Portal:Discworld
Template:/box-header Discworld is a comic fantasy book series by the British author Sir Terry Pratchett (1948 — 2015) set on the Discworld, a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which are in turn standing on the back of a giant turtle, the Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody or at least borrow ideas from J. R. R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft, and William Shakespeare, as well as myth, folklore and fairy tales, often using them for satirical parallels with current cultural, technological and scientific issues.
Since the first novel, The Colour of Magic (1983), the series has expanded, spawning several related books and maps, five short stories, cartoon and theatre adaptations and even music inspired by the series. The first live action screen adaptation for television (Hogfather) was broadcast over Christmas 2006. Another one for the cinema (The Wee Free Men) is currently in development.
Newly released Discworld books regularly top The Sunday Times bestsellers list, making Pratchett the UK's best-selling author in the 1990s. He has since been overtaken by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, but still holds the record for the most shoplifted books. Discworld novels have also won awards such as the Prometheus Award and the Carnegie Medal. In the BBC's Big Read, four Discworld books were in the top 100, and a total of fourteen in the top 200.
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found. Gytha Ogg (usually called Nanny Ogg) is a witch and member of the Lancre coven. The character of Nanny Ogg is based on the Mother stereotype of the Triple Goddess myth, and probably influenced by the character Nannie Slag in the Gormenghast series. She's had 5 husbands and been married to three of them and has fifteen children who survived their early childhood (one was born some ten years after the death of her last husband). She has as well innumerable grandchildren and great-grandchildren, but that's incidental; what makes her the Mother is her mentality. People go to Granny Weatherwax for help when they have no choice, but they go to Nanny for advice all the time. Granny is respected, but Nanny is actually liked.
Nanny Ogg has a talent for getting along with people and fitting in. As described in Maskerade, people, after knowing her for fifteen minutes, feel like they have known her all of their lives. Granny Weatherwax knows about this ability, and recognizes its use, and wonders sometimes if it would have been worth acquiring it. Nanny is a lot wiser than Esme (Weatherwax) in some ways, and certainly wise enough not to show it. Gytha Ogg is seen as "one of the people" in a way that Esme isn't. While Granny thinks there's no point in competing if you aren't going to win, Nanny reckons the sympathy you get for being a good runner-up is much better. Granny comes across as judgemental, whereas Nanny has a mind so broad she could tie it under her chin. She appears to be kinder than Granny, but is equally prepared to make tough decisions if necessary.
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Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found. Lancre (pronounced Lanker) is a fictional country from the Discworld series. It is situated in the Ramtop mountains, about 500 miles Hubwards of the city of Ankh-Morpork. It is the best-known of hundreds of tiny countries in the Ramtops, occupying a vertiginous shelf looking over the Sto Plains.
Lancre is based mainly on the North of England (as in Lanc(ashi)re, with strong resemblance to the windswept, hilly, northern regions (the only piece of flat, level ground in Lancre is in a museum). However, it is reminiscent of many rural areas in Britain and elsewhere. It also contains elements of the Swiss Alps and the Appalachian Mountains. Pratchett has described the tiny country as "solid folklore"; it is the place all the legends of our world's countryside really happened. Ankh-Morpork serves a similar function for urban folklore, but not as blatantly.
Part of the reason for this is that the Ramtops are a major earthing point for the Discworld's magical field. Headless horsemen and walking trees are part of the landscape, as are witches. Lancre is famous for witches, especially since the publication of The Joye of Snackes (an erotic cookbook) by "A Lancre Witch" (Nanny Ogg). Lancre is also the gateway into the "parasite universe" of the elves. The other thing Lancre is famous for is young people going off and seeking their fortunes (usually in Ankh-Morpork).
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Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found. Mort is fourth Discworld novel, and also the name of its main character. Published in 1987, it is the first to focus on the Death of the Discworld, who only appeared as a side character in the previous novels. As a teenager, Mort's personality and temperament made him rather unsuited to the family farming business, resulting in his father taking him to a local hiring fair. Mort is hired by Death as an aprentice. The pressure of the job (and a crush on a princess who is due to die) forces Mort to make a few mistakes, but like all good heroes, he grows some spine, gains some self control, challenges Death to a duel and waltzes away with the girl in the end, but not the correct girl by normal fantasy standards.
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1st Death Story Published in 1987 |
Succeeded by Reaper Man |
Jimi: The God of Beggars Template:/box-footer
From the Discworld's craziest paragraphs:
- ...that the character of Death (right) shows up in almost every book?
- ...that The Luggage is made of sapient pearwood, an almost extinct tree whose wood is impervious to magic?
- ...that Special Sheep Liniment should on no account ever be given to sheep?
- ...that the significant owl hoots in the night, yet many grey lords go sadly to the masterless men?
- ...that cat singing consists of standing two inches in front of other cats and screaming at them until they give in?
- ...that the Gods lost the rules for Star-Crossed Lovers?
- ...that Fortinbras is the name of one of William Shakespeare's characters and his name translates as Stronginthearm?
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