Review: Small Gods

Small Gods (Discworld, #13)Small Gods by Terry Pratchett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A quick note before the review: my friend Garret got this book for me as a gift for my last nameday, and he was also the guy who first introduced me to Terry Pratchett years ago, so here’s a double “thank you” for him.

Now, the review.

I definitely should be paying more attention to Terry Pratchett. All four books of his I’ve read I have greatly enjoyed, and this one not only had as much Pratchettesque humour as I could ask for, it had a very serious and significant message to share as well. That’s probably the reason why my mentor here in Bulgaria, Boris, who I yesterday learned has read ALL of the books in the series, some of them twice, called it “one of the heavier books” set in the Discworld universe. It’s an opinion which I understand but can’t completely agree with. To clarify: it’s not that it wasn’t heavy compared to the other Discworld novels I’ve read, but to me this contrast just made the whole thing tastier. What can I say, I suppose that, myself being a man of contrasts, it feels more… balanced? Natural? Complete in a paradoxical way that makes perfect sense?

It just feels right.

So, what’s next? I will continue to crawl my way through the series like a turtle, of course, but now, with renewed motivation from Boris, maybe I can do it with less of Om’s slugishness and more of The Great A’Tuin’s grace(?).

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Review: Equal Rites

Equal Rites
Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Terry Pratchett is in the same category as Douglas Adams. They are, or were, remarkably clever and ingenious writers that can say the truest things about life in a matter-of-fact way and leave you looking for your jaw which has gone wayward because of getting bored of all this rattling and the vibrations, trying to find a quieter place, away from all this laughter.

In this book in the Discworld “mythos” (using this word in the least serious way possible), for the first time ever, there seems to be a female wizard. In fact, a little girl with a staff. Terry Pratchett really makes his statement on “equal rites” with strong female characters and ridiculous male ones. What more might one want — it’s social commentary on the “real world” and Pratchett, two in the price of one!

The only qualm with the book I had I can think of is that we do not see an adult Esk. It would have been even funner.

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