The Summoning Dark
Sep. 18th, 2005 08:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vovatI have now finished reading Thud!, and I must say I enjoyed it quite a bit. One thing I thought about the last two "adult" Discworld books, Monstrous Regiment and Going Postal, was that they downplayed the fantasy element somewhat. Yes, there was a troll and a vampire in the former, and some golems in the latter, but they almost seemed to be more decoration than anything else. In Thud!, on the other hand, Terry Pratchett returns to one thing I like about the books set in Ankh-Morpork, and a significant aspect that I enjoyed in Men at Arms way back when I read it eight years ago, and that's how he sets up a truly multicultural fantasy setting. It's funny, but it's also realistic in a way. I mean, when you have a city full of dwarfs, trolls, vampires, zombies, werewolves, and other fantastic beings, they're probably going to have a lot of the same difficulties they do in the Discworld series. In Thud!, Terry really gets into describing dwarf and troll culture. We learn more about dwarf rituals and cultural leaders, and meet Mr. Shine, the king of the trolls. There's also a historical backdrop, explaining more about Koom Valley and the legendary Dwarf King B'hrian Bloodaxe. Most of the City Watch members have significant roles that eventually fit into the mystery of Koom Valley. It was nice to see Carrot and Angua play a significant part again. Reg Shoe didn't show up, unfortunately, but there WAS a minor appearance by Constable Visit. And there were plenty of minor funny moments, like Vimes's Gooseberry organizer and the story of the mad painter Methodia Rascal, who thought he was turning into a chicken. Overall, it was an excellent addition to one of my favorite series of books.
Incidentally, I noticed that the first subject heading for the book is "Vimes, Samuel (Fictitious character)--Fiction." Was this the case with earlier Vimes books?
Thud! has a companion picture book, Where's My Cow?, which I'm probably going to have to borrow and/or buy in the near future.
And here's another survey, which I got from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rockinlibrarian:
1 Use your current initials and create a new name for yourself.
Nolan Matthew Dinnerbell
2 If you were born outside of your era, when would you want to be born and why?
I don't know. The future?
3 If you ran a store, what would you sell/have?
Books and music, including as much rare stuff as I could find.
4 What part in a movie would you love to play?
An extra who has one line and then gets shot.
5 In your opinion, why do people suck?
Because they don't want to put any effort into NOT sucking.
6 If you had your own state, what would you put on your new quarter?
Some kind of mythological monster, probably.
7 What's the oldest article of clothing you own?
I really don't know. I don't think I own that much old clothing. I do have a few things that used to belong to my parents, I think.
8 What piece of furniture have you replaced the most?
I've never actually owned my own furniture, really.
9 What instrument do you wish you could be more than great at?
A lot of them. Accordion, guitar, banjo, violin, piano, organ...probably more than that. If I had to pick one instrument to get magically good at, I'd probably pick the organ, simply because I think it would be the hardest to learn through natural means, and it would impress Beth. {g} Plus the technique is similar for the piano and accordion.
10 Record, Tape or CD?
CD. They're the most durable. People say records sound better, but it's hard to tell when they're all scratched up.
11 What do you think would be the best concert ever?
All the musicians I like playing together, of course!
12 What is the best part of your favorite movie(s)?
Man, I don't even know what my favorite movie IS.
13 What do you think is the most over-rated candy ever?
I don't know about "most," but I don't like dark chocolate anywhere near as much as a lot of people do.
14 If you were writing out your will, who would you give your music collection to?
bethje, although there's a fair amount of overlap there already.
15 If you could only debate two topics the rest of your life, what would they be?
I guess music and books.
16 Out of your friends, who would you say you are most jealous of, artistically?
I'm jealous of anyone with artistic talent. I'm sorely lacking in that area.
17 Most jealous of....intellectually?
Nobody I can think of. I mean, I think a lot of people are smarter than I am, but I don't know that I'd say I'm jealous.
18 What do you collect?
Books, but generally only ones by specific authors. I used to collect maps, and I guess I still do to an extent, but I tend to buy more practical ones nowadays.
19 What is broken that you have, that you wish was fixed?
You know, I'm sure there are a million valid answers, but I can't think of them right now.
20 What do you do when you're home sick?
Sleep, mostly.
21 Story behind your username?
I've told the story many times, so I don't think I'll bother doing it again, unless someone asks. It has to do with my high school physics class.
23. Line from the last thing you wrote for someone?
Does a comment count as something I wrote for someone? If so, then I think it was a list of musicians in reply torockinlibrarian's most recent entry.
24. A famous person you have met?
I might as well just do the whole list of more-or-less famous people. Keep in mind that "meeting," for me, generally consists of giving someone something to sign and then mumbling "thank you." I've met Eric Shanower, Eloise Jarvis McGraw, Rachel Cosgrove Payes, Jian Ghomeshi, all four members of Da Vinci's Notebook, Frank Black, Carolyn Mark, Neko Case, Erin McKeown, David Lowery, Victor Krummenacher, Jonathan Segel, John Linnell, John Flansburgh, Corn Mo, and Terry Pratchett. I've also spoken to Danny Weinkauf, but I didn't get his autograph, since neither of us had a marker.
25. Favorite way to waste time?
The Internet.
26. Last thing you bought yourself?
Food.
Incidentally, I noticed that the first subject heading for the book is "Vimes, Samuel (Fictitious character)--Fiction." Was this the case with earlier Vimes books?
Thud! has a companion picture book, Where's My Cow?, which I'm probably going to have to borrow and/or buy in the near future.
And here's another survey, which I got from
rockinlibrarian:1 Use your current initials and create a new name for yourself.
Nolan Matthew Dinnerbell
2 If you were born outside of your era, when would you want to be born and why?
I don't know. The future?
3 If you ran a store, what would you sell/have?
Books and music, including as much rare stuff as I could find.
4 What part in a movie would you love to play?
An extra who has one line and then gets shot.
5 In your opinion, why do people suck?
Because they don't want to put any effort into NOT sucking.
6 If you had your own state, what would you put on your new quarter?
Some kind of mythological monster, probably.
7 What's the oldest article of clothing you own?
I really don't know. I don't think I own that much old clothing. I do have a few things that used to belong to my parents, I think.
8 What piece of furniture have you replaced the most?
I've never actually owned my own furniture, really.
9 What instrument do you wish you could be more than great at?
A lot of them. Accordion, guitar, banjo, violin, piano, organ...probably more than that. If I had to pick one instrument to get magically good at, I'd probably pick the organ, simply because I think it would be the hardest to learn through natural means, and it would impress Beth. {g} Plus the technique is similar for the piano and accordion.
10 Record, Tape or CD?
CD. They're the most durable. People say records sound better, but it's hard to tell when they're all scratched up.
11 What do you think would be the best concert ever?
All the musicians I like playing together, of course!
12 What is the best part of your favorite movie(s)?
Man, I don't even know what my favorite movie IS.
13 What do you think is the most over-rated candy ever?
I don't know about "most," but I don't like dark chocolate anywhere near as much as a lot of people do.
14 If you were writing out your will, who would you give your music collection to?
bethje, although there's a fair amount of overlap there already.15 If you could only debate two topics the rest of your life, what would they be?
I guess music and books.
16 Out of your friends, who would you say you are most jealous of, artistically?
I'm jealous of anyone with artistic talent. I'm sorely lacking in that area.
17 Most jealous of....intellectually?
Nobody I can think of. I mean, I think a lot of people are smarter than I am, but I don't know that I'd say I'm jealous.
18 What do you collect?
Books, but generally only ones by specific authors. I used to collect maps, and I guess I still do to an extent, but I tend to buy more practical ones nowadays.
19 What is broken that you have, that you wish was fixed?
You know, I'm sure there are a million valid answers, but I can't think of them right now.
20 What do you do when you're home sick?
Sleep, mostly.
21 Story behind your username?
I've told the story many times, so I don't think I'll bother doing it again, unless someone asks. It has to do with my high school physics class.
23. Line from the last thing you wrote for someone?
Does a comment count as something I wrote for someone? If so, then I think it was a list of musicians in reply to
rockinlibrarian's most recent entry.24. A famous person you have met?
I might as well just do the whole list of more-or-less famous people. Keep in mind that "meeting," for me, generally consists of giving someone something to sign and then mumbling "thank you." I've met Eric Shanower, Eloise Jarvis McGraw, Rachel Cosgrove Payes, Jian Ghomeshi, all four members of Da Vinci's Notebook, Frank Black, Carolyn Mark, Neko Case, Erin McKeown, David Lowery, Victor Krummenacher, Jonathan Segel, John Linnell, John Flansburgh, Corn Mo, and Terry Pratchett. I've also spoken to Danny Weinkauf, but I didn't get his autograph, since neither of us had a marker.
25. Favorite way to waste time?
The Internet.
26. Last thing you bought yourself?
Food.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-09-19 01:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-19 02:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-19 02:15 am (UTC)You met Sid Haig. Sorta.
no subject
Date: 2005-09-19 02:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-19 03:17 am (UTC)I am stealing this :D
no subject
Date: 2005-09-19 04:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-20 12:45 am (UTC)I have no idea if this is the case with earlier books-- I don't think so, but it might become so with later editions... but I've oftened wondered, what makes whoever it is that decides what the subject headings are decide that certain characters merit their own subject heading? Like, what are the qualifications for getting your own subject heading? And would somebody seriously go to the catalog and run a search for "Vimes, Samuel"? Or is this something only librarians obsess about and nobody else cares?
no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 03:17 am (UTC)I shouldn't think so. Anyone interested in reading about Vimes would almost certainly already be a Discworld fan, and would be more likely to search for "Discworld" than Vimes's name specifically.
A lot of fiction subject headings are somewhat odd, though. I mean, if you're looking for, say, historical fiction on the Civil War, then they might come in handy. On the other hand, do you think anyone would ever look for the Berenstain Bears books under "Bears--Fiction"?
Or is this something only librarians obsess about and nobody else cares?
Quite possibly. {g}