Okay, You Pratchett Geeks
Riddle me this: What was Terry Pratchett's first discworld book?
Or it might not surprise, I don't know. I, though, was pleasantly surprised to find a magic-free Pratchett novel -- yep, hard sci-fi all the way -- in the used racks dating back to 1981, two years before the supposed beginnings of the discworld in 1983's The Color of Magic.
This, as I mentioned, has no magic, no sorcerers, and the demons are all explained by technology. Essentially, it's a bit of a parody of Niven's Ringworld in plot . . . as in it pretty much follows three protagonists (one ancient human with rejuve, one warrior race member and one diplomatic-but-deadly alien) as they punch a hole through a constructed world and journey across it to figure things out, meeting the denizens on the trip and having adventures. No Teela Brown, sadly.
There were foreshadowings of the series to come, though: Before the trip, some characters meet in a bar called the Broken Drum ("You can't beat it!"); after the world's discovery, this bit of dialog ensues:
"Some humans used to believe the world was flat and rested on the backs of four elephants," said Silver.
"Yeah?" said Kin. "What did the elephants stand on?"
"A giant turtle, swimming endlessly through space."
Kin tasted the idea. "Stupid," she said.
(Strata, Terry Pratchett, Signet, 1983, p. 48.)
Stupid, perhaps, but I'm glad he pursued the concept!
Or it might not surprise, I don't know. I, though, was pleasantly surprised to find a magic-free Pratchett novel -- yep, hard sci-fi all the way -- in the used racks dating back to 1981, two years before the supposed beginnings of the discworld in 1983's The Color of Magic.
This, as I mentioned, has no magic, no sorcerers, and the demons are all explained by technology. Essentially, it's a bit of a parody of Niven's Ringworld in plot . . . as in it pretty much follows three protagonists (one ancient human with rejuve, one warrior race member and one diplomatic-but-deadly alien) as they punch a hole through a constructed world and journey across it to figure things out, meeting the denizens on the trip and having adventures. No Teela Brown, sadly.
There were foreshadowings of the series to come, though: Before the trip, some characters meet in a bar called the Broken Drum ("You can't beat it!"); after the world's discovery, this bit of dialog ensues:
"Some humans used to believe the world was flat and rested on the backs of four elephants," said Silver.
"Yeah?" said Kin. "What did the elephants stand on?"
"A giant turtle, swimming endlessly through space."
Kin tasted the idea. "Stupid," she said.
(Strata, Terry Pratchett, Signet, 1983, p. 48.)
Stupid, perhaps, but I'm glad he pursued the concept!