Discworld & Terry Pratchett Wiki - User contributions [en]

Bilious

2018-01-07T21:15:57Z

DuckMan:

The '''''Oh God of Hangovers'''''. His believers, if they can be called as such, are the people who wake up after a night's drinking and moan "oh god...", as they suffer from a hangover. Bilious was created from the excess belief that spilled over when [[Jonathan_Teatime|Teatime]] killed the [[Hogfather]]. He acts as though he has existed for a long time. It is possible that he was more of an omnipresent reservoir for hangovers before his manifestation, because ''something'' had to be getting the hangover.

Bilious continuously suffered from a severe hangover, with headache, nausea, vision problems, fainting, and more. He looked like a young man with the classical toga, but his toga was colorful with bits of things that have come up out of him that he has not eaten or drunk the night before. Although hangovers are common, he was relatively minor among the [[Discworld (world)|Discworld]] [[the gods|gods]]. He hated people who drank alcohol. He hated most of all the god of wine, [[Bibulous]], who was probably not even aware of Bilious's existence. Bibulous could only feel the positive effects of drinking wine, while all the negative effects were transferred to Bilious. The wizards (correctly) reasoned that the reverse would be true: if Bilious drank a hangover cure, then he would only feel the positive effects while the negative effects would be transferred to Bibulous. They create a potion composed of many things that have some vague effect on hangovers, including [[Wow-Wow Sauce]]. The potions cures Bilious of his hangover, as well as getting him revenge against Bibulous.

Many of the minor gods created during the Hogfather's disappearance went away once the Hogfather returned. It is not clear if the same thing happened to Bilious. [[Violet Bottler]]'s belief in him may keep him going, as may the fact that gods can never truly die, even if they have no believers ({{SG}}). However, if Violet's interest in Bilious was as shallow as the [[Senior Wrangler]]'s interest in the [[Cheerful Fairy]], who did disappear, Bilious may've suffered the same fate. It is also known that the Eater of Socks has survived in the Unseen University so there is a chance that Bilious is still around.

Appears in ''[[Book:Hogfather|Hogfather]]''.

[[Category:Discworld characters]]
[[Category:Supporting characters]]
[[Category:Supernatural entities]]
[[de:Gallig]]

Ankh-Morpork City Watch

2017-09-30T16:13:20Z

DuckMan: /* Divisions */

The '''Ankh-Morpork Watch''' (also known as just "The Watch") is [[Ankh-Morpork]]'s police force.

==History==
The Watch and Ward of the Cities of Ankh and Morpork was founded in [[1561 UC]] by King [[Veltrick I]], who also bestowed upon them his personal motto, "Fabricati Diem, Pvncti Agvnt Celeriter," [[Latatian]] for "Make the Day, the Moments Pass Quickly." The Ward, originally the city gate guards, eventually took over thief-taking during daylight hours and became known as the Day Watch, the Watch becoming the Night Watch.

At the time [[Sam Vimes]] enlisted, the Watch comprised four divisions: Day Watch, Night Watch, [[Patrician's Palace|(the Patrician's) Palace]] Guards, and the secret police [[Cable Street Particulars]]. Cable Street Particulars were housed in Cable Street, Palace Guards worked at the palace; Day Watch and Night Watch shared the same police stations, using hour-of-daylight instead of geographic districts to delineate their jurisdictions.

The Cable Street Particulars, an unpopular and much-feared group of secret policemen who spied, jailed citizens without arrest warrants, and tortured them to death, had been taken down during the transition from [[Lord Winder]] to [[Mad Lord Snapcase|Lord Snapcase]] as the Patrician (see {{NW}}).

When first encountered in {{COM}}, Watch officers 'bravely' intervened in a pub fight, but only after "giving 'survivors' ample time to escape via the back door, a neat compromise between caution and justice that benefited all parties"; these were likely the Day Watch officers.

Lord [[Havelock Vetinari]], the [[Patrician]], legalised the [[Thieves' Guild]] and made them regulate their own behaviour, which were mostly what were conventionally thought of as the criminal activities in the city. The Watch slowly became unnecessary, and anyway the Day Watch was headed by a pompous idiot, Captain "Mayonnaise" [[Quirke]], so called because he was thick, oily and smelled of eggs (this may be an oblique reference to Capt. Mark Phillips, first husband of HRH Princess Anne, who was allegedly known as "Foggy" because he was thick and wet). The Night Watch was even worse. It was for total [[Errol|whittles]]. The Watch motto, as inscribed over the Treacle Mine Road watch-house, had eroded to "Fabricati Diem, Pvnc," which [[Fred Colon]] insisted meant "To Protect and Serve."

By the time of {{G!G!}}, the Night Watch had been reduced to four members, one of them a raw recruit, and permanently housed in Treacle Mine Road. The Day Watch at that time did not use that station, which was just as well because, very soon, a [[Noble dragon]] burned down the building. By the gift of [[Lady Sybil Ramkin]], the Night Watch was moved to a building in [[Pseudopolis Yard]], in posh uptown Ankh-Morpork opposite the [[Opera House]]. The building was large, but the Night Watch morale was habitually low.

Lord Vetinari, in his efforts to modernise [[Ankh-Morpork]], has continually forced the Night Watch to take in members of the despised 'ethnic minorities': trolls, dwarfs, and the undead. This was originally intended to project an image of the modern Ankh-Morpork embracing the ethnic diversity, while really putting the minority members in the Night Watch which nobody saw so nobody would complain. This cultural diversity, coupled with [[Carrot Ironfoundersson|Corporal Carrot]]'s exceptional leadership skills, allowed the Night Watch to bring back a sort of peace and order during a period of ethnic riots (in {{MAA}}).

After dealing with the riots successfully, Vetinari merged the Day Watch, Night Watch, and Palace Guard under [[Sam Vimes]], promoted to the long-dormant knightly rank of Watch Commander, and Carrot, now Captain of the Watch. Carrot lobbied for an increase in the Watch's power; Sir Samuel worked out the details of which police stations to keep, to re-open, or to establish, and how may officers per station, how their shifts and beats are rotated and scattered, etc. This went much further than Vetinari's ideas, but Carrot's powers of persuasion (and some overwhelming debts - whilst never acknowledged - being owed him by Vetinari) led to a strong Watch which has become a police force as term is understood in other areas of the [[Multiverse]].

Sir Samuel also resurrected the [[Cable Street Particulars]], now in the form of plainclothes detectives instead of secret police (because, as Vimes surmised, if you have secret crimes, you need secret policemen). The latest time that they were mentioned, the modern Cable Street Particulars were still housed in the building in Pseudopolis Yard, now the headquarters of the merged Ankh-Morpork City Watch.

The Watch is now a multi-ethnic, creative, pro-active, public-facing ''institution'' - a good job with real prospects, a force for good, a powerful lobby in such councils as take place and an active deterrent to unlicensed crime of all sorts. This is a far cry from the humble beginnings we witness in {{G!G!}}.

Warrant Cards are mentioned for the first time in [[Book:Snuff|Snuff]] where previously, only possession of the badge was necessary to prove one's status as a Watchman. Also, Sam Vimes has somehow found the time to write the definitive book on police procedure - possibly the Watch's answer to the Assassins' [[Concordat]] or the Fool's ''Pune, or Play on Words''.

==Organisation==
The Watch ranks mentioned in the books are, from highest to lowest:
*Commander
*Captain
*Sergeant
*Corporal
*Constable
*Lance-Constable (trainees)

In addition to the regular officers, there are several other divisions of the Watch:
*Cable Street Particulars, the plainclothes detectives for secret crimes (in ''[[Book:Maskerade|Maskerade]]'')
*River Patrol, although the boat keeps sinking in the Ankh, which is probably an amazing feat considering that the Ankh is more than semi-solid (in ''[[Book:The Fifth Elephant|The Fifth Elephant]]'')
*Traffic division (est. {{J}}), which is self-financing and therefore cheerfully abused (they clamped and fined anything that stayed in one place for what they judged to be too long: carts, a troll, a duck, The Patrician's Palace and similar immovable and/or ridiculous objects. (in {{T5E}})
*Forensics (est. {{FOC}}), housed in an unused privy and the cellar in Psuedopolis Yard
*Airborne Section, mainly for surveillance and intelligence gathering (in {{NW}})
*The [[Specials]] or "Citizens Militia", who are unsuitable for the job as a regular Watchman due to profession, age, or even brain (in {{NW}}). Called up in times of great need, by, for example, a young Watchman named Carrot (in {{MAA}}). Includes the [[Librarian]] (of [[Unseen University]]), whom Nobby called "Special Ape Services" (in {{G!G!}}), as well as surprisingly, [[Mr Boggis]] (and his bodyguards) of the [[Thieves' Guild]].
* In [[Book:Mrs Bradshaw's Handbook|Mrs Bradshaw's Handbook]], it is confirmed that a [[Railway Police]] now exists who are (inferentially) at least trained by the City Watch.
* The [[Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork]] employs its own Watchmen.. While in theory these are responsible directly to the Bank and only secondarily to the City, [[Moist von Lipwig]] noted a good 80% of them are either serving City Watchmen moonlighting for a second income, or else recently discharged former Watchmen. Either way, Vimes wins: the Bank's internal security police might not have to answer to him, but if they know what's good for them on Watch muster the next day, they ''will''.

==Watchhouses==
The watchhouses currently in service are:
*''Headquarters'': [[Pseudopolis Yard]]
*[[Treacle Mine Road Watch House|Treacle Mine Road]] (destroyed in {{G!G!}} and rebuilt in {{NW}})
*[[Cable Street Particulars|Cable Street Particulars HQ]] (destroyed in {{NW}})
*[[Chittling Street]]
*[[Dimwell Street]]
*[[Dolly Sisters]]
*[[King's Way]]
*[[Least Gate]]
*[[Long Wall]]
*[[Nap Hill]]
*[[Broad Way]], the former Day Watch House; may no longer be in service
*''Training'': an old lemonade factory, across the street from Pseudopolis Yard. This is most likely to be the large otherwise un-named building/city block in between [[The Butts|Butts Treat]] and [[Squeezebelly Alley]], just widdershins of the Watch House. (The location on the turnwise side is named as The Screws, which from its name and proximity to the [[Tanty]] suggests it may be accommodation for prison officers.)

(See ''[[Book:The Discworld Companion|The Discworld Companion]]'', {{NW}}.)

==Personnel==
Members of the modern Watch, listed alphabetically, and their ranks at the latest or last mention, include:
* [[André]], Cable Street Particulars
* [[Wee Mad Arthur]], Constable
* [[Bauxite]], Lance-Constable
* [[Bluejohn]], Officer (as of Unseen Academicals)
* [[Brakenshield]], Constable
* [[Chert]], Constable
* [[Fred Colon]], Sergeant, Custordy Officer & Watch Liaison
* [[Cuddy]], Acting-Constable (d.)
* [[Detritus]], Sergeant
* [[Dorfl]], Constable
* [[Downspout]], Constable
* [[Emile]], Captain, on attachment from Le [[Quirm City Watch|Gendarmerie de Quirm]].
* [[Fiddyment]], Constable
* [[Fittly]], Constable
* [[Flint]], Sergeant
* Unnamed [[Gorgon]] Constable
* [[Hacknee]], Constable
* [[Haddock]], Sergeant, doubles as Watchman at the [[Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork]]
* [[Sally von Humpeding|Salacia "Sally" Delorisista Amanita Trigestrata Zeldana Malifee...von Humpeding]], Captain
* [[Igor#Igor at Ankh-Morpork City Watch, Ankh-Morpork|Igor]], Constable, Forensics, also ER surgeon
* [[Ironbender]], Constable
* [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]], Captain
* [[Precious Jolson]], Constable
* [[Keenside]], Constable
* [[Cheery Littlebottom]], Sergeant, Forensics
* [[Mica]], Constable
* [[Nobby Nobbs|C. W. St. J. "Nobby" Nobbs]], Corporal
* [[A.E. Pessimal]], Inspector
* [[Pediment]], Constable
* [[Ping]], Corporal
* [[Schist]], Constable
* [[Reg Shoe]], Corporal (d. but it hasn't stopped him)
* [[Remitt]] - the Watch Armourer at the time of {{MAA}}
* [[Ringfounder]], Corporal
* [[Rodney]]
* [[Lars Skulldrinker]]
* Lance-Constable [[Slapper]]
* [[Abba Stronginthearm]], Sergeant (d.)
* [[Buggy Swires]], Corporal, Airborne Section
* [[Hrolf Thighbiter]], Constable
* [[Angua von Überwald]], Captain
* His Grace Sir [[Samuel Vimes]] The Duke of Ankh, Commander
* [[Visit-the-Infidel-with-Explanatory-Pamphlets]] ("Washpot"), Constable

The Specials include:
* [[Silas Cumberbatch]], town crier
* [[Andy Hancock|Andy "Two Swords" Hancock]], Clacksman (very enthusiastic wielder of Agatean weaponry)
* [[Boggis|Mr. Boggis]], Head of the Thieves Guild
* [[Harry "Can't Remember His Nickname" Jones]], Bodyguard of Mr. Boggis
* The [[Librarian]], "Special Ape Services"
* [[Vinny "No Ears" Ludd]], Bodyguard of Mr. Boggis
* [[Willikins]], Commander Vimes' butler

Members of the old Watch (Night Watch unless stated):
* [[Cecil Clapman|Cecil "Snouty" Clapman]], gaoler (d.)
* [[Ned Coates]], Lance-Corporal (d.)
* Curry, Corporal (d.)
* [[Dai Dickins]], Sergeant (d.)
* [[Douglas]], Captain, Palace Guard
* Doxie, Captain of the Day Watch during {{RM}}
* [[Herbert Gaskin|Herbert "Leggy" Gaskin]] (d.)
* Hummock, Sergeant, Day Watch
* [[John Keel]], Sergeant-at-Arms (d.)
* [[Kepple]], Sergeant (d.)
* [[Winsborough Knock]], Sergeant
* [[Gerald Leastways]], Cable Street Particulars
* [[Maroon]], Sergeant (d.)
* [[Skully Muldoon]], Sergeant, Day Watch
* [[Horace Nancyball]], Lance-Constable (d.)
* "Mayonnaise" [[Quirke]], Captain, Day Watch (formerly Corporal, Night Watch)
* Scurrick (d.)
* [[Findthee Swing]], Captain, Cable Street Particulars (d.)
* [[Tilden]], Captain
* [[Billy Wiglet]], Constable (d.)

==Workplace Culture==
The modern watch, under the leadership of Commander Vimes (who is cynical and dislikes everything in general) and Captain Carrot (who sees the good in everyone), has the widest ethnic diversity of all organizations or businesses in Ankh-Morpork (with the possible exception of the [[Post Office]]). At last count, members include:

*[[Humans]] with Vimes and Carrot ranking the highest, and Fred Colon being the most senior;
*[[Dwarfs]], Stronginthearm (deceased) and Littlebottom ranking as sergeants;
*[[Trolls]], Detritus and Flint ranking as sergeants;
*[[werewolves|A werewolf]], Angua ranking as Captain;
*[[Gnomes|A gnome]], Swires ranking as corporal;
*[[Nobby_Nobbs|A Nobbs]]. While Nobby carries [[Nobby's note|papers]] declaring him to be human many people believe these to be forged;
*[[Zombies|A zombie]], Reg Shoe;
*[[Golems]], three in Thud!, with Dorfl being the first and so far the only named Golem in the watch;
*[[Gargoyles]], Downspout and Pediment;
*A recent [[vampires|vampire]] recruit, [[Sally von Humpeding]].
*An [[Igor]] whose modern outlook on matters pertaining to medicine (bio-artificing, no lisp and ''ridiculously'' small stitches) have made him outcast in his own community. He is Watch medic, surgeon, and occasional forensic pathologist;
*And an [[Ephebe|Ephebian]] (perhaps they exist in other regions) Medusa who joined between the events of {{UA}} and {{T!}}. Allegedly, she (or he?) turned three people into stone after a gust of wind blown his/her sunglasses off. As [[Ponder Stibbons]] said, even though the [[Faculty|wizards]] restored them, no-one wants to be a statue, even if it was only for half an hour.

It appears that many Watchmen consider all Watchmen as the same class of people and outside of everyday racial or species discrimination. Camaraderie between Watchmen appears to be high and genuine except when the wage chitty is mislaid (see [[Watchmen's Guild]], in {{T5E}}). The modern Watch, in fact, comes from conscripting rioters who were fighting over differences in species. Whether this camaraderie can see the Watch through another major ethnic riot has yet to be seen. Prejudices against ethnic minorities still do exist between Watchmen, such as the common habit of putting articles in the locker of a new recruit (e.g. stepladders and platform shoes for a dwarf). In particular, many humans and some dwarfs worry that the werewolf, Angua (now captain) will attack them, and they make nasty comments about the werewolf when they get a chance. Troll officers worry less about the werewolf, since even a werewolf cannot bite a chunk off a troll.

In the old days, many Watchmen were never eager about the job, since it was not a good idea to die on duty. Practical considerations would also tell a Watchman, however much of an advocate of justice he might be, to refrain from making his wife a widow, because there were no widow's pensions, except a few dollars scraped together by Samuel Vimes (then Captain), which nobody knew about and so weren't taken into consideration. The advice for Carrot in his first days in the Watch was: ''Don't run. Remember Gaskin''. [[Herbert Gaskin|Herbert "Leggy" Gaskin]] was buried just before the events of {{G!G!}}. He chased and actually caught up with a criminal, in foolish disregard of Watch practice.

Nowadays, there is a well-endowed fund for retirement pensions and pensions for widows, orphans, and old parents of Watchmen who died on duty. Another work benefit is emergency surgery by Igor when a Watchman is wounded on the job, a benefit long available to members of many different guilds in Ankh-Morpork (the guilds hired their own doctors), but only recently available to the Watchmen.

New Watchmen are mostly trained by Sergeant Detritus and Sergeant Colon. Detritus can beat (metaphorically) the new recruits into shape, and then they will do anything that Sergeant Colon wants them to. Sergeant Colon will then school them in the more practical and cynical aspects of being a Watchman. After training, a new Watchman works a probation period. Since the Ankh-Morpork City Watch is now famous for its training and accomplishments, after the probation, the new Watchman will often decide to move to other cities because their watches pay a premium to hire an Ankh-Morporkian Watchman. Such constables are known around the Sto Plains as [[Sammies]]. This phenomenon has the extra benefit of creating a network of policemen across the Disc, who have all been trained to salute Commander Vimes and call him "sir".

Captain Carrot, perpetually cheerful and at the same time scrupulously law-abiding, keeps the Watchmen from being another gang of petty criminals. The notable example of this effect is after-work drinking. Like many Ankh-Morporkians, Watchmen go for a drink after work. They usually drink at Mr. Cheese's pub, [[the Bucket]]. Captain Carrot will lecture a Watchman who doesn't pay his tab. On and on. Watchmen have learned to pay their tabs.

==Watch TV Series==
Apparently the Ankh-Morpork City Watch will be adapted into a weekly TV series.

See [http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/03/14/terry-pratchetts-discworld-being-adapted-to-crime-of-the-week-mystery-tv-series/ Here] for more information.

Early speculation it appears that the TV series will be called '''Watch''' and that there will be 13 episodes each one an hour in length.

==Annotations==
The idea for the Cable Street Particulars may have come from the Baker Street Irregulars, a secret police force of street children formed by Sherlock Holmes. [[Cable Street]] has police connections in our world, which see.

Another interesting crossover between Pratchett and anarchistic author Robert Anton Wilson; in Wilsons's '''''Illuminatus!''''' series novel '''''The Widow's Son''''', which is largely set in Paris in the run-up to the French Revolution, we meet the Paris City Watch. This is commanded by one Antoine de Sartine[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_de_Sartine], a real historical personality, whom Wilson draws as a very familiar Vimes-like figure. De Sartine has a subordinate officer called Lieutenant Loup-Garou. ''Loup-Garou'' is French for ''Werewolf''...

The City Watch novels can be seen as an affectionate parody of Ed McBain's famous "87th Precinct" novel sequence (1956–2005), probably the most influential police procedurals ever written.

Thinking along Ed McBain-like lines, it's worth noting that TP himself has acknowledged a debt to Joseph Wambaugh's seminal novel of the Los Angeles Police Department, '''''the Choirboys''''', which details the everyday lives of the street cops working out of a certain precinct, and how the priorities of the force are not always theirs. Note several things here: the motto of the LAPD is ''To Protect and To Serve'', as uncertainly quoted by Fred Colon in {{G!G!}}.

In Wambaugh's novel, the officers periodically detox themselves with "choir practice" - a euphemism for going out and getting riotously drunk. While the Ankh-Morpork officers have the Bucket for their choir practice sessions, Sally von Humpeding, in {{T!}}, goes one better and actually gets the Watchwomen going out on a pub crawl - she takes the ladies' choir out on the road.

Elsewhere in the fictional police contininuinuum, there is the San Francisco P.D. (Motto: "Oro en Paz, Fierro en Guerra".)One of its (celluloid) officers is Dirty Harry Callahan, whose personal motto is ''Make My Day, Punk'' - a more literal translation of the dog-Latin carved above the watch-house door.

it ocurs to me that in Tom Sharpe's two novels set in apartheid South Africa, '''''Riotous Assembly''''' and '''''Indecent Exposure''''' which centre around the grossly incompetent and disorganised Piemburg Police Force, might well also be an influence here. In general, the South African Police Force as portrayed by Sharpe is an analogue of the Night Watch as we know and love it, but shorn of any graces or redeeming features whatsoever. Another influence on Pratchett?

Character Correspondences:

Liutnant Verkramp (deranged secret policeman) - [[Findthee Swing]]

Sergeant de Knock (fat lazy old-timer) - [[Fred Colon]] (and/or [[Winsborough Knock|Sergeant Knock]])

Konstabel Els (indescribable, trigger-happy psychopath) - [[Nobby Nobbs]] and [[Detritus]] with the [[Piecemaker]]

Kommandant van Heerden: Captain "Mayonnaise" [[Quirke]]

'''Another set of associations:'''
To the '''''Police Academy''''' series of movies, in which an assortment of no-hopers and misfits become police officers, despite themselves. This is most marked in {{MAA}}, although there are also allusions in {{FOC}}.

Character associations:-
*Cadet Carey Mahoney (Steve Guttenberg)
*Cadet Karen Thompson (Kim Cattrall) - [[Angua von Uberwald]]
*Cadet Moses Hightower (Bubba Smith) - [[Detritus]]
*Cadet Leslie Barbara (Donovan Scott)
*Cadet Larvell Jones (Michael Winslow)
*Cadet George Martin (Andrew Rubin)
*Cadet Eugene Tackleberry (David Graf) [[Andy Hancock]]
*Cadet Douglas Fackler (Bruce Mahler)
*Cadet Laverne Hooks (Marion Ramsey) - [[Cheery Littlebottom]]
*Cadet Kyle Blankes (Brant Von Hoffmann)
*Cadet Chad Copeland (Scott Thomson)
* Cadet Carl Sweetchuck - [[A.E. Pessimal]].
*Lt. Thaddeus Harris (G.W. Bailey ) - Captain Mayonnaise [[Quirke]]

[[de:Ankh-Morpork Stadtwache]]
[[Category:Groups|City Watch]]
[[Category:Ankh-Morpork Businesses|City Watch]]

Book:Guards! Guards!

2017-04-26T12:01:09Z

DuckMan:

{{Book Data
|title= Guards! Guards!
|cover=[[File:G!G!.jpg|240px]]
|illustrator=Josh Kirby
|date= August 1989
|publisher= Victor Gollancz
|isbn= 0575046066
|pages=352
|series= Watch Series
|characters= [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]] [[Samuel Vimes]] [[Fred Colon]] [[Nobby]] [[Havelock Vetinari]] The [[Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night]]
|annotations= yes
|notes= Book #08
}}
==Blurb==
This is where the [[Noble dragon|dragons]] went.

They lie ... not dead, not asleep, but ... dormant. And although the space they occupy isn't like normal space, nevertheless they are packed in tightly. They could put you in mind of a can of sardines, if you thought sardines were huge and scaly. And presumably, somewhere, there's a key ...

Guards! Guards! is the eighth Discworld novel – and after this, dragons will never be the same again!

==Plot==
The Unique and Supreme Lodge of the [[Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night]] is a secret society who plot to take over Ankh-Morpork. They steal a magic book called ''[[The Summoning of Dragons]]'' from the [[Unseen University]] and use it to summon a [[noble dragon]]. Once the dragon has caused sufficient destruction and panic, their [[Lupine Wonse|Supreme Grand Master]] will put forward a "hero" who will heroically slay the dragon and became the city's king, to act as a puppet ruler for the Elucidated Brethren.

The [[City Watch]] of [[Ankh-Morpork]] has fallen on hard times. This is due to [[Havelock Vetinari|Lord Vetinari]]'s policy of making law enforcement the responsibility of the [[Guilds of Ankh-Morpork|guilds]]. Even crime has become 'self-regulated' by the [[Thieves' Guild]], who carry out a regulated number of robberies and discipline those who do it illegally. The Night Watch contains just three members - [[Sam Vimes|Captain Sam Vimes]], a cynic with a drinking problem, the overweight and lazy [[Fred Colon|Sergeant Fred Colon]] and [[Nobby Nobbs|Corporal Nobby Nobbs]], a petty thief. A fourth member [[Herbert Gaskin]] has just been killed on duty. They do little at night other than wander the city ringing their bells and half-heartedly chasing criminals.

This changes when they are joined by [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]], a powerfully-built young man who was raised by dwarfs. In contrast to the existing policemen, Carrot is idealistic, honest and literal-minded; he has read ''[[The Laws and Ordinances of the Cities Ankh and Morpork]]'' and is determined to uphold them at all costs. On his first day at work, he tries to arrest [[Urdo van Pew]], the head of the Thieves' Guild. Though he seems out of place in Ankh-Morpork, Carrot's methods actually seem to work. The Night Watch begin investigating the dragon's appearances. Vimes meets his future love interest [[Sybil Ramkin]], a noblewoman and a breeder of [[swamp dragon]]s. She gives him information on dragons and a young [[swamp dragon]] called [[Errol]] as a pet. When the [[Treacle Mine Road Watch House|Watch House]] is burned down by the noble dragon, Sybil also donates the [[Pseudopolis Yard]] buildings to be new headquarters. Errol takes interest in the noble dragon and begins to eat odd things that cause his ears to produce smoke.

The Elucidated Brethren execute their plan; their hero comes forward and 'banishes' the dragon. The people of the city rejoice, overthrow Vetinari and prepare to have the hero crowned as the king. But the dragon returns, kills the hero and most of the Brethren, and declares itself to be the king of Ankh-Morpork. Using Vetinari's secretary [[Lupine Wonse]] as its interpreter, the dragon demands gold and a monthly virgin sacrifice, with Sybil being chosen to be the first victim. Vimes enters the palace and confronts Wonse, who is revealed to be the Supreme Grand Master. Wonse has Vimes imprisoned in the dungeons with Vetinari. He is rescued by the [[Librarian]] and runs to Sybil's aid. Carrot, Colon and Nobbs try to shoot the dragon with a single 'lucky arrow' but miss. Errol then fights the dragon; it is revealed that his eating habits have allowed him to produce a backwards-launched [[wikipedia:jet engine|jet engine]] flame. Errol flies into the sky at a supersonic speed, causing a [[Wikipedia:sonic boom|sonic boom]] that knocks the king dragon out of the sky.

The city people move in to kill the king dragon, but Sybil pleads for it to be spared. Carrot tries to arrest the dragon, but Errol helps it escape. Sybil explains that the king dragon is actually female and the 'fight' with Errol was a courtship ritual. Vimes and the Watch return to the palace and together with Vetinari, they confront Wonse. Wonse tries to summon another dragon, but Carrot accidentally kills him; he is told by Vimes to "throw the book at him", so Carrot throws a copy of ''The Laws and Ordinances'' with such force that it knocks Wonse through a hole. Vetinari is reinstated as the leader of the city and offers the Night Watch a reward. They only demand a modest pay rise, a new kettle and a dartboard.

==Cover==
The cover, once again painted by Josh Kirby, features Carrot (with sword), Vimes (with bottle), Nobby (with small dragon) and Colon (with bow and arrow). They are all attempting to fight the Dragon.

==Characters==
*[[Carrot Ironfoundersson]]
*[[Samuel Vimes]]
*[[Fred Colon]]
*[[Nobby]]
*[[Havelock Vetinari]]
*[[Lupine Wonse]]
*The [[Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night]]
*[[Sybil Ramkin]]

==Other Characters==
*[[Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler]]
*The [[Librarian]]
*[[Reet]]
*[[Detritus]]
*[[Brother Fingers]]
*[[Brother Dunnikin]]
*[[Brother Doorkeeper]]
*[[Brother Watchtower]]
*[[Brother Plasterer]]

==Cameos and other Mentions ==
*[[Brenda Rodley]]
*[[Skully Multoon]] of the [[Palace Guard]]
*[[Varneshi]]
*[[Magrat Garlick]]
*[[Herbert Gaskin ]]
*[[Minty Rocksmacker]]
*[[Mort]] and [[Ysabell]] (mentioned by Sybil as "the duke and duchess of Sto Helit, a nice young couple"

==Locations==
* [[Ankh-Morpork]]
** [[Treacle Mine Road]]
*** [[Treacle Mine Road Watch House ]]
** [[Pseudopolis Yard]]
** [[Sunshine Sanctuary for Sick Dragons ]]
** [[The Mended Drum ]]
** [[Temple of Small Gods]]
** [[Jimkin Bearhugger's Whiskey|Jimkin Bearhugger's Whiskey Distillery]]
** [[Thieves' Guild]]
** [[Easy Street]]
*** [[Bunch of Grapes]]
** [[Scoone Avenue]]
*** [[Ramkin|The Ramkin House]]
** [[Patrician's Palace]]
** [[Unseen University ]]
*** [[Library|The Library]]
*** [[Tower of Art]]
** [[The Shades ]]
*** [[Rosemary Palm|Mrs Palm's House]]
** [[Harga's House of Ribs ]]
* [[Noble dragon|The Place Where the Dragons Lie]]
* [[Copperhead]]
* [[Enlightenment country]](where the monks make jars of dragon resistant cream and ship to a Mr CMOT Dibbler AM)
* [[L-space]]

==Sentient Species==

*[[Dwarfs]]
*[[Humans]]
*[[Trolls]]

==Supernatural Entities==

*[[Death]]
*[[The gods|The Gods]] (mentioned)

== Things and Concepts ==
*[[The Summoning of Dragons]]
*[[The Laws and Ordinances of the Cities Ankh and Morpork]]
*[[Swamp dragon ]]
*[[Noble dragon ]]
*[[Figgins ]]
*[[The Dictionary of Eye-Watering Words ]]
*[[Critters ]]
*[[L-space ]]
*[[Swear-Words]]
*[[Cripple Mister Onion ]]
*[[A Wizard's Staff Has A Knob On The End ]]
*[[Monkey ]]
*[[Thieves' Guild ]]

== Annotations ==
* "the Public Order Act of 1457" - one of the frequent [[57]] references in TP's work

==Adaptations==
Adapted into a [[Radio Adaptations|Radio play]] in 1992 by BBC Radio 4.

Adapted into a [[Theatre Adaptations|stageplay]] by [[Stephen Briggs]].

Adapted into a comic [[Book:Guards! Guards! A Discworld Graphic Novel|''Guards! Guards! A Discworld Graphic Novel'']] by Stephen Briggs and Graham Higgins.

==External links==
[http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/guards-guards.html ''Guards! Guards!'' Annotations - The Annotated Pratchett File]

{{series|before=Pyramids|series=Discworld|after=Eric}}
{{series|series=Watch|after=Men at Arms}}

[[Category:Discworld Series|Guards! Guards!]]
[[Category:Watch Series|Guards! Guards!]]
[[de:Buch:Wachen! Wachen!]]

Watch Series

2017-01-30T22:26:08Z

DuckMan: Created page with "The Watch Series is one of several subseries of the Discworld Series. The stories star the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, led by Sam Vimes, chronicling its transition fr..."

The Watch Series is one of several subseries of the [[Discworld Series]]. The stories star the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch]], led by [[Sam Vimes]], chronicling its transition from being a run-down useless organisation to being a modern police force. The main setting is [[Ankh-Morpork]].
==Stories==
*{{G!G!}} (also adapted as a [[Book:Guards! Guards! A Discworld Graphic Novel|graphic novel]])
*{{TOC}} (short story)
*{{MAA}}
*{{FOC}}
*{{J}}
*{{T5E}}
*{{NW}}
*{{T!}}
*{{SN}}
==Major characters==
*[[Sam Vimes]] (main character)
*[[Carrot Ironfoundersson]]
*[[Fred Colon]]
*[[Nobby Nobbs]]
*[[Angua von Überwald]]
*[[Cheery Littlebottom]]
*[[Sybil Ramkin]]
*[[Havelock Vetinari]]

Samuel Vimes

2017-01-30T22:11:13Z

DuckMan:

Vimes Family Motto: ''PROTEGO ET SERVIO''

''I protect and serve''
{{Character Data
|title= Vimes
|photo= Vimes_Duck_Blanket.jpg | Sam Vimes by [http://tealin.dreamwidth.org/194944.html Tealin]
|name= Sir Samuel Vimes, Duke of [[Ankh (city)|Ankh]]
|age= b. 1941? UC
|race= [[Humans|Human]]
|occupation= Commander of the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch|City Watch]] (Badge No.177)
|appearance= Skinny, balding and unshaven
|residence= Ramkin Residence, [[Scoone Avenue]], [[Ankh (city)|Ankh]]
|death=
|parents= [[Thomas Vimes]] (father) [[Mrs. Vimes]] (mother)
|relatives= [[Gwilliam Vimes]] (paternal grandfather) [[Grandma Clamp]] (maternal grandmother). "Old Stoneface" Vimes (AKA [http://wiki.lspace.org/mediawiki/%22Stoneface%22_Vimes "Suffer Not Injustice" Vimes])
|children= [[Young Sam Vimes]]
|marital status= Married to Lady [[Sybil Ramkin]]. A previous girlfriend, alluded to in passing in {{T!}}, is [[Mavis Trouncer]].
|books= {{G!G!}} {{MAA}} {{FOC}} {{J}} {{T5E}} {{NW}} {{MR}} {{T!}} ''[[Book:Where's My Cow?|Where's My Cow?]] [[Book:Snuff|Snuff]] {{RS}} [[Discworld Noir]]''
|cameos= {{TT}} {{GP}} {{MM}} {{UA}} {{ISWM}}
}}

'''Samuel "Sam" Vimes''' is the Commander of the [[Ankh-Morpork]] [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch|City Watch]]. He is the central character of the [[Watch Series]], in which his rises from being a poor and often-drunk policeman to being the leader of a modern police force.

During his first appearance in {{G!G!}}, he is the Captain of the (useless) Night Watch. He is promoted to being the Commander of a reunified City Watch at the end of its sequel {{MAA}}, and presides over the Watch's transformation into a modern police force. Through his detective work and adventures he saves the city and many people's lives on multiple occasions. He is often referred to as the second-most powerful man in the city after [[Havelock Vetinari|Lord Vetinari]]. As a result of his reputation, the word ''[[Sammies]]'' has become a nickname for watchmen trained in Ankh-Morpork.

Despite his distaste for nobility, he becomes a Duke and an ambassador. His current full title is ''His Grace, His Excellency, The Duke of [[Ankh (city)|Ankh]]; Commander Sir Samuel Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch''. He is married to [[Lady Sybil Ramkin]], the wealthiest woman in the city, and they have a son [[Young Sam Vimes|Samuel "Young Sam" Vimes II]].

== Biography ==
Samuel Vimes was born in [[Cockbill Street]], [[the Shades]], [[Ankh-Morpork]] into a poor family. Through his father Thomas, he is a descendant of [["Stoneface" Vimes|Suffer-Not-Injustice "Stoneface" Vimes]], who overthrow the [[Monarchy|monarchy]] in Ankh-Morpork centuries earlier, killed [[Lorenzo the Kind|its last king]], and ruled the city briefly before being overthrown himself. The Vimes family, until then a noble family, were disgraced and lived in poverty for many generations after. In his later life Sam is often compared to his ancestor, in both his personality and his appearance.

He went to the local school, where he was taught by Dame [[Slightly]] for 9 months and became blackboard monitor. After that, he spent some time in street gangs, including the [[Cockbill Street Roaring Lads]]. At the age of 16, he enlisted in the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch|Night Watch]], because his mate, Iffy Scurrick, had joined the year before and told him that there was "free food and a uniform and you could pick up the extra dollar here and there". Vimes joined the Night Watch shortly before the birth of the Glorious [[People's Republic of Treacle Mine Road]] during the [[Glorious Revolution|Glorious Revolution]]. In the original timeline, Vimes was mentored by Sergeant [[John Keel]]. Keel taught Vimes several important lessons, such stopping him from taking bribes at a time when such behaviour was widespread in the Watch. Keel took charge of the rebellion and was killed. In {{NW}}, the timeline was altered and his future self ended up impersonating John Keel for the duration of the Revolution, teaching him the same lessons instead.

Little is known about what happens between then and {{G!G!}}. Vimes became more street-smart, particularly after learning to fight with any means necessary by [[Gussie Two-Grins]]. However, the Watch declined in importance during this time, particularly after [[Havelock Vetinari|Lord Vetinari]] legalised the [[Thieves Guild]]. The Guild proved to be a better regulator of crime than the Watch. The Night Watch were reduced to patrolling the streets, ringing their bells at night and half-heartedly chasing criminals. During this time, Vimes became an {{wp|alcoholism|alcohoic}} (although as he was poor, he considered himself to be "a drunk", not an alcoholic).

By the start of {{G!G!}}, Vimes has become a Captain of a Night Watch that had dwindled to just four people: himself, Sergeant [[Fred Colon|Colon]], Corporal [[Nobby Nobbs|Nobbs]] and the new recruit [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]]. Around this time, Colon claims that Vimes never advanced further because he was "Brung Low by a Woman", (if so than her name is [[Morporkia|Ankh Morporkia]]), although Vimes himself attributes it to his irreverent habit of speaking his mind to authority figures. But the events of this novel mark the turning point for the Watch and Vimes's career. The Watch showed their worth by stopping a [[Noble dragon|dragon]] from taking over the city. Vimes also began a romantic relationship with [[Lady Sybil Ramkin]], one of the wealthiest women in the city.

From then on, the Watch began to grow again. In {{MAA}}, Vimes and the Watch thwart another attempt to take over the city. As a reward, the Night Watch and Day Watch are merged into a unified City Watch and Vimes is promoted to the post of Commander, as well as being given the somewhat unwanted title of Knight. He also marries Sybil and kicks his drinking habit.

Vimes and the City Watch go on to save the city and multiple lives, including a plot by golems and a vampire in {{FOC}} and a threat of war with Klatch in {{J}}. For this, Vimes is awarded with yet another unwanted nobility title: Duke of Ankh. Later adventures include a journey to [[Überwald]] in {{T5E}}, a journey back to the days of the Glorious Revolution in {{NW}}, making peace between dwarfs and trolls in {{T!}} and busting a goblin slavery network in {{SN}}. His son [[Young Sam Vimes|Samuel "Young Sam" Vimes II]] was born at the end of {{NW}}.

===Ranks and titles===
Vimes's ranks and titles rise over the course of the series:
*Lance-Constable Samuel Vimes ({{NW}}, his younger self)
*Captain Samuel Vimes of the Night Watch ({{G!G!}} until the end of {{MAA}})
*Commander Sir Samuel Vimes of the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch]] (the end of {{MAA}} until the end of {{J}})
*His Grace, The Duke of [[Ankh (city)|Ankh]]; Commander Sir Samuel Vimes of the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch]] (the end of {{J}} until {{T5E}})
*His Grace, His Excellency, The Duke of [[Ankh (city)|Ankh]]; Commander Sir Samuel Vimes of the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch]] ({{T5E}} to present)
This is not the full list; he almost certainly had others during his early Watch career, and he had none prior to joining the Watch.

==Characteristics==
Sam Vimes is by nature an extremely cynical person. He has few good opinions on people in general, and even fewer on the nobility, the guilds, [[Vetinari]], [[vampires]], the city of [[Ankh-Morpork]], monarchy, democracy, [[Ankh-Morpork Times|newspapers]]...and the list goes on. In short, nearly everyone and everything is subject to his distrust. His first impression upon meeting someone is that they're guilty of some crime - 'the possibility that they were not guilty of anything he didn't think worthy of consideration' ([[Jingo]]) - though in a city such as Ankh-Morpork, this is more or less true.

Equally, he is known to be an angry person. His sheer, incandescent rage is barely suppressed by his desire to be lawful and administer justice properly (and also in a way, to not follow in Stoneface's steps). Due to his authority in {{MAA}}, when he finds himself in possession of the [[Gonne]], he struggles between his sense of justice and the Gonne's twisted desire to use him to kill in the name of justice. He can barely restrain himself from the Gonne's temptations. In {{T!}}, he nearly gives in entirely to those of the [[Summoning Dark]]. In the latter case, you have to consider that a [[Helmclever|dwarf]] stirs deliberately his anger, and the [[Dark Guards]] attempt later to assassinate not only Vimes, but also his wife and his fourteen-months-old son, using flamethrowers. On one side, there is Vimes, however rough and pessimistic he may seem, defender of law and order, and the other side is a Vimes who would kill for revenge and make his own law.

In {{T!}}, after years of nighttime patrols, Vimes's mindscape is described as the city of [[Ankh-Morpork]], streets and all, in the dead of night, with the rains bucketing down over your head. When Vimes is angry, doors of some of the houses (the more angry he is, the more doors) will open. When the [[Summoning Dark]] trespasses into his mind, needing a host in order to track down the [[Deep-Downers]], it tries to enter through one of the doors that opens when Vimes becomes angry, only to be pulled away at every time. It is later revealed that the force preventing the [[Summoning Dark]] from making any progress in possessing Vimes is Vimes's own 'inner guardsman'.

His chronic alcoholism may be partially due to his natural state of extreme sobriety, known as being [[knurd]]. According to Vimes's long-time close friend and fellow officer [[Fred Colon]], it is because that every other normal person is naturally slightly drunk to some extent to conceal the true horrors of reality from them. However Vimes lacks the ability to produce his 'own alcohol', as it were. Vimes used to attempt to cure this by drinking heavily; unfortunately he often over-dosed himself, and became an alcoholic. After marrying Lady [[Sybil Ramkin]], he quit drinking and smoked cigars instead. In {{FOC}}, he still has the habit to reach in stress situations for the bottom desk drawer, where his bottle used to be. But he'd never bought a bottle since he got married, and Carrot and Fred Colon keep an eye on him, as well. As of ''[[Book:Snuff|Snuff]]'', even his smoking has been barred from the house (likely for Young Sam's sake), and he sates his cravings with non-alcoholic mixers whipped up by [[Willikins]].

Another reason for Vimes's past alcoholism may be his history; Vimes has been on the Watch since his late teens. He has lived through the successive regimes of Homicidal Lord [[Winder]] and [[Mad Lord Snapcase]], two patricians whose sobriquets more than adequately describe their tenures, as well as several wars, and the legalization of the Guilds under Vetinari, which more or less broke his spirit. His participation as a young copper in handing people to the [[Cable Street Particulars|Unmentionables]] has surely left him also with a deep feeling of guilt and shame, after witnessing the results in their headquarters.

Vimes is a firm believer in the institution of law. He has a soft spot for the poor and those otherwise unable to fend for themselves, as although he views them as equally able to commit crimes as any other demographic; he sees law as a great equalizer, regardless of race (however despite his acceptance of just about any species into the Watch, until he was forced to in [[Thud!]] he refused to have a [[vampire]].)

As Vimes's long-time close friend [[Fred Colon|Sgt. Colon]] puts it, Vimes could get drunk in better style, Vimes could be baffled about a case with better vocabulary, and Vimes could deal with the paperwork. To himself, Samuel Vimes is a not very intelligent man with a sordid personal history that he'd rather forget. To many others he is, somehow, the person to look up to. [[Carrot Ironfoundersson|Captain Carrot]] quotes Vimes's ideas about social justice, and tries to make them a reality. [[Lady Sybil Ramkin]], Vimes's wife, thinks that he can sort out anything. The new policemen trained in the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch]] and then hired elsewhere, though they haven't seen Vimes in person much, are called ''[[Sammies]]'' (perhaps a nod to the "bobbies," so-called because of Sir Robert Peel).

Vimes is far from being perfect, and he knows the fact better than anyone. In addition to former alcoholism, Vimes has many prejudices. He hates many kinds of people and many things, and he has quite good reasons to. He hates the upper class because they look down on the rest of the society while exploiting it (e.g. charging high rent from the poor people living in slum properties).

He hates [[dwarfs]] and [[trolls]], but he has stated that he doesn't care that much for humans either so he can't be blamed. He hates [[zombies]], [[werewolves]] and [[vampires]]; for unashamedly discriminative reasons, among them being that they cannot be killed if police duty necessitates that Vimes should fight them, and he believes that vampires naturally or reflexively prey upon people, as well as often being rich and snobby.

He hates dishonest policemen. He accepts that a publican may offer a free pint or a meal to an officer just because having an officer on the premises at rush hour makes things go more smoothly is just a way of doing business, but draws the line at an officer taking money to look the other way. He also sacks, and may even prosecute, officers who abuse prisoners or participate in crimes. In his view, the law must apply to everyone, or it applies to noone. That was why, in Jingo, he reluctantly agreed to arrest Lord Vetinari.

He hates [[Assassins' Guild|Assassins]] and [[Thieves' Guild|Thieves]] because their crimes are legalized and he cannot arrest them, and their leaders are even city dignitaries now. He hates [[Alchemists' Guild|Alchemists]] because they blow things up.

Just about the only kind of people that he doesn't hate are gargoyles, who never commit crimes that anybody finds out about, and the [[wizard's magic|wizards]]; they may mess up the space-time continuum and destroy the universe, but such offenses seldom fall within Vimes's jurisdiction. Vimes hates the city of [[Ankh-Morpork]], too. It has been said that he protects the city just as he protects the dwarfs and trolls, so that he can go on hating them. In truth, Vimes has seen too many bad things in his line of work, and now finds it difficult to have a good opinion of anything in general; he is far too cynical (and yet depressingly sometimes not cynical enough). He doesn't have too much animosity for the Seamstresses Guild, since the Agony Aunts handle any excesses by customers, and the Houses themselves make sure that a customer will not end up beaten, naked, and penniless in the streets, "unless his tastes run that way."

In {{J}}, Vimes finds himself in a difficult and tense situation where he is holding the [[Klatch|Klatchian]] Prince [[Cadram]] at bowpoint, and is prepared to kill him because (tenuous) evidence links him to a conspiracy to kill Prince [[Khufurah]], but there is no court which would try the case. He is saved by the arrival of [[Vetinari]], who defuses the situation.

According to [[Detritus]], when Vimes found a child-killer who has kept a "''memento''" of his deed, it was all the troll could do to prevent him from killing the perpetrator. This all comes to light during the events of {{T!}} where Vimes' internal Watchman - which describes itself as existing to keep the darkness in rather than keeping it out- battles with the [[Mine sign|Summoning Dark]] for supremacy of his soul and is ultimately victorious in dispelling the evil entity from its attempts to use Vimes to kill for it. This can be illustrated by the fact that when asked 'quis custodies ipsos custodes' ('Who watches the watchmen?') Vimes's immediate reaction is 'Me'. When asked who guards him, he replies, 'I do that too.'

He is capable of accepting specific individuals. He has married Lady Sybil and certainly loves her. He accepts members of ethnic minorities in his Watch, has personally trained some of them, and is quite proud of them. He promotes Watch officers according to merit and ability, regardless of gender, species, or seniority. He also has a soft spot for the poor, the working class, or the young. When he finds younger Assassins failing their attempts on him, for example, he lets them go with only minor wounds; older Assassins, on the other hand, have been known to be [[Richard Liddleley|painted and tied up left in public]], or even [[Eustace Bassingly-Gore|chained up and sent on a sea voyage]] all the way to the other end of [[Klatch (continent)|Klatch]]. To put it very simply, he tries to look after those who have nobody else looking after them.

In attempting to carry out justice, Vimes has arrested sons of Ankh-Morpork nobles as well as city dignitaries, all the way up to [[Lord Vetinari]]. This has put Vimes high on the hit list of the Assassins at a price of $AM20,000 in {{FOC}} rising to $AM600,000 after 9 failed attempts at the time of {{T5E}}; recently, however, he has been taken off the register, and the Guild of Assassins no longer accepts contracts on his life. This may be because he is somehow vital to the running of the city, as [[Havelock Vetinari|Lord Vetinari]] is, or it may be because no sensible Assassin will volunteer for the task anyway. Vimes has personally designed and installed many traps and deadfalls all around the Ramkin family home and the Watch headquarters at [[Pseudopolis Yard]]. So far, Vimes hasn't been even injured by any Assassin. The Assassins Guild now has some of its trainees conduct "''dry run''" assassination attempts on Vimes as a matter of testing the trainee's skills - particularly if they feel the need to [[Jocasta Wiggs|bring the trainee's ego back down to the Disc]] (see {{NW}}).

He is also fiercely anti-authority, possibly a facet of his character which he inherited from Old Stoneface. That he manages this whilst actually being authority is, as [[Lord Vetinari]] put it, "''practically zen''." He regards being the Duke of Ankh as a job title and always prefers "Commander" or "sir" to any of his other titles, which include "''His Grace''," "''His Excellency''" and "''his blackboard-monitorship''" ({{T5E}} and {{T!}}). Continuing to call him by any of these titles after he's explained his preferences is an excellent way to get in His Grace His Excellency's bad graces.

Sam Vimes's full title of record is "''His Grace, His Excellency, the Duke of Ankh, Commander Sir Samuel Vimes''." His "Blackboard Monitor" epithet is used like a title in ''[[Book:Snuff|Snuff]]'', implying it may actually have been accorded some official weight by the Low King of the dwarfs. Ironically, the one title Vimes holds with genuine pride (as of ''[[Book:Snuff|Snuff]]''), aside from Commander, is "King" .. as in, "King of the River", an honorarium awarded in recognition of his role in saving the riverboat ''Wonderful Fanny'' from piracy and flood.

Members of the Watch earn the privilege, and it is a privilege, of calling him "''Mister Vimes''" only after very long association (i.e. [[Nobby Nobbs]] or [[Fred Colon]]), or after watching his back in a street fight to the extent that they have demonstrably saved his life ([[A.E. Pessimal]]). He does not tolerate the "''Mister''" from outsiders. [[Fred Colon]] sometimes calls him by his first name when he's worried. He has inherited his ancestor's nickname "''Old Stoneface''," but this is never said to his face.

==Activities and Duties==
As other noblemen might ride horses, wear laces, ruffles, and plumes, Sam Vimes walks the city on endless patrols and wears his old battered Watch armor and leather shirt and jerkin, with the standard sword and truncheon.

Since becoming the Commander of the Watch and as such a popular target with the clients of the [[Assassins' Guild]], Vimes also started the exercise of personally engineering pitfalls and death traps around his house and outside of his office at the police headquarters.

As Commander and top officer of the Watch, Vimes' job is to oversee its operations and has to deal with a lot of paperwork, a job which he hates but accomplishes adequately. He still tries to go on patrol whenever he has a chance; to him, walking the quiet streets in the dark is a calming, almost relaxing activity. When there is an important occasion on which crime is anticipated, for example, that a foreign dignitary may be attacked during a public appearance (in {{J}}), Vimes likes to personally check suspicious places such as an abandoned building that an assassin might use.

Deduction is not Vimes' favorite activity; he distrusts clues and loathes mysteries (''"mysteries get you killed"''), and he now has the [[Cable Street Particulars]] to deal with peculiar crimes, but sometimes Vimes still personally investigates a case. When he witnesses a crime occurring, he abandons everything and chases the miscreant. It is possible that he uses police work to escape the social life of "Sir Samuel Vimes, Duke of Ankh".

As both urged by Lady Sybil and ordered by Lord Vetinari, Vimes now often has to appear at dinners and parties. Most of the nobles and government officials that he sees at such social occasions, he considers stupid or obnoxious. Should he be accosted by one of these people, he does not hesitate to make clear how and why he loathes them. Vetinari likes to use Vimes as a diplomat, and while more often than not Vimes is the cause of diplomatic incidents, these seem often the intention of Vetinari.

The former Lord Ramkin, Lady Sybil's late father, had always had servants to shave him, to lay out his bath, to scrub his back, to lay out his clothes, to clean his shiny boots, and so on. Vimes now allows the butler to lay out his clothes, but that is about all. He insists on shaving himself as he dislikes other people putting a [[razor blade]], (or indeed any sort of sharp edge) to his throat, and attempts to wear cheap boots with cardboard soles. He has been walking the city in such boots for decades, and he likes being able to feel the different types of cobblestones so that he can tell which street he is on. Besides watch armour, Vimes has some gentleman's suits, a dress uniform of the Watch Commander, and a dress uniform of the Duke. He is often required to wear the ducal dress uniform, which has ruby tights (''"you wouldn't wear tights to battle if you thought you would be taken prisoner"''), a spiky coronet, a gilt armour (''"toy armour"''), and no place to hang his sword (''"you got made a duke for fighting and then they gave you no sword to fight with"''). Vimes compromises by wearing the Watch Commander dress uniform.

Nowadays, Vimes has to eat fancy food as cooked in the Ramkins' house. Personally, he prefers simple, greasy food with burnt crunchy bits, and so he is happier when he eats things that Lady Sybil has personally cooked by a dragon's fire.

Upon becoming a father, Vimes swore to faithfully get home by 6 p.m. every evening to read a certain picture book called ''[[Book:Where's My Cow?|Where's My Cow?]]'' to his son, Young Sam. This has become such a point of pride that he now has nightmares about not being home by 6 p.m. There is absolutely nothing that takes precedence over this; Vimes believes that if he misses it even once for a good reason, the next time he might miss it for a bad one, and eventually this attitude might spill over into the rest of his life. By the time of ''Snuff'', Young Sam has become the reader and Vimes Senior, the listener, but their 6 p.m. reading sessions continue like clockwork.

His son's welfare is one of the few things Vimes is willing to cross even his wife about, such that he insisted that they hire a nursemaid, Purity, to attend to Young Sam over Sybil's objections. Presumably this is also why the protective flame-baffles between the Vimes residence and Sybil's dragon stables are much, much sturdier in ''Thud!'' than in previous books.

==Annotation==
Philip Jackson from the British ''Robin of Sherwood'' TV series provides the voice for Vimes in the BBC Radio 4 adaptation of {{NW}}.

==Also See==
* [[wikipedia:Sam Vimes|Samuel Vimes's Entry]] on [[wikipedia:Wikipedia|Wikipedia]]

:
[[Category:Discworld characters|Vimes, Samuel]]
[[Category:Leading characters|Vimes, Samuel]]
[[Category:Serial characters|Vimes, Samuel]]
[[Category:Human characters|Vimes, Samuel]]
[[Category:Watchmen|Vimes, Samuel]]

[[de:Samuel Mumm]]

Book:Sourcery

2017-01-02T18:48:01Z

DuckMan: /* Plot */

{{Book Data
|cover=[[File:Sourcery.jpg|240px|Sourcery]]
|illustrator=Josh Kirby
|date=May 1988
|publisher=Victor Gollancz
|isbn=0552131075
|pages=269
|rrp=
|series=Rincewind Series
|characters=[[Rincewind]] [[The Luggage]] [[Nijel the Destroyer]] [[Coin]] [[Conina]]
|annotations=
|notes=Book #05
}}

==Blurb==
There was an eighth son of an eighth son. He was, quite naturally, a [[wizard's magic|wizard]]. And there it should have ended. However (for reasons we'd better not go into), he had seven sons. And then he had an eighth son... a wizard squared... a source of magic... a [[Sourcerer]].

==Plot==
On the Disc, then number eight has magic properties. An eighth son of an eighth son is guaranteed to be a [[wizard's magic|wizard]]. An eighth son of an eighth son of an eighth son becomes a [[Sourcerer]], an exceptionally powerful wizard who is a "source of magic". As sourcerers caused great damage in the [[Mage Wars]] of the past, today wizards are banned from having children. One wizard, [[Ipslore the Red]], was banished from the [[Unseen University]] for having many children, including an infant son [[Coin]] who is due to become a sourcerer. When [[Death]] comes to collect his soul, Ipslore escapes by placing his spirit in Coin's staff. This allows him to evade passing, steer his son into doing his bidding and plot revenge against the University.

Eight years later, Coin strides into the University and kills the new Archchancellor, [[Virrid Wayzygoose]]. When the wizards see Coin's power, they welcome him and accept him as their new archchancellor. Meanwhile, [[Rincewind]], [[The Luggage]] and the [[Librarian]] flee the university. At the [[Mended Drum]], they meet [[Conina]], the daughter of [[Cohen the Barbarian]] who works as a thief. She has accidentally stolen the [[Archchancellor's Hat]], which turns out have become sentient after being worn by hundreds of archchancellors. The hat warns them of the danger that Coin poses to the Disc, and instructs them to take to it [[Al Khali]], [[Klatch]] where there is someone worthy of wearing it.

Under Coin's leadership, the wizards take over [[Ankh-Morpork]] and begin planning to take over the Disc. Coin abolishes the rules, orders the library to be destroyed and sends them to attack other countries. Wars break out between wizards across the Disc. Rincewind, Conina and travel to Al Khali, which is ruled by [[Creosote]], the current [[Seriph]], and his treacherous adviser [[Abrim]]. Rincewind is thrown into a snake pit where he meets the barbarian wannabe hero [[Nijel the Destroyer]], Conina is taken to Creosote's [[wikipedia:harem|harem]] and the Luggage goes rampaging in the desert after getting drunk.

A group of Ankh Morpork wizards arrive and attack Al Khali. The heavy presence of magic causes Rincewind to gain abilities of his own and he uses them to rescue himself and Nijel from the snake pit. They meet with Conina (who falls in love with Nijel) and Creosote. Abrim tries on the Archchancellor's Hat, hoping to gain improved abilities. Instead, the Hat possesses him. He is directed to enlist other wizards to fight the invaders and demolish the palace to build a wizard's tower. Rincewind, Conina, Nijel and Creosote escape on a magic carpet. After hearing Creosote complain about wizards, Rincewind angrily leaves, flying back to Ankh-Morpork on a magic carpet. Abrim is killed by the invading wizards after being distracted by the Luggage, and the Hat and tower are destroyed. Coin becomes powerful enough to challenge the Gods, trapping them in an alternative reality. This inadvertently causes [[Ice Giants]] to invade the Disc.

Back at the University, Rincewind discovers the Librarian has hidden the Library books in the [[Tower of Art]]. The Librarian convinces him to confront the Sourcerer. Armed with only a half-brick in a sock, Rincewind confronts Coin. He is too powerless to fight, but persuades Coin to cast aside his staff. The two escape to the [[Dungeon Dimensions]], while [[Death]] takes Ipslore's soul from the staff. Rincewind distracts the monsters to allow Coin to return to the university. Coin undoes the damage he has done. When Conina and Nijel arrive looking for Rincewind, Coin makes them forget about him so that they can live in peace. Realising he is too powerful for the Disc, he then steps into a dimension of his own creation.

==Characters==

===Main characters===

* [[Marmaric Carding]]
* [[Coin]]
* [[Conina]]
* [[The Luggage]]
* [[Nijel the Destroyer]]
* [[Rincewind]]
* [[Spelter]]

===Minor characters===

* [[Abrim]], the {{wp|Grand Vizier|Grand Vizier}} of Al Khali
* [[Creosote]], the Seriph of Al Khali
* [[Ipslore the Red]]
* [[Librarian]]
* [[Havelock Vetinari]]
* [[Virrid Wayzygoose]]

===Cameos===

* [[Death]] and the temporarily Horse-less men of the [[Apocralypse]]:
** [[War]]
** [[Famine]]
** [[Pestilence]]
* [[Skarmer Billias]]
* [[Gravie Derment]], of the [[Sages of the Unknown Shadow]]
* [[Ice Giants]]
* [[Larry the Fox]] or perhaps [[Fezzy the Stoat]]
* [[Ovin Hakardly]], a 7th level wizard who can speak punctuation
* [[Wuffles]]
* [[Ardrothy Longstaff]], seller of pork pies
* [[Miskin Koble]], who runs a jellied starfish and clam stall, and is killed by a wizard he attempts to hit
* [[Benado Sconner]], leader of a group of wizards who burn down the library. The text specifically informs us that his name is "not worth committing [...] to memory"
* [[Genie]] of the lamp of Creosote's grandfather, who is somewhat over-committed
* [[Blind Io]]

===Mentioned===

* [[Maligree]], a sourcerer
* [[Gritoller Mimpsey]], vice-president of the [[Thieves' Guild]]
* [[Cohen]], Conina's father
* [[Hersheba|Hashishim]], a group of mad killers named after the vast quantities of hashish they consumed
* [[Thugs]], a nastier group of cut-throats
* [[Ly Tin Wheedle]], arguably the Disc's greatest philosopher (at least, he always argued that he was)

==Locations==

* [[Ankh-Morpork]]
** [[The Mended Drum]]
** [[Plaza of Broken Moons]]
** [[Sator Square]]
** [[The Shades]]
*** [[The Troll's Head]], a truly disreputable tavern
** [[Sniggs Alley]] (mentioned)
** [[Unseen University]]
*** [[Great Hall]]
*** [[Tower of Art]]
*** [[Library]]

* [[Carrack Mountains]], overlooking the [[Sto Plains]]

* [[Cori Celesti]], where the gods dwell, at the [[Hub]]

* [[Circle Sea]]

* [[Klatch]]
** [[Al Khali]]
*** [[The Soak]], a kind of bazaar
*** [[Wilderness]] of Creosote
*** [[Rhoxie]], the Seriph's Palace
*** [[River Tsort]]
*** temple of [[Offler]] the Crocodile God, patron deity of Al Khali
** Lost City of [[Ee]] (mentioned)

* [[Mount Gebra]], a mountain where goats graze

* [[Quirm]], which overlooks the [[Rim Ocean]]

* [[Maligree's Wonderful Garden]]

==Sentient Species==

*[[Gargoyles]]
*[[Humans]]

==Supernatural Entities==

*[[Death]] & the [[Four Horsemen|Horsemen]] of the the [[Apocralypse]]
*[[Genies]]
*[[Dungeon Dimensions|Horrors from the Dungeon Dimensions]]
*[[The gods|The Gods]]
*[[Ice Giants]]

== Timeframe ==

* [[Small Gods' Eve]], on which it's considered extremely bad form to kill a brother wizard and [[Small Gods' Day]], the next morning
* [[Discworld calendar|Year of the Hyena]]
* [[Soul Cake Tuesday]] (mentioned)

== Things Mentioned ==

* Books
** ''[[Anima Unnaturale]]'', a book written by [[Broomfog]] that describes many unusual animals
** ''[[Fullomyth]]'', a mystical book with a lot of information
** ''[[Inne Juste 7 Dayes I wille make you a Barbearian Hero!]]''
** ''[[Wellcome to Ankh-Morporke, Citie of One Thousand Surprises]]'', a book published by the Ankh-Morpork [[Guild of Merchants]]
* Spells, things and concepts
** [[Brother Hushmaster's Potent Asp-Spray]], a powerful spell
** [[Maligree's Wonderful Garden]], a powerful spell
** [[Megrim's Accelerator]], a powerful spell
* [[Archchancellor's Hat]], worn on the head by the head of all wizards
* [[Apocralypse]] and [[Teatime of the Gods]]
* ''[[Ocean Waltzer]]'', a ship that takes Rincewind and Conina to Klatch
* [[orakh]], a powerful alcoholic beverage
* [[Klatchian Coffee]], a powerful "anti-alcoholic" beverage that makes its drinkers [[knurd]]
* [[Triple Orcthrust with Extra Flip]], a nifty sword manoeuvre that will impress your enemies right up until it leaves your sword stuck in the ceiling
* [[geas]], an unusual kind of bird (also a kind of quest)
* [[Mage Wars]]
* the [[Lore]], which rules all wizards, but not sourcerers
* [[Significant Quest]], a game whose name parodies {{wp|Trivial_Pursuit|Trivial Pursuit}}
* [[Five Moons of Nasreem]], an important mythological concept in Al Khali
* [[Seventeen Siderites of Sarudin]], goddesses(?) by which genies can presumably be commanded
* [[Two Beards of Imtal]], an important mythological concept in Al Khali
* [[Dungeon Dimensions]]
* [[racial memory]], the concept that people are born with memories of their ancestors

==Adaptations==
Terry Pratchett has stated that ''Sourcery'' will be the fifth Discworld novel to be adapted for Sky One, although he initially wanted to adapt {{MM}}. However, he thinks it may work better as a film and he can have fun with characters like Nijel the Destroyer

== Annotations ==

* Did Spelter and Carding violate the Small Gods' Eve truce by attacking each other with Megrim's Accelerator and Brother Hushmaster's Potent Asp-Spray? Or did they carefully wait until after midnight before doing so?

* Notice that near the end of the book, the daughter of the Mended Drum's owner tells Creosote the very story of ''Sourcery'' itself, a recursive reference. If, as some suspect, the [[History Monks]] were active in restoring things after the Sourcerer very nearly wrecked the fabric of Discworld space-time (a case may be made from cryptic references in later books) then it is fitting the only survival of the Sourcerer, in folk-memory, should be a fairy-tale. After all, people ''thought'' the story of the "Glass Clock of Bad Schuschein" was ''only'' a fairy tale – fitting, as the History Monks laboured long and hard that this should be so... we are told that most people, after the Sourcerer had passed, were left with faded, hazy, confused, dream-like memories of what might have happened. This is where fairy-tales begin...

==External links==
* [http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/sourcery.html ''Sourcery''] on the [[Annotated Pratchett File]]

{{series|before=Mort|series=Discworld|after=Wyrd Sisters}}
{{series|before=The Light Fantastic|series=Rincewind|after=Eric}}

[[Category:Discworld Series|Sourcery]]
[[Category:Rincewind Series|Sourcery]]
[[de:Buch:Der Zauberhut]]

Book:Sourcery

2017-01-02T18:44:57Z

DuckMan:

{{Book Data
|cover=[[File:Sourcery.jpg|240px|Sourcery]]
|illustrator=Josh Kirby
|date=May 1988
|publisher=Victor Gollancz
|isbn=0552131075
|pages=269
|rrp=
|series=Rincewind Series
|characters=[[Rincewind]] [[The Luggage]] [[Nijel the Destroyer]] [[Coin]] [[Conina]]
|annotations=
|notes=Book #05
}}

==Blurb==
There was an eighth son of an eighth son. He was, quite naturally, a [[wizard's magic|wizard]]. And there it should have ended. However (for reasons we'd better not go into), he had seven sons. And then he had an eighth son... a wizard squared... a source of magic... a [[Sourcerer]].

==Plot==
On the Disc, then number eight has magic properties. An eighth son of an eighth son is guaranteed to be a [[wizard's magic|wizard]]. An eighth son of an eighth son of an eighth son becomes a [[Sourceror]], an exceptionally powerful wizard who is a "source of magic". As sourcerors caused great damage in the [[Mage Wars]] of the past, today wizards are banned from having children. One wizard, [[Ipslore the Red]], was banished from the [[Unseen University]] for having many children, including an infant son [[Coin]] who is due to become a sourceror. When [[Death]] comes to collect his soul, Ipslore escapes by placing his spirit in Coin's staff. This allows him to evade passing, steer his son into doing his bidding and plot revenge against the University.

Eight years later, Coin strides into the University and kills the new Archchancellor, [[Virrid Wayzygoose]]. When the wizards see Coin's power, they welcome him and accept him as their new archchancellor. Meanwhile, [[Rincewind]], [[The Luggage]] and the [[Librarian]] flee the university. At the [[Mended Drum]], they meet [[Conina]], the daughter of [[Cohen the Barbarian]] who works as a thief. She has accidentally stolen the [[Archchancellor's Hat]], which turns out have become sentient after being worn by hundreds of archchancellors. The hat warns them of the danger that Coin poses to the Disc, and instructs them to take to it [[Al Khali]], [[Klatch]] where there is someone worthy of wearing it.

Under Coin's leadership, the wizards take over [[Ankh-Morpork]] and begin planning to take over the Disc. Coin abolishes the rules, orders the library to be destroyed and sends them to attack other countries. Wars break out between wizards across the Disc. Rincewind, Conina and travel to Al Khali, which is ruled by [[Creosote]], the current [[Seriph]], and his treacherous adviser [[Abrim]]. Rincewind is thrown into a snake pit where he meets the barbarian wannabe hero [[Nijel the Destroyer]], Conina is taken to Creosote's [[wikipedia:harem|harem]] and the Luggage goes rampaging in the desert after getting drunk.

A group of Ankh Morpork wizards arrive and attack Al Khali. The heavy presence of magic causes Rincewind to gain abilities of his own and he uses them to rescue himself and Nijel from the snake pit. They meet with Conina (who falls in love with Nijel) and Creosote. Abrim tries on the Archchancellor's Hat, hoping to gain improved abilities. Instead, the Hat possesses him. He is directed to enlist other wizards to fight the invaders and demolish the palace to build a wizard's tower. Rincewind, Conina, Nijel and Creosote escape on a magic carpet. After hearing Creosote complain about wizards, Rincewind angrily leaves, flying back to Ankh-Morpork on a magic carpet. Abrim is killed by the invading wizards after being distracted by the Luggage, and the Hat and tower are destroyed. Coin becomes powerful enough to challenge the Gods, trapping them in an alternative reality. This inadvertently causes [[Ice Giants]] to invade the Disc.

Back at the University, Rincewind discovers the Librarian has hidden the Library books in the [[Tower of Art]]. The Librarian convinces him to confront the Sourceror. Armed with only a half-brick in a sock, Rincewind confronts Coin. He is too powerless to fight, but persuades Coin to cast aside his staff. The two escape to the [[Dungeon Dimensions]], while [[Death]] takes Ipslore's soul from the staff. Rincewind distracts the monsters to allow Coin to return to the university. Coin undoes the damage he has done. When Conina and Nijel arrive looking for Rincewind, Coin makes them forget about him so that they can live in peace. Realising he is too powerful for the Disc, he then steps into a dimension of his own creation.

==Characters==

===Main characters===

* [[Marmaric Carding]]
* [[Coin]]
* [[Conina]]
* [[The Luggage]]
* [[Nijel the Destroyer]]
* [[Rincewind]]
* [[Spelter]]

===Minor characters===

* [[Abrim]], the {{wp|Grand Vizier|Grand Vizier}} of Al Khali
* [[Creosote]], the Seriph of Al Khali
* [[Ipslore the Red]]
* [[Librarian]]
* [[Havelock Vetinari]]
* [[Virrid Wayzygoose]]

===Cameos===

* [[Death]] and the temporarily Horse-less men of the [[Apocralypse]]:
** [[War]]
** [[Famine]]
** [[Pestilence]]
* [[Skarmer Billias]]
* [[Gravie Derment]], of the [[Sages of the Unknown Shadow]]
* [[Ice Giants]]
* [[Larry the Fox]] or perhaps [[Fezzy the Stoat]]
* [[Ovin Hakardly]], a 7th level wizard who can speak punctuation
* [[Wuffles]]
* [[Ardrothy Longstaff]], seller of pork pies
* [[Miskin Koble]], who runs a jellied starfish and clam stall, and is killed by a wizard he attempts to hit
* [[Benado Sconner]], leader of a group of wizards who burn down the library. The text specifically informs us that his name is "not worth committing [...] to memory"
* [[Genie]] of the lamp of Creosote's grandfather, who is somewhat over-committed
* [[Blind Io]]

===Mentioned===

* [[Maligree]], a sourcerer
* [[Gritoller Mimpsey]], vice-president of the [[Thieves' Guild]]
* [[Cohen]], Conina's father
* [[Hersheba|Hashishim]], a group of mad killers named after the vast quantities of hashish they consumed
* [[Thugs]], a nastier group of cut-throats
* [[Ly Tin Wheedle]], arguably the Disc's greatest philosopher (at least, he always argued that he was)

==Locations==

* [[Ankh-Morpork]]
** [[The Mended Drum]]
** [[Plaza of Broken Moons]]
** [[Sator Square]]
** [[The Shades]]
*** [[The Troll's Head]], a truly disreputable tavern
** [[Sniggs Alley]] (mentioned)
** [[Unseen University]]
*** [[Great Hall]]
*** [[Tower of Art]]
*** [[Library]]

* [[Carrack Mountains]], overlooking the [[Sto Plains]]

* [[Cori Celesti]], where the gods dwell, at the [[Hub]]

* [[Circle Sea]]

* [[Klatch]]
** [[Al Khali]]
*** [[The Soak]], a kind of bazaar
*** [[Wilderness]] of Creosote
*** [[Rhoxie]], the Seriph's Palace
*** [[River Tsort]]
*** temple of [[Offler]] the Crocodile God, patron deity of Al Khali
** Lost City of [[Ee]] (mentioned)

* [[Mount Gebra]], a mountain where goats graze

* [[Quirm]], which overlooks the [[Rim Ocean]]

* [[Maligree's Wonderful Garden]]

==Sentient Species==

*[[Gargoyles]]
*[[Humans]]

==Supernatural Entities==

*[[Death]] & the [[Four Horsemen|Horsemen]] of the the [[Apocralypse]]
*[[Genies]]
*[[Dungeon Dimensions|Horrors from the Dungeon Dimensions]]
*[[The gods|The Gods]]
*[[Ice Giants]]

== Timeframe ==

* [[Small Gods' Eve]], on which it's considered extremely bad form to kill a brother wizard and [[Small Gods' Day]], the next morning
* [[Discworld calendar|Year of the Hyena]]
* [[Soul Cake Tuesday]] (mentioned)

== Things Mentioned ==

* Books
** ''[[Anima Unnaturale]]'', a book written by [[Broomfog]] that describes many unusual animals
** ''[[Fullomyth]]'', a mystical book with a lot of information
** ''[[Inne Juste 7 Dayes I wille make you a Barbearian Hero!]]''
** ''[[Wellcome to Ankh-Morporke, Citie of One Thousand Surprises]]'', a book published by the Ankh-Morpork [[Guild of Merchants]]
* Spells, things and concepts
** [[Brother Hushmaster's Potent Asp-Spray]], a powerful spell
** [[Maligree's Wonderful Garden]], a powerful spell
** [[Megrim's Accelerator]], a powerful spell
* [[Archchancellor's Hat]], worn on the head by the head of all wizards
* [[Apocralypse]] and [[Teatime of the Gods]]
* ''[[Ocean Waltzer]]'', a ship that takes Rincewind and Conina to Klatch
* [[orakh]], a powerful alcoholic beverage
* [[Klatchian Coffee]], a powerful "anti-alcoholic" beverage that makes its drinkers [[knurd]]
* [[Triple Orcthrust with Extra Flip]], a nifty sword manoeuvre that will impress your enemies right up until it leaves your sword stuck in the ceiling
* [[geas]], an unusual kind of bird (also a kind of quest)
* [[Mage Wars]]
* the [[Lore]], which rules all wizards, but not sourcerers
* [[Significant Quest]], a game whose name parodies {{wp|Trivial_Pursuit|Trivial Pursuit}}
* [[Five Moons of Nasreem]], an important mythological concept in Al Khali
* [[Seventeen Siderites of Sarudin]], goddesses(?) by which genies can presumably be commanded
* [[Two Beards of Imtal]], an important mythological concept in Al Khali
* [[Dungeon Dimensions]]
* [[racial memory]], the concept that people are born with memories of their ancestors

==Adaptations==
Terry Pratchett has stated that ''Sourcery'' will be the fifth Discworld novel to be adapted for Sky One, although he initially wanted to adapt {{MM}}. However, he thinks it may work better as a film and he can have fun with characters like Nijel the Destroyer

== Annotations ==

* Did Spelter and Carding violate the Small Gods' Eve truce by attacking each other with Megrim's Accelerator and Brother Hushmaster's Potent Asp-Spray? Or did they carefully wait until after midnight before doing so?

* Notice that near the end of the book, the daughter of the Mended Drum's owner tells Creosote the very story of ''Sourcery'' itself, a recursive reference. If, as some suspect, the [[History Monks]] were active in restoring things after the Sourcerer very nearly wrecked the fabric of Discworld space-time (a case may be made from cryptic references in later books) then it is fitting the only survival of the Sourcerer, in folk-memory, should be a fairy-tale. After all, people ''thought'' the story of the "Glass Clock of Bad Schuschein" was ''only'' a fairy tale – fitting, as the History Monks laboured long and hard that this should be so... we are told that most people, after the Sourcerer had passed, were left with faded, hazy, confused, dream-like memories of what might have happened. This is where fairy-tales begin...

==External links==
* [http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/sourcery.html ''Sourcery''] on the [[Annotated Pratchett File]]

{{series|before=Mort|series=Discworld|after=Wyrd Sisters}}
{{series|before=The Light Fantastic|series=Rincewind|after=Eric}}

[[Category:Discworld Series|Sourcery]]
[[Category:Rincewind Series|Sourcery]]
[[de:Buch:Der Zauberhut]]

Book:Wings

2017-01-02T16:25:03Z

DuckMan: /* Plot */

{{Book Data
|title=Wings
|cover=[[File:Cover Wings.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Josh Kirby]]
|coauthors=
|date=September 1990
|publisher=Doubleday
|isbn=0385400187
|pages=157
|rrp=£6.99
|series=Bromeliad
|characters=[[Masklin]], [[Grimma]], [[Gurder]]
|annotations=
|notes=
}}
==Blurb==
'It wasn't a thing, it was a bit of shaped sky ...'. 
Somewhere in a place so far up there is no down, a ship is waiting to take the nomes home - back to wherever they came from. And one nome, Masklin, knows that they've got to try and contact this ship.. 
It means going to Florida (whatever that is), then getting to the launch of a communications satellite (whatever that is). A ridiculous plan. Impossible. But Masklin doesn't know this so he tries to do it anyway. And the first step is to try and hitch a ride on a new kind of truck, a truck with wings - Concorde ...

==Plot==
The events of ''Wings'' take place alongside the events of {{D}}, starting with [[Masklin]]'s departure from the [[Quarry]] and ending with his return.

Masklin, [[Angalo de Haberdasheri|Angalo]] and Abbot [[Gurder]] head out from the Quarry with [[The Thing]] to the airport. They find a newspaper which mentions Richard Arnold ("[[Grandson Richard, 39]]"), a grandson of the [[Arnold Bros (est. 1905)|Arnold Brothers]] who founded the department store in {{T}}. It states he is travelling to Florida to witness the launch of a satellite. The Thing states that if it can be placed on a satellite, it will be able to contact [[Starship Swan]], which is buried on the moon and waiting to bring the nomes back to their home planet.

The trio enter the airport and stow away on a [[wikipedia:Concorde|Concorde]] flight. They find Grandson Richard and hide in his hand luggage. Arriving in Florida, they are soon discovered by Grandson Richard. They escape into the [[wikipedia:Everglades|Everglades]] and meet a tribe of nomes led by [[Pion]], who speak the original language of the nomes. The Thing translates; Pion's tribe have learned to fly on geese and are in contact with thousands of nomes around the world. They use geese to fly to the space shuttle launch. By placing The Thing close enough, it is able to copy its information on the space shuttle. They then turn and

The Thing is drained of power as a result. Masklin reveals himself to the humans, and is taken captive. Placed by a power source, the Thing recharges and translates so that Masklin can speak to Grandson Richard. He reveals that his grandfather and great-uncle suspected that the nomes lived in the department store. He helps Masklin escape. Masklin is then picked up by the Starship Swan, with Angalo, Gurder and Pion on board. They follow another Concorde back to England and find the Quarry nomes driving [[Jekub|a digger]] while being chased by police. The ship rescues the nomes and Masklin reconciles with [[Grimma]] (as told in {{D}}). The nomes return to their homeland, apart from Gurder. He is left behind with The Thing to help find other nomes to bring back, with the plan to come back with them one day.

==Characters==
*[[Masklin]]
*[[Angalo]]
*Abbot [[Gurder]]
*[[The Thing]]
*[[Grandson Richard, 39]] (Richard Arnold)
*[[Shrub]]
*[[Topknot]]
*[[Pion]]

==Other stuff==
*Third and final book in the Bromeliad series
*Originally published in Great Britain by Doubleday. Copyright (c) 1990 by Terry and Lynn Pratchett

[[Category:Bromeliad series|Wings]]
[[Category:Children's books|Wings]]
[[de:Buch:Flügel]]

Book:Wings

2017-01-02T16:19:59Z

DuckMan:

{{Book Data
|title=Wings
|cover=[[File:Cover Wings.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Josh Kirby]]
|coauthors=
|date=September 1990
|publisher=Doubleday
|isbn=0385400187
|pages=157
|rrp=£6.99
|series=Bromeliad
|characters=[[Masklin]], [[Grimma]], [[Gurder]]
|annotations=
|notes=
}}
==Blurb==
'It wasn't a thing, it was a bit of shaped sky ...'. 
Somewhere in a place so far up there is no down, a ship is waiting to take the nomes home - back to wherever they came from. And one nome, Masklin, knows that they've got to try and contact this ship.. 
It means going to Florida (whatever that is), then getting to the launch of a communications satellite (whatever that is). A ridiculous plan. Impossible. But Masklin doesn't know this so he tries to do it anyway. And the first step is to try and hitch a ride on a new kind of truck, a truck with wings - Concorde ...

==Plot==
The events of ''Wings'' take place alongside the events of {{D}}, starting with [[Masklin]]'s departure from the [[Quarry]] and ending with his return.

Masklin, [[Angalo de Haberdasheri|Angalo]] and Abbot [[Gurder]] head out from the Quarry with [[The Thing]] to the airport. They find a newspaper which mentions Richard Arnold ("[[Grandson Richard, 39]]"), a grandson of the [[Arnold Bros (est 1905)|Arnold Brothers]] who founded the department store in {{T}}. It states he is travelling to Florida to witness the launch of a satellite. The Thing states that if it can be placed on a satellite, it will be able to contact [[Starship Swan]], which is buried on the moon and waiting to bring the nomes back to their home planet.

The trio enter the airport and stow away on a [[wikipedia:Concorde|Concorde]] flight. They find Grandson Richard and hide in his hand luggage. Arriving in Florida, they are soon discovered by Grandson Richard. They escape into the [[wikipedia:Everglades|Everglades]] and meet a tribe of nomes led by [[Pion]], who speak the original language of the nomes. The Thing translates; Pion's tribe have learned to fly on geese and are in contact with thousands of nomes around the world. They use geese to fly to the space shuttle launch. By placing The Thing close enough, it is able to copy its information on the space shuttle. They then turn and

The Thing is drained of power as a result. Masklin reveals himself to the humans, and is taken captive. Placed by a power source, the Thing recharges and translates so that Masklin can speak to Grandson Richard. He reveals that his grandfather and great-uncle suspected that the nomes lived in the department store. He helps Masklin escape. Masklin is then picked up by the Starship Swan, with Angalo, Gurder and Pion on board. They follow another Concorde back to England and find the Quarry nomes driving [[Jekub|a digger]] while being chased by police. The ship rescues the nomes and Masklin reconciles with [[Grimma]] (as told in {{D}}). The nomes return to their homeland, apart from Gurder. He is left behind with The Thing to help find other nomes to bring back, with the plan to come back with them one day.

==Characters==
*[[Masklin]]
*[[Angalo]]
*Abbot [[Gurder]]
*[[The Thing]]
*[[Grandson Richard, 39]] (Richard Arnold)
*[[Shrub]]
*[[Topknot]]
*[[Pion]]

==Other stuff==
*Third and final book in the Bromeliad series
*Originally published in Great Britain by Doubleday. Copyright (c) 1990 by Terry and Lynn Pratchett

[[Category:Bromeliad series|Wings]]
[[Category:Children's books|Wings]]
[[de:Buch:Flügel]]

Book:Diggers

2017-01-01T16:31:43Z

DuckMan:

{{Book Data
|title=Diggers
|cover=[[File:Cover Diggers.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Josh Kirby]]
|coauthors=
|date=April 1990
|publisher=Doubleday
|isbn=0385269803
|pages=152
|rrp=£6.99
|series=Bromeliad
|characters=[[Masklin]], [[Grimma]], [[Gurder]], [[Angalo de Haberdasheri]]
|annotations=
|notes=
}}
==Blurb==
'And Grimma said, We have two choices. We can run, or we hide. And they said, Which shall we do? She said, We shall Fight.'. 
A Bright New Dawn is just around the corner for thousands of tiny nomes when they move into the ruined buildings of an abandomed quarry. Or is it?. 
Soon strange things start to happen. Like the tops of puddles growing hard and cold, and the water coming down from the sky in frozen bits. Then humans appear and they really mess everything up. The quarry is to be re-opened, and the nomes must fight to defend their new home. But how long will they be able to keep the humans at bay - even with the help of the monster Jekub?

==Plot==
The Nomes who fled the [[Arnold Bros (est. 1905)|Arnold Bros department store]] have now settled down into a new life at the abandoned [[Quarry]]. Old [[Torrit]] has just died. [[Masklin]] is struggling to deal with his feelings for [[Grimma]]. He awkwardly suggests that they start a relationship, but she is reluctant and they end up falling out. Masklin is looking to recover the spaceship to take them home. He instead decides to head off with Abbot [[Gurder]] and [[Angalo de Haberdasheri|Angalo]] to take [[The Thing]] and investigate the nearby airport. [[Grimma]], who is left in charge of the nomes, realises that the Quarry is about to be reopened.

The nomes try sabotaging the human's attempts to reopen the quarry. Grimma realises her feelings for Masklin but comes to assume that he has died. [[Gurder]]'s apprentice [[Nisodemus]] revolts against Grimma's leadership and tries to pursuade the nomes that they should rebuild the store. He tries to convince them that Arnold Bros (est. 1905) chose him to be their leader by standing in a road, but is run over by a car. [[Dorcas del Icatessen|Dorcas]] discovers an abandoned [[wikipedia:JCB (company)|JCB]] digger (in American editions, a [[wikipedia:John Deere|John Deere]]) and is able to get it working. They use the digger, which they nickname "Jekub" ("Big John" in American editions), to attack the human workmen and escape.

They drive across fields pursued by police cars. The nomes are rescued when Masklin arrives in the recovered [[Stairship Swan]] and together they depart the human world. Masklin and Grimma also finally understand their love for each other.

==Characters==
*[[Masklin]]
*[[Grimma]]
*[[Granny Morkie]]
*[[The Thing]]
*[[Dorcas del Icatessen]]
*Abbot [[Gurder]]
*[[Angalo]]
*[[Nisodemus]]
*[[Sacco]]
*[[Nooty Kiddie-Klothes]]

==Other stuff==
*Second book in the Bromeliad series
*Originally published in Great Britain by Doubleday. Copyright (c) 1990 by Terry and Lynn Pratchett

[[Category:Bromeliad series|Diggers]]
[[Category:Children's books|Diggers]]
[[de:Buch:Wühler]]

Book:Truckers

2017-01-01T16:12:36Z

DuckMan:

{{Book Data
|title=Truckers
|cover=[[File:Cover Truckers.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Josh Kirby]]
|coauthors=
|date=September 1989
|publisher=Doubleday
|isbn=0385269617
|pages=192
|rrp=£6.99
|series=Bromeliad
|characters=[[Masklin]], [[Grimma]], [[Gurder]], [[Angalo de Haberdasheri]]
|annotations=
|notes=
}}
==Blurb==
'Outside! What's it like?' Masklin looked blank. 'Well,' he said. 'It's sort of big -' 
To the thousands of tiny nomes who live under the floorboards of a large department store, there is no Outside. Things like Day and Night, Sun and Rain are just daft old legends. 
Then a devastating piece of news shatters their existance: the Store - their whole world - is to be demolished. And it's up to Masklin, one of the last nomes to come into the Store, to mastermind an unbelievable plan that will take all the nomes into the danger of the great Outside...

==Plot==
[[Nomes]] are tiny people who live in a human world. For them, time passes at a tenth the speed that humans feel it pass, and thus they move quickly and never get noticed. [[Masklin]], [[Grimma]], [[Granny Morkie]] and Old [[Torrit]] are the remaining members of a dwindling tribe of nomes who live by a motorway and own a mysterious device called [[The Thing]]. One day, Masklin persuades them to ride away on a lorry which takes them to the [[Arnold Bros (est. 1905)]] department store in [[Grimethorpe]].

The department store is home to a great civilisation of nomes. The nomes and their ancestors have lived inside the store for so long that they are unsure if the world outside even exists. Each department has a nome tribe with a matching name, and "Arnold Bros (est. 1905)" is viewed as being a deity. They are greeted by [[Angalo de Haberdasheri]], a member of the Haberdasheri clan. He takes them to see their father Duke [[Cido de Haberdasheri]]. They are turned away by the Duke and wander through the corridors beneath the floors of the shop.

