Tag archives for Terry Pratchett - Page 2
The Shepherd’s Crown by Terry Pratchett [Book Review]
The Shepherd's Crown by Terry Pratchett My rating: 5 of 5 stars The Shepherd's Crown is a fitting end to the Discworld stories. There was no diminution of the characters or story telling, despite Pterry's illness he kept this one up to his usual standard right to the end. I'm sure he knew that The Shepherd's Crown would be his last Discworld book, there are some interesting nods to that in the story. The Shepherd's Crown This is a Tiffany Aching story, although it also includes the other witches, and the Lords and Ladies too. There are some interesting new characters too, not just old favourites. I particularly liked Geoffrey, the calm weaver, and the old boys of Lancre who helped with the denouement. The Nac Mac Feegle are in there too, along with some of the lyrics from the Steeleye…
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RIP Pterry
Terry Pratchett enjoying a Guinness at honorary degree ceremony at Trinity College Dublin. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Like many others I am mourning the passing of a genius from the world. I have been a fan of Terry Pratchett all my adult life and as well as enjoying his works I thought he made a lot of sense when he spoke on other issues, most notably living with his illness and impending death. I cannot think of another author that I have enjoyed so much that was so prolific. For a long period Terry was producing two novels a year, and they were all packed with humour, obscure references and wry observation of human nature. Although ostensibly set in a fantasy environment the books were all about people, they are just packed with social commentary, albeit hidden in an imaginary universe.…
New Books of 2015 pt.1
In keeping with my resolution to read more paper books (and the self-imposed target of at least twenty or five more than I've acquired) I thought I would record the new books I've acquired this year. I intend to read all of these during 2015. The first batch are technically 2014 acquisitions, mostly Christmas presents, but I'm counting them in my 2015 total. Here they are: That makes seven books so far, and you should expect to read reviews of them all on the blog later in the year. Given my post last year about how readers choose books I thought I would also record why I chose each of these books. Working up from the bottom here are the reasons I wanted each of these books. The fantastically funny Dragons at Crumbling Castle by Terry Pratchett. This was on my wish list…
Book Review – Heroes Wanted by Allen Donnelly
Heroes Wanted by Allen Donnelly My rating: 4 of 5 stars I have enjoyed reading this, and laughed out loud in places too. A fantasy tale with a different, not a serious quest for honour and glory, but a wry and humourous take on the genre from the point of view of a young woman who has inherited the Dragon's Flight pub in a village called Heroes Rest, the last stop before the adventuring in the mountains begins. The humour is laced through the story, and reminds me very much of some of Terry Pratchett's earlier works. The world Allen Donnelly has created is believable and seems real. It has fantastical bits, there are elves and dwarves as customers, but these are background mostly. There's also a dragon which is sort of foreground too. However these are a natural part…
Reader Perspectives
Following on from my review of Rayne Hall's book about ways to increase your book sales I thought I might spend a few minutes reflecting on how I, as a reader, find new books to read. What do I read? You can see the details over on my Goodreads shelf, my 2014 Challenge was to read 50 books this year (numerically slightly down on last year, but 12 parts of John Scalzi's Human Division counted as 12 on goodreads when it was really just a single serialised novel (and I really enjoyed it). So my reading is divided into three broad categories, I read easy fiction for escape and enjoyment, histories for a better understanding of why and how we got here, and course related material for the Open University degree that I am doing. Typically the heavier the degree module…