Comments | vilakins: The good, the bad, and the impossibly beautiful

vilakins

The good, the bad, and the impossibly beautiful

Jan 01, 2009 18:09

I am delighted to see that Terry Pratchett has a knighthood. Perhaps even Vimes would approve. :-)

I just finished reading Jingo yesterday, and rather think it joins my favourite Discworld novels. I loved this one: very funny (esp The Boat--yes, I did get the reference; Nobby finding his feminine side; Vetinari's hidden talents with melons, knives ( Read more... )

terry pratchett, sf, books

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mistraltoes January 1 2009, 08:28:19 UTC

Hm. How old is Robert Forward? Because I'm put in mind of Chastity Bono. You might not have heard of her, but she was the very famous child of a very famous rockstar couple back in the 60s here. I did think it was weird at the time, but now I don't even blink at it. OTOH, I have a soft spot for most of the virtue names--prudence, charity, etc.

I'm stuck at Small Gods. I can't say whether it wasn't amusing me because it wasn't my kind of funny, or because I just can't take too much Pratchett at one time and I'd just read the two previous books. It's probably time I picked it up and tried again, because I think that was in 2006.

vilakins January 1 2009, 09:53:59 UTC

Forward has grown children; that's all I know. [looks him up] Oh OK, he was born in 1932 and dies in 2002 which I didn't know. The book was published in 1997. I rather think he was either thinking of Modesty Blaise, maybe even subconsciously, or he wanted an ironic name as she's not at all chaste. Still, as I said, she's a tough pilot and that makes up for some of it (but not the violet eyes).

I didn't like Small Gods or Eric much at all. You could try one of the Watch books; I do love Samuel Vimes and his world.

jhall1 January 1 2009, 18:55:45 UTC

From the description of her, I'm sure the choice of name must have been deliberate. Does Rod Morgan have any Willie Garvin characteristics?

vilakins January 1 2009, 22:38:52 UTC

Not that I can see; he's the mission commander and has "coupled" with her before (but not on this trip).

jhall1 January 2 2009, 10:42:32 UTC

Definitely not a Garvin clone then. Willie Garvin was Modesty's closest friend but was about the only man that she never bedded. Their relationship was always strictly platonic.

vilakins January 2 2009, 10:44:31 UTC

Yep. My point exactly. :-)

vilakins January 1 2009, 10:05:42 UTC

BTW there are lots more books before Small Gods. Have a look at the reading order, which I'm working my way through. I'm reading all of them, but if you find a group or two you like, you could decide stick to that. I like the City Watch ones best, and the witch ones too, but you could see which you like. The wizard ones are quite as good IMO though I do love Ridcully the head of the Unseen University. I'd probably omit Eric (just wasn't up to par) and Small Gods which I didn't like, and you obviously didn't either.

Life is too short to read books you don't like. :-)

mistraltoes January 1 2009, 12:23:05 UTC

Yes, I started at the beginning and am going straight through, as you are. It's just taking me a long time, because after a book or two I want a long break from them. I appreciate knowing there's a listing on Wikipedia, though, because I'm always misplacing the one I wrote out by hand. Ain't the Internet grand?

Anyway, my favorites have always been Rincewind and Death, though Vimes may overtake them soon; I do like him (although I can never decide whether the thought of Paul Darrow playing him on stage is intriguing or horrifying). Rincewind makes me think of Vila, though, as there was a B7/Discworld crossover on the Lyst about the time I first joined, and if I recall correctly, several crewmembers looked like several Discworld inhabitants, with Vila being mistaken for Rincewind; it may have been inspired by PD's having played Vimes, I'm not really sure. Sadly, I don't think the last couple of chapters of that fic were ever written.

Mostly, I really agree with you about not reading books you don't like; but if I didn't push myself ( ... )

vilakins January 1 2009, 22:31:30 UTC

Rincewind does say a lot of Vilaesque things, and I tend to imagine him as about Vila's age, not the ancient bearded guy they had on TV. After all, he has a good turn of speed. I don't imagine Vimes as being at all like PD though; I have my own image of a thin, tough, weather-beaten guy. I'd like to have seen PD's interpretation though.

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