Unseen Academicals - Revelation!

[swreader]

Because, of course, Terry didn't want to write the book that way. He had a lot of things to discuss, and your rather obvious but irrelevant question wouldn't have allowed him the room he needed.

I've just finished re-reading Unseen Academicals for about the 4th time, and although I didn't like it much at first, I found it much better this time. I still think that Terry tried to develop too many themes in this book for it to be one of the great ones, but then given the fact (or in my interpretation) that it's the valediction to the wizards, it may indeed be the best of the wizard books.

 

[Tonyblack]

oh, missed that. Geese, that's a new low for spambots....

Sorry, but this made me LOL. I think you meant 'geez', but geese is a much funnier image.

 

[Penfold]

A point of interest regarding the definition of the ball, and one that in no way adds too the discussion whatsoever, comes from my job as a croupier.

The British Gaming Board (now known as the Gaming Commission) did not have a definition of what constitutes a ball for roulette purposes, other than whatever object went around the wheel three times will constitute a legitimate spin. In the past, this has caused some jocularity when a certain dealer decided using a 'mint imperial' would be amusing. The players spending large amounts of money on the spin thought otherwise, but the result stood!

The dealer got a right telling off, btw, and it wasn't me (wish I had thought of it tho)

 

[Anonymous]

My personal best wizards book still is Last Continent, on a sidenote. I just adore the brilliance behind how round the story is.
UA, as mentioned before, is a bleeding stinker to me. Maybe, if it weren't for the orc it would fare a lot better.
No, scratch that. Without the orc it WOULD CERTAINLY fare much better.
(And yes, I DO have a list of ALL the flavs (Did I mention I have far too much time on my hands?))

The idea to have the wizards getting forced into some sportive activity is very neat, but the execution is worse than some of the things I read in fanfiction throughout various fandoms. (Yes, that does include fanfiction in which the whole sport stuff was a cheap excuse to have two characters have sex in the showers)

As for the whole 'the ball is the ball' thing: Yes, it is personal taste, and to me it just feels forced. There was actually NO good reason why not have Trevor play fair and square with a ball-shaped ball. None.

 

[high eight]

Re:

Because, of course, Terry didn't want to write the book that way. He had a lot of things to discuss, and your rather obvious but irrelevant question wouldn't have allowed him the room he needed.

I've just finished re-reading Unseen Academicals for about the 4th time, and although I didn't like it much at first, I found it much better this time. I still think that Terry tried to develop too many themes in this book for it to be one of the great ones, but then given the fact (or in my interpretation) that it's the valediction to the wizards, it may indeed be the best of the wizard books.

Just spotted another reference in UA that nobody else seems to have done: - Near the end, Nutt says to Glenda; "Juliet told me that you secretly want to ride through Quirm on a warm summer's evening feeling the wind in your hair"

This, of course, is a reference to Shel Silverstein's Ballad of Lucy Jordan:

At the age of thirty-seven she realised she'd never
Ride through Paris in a sports car with the warm wind in her hair.

I just love Pterry's litle subleties! :clap: