Okay-in context, almost everybody in the extra curricular creative writing workshop I attend is doing Harry Potter fan fic, and I need to do something to even that out, so I'll be doing some Discworld fan fic, just need to know this one thing (did ask the two other Discworld fan there, and they didn't know either)
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.Re: The Truth, does the Ankh-Morpork Enquirer still exist at the end, or does it die?
I think it still exists, but in a different form since the presses blew up (?)
Thanks fer being so quick, but pity you couldn't be more precise- Almost all of the family Discworld collection are, strangely at the family home-I only have Thud to keep me company in my Student room
I think the Enquirer blew up and is finished, but the Ankh Morpork Times is still going, if that's any help.
William DeWorde appears in Monsterous Regiment, still working for the Times, though I can't recall if the Enquirer was mentioned. Pratchett usually has trouble letting characters or ideas alone at just one outing, though (the recurrance of Death Of Rats and Gaspode beisng examples), so I should think it's still going as a sort of running-joke counterpart to the Times. I've still not read Where's My Cow or Going Postal, so I could be wrong.
I've just finished Going Postal and Sacharissa Cripslock and The Times appear but there's no mention of the Enquirer.
Nigel
I gave up when Pratchett was writin' them faster that I could read them, so anything beyong Guards, Guards or so is beyond my relm.
Though they are far better than the Potter hysteria going on at the moment. Pratchett must be fuming about J.Ks success. "but Ive been doing that for YEARS' I can just hear him cry.
I read The Colour of Magic in one sitting, never done that with a book before that (and never since). I couldn't finish the first page of the first Potter book before getting bored.
Still, looing forward to my annual Christmas reading of Hitch Hickers to fill the time off work.
Not only is he fuming he famously made his feelings very clear during an award ceremony acceptance speech.
How diplomatic.
IIRC, Gary has some *special* names for Mr Pratchett. ;)
IIRC, Gary has some *special* names for Mr Pratchett.
"Pussykins!"
Real david, this is what Pratchett said, he should be flogged I tell you, I mean...
Link: ...Suggesting Harry Potter is fantasy???
And
"the continued elevation of J. K. Rowling can only be achieved at the expense of other writers".
Well, how could you argue with thaty Real David ?
>IIRC, Gary has some *special* names for Mr Pratchett. ;)
'The Twat in the Hat' is the most mild and they go down hill from there
Gordon had some great gossip about him
Not that he's bitter.
I like the books he writes, and I'm quite happy to leave the relationship there, but I was quite taken aback by his lack of tact about Josh Kirby's death. He may have been correct that it doesn't affect the content of the books, but keeping it to himself out of respect might have been an idea.
thing is, it was nothing he hadn't said before Josh Kirby's death.
I miss his covers, but Paul Kidy's are nice in a different way, and the new monochrome are very nice...
Repeating it AFTER his death was still tactless, though.
And when he says after his death, he means in the interviews given for the news pieces about Kidbys death. Not a few months later but in the actual obituary/tribute interviews.
I've worked the night shift and been up since yesterday morning and need sleep quickly so I can't be bothered to click on that link but I suspect that you've found a different incident to the one I'm referring to Con. Is that from his recent open letter? The incident I'm referring to was possibly after collecting the Smarties or Carnegie award for one of his young persons Discworld books.
And you're going to over-react to this but what purpose does Fan-Fic serve as part of the creative writing course? What is the point and expected outcome? Genuinely want to know.
sorry, I can't be bothered to answer that, just assume the answer I'd have given is witty and irrelevant.
she " trying to "subvert" the genre."
...
by writing crap books?
i gave up on pratchett when i was about 15, but before that i was a big ol' pratchett geek.
Right, bright eyed and bushy haired I've checked the link and that's definatley not the incident that I'm referring to. Can't find detials of the one I mean though, but I've definatley read Pratchett complain about Rowlings unwarranted dominance of the field.
But it was a serious question. What is the purpose of the exercise?
It's this quote David
"the continued elevation of J. K. Rowling can only be achieved at the expense of other writers".
Yeah like he stood down when his books flooded every fantasy medium going. Gawd, its one rule for you Terry and... sorry. Pratchett the Hatchet fans. Ive read a couple too. I didnt buy them in his heighth of fashion though. I didnt want to add to his elevation at the expense of other writers.^=^
rant over
TBH,Carlsborg I don't quite know what you're going on about. Pratchett was never as dominant as Rowling, and the media was certainly never as saturated by his presence as it has been with Rowling.
Well, mabye he should.But maybe his plots are too, difficult to explain on screen to a massive audience.TBH,Connexus I would have liked to have seen his creations come to life on the big screen but I have a feeling his true fans may have been too cliquey (spurred on by his in parenthesis jokes. The revelling in being an isolated group)to support such a connection with thw masses. Young and idealistic though they were.
Hold on, hold on- I thought you didn't like the guy for being hyppocrit of the highest order- now you say you want his novels put up on the big screen ???
Itll never hold up in a court of law.
