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In which the Unseen University embraces its athletics department Oct 6, 2009 (26 of 31 found this helpful)
Lord Vetinari decides it is time to treat football (soccer to Americans) like crime; if you are going to have it, it should be organized. Ponder Stibbons learns the power of managing the agenda and mastering tradition. Ankh-Morpork finds the Disc's first super-model, and tries to figure out exactly why this should matter to anyone. The power of pie is explored. More insinuations, inuendo, and hints as to the relationship between Lord Vetinari and a mature lady from Überwald. And Mr. Nutt is introduced and acquires worth. Along with the usual cultural literacy exam.
Again, Terry Pratchett has outdone himself. "Unseen Academicals" is a brilliant and complex story with many threads beautifully woven together. The lives of the most powerful people in Ankh-Morpork intersect with the lives of the most humble on the Disc.
Cooks, candlemakers, and the fans and players of foot-the-ball of the neighborhoods of Ankh-Morpork find their lives turned upside down when the Wizards of U.U. find they must play soccer, or limit themselves to only three meals a day. And behind this, a humble and hard working... man, Nutt is trying to gain worth, earn respect, and make friends, none of which come naturally to him. Old characters return, one having substituted 'x' for 'cks', new characters abound. References to Shakespeare and pop culture (for lack of a better word) collide.
I loved it. I read it in a day, and am re-reading it to pick up on the magnificent detail and hints that will only make sense as the story draws to a close. My biggest regret is that "Unseen Academicals" arrived to quickly ending the anticipation, and it will be too long before the next Pratchett book.
E. M. Van Court
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Pratchett scores again Oct 6, 2009 (28 of 34 found this helpful)
Mr Pratchett has used many of his novels to give a comic fantasy twist to many subjects ranging from Banking, movie making to newspapers. Here he turns his hand to blending football into the Discworld. And the football here is the British Soccer, not football as understood by you chaps in the US.
I have been with the Discworld novels since the very beginning, way before the author turned into a phenomenon and then an official National British Treasure. Recently his much discussed illness has perhaps made us appreciate his genius even more. Now, a slight confession, although I was there from the start, I kind of lost my way about Hogfather - maybe it was my age or my tastes changed, but suddenly the books weren't doing it for me and since Hogfather I have only been dipping in and out of the occasional one.
But I love football and was keen to see how Terry Pratchett would morph our beautiful game into a Discworld version! And would the classic humour and clever writing be there as I remembered it from the days of avid reading. In short, yes.
In essence, the wizards of the Unseen University have to win a football match. And they are not allowed to use magic. So they resort to bringing in some players many of whom, in typical Pratchett fashion, are not quite what they seem. But although there are many amusing digs at the football culture, football and the challenge match are just the framework in which the author places interesting characters and very funny interplay. And there comes a point where you realise that actually this book might be about something that is nothing to do with football as we also get a gentle love story and comments on such maters as diverse as discrimination and fashion!
Knowledge of 'soccer' is not required to appreciate this, but there are two elements of British culture that may be worth explaining. Firstly British football is very tribal and who you support and intense rivalries that can border on hate, are part of the culture. Also part of the culture are the stadium pies. These are no culinary delights but are a stadium tradition, you eat them without asking too many questions - nobody expects decent quality food at a football ground in the UK. These are running themes in the book so worth mentioning for background.
Also towards the end the chapters have titles such as "They think it's all over" and "It is now"...this is from a famous TV commentary from 1966 when England won the World Cup.
It's astonishing that an author who is suffering with a serious illness can still produce such high quality stuff. The word genius was never more appropriate.
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This Book Has Worth! Oct 25, 2009 (6 of 7 found this helpful)
As Discworld novels go, some are good, and some are great. But this one is Worthy! It is the best Pratchett has ever done, and that is saying a lot! For the first time he actually uses some Forbidden Words, and delves further into adult territory than he has ever done before. The odd thing is that it works masterfully. It is a bit grittier than previous books, and that surprise alone made me laugh out loud. The book is about Foot The Ball (Soccer), Glenda, Juliet, and Mr. Nutt. And Pies. Mr Nutt has got to be one of his best characters ever, and watching this little goblin grow and find his worth is fascinating. Not since Sam Vimes has there been so great a potential for a character. The Dean's treachery makes a great little side plot, and Lord V. is as Machiavellian as ever. Glenda the night cook cooks up more than just pies, and her best friend Juliet stumbles into becoming the Discworld's very first super model. Trevor won't play 'cause his dad got dead in a game' and 'he promised his old mum'. Of course our favorite orangutan is there, and even Rincewind shows up to play. The subtitles are there in all their glorious lunacy. Arch chancellor Ridcully has a larger part in this book than is usual, and proves to be as likable and devious a lunatic as any we have ever met on the disc. All in all, the biggest problem with this book is that it is far too short, and over far too quickly. If you love Pratchett and his motley crew of .....ahem.....people, then you just gotta read this one.
Kudos to you Mr Pratchett. You are a true genius. May you write forever!
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Footnotes and British Football Oct 10, 2009 (6 of 8 found this helpful)
The Terry Pratchett trademark footnotes are back. One takes up almost half the first page and true to form the footnote is itself footnoted. The blithering idiocy of the footnotes which sprinkle the pages of the book fails to disguise the grace and depth of the superb fantasy novel that floats above them. The plot moves faster than a kicked soccer ball and the humor has edges that cut right down to the heart.
This is a book about Glenda, the young lady who runs the Night Kitchen at the Unseen University. She's got a way with pastry and a kind heart for anyone in trouble. It's also about Mr. Nutt, a little goblin who makes candles in the basement--the wizards like them to be properly dribbled and deformed because the magic doesn't go right if the candle is straight. It's about Trevor Likely who promised his old mum he wouldn't play football since his dad died in a scrimmage. It's about the lovely Juliet--her family cheers for a rival football team so although she and Trevor are in love they can't be seen together. It's a book about teamwork, about finding worth in oneself and about taking chances.
Most of our old Ankh-Morpork friends turn up in the melee--Archchancellor Ridcully and his faculty are delightfully in evidence as the university decides that what they need is a football rivalry with a team from the town. Lord Vetinari manipulates everything in a way that makes Machiavelli look like an amateur. Rincewind runs; Sam Vines threatens to throw the lot of them into jail. And yet things at old UU have changed (but no spoilers--I shall say nothing more about the treachery of the Dean!)
Terry Pratchett manages to enchant us with his new characters and keep us laughing at his old ones. Mr. Nutt with his philosophical discourses, his desperate desire to become worthy and the dark mystery that surrounds him might just be Pratchett's finest creation to date. Good satire has an edge; great satire wields a scalpel; only Pratchett can write the kind of satire that can give the patient a complete heart transplant and a new chance at life.
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A little off..... Oct 15, 2009 (8 of 11 found this helpful)
I found this Discworld book to be slightly 'off'. The writing was different. It's just not as delightful as the others. I did like the character of Mr. Nutt. And I always love Vetirnari, though he is much more relaxed and talkative than in previous books. I'll take any Pratchett book I can get, but I see a difference in this one. It's written more by an outsider looking in, rather than right in the middle of the glorious craziness of Discworld.