Discworld, Books 20-23, by Terry Pratchett

 

So, my extended review of each of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books has been slightly delayed. Nineteen books in, it took me over three years to finally get this review up. When I started this project, Sir Terry was still alive. Oh well. I’ve put some web addresses below to my previous reviews of Discworld, as I try to do them in chunks of four books per review, if for any reason you’d like my thoughts on any of them and didn’t want to have to click through the arduous list on the right hand side, just copy and paste them into your browser. I have no idea how to turn them into functioning links.

http://artichokereadstoomuch.blogspot.com/2014/09/discworld-books-1-to-4-by-terry.html

http://artichokereadstoomuch.blogspot.com/2015/01/discworld-books-5-to-8-by-terry.html

http://artichokereadstoomuch.blogspot.com/2015/04/discworld-books-9-12-by-terry-pratchett.html

http://artichokereadstoomuch.blogspot.com/2015/10/discworld-books-13-15-by-terry-pratchett.html

http://artichokereadstoomuch.blogspot.com/2016/12/discworld-books-16-19-by-terry-pratchett.html

 

This time, books 20 to 23. Enjoy!

 

20. Hogfather

A cheery little story about Death taking over the role of Father Christmas. In this book, a psychopathic assassin by the name of Mister Teatime is contracted by otherworldly forces to kill the Hogfather, the Disc’s equivalent of Santa Claus. The only being who realises the danger of what has happened is Death who decides that in order to prevent ‘the end of the world as we know it’, he should impersonate the Hogfather and carry out his various and wide-ranging duties – exactly to the letter. Death’s granddaughter Susan, now working as a governess, takes off in pursuit to find out what has really happened to the Hogfather – and to see if there’s any chance of truly saving Hogswatch.

          Overall this is one of the better books in the series, and a better use for Death and Susan than was found in Soul Music. While Susan drives the plot forwards and uncovers Mister Teatime’s plot, Death provides much of the comic relief in his rather literal-minded efforts to perform the role of the Hogfather. In many ways Susan’s story is rather a sub-plot, whilst the scenes with Death are undoubtedly the show-stealers. Death really does try to visit every house and every family in the world, leaving suitable presents and dropping enough ‘evidence’ of the Hogfather’s visits to prevent doubters from questioning his existence. In particular his public appearance in a state-of-the-art Ankh-Morpork shopping centre, in which he gives the children precisely what they want for Hogswatch, is one of the best single scenarios in the entire Discworld series, whilst his more bloody-minded efforts to upset the legend of King Wenceslaus gives us Pratchett’s mildly satirical eye on some of the more beloved Christmas traditions. Yet Susan’s character arc is not at all without merit, offering a relatively interesting Discworld story whilst meeting one or two amusing characters along the way, such as the oh god of Hangovers, and our beloved favourites the faculty of the Unseen University. So both character arcs of the story work relatively well, and are nicely supplemented by the wizards who perform as brilliantly as they always do. One standout character is the villain, Mister Teatime, whose child-like ruthlessness actually makes him one of the scariest characters thus far in the series. There’s no person I would less like to meet in real life than this one.

          So then, Hogfather is a rather fresh-feeling later entry in the series, giving a dark and critical eye of Christmas and its various traditions whilst also making you laugh. Whilst I can’t call it one of my personal favourites, it nevertheless is a very good read and I fully recommend it to one and all, for whatever time of year you decide to enjoy it.

 

21. Jingo

This is the second Sam Vimes book in as many years, and it’s like Pratchett couldn’t wait to use the famous Ankh-Morpork Night Watch setting as soon as possible. Rather than a murder, this time Commander Vimes has to try and stop a war – which is difficult, as everybody on both sides seem very much to want a war, despite there being no point in it. So what we have here is one of the first Discworld attempts to critique war, nationalism, and xenophobia.

          An island has mysteriously appeared in the middle of the Circle Sea, prompting Ankh-Morpork and distant Klatch (a very middle-eastern sort of country) to have a jolly good scrap over who should control it. Commander Vimes of the City Watch realises just how pointless the whole thing is, but sadly for him nobody else in the city seems to care. They just want an excuse to give Johnny Foreigner a good seeing to. Even when the Patrician Lord Vetinari points out that Klatch is bigger,
richer, has a better army, and even generals who know what they’re doing, it’s not enough to deter the rich powerful bastards in control from mounting an invasion of the distant country. On top of that, when the ambassador from Klatch is wounded in an assassination attempt, it seems certain that thousands of men will shed each other’s blood over a tiny stretch of uninhabitable land which didn’t exist a few months ago.

          Well, it seems that Pratchett decided with this one to deal head-on with a very serious issue, one which is just as pertinent today than it has ever been. The notion of Us versus Them, and rampant national zealotry and how people who have no interest in such conflict will nevertheless end up the worse for it. The very name, Jingo, refers to a sense of arrogant over-the-top national pride. The story itself, of a small island suddenly appearing one day and provoking a massive territorial dispute, was inspired by the historical event of the island of Ferdinandea (or Graham Island), which briefly surfaced in the Mediterranean in the early 19^th Century and caused argument between the various regional powers and the British empire. Nations are terribly silly things, no less so than the people who really believe in them.

          So onto the book itself. It’s a fairly good read, and is certainly one of the best Ankh-Morpork Watch books so far. Vimes’ ongoing irritation at his personal dis-organiser device, the journey to distant Klatch, and Colon and Nobby finding themselves unwitting pawns of Lord Vetinari are all good, enjoyable elements to the story, and help make this a distinctive Discworld novel, of which there have already at this point been twenty. While the themes are rather serious, and may strike a chord with readers, I feel that unfortunately Pratchett has not gone into this vein as deeply as he could have done. The cynical Commander Vimes is an excellent hero for this sort of novel, and the widening of the Disc’s landscape to include an international arena are all masterful, though the plot unfortunately feels a little thin when you reach right down into it. Other than that, this is a good entry in the series and well worth a read.

          One last thing to mention. I quite liked how Vimes figured the phrase ‘Veni, vidi vici’ came into being – that it sounded too neat to have actually been said.

          ‘It sounded as if he had worked it out. He’d probably spent long evenings in his tent, looking up in the dictionary short words beginning with V and trying them out ... Veni, vermini, vomui, I came, I got ratted, I threw up? Visi, veneri, vamoose, I visited, I caught an embarrassing disease, I ran away? It must have been a big relief to come up with three short acceptable words.’   [Jingo, Corgi, 1998 pg. 205-206]

 

22. The Last Continent

Both Sam Vimes and Death had had recent outings, so it’s time for another Rincewind book. The important thing about The Last Continent is that it is one of the last books to feature Rincewind as a regular character, and to some extent closes the story-arc begun in Sourcery. After the events of Interesting Times, Rincewind and his Luggage were deposited in the far-away nearly mythical continent of XXXX (often referred to as Fourecks), a land that can be summed up in one word:

Australia.

That’s right, Discworld fans! Pratchett’s latest “parody” is one poking some well-meaning fun at all things Australian. Countryside, culture, food, drink, landmarks, accents – everything has a thinly disguised Discworld tint on it, even down to the Mad Max sequence. Oh yes, and there’s a weird time-travel paradox which hangs over the entire plot.

          As Rincewind makes his way across the mysterious desert continent of Fourecks, thanks to a mistake made by the wizards of the Unseen University, these self-same wizards now have a new crisis on their hands. The Librarian appears to be terminally ill, and the Unseen University Faculty have run out of ideas for how to treat him – bar one idea. They must find Rincewind, perhaps the last living person who knows the Librarian’s name from before he was turned into an orangutan. The faculty’s first clue to locating Rincewind ends up with them stranded on a desert island millions of years in the past with Mrs Whitlow, the university housekeeper, and so logically cannot be considered a success.

          And with both plots established, The Last Continent rolls on in the usual fun way that Discworld does. For much of the book our two sets of characters bumble from one episode to the next, Rincewind hot-footing it across the desert of Xxxx and encountering one Australian stereotype after another, while the wizards acclimatize to being stranded on a tropical island on which the plants magically produces anything they might desire (such as cigarettes – because how else would an elderly wizard survive being marooned?). Altogether this book is as enjoyable as it is incomprehensible, a weird mixture, and loaded with every kind of cheap gag and Australian pop-culture reference. The sort of book to take away with you on your holidays.

         

23. Carpe Jugulum

The last standalone Witches book of the Discworld series. The venerable witches of Lancre Granny Weatherwax, Nanny
Ogg and their latest recruit, Agness Nitt must face yet another fairy-tale enemy. When former witch and now queen, Magrat, gives birth to a baby daughter, the entire kingdom is invited to the castle to celebrate – all except Granny Weatherwax, it seems. A family of vampires show up, ones who have worked out just how many ways there are of killing vampires - and they’ve come up with methods of coping. By making themselves psychologically immune to things such as holy water, garlic, sunlight and stakes through the heart, the Count Magpyr and his family are now practically invincible, and they plan to take over Lancre and farm its population for blood. And what’s more, they know that their most capable foe in the kingdom is Granny Weatherwax, and have concocted a plan to remove her from the picture.

          For a Discworld book I can’t say this is one of my favourites. The witches of Lancre are good characters, but the stories always leave something to be desired. We’ve already had attempts to deconstruct Shakespearean drama and fairy tales, and parody the Phantom of the Opera, but this one feels more like a rehashed version of Lords and Ladies, where a force of supernatural beings attempt to take over the kingdom. The vampire family are an interesting idea, as they have seemingly risen above the natural weaknesses of vampires, but the plot spends an awful lot of time following these characters around and they just end up coming across as irritating. And for a seemingly unstoppable group of villains, in the end they end up being defeated through some sort of ‘granny ex machina’ that still leaves me confused even after re-reading the book several times. They’re just not particularly comical, and are more annoying than threatening.

          This is also the book which introduces Pratchett’s parody version of Hollywood Transylvania – Uberwald, a mountainous country home to vampires and werewolves and, most unfortunately, Igors. In the Disc, Igors are a race of patchwork limping servants who speak with exaggerated lisps, all of whom are called Igor. While only one of these characters appears in Carpe Jugulum, it is clear that Pratchett liked the character so much he contrived a reason to add more of the same to future instalments. Igor is a decent enough comic character in this book, being the begrudging downtrodden servant of the Magpyrs who loathes his masters due to their abandonment of the old ways – not lurking in their castle waiting for lone travellers to wander in by mistake, and making him dispose of all the cobwebs and dribbly candles. It seems that the whole crux of the joke is that Igor, an absolute Hollywood horror stereotype, hates his masters because they refuse to be stereotypes themselves. In the end Igor pulls off another ‘deus ex machina’ (as if one weren’t enough to resolve this plot) by resurrecting his previous master, who solves the situation by returning to the olden stereotypical days and once again turning his castle into a tourist attraction – complete with gift shop.

          One of the better things in this book is the character of Mightily Oats, a weak-willed Omnian priest who is constantly in a sense of self questioning. While Pratchett is undoubtedly a critic of religion, I feel that Mightily Oats is actually one of his most sympathetic attempts to explore religious faith and the good it can bring out in people. Oats is a weak and troubled person who, through the course of the book, undergoes some sincere character development, facing off Granny Weatherwax’s hard-headed logic by re-examining his own upbringing and beliefs, and becoming a stronger person from it. Another character who undergoes a little more development is Agness Nitt, freshly recruited to the witch’s coven after the events of Maskerade. During the previous book Agnes, a stay-at-home goody two-shoes gave herself an alter-ego called Perdita, so that she could psychologically allow herself to do risky or naughty things she would never have previously dared. In Carpe Jugulum this Perdita alter-ego has become an entirely separate personality in Agness’ mind that she can argue with in an internal dialogue, and even periodically take over Agness’ body. It’s a bit of an upgrade on the previous outings of the character of Agness (who had a brief appearance in Lords and Ladies as well), and acts as a plot device to allow her to resist the mind control of the vampires. As one (or two) of the main protagonists, Agness/Perdita is/are relatively decent in this.

          All in all then I’m not going to recommend Carpe Jugulum. While it may be essential for fans of the Witches, I can’t say I found it too enlightening or even that amusing overall. The plot goes here, there and everywhere, and after running around for a bit it feels like the writer called it to an end just because he was running out of steam. Aside from the character of Mightily Oats, who is one of the best characters in all of Discworld, there is little else in this I found especially worthwhile.

         

To sum up, a review several years in the making

In this middle stretch of the Discworld series we find some of Pratchett’s most robotic works. Jingo, The Last Continent, and Carpe Jugulum all seem to have been written to add just another Sam Vimes, Rincewind and Weatherwax story to the growing list of sub-series’ in the Discworld canon – and heck, even Hogfather is just another Death/Susan story when we get right down to it. I will say that despite the fact Pratchett is just regularly producing them by this stage, we still find some gems amongst the pile, even if they are dull gems. Hogfather in particular is one of the most popular Discworld stories, as evidenced by it having the first live-action TV adaptation made for one of Pratchett’s works (the TV version is still a bit crap, but it could have been worse), and I would have to say it’s the best of this particular bunch of novels. An excellent story with two excellent character and comedy plots that tie up nicely to produce a satisfying conclusion. Jingo is a good situation for the character of Sam Vimes, trying to stop a war when both sides have become intoxicated on bloody-minded nationalist wanking, while The Last Continent is high on comedy and Australia-referencing, and Carpe Jugulum is a dark little story which puts its characters in a rather stressful and challenging scenario. I have my reservations about all of them (actually I really like Hogfather), but if you have a favourite sub-series then you’ll probably think otherwise.

 

Biblioworld 6

Pratchett, Terry. Hogfather. Corgi. (1997 [1996])

Pratchett, Terry. Jingo. Corgi. (1998 [1997])

Pratchett, Terry. The Last Continent. Corgi (1999 [1998])

Pratchett, Terry. Carpe Jugulum. Corgi (1999 [1998])

 

* [A Gnote: I always include two dates for publication, in brackets and then in square brackets, especially for Discworld novels. The first publication date is the one for the edition I have read, whilst the one in square brackets is the original publication date. For Discworld novels they are generally first published by Gollancz, and then re-published a year later by Corgi. It is the Corgi editions I tend to get my hands on.]