The Thing touches some electric wires, which recharges and activates it. It reveals it to be the computer of [[Starship Swan]], which brought the nomes from another planet. The Thing explains that they are descendants of the ship's crew, who were marooned there thousands of years ago when the ship broke down. The Thing also reads radio signals and reveals that the department store is about to be closed and demolished.

Masklin faces a difficult task of convincing the other nomes that they must leave the shop. Only when the [[Abbot of the Stationeri]] is convinced by the Thing are they finally able to get the message through. They decide to flee by stealing one of the lorries that parks outside the shop, using pieces of wood and string to reach the controls. With instructions from The Thing, Masklin and Grimma train a group of nomes to operate the controls. As workmen begin clearing the shop, the nomes board the lorry and drive erratically through Grimethorpe and out in the countryside. The nomes abandon the lorry just before the police catch up with it and escape to an [[Quarry|abandoned quarry]]. The nomes begin a new life at the quarry, while Masklin watches planes at a nearby airport and begins planning a way for the nomes to head home.

==Characters==
*[[Masklin]]
*[[Grimma]]
*[[Granny Morkie]]
*Old [[Torrit]]
*[[The Thing]]
*[[Dorcas del Icatessen]]
*[[Gurder]]
*[[Angalo de Haberdasheri]]
*Duke [[Cido de Haberdasheri]]
*The [[Baroness del Icatessen]]
*The [[Count de Ironmongri]]
*The [[Abbot of the Stationeri]]
*[[Bobo]]
*[[Vinto Pimmie]]

==Other stuff==
*First book in the [[Bromeliad]] series
*Originally published in Great Britain by Doubleday. Copyright (c) 1989 by Terry and Lynn Pratchett

== Movie ==
There is a stop-motion animated movie version of [[TV and Film:Truckers|''Truckers'']], produced by Cosgrove Hall in 1992.
At the moment, Dreamworks has the film rights to ''Truckers'', and also to {{D}} and {{WI}}.

[[Category:Bromeliad series|Truckers]]
[[Category:Children's books|Truckers]]
[[de:Buch:Trucker]]

User talk:DuckMan

2017-01-01T15:42:28Z

DuckMan:

==Welcome Back==
Good to see you back! --[[User:Osiris|Osiris]] ([[User talk:Osiris|talk]]) 06:42, 1 January 2017 (UTC)
*Thanks, Hi, nice to meet you! [[User:DuckMan|DuckMan]] ([[User talk:DuckMan|talk]]) 15:42, 1 January 2017 (UTC)

Morphic Street Conspiracy

2016-12-31T20:26:38Z

DuckMan:

The [[Morphic Street]] Conspiracy was an early form of rebellion against the tyrannical Lord [[Winder]]. In the original timeline, their meeting was raided by the [[Cable Street Particulars|Particulars]] under [[Findthee Swing]]. In the altered timeline of {{NW}}, the older [[Sam Vimes]] (who was impersonating [[John Keel]]) helped the [[Glorious Revolution|revolutionaries]] escape the raid. They then started a mob and met Vimes-as-Keel and the young Sam Vimes back at the Night Watch station on [[Treacle Mine Road]]. The revolutionaries had apparently been communicating through secret messages hidden in [[Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler]]'s meat pies. The password to get in was 'swordfish'.

[[Category:Discworld Historical Events]]
[[Category:Groups]]

Granny Weatherwax

2016-12-31T20:13:53Z

DuckMan:

{{Character Data
|title= Granny Weatherwax
|photo=grannymine.jpg|Granny Weatherwax by [[user:darkplush|Kit Cox]]
|name= Esmerelda Weatherwax
|age= Dare you ask?
|race= Human
|occupation= Greatest [[witches magic|Witch]] on the [[Discworld (world)|Discworld]] (Just ask her)
|appearance= Tall, thin with a wart-free complexion and good teeth, (despite her best efforts,) and perpetual scowl
|residence= Granny's Cottage, [[Bad Ass]], [[Lancre]], The [[Ramtops]]
|death=
|parents= [[Violet Weatherwax|Violet]]
|relatives= [[Lily Weatherwax|Lily]], [[Alison Weatherwax|Alison]], [[Galder Weatherwax|Galder]]
|children=
|marital status=
|books= {{ER}}, {{WS}}, {{WA}}, {{LL}}, {{M!!!}}, {{CJ}}, {{NOC}}, {{W}}, {{ISWM}}, {{TSC}}
|cameos= {{M}}, {{WFM}}, {{HFOS}}, {{SOD2}}, possibly {{GP}} }}

'''Granny Weatherwax''', full name '''Esmerelda "Esme" Weatherwax''', is a [[witch]], who lives in a small cottage outside the village of [[Bad Ass]], in the kingdom of [[Lancre]], on the Sto Plains face of the [[Ramtops]].

==Names==
She is often nicknamed just "Granny", though she is never mentioned as having any children or grandchildren. She has names in multiple languages, which reflect her reputation. These include the [[Troll]] name ''Aaoograha hoa'' ("''She Who Must Be Avoided''"), [[Dwarf]] name ''K'ez'rek d'b'duz'' ("''Go Around the Other Side of the Mountain''") and [[Pictsies|Nac Mac Feegle]] name ''The Hag O' Hags'' ("''The High Hag'',").

==Backhistory==
According to ''[[Witches Abroad]]'', Esme Weatherwax was born the younger of two daughters. While it hasn't been mentioned if her mother was a Witch or not, Granny mentions that her father was a hunter, who once taught Granny that "''a bad hunter chases, a good hunter waits''" (''[[Book:Lords and Ladies|Lords and Ladies]]''). While Granny was practically still just a [[wiktionary:bairn|bairn]], her teenaged, older sister, Lily, was getting into increasingly frequent rows with her parents over Lily's behavior, as Granny reveals to Nanny Ogg in ''Witches Abroad'', Lily was wanton, using magic for it and not just ordinary magic, "''she was wilful''", as Granny describes it, able to remember her sister's and mother's rows even at that young age, that Lily was vain and prideful, ("''always looking in mirrors... Prideful as a cat, she was. Prefer to look in a mirror than out of a window, she would''"), and that "''young men's fathers used to come round to complain''", culminating in Lily being kicked out of the household at the age of 13 years.

After Granny had grown-up, she was adamant on becoming a Witch; as she reveals in ''Lords and Ladies'', magic didn't choose her, she chose it, ("''I never stood in front of no-one... I camped on old Nanny Gripes' garden until she promised to tell me everything she knew. Hah. That took her a week ''and'' I had the afternoons free. ... No ''I'' chose...''"). Granny would go on to become a fully-fledged Witch, and at some point took responsibility for her own steading, the village of Bad Ass and the Kingdom of Lancre as a whole. Granny Weatherwax, as she would later come to be known as, also nursed her ailing mother until the time of her death, (what became of her father has never been mentioned). Whilest still a young woman, Granny was involved in a summer-long romance with then-aspiring Wizard, Mustrum Ridcully, but ultimately they were both committed to their respective paths of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Granny is estimated to be in her seventies during the events of {{WS}}, {{WA}}, ''Lords and Ladies'', {{M}} & {{CJ}}, the same age as Nanny Ogg, (having grown up with her). Yet, by the standards of [[Eumenides Treason|Mistress Eumenides Treason]], she is still considered a girl ({{W}}).

Granny Weatherwax passes away early in the events of {{TSC}}, now in her 80's; where, after experiencing The Call, she tidies up her cottage, prepares her own wicker casket, and sets her last will and testament down in writing (confirming instructions she had already confided to Nanny Ogg), before laying herself to rest in her own bed one last time. When [[Death]] comes for her, he asks her if she was content with her life, with Granny confirming that she was satisfied to have lived the way she did and kept her part of the world safe, Death in turn assuring her that her candle will continue to flicker long after her passing and that she has left the world in a better condition than it was when she entered it. Her death is felt across the Disc; Nanny Ogg and Tiffany Aching arrive first to lay her to rest in the forest at a site pre-chosen by Granny herself, and Archchancellor [[Mustrum Ridcully]] visits briefly to pay his last respects. Over the course of the events of ''The Shepherd's Crown'', Tiffany Aching, who Granny has named her successor, overstretches herself trying to oversee two steadings and live-up to Granny's reputation as the new 'Witch of Witches', but eventually comes to accept the need to do things her way rather than simply make herself do everything Granny did.

==Characterization==
She is considered (not least of all by herself) to be the best [[witches magic|witch]] on the [[Discworld (world)|Discworld]] and is refered to by the [[Pictsies]] as the 'Hag O' Hags'. She is the resident witch of [[Bad Ass]], but she tends to regard the whole kingdom, and indeed absolutely anywhere else she happens to be, as her rightful domain, (not unlike [[Adora Belle Dearheart]] in that respect.) Her cottage is probably the most traditional of all the witches' cottages in Lancre, complete with archaic thatch, goats, and huge thickets of '[[herbs]]' which move even when there's no breeze. She has a special fondness for bees and keeps several hives in her garden.

She prefers to use "''[[headology]]''" instead of magic as the [[wizard's magic|wizards]] practise it, believing that magic is not so much flashy lights as knowing things that other people don't know. As a witch she is, on the one hand, feared by the people of the [[Ramtops]] and, on the other hand, respected as a midwife, herbalist, and the spiritual version of a coal-mine canary. Granny likes to [[borrowing|borrow]], a special kind of magic where the user enters the mind of an animal and can see through the eyes of that animal. As this technique renders her own body totally dormant, she now wears a small cardboard sign with the words "I Aten't Dead" on it to avoid unnecessary embarrassment. [[Image:Granny_Weatherwax.jpg|200px|left|thumb|Illustrated by [[user:Puggdogg|Mick Collins]]]]

''"Granny had been introduced to [[broomstick]] flying quite late in life, and after some initial suspicion had taken to it like a bluebottle to an ancient fish-head. A problem, however, was that Granny saw every flight simply as a straight line from A to B and was unable to get alongside the idea that other users of the air might have any rights whatsoever; the flight migration patterns of an entire continent had been changed because of that simple fact. High-speed evolution among local birds had developed a generation that flew on their backs, so that they could keep a watchful eye on the skies...Granny's implicit belief that everything should get out of her way extended to other witches, very tall trees and, on occasion, mountains."'' ([[Book:Wyrd Sisters|Wyrd Sisters]]).

Granny's opinions about other things being in the way of her broomstick has since moved with modern technology, as in {{GP}} we hear of an anonymous witch from Lancre who succeeded in bringing the [[clacks]] line down by riding her broomstick into one of the towers, damaging its sensitive mechanisms and terrifying the luckless crew.

While this witch is not identified and remains anonymous, a fairly accurate guess could be hazarded as to her name... it is noteworthy that [[Reacher Gilt]] himself must have thought twice about pursuing any claim for damages or inconvenience! {{SOD2}} confirms that she has had several such accidents, and believes the towers move into her way. Her broomstick was originally borrowed from a witch called [[Hilta Goatfounder]], and despite the best and continued efforts of the dwarfs servicing her broomstick, it won't take off without a considerable run.

Her [[Lily Weatherwax|elder sister]] left home in her youth, eventually to become a [[fairy godmother]]. Granny seems to harbour a bitter resentment of this fact, because after that she felt compelled to be the "good one" in the family; she also believes that she could have been a lot more evil than her sister. Despite this, she did stay at home and nurse her mother until she died.

Granny's personality would, to many, lend itself nicely to the "bad witch" stereotype: she's competitive, selfish and ambitious, with a quick temper and a sharp tongue. She also wields a gaze stern enough to make bears cower in humiliated shame. Her practical history, however, clearly puts her in the "good witch" camp (a sort of personification of "tough love"), if only because she's too proud to be any other kind.

Granny Weatherwax has faced [[Death]] many times, and has not backed down yet. She has also faced and defeated [[Elves]], [[vampires]] (or [[vampyres]]), and [[wizard's magic|wizards]]. (See [[Book:Lords and Ladies|Lords and Ladies]], [[Book:Carpe Jugulum|Carpe Jugulum]] and [[Book:Equal Rites|Equal Rites]])

Her companions, as far as a witch can have these, are [[Nanny Ogg]], [[Magrat Garlick]] and [[Agnes Nitt]]. She was [[Eskarina Smith]]'s first teacher in the arts of magic, until she realised that Esk's magic was of a different sort altogether. She gave [[Tiffany Aching]] her hat. She was once romantically involved with [[Mustrum Ridcully]]. Recently, via [[Tiffany Aching]], she has been acquired by a white kitten called [[You]]. This is surprising, as Granny is, by her own admission, not a cat person; [[Greebo]], who knows bad news when it blesses the house, always hides when she visits [[Nanny Ogg]].

==Character annotations==
"''Weatherwax''" was also the name of the author of an old lawbook. [http://groups.google.nl/group/alt.books.pratchett/msg/1dad94515c79f71c?hl=nl& Source]

==Trivia==
* According to ''[[Equal Rites]]'', Granny Weatherwax, amongst other things, makes her own liqour for medicinal purposes (she has her own [[wikipedia:Still|Still]]); her "triple-distilled white mountain [[wikipedia:Peach brandy|Peach brandy]]" is well-known even in the town of Ohulan Cutash (a town fifteen miles away from Bad Ass), and it's regarded as "much better than [[wikipedia:Beer|beer]]". Granny's triple-distilled peach brandy isn't mentioned again until the events of ''The Shepherd's Crown''.
*[[wikipedia:Weatherwax|Weatherwax]] is a real (but rare) surname.

==Also See==
* [[wikipedia:Granny Weatherwax|Granny Weatherwax's Entry]] on [[wikipedia:Wikipedia|Wikipedia]]

[[Category:Discworld characters|Weatherwax, Granny]]
[[Category:Leading characters|Weatherwax, Granny]]
[[Category:Serial characters|Weatherwax, Granny]]
[[Category:Human characters|Weatherwax, Granny]]
[[Category:Witches|Weatherwax, Granny]]
[[de:Esmeralda Wetterwachs]]

Book:The Wee Free Men

2016-12-31T13:23:58Z

DuckMan:

{{Book Data
|cover=[[File:The Wee Free Men.jpg|thumb|220px|Cover art by Paul Kidby]]
|date=May 2003
|publisher=Doubleday
|isbn=0385605331
|pages=318
|rrp=£12.99
|series=Tiffany Series
|characters=[[Tiffany Aching]] [[Nac Mac Feegle]] [[Toad]] [[Perspicacia Tick|Miss Perspicacia Tick]]
|annotations=View
|notes=Book #30
}}

==Blurb==
There's trouble on the [[the Chalk|Aching farm]] – a monster in the river, a headless horseman in the driveway and nightmares spreading down from the hills. And now Tiffany Aching's [[Wentworth Aching|little brother]] has been stolen by the Queen of the Fairies (although Tiffany doesn't think this is entirely a bad thing).

Tiffany's got to get him back. To help her, she has a weapon (a frying pan), her granny's magic book (well, ''Diseases of the Sheep'', actually) and—

'Crivens! Whut aboot us, ye daftie!'

—oh yes. She's also got the Nac Mac Feegle, the Wee Free Men, the fightin', thievin', tiny blue-skinned [[pictsies]] who were thrown out of [[Fairyland]] for being Drunk and Disorderly...

A wise, witty and wonderfully inventive adventure set on the [[Discworld (world)|Discworld]].

==Plot==
[[Tiffany Aching]] is a 9-year old girl who lives on a farm in [[The Chalk]]. One day, she is looking after her little brother [[Wentworth Aching|Wentworth]] by the river when she sees two [[Nac Mac Feegle]]s (rowdy and mischievous pixies with [[wikipedia:Glasgow patter|Glaswegian accents]]) who warn her of a monster in a river. Sure enough, a monster [[Jenny Green-Teeth]] rises out of the water, and Tiffany defeats it with a frying pan. She visits a travelling teacher [[Perspicacia Tick|Miss Tick]], a witch who has been watching her. Miss Tick realises that Tiffany is a witch, like her late grandmother [[Sarah Aching]]. She gives her a pet [[Toad]] to act as a guide before vanishing.

Soon after, Wentworth is kidnapped. Tiffany realises that the Nac Mac Feegle are afraid of her, as she is both a witch and able to read and write. Taking advantage of this, she goes to them for help. A group of Feegles led by [[Rob Anybody]] and including [[Daft Wullie]] and [[Big Yan]] take her to their home. Here, she meets more Feegles including their dying queen, the [[Kelda]]. They explain that Wentworth was kidnapped by the [[Queen of the Elves|Queen of Fairies]] and taken to her domain. They agree to accompany Tiffany to the Queen's domain but also ask her become their new Kelda (though she avoids having to marry Rob Anybody). Tiffany then uses her witch thinking skills to find the entrance to the domain.

Once inside the dreamscape, they are attacked by wolves, which the Feegles fight. They then encounter [[dromes]], magical organisms that control people's dreams. Tiffany passes through several dreams and the until she meets [[Roland]], the son of the local Baron who was kidnapped many years ago. Tiffany and Roland pass through several more dreams and the original dreamscape until they discover Wentworth and the Queen. She almost defeats Tiffany, but Roland releases the Feegles from being trapped inside a giant walnut. They escape into another dream, where Wentworth and the Feegles appear to be trapped and Roland is knocked out. The Queen taunts her as she drags Roland back into the original dreamscape and heads for the exit. Tiffany turns back, inspired by the memory of the late Granny Aching, and defeats the Queen at her own game.

The Feegles reappear, having escaped from the trap with the help of Toad, and Wentworth is also fine. Tiffany, Roland and Wentworth return with them back to their home world. The Baron gives Roland all the credit for saving them, though Tiffany is not fussed. She finishes her role as Kelda, while Toad is adopted by the Feegles.

==Main characters==
*[[Tiffany Aching]]
*[[Wentworth Aching]]
*[[Sarah Aching|Granny Aching]]
*[[Perspicacia Tick]]
*[[Nac Mac Feegle]]
**[[Pictsies|The Chalk Hill Clan]]
**[[Rob Anybody]]
**[[Daft Wullie]]
**[[William the Gonnagle]]
**[[Kelda|The Kelda of the Chalk Hill Clan]]
*[[Toad]]

==Secondary characters==
*[[Dromes]]
*[[Granny Weatherwax]]
*Grimhounds
*Headless Horseman
*[[Jeannie]], new Kelda of the Chalk Hill Clan
*[[Jenny Green-Teeth]]
*Lawyers
*[[Nanny Ogg]]
*[[Fairyland|Queen of Fairyland]]
*[[Roland|Roland de Chumsfanleigh]]
*[[Travelling_Teachers|Travelling Teachers]]

==Notes==
The working title of this book was [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.pratchett/msg/36b9608ea8a8d43d For Fear of Little Men].
This book is the only Discworld Novel so far that does not feature [[Death]].

There are plans to make a [[TV and film adaptations|movie]] according to the [http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4590000/newsid_4598600/4598672.stm BBC website].

==Also see==
* {{IWFM}}

==External links==
* [http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/the-wee-free-men.html ''The Wee Free Men''] on the [[Annotated Pratchett File]]

{{series|before=Night Watch|series=Discworld|after=Monstrous Regiment}}
{{series|series=Tiffany|after=A Hat Full of Sky}}

[[Category:Discworld Series|Wee Free Men, The]]
[[Category:Tiffany Series|Wee Free Men, The]]
[[Category:Children's books|Wee Free Men, The]]
[[de:Buch:Kleine freie Männer]]

Book:Guards! Guards!

2016-12-31T12:31:25Z

DuckMan: /* Plot */

{{Book Data
|title= Guards! Guards!
|cover=[[File:G!G!.jpg|240px]]
|illustrator=Josh Kirby
|date= August 1989
|publisher= Victor Gollancz
|isbn= 0575046066
|pages=352
|series= Watch Series
|characters= [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]] [[Samuel Vimes]] [[Fred Colon]] [[Nobby]] [[Havelock Vetinari]] The [[Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night]]
|annotations= yes
|notes= Book #08
}}
==Blurb==
This is where the [[Noble dragon|dragons]] went.

They lie ... not dead, not asleep, but ... dormant. And although the space they occupy isn't like normal space, nevertheless they are packed in tightly. They could put you in mind of a can of sardines, if you thought sardines were huge and scaly. And presumably, somewhere, there's a key ...

Guards! Guards! is the eighth Discworld novel – and after this, dragons will never be the same again!

==Plot==
The Unique and Supreme Lodge of the [[Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night]] is a secret society who plot to take over Ankh-Morpork. They steal a magic book called ''[[The Summoning of Dragons]]'' from the [[Unseen University]] and use it to summon a [[noble dragon]]. Once the dragon has caused sufficient destruction and panic, their [[Lupine Wonse|Supreme Grand Master]] will put forward a "hero" who will heroically slay the dragon and became the city's king, to act as a puppet ruler for the Elucidated Brethren.

The [[City Watch]] of [[Ankh-Morpork]] has fallen on hard times. This is due to [[Havelock Vetinari|Lord Vetinari]]'s policy of making law enforcement the responsibility of the [[Guilds of Ankh-Morpork|guilds]]. Even crime has become 'self-regulated' by the [[Thieves' Guild]], who carry out a regulated number of robberies and discipline those who do it illegally. The Night Watch contains just three members - [[Sam Vimes|Captain Sam Vimes]], a cynic with a drinking problem, the overweight and lazy [[Fred Colon|Sergeant Fred Colon]] and [[Nobby Nobbs|Corporal Nobby Nobbs]], a petty thief. A fourth member [[Herbert Gaskin]] has just been killed on duty. They do little at night other than wander the city ringing their bells.

This changes when they are joined by [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]], a powerfully-built young man who was raised by dwarfs. In contrast to the existing policemen, Carrot is idealistic, honest and literal-minded; he has read ''[[The Laws and Ordinances of the Cities Ankh and Morpork]]'' and is determined to uphold them at all costs. On his first day at work, he tries to arrest [[Urdo van Pew]], the head of the Thieves' Guild. Though he seems out of place in Ankh-Morpork, Carrot's methods actually seem to work. The Night Watch begin investigating the dragon's appearances. Vimes meets his future love interest [[Sybil Ramkin]], a noblewoman and a breeder of [[swamp dragon]]s. She gives him information on dragons and a young swamp dragon called [[Errol]] as a pet. When the [[Treacle Mine Road Watch House|Watch House]] is burned down by the dragon, Sybil also donates the [[Pseudopolis Yard]] buildings to be new headquarters. Errol takes interest in the noble dragon and begins to eat odd things that cause his ears to produce smoke.

The Elucidated Brethren execute their plan; their hero comes forward and 'banishes' the dragon. The people of the city rejoice, overthrow Vetinari and prepare to have the hero crowned as the king. But the dragon returns, kills the hero and most of the Brethren, and declares itself to be the king of Ankh-Morpork. Using Vetinari's secretary [[Lupine Wonse]] as its interpreter, the dragon demands gold and a monthly virgin sacrifice, with Sybil being chosen to be the first victim. Vimes enters the palace and confronts Wonse, revealing that he is the Supreme Grand Master. Wonse has Vimes imprisoned in the dungeons with Vetinari. He is rescued by the [[Librarian]] and runs to Sybil's aid. Carrot, Colon and Nobbs try to shoot the dragon with a single 'lucky arrow' but miss. Errol then fights the dragon; it is revealed that his eating habits have allowed him to produce a backwards-launched [[wikipedia:jet engine|jet engine]] flame. Errol flies into the sky at a supersonic speed, causing a [[Wikipedia:sonic boom|sonic boom]] that knocks the king dragon out of the sky.

The city people move in to kill the king dragon, but Sybil pleads for it to be spared. Carrot tries to arrest the dragon, but Errol helps it escape. Sybil explains that the king dragon is actually female and the 'fight' with Errol was a courtship ritual. Vimes and the Watch return to the palace and together with Vetinari, they confront Wonse. Wonse tries to summon another dragon, but Carrot accidentally kills him; he is told by Vimes to "throw the book at him", so Carrot throws a copy of ''The Laws and Ordinances'' with such force that it knocks Wonse through a hole. Vetinari is reinstated as the leader of the city and offers the Night Watch a reward. They only demand a modest pay rise, a new kettle and a dartboard.

==Cover==
The cover, once again painted by Josh Kirby, features Carrot (with sword), Vimes (with bottle), Nobby (with small dragon) and Colon (with bow and arrow). They are all attempting to fight the Dragon.

==Characters==
*[[Carrot Ironfoundersson]]
*[[Samuel Vimes]]
*[[Fred Colon]]
*[[Nobby]]
*[[Havelock Vetinari]]
*[[Lupine Wonse]]
*The [[Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night]]
*[[Sybil Ramkin]]

==Other Characters==
*[[Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler]]
*The [[Librarian]]
*[[Reet]]
*[[Detritus]]
*[[Brother Fingers]]
*[[Brother Dunnikin]]
*[[Brother Doorkeeper]]
*[[Brother Watchtower]]
*[[Brother Plasterer]]

==Cameos and other Mentions ==
*[[Brenda Rodley]]
*[[Skully Multoon]] of the [[Palace Guard]]
*[[Varneshi]]
*[[Magrat Garlick]]
*[[Herbert Gaskin ]]
*[[Minty Rocksmacker]]
*[[Mort]] and [[Ysabell]] (mentioned by Sybil as "the duke and duchess of Sto Helit, a nice young couple"

==Locations==
* [[Ankh-Morpork]]
** [[Treacle Mine Road]]
*** [[Treacle Mine Road Watch House ]]
** [[Pseudopolis Yard]]
** [[Sunshine Sanctuary for Sick Dragons ]]
** [[The Mended Drum ]]
** [[Temple of Small Gods]]
** [[Jimkin Bearhugger's Whiskey|Jimkin Bearhugger's Whiskey Distillery]]
** [[Thieves' Guild]]
** [[Easy Street]]
*** [[Bunch of Grapes]]
** [[Scoone Avenue]]
*** [[Ramkin|The Ramkin House]]
** [[Patrician's Palace]]
** [[Unseen University ]]
*** [[Library|The Library]]
*** [[Tower of Art]]
** [[The Shades ]]
*** [[Rosemary Palm|Mrs Palm's House]]
** [[Harga's House of Ribs ]]
* [[Noble dragon|The Place Where the Dragons Lie]]
* [[Copperhead]]
* [[Enlightenment country]](where the monks make jars of dragon resistant cream and ship to a Mr CMOT Dibbler AM)
* [[L-space]]

==Sentient Species==

*[[Dwarfs]]
*[[Humans]]
*[[Trolls]]

==Supernatural Entities==

*[[Death]]
*[[The gods|The Gods]] (mentioned)

== Things and Concepts ==
*[[The Summoning of Dragons]]
*[[The Laws and Ordinances of the Cities Ankh and Morpork]]
*[[Swamp dragon ]]
*[[Noble dragon ]]
*[[Figgins ]]
*[[The Dictionary of Eye-Watering Words ]]
*[[Critters ]]
*[[L-space ]]
*[[Swear-Words]]
*[[Cripple Mister Onion ]]
*[[A Wizard's Staff Has A Knob On The End ]]
*[[Monkey ]]
*[[Thieves' Guild ]]

== Annotations ==
* "the Public Order Act of 1457" - one of the frequent [[57]] references in TP's work

==Adaptations==
Adapted into a [[Theatre Adaptations|stageplay]] by [[Stephen Briggs]].

Adapted into a comic [[Book:Guards! Guards! A Discworld Graphic Novel|''Guards! Guards! A Discworld Graphic Novel'']] by Stephen Briggs and Graham Higgins.

==External links==
[http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/guards-guards.html ''Guards! Guards!'' Annotations - The Annotated Pratchett File]

{{series|before=Pyramids|series=Discworld|after=Eric}}
{{series|series=Watch|after=Men at Arms}}

[[Category:Discworld Series|Guards! Guards!]]
[[Category:Watch Series|Guards! Guards!]]
[[de:Buch:Wachen! Wachen!]]

Book:The Fifth Elephant

2016-12-30T20:23:15Z

DuckMan: Trimmed down. It's still rather long

{{Book Data
|title= The Fifth Elephant
|cover=
[[File:Cover The Fith Elephant.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Josh Kirby]]
|coauthors=
|illustrator=
|date= 1999
|publisher= Doubleday
|isbn=0385409958
|pages=289
|rrp=
|series=Watch Series
|characters=[[Sam Vimes]], [[Sybil Ramkin]], [[Inigo Skimmer]], [[Angua von Überwald]], [[Lady Margolotta]], [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]], [[Wolfgang von Überwald]], the [[Low King]]
|annotations=yes
|notes=
}}
==Blurb==
A ''[[Discworld]]'' novel of [[dwarfs]], diplomacy, intrigue and big lumps of fat.

Sam Vimes is a man on the run. Yesterday he was a duke, a chief of [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch|police]] and the ambassador to the mysterious, fat-rich country of [[Überwald]]. Now he has nothing but his native wit and the gloomy trousers of Uncle Vanya (don't ask). It's snowing. It's freezing. And if he can't make it through the forest to civilization there's going to be a terrible war. But there are monsters on his trail. They're bright. They're fast. They're werewolves – and they're catching up. Sam Vimes is out of time, out of luck and already out of breath...

The story also contains a ''locked room mystery''. Almost every fictional detective used to get lumbered with one of these in his or her career, some, like Ellery Queen seemed to trip over them almost weekly. This time it's Vimes' turn. The situation isn't helped by the fact that this is, as Sam works out almost at once, "A locked room where they left the bloody door open!"

==Plot==
This is the first Discworld novel to feature the [[Clacks]], a network of semaphore towers used both for long-distance telegraph messages. [[Lord Vetinari]] orders [[Samuel Vimes]] to travel to [[Überwald]]. He must visit the coronation of the new [[Low King]] of the dwarfs and aim to secure the King's favour and bargain prices for the country's wealth of fat and metal. [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]] explains that the contest to choose a new Low King was a tense battle between the winning "modern thinker" [[Rhys Rhysson]] and the traditionalist [[Albrecht Albrechtson]]. Vimes prepares to depart, taking [[Sybil Ramkin|Sybil]], [[Cheery Littlebottom]], [[Detritus]] and a clerk [[Inigo Skimmer]] (who is soon revealed to be an [[Assassins' Guild|Assassin]]). Before he leaves, he learns of two related crimes: the murder of rubber manufacturer [[Wallace Sonky]] and theft of a plaster replica of the [[Scone of Stone]] - the only legal throne of the Low King. Meanwhile, [[Angua]] disappears, so Carrot sets out with [[Gaspode]] to find her.

Vimes and the delegation arrive in [[Bonk]] to learn that the real Scone of Stone has been stolen and that the man at the embassy, [[Wando Sleeps]] has disappeared. They meet an [[Igor]], a faithful servant and talented surgeon. The next day, Vimes meets the new King and [[Dee]], the King's "Ideas Taster". He then visits [[Lady Margolotta]], of the [[vampire]] nobility, and the [[werewolf]]s [[Guye von Überwald]] and his wife [[Serafine von Überwald|Serafine]], Angua's parents (both have Igors as servants). Back at the embassy, he discovers that their [[Igor]] has been attacked while unloading the coach, but nothing appears to have been taken.

In the evening before a celebration ball, Vimes learns that the nearest Clacks Tower has been broken and that the two operators are missing. Skimmer offers to send up a flare signal to call for the tower to be repaired. At the ball, Dee agrees to let Vimes and Cheery investigate the stolen Scone, and tells him that the the Scone is being ransomed, with the thief demanding that Rhys steps aside for Albrechtson. Vimes later that the Scone was not stolen, but destroyed and mixed up with the sand in the cave. Back upstairs, he sees a performance of the dwarf opera [[Bloodaxe and Ironhammer]], and meets Angua's brother [[Wolfgang von Überwald]], a werewolf demagogue. Suddenly, a chandelier is dislodged from the ceiling directly above the King. Detritus catches it, while Vimes is knocked out as he rescues the King.

Vimes wakes up to find himself in a cell. Dee explains that he is suspected of being involved in a plot to assassinate the King, and Skimmer has been found dead above the chandelier. Vimes escapes, but once he returns to the surface, he is surrounded by a group of werewolves led by Wolfgang. Wolfgang forces the Commander to take part in [[The Game]], in which he must make his way back to civilisation without being eaten (almost certain death). The werewolves killed Skimmer, Sleeps and the clacks operators through similar means. Before they begin, Wolfgang confirms Vimes' theory that Dee destroyed the real Scone, while a fake dwarf-bread Scone was made in Ankh-Morpork with help from Sonky, smuggled in through their coaches and stolen when Igor was attacked.

After running around for half an hour, Vimes manages to trap the werewolves in a burning barn but they escape and chase him to the river. He escapes in a boat and falls down a waterfall into an icy lake. He fights and kills two werewolves with his bare hands and almost kills another. He is then saved by the timely arrival of Carrot, Angua, and pack of wolves led by Angua's old friend [[Gavin]]. While the wolves chase the werewolves away, Carrot and Vimes return to the embassy, to discover that Sybil been escorted away to see Serafine. Bringing Detritus and the wolves with them, they head to the castle to rescue Sybil and confront Serafine. Vimes is attacked by Wolfgang, but he is repelled by Carrot, Gavin and Gaspode. Wolfgang, Gavin and Gaspode fall into water and disappear down a waterfall, where Gavin dies but Gaspode escapes to return to Ankh-Morpork. Serafine finally hands him the dwarf-bread replica scone.

Vimes then returns to the dwarfs, just as the Clacks tower is reactivated. They bring him to Rhys, who gets Albrechtson to test if the Scone is genuine. Although Dee tries to convince him it is a fake, Albrechtson concludes it is genuine, while Vimes is still unconvinced. King Rhys explains that dwarf bread cannot last more than a few centuries, and the Scone that was destroyed is the fifth in a line of replicas, so now the replica is a legitimate throne. Dee is exposed as a traitor, while Sybil begins negotiating sales of fat to Ankh-Morpork.

The next morning, Vimes is worried that Wolfgang will return. Sure enough, the werewolf kills Igor and tries to kill Carrot. Vimes chases the rampaging werewolf through the streets of Bonk into the city's main square and kills him with a clacks flare. At the coronation, and the newly crowned Low King rewards Cheery and Detritus with gold and a handshake, Sybil with a ring of Silver (which was illegal up until now), and Vimes with a dwarf axe. On the way home, they a joined by a young Igor who is "too modern for Überwald" due to his interest in genetic modification. While Vimes and Sybil take a long journey home, Carrot and Angua bring Igor to Ankh-Morpork to join the Watch, only to find it in disarray due to Acting-Captain Colon's completely incompetent management. Carrot blames himself and starts to repair the Watch.

==Subplots==
*After Carrot leaves Fred Colon in charge as Acting Captain, Fred Colon manages to single-handedly reduce the Watch from sixty to five members with his antics, which include:
**Being paranoid over the decreasing number of sugar cubes
**Sacking a number of officers and demoting some others
**Jumping out on [[Visit]]
**Fussing over the mug he uses for tea
**Burning all the paperwork on Vimes' desk
**Ignoring the murder of Sonky
**Insulting the dwarfs and trolls
Most of the watchmen go on strike and join [[Nobby Nobbs]]'s [[Watchmen's Guild|Guild of Watchmen]] (completely legalised by Vetinari). Meanwhile, the crime in the city stops entirely, as the entire criminal population fears the anger of the Commander when he returns.
*Carrot and Gaspode's pursuit of Angua, armed only with Gaspode's ability to communicate with both humans and wolves and with Carrot's intimidating "faint smile". After discovering a farmer who has had his chickens attacked and paid for, they rescue a rather stupid wolf from being baited by dogs. Gaspode persuades the wolf to stage himself being killed by a single dog's bark, then scarper with the wolf. After journeying through the foothills with hardly any food, they are surrounded by wolves, who turn out to be led by Angua and Gavin.

==Characters==

===Main characters===
*[[Samuel Vimes]]
*[[Cheery Littlebottom]]
*[[Detritus]]
*[[Sybil Ramkin]]
*[[Inigo Skimmer]]
*[[Lady Margolotta]]
*[[Angua von Überwald]]
*[[Carrot Ironfoundersson]]
*[[Wolfgang von Überwald]]
*[[Dee]]
*[[Rhys Rhysson]]

===Minor Characters===
*[[Albrecht Albrechtson]]
*[[Fred Colon]]
*[[Done It Duncan]]
*[[Gaspode]]
*[[Gavin]]
*[[Hacknee]]
*Multiple [[Igor]]s
*[[Nobby Nobbs]]
*[[Leonard of Quirm]]
*[[Reg Shoe]]
*[[Abba Stronginthearm]]
*[[Buggy Swires]]
*Captain [[Tantony]]
*[[Lord Vetinari]]
*[[Guye von Überwald]]
*[[Serafine von Überwald]]
*[[Visit]]

===Cameos and Mentions===
*[[Eustace Bassingly-Gore]]
*[[B'hrian Bloodaxe]]
*[[Bluejohn]]
*[[Chalky]]
*[[Chert]]
*[[Coalface]]
*[[Content|Mrs. Content]]
*[[Dorfl]]
*[[Downspout]]
*[[Drumknott]]
*[[Sergeant Edge]], Sto Lat watchman and a [[Sammies|Sammy]]
*[[Flint]]
*[[Ironhammer]]
*[[Gimlet Gimlet]]
*[[Agi Hammerthief]]
*[[Bishop Horn]]
*[[Don't Know Jack]], criminal from Sto Lat
*[[All Jolson]]
*[[Nervous Nigel]], dog
*[[Ossory]]
*[[Ping]]
*[[Crunchie Ron]]
*[[Slogram]]
*[[Wando Sleeps]]
*[[Wallace Sonky]]
*[[Wussie Staid]], former janitor at the Assassins' Guild
*[[Hrolf Thighbiter]]
*[[Dame Venting]], Vimes's teacher
*[[Stoneface Vimes]]
*[[Posh Wally]]
*[[Washable Topsy]]
*[[Willikins]]

==Locations==
*[[Ankh-Morpork]]
**[[Brass Bridge]]
**[[Broadway]]
**[[The Bucket]]
**[[Bunch of Grapes]]
**[[Cable Street]]
**[[Chitterling Street]]
**[[Dolly Sisters]]
**[[Dwarf Bread Museum]]
**[[Easy Street]]
**[[Gleam Street]]
**[[Kickleberry Street]]
**[[King's Way]]
**[[Nonesuch Street]]
**[[Patrician's Palace]]
***[[Oblong Office]]
**[[The Shades]]
**[[Shambling Gate]]
**[[Treacle Mine Road]]
**[[Whalebone Lane]]
**[[Zephire Street]]
*[[Borogravia]] (mentioned)
*[[Cape Terror]]
*[[Circle Sea]] (mentioned)
*[[Copperhead]] (mentioned)
*[[Gash]] (mentioned)
*[[Genua]] (mentioned)
*[[Ghat]]
*[[Hersheba]] (mentioned)
*[[Istanzia]]
**[[Slipnir River]]
*[[Klatch]] (mentioned)
*[[Llamedos]]
*[[Quirm]] (mentioned)
*[[Scant Cullot]]
*[[Sto Plains]]
**[[Slake]]
*[[Überwald]]
**[[Bonk]]
***[[Prince Vodorny Square]]
**[[Inn of the Fifth Elephant]]
**[[Schmaltzberg]]
**[[Wilinus Pass]]
*[[Zambingo]] (mentioned)

==Things and Concepts==
*[[Guilds of Ankh-Morpork]]
**[[Assassins' Guild]]
**[[Fools' Guild]]
**[[Seamstresses' Guild]]
**[[Watchmen's Guild]]
*[[Bloodaxe and Ironhammer]]
*[[Clacks]] aka Heliograph
*[[Almanack de Gothic]]
*[[Campaign for Equal Heights]] (mentioned)
*[[Diet of Bugs]]
*[[World Elephant]]s
*[[Iconograph]]
*[[Josiah Frument and Sons, Seed Merchants]]
*The [[Low King]]
*[[Knockermen]]
*[[Noggi]], Uberwaldean delicacy
*[[Oolites]], people who did nasty things to strangers
*[[Twurp's Peerage]]
*[[Piecemaker]]
*[[Sclot]], Uberwaldean delicacy
*[[Grand Sneer]]
*The [[Scone of Stone]]
*[[Spring-gonne]]
*[[Walago]], Uberwaldean delicacy
*[[Badger & Normal]]

==External links==
[http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/the-fifth-elephant.html ''The Fifth Elephant'' Annotations - The Annotated Pratchett File]

{{series|before=Carpe Jugulum|series=Discworld|after=The Truth}}
{{series|series=Watch|before=Jingo|after=Night Watch}}

[[Category:Discworld Series|Fifth Elephant, The]]
[[Category:Watch Series|Fifth Elephant, The]]
[[de:Buch:Der fünfte Elefant]]

Book:Guards! Guards!

2016-12-30T19:37:41Z

DuckMan: /* Plot */

{{Book Data
|title= Guards! Guards!
|cover=[[File:G!G!.jpg|240px]]
|illustrator=Josh Kirby
|date= August 1989
|publisher= Victor Gollancz
|isbn= 0575046066
|pages=352
|series= Watch Series
|characters= [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]] [[Samuel Vimes]] [[Fred Colon]] [[Nobby]] [[Havelock Vetinari]] The [[Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night]]
|annotations= yes
|notes= Book #08
}}
==Blurb==
This is where the [[Noble dragon|dragons]] went.

They lie ... not dead, not asleep, but ... dormant. And although the space they occupy isn't like normal space, nevertheless they are packed in tightly. They could put you in mind of a can of sardines, if you thought sardines were huge and scaly. And presumably, somewhere, there's a key ...

Guards! Guards! is the eighth Discworld novel – and after this, dragons will never be the same again!

==Plot==
The Unique and Supreme Lodge of the [[Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night]] is a fraternal organization who plot to take over Ankh Morpork. They steal a magic book called ''[[The Summoning of Dragons]]'' from the [[Unseen University]] and use it to summon a [[noble dragon]]. Once the dragon has caused sufficient destruction and panic, their [[Lupine Wonse|Supreme Grand Master]] will put forward a "hero" who will heroically slay the dragon and became the city's king, to act as a puppet ruler for the Elucidated Brethren.

The [[City Watch]] of [[Ankh Morpork]] has fallen on hard times. This is due to [[Havelock Vetinari|Lord Vetinari]]'s policy of making law enforcement the responsibility of the [[Guilds of Ankh-Morpork|guilds]]. Even crime has become 'self-regulated' by the [[Thieves' Guild]], who carry out a regulated number of robberies and discipline those who do it illegally. The Night Watch contains just three members - [[Sam Vimes|Captain Sam Vimes]], a cynic with a drinking problem, the overweight and lazy [[Fred Colon|Sergeant Fred Colon]] and [[Nobby Nobbs|Corporal Nobby Nobbs]], a petty thief. A fourth member [[Herbert Gaskin]] has just been killed on duty. They do little at night other than wander the city ringing their bells.

This changes when they are joined by [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]], a powerfully-built young man who was raised by dwarfs. In contrast to the existing policemen, Carrot is idealistic, honest and literal-minded; he has read ''[[The Laws and Ordinances of the Cities Ankh and Morpork]]'' and is determined to uphold them at all costs. On his first day at work, he tries to arrest [[Urdo Van Pew]], the head of the Thieves' Guild. Though he seems out of place in Ankh-Morpork, Carrot's methods actually seem to work. The Night Watch begin investigating the dragon's appearances. Vimes meets his future love interest [[Sybil Ramkin]], a noblewoman and a breeder of [[swamp dragon]]s. She gives him information on dragons and a young swamp dragon called [[Errol]] as a pet. When the [[Treacle Mine Road Watch House|Watch House]] is burned down by the dragon, Sybil donates the [[Pseudopolis Yard]] buildings to be new headquarters. Errol takes interest in the noble dragon and begins to eat odd things that cause his ears to produce smoke.

The Elucidated Brethren execute their plan; their hero comes forward and 'banishes' the dragon. The people of the city rejoice, overthrow Vetinari and prepare to have the hero crowned as the king. But the dragon returns, kills the hero and most of the Brethren, and declares itself to be the king of Ankh Morpork. Using Vetinari's secretary [[Lupine Wonse]] as its interpreter, the dragon demands gold and a monthly virgin sacrifice, with Sybil being chosen to be the first victim. Vimes enters the palace and confronts Wonse, revealing that he is the Supreme Grand Master. Wonse has Vimes imprisoned in the dungeons with Vetinari. He is rescued by the [[Librarian]] and runs to Sybil's aid. Carrot, Colon and Nobbs try to shoot the dragon with a single 'lucky arrow' but miss. Errol then fights the dragon; it is revealed that his eating habits have allowed him to produce a backwards-launched [[wikipedia:jet engine|jet engine]] flame. Errol flies into the sky at a supersonic speed, causing a [[Wikipedia:sonic boom|sonic boom]] that knocks the king dragon out of the sky.

The city people move in to kill the king dragon, but Sybil pleads for them not to do it. Carrot tries to arrest the dragon, but Errol helps it escape. Sybil explains that the king dragon was actually female and the 'fight' with Errol was actually a courtship ritual. Vimes and the Watch return to the palace and together with Vetinari, they confront Wonse. Wonse tries to summon another dragon, but Carrot accidentally kills him; he is told by Vimes to "throw the book at him", so Carrot throws a copy of ''The Laws and Ordinances'' with such force that it knocks Wonse through a hole in the floor. Vetinari is reinstated as the leader of the city and offers the Night Watch a reward. Their demands are only modest, including a pay rise, a new kettle and a dartboard.

==Cover==
The cover, once again painted by Josh Kirby, features Carrot (with sword), Vimes (with bottle), Nobby (with small dragon) and Colon (with bow and arrow). They are all attempting to fight the Dragon.

==Characters==
*[[Carrot Ironfoundersson]]
*[[Samuel Vimes]]
*[[Fred Colon]]
*[[Nobby]]
*[[Havelock Vetinari]]
*[[Lupine Wonse]]
*The [[Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night]]
*[[Sybil Ramkin]]

==Other Characters==
*[[Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler]]
*The [[Librarian]]
*[[Reet]]
*[[Detritus]]
*[[Brother Fingers]]
*[[Brother Dunnikin]]
*[[Brother Doorkeeper]]
*[[Brother Watchtower]]
*[[Brother Plasterer]]

==Cameos and other Mentions ==
*[[Brenda Rodley]]
*[[Skully Multoon]] of the [[Palace Guard]]
*[[Varneshi]]
*[[Magrat Garlick]]
*[[Herbert Gaskin ]]
*[[Minty Rocksmacker]]
*[[Mort]] and [[Ysabell]] (mentioned by Sybil as "the duke and duchess of Sto Helit, a nice young couple"

==Locations==
* [[Ankh-Morpork]]
** [[Treacle Mine Road]]
*** [[Treacle Mine Road Watch House ]]
** [[Pseudopolis Yard]]
** [[Sunshine Sanctuary for Sick Dragons ]]
** [[The Mended Drum ]]
** [[Temple of Small Gods]]
** [[Jimkin Bearhugger's Whiskey|Jimkin Bearhugger's Whiskey Distillery]]
** [[Thieves' Guild]]
** [[Easy Street]]
*** [[Bunch of Grapes]]
** [[Scoone Avenue]]
*** [[Ramkin|The Ramkin House]]
** [[Patrician's Palace]]
** [[Unseen University ]]
*** [[Library|The Library]]
*** [[Tower of Art]]
** [[The Shades ]]
*** [[Rosemary Palm|Mrs Palm's House]]
** [[Harga's House of Ribs ]]
* [[Noble dragon|The Place Where the Dragons Lie]]
* [[Copperhead]]
* [[Enlightenment country]](where the monks make jars of dragon resistant cream and ship to a Mr CMOT Dibbler AM)
* [[L-space]]

==Sentient Species==

*[[Dwarfs]]
*[[Humans]]
*[[Trolls]]

==Supernatural Entities==

*[[Death]]
*[[The gods|The Gods]] (mentioned)

== Things and Concepts ==
*[[The Summoning of Dragons]]
*[[The Laws and Ordinances of the Cities Ankh and Morpork]]
*[[Swamp dragon ]]
*[[Noble dragon ]]
*[[Figgins ]]
*[[The Dictionary of Eye-Watering Words ]]
*[[Critters ]]
*[[L-space ]]
*[[Swear-Words]]
*[[Cripple Mister Onion ]]
*[[A Wizard's Staff Has A Knob On The End ]]
*[[Monkey ]]
*[[Thieves' Guild ]]

== Annotations ==
* "the Public Order Act of 1457" - one of the frequent [[57]] references in TP's work

==Adaptations==
Adapted into a [[Theatre Adaptations|stageplay]] by [[Stephen Briggs]].

Adapted into a comic [[Book:Guards! Guards! A Discworld Graphic Novel|''Guards! Guards! A Discworld Graphic Novel'']] by Stephen Briggs and Graham Higgins.

==External links==
[http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/guards-guards.html ''Guards! Guards!'' Annotations - The Annotated Pratchett File]

{{series|before=Pyramids|series=Discworld|after=Eric}}
{{series|series=Watch|after=Men at Arms}}

[[Category:Discworld Series|Guards! Guards!]]
[[Category:Watch Series|Guards! Guards!]]
[[de:Buch:Wachen! Wachen!]]

Book:Men at Arms

2014-06-13T23:19:53Z

DuckMan: /* Plot */

{{Book Data
|title= Men at Arms
|cover=
[[File:Cover Men At Arms.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Josh Kirby]]
|coauthors=
|illustrator=
|date= 1993
|publisher= Victor Gollancz
|isbn=0552140287
|pages=288
|rrp=
|series=Watch Series
|characters=[[Ankh-Morpork City Watch]], [[Havelock Vetinari]], [[Edward d'Eath]]
|annotations=yes
|notes= Book #15
}}

==Blurb==
"Be a [[humans|MAN]] in the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch|City Watch]]! The City watch needs MEN!"

But what it's ''got'' includes Corporal Carrot (technically a dwarf), Lance-constable Cuddy (really a [[dwarfs|dwarf]]), Lance-constable Detritus (a [[trolls|troll]]), Lance-constable Angua (a woman ... most of the time) and Corporal Nobbs (disqualified from the human race for shoving).

And they need all the help they can get. Because there's evil in the air and murder afoot and something very nasty in the streets.

It'd help if it could all be sorted out by noon, because that's when Captain Vimes is officially retiring, handing in his badge and getting married.

And since this is [[Ankh-Morpork]], noon promises to be not just high, but stinking.

==Plot==
Captain [[Samuel Vimes]] is forced by [[Havelock Vetinari|Lord Vetinari]] to take on a group of new recruits for the purposes of ensuring diversity - a [[dwarf]] called [[Cuddy]], a werewolf called [[Angua]] and a [[troll]] called [[Detritus]]. Angua becomes involved in a romantic relationship with Corporal [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]], but he does not react well to discovering that she is a werewolf. There has recently been a string of mysterious murders in the city that appear to be connected. Vetinari bans Vimes from investigating the murders in a successful attempt to provoke him into doing so.

The murders have been committed by young a assassin called [[Edward d'Eath]]. After researching the city's history and discovering that Carrot is the rightful heir of the throne of [[Ankh Morpork]], he developed an obsessive desire to overthrow Vetinari and restore the monarchy. He committed the murders with the "[[gonne]]", the Disc's first and only hand-held firearm, a dangerous invention of [[Leonard of Quirm]] that d'Eath stole from the [[Assassins' Guild]]. The gonne appears to have a demonic power that tempts people into using it. When d'Eath explains his plan to [[Cruces|Dr. Cruces]], the head of the Assassins' Guild, Cruces kills him and decides to carry out the plan himself.

The Night Watch intervene to stop Cruces from killing Vetinari, but Cuddy and Angua are both killed in the struggle. Vimes and Carrot then confront Cruces, who reveals to Carrot that he is the rightful ruler of the city. Vimes seizes the gonne from Cruces and finds himself tempted to use the weapon, but Carrot stops him and disables it. Carrot is immune to being tempted by the gonne, which he believes is because he was raised as a dwarf and trained not to listen to tools. He kills Cruces with his sword and buries the remains of the gonne in Cuddy's coffin. Because a werewolf can only be killed with silver, Angua wakes up and recovers the following night.

Vimes holds his wedding with [[Sybil Ramkin]]. Vetinari fears that Carrot will use his status as the rightful ruler of Ankh Morpork to blackmail him. When he arrives, Carrot instead presents the Patrician with a plan to reform policing in the city by merging the Day Watch and the Night Watch into a new, modern and effective police force, with more funding and better working conditions. Vetinari agrees; Carrot is promoted to the rank of Captain, while Vimes is promoted to the newly-restored post of Commander of the Watch.

==Cover==
The front cover features (from left to right) Cuddy, Detritus, Angua, Carrot, Nobby and Colon. Illustrator [[Josh Kirby]] neglected to give Cuddy the dwarf a beard. At the bottom right there is a dog, presumably Gaspode.

==Characters==

===Main characters===
*[[Angua von Überwald|Angua]]
*[[Fred Colon]]
*[[Cuddy]]
*[[Detritus]]
*[[Carrot Ironfoundersson]]
*[[Nobby]]
*[[Lord Vetinari]]
*[[Samuel Vimes]]

===Minor characters===
*[[Bauxite]]
*[[Beano]] the Clown
*[[Big Fido]], Chief Barker of the Dog Guild
*[[Blenkin]], servant of the d'Eath residence
*[[Boffo (Clown)|Boffo]] the Clown
*[[Chubby]] the swamp dragon
*[[Coalface]]
*[[Cornice-overlooking-Broadway]]
*[[Cruces|Doctor Cruces]], head Assassin
*[[Silas Cumberbatch]], former town crier
*[[Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler]]
*[[Lord Downey]], then assistant head Assassin
*[[Edward d'Eath]]
*[[Duke of Eorle]]
*[[Gaspode]]
*[[Sir George]]
*[[Gayheart Talonthrust]] a swamp dragon
*[[Bjorn Hammerhock]]
*[[Leonard of Quirm]]
*[[Queen Molly]]
*[[Lord Monflathers]]
*Lord and Lady [[Omnius]]
*Captain [[Quirke]] of the Day Watch
*[[Sybil Ramkin]]
*[[Lord Rust]]
*[[Mr. Scant]]
*Lady [[Selachii]]
*[[Sendivoge]], Alchemist Guild secretary
*[[Thomas Silverfish]], head of the Alchemists
*[[Viscount Skater]]
*[[Abba Stronginthearm]]
*Lord [[Venturi]]
*[[Willikins]]
*[[Dr. Whiteface]]

===Cameos and Mentions===
*Kings and Queens of Ankh-Morpork (ancestors of Carrot's):
**Queen Alguinna IV
**Queen Coanna
**King Paragore
**King Veltrick III
**King Tyrril, ruled in AM 907
**King Webblethorpe the Unconscious
*Famous Architects:
**Capability Brown
**[[Bloody Stupid Johnson]]
**Intuition De Vere Slade-Gore
**Sagacity Smith
*[[Mrs. Cake]]
*[[Cheese]] (the pub owner, not the rotting of milk)
*[[Cumblethigh]], a dwarf
*[[Death]]
*[[Mr. Flannel]]
*[[Gimlet Gimlet]]
*[[Hamslinger]], a dwarf
*[[Sham Harga]]
*Deranged Lord [[Harmoni]]
*[[Here'n'now]]
*[[Grabber Hoskins]]
*[[Ironfoundersson]]
*[[Jimi]], God of Beggars
*Sergeant [[Kepple]]
*[[Lorenzo the Kind]]
*[[Lettice Knibbs]]
*[[Cumbling Michael]]
*Mr. [[Schwarzlache von Morecombe|Morecombe]], Ramkin family lawyer
*[[Bundo Prung]]
*[[Ruby]]
*Laughing Lord [[Scapula]]
*[[Reg Shoe]]
*[[Dribbling Sidney]]
*Mad Lord [[Snapcase]]
*[[Gerhardt Sock]]
*[[Grabpot Thundergust]]
*[[Stoneface Vimes]]
*Homicidal [[Lord Winder]]
*[[Zorgo]] the Retrophrenologist
*Sgt [[Wimbler]]
*[[Carbuncle]]

==Locations==
*[[Ankh-Morpork]]
**[[Street of Alchemists]]
**[[Borborygmic Lane]]
**[[Brass Bridge]]
**[[Broad Way]]
**[[The Bucket]]
**[[Cable Street]]
**[[Elm Street]]
**[[Filigree Street]]
**[[Gleam Street]]
**[[Grope Alley]]
**[[Hubwards Gate]]
**[[Knuckle Passage]]
**[[Mormius Street]]
**[[Patrician's Palace]]
**[[Phedre Road]]
**[[Post Office]]
**[[Pork Futures Warehouse]], along [[Morpork Street]]
**[[Pseudopolis Yard]]
**[[Quarry Lane]]
**[[Rime Street]]
**[[River Ankh]]
**[[Scoone Avenue]]
**[[The Shades]]
**[[Sheer Street]]
**[[Shirt Alley]]
**[[Short Street]]
**Lady Sybil's [[Sunshine Sanctuary for Sick Dragons]]
**[[Three Lamps Alley]]
**[[Unseen University]]
***[[High Energy Magic Building]]
***[[Tower of Art]]
**[[Whirligig Alley]]
**[[Zephire Street]]
*[[Copperhead]]
*[[Dunmanifestin]] (mentioned)
*[[Koom Valley]] (mentioned)
*[[Quirm Manor]], presumably in Quirm?

==Things and Concepts==
*A Slow Comfortable Double-Entendre, drink
*[[Guilds of Ankh-Morpork]]
**[[Alchemists' Guild]]
**[[Assassins' Guild]]
**[[Butchers' Guild]]
**[[Dogs' Guild]]
**[[Fools' Guild]]
**[[Gamblers' Guild]] (mentioned)
**[[Merchants' Guild]]
**[[Thieves' Guild]]
*[[Battle of Koom Valley]]
*[[Dwarfs]]
*[[Swamp dragons]]
*Flameless Gripe, swamp dragon disease
*"Gathering Sweet Lilacs"- folk dance
*[[Gargoyles]]
*[[Gimlet's Hole Food Delicatessen]]
*C.M.O.T. Dibbler's Genuine Authentic Soggy Mountain Dew
*The [[Gonne]]
*[[Hermit Elephant]]
*[[Iconograph]]
*The [[Assassins' Guild|Inhumation Bell]]
*The March of the Idiots, clown anthem.
*[[Monarchy]]
*[[Twurp's Peerage]]
*Herbalist Plants:
**Eyebright for eyes
**''Phallicus impudicus''
**Spleenwort for spleens
**Teethwort for teeth
*[[No. 1 Powder]]- gunpowder
*[[Rats]]
*[[Retrophrenology]]
*Thighbiter's [[The Ankh-Morpork Succession]]
*[[Trolls]]
*[[Velvet Gown]]
*[[Ankh-Morpork City Watch]]
*[[Wellcome to Ankh-Morporke, Citie of One Thousand Surprises]]
*[[Werewolves]]
*[[Jimkin Bearhugger's Whiskey]]

==Annotations==

When he and Carrot have chased down and arrested Dr Cruces, Vimes ineffectually fights the blandishments of the Gonne as it insists that he must kill Cruces and take the power to himself. Cruces, remember, has just seemingly killed Angua: the natural tendency of a policeman who has just seen a fellow copper killed is not going to be one mercy and forgiveness. Vimes is eventually shocked out of the killing mood by Carrot, and lowers his weapon.

This evokes an episode in hard-man cop show ''The Sweeney[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sweeney]'', where Flying Squad copper Inspector Regan, in a rage after seeing a copper shot, almost has to be physically disarmed by his sidekick Sergeant Carter before he realises he has almost stepped over the invisible line, and taken out irrevocable rough justice on a cornered criminal. Note that the junior, subordinate, copper takes the lead in both situations.

==External links==
[http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/men-at-arms.html ''Men at Arms'' Annotations - The Annotated Pratchett File]

{{series|before=Lords and Ladies|series=Discworld|after=Soul Music}}
{{series|series=Watch|before=Guards! Guards!|after=Feet of Clay}}

[[Category:Discworld Series|Men at Arms]]
[[Category:Watch Series|Men at Arms]]
[[de:Buch:Helle Barden]]

Dean

2014-05-29T15:24:32Z

DuckMan: Clarification

{{Character Data
|title=Dean
|photo=deanmine.jpg|The Current Dean by [[user:darkplush| Kit Cox]]
|name=Henry, last name unknown.
|age=
|race=Human
|occupation=Dean
|appearance=
|residence=[[Unseen University]]
|death=
|parents=
|relatives=
|children=
|marital status=
|books=
|cameos=
}}
The '''Dean''' was a senior [[wizard]] at the [[Unseen University]] who was a member of the [[Faculty]]. He first appeared in {{MP}}. Shortly before the events of {{UA}}, he moves away to become Archchancellor of [[Brazeneck College]] in [[Pseudopolis]]. From this point onwards he is instead known as '''Archchancellor Henry'''.

Another wizard who holds the post of Dean appeared in {{S}}. He is clearly stated to be a separate character to the Dean who appears in subsequent books. In {{IT}}, the Dean tells Ridcully "''I don't know anything about that [unpleasantness with the Sourcerer]. I wasn't Dean at the time''." Similarly, it is not known if another wizard replaced him as Dean after he left.

==At the Unseen University==
The "Dean of Pentacles" to give him his full title, is an incredibly obese man ("all of twenty stone" [280 pounds] in {{IT}}), who has the dubious distinction of having been granted the nickname "Two Chairs" by Ridcully (owing to the fact that he is so large that he uses two chairs to sit in). He is generally to be found in his study reading a grimoire or in the great hall eating. His job at UU as he, and everyone else, describes it is to sit around, sleep and eat incredibly big dinners. He also attends some of the functions that are held by guilds or clubs around the city on behalf of the University and partakes of other people's big dinners. All of this makes the fact, disclosed in {{TLC}}, that he got a [[University Brown|Brown]] for Rowing at UU in his younger days all the less believable.

Seldom knowingly nice or kind, the Dean is an old-school wizard who believes that power should be used, and likes nothing better than throwing fireballs. The Dean enjoys himself immensely when he gets to use high-powered destructive spells, and is thus considered by Captain [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]] as too mentally unstable to be allowed to join the [[Specials]] at a time of crisis, when fireballs may have been useful, he was politely thanked for his interest and sent home. When he is allowed to fight, he progresses in a series of spinning leaps, shouting "Hut hut hut!" and "Yo!" a lot. He has even been known to tie a rag around his forehead and shout "Bonsai!" - appropriately, as it helps him in his art of ''Bush-I-do''.

He is like a lightning conductor to any raw magic around, and Ridcully often just observes him whenever there is a clear occult event, as whatever is happening to people will be happening to the Dean at least twice as much. One of the best examples of this susceptibility to whatever occult or semi-magical occurrence is happening, as well as any fads or trends occurs in {{SM}}. Who else but the Dean would paint his room black, create a quiff that could take out an eye, or seriously contemplate riding a cargo-cult motorbike when everyone else is only mildly rebelling?

He once spent seventeen years writing a treatise entitled ''The Use of the syllable "ENK" in Levitation Spells in the Early Confused Period.'' His family is quite wealthy; as a lad, he'd hung up pillowcases for the Hogfather to fill rather than stockings. He was born in Pseudopolis, near which his father owned a lot of cabbage fields.

==At Brazeneck College==
By the time of {{UA}} it is revealed he had migrated to [[Brazeneck College]] and become its Archchancellor, to the rage of Ridcully and minor annoyance of the rest of the UU staff. He attempted to bring Ponder Stibbons over to Brazeneck as well, but failed, and poached a member of Ponder's department, [[Adrian Turnipseed]], instead. "Archchancellor Henry" challenged his fellow Archchancellor to a [[football]] match between wizarding universities over the ownership of the [[Archchancellor's Hat]]... but when a [[Pex|seventy-foot tall chicken]] broke out of Brazeneck and rampaged around the city of [[Pseudopolis]], the match had to be rescheduled until the university is rebuilt.

More recently, the ex-Dean returned to UU to accompany Rincewind in investigating Roundworld's latest difficulties in {{SOD4}}. The hostility between the rival Archchancellors seems to have cooled by this point, and they interact with the measured politeness of extreme caution.

His replacement as Dean at Unseen University has not yet been announced.

==Notes==
* In {{MP}}, the [[Archchancellor]] says "The Dean looks like a man who's swallered a bed!" To which the [[Bursar]] Replies "'',,,the body of the Dean is supremely appropriate to the purpose of sitting around all day and eating big heavy meals''."

* In {{TLC}}, the Dean refers to "''the memo saying I've been appointed as Dean! That was years ago''!"

* The Dean's violent tendencies aren't entirely confined to magic-slinging: he suffered a black eye, and dealt out a bloody nose in exchange, when he got into a fistfight with the Senior Wrangler (''The Science of Discworld''), defending his opinion that intelligence in Roundworld would first appear on land.

[[Category:Discworld characters]]
[[Category:Serial characters]]
[[Category:Supporting characters]]
[[Category:Human characters]]
[[Category:Wizards]]
[[de:Henry]]

Book:Small Gods

2014-05-27T19:43:40Z

DuckMan: /* Plot */

{{Book Data
|title= Small Gods
|cover=
[[File:Cover Small Gods.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Josh Kirby]]
|coauthors=
|illustrator=
|date= May 1992
|publisher= Victor Gollancz
|isbn=0575052228
|pages=288
|rrp=
|series=
|characters=[[Brutha]]. [[Om]], [[Vorbis]]
|annotations=yes
|notes=
}}

==Blurb==
[[Brutha]] is the Chosen One.

His god has spoken to him, admittedly while currently in the shape of a tortoise.

Brutha is a simple lad. He can't read. He can't write. He's pretty good at growing melons. And his wants are few.

He wants to overthrow a huge and corrupt [[Omnia|church]].

He wants to prevent a horrible holy war.

He wants to stop the persecution of a [[philosophers|philosopher]] who has dared to suggest that, contrary to the Church's dogma, the Discworld really does go through space on the back of an enormous turtle (*).

He wants peace and justice and brotherly love. He wants the Inquisition to stop torturing him now, please.

But most of all, what he really wants, more than anything else, is for his god to Choose Someone Else ...

(* which is true, but when has that ever mattered?)

==Plot==
The story is set in the land of [[Omnia]], an oppressive theocracy that is controlled by a Church that worships the Great God [[Om]] and frequently rages war on non-believers. It is about time for Om to manifest in the world and send his eighth prophet. Om has ignored his believers for ages and is surprised to find himself stripped of his divine powers and only able to manifest himself as a tortoise. On the Disc, the power of a God is determined by how many people believe in them.

In [[Kom]], the capital of Omnia, Om meets [[Brutha]], a simple-minded boy with a remarkable memory. He struggles to convince Brutha that he is the God the boy worships. [[Vorbis]], the head of the [[Quisition]], asks Brutha to come with him on a diplomatic mission to [[Ephebe]]. While they are there, Brutha starts to take an interest in philosphy. Om meets the philosopher [[Didactylos]] and discovers that [[Brutha]] is the only remaining Omnian who actually believes in him; the others now only believe in the rules and rituals of the Church.

Brutha's memory helps him to provide information to the Omnians on how to access the Tyrant's palace via the [[Labyrinth]] that guards it. He also reads and memorises many scrolls in the library, in order to preserve the Ephebians' knowledge as Omnian soldiers burn the building down. Brutha, Om and a severely injured Vorbis flee the struggle by boat and end up lost in the desert. On their way home, they discover ruined temples that are haunted by [[Small Gods]] - ghosts of powerless gods who no-one believes in. Om begins to care about his believers for the first time.

Vorbis regains his strength as they approach Kom. He abducts Brutha and tries to finish Om off without success. He arranges for himself to be ordained the eighth prophet and for Brutha to be publically burned to death by being strapped to a heated bronze statue of a tortoise. Om intervenes; an eagle flies him over to the scene and drops him on Vorbis' head, killing the priest. The crowd witness the miracle and their faith in Om is restored, allowing him to become powerful again.

Meanwhile, Ephebe has formed an alliance with several nations to invade Omnia and a battle breaks out on the coast by Kom. Brutha attempts to make peace, but the invading armies are too distrustful of the Omnians. Om plans to use his physical powers against them, but Brutha argues that he should not intervene with the actions of humans. Om is frustrated but ultimately agrees; instead he travels to the top of [[Cori Celesti]] where he sees the other gods gambling on the fates of their believers to gain or lose them. Shocked by the callousness that they treat their believers with, Om loses his temper, even hitting some of the other gods. The soldiers hear a threatening sign from the heavens and stop fighting.

Brutha becomes the Eighth Prophet. He ends the Quisition and reforms the Church, turning the oppressive and dogmatic institution into a fairer-minded place. For the next century, Omnia is able to enjoy great peace, freedom and prosperity. In the epilogue, Brutha dies on the 100th anniversary of Om's return to power. It is then revealed that the events were orchestrated by [[Lu-Tze]], one of the [[History Monks]], who decided that he would rather have a century of peace than the anticipated century of war.

==Cover==
The cover illustration was drawn by [[Josh Kirby]]. It is dominated by two figures: [[Brutha]], who is chained to an altar in the form of a giant turtle and [[Vorbis]] with an eagle-like appearance interrogating him. Above both figures a large flying eagle holds a terrified turtle in its claws.

==About the book==
When reading the Discworld books starting from the first ''[[Book:The Colour of Magic|The Colour of Magic]]'' to the newest one notices a gradual change in the style of writing. Not only does the text become more picturesque and atmospheric, but the story itself becomes more elaborate. Whereas in ''[[Book:The Colour of Magic|The Colour of Magic]]'' the story seems to be a mere carrier for a multitude of jokes and anecdotes, newer books have less comedy, but make a good read, because of the intriguing story. Small Gods is the first book in the [[:Category:Discworld Series|Discworld series]] with a noticeably changed style.

Whereas previous books were driven by satire of the fantasy genre and popular culture, ''Small Gods'' touches on deeper themes. The main themes of the book are theism, atheism, morality and ethics. There is a clear contrast between Brutha's earnest faith and compassion, compared to the organized religion of a church which at best is stagnant and corrupt, and at worst is oppressive and extremist. The storyline then reveals that [[Brutha]] is the only person who is really believing in Om himself, whereas everyone else is just believing in rules and rituals. It also shows that a bad religion or church can still have good followers.

One of the more important messages of the book is: do good things, simply because they are good and not just because a god demands it. This might not sound too funny, but the messages are hidden in a rather humorous story (this is still a [[Terry Pratchett]] book) about Brutha, a novice priest of the church of [[Om]].

Small Gods introduces [[Lu-Tze]] the [[History Monks|history-monk]]. The book is also the origin of the phrase "The turtle moves" or De Chelonian Mobile.

==Characters==

===Main characters===

* [[Brutha]]
* [[Vorbis]]
* [[Om]]
* [[A'tuin|Great A'tuin]]

===Minor characters===

* [[Lu-Tze]]
* Brother [[Nhumrod]]
* Bishop [[Drunah]]
* General Iam [[Fri'it]], his aspirations to assassinate Vorbis are cut short (as, indeed, is he)
* Sergeant [[Simony]]
* [[Death]]
* [[P'tang P'tang]], a god
* [[Didactylos]], a philosopher
* [[Urn]], a philosopher, Didactylos' nephew
* "St" [[Sevrian Thaddeus Ungulant]], a philosopher, friend to small gods
* [[Tyrant]] of [[Ephebe]]

=== Cameos/Mentioned ===

* Members of the Omnian Church (current and former, including excommunicated members)
** The [[SeptArchs]], prophets who wrote the 7 books of Omniaism
*** Prophet [[Ishkible]]
*** Prophet [[Cena]]
*** Prophet [[Fruni]]
*** Prophet [[Wallspur]]
*** Prophet [[Ossory]]
*** Prophet [[Abbys]]
*** Prophet [[Hashimi]]
** Brother [[Murduck]], beaten nearly to death (and flogged the rest of the way), ostensibly by Ephebians, but actually by the Omnian Church itself
** Brother [[Sasho]], tortured for information
** Brother [[Whelk]], teaches Comparative Religion (an interesting topic in monotheistic Omnia?)
** Bishop [[Kreeblephor]], who converted a demon by reason alone in the [[Year of the Lenient Vegetable]]
** Brother [[Preptil]], master of music
** Bishop [[Treem]], archivist
** False Prophet [[Zeb]]
** False Prophet [[Zog]]
** Members of the [[Divine Legion]], the military arm of the Church
*** Sergeant [[Aktar]]
*** Sergeant [[Fergmen]]
*** Private [[Dervi Ichlos]], killed by Simony
** Members of the [[Quisition]]
*** Inquisitor First Class [[Ishmale Quoom]], retired
*** Deacon [[Cusp]]
** [[Coplei]], a bosun on the holy ship Fin of God
* [[Cut-Me-Own-Hand-Off Dhblah]]
* Gods and goddesses
** The [[Sea Queen]]
** [[Tuvelpit]], God of Wine, aka [[Smimto]]
** [[Offler]]
** [[Astoria]], Goddess of Love
** [[Petulia]], Goddess of Negotiable Affection
** [[God of Lettuce]] (mentioned)
** [[Blind Io]]
** [[Cubal]], the Fire God
** [[Flatulus]], Wind God
** [[Fedecks]], Messenger of the Gods, whose name parodies {{wp|Fedex|Fedex}}
** [[Patina]], Goddess of Wisdom
** [[Foorgol]], Avalanche God, whose name is "log roof" backward
** [[Angus]], a small god
** [[Goddess of Plenty]], minor goddess elbowed by Om
** [[Solar God]] (Tsortean God of the Sun)
* Philosophers
** [[Legibus]], philosopher, parodies {{wp|Archimedes|Archimedes}}
** [[Aristocrates]], philosopher, secretary to the Tyrant, parodies {{wp|Aristotle|Aristotle}}
** [[Xeno]], parodies {{wp|Zeno_of_Elea|Zeno}}
** [[Ibid]], philosopher, whose name parodies the expression {{wp|ibid|ibid}}
** [[Gordo]] of Tsort, who wrote about sand
** [[Irexes]], who also wrote about sand
* the [[Librarian]]
* General [[Argavisti]], of Ephebe
* Imperiator [[Borvorius]], of Tsort
* Admiral [[Rham-ap-Efan]], of Djelibeybi
* [[Fasta Benj]], fisherman from an unnamed small nation
* [[Pacha Moj]], another person from the same unnamed small nation
* [[59th Abbot]], who mis-used his ability to see into the future
* [[493rd Abbot]]
* [[Hodgsonites]], [[Melchiorites]], and [[Ashelians]], peoples who were subjugated by the Divine Legion
* [[Koomi]] of [[Smale]], who wrote [[Ego-Video Liber Deorum]] (Gods: A Spotter's Guide), angering the Omnian Church
* [[Ur-Gilash]], god defeated by Om (and perhaps encountered by Om in the desert, though this isn't made clear), and whose capital city was [[Gilash]]
* Customers of Didactylos and Nephew:
** Mr. [[Piloxi]] the farmer, who paid in rotten green black olives
** Mrs. [[Bylaxis]]
** [[Grillos]], the cobbler
* Sister [[Sestina]] of [[Quirm]], who walked across coals for a goddess who was really only interested in hairstyles
* Brother [[Zephilite]] of Klatch, who did charity work in the name of [[F'rum]], an fairly stupid invisible god

== Locations ==

* [[Ramtops|Ramtop Mountains]]

* [[Omnia]], the rimward fringe of [[Klatch (continent)|Klatch]] on the [[Circle Sea]]
** [[Kom]], capital of Omnia
** [[Gate of Horns]]
** [[Citadel]] of the Omnian Church
** [[Place of Lamentation]]
** port of Il-Drim

* [[Ephebe]]
** [[Library of Ephebe]], 2nd largest library on the Disc

* The [[Circle Sea]]
* [[Pseudopolis]] (mentioned)
* [[Djel]] (mentioned)
* [[Tsort]] (mentioned)
* [[Brown Islands]] (mentioned)
* [[Djelibeybi]] (mentioned)
* [[Ankh-Morpork]] (mentioned)
* [[Erebos]], an island that Ossory sailed to on a millstone
* [[Rim Ocean]] (mentioned)

* Countries conquered by Omnia
** [[Istanzia]]
** [[Betrek]]
** [[Ushistan]]

* [[Unseen University]] (mentioned)
** [[Library]] (mentioned)
*** [[Lost Reading Room]] (mentioned)

* Lost City of [[Ee]] (mentioned)

* [[Sto Plains]] (mentioned)

* [[Dunmanifestin]]
** [[Cori Celesti]] (mentioned)

* [[Skant]], the [[Cenobiarch]] goes off to hermitage here when Vorbis (briefly) becomes the 8th prophet

== Miscellaneous ==

* [[Year of the Notional Serpent]] in the [[Century of the Fruitbat]], time frame for this book

* [[Year of the Astounded Beetle]], Brutha was 2 years old then (almost 3) when he saw [[derechmi]], an Ephebian coin

* The Omnian [[Quisition]], parodying [[Roundworld]]'s {{wp|Medieval Inquisition|Inquisition}}

* [[Omnian Hymns]]
** [[Omnian Hymns|He is Trampling the Unrighteous with Hooves of Hot Iron]]
** [[Omnian Hymns|The Way of the Infidel Is A Nest Of Thorns]]
** [[Lo, the infidels flee the wrath of Om]]
** [[Omnian Hymns|Claws of Iron shall Rend the Ungodly]]

* The [[Septateuch]], holy book of Omnia

* [[Klatchian Delight]], parodies {{wp|Turkish Delight|Turkish Delight}}

* [[Pointless Albatross]]

* [[Scalbie]]

* Books written by philosophers (they seem to prefer short titles)
** Didactylos' [[Meditations]]
** Xeno's [[Reflections]]
** Aristocrates' [[Platitudes]]
** Ibid's [[Discourses]] and [[Civics]]
** Legibus's [[Geometries]]
** [[Hierarch]]'s [[Theologies]]
** [[Orinjcrates]]' (whose name is a pun on "orange creates") [[On the Nature of Plants]]
** [[Philo]]'s [[Bestiary]]
** [[Abraxas]]'s [[On Religion]]
** [[Grido]]'s [[Mechanics]]
** [[Gnomon]]'s [[Ectopia]] (a {{wp|gnomon|gnomon}} is the triangular part of a sundial, while {{wp|ectopia|ectopia}} is the displacement of a bodily organ; the pun here, however, may be on {{wp|Sir_Thomas_More|Sir Thomas More}}'s {{wp|Utopia|Utopia}}
** [[Dykeri]]'s [[Principles of Navigation]]

* [[L-space]]

* [[Ambiguous Puzuma]]

* [[Aurora Corealis]], the hublights, parodying the Roundworld Northern Lights, whose proper scientific name is {{wp|Aurora Borealis|Aurora Borealis}}

* Most Holy St [[Bobby]], Ossory's ass

== Annotations ==

* "The other novices make fun of him, sometimes. Call him The Big Dumb Ox." - in Roundworld, this nickname was applied to {{wp|St Thomas Aquinas|St Thomas Aquinas}}

* "maybe a small army could get a quarter of the way, and leave a cache of water. And do that several times. And another small army could use part of that cache to go further, maybe reach halfway, and leave a cache. And another small army... It had taken months." - a version of the [http://mathworld.wolfram.com/JeepProblem.html Jeep Problem]

* "Stoics. Cynics. Big drinkers, the Cynics. Epicureans. Stochastics. Anamaxandrites. Epistemologists. Peripatetics. Synoptics." - implies that there are philosophers named {{wp|Epicurus|Epicurus}} and {{wp|Anaximander|Anaximander}}

* "The Chain Letter to the Ephebians." - parodies {{wp|chain letter|chain letter}}s

* "could drag Omnia kicking and screaming into the Century of the Fruitbat!" - the implication here is that this book takes place during the Century of the Fruitbat, even though it presumably takes place centuries before {{MP}} (Lu-tze had to travel back in time to get to Omnia). Of course, there's no solid evidence that the "current" books take place in the Century of the Fruitbat either(?), and {{TOT}} shows the Disc's space-time continuum is rather convoluted.

* "I said to [Prince [[Lasgere]] of Tsort] 'There is no royal road to learning'" - parodies {{wp|Euclid|Euclid}}'s statement to {{wp|Ptolemy_I|King Ptolemy}}: "there is no royal road to geometry" {{wp|Royal_Road#Cultural_references_to_the_Royal_Road}}

* "Got to have a whole parcel of worshipers to live on Nob Hill." - references Roundworld's {{wp|Nob Hill|Nob Hill}}, an upscale area of San Francisco.

* '[Om] plunged his beak through the brown feathers between the talons, and gripped. [...] "Now. You play, uh, ball with me, I'll play . . . ball with you."' - As the APF ({{APF|book=small-gods|anchor=p340244}}) notes, eagles don't have testicles. Of course, this might be a "balled eagle", but I doubt even Pterry would make such a bad subtle pun.

==Notes==
*This book is not a part of a series, although some place it in a "Gods" series together with [[Pyramids]] and [[Hogfather]].
*Originally published in Great Britain by Victor Gollanz Ltd. Copyright (c) 1992 by Terry and Lyn Pratchett

==External links==
[http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/small-gods.html ''Small Gods'' Annotations - The Annotated Pratchett File]

[[de:Buch:Einfach göttlich]]
[[Category:Discworld Series|Small Gods]]

{{series|before=Witches Abroad|series=Discworld|after=Lords and Ladies}}

Morphic Street Conspiracy

2014-05-27T18:00:41Z

DuckMan:

The [[Morphic Street]] Conspiracy was an early form of rebellion against the tyrannical Lord [[Winder]]. In he original timeline, their meeting was raided by the [[Cable Street Particulars|Particulars]] under [[Findthee Swing]]. After Commander Vimes/[[John Keel]] altered the timeline, the [[Glorious Revolution|revolutionaries]] were able to escape the raid. They then started a mob and met Keel and the young [[Sam Vimes]] back at the Night Watch station on [[Treacle Mine Road]]. The revolutionaries had apparently been communicating through secret messages hidden in [[Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler]]'s meat pies. The password to get in was 'swordfish'.

[[Category:Discworld Historical Events]]
[[Category:Groups]]

Book:Small Gods

2014-05-23T21:10:18Z

DuckMan: /* About the book */

{{Book Data
|title= Small Gods
|cover=
[[File:Cover Small Gods.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Josh Kirby]]
|coauthors=
|illustrator=
|date= May 1992
|publisher= Victor Gollancz
|isbn=0575052228
|pages=288
|rrp=
|series=
|characters=[[Brutha]]. [[Om]], [[Vorbis]]
|annotations=yes
|notes=
}}

==Blurb==
[[Brutha]] is the Chosen One.

His god has spoken to him, admittedly while currently in the shape of a tortoise.

Brutha is a simple lad. He can't read. He can't write. He's pretty good at growing melons. And his wants are few.

He wants to overthrow a huge and corrupt [[Omnia|church]].

He wants to prevent a horrible holy war.

He wants to stop the persecution of a [[philosophers|philosopher]] who has dared to suggest that, contrary to the Church's dogma, the Discworld really does go through space on the back of an enormous turtle (*).

He wants peace and justice and brotherly love. He wants the Inquisition to stop torturing him now, please.

But most of all, what he really wants, more than anything else, is for his god to Choose Someone Else ...

(* which is true, but when has that ever mattered?)

==Plot==
The story is set in the land of [[Omnia]], an oppressive theocracy that is controlled by a Church that worships the Great God [[Om]] and frequently rages war on non-believers. It is about time for Om to manifest in the world and send his eighth prophet. Om has ignored his believers for ages and is surprised to find himself stripped of his divine powers and only able to manifest himself as a tortoise. On the Disc, the power of a God is determined by how many people believe in them.

In [[Kom]], the capital of Omnia, Om meets [[Brutha]], a simple-minded boy with a remarkable memory. He struggles to convince Brutha that he is the God the boy worships. [[Vorbis]], the head of the [[Quisition]], asks Brutha to come with him on a diplomatic mission to [[Ephebe]]. While they are there, Brutha starts to take an interest in philosphy. Om meets the philosopher [[Didactylos]] and discovers that [[Brutha]] is the only remaining Omnian who actually believes in him; the others now only believe in the rules and rituals of the Church.

Brutha's memory helps him to provide information to the Omnians on how to access the Tyrant's palace via the [[Labyrinth]] that guards it. He also reads and memorises many scrolls in the library, in order to preserve the Ephebians' knowledge as Omnian soldiers burn the building down. Brutha, Om and a severely injured Vorbis flee the struggle by boat and end up lost in the desert. On their way home, they discover ruined temples that are haunted by [[Small Gods]] - ghosts of powerless gods who no-one believes in. Om begins to care about his believers for the first time.

Vorbis regains his strength as they approach Kom. He abducts Brutha and tries to finish Om off without success. He arranges for himself to be ordained the eighth prophet and for Brutha to be publically burned to death by being strapped to a heated bronze statue of a tortoise. Om intervenes; an eagle flies him over to the scene and drops him on Vorbis' head, killing the priest. The crowd witness the miracle and their faith in Om is restored, allowing him to become powerful again.

Meanwhile, Ephebe has formed an alliance with several nations to invade Omnia and a battle breaks out on the coast by Kom. Brutha attempts to make peace, but the invading armies are too distrustful of the Omnians. Om plans to use his physical powers against them, but Brutha argues that he should not intervene with the actions of humans. Om is frustrated but ultimately agrees; instead he travels to [[Cori Celeste]] where he sees the other gods gambling on the fates of their believes to gain or lose them. It is here he loses his temper, even hitting some of the other gods. The soldiers stop fighting, hearing the sign from the heavens.

Brutha becomes the Eighth Prophet. He ends the Quisition and reforms the Church, turning the oppressive and dogmatic institution into a fairer-minded place. For the next century, Omnia is able to enjoy great peace, freedom and prosperity. In the epilogue, Brutha dies on the 100th anniversary of Om's return to power. It is then revealed that the events were orchestrated by [[Lu-Tze]], one of the [[History Monks]], who decided that he would rather have a century of peace than the anticipated century of war.

==Cover==
The cover illustration was drawn by [[Josh Kirby]]. It is dominated by two figures: [[Brutha]], who is chained to an altar in the form of a giant turtle and [[Vorbis]] with an eagle-like appearance interrogating him. Above both figures a large flying eagle holds a terrified turtle in its claws.

==About the book==
When reading the Discworld books starting from the first ''[[Book:The Colour of Magic|The Colour of Magic]]'' to the newest one notices a gradual change in the style of writing. Not only does the text become more picturesque and atmospheric, but the story itself becomes more elaborate. Whereas in ''[[Book:The Colour of Magic|The Colour of Magic]]'' the story seems to be a mere carrier for a multitude of jokes and anecdotes, newer books have less comedy, but make a good read, because of the intriguing story. Small Gods is the first book in the [[:Category:Discworld Series|Discworld series]] with a noticeably changed style.

Whereas previous books were driven by satire of the fantasy genre and popular culture, ''Small Gods'' touches on deeper themes. The main themes of the book are theism, atheism, morality and ethics. There is a clear contrast between Brutha's earnest faith and compassion, compared to the organized religion of a church which at best is stagnant and corrupt, and at worst is oppressive and extremist. The storyline then reveals that [[Brutha]] is the only person who is really believing in Om himself, whereas everyone else is just believing in rules and rituals. It also shows that a bad religion or church can still have good followers.

One of the more important messages of the book is: do good things, simply because they are good and not just because a god demands it. This might not sound too funny, but the messages are hidden in a rather humorous story (this is still a [[Terry Pratchett]] book) about Brutha, a novice priest of the church of [[Om]].

Small Gods introduces [[Lu-Tze]] the [[History Monks|history-monk]]. The book is also the origin of the phrase "The turtle moves" or De Chelonian Mobile.

==Characters==

===Main characters===

* [[Brutha]]
* [[Vorbis]]
* [[Om]]
* [[A'tuin|Great A'tuin]]

===Minor characters===

* [[Lu-Tze]]
* Brother [[Nhumrod]]
* Bishop [[Drunah]]
* General Iam [[Fri'it]], his aspirations to assassinate Vorbis are cut short (as, indeed, is he)
* Sergeant [[Simony]]
* [[Death]]
* [[P'tang P'tang]], a god
* [[Didactylos]], a philosopher
* [[Urn]], a philosopher, Didactylos' nephew
* "St" [[Sevrian Thaddeus Ungulant]], a philosopher, friend to small gods
* [[Tyrant]] of [[Ephebe]]

=== Cameos/Mentioned ===

* Members of the Omnian Church (current and former, including excommunicated members)
** The [[SeptArchs]], prophets who wrote the 7 books of Omniaism
*** Prophet [[Ishkible]]
*** Prophet [[Cena]]
*** Prophet [[Fruni]]
*** Prophet [[Wallspur]]
*** Prophet [[Ossory]]
*** Prophet [[Abbys]]
*** Prophet [[Hashimi]]
** Brother [[Murduck]], beaten nearly to death (and flogged the rest of the way), ostensibly by Ephebians, but actually by the Omnian Church itself
** Brother [[Sasho]], tortured for information
** Brother [[Whelk]], teaches Comparative Religion (an interesting topic in monotheistic Omnia?)
** Bishop [[Kreeblephor]], who converted a demon by reason alone in the [[Year of the Lenient Vegetable]]
** Brother [[Preptil]], master of music
** Bishop [[Treem]], archivist
** False Prophet [[Zeb]]
** False Prophet [[Zog]]
** Members of the [[Divine Legion]], the military arm of the Church
*** Sergeant [[Aktar]]
*** Sergeant [[Fergmen]]
*** Private [[Dervi Ichlos]], killed by Simony
** Members of the [[Quisition]]
*** Inquisitor First Class [[Ishmale Quoom]], retired
*** Deacon [[Cusp]]
** [[Coplei]], a bosun on the holy ship Fin of God
* [[Cut-Me-Own-Hand-Off Dhblah]]
* Gods and goddesses
** The [[Sea Queen]]
** [[Tuvelpit]], God of Wine, aka [[Smimto]]
** [[Offler]]
** [[Astoria]], Goddess of Love
** [[Petulia]], Goddess of Negotiable Affection
** [[God of Lettuce]] (mentioned)
** [[Blind Io]]
** [[Cubal]], the Fire God
** [[Flatulus]], Wind God
** [[Fedecks]], Messenger of the Gods, whose name parodies {{wp|Fedex|Fedex}}
** [[Patina]], Goddess of Wisdom
** [[Foorgol]], Avalanche God, whose name is "log roof" backward
** [[Angus]], a small god
** [[Goddess of Plenty]], minor goddess elbowed by Om
** [[Solar God]] (Tsortean God of the Sun)
* Philosophers
** [[Legibus]], philosopher, parodies {{wp|Archimedes|Archimedes}}
** [[Aristocrates]], philosopher, secretary to the Tyrant, parodies {{wp|Aristotle|Aristotle}}
** [[Xeno]], parodies {{wp|Zeno_of_Elea|Zeno}}
** [[Ibid]], philosopher, whose name parodies the expression {{wp|ibid|ibid}}
** [[Gordo]] of Tsort, who wrote about sand
** [[Irexes]], who also wrote about sand
* the [[Librarian]]
* General [[Argavisti]], of Ephebe
* Imperiator [[Borvorius]], of Tsort
* Admiral [[Rham-ap-Efan]], of Djelibeybi
* [[Fasta Benj]], fisherman from an unnamed small nation
* [[Pacha Moj]], another person from the same unnamed small nation
* [[59th Abbot]], who mis-used his ability to see into the future
* [[493rd Abbot]]
* [[Hodgsonites]], [[Melchiorites]], and [[Ashelians]], peoples who were subjugated by the Divine Legion
* [[Koomi]] of [[Smale]], who wrote [[Ego-Video Liber Deorum]] (Gods: A Spotter's Guide), angering the Omnian Church
* [[Ur-Gilash]], god defeated by Om (and perhaps encountered by Om in the desert, though this isn't made clear), and whose capital city was [[Gilash]]
* Customers of Didactylos and Nephew:
** Mr. [[Piloxi]] the farmer, who paid in rotten green black olives
** Mrs. [[Bylaxis]]
** [[Grillos]], the cobbler
* Sister [[Sestina]] of [[Quirm]], who walked across coals for a goddess who was really only interested in hairstyles
* Brother [[Zephilite]] of Klatch, who did charity work in the name of [[F'rum]], an fairly stupid invisible god

== Locations ==

* [[Ramtops|Ramtop Mountains]]

* [[Omnia]], the rimward fringe of [[Klatch (continent)|Klatch]] on the [[Circle Sea]]
** [[Kom]], capital of Omnia
** [[Gate of Horns]]
** [[Citadel]] of the Omnian Church
** [[Place of Lamentation]]
** port of Il-Drim

* [[Ephebe]]
** [[Library of Ephebe]], 2nd largest library on the Disc

* The [[Circle Sea]]
* [[Pseudopolis]] (mentioned)
* [[Djel]] (mentioned)
* [[Tsort]] (mentioned)
* [[Brown Islands]] (mentioned)
* [[Djelibeybi]] (mentioned)
* [[Ankh-Morpork]] (mentioned)
* [[Erebos]], an island that Ossory sailed to on a millstone
* [[Rim Ocean]] (mentioned)

* Countries conquered by Omnia
** [[Istanzia]]
** [[Betrek]]
** [[Ushistan]]

* [[Unseen University]] (mentioned)
** [[Library]] (mentioned)
*** [[Lost Reading Room]] (mentioned)

* Lost City of [[Ee]] (mentioned)

* [[Sto Plains]] (mentioned)

* [[Dunmanifestin]]
** [[Cori Celesti]] (mentioned)

* [[Skant]], the [[Cenobiarch]] goes off to hermitage here when Vorbis (briefly) becomes the 8th prophet

== Miscellaneous ==

* [[Year of the Notional Serpent]] in the [[Century of the Fruitbat]], time frame for this book

* [[Year of the Astounded Beetle]], Brutha was 2 years old then (almost 3) when he saw [[derechmi]], an Ephebian coin

* The Omnian [[Quisition]], parodying [[Roundworld]]'s {{wp|Medieval Inquisition|Inquisition}}

* [[Omnian Hymns]]
** [[Omnian Hymns|He is Trampling the Unrighteous with Hooves of Hot Iron]]
** [[Omnian Hymns|The Way of the Infidel Is A Nest Of Thorns]]
** [[Lo, the infidels flee the wrath of Om]]
** [[Omnian Hymns|Claws of Iron shall Rend the Ungodly]]

* The [[Septateuch]], holy book of Omnia

* [[Klatchian Delight]], parodies {{wp|Turkish Delight|Turkish Delight}}

* [[Pointless Albatross]]

* [[Scalbie]]

* Books written by philosophers (they seem to prefer short titles)
** Didactylos' [[Meditations]]
** Xeno's [[Reflections]]
** Aristocrates' [[Platitudes]]
** Ibid's [[Discourses]] and [[Civics]]
** Legibus's [[Geometries]]
** [[Hierarch]]'s [[Theologies]]
** [[Orinjcrates]]' (whose name is a pun on "orange creates") [[On the Nature of Plants]]
** [[Philo]]'s [[Bestiary]]
** [[Abraxas]]'s [[On Religion]]
** [[Grido]]'s [[Mechanics]]
** [[Gnomon]]'s [[Ectopia]] (a {{wp|gnomon|gnomon}} is the triangular part of a sundial, while {{wp|ectopia|ectopia}} is the displacement of a bodily organ; the pun here, however, may be on {{wp|Sir_Thomas_More|Sir Thomas More}}'s {{wp|Utopia|Utopia}}
** [[Dykeri]]'s [[Principles of Navigation]]

* [[L-space]]

* [[Ambiguous Puzuma]]

* [[Aurora Corealis]], the hublights, parodying the Roundworld Northern Lights, whose proper scientific name is {{wp|Aurora Borealis|Aurora Borealis}}

* Most Holy St [[Bobby]], Ossory's ass

== Annotations ==

* "The other novices make fun of him, sometimes. Call him The Big Dumb Ox." - in Roundworld, this nickname was applied to {{wp|St Thomas Aquinas|St Thomas Aquinas}}

* "maybe a small army could get a quarter of the way, and leave a cache of water. And do that several times. And another small army could use part of that cache to go further, maybe reach halfway, and leave a cache. And another small army... It had taken months." - a version of the [http://mathworld.wolfram.com/JeepProblem.html Jeep Problem]

* "Stoics. Cynics. Big drinkers, the Cynics. Epicureans. Stochastics. Anamaxandrites. Epistemologists. Peripatetics. Synoptics." - implies that there are philosophers named {{wp|Epicurus|Epicurus}} and {{wp|Anaximander|Anaximander}}

* "The Chain Letter to the Ephebians." - parodies {{wp|chain letter|chain letter}}s

* "could drag Omnia kicking and screaming into the Century of the Fruitbat!" - the implication here is that this book takes place during the Century of the Fruitbat, even though it presumably takes place centuries before {{MP}} (Lu-tze had to travel back in time to get to Omnia). Of course, there's no solid evidence that the "current" books take place in the Century of the Fruitbat either(?), and {{TOT}} shows the Disc's space-time continuum is rather convoluted.

* "I said to [Prince [[Lasgere]] of Tsort] 'There is no royal road to learning'" - parodies {{wp|Euclid|Euclid}}'s statement to {{wp|Ptolemy_I|King Ptolemy}}: "there is no royal road to geometry" {{wp|Royal_Road#Cultural_references_to_the_Royal_Road}}

* "Got to have a whole parcel of worshipers to live on Nob Hill." - references Roundworld's {{wp|Nob Hill|Nob Hill}}, an upscale area of San Francisco.

* '[Om] plunged his beak through the brown feathers between the talons, and gripped. [...] "Now. You play, uh, ball with me, I'll play . . . ball with you."' - As the APF ({{APF|book=small-gods|anchor=p340244}}) notes, eagles don't have testicles. Of course, this might be a "balled eagle", but I doubt even Pterry would make such a bad subtle pun.

==Notes==
*This book is not a part of a series, although some place it in a "Gods" series together with [[Pyramids]] and [[Hogfather]].
*Originally published in Great Britain by Victor Gollanz Ltd. Copyright (c) 1992 by Terry and Lyn Pratchett

==External links==
[http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/small-gods.html ''Small Gods'' Annotations - The Annotated Pratchett File]

[[de:Buch:Einfach göttlich]]
[[Category:Discworld Series|Small Gods]]

{{series|before=Witches Abroad|series=Discworld|after=Lords and Ladies}}

Book:Maskerade

2014-05-23T18:16:10Z

DuckMan:

{{Book Data
|title= Maskerade
|cover=
[[File:Cover Maskerade.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Josh Kirby]]
|coauthors=
|illustrator=
|date= November 1995
|publisher= Doubleday
|isbn=0575058080
|pages=285
|rrp=
|series=Witches Series
|characters=[[Perdita]], [[Opera Ghost|The Opera Ghost]], [[Nanny Ogg]], [[Granny Weatherwax]]
|annotations=yes
|notes=
}}
==Blurb==
The [[Opera House]], [[Ankh-Morpork]] ... a huge, rambling building, where masked figures and hooded shadows do wicked deeds in the wings ... where dying the death on stage is a little bit more than just a metaphor ... where innocent young sopranos are lured to their destiny by an evil mastermind in a hideously deformed evening dress ...

Where ... there's a couple of old ladies in pointy hats eating peanuts in the stalls and looking at the big chandelier and saying things like: 'There's an accident waiting to happen if ever I saw one'.

Yes ... [[Granny Weatherwax]] and [[Nanny Ogg]], the Discworld's greatest [[witches magic|witches]], are back for an innocent night at the opera.

So there's going to be trouble (but nevertheless a good evening's [[opera|entertainment]] with murders you can really hum)

==Plot==
[[Agnes Nitt]] travels from [[Lancre]] to [[Ankh Morpork]] to seek a singing career. [[Granny Weatherwax]] and [[Nanny Ogg]] follow her; they need to collect the money that a publisher owes Nanny from the sales of her cookbook. They also hope to persuade Agnes to join their coven to replace [[Magrat Garlick]], who left the coven when she became Queen of Lancre.

The [[Opera House]] is owned by [[Seldom Bucket]] and managed with assistance from the musical director [[Salzella]] and the chorus master [[Undershaft|Dr. Undershaft]]. It is also frequented by a masked [[Opera Ghost|"Ghost"]] who has often sent letters to the management reviewing performances and giving instructions. Lately, the Opera Ghost has also taken to committing murders and sabotaging performances. Agnes Nitt impresses the Undershaft with her powerful and versatile voice, so she joins the chorus. She meets [[Christine]], who is more popular and attractive but far less talented. The ghost wants Christine to take on the next lead role. However, as Agnes is a far better singer, she is asked to sing over Christine, unknown to Christine or the audience.

After obtaining Nanny's payment from the publishers, the witches arrive at the Opera House and begin investigating the actions of the Opera Ghost. Granny disguises herself as a wealthy audience member, while Nanny meets the staff. The Opera Ghost strikes again that evening when Undercroft is murdered and his body appears on display in the middle of performance. Agnes discovers that the caretaker [[Walter Plinge]] appears to be the Opera Ghost, but he appears to be harmless and the others are unconvinced. The pianist [[André]] is also suspected, but it turns out that he was only a spy for the [[City Watch]].

It is finally revealed that the Opera Ghost was actually being played two different people. Walter Plinge was the original Opera Ghost and that he was responsible for the harmless activities. Nanny also discovers that in the basement of the Opera House, Plinge has composed several operas and musicals of his own. On the other hand, the murders and sabotage that the Opera Ghost committed were committed by Salzella. He used this in order to distract people from his money laundering activities. With the witches' help, Plinge confronts Salzella and defeats him in a swordfight. Salzella dies after making an prolonged and melodramatic monologue about how much he hates opera.

==Characters==
* [[Agnes Nitt|Perdita]]
* [[Christine]], a parody of {{wp|Christine_Daa%C3%A9|Christine Daae}}
* [[Walter Plinge]]
* [[Mrs. Plinge]]
* [[Salzella]]
* [[Seldom Bucket]]
* [[Undershaft|Dr. Undershaft]]
* [[Opera Ghost|The Opera Ghost]]
* [[Enrico Basilica]]
* [[Nanny Ogg]]
* [[Granny Weatherwax]]
* [[André]]

==Things and Concepts==
The story is an obvious parody of ''[[Wikipedia:The Phantom of the Opera (1986 music)|The Phantom of the Opera]]'', which was [[Wikipedia:The Phantom of the Opera|originally a novel]] but better known for the 1986 musical version created by [[Wikipedia:Andrew Lloyd Webber|Andrew Lloyd Webber]].

The character of Walter Plinge (especially the berets he wears) is a reference to Frank Spencer, a character in the 1970s British sitcom ''[[Wikipedia:Some Mothers Do 'Aven 'Em]]''. The actor who played Frank was [[Wikipedia:Michael Crawford|Michael Crawford]], who went on to play the Phantom in the original version of Webber's musical.

==Locations==
*[[Lancre]]
*[[Ankh-Morpork]]
**The [[Opera House]]

==Cover Artwork==

*In the touring exhibition '''''The Art of [[Josh Kirby]]''''', which at the time of writing was in the Walker Gallery in his home town of Liverpool, the full cover art of '''''Maskerade''''' is annotated with a direction to look out for the private jokes the artist built into his work. At least one member of the Opera House audience has realised he is being watched, and is looking not at the action on stage, but directly up at the artist who is drawing the scene... this is visible only on the cover of the hardback book: on the paperback, the relevant section is obscured by a highly inconvenient publisher's blurb.

Btw, the original artworks for the covers are a '''''lot''''' bigger than the books and apparently are reduced down several times for publication. You would be surprised.

==External links==
[http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/maskerade.html ''Maskerade'' Annotations - The Annotated Pratchett File]

== Annotations ==
* This book parodies {{wp|Phantom_of_the_opera|The Phantom of the Opera}}

{{series|before=Interesting Times|series=Discworld|after=Feet of Clay}}
{{series|series=Witches|before=Lords and Ladies|after=Carpe Jugulum}}

[[Category:Discworld Series|Maskerade]]
[[Category:Witches Series|Maskerade]]
[[de:Buch:Mummenschanz]]

Book:Guards! Guards!

2014-05-23T15:00:13Z

DuckMan: /* Plot */

{{Book Data
|title= Guards! Guards!
|cover=[[File:G!G!.jpg|240px]]
|illustrator=Josh Kirby
|date= August 1989
|publisher= Victor Gollancz
|isbn= 0575046066
|pages=
|series= Watch Series
|characters= [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]] [[Samuel Vimes]] [[Fred Colon]] [[Nobby]] [[Havelock Vetinari]] The [[Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night]]
|annotations= yes
|notes= Book #08
}}

==Blurb==
This is where the [[Noble dragon|dragons]] went.

They lie ... not dead, not asleep, but ... dormant. And although the space they occupy isn't like normal space, nevertheless they are packed in tightly. They could put you in mind of a can of sardines, if you thought sardines were huge and scaly. And presumably, somewhere, there's a key ...

Guards! Guards! is the eighth Discworld novel – and after this, dragons will never be the same again!

==Plot==
The [[City Watch]] of [[Ankh Morpork]] was once a respected force for peacekeeping and policing, but has fallen on hard times. This is due to [[Havelock Vetinari|Lord Vetinari]]'s policy of making law enforcement the responsibility of the [[Guilds of Ankh-Morpork|guilds]]. Even crime has become 'self-regulated' by the [[Thieves' Guild]], who are permitted to carry out a limited number of robberies and discipline those who do it illegally. The Night Watch contains just three members - [[Sam Vimes|Captain Sam Vimes]], a hardened cynic with a drinking problem, the overweight and lazy [[Fred Colon|Sergeant Fred Colon]] and [[Nobby Nobbs|Corporal Nobby Nobbs]], a petty thief. Like the Day Watch, they are regarded by the city as being incompetent fools who carry out their job of patrolling the city while making little effort to catch criminals.

This changes when they are joined by [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]], a strong and powerfully-built man who was raised by dwarfs. In contrast to the existing policemen, Carrot is idealistic and honest; he has read ''[[The Laws and Ordinances of the Cities Ankh and Morpork]]'' and is determined to uphold them at all costs. On his first day at work, he makes the mistake of trying to arrest [[Mr. Boggis]], the head of the Thieves' Guild. Vimes initially sees Carrot as being naïve, but gradually comes to respect him.

The Unique and Supreme Lodge of the [[Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night]] is a fraternal organization who plot to take over Ankh Morpork. They steal a magic book called ''[[The Summoning of Dragons]]'' from the [[Unseen University]] and use it to summon a [[noble dragon]]. Once the dragon has caused sufficient destruction and panic, their Supreme Grand Master (who is actually [[Lupine Wonse]], Vetinari's secretary) will put forward a "hero" who will heroically slay the dragon and became the city's king, to act as a puppet ruler for the Elucidated Brethren. Vimes investigates the reports of the dragon's appearances. He meets [[Sybil Ramkin]], a breeder of [[swamp dragon]]s, who gives him a young dragon called [[Errol]] as a pet. When Errol sees the noble dragon, he begins to eat odd things that cause his ears to produce smoke.

The Elucidated Brethren execute their plan; their hero comes forward and banishes the dragon. The people of the city are ready to accept him as the king when the dragon returns, kills the hero and declares itself to be the king of Ankh Morpork. He demands gold and a monthly virgin sacrifice, with Sybil being chosen to be the first victim. Vimes is imprisoned in the same cell as Vetinari. He is rescued by the [[Librarian]] and runs to Sybil's aid. Carrot, Colon and Nobbs try to shoot the dragon with a single 'lucky arrow' but miss. It is revealed that Errol's eating habits have allowed him to produce a extra-powerful flame that launches him into the sky at a supersonic speed, causing a [[Wikipedia:sonic boom|sonic boom]] that knocks the king dragon out of the sky.

The city people move in to kill the king dragon, but Sybil pleads for them not to do it. Carrot tries to arrest the dragon, but Errol helps it escape. Sybil explains that the king dragon was actually female and the 'fight' with Errol was actually a courtship ritual. Wonse attempts to summon another dragon at the palace. Vimes and Carrot arrive to arrest him but accidentally kill him; Vimes tells Carrot to "throw the book at him", so Carrot throws a copy of ''The Laws and Ordinances'' with such force that it knocks Wonse through a hole in the floor. Vetinari is reinstated as the leader of the city and offers the Night Watch a reward. Their demands are only modest, including more pay, a new kettle and a dartboard. As the existing [[Treacle Mine Road Watch House]] was burnt down by the dragon, Sybil donates the [[Pseudopolis Yard]] buildings as their new headquarters. She also begins a relationship with Vimes.

==Cover==
The cover, once again painted by Josh Kirby, features Carrot (with sword), Vimes (with bottle), Nobby (with small dragon) and Colon (with bow and arrow). They are all attempting to fight the Dragon.

==Characters==
*[[Carrot Ironfoundersson]]
*[[Samuel Vimes]]
*[[Fred Colon]]
*[[Nobby]]
*[[Havelock Vetinari]]
*[[Lupine Wonse]]
*The [[Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night]]
*[[Sybil Ramkin]]

==Other Characters==
*[[Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler]]
*The [[Librarian]]
*[[Reet]]
*[[Detritus ]]
*[[Brother Fingers ]]
*[[Brother Dunnikin ]]

==Cameos and other Mentions ==
*[[Brenda Rodley]]
*[[Varneshi]]
*[[Magrat Garlick]]
*[[Herbert Gaskin ]]
*[[Minty Rocksmacker]]
*[[Mort]] and [[Ysabell]] (mentioned by Sybil as "the duke and duchess of Sto Helit, a nice young couple"

==Locations==
* [[Ankh-Morpork]]
** [[Treacle Mine Road]]
*** [[Treacle Mine Road Watch House ]]
** [[Pseudopolis Yard]]
** [[Sunshine Sanctuary for Sick Dragons ]]
** [[The Mended Drum ]]
** [[Temple of Small Gods]]
** [[Jimkin Bearhugger's Whiskey|Jimkin Bearhugger's Whiskey Distillery]]
** [[Thieves' Guild]]
** [[Easy Street]]
*** [[Bunch of Grapes]]
** [[Scoone Avenue]]
*** [[Ramkin|The Ramkin House]]
** [[Patrician's Palace]]
** [[Unseen University ]]
*** [[Library|The Library]]
*** [[Tower of Art]]
** [[The Shades ]]
*** [[Rosemary Palm|Mrs Palm's House]]
** [[Harga's House of Ribs ]]
* [[Noble dragon|The Place Where the Dragons Lie]]
* [[Copperhead]]
* [[Enlightenment country]](where the monks make jars of dragon resistant cream and ship to a Mr CMOT Dibbler AM)
* [[L-space]]

==Sentient Species==

*[[Dwarfs]]
*[[Humans]]
*[[Trolls]]

==Supernatural Entities==

*[[Death]]
*[[The gods|The Gods]] (mentioned)

== Things and Concepts ==
*[[The Summoning of Dragons]]
*[[The Laws and Ordinances of the Cities Ankh and Morpork]]
*[[Swamp dragon ]]
*[[Noble dragon ]]
*[[Figgins ]]
*[[The Dictionary of Eye-Watering Words ]]
*[[Critters ]]
*[[L-space ]]
*[[Swear-Words]]
*[[Cripple Mister Onion ]]
*[[A Wizard's Staff Has A Knob On The End ]]
*[[Monkey ]]
*[[Thieves' Guild ]]

== Annotations ==
* "the Public Order Act of 1457" - one of the frequent [[57]] references in TP's work

==External links==
[http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/guards-guards.html ''Guards! Guards!'' Annotations - The Annotated Pratchett File]

{{series|before=Pyramids|series=Discworld|after=Eric}}
{{series|series=Watch|after=Men at Arms}}

[[Category:Discworld Series|Guards! Guards!]]
[[Category:Watch Series|Guards! Guards!]]
[[de:Buch:Wachen! Wachen!]]

Book:Guards! Guards!

2014-05-23T14:52:34Z

DuckMan:

{{Book Data
|title= Guards! Guards!
|cover=[[File:G!G!.jpg|240px]]
|illustrator=Josh Kirby
|date= August 1989
|publisher= Victor Gollancz
|isbn= 0575046066
|pages=
|series= Watch Series
|characters= [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]] [[Samuel Vimes]] [[Fred Colon]] [[Nobby]] [[Havelock Vetinari]] The [[Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night]]
|annotations= yes
|notes= Book #08
}}

==Blurb==
This is where the [[Noble dragon|dragons]] went.

They lie ... not dead, not asleep, but ... dormant. And although the space they occupy isn't like normal space, nevertheless they are packed in tightly. They could put you in mind of a can of sardines, if you thought sardines were huge and scaly. And presumably, somewhere, there's a key ...

Guards! Guards! is the eighth Discworld novel – and after this, dragons will never be the same again!

==Plot==
The [[City Watch]] of [[Ankh Morpork]] was once a respected force for peacekeeping and policing, but has fallen on hard city. This is due to [[Havelock Vetinari|Lord Vetinari]]'s policy of making law enforcement the responsibility of the [[Guilds of Ankh-Morpork|guilds]]. Even crime is 'self-regulated' by the [[Thieves' Guild]]. The Night Watch contains just three members - [[Sam Vimes|Captain Sam Vimes]], a hardened cynic with a drinking problem, the overweight and lazy [[Fred Colon|Sergeant Fred Colon]] and [[Nobby Nobbs|Corporal Nobby Nobbs]], a petty thief. Like the Day Watch, they are regarded by the city as being incompetent fools who carry out their job of patrolling the city while making little effort to catch criminals.

This changes when they are joined by [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]], a strong and powerfully-built man who was raised by dwarfs. In contrast to the existing policemen, Carrot is idealistic and honest; he has read ''[[The Laws and Ordinances of the Cities Ankh and Morpork]]'' and is determined to uphold them at all costs. On his first day at work, he makes the mistake of trying to arrest [[Mr. Boggis]], the head of the Thieves' Guild. Vimes initially sees Carrot as being naïve, but gradually comes to respect him.

The Unique and Supreme Lodge of the [[Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night]] is a fraternal organization who plot to take over Ankh Morpork. They steal a magic book called ''[[The Summoning of Dragons]]'' from the [[Unseen University]] and use it to summon a [[noble dragon]]. Once the dragon has caused sufficient destruction and panic, their Supreme Grand Master (who is actually [[Lupine Wonse]], Vetinari's secretary) will put forward a "hero" who will heroically slay the dragon and became the city's king. Vimes investigates reports of the dragon's appearances. He meets [[Sybil Ramkin]], a breeder of [[swamp dragon]]s, who gives him a young dragon called [[Errol]] as a pet. When Errol sees the dragon, he begins to eat odd things that cause his ears to produce smoke.

The Elucidated Brethren execute their plan; their hero comes forward and banishes the dragon. The people of the city are ready to accept him as the king when the dragon returns, kills the hero and declares himself to be the king of Ankh Morpork. He demands gold and a monthly virgin sacrifice, with Sybil being chosen to be his first victim. Vimes is imprisoned in the same cell as Vetinari. He is rescued by the [[Librarian]] and runs to Sybil's aid. Carrot, Colon and Nobbs try to shoot the dragon with a single 'lucky arrow' but miss. It is revealed that Errol's eating habits have allowed him to produce a extra-powerful flame that launches him into the sky at a supersonic speed, causing a [[Wikipedia:sonic boom|sonic boom]] that knocks the king dragon out of the sky.

The city people move in to kill the king dragon, but Sybil pleads for them not to do it. Carrot tries to arrest the dragon, but Errol helps it escape. Sybil explains that the king dragon was actually female and the 'fight' with Errol was actually a courtship ritual. Wonse attempts to summon another dragon at the palace. Vimes and Carrot arrive and accidentally kill him as they arrest him; Vimes tells Carrot to "throw the book at him", so Carrot throws a copy of ''The Laws and Ordinances'' with such force that it knocks Wonse through a hole in the floor. Vetinari is reinstated as the leader of the city and offers the Night Watch a reward. Their demands are only modest, including more pay, a new kettle and a dartboard. As the existing [[Treacle Mine Road Watch House]] was burnt down by the dragon, Sybil donates the [[Pseudopolis Yard]] buildings as their new headquarters. She also begins a relationship with Vimes.

==Cover==
The cover, once again painted by Josh Kirby, features Carrot (with sword), Vimes (with bottle), Nobby (with small dragon) and Colon (with bow and arrow). They are all attempting to fight the Dragon.

==Characters==
*[[Carrot Ironfoundersson]]
*[[Samuel Vimes]]
*[[Fred Colon]]
*[[Nobby]]
*[[Havelock Vetinari]]
*[[Lupine Wonse]]
*The [[Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night]]
*[[Sybil Ramkin]]

==Other Characters==
*[[Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler]]
*The [[Librarian]]
*[[Reet]]
*[[Detritus ]]
*[[Brother Fingers ]]
*[[Brother Dunnikin ]]

==Cameos and other Mentions ==
*[[Brenda Rodley]]
*[[Varneshi]]
*[[Magrat Garlick]]
*[[Herbert Gaskin ]]
*[[Minty Rocksmacker]]
*[[Mort]] and [[Ysabell]] (mentioned by Sybil as "the duke and duchess of Sto Helit, a nice young couple"

==Locations==
* [[Ankh-Morpork]]
** [[Treacle Mine Road]]
*** [[Treacle Mine Road Watch House ]]
** [[Pseudopolis Yard]]
** [[Sunshine Sanctuary for Sick Dragons ]]
** [[The Mended Drum ]]
** [[Temple of Small Gods]]
** [[Jimkin Bearhugger's Whiskey|Jimkin Bearhugger's Whiskey Distillery]]
** [[Thieves' Guild]]
** [[Easy Street]]
*** [[Bunch of Grapes]]
** [[Scoone Avenue]]
*** [[Ramkin|The Ramkin House]]
** [[Patrician's Palace]]
** [[Unseen University ]]
*** [[Library|The Library]]
*** [[Tower of Art]]
** [[The Shades ]]
*** [[Rosemary Palm|Mrs Palm's House]]
** [[Harga's House of Ribs ]]
* [[Noble dragon|The Place Where the Dragons Lie]]
* [[Copperhead]]
* [[Enlightenment country]](where the monks make jars of dragon resistant cream and ship to a Mr CMOT Dibbler AM)
* [[L-space]]

==Sentient Species==

*[[Dwarfs]]
*[[Humans]]
*[[Trolls]]

==Supernatural Entities==

*[[Death]]
*[[The gods|The Gods]] (mentioned)

== Things and Concepts ==
*[[The Summoning of Dragons]]
*[[The Laws and Ordinances of the Cities Ankh and Morpork]]
*[[Swamp dragon ]]
*[[Noble dragon ]]
*[[Figgins ]]
*[[The Dictionary of Eye-Watering Words ]]
*[[Critters ]]
*[[L-space ]]
*[[Swear-Words]]
*[[Cripple Mister Onion ]]
*[[A Wizard's Staff Has A Knob On The End ]]
*[[Monkey ]]
*[[Thieves' Guild ]]

== Annotations ==
* "the Public Order Act of 1457" - one of the frequent [[57]] references in TP's work

==External links==
[http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/guards-guards.html ''Guards! Guards!'' Annotations - The Annotated Pratchett File]

{{series|before=Pyramids|series=Discworld|after=Eric}}
{{series|series=Watch|after=Men at Arms}}

[[Category:Discworld Series|Guards! Guards!]]
[[Category:Watch Series|Guards! Guards!]]
[[de:Buch:Wachen! Wachen!]]

Book:Going Postal

2014-05-23T13:39:41Z

DuckMan:

{{Book Data
|title= Going Postal
|cover=
[[File:Cover Going Postal.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Paul Kidby]]
|date= 25 Sep 2004
|pages= 329
|publisher= Doubleday
|isbn= 0385603428
|series= Ankh-Morpork Books
|characters= [[Moist von Lipwig]], [[Adora Belle Dearheart]], [[Reacher Gilt]]
|annotations=yes
|notes=Adapted as a TV film in 2010
}}
==Blurb==
[[Moist von Lipwig]] is a con artist and a fraud and a man faced with a life choice: be hanged, or put [[Ankh-Morpork]]'s ailing [[Ankh-Morpork Post Office|postal service]] back on its feet.

It's a tough decision.

But he's got to see that the mail gets through, come rain, hail, sleet, dogs, [[Ankh-Morpork_Order_of_Postal_Workers_Benevolent_and_Friendly_Society|the Post Office Workers Friendly and Benevolent Society]], the evil chairman of the [[Grand Trunk Semaphore Company]], and a midnight killer.

Getting a date with [[Adora Belle Dearheart]] would be nice, too.

Maybe it'll take a criminal to succeed where honest men have failed, or maybe it's a death sentence either way.

Or perhaps there's a shot at redemption in the mad world of the mail, waiting for a man who's prepared to push the envelope...

==Plot==
[[Moist von Lipwig]] is a travelling fraudster who is finally arrested in Ankh-Morpork under the name of Albert Spangler. However, the hangman fakes his execution and Moist wakes up in the Patrician's office. [[Havelock Vetinari|Lord Vetinari]], who had arranged for Lipwig to only be hanged "to within half an inch" of his life, offers Moist a job as the new Postmaster General, or he can walk out the door and "never hear from me again". Since walking out the door will result in death via a semi-disguised pit of spikes, Moist accepts the job. Once outside he immediately flees the city, but is apprehended in [[Hapley]] by his new parole officer, a golem called [[Mr. Pump]].

Moist begins work at the Post Office, once a thriving business that collapsed, leaving the building as a decaying shell full of piles of undelivered letters. Only two staff remain: [[Tolliver Groat]], an aged "Junior" Post Officer, and his assistant [[Stanley Howler]]. It turns out that in recent months, Vetinari has tried to revive the business, but four Postmasters have already died in mysterious accidents. Stanley and Groat are initially distrustful of Moist and appear to be afraid of a mysterious presence that is haunting the building.

Vetinari meets with the Grand Trunk Semaphore Company, led by [[Reacher Gilt]], who have taken full control of the [[Clacks]]. The Patrician has noticed that the quality of the communications has deteriorated ever since they bought the Clacks network, but he fails to persuade Gilt to change his ways. Meanwhile, Moist discovers that two of his predecessors died because they hallucinated in the past and fell through non-existent floor, while another died of fright. Moist falls into a huge pile of letters and nearly suffocates to death, but he is rescued by Mr Pump. Moist realises that the building is haunted because of the large number of undelivered letters. He hears voices in his head from the letters, demanding that they be delivered.

Moist begins by rehiring some of the old postmen, who initiate him by forcing him to do a treacherous blindfolded ''Postman's Walk''. To prove himself worthy of leadership, they additionally set several Lipwigzer dogs on him, but Moist knows how to control them, as he hails from the town of Lipwig where the dogs also originate and his grandfather breeds such dogs. Groat then shows Moist the mail-sorting machine; a time/space-warping, (and now wrecked) creation of the infamous [[Bloody Stupid Johnson]], which was partly responsible for the collapse of the old Post Office, and later for the death of a Postmaster.

While hiring new postmen, Moist falls in love-at-first-sight with [[Adora Belle Dearheart]], the chain-smoking golem-rights activist. Her father, [[Robert Dearheart]], invented the Clacks system, but it was stolen from him by Gilt using financial trickery. Her brother, [[John Dearheart]], organised a rival New Trunk, but he died mysteriously (in the prologue of the book). Moist also invents paper stamps for use by the Post Office, hires golems as postmen, gets the business working by delivering some of the undelivered mail and brings the Post Office into competition with the Clacks. His interview in the [[Ankh-Morpork Times]] coincides neatly with yet another breakdown of the Clacks, giving the Post Office public attention as he personally delivers mail to [[Sto Lat]].

Gilt sends his private assassin, a banshee named Mr [[Gryle]], to murder the Postmaster and burn down the building. As Moist has gone out on a date and left Groat in charge, the banshee mistakenly attacks Groat, only to be repelled by Stanley. The banshee only succeeds in setting the Post Office on fire. Moist senses trouble through the letters that are haunting his consciousness. He returns to the burning building, enters the building to rescue Mr. Tiddles the Post Offices cat, and confronts Mr Gryle by the sorting machine; Gryle accidentally succeeds in getting himself liquidated by it. During his rescue, [[Anghammarad]], a 18,000-year-old messenger golem is killed by the simultaneous combination of the fire and a sudden downpour of water.

Following this, Moist challenges the Grand Trunk to see who can get a message to [[Genua]] (a two weeks' journey away), faster, and the Clacks are only too happy to accept it. He meets [[The Smoking Gnu]], three friends of the late John Dearheart, who undermine the Grand Trunk by sending codes which can damage the Clacks machinery. They offer to help by sending a [[Wikipedia:killer poke|killer poke]] signal from an old wizard's tower after nightfall to damage the machinery.

[[Mustrum Ridcully|Archchancellor Ridcully]] gives both groups a book to send to Genua, and Moist offers to allow the Clacks to send part of the book while the mail coach delivers the rest. Moist travels with the mail coach for a short distance to the Wizards tower, where he meets the Smoking Gnu. At the last minute, Moist persuades them to send a different signal. The message, which announces that it was sent by dead clacksmen, exposes all of the company's crimes to the Patrician and Ankh-Morpork. The plan succeeds, and Vetinari orders an investigation. Moist is given possession of the Clacks but he gives it back to the Dearhearts and resumes his role of Postmaster.

In the epilogue, Gilt is brought before the Patrician some weeks later. Vetinari offers Gilt a similar offer to what he offered Moist, this time to reform the [[Ankh-Morpork Mint]] and banking system. Gilt declines the offer and walks out the door, where he presumably falls to his death.

==Characters==
*[[George Aggy]]
*[[Adora Belle Dearheart]]
*[[Albert Spangler]] (briefly)
*[[Anghammarad]]
* Daniel "One Drop" [[Trooper]]
*[[Gladys]]
*[[Grandad]]
*Mr [[Gryle]]
*[[Iodine Maccalariat]]
*[[Ladislav Pelc]]
*[[Moist von Lipwig]]
*[[Pump|Mr. Pump]]
*[[Reacher Gilt]]
*[[Sacharissa Cripslock]]
*[[Stanley Howler]]
*[[Tolliver Groat]]
*[[Vetinari]]

==Locations==
*[[Ankh-Morpork]]
**[[Patrician's Palace]]
**[[Post Office]]
**[[Lady Sybil Free Hospital]]
**[[Filigree Street]]
***[[The Mended Drum]]
**[[Unseen University]]
***[[Library]]
***[[Wizards' Pantry]]
**The [[Tanty]]
**[[Golem Trust]]
**[[Teemer and Spools]]
*[[Sto Lat]]
*[[Hapley]]
*[[Genua]]
*Clacks Towers
**[[Tump Tower]]
**[[Tower 181]]
**[[Tower 93]] (mentioned)

==Television==
{{TV Data
|title= Terry Pratchett's Going Postal
|asin= B003IPC3JU
|imdb= 1219817
|date= 30-31 May 2010
|channel=Sky One
|director= Jon Jones
|producer= Sue De Beauvoir
|cast=Richard Coyle, David Suchet, Claire Foy, Charles Dance
|duration= 182 minutes
|episodes= 2
|series= Ankh-Morpork Series
|annotations=
|notes=
|prev=[[Book:The Colour of Magic#Television|Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic]]
|next=
}}
'''''Terry Pratchett's Going Postal''''' was the novel's adaptation into a TV film. It was first broadcast on Sky One and Sky 1 HD, in two parts over the 30th and 31st of May 2010. [[Terry Pratchett]] made a cameo as a postman.

===Cast===
*[[Moist von Lipwig]] - Richard Coyle (''Coupling'')
*[[Reacher Gilt]] - David Suchet (''Agatha Christie's Poirot'')
*Patrician [[Havelock Vetinari]] - Charles Dance (''Game of Thrones, The Jewel in the Crown & The Golden Child'')
*[[Adora Belle Dearheart]] - Claire Foy (''Little Dorrit'')
*[[Mr. Pump]] (body) Marnix Van Den Broeke - (''Terry Pratchett's Hogfather'')
*Mr. Pump (voice) - Kerry Shale (''RKO 281, Dennis the Menace'')
*[[Drumknott]] - Steve Pemberton (''The League of Gentlemen, Psychoville'')
*[[Tolliver Groat]] - Andrew Sachs (''Fawlty Towers'')
*[[Sacharissa Cripslock]] - Tamsin Greig (''Black Books, Green Wing'')
*[[Angua]] - Ingrid Bolsø Berdal
*[[Gryle|Mr. Gryle]] - Adrian Schiller (''Being Human, A Touch of Frost'')
*[[Stanley Howler]] - Ian Bonar (''Hotel Babylon'')
*[[Crispin Horsefry]] - Madhav Sharma
*[[Mustrum Ridcully]] - Timothy West (''Edward the Seventh, Brass'')
*[[Mr. Pony]] - John Henshaw (''Early Doors, Born and Bred'')

{{series|series=Discworld|before=A Hat Full of Sky|after=Thud!}}
{{series|series=Ankh-Morpork|before=The Truth|after=Making Money}}

[[Category:Discworld Series|Going Postal]]
[[Category:Ankh-Morpork Series|Going Postal]]
[[de:Buch:Ab die Post]]

Book:Monstrous Regiment

2014-05-23T12:25:37Z

DuckMan: /* Plot */

{{Book Data
|title= Monstrous Regiment
|cover=
[[File:Cover Monstrous Regiment.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Paul Kidby]]
|coauthors=
|illustrator=
|date= 25th September 2003
|publisher= Doubleday
|isbn=0385603401
|pages=329
|rrp=
|series=Death Series
|characters=[[Polly Perks]], [[Jack Jackrum|Sergeant Jackrum]], [[Samuel Vimes|Sam Vimes]]
|annotations=yes
|notes=
}}

==Blurb==
It was a sudden strange fancy... 
[[Polly Perks]] had to become a boy in a hurry. Cutting off her hair and wearing trousers was easy. Learning to fart and belch in public and walk like an ape took more time...

And now she's enlisted in the [[Borogravia|army]], and searching for her lost brother. But there's a war on. There's always a war on. And Polly and her fellow recruits are suddenly in the thick of it, without any training, and the enemy is hunting them.

All they have on their side is the most artful sergeant in the army and a [[vampires|vampire]] with a lust for coffee. Well... they have the Secret. And as they take the war to the heart of the enemy, they have to use all the resources of... the Monstrous Regiment.

==Plot==
[[Borogravia]] is a small, backward country which is at war with [[Zlobenia]]. The traditional deity of the country is [[Nuggan]], but he has become increasingly psychotic and taken to declaring many trivial things "Abominations" - including garlic, cats and ginger hair. As a result, the population are losing their faith in Nuggan and many are instead starting worship their official leader, Duchess [[Annagovia]].

[[Polly Perks]] sets out to find her slow-witted brother Paul after he disappears while serving in the army. Nugganatic law prevents women from owning property, meaning that unless Paul returns the family pub will pass to their cousin (a drunk) after their father's death. Women are also prohibited from serving in the army, so Polly disguises herself as a boy with the name "Oliver" in order to enlist. After she enlists, she meets [[Jack Jackrum|Sergeant Jackrum]] and the patriotic Corporal [[Strappi]]. Her fellow soldiers include a vampire named [[Maladict]], a Troll named [[Carborundum]], and an [[Igor]]. They also include [[Tonker Halter|"Tonker" Halter]], [[Shufti Manickle|"Shufti" Manickle]], [[Wazzer Goom|"Wazzer" Goom]], and [[Lofty Tewt|"Lofty" Tewt]].

On the night after joining, Polly hears a mysterious voice from someone who knows her to be a girl, but promises not to tell and even gives tips on how to conceal her gender. Over the next few days, Polly realizes that Lofty and Shufti are both girls. As the story progresses, she gradually discovers that the entire regiment consists of girls pretending to be male soldiers. She also realizes that Borogravia's situation in the war is hopeless.

The regiment head towards the Keep where their enemies are based, on a mission to rescue Borogravian soldiers who are in their captivity. They run into an elite enemy detachment that includes Zlobenia's Prince Heinrich and easily manage to defeat them. As a result, the regiment get publicity in the outside world via the [[Ankh-Morpork Times]]. They also draw the interest of [[Samuel Vimes]], who is currently staying at the Keep.

Polly and most of the rest of the regiment infiltrate the Keep disguised as washerwomen. They manage to free the captured troops and take control of most of the building, but their own forces remove them from the conflict after Polly admits that they are women. They are brought before a council of senior officers. They are about be discharged and sent home, when Jackrum arrives and reveals that many of them are also women. In the midst of this, Wazzer becomes possessed by Annagovia. The Duchess is actually dead, but because of how the power of belief works in [[Discworld]], she has turned into a deity. By communicating through Wazzer, she urges the generals to abandon the war, return home and repair the country.

It is then revealed that Jackrum is also a woman. The regiment is sent to the enemy and successfully negotiates peace. The military rules are changed to allow women to serve, while Polly finds her brother and they return home. At the end of the book, it is revealed that another conflict has broken out and Polly sneaks away from the family pub (now in her possession) to join the army and become commander of a group of boy-impersonating female soldiers.

==Characters==
'''Borogravians'''
* Grand Duchess [[Annagovia]]
* General [[Froc]]
* Major [[Clogston]]
* Lieutenant [[Blouse]] (of the [[Tenth Infantry]])
* Private [[Lart Hubukurk]] the younger
* Private [[Joe Hubukurk]] the elder (retired)
* Sergeant-Major [[Jack Jackrum]]
* Corporal [[Strappi]]
* [[Polly Perks]]
* [[Igor#Igor in the Ins-and-Outs, Borogravia|Igor]]
* [[Maladict]]
* [[Carborundum]]
* [[Tonker Halter|"Tonker" Halter]]
* [[Shufti Manickle|"Shufti" Manickle]]
* [[Wazzer Goom|"Wazzer" Goom]]
* [[Lofty Tewt|"Lofty" Tewt]]
* [[Enid]]
'''Zlobenians and other neighboring countries'''
* Prince [[Heinrich]]
'''Ankh-Morporkians'''
* [[Samuel Vimes]] (of the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch]])
* [[Angua von Überwald]]
* [[Buggy Swires]]
* [[Reg Shoe]]
* [[Clarence Chinny]] (Consul to Zlobenia)
* [[William de Worde]] (of the ''[[Ankh-Morpork Times]]'')
* [[Otto Chriek]] (of the ''Ankh-Morpork Times'')
* [[Ronald Rust]]

==Locations==
*[[Borogravia]]
**[[Munz]]
*[[Zlobenia]]

==Annotations==
The title of the book comes from ''{{wp|The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstruous Regiment of Women|The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstruous Regiment of Women}}'', a misogynistic book written by the Protestant preacher {{wp|John Knox|John Knox}}. He criticized Mary I of England and Mary of Guise (the acting ruler of Scotland) and argued that having women in power went against the Bible. This backfired spectacularly on him because Elizabeth I became the Queen of England later that year. Although a Protestant, Elizabeth was offended by his writings and banned him from entering England for the rest of his life. At the time the two words had different meanings: "monstruous"/"monstrous" meant "unnatural" while "regiment" meant "rule"/"governance".

==External links==
[http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/monstrous-regiment.html ''Monstrous Regiment'' Annotations - The Annotated Pratchett File]

{{series|series=Discworld|before=The Wee Free Men|after=A Hat Full of Sky}}

[[Category:Discworld Series|Monstrous Regiment]]
[[de:Buch:Weiberregiment]]

Book:Men at Arms

2014-05-23T12:10:07Z

DuckMan:

{{Book Data
|title= Men at Arms
|cover=
[[File:Cover Men At Arms.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Josh Kirby]]
|coauthors=
|illustrator=
|date= 1993
|publisher= Victor Gollancz
|isbn=0552140287
|pages=288
|rrp=
|series=Watch Series
|characters=[[Ankh-Morpork City Watch]], [[Havelock Vetinari]], [[Edward d'Eath]]
|annotations=yes
|notes= Book #15
}}

==Blurb==
"Be a [[humans|MAN]] in the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch|City Watch]]! The City watch needs MEN!"

But what it's ''got'' includes Corporal Carrot (technically a dwarf), Lance-constable Cuddy (really a [[dwarfs|dwarf]]), Lance-constable Detritus (a [[trolls|troll]]), Lance-constable Angua (a woman ... most of the time) and Corporal Nobbs (disqualified from the human race for shoving).

And they need all the help they can get. Because there's evil in the air and murder afoot and something very nasty in the streets.

It'd help if it could all be sorted out by noon, because that's when Captain Vimes is officially retiring, handing in his badge and getting married.

And since this is [[Ankh-Morpork]], noon promises to be not just high, but stinking.

==Plot==
Captain [[Samuel Vimes]] is forced by [[Havelock Vetinari|Lord Vetinari]] to take on a group of new recruits for the purposes of ensuring diversity - a [[dwarf]] called [[Cuddy]], a werewolf called [[Angua]] and a [[troll]] called [[Detritus]]. Angua becomes involved in a romantic relationship with Corporal [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]], but he does not react well to discovering that she is a werewolf. There has recently been a string of mysterious murders in the city that appear to be connected. Vetinari bans Vimes from investigating the murders in a successful attempt to provoke him into doing so.

The murders have been committed by young assassin called [[Edward d'Eath]]. After researching the city's history at discovering that Carrot is the rightful heir of the throne of [[Ankh Morpork]], he developed an obsessive desire to overthrow Vetinari and restore the monarchy. He committed the murders with the "[[gonne]]", the Disc's first and only hand-held firearm, a dangerous invention of [[Leonard of Quirm]] that d'Eath stole from the [[Assassins' Guild]]. The gonne appears to have a demonic power that tempts people into using it. When d'Eath explains his plan to [[Cruces|Dr. Cruces]], the head of the Assassins' Guild, Cruces kills him and decides to carry out the plan himself.

The Night Watch intervene to stop Cruces from killing Vetinari, but Cuddy and Angua are both killed in the struggle. Vimes and Carrot then confront Cruces, who reveals that Carrot that he is the rightful ruler of the city. Vimes seizes the gonne from Cruces and finds himself tempted to use the weapon, but Carrot stops him and disables it. Carrot is immune to being tempted by the gonne, which he believes is because he was raised as a dwarf and trained not to listen to tools. He buries the remains of the gonne in Cuddy's coffin. Because a werewolf can only be killed with silver, Angua wakes up and recovers the following night.

Vimes holds his wedding with [[Sybil Ramkin]]. Vetinari fears that Carrot will use his status as the rightful ruler of Ankh Morpork to blackmail him. When he arrives, Carrot instead presents the Patrician with a plan to reform policing in the city by merging the Day Watch and the Night Watch into a new, modern and effective police force, with more funding and better working conditions. Vetinari agrees; Carrot is promoted to the rank of Captain, while Vimes is promoted to the newly-restored post of Commander of the Watch.

==Cover==
The front cover features (from left to right) Cuddy, Detritus, Angua, Carrot, Nobby and Colon. Illustrator [[Josh Kirby]] neglected to give Cuddy the dwarf a beard. At the bottom right there is a dog, presumably Gaspode.

==Characters==

===Main characters===
*[[Angua von Überwald|Angua]]
*[[Fred Colon]]
*[[Cuddy]]
*[[Detritus]]
*[[Carrot Ironfoundersson]]
*[[Nobby]]
*[[Lord Vetinari]]
*[[Samuel Vimes]]

===Minor characters===
*[[Bauxite]]
*[[Beano]] the Clown
*[[Big Fido]], Chief Barker of the Dog Guild
*[[Blenkin]], servant of the d'Eath residence
*[[Boffo (Clown)|Boffo]] the Clown
*[[Chubby]] the swamp dragon
*[[Coalface]]
*[[Cornice-overlooking-Broadway]]
*[[Cruces|Doctor Cruces]], head Assassin
*[[Silas Cumberbatch]], former town crier
*[[Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler]]
*[[Lord Downey]], then assistant head Assassin
*[[Edward d'Eath]]
*[[Duke of Eorle]]
*[[Gaspode]]
*[[Sir George]]
*[[Gayheart Talonthrust]] a swamp dragon
*[[Bjorn Hammerhock]]
*[[Leonard of Quirm]]
*[[Queen Molly]]
*[[Lord Monflathers]]
*Lord and Lady [[Omnius]]
*Captain [[Quirke]] of the Day Watch
*[[Sybil Ramkin]]
*[[Lord Rust]]
*[[Mr. Scant]]
*Lady [[Selachii]]
*[[Sendivoge]], Alchemist Guild secretary
*[[Thomas Silverfish]], head of the Alchemists
*[[Viscount Skater]]
*[[Abba Stronginthearm]]
*Lord [[Venturi]]
*[[Willikins]]
*[[Dr. Whiteface]]

===Cameos and Mentions===
*Kings and Queens of Ankh-Morpork (ancestors of Carrot's):
**Queen Alguinna IV
**Queen Coanna
**King Paragore
**King Veltrick III
**King Tyrril, ruled in AM 907
**King Webblethorpe the Unconscious
*Famous Architects:
**Capability Brown
**[[Bloody Stupid Johnson]]
**Intuition De Vere Slade-Gore
**Sagacity Smith
*[[Mrs. Cake]]
*[[Cheese]] (the pub owner, not the rotting of milk)
*[[Cumblethigh]], a dwarf
*[[Death]]
*[[Mr. Flannel]]
*[[Gimlet Gimlet]]
*[[Hamslinger]], a dwarf
*[[Sham Harga]]
*Deranged Lord [[Harmoni]]
*[[Here'n'now]]
*[[Grabber Hoskins]]
*[[Ironfoundersson]]
*[[Jimi]], God of Beggars
*Sergeant [[Kepple]]
*[[Lorenzo the Kind]]
*[[Lettice Knibbs]]
*[[Cumbling Michael]]
*Mr. [[Schwarzlache von Morecombe|Morecombe]], Ramkin family lawyer
*[[Bundo Prung]]
*[[Ruby]]
*Laughing Lord [[Scapula]]
*[[Reg Shoe]]
*[[Dribbling Sidney]]
*Mad Lord [[Snapcase]]
*[[Gerhardt Sock]]
*[[Grabpot Thundergust]]
*[[Stoneface Vimes]]
*Homicidal [[Lord Winder]]
*[[Zorgo]] the Retrophrenologist
*Sgt [[Wimbler]]
*[[Carbuncle]]

==Locations==
*[[Ankh-Morpork]]
**[[Street of Alchemists]]
**[[Borborygmic Lane]]
**[[Brass Bridge]]
**[[Broad Way]]
**[[The Bucket]]
**[[Cable Street]]
**[[Elm Street]]
**[[Filigree Street]]
**[[Gleam Street]]
**[[Grope Alley]]
**[[Hubwards Gate]]
**[[Knuckle Passage]]
**[[Mormius Street]]
**[[Patrician's Palace]]
**[[Phedre Road]]
**[[Post Office]]
**[[Pork Futures Warehouse]], along [[Morpork Street]]
**[[Pseudopolis Yard]]
**[[Quarry Lane]]
**[[Rime Street]]
**[[River Ankh]]
**[[Scoone Avenue]]
**[[The Shades]]
**[[Sheer Street]]
**[[Shirt Alley]]
**[[Short Street]]
**Lady Sybil's [[Sunshine Sanctuary for Sick Dragons]]
**[[Three Lamps Alley]]
**[[Unseen University]]
***[[High Energy Magic Building]]
***[[Tower of Art]]
**[[Whirligig Alley]]
**[[Zephire Street]]
*[[Copperhead]]
*[[Dunmanifestin]] (mentioned)
*[[Koom Valley]] (mentioned)
*[[Quirm Manor]], presumably in Quirm?

==Things and Concepts==
*A Slow Comfortable Double-Entendre, drink
*[[Guilds of Ankh-Morpork]]
**[[Alchemists' Guild]]
**[[Assassins' Guild]]
**[[Butchers' Guild]]
**[[Dogs' Guild]]
**[[Fools' Guild]]
**[[Gamblers' Guild]] (mentioned)
**[[Merchants' Guild]]
**[[Thieves' Guild]]
*[[Battle of Koom Valley]]
*[[Dwarfs]]
*[[Swamp dragons]]
*Flameless Gripe, swamp dragon disease
*"Gathering Sweet Lilacs"- folk dance
*[[Gargoyles]]
*[[Gimlet's Hole Food Delicatessen]]
*C.M.O.T. Dibbler's Genuine Authentic Soggy Mountain Dew
*The [[Gonne]]
*[[Hermit Elephant]]
*[[Iconograph]]
*The [[Assassins' Guild|Inhumation Bell]]
*The March of the Idiots, clown anthem.
*[[Monarchy]]
*[[Twurp's Peerage]]
*Herbalist Plants:
**Eyebright for eyes
**''Phallicus impudicus''
**Spleenwort for spleens
**Teethwort for teeth
*[[No. 1 Powder]]- gunpowder
*[[Rats]]
*[[Retrophrenology]]
*Thighbiter's [[The Ankh-Morpork Succession]]
*[[Trolls]]
*[[Velvet Gown]]
*[[Ankh-Morpork City Watch]]
*[[Wellcome to Ankh-Morporke, Citie of One Thousand Surprises]]
*[[Werewolves]]
*[[Jimkin Bearhugger's Whiskey]]

==Annotations==

When he and Carrot have chased down and arrested Dr Cruces, Vimes ineffectually fights the blandishments of the Gonne as it insists that he must kill Cruces and take the power to himself. Cruces, remember, has just seemingly killed Angua: the natural tendency of a policeman who has just seen a fellow copper killed is not going to be one mercy and forgiveness. Vimes is eventually shocked out of the killing mood by Carrot, and lowers his weapon.

This evokes an episode in hard-man cop show ''The Sweeney[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sweeney]'', where Flying Squad copper Inspector Regan, in a rage after seeing a copper shot, almost has to be physically disarmed by his sidekick Sergeant Carter before he realises he has almost stepped over the invisible line, and taken out irrevocable rough justice on a cornered criminal. Note that the junior, subordinate, copper takes the lead in both situations.

==External links==
[http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/men-at-arms.html ''Men at Arms'' Annotations - The Annotated Pratchett File]

{{series|before=Lords and Ladies|series=Discworld|after=Soul Music}}
{{series|series=Watch|before=Guards! Guards!|after=Feet of Clay}}

[[Category:Discworld Series|Men at Arms]]
[[Category:Watch Series|Men at Arms]]
[[de:Buch:Helle Barden]]

Book:Men at Arms/Annotations

2014-05-23T12:08:24Z

DuckMan:

== {{MAA}} Annotations ==

The name of Edward d'Eath may be a parody of [[Wikipedia:Edward Heath|Edward Heath]], a British prime minister. But [[Wikipedia:De'Ath|De'Ath]] (pronounced "dee-ath") does exist as a rare English surname; the origin of it isn't very clear.

The recruitment song (p313/238) seems familiar.
:To what, pray? --[[User:Knmatt|Knmatt]] 20:45, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

I think it has an echo of the traditional Irish song "The Recruiting Sergeant", which dates (at least in the form used by the Pogues) from 1916.
The original song starts something like

''As I was walking down the road

''A feelin' fine and dandy-oh,

''A recruiting sergeant came up to me

''And said "You'll look fine in khaki-oh"...

and ends

''Come rain or hail or wind or snow,

''I'm not going out to Flanders-oh,

''There's fighting in Dublin to be done,

''Let your sergeants and your commanders go!

''Let English men fight English wars,

''Cos near every time you start them all,

''And wishing the sergeant a very good night,

''There and then we parted right!''

The Ankh-Morpork version lacks the republican sentiment, the principled refusal to enlist, and indeed the scan and rhyme and rhythm of the original, and reduces the arguments to "enlist or you get your goohulog heads kicked in". According to my old English Lit teacher, this is a fine example of "bathetis"....--[[User:AgProv|AgProv]] 22:11, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

:According to the APF v9.0[http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/men-at-arms.html], it is based off a song called ''Ratcliffe Highway''.--[[User:AutisticMajor|AutisticMajor]] 03:47, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

p.182 (Harper Fiction mass market paperback): ''Superconductivity!'' Dunno if this should be an annotation (maybe it's mentioned in one of the Science of Discworld books), but Roundworld superconductivity does not work that way. Superconductivity is a method by which the electrical resistance for some substance is reduced to approximately zero. Silicