Discworld and Philosophy

Author: Nicolas Michaud
Publisher: Popular Culture and Philosophy
ISBN: 9780812699197
Category : Discworld (Imaginary place)
Languages : en
Pages : 316

Book Description
Pour yourself glass of Three Wizard's Chardonnay, Winkle's Old Peculiar, or Soggy Mountain Dew, pull up a three-legged chair, and for Om's sake, stay out of the bathtub! Keep and eye open for the octarine flashes that would indicate magic is trying to escape from the pages and be ready to grab something made of copper in order to ground uncontrolled magic without harmful incident (Some would Consider the Copper Safeguard Unnecessary) You are now ready to dive into Discworld and Philosophy and join a group of philosophical Discworld fans as they explore truth, history, death, luck, morality, and reality in the magical inverse of the Disc.--

Philosophy and Terry Pratchett

Author: J. Held
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN: 9781137360151
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Philosophy and Terry Pratchett is the first attempt by philosophers to explore themes in Sir Terry Pratchett's writings. It will appeal to both specialists and fans of Pratchett with serious essays written in a manner accessible to anyone who enjoys, or is curious about, Pratchett's work.

Discworld and the Disciplines

Author: Anne Hiebert Alton
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786474645
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Book Description
This collection of new essays applies a wide range of critical frameworks to the analysis of prolific fantasy author Terry Pratchett's Discworld books. Essays focus on topics such as Pratchett's treatment of noise and silence and their political implications; art as an anodyne for racial conflict; humor and cognitive debugging; visual semiotics; linguistic stylistics and readers' perspectives of word choice; and Derrida and the "monstrous Regiment of Women." The volume also includes an annotated bibliography of critical sources. The essays provide fresh perspectives on Pratchett's work, which has stealthily redefined both fantasy and humor for modern audiences.

Small Gods

Author: Terry Pratchett
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1473541255
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 128

Book Description
'Just because you can't explain it, doesn't mean it's a miracle.' In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was: 'Hey, you!' This is the Discworld, after all, and religion is a controversial business. Everyone has their own opinion, and indeed their own gods, of every shape and size, and all elbowing for space at the top. In such a competitive environment, it's certainly not helpful to be reduced to appearing in the form of a tortoise, a manifestation far below god-like status in anyone's book. In such instances, you need an acolyte, and fast: for the Great God Om, Brutha the novice is the Chosen One – or at least the only One available. He wants peace and justice and brotherly love. He also wants the Inquisition to stop torturing him now, please... Now adapted into graphic novel form with new artwork by Ray Friesen.

Small Gods

Author: Terry Pratchett
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1407034847
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 402

Book Description
'You should do things because they're right. Not because gods say so. They might say something different another time.' Religion is a competitive business in the Discworld. Everyone has their own opinion and their own gods, of every shape and size - all fighting for faith, followers, and a place at the top. So when the great god Om accidentally manifests himself as a lowly tortoise, stripped of all divine power, it's clear he's become less important than he realised. In such instances, you need an acolyte, and fast. Enter Brutha, the Chosen One - or at least the only One available. He wants peace, justice and love - but that's hard to achieve in a world where religion means power, and corruption reigns supreme . . . 'An intriguing satire on institutionalized religion corrupted by power . . .' Independent 'Deftly weaves themes of forgiveness, belief and spiritual regeneration' The Times The Discworld novels can be read in any order but Small Gods is a standalone.

The Science of Discworld

Author: Terry Pratchett
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 0804168954
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 398

Book Description
Not just another science book and not just another Discworld novella, The Science of Discworld is a creative, mind-bending mash-up of fiction and fact, that offers a wizard’s-eye view of our world that will forever change how you look at the universe. Can Unseen University’s eccentric wizards and orangutan Librarian possibly shed any useful light on hard, rational Earthly science? In the course of an exciting experiment, the wizards of Discworld have accidentally created a new universe. Within this universe is a planet that they name Roundworld. Roundworld is, of course, Earth, and the universe is our own. As the wizards watch their creation grow, Terry Pratchett and acclaimed science writers Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen use Discworld to examine science from the outside. Interwoven with the Pratchett’s original story are entertaining, enlightening chapters which explain key scientific principles such as the Big Bang theory and the evolution of life on earth, as well as great moments in the history of science.

Terry Pratchett's Ethical Worlds

Author: Kristin Noone
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476674493
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 156

Book Description
Terry Pratchett's writing celebrates the possibilities opened up by inventiveness and imagination. It constructs an ethical stance that values informed and self-aware choices, knowledge of the world in which one makes those choices, the importance of play and humor in crafting a compassionate worldview, and acts of continuous self-examination and creation. This collection of essays uses inventiveness and creation as a thematic core to combine normally disparate themes, such as science fiction studies, the effect of collaborative writing and shared authorship, steampunk aesthetics, productive modes of "ownership," intertextuality, neomedievalism and colonialism, adaptations into other media, linguistics and rhetorics, and coming of age as an act of free will.

Darwin's Watch

Author: Terry Pratchett
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 0804168997
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 341

Book Description
When Charles Darwin writes the wrong book and reverses the progress of science, Unseen University’s wizards must once again save Roundworld (Earth, that is) from an apocalyptic end. Ever since a wizardly experiment inadvertently brought about the creation of Roundworld, the wizard scholars of Unseen University have done their best to put things on the right course. In Darwin's Watch they may face their greatest challenge yet: A man called Darwin has written a bestselling book called The Theology of the Species, and his theory of scientific design has been witlessly embraced by Victorian society. As a result, scientific progress has slowed to a crawl, and the wizards must find a way to change history back to the way it should have been. DARWIN'S WATCH EXPLORES THE REVERBERATIONS of major scientific advances on our planet and our culture, the dangers of obscurantism, and the theory of evolution as you have never seen it before. This brilliant addition to Pratchett's beloved Discworld series illustrates with great wit and wisdom how the laws of our universe truly are stranger than fiction.

Ravencry

Author: Ed McDonald
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0399587837
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 385

Book Description
In the second gritty installment of the Raven's Mark series, a bounty hunter faces down the darkest evil. Ryhalt Galharrow is a blackwing--a bounty hunter who seeks out and turns over any man, woman, or child who has been compromised by the immortals known as the Deep Kings. Four years have passed since he helped drive the Deep Kings back across the Misery. But new and darker forces are rising against the republic...

Sourcery

Author: Terry Pratchett
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061807141
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 292

Book Description
“Delightful. . . logically illogical as only Terry Pratchett can write.”—Anne McCaffrey Will the most unlikely hero in all of Discworld save the universe once again . . . or has his luck finally run out in this wildly funny installment in Sir Terry Pratchett’s internationally bestselling series, a hilarious mix of magic, mayhem, and Luggage. Once upon a time, there was an eighth son of an eighth son who was, of course, a wizard. As if that wasn’t complicated enough, said wizard then had seven sons. And then he had an eighth son—a wizard squared (that’s all the math, really)—who, of course, was a source of magic, a sourcerer. Unseen University, the most magical establishment on the Discworld, has finally got its wish: the emergence of a wizard more powerful than they’ve ever seen. But be careful what you wish for . . . As the drastic consequences of sourcery begin to unfold, it’s up to one unlikely wizard to save them. Rincewind has survived a string of misadventures, including falling off the edge of the world—which is no mean feat when it’s flying through space on the back of a turtle and held up by four elephants. Now, he must take the University’s most precious artifact, the very embodiment of magic itself, and deliver it halfway across the Disc to prevent a mathematically blessed sourcerer from leading the wizards to dominate all of Discworld. Can Rincewind and his tiny band, including the carnivorous Luggage, stave off the Apocalypse? The Discworld novels can be read in any order, but Sourcery is the 3rd installment in the Wizards series and the 5th Discworld book. The other books in the Wizards collection include: The Color of Magic The Light Fantastic Eric Interesting Times The Last Continent Unseen Academicals