The fourteenth Discworld novel.
Terry Pratchett is one of the most popular authors writing today.He
lives behind a keyboard in Wiltshire and says he 'doesn't want to
get a life, because it feels as though he's trying to lead three
already'.He was appointed OBE in 1998 and his first Discworld novel
for children, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, was
awarded the 2001 Carnegie Medal.
Lords and Ladies is the fourteenth novel in his phenomenally
successful Discworld series.
"'Like Jonathan Swift, Pratchett uses his other world to hold up a
distorting mirror to our own, and like Swift he is a satirist of
enormous talent ... incredibly funny ... compulsively
readable'"
*The Times*
"'Pratchett is at the peak of his power; it's hard to think of any
humorist writing in Britain today who can match him'"
*Time Out*
"'The great Terry Pratchett, whose wit is metaphysical, who creates
an energetic and lively secondary world, who has a multifarious
genius for strong parody ... who deals with death with startling
originality. Who writes amazing sentences'"
*New York Times*
"'His spectacular inventiveness makes the Discworld series one of
the perennial joys of modern fiction'"
*Mail on Sunday*
"'Like Jonathan Swift, Pratchett uses his other world to hold up a
distorting mirror to our own, and like Swift he is a satirist of
enormous talent ... incredibly funny ... compulsively readable'" *
The Times *
"'Pratchett is at the peak of his power; it's hard to think of any
humorist writing in Britain today who can match him'" * Time Out
*
"'The great Terry Pratchett, whose wit is metaphysical, who creates
an energetic and lively secondary world, who has a multifarious
genius for strong parody ... who deals with death with startling
originality. Who writes amazing sentences'" * New York Times *
"'His spectacular inventiveness makes the Discworld series one of
the perennial joys of modern fiction'" * Mail on Sunday *
Pratchett (Small Gods) has won an ardent following with his tales of Discworld and his particular brand of comedic fantasy. This latest installment, however, is unlikely to widen his readership. It's circle time on the Discworld; portentous round depressions are showing up everywhere, even in bowls of porridge. Worlds are weaving closer to one another, with unpredictable results. Only the three wacky witches, formidable Granny Weatherwax, crusty Nanny Ogg and scatterbrained Magrat Garlick, can ensure that the worst does not happen: the return of the elves. Trouble is, almost everyone else in the kingdom of Lancre is eager to welcome the ``lords and ladies'' back. They've forgotten that elves are nasty creatures who live only to torture their prey‘humans especially. It's a tempting premise, but underdeveloped by Pratchett, who relies too heavily on his trademark humor, veering into the silly and sophomoric, to fuel the early portions of this fantasy. Only in the last third of the novel does he strike a successful balance among action, imagination and comedy. There is much fun to the tale once the smiling, sadistic elves actually appear, befuddling the townfolk with their beauty and illusion. An earlier arrival would have done much to strengthen this uneven novel. (Oct.)
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