compassion (albeit misguided) where as Miss H does it out of pure malice.
The big difference is that Death does this out of a sense of compassion (albeit misguided) where as Miss H does it out of pure malice.
Tonyblack said:
I see it as a sort of reverse version of Great Expectations, where Miss Havisham gets the young Pip (not our Pip) to come to her house and play with her ward, Estella. Miss Havisham hates men, having been jilted and she's training Estella to torture men by making them fall in love with her and then being a right b*tch to them. So Pip is supposed to fall in love with Estella in much the same way that Death thinks Mort will fall in love with Ysabell. Both Miss H and Estella insist on calling Pip 'boy'.
The big difference is that Death does this out of a sense of compassion (albeit misguided) where as Miss H does it out of pure malice.
The big difference is that Death does this out of a sense of compassion (albeit misguided) where as Miss H does it out of pure malice.
Dickens loves creating characters that you love to hate. With David Copperfield, you have Murdstone, Creakle, and Uriah Heep. With Bleak House, you have Harold -ing Skimpole. And then, you have the sh**-your-pants scary Headstone and his student and classist lackey (against his own, hard-working sister) Charley Hexam from Our Mutual Friend.
Tonyblack said:
Crossposted there with you Q. The main reason Death is so anger and unfairly so is that he's taken on so much humanity (I think) and he's acting like a human might. He's throwing accusations at Mort designed to hurt and to make himself seem the wounded party.
I think the comparance of Mort with Great Expectations is very interesting,I never saw it that way.
But giving it a think,yes,there are likenesses.Ysabell is quite like Estelle,because if you read it,Estelle has been trained to be a bitch but there are places where you have an insight in her,I don´t think she really wants to be that way,and Ysabelle does it to hide her uncertainty of herself.She isn´t a bomb and she knows it,so she covers it up by being a bitch.
Mort makes a fool of himself similar to Pip.
But yes,I also think Death set it up.He is always trying to copy human rituals so I think he wanted to do it "properly".
Of course it all goes catawampus,but have you ever thought that all the fuss and fighting might also be to make it all more interesting?The forbidden fruit and so on?So more set up than it seems?
But giving it a think,yes,there are likenesses.Ysabell is quite like Estelle,because if you read it,Estelle has been trained to be a bitch but there are places where you have an insight in her,I don´t think she really wants to be that way,and Ysabelle does it to hide her uncertainty of herself.She isn´t a bomb and she knows it,so she covers it up by being a bitch.
Mort makes a fool of himself similar to Pip.
But yes,I also think Death set it up.He is always trying to copy human rituals so I think he wanted to do it "properly".
Of course it all goes catawampus,but have you ever thought that all the fuss and fighting might also be to make it all more interesting?The forbidden fruit and so on?So more set up than it seems?
I've always thought this - didn't Ysabel admit to Mort that this was the case?
And you've hit the nail on the head right there. I didn't really get why Death was so angry, but humanity would be a very good explanation for it.
Tonyblack said:
The consequences are that because he lets Mort do the Duty for the sake of appearances, he let's go of himself and takes on some of Mort's humanity.
Tonyblack said:
I'm trying to remember which author I was reading. I think it may have been Jonathon Swift. He has sentences that last for whole pages without a full stop. Other modern authors do it as well, but not so often. People seemed to know how to use colons and semi-colons better in those days.
REVIEW: Sourcery
I think that I heard somewhere that many consider this to be the worst Rincewind book. Personally, I disagree. Despite the fact that the ending is rather like Arthur Conan Doyle's infamous 'f*** you' to his fans (aka The Final Problem), Sourcery, at least, doesn't pretend to be much more than it is, an enjoyable romp.
The eighth son of an eighth son is traditionally a wizard on the Disc, but when one particularly opinionated and misanthropic wizard called Iplsore the Red has himself an eighth son, that son, Coin, is a sourcerer, a source of magic whose very presence on the Disc is a threat to all life on it. Rincewind flees the Unseen University before Coin, directed by a magic staff imbued with the soul of his father, takes over. Unfortunately, Rincewind is forced to team up with Conina, the daughter of Cohen the Barbarian, and the Archchancellor's Hat she just stole. With magic pouring into the world thanks to Coin, and wizards taking sides, the fate of the Discworld rests in Rincewind's hands. But what will make him take a stand? And how can the worst wizard on the Discworld stand up to the most powerful?
Sourcery is basically the bastard offspring of Equal Rites and The Light Fantastic, and while it is inferior to the former, it is superior to the latter because it actually has a more intriguing and engrossing plot. Not that it is any more complex than The Light Fantastic, but rather, because the ideas fit better into the whole. It brings what could have been a mediocre book into a fairly average one. It also introduces one of my favourite Discworld concepts, that of being knurd, into the series.
You do feel a certain amount of familiarity, nonetheless. Conina is a blatant substitute for Cohen the Barbarian, and seems to have been formed by the same reasoning: instead of making a barbarian hero an ancient man, make the hero a heroine who, ironically enough, wants to be a hairdresser. That Rincewind feels romantic inclination to her is surprising, because while Rincewind is not an asexual character, he doesn't seem at all romantic.
I mentioned above a connection to Arthur Conan Doyle's attempt to kill off Sherlock Holmes in The Final Problem. Having heard that Pratchett wrote this to please the Rincewind fans clamouring for another adventure, I do get the feeling that Sourcery, particularly the way it ended, was done, if not in anger, then at least to allow Pratchett to concentrate on more promising stories. While it is brave to end Sourcery in such a cliffhanger like manner, Pratchett, at least, knew better to allow Rincewind a way out, which would come to pass in Eric.
The characters, for the most part, are moderately entertaining, even if they are not interesting. Coin is perhaps most intriguing because he has all of this power, and yet, he is effectively controlled by his father (in the form of a staff), and the abusive relationship they have is chilling, even if it could have been expanded upon. Rincewind's method of defeating Coin is rather original, even if his (admittedly resigned and forced) heroism at times seem a little at odds with his established personality. Conina, Nijel, and Creosote, while generally singular characters, fulfill their roles, as do the wizards.
Sourcery is by no means the best Discworld book, but it is by no means the worst. Entertaining enough to enjoy for a time. It could have been worse. Problem is, I would have liked it to be better...
Special New Utterance Rating Trial: Hmm.
First words: There was a man and he had eight sons.
Last words: There would always be another morning.
I think that I heard somewhere that many consider this to be the worst Rincewind book. Personally, I disagree. Despite the fact that the ending is rather like Arthur Conan Doyle's infamous 'f*** you' to his fans (aka The Final Problem), Sourcery, at least, doesn't pretend to be much more than it is, an enjoyable romp.
The eighth son of an eighth son is traditionally a wizard on the Disc, but when one particularly opinionated and misanthropic wizard called Iplsore the Red has himself an eighth son, that son, Coin, is a sourcerer, a source of magic whose very presence on the Disc is a threat to all life on it. Rincewind flees the Unseen University before Coin, directed by a magic staff imbued with the soul of his father, takes over. Unfortunately, Rincewind is forced to team up with Conina, the daughter of Cohen the Barbarian, and the Archchancellor's Hat she just stole. With magic pouring into the world thanks to Coin, and wizards taking sides, the fate of the Discworld rests in Rincewind's hands. But what will make him take a stand? And how can the worst wizard on the Discworld stand up to the most powerful?
Sourcery is basically the bastard offspring of Equal Rites and The Light Fantastic, and while it is inferior to the former, it is superior to the latter because it actually has a more intriguing and engrossing plot. Not that it is any more complex than The Light Fantastic, but rather, because the ideas fit better into the whole. It brings what could have been a mediocre book into a fairly average one. It also introduces one of my favourite Discworld concepts, that of being knurd, into the series.
You do feel a certain amount of familiarity, nonetheless. Conina is a blatant substitute for Cohen the Barbarian, and seems to have been formed by the same reasoning: instead of making a barbarian hero an ancient man, make the hero a heroine who, ironically enough, wants to be a hairdresser. That Rincewind feels romantic inclination to her is surprising, because while Rincewind is not an asexual character, he doesn't seem at all romantic.
I mentioned above a connection to Arthur Conan Doyle's attempt to kill off Sherlock Holmes in The Final Problem. Having heard that Pratchett wrote this to please the Rincewind fans clamouring for another adventure, I do get the feeling that Sourcery, particularly the way it ended, was done, if not in anger, then at least to allow Pratchett to concentrate on more promising stories. While it is brave to end Sourcery in such a cliffhanger like manner, Pratchett, at least, knew better to allow Rincewind a way out, which would come to pass in Eric.
The characters, for the most part, are moderately entertaining, even if they are not interesting. Coin is perhaps most intriguing because he has all of this power, and yet, he is effectively controlled by his father (in the form of a staff), and the abusive relationship they have is chilling, even if it could have been expanded upon. Rincewind's method of defeating Coin is rather original, even if his (admittedly resigned and forced) heroism at times seem a little at odds with his established personality. Conina, Nijel, and Creosote, while generally singular characters, fulfill their roles, as do the wizards.
Sourcery is by no means the best Discworld book, but it is by no means the worst. Entertaining enough to enjoy for a time. It could have been worse. Problem is, I would have liked it to be better...
Special New Utterance Rating Trial: Hmm.
First words: There was a man and he had eight sons.
Last words: There would always be another morning.