:|
Pratchett has long made a habit of decrying the ghettoisation of the fantasy genre, and to a certain extent, he's right - I'm sure most sci-fi/fantasy fans are aware how something ceases to be fantasy/sci-fi once it achieves mainstream status and becomes co-opted as 'social allegory' or dystopian soothsaying of some sort or other.
The main reason that fantasy is ghettoised, mind, is because the most readily-available examples are roleplaying spin-offs like D&D or Forgotten Realms. Mostly complete cack.
As for Pratchett's plots not translating to the screen, I've seen more impenetrable plots transfer well, and my main criticism with Pratchett these days is that he tends to write heavy-handed social comedy in a fantasy setting (the Guards books, Monstrous Regiment, The Truth), rather than outright fantasy spoofs (Sourcery, Mort). The former would not only be right at home in some ponytailed coke-fiend's celluloid atrocity, but there are increasing incidents in the books where I cringe as I read them, and I can't help but think those moments would be what attracts American cash to a potential movie version.
My money's on Monsterous Regiment for the big screen treatment - warring trolls and dwarves, big battle scenes, and a moralising tone topped off by a cringe-inducing twist that's so hackneyed you won't *just* cringe, your balls will crawl up your urethra into your stomach.
How come this is not the case with the Harry Potter realm then?
As a pose to Terry Pratcheteers these fans have the wisdom of hindsight to understand the dangers of what a movie can do to an book.
The same with simpsonites.Thell never need to do a movie of the Simpsons because of its value as a cult status. Harry Potter is not and never was a cult classic. It shot up as pop. Itself is a Childrens/Teen novel with an element of fantasy to provoke the understanding of being ghetto-ised as a teenager.
This should not allow Terry Pratchet to cast a grizzled overview of the marketplace and say as testimony that fantasy is failing to be seen in its fullness of expansion. If anything it may do for sci-fi what he could not in his delusionary state as prophet of all things D+D. Bring people to understand friends who are on a mythical bent, to understand their development and not ostracise them as middle class snobs who think they know everything. Even if they themselves cannot understand the intricacies of otherworldlyness. If anything Potter is a nice bit of armament for the cult and not Discworld eventual showing of an arse bound to produce nothing more than get to an injection of submissiveness within cult societies.
He did some wonderful prose and I agree Bear with your spot on commentry. Also that what is eating away at his art is that hes a better creative writer than a marketer or social commentator.
Everyone has the right to be hypocitical its human nature. No theres no buts.Thats it, end of story.
What I hate are carpetbaggers.
The closest Discworld has ever come to the screen was the two Cosgrove Hall serials. Unfortunately they were a massive let down - this was after CH had abandoned cel animation for financial reasons, and the new computer-based technology just wasn't up to the same standards. It all looked a bit cheap and nasty, basically.
Also, the decision to adapt Soul Music was mystifing, because unless you're familiar with Mort, most of the story is incomprehensible.
Like most teenagers I followed the Discworld novels religiously, but about the time of Maskerade I started to feel he was becoming dishearteningly lazy and cynical(i.e. Carpe Jugulum was just a rehash of Lords and Ladies, but with vampires instead of elves), and I started to lose interest in the series. Although recently I enjoyed Night Watch - Vimes is definitely his strongest character.
So what was this Pratchett gossip, then? Come on, spill!
"Everyone has the right to be hypocitical its human nature. No theres no buts.Thats it, end of story. "
Bollocks. By that line of reasoning, I have a right to kick the crap out of people I don't like, 'cause, y'know, it's human nature.
Oh, come on Feg, do you not think theres a limit.
Maybe it's because I'm American and Pratchett is exotic to me, but he was and still is one of the greatest authors I've ever read. I pick up his newest books obsessivly and burn through them rapidly.
His work since Nightwatch has been nothing short of extrordinary. His capasity to weave comedy and drama into a single coherent narative is astounding.
I don't care what the man says about Rowling, people are intitled to their opinions on the industry they work in, and as good as Harry Potter is, Discworld does deserve more praise then it gets in the usual fantasy circles.
Just following your line of reasoning. I'm not making any comments about whether or not you're right, but you can't use 'because it's human nature' as a reason for it, for the reason above.
Because its bollocks..
Yeah your right.No, wait. It may not be the best reasoning but it is justifiable.
So your saying people choose to be hypocritical.
So when your pretending to be better than you are to attract a mate your not being hypocritical?Or when you go for a job? Or meet the mother-in-law, you hate,hmm??
Its called survival. One day youll find your puritan rules wont save you or your bloodline. Human nature.Or suffer ego-death, by taking too many drugs to ignore the 'reasoning'.
You make me sound like Ive criticised the poor fella when all I was doing was pointing out a few small points I found interesting.If i was going to get uptight about it Id probabley ask you take venture on the reasonings for hypocricy. Its like Brutus said;" I dont want to be head of state but Ill have a stab at it."
Anywhey this thread is not about greek mythology so back to you Terry. I know you lurking.
Stand back, fellas - looks like he's in a stabbing mood today...
See, now THAT's a reason for hypocrasy which carries more weight.* If you'd said that in the first place, we'd all have slept a little easier in our beds.
*Not enough, mind, but I don't want to get into this.
Dont try and heighten me to your level Bear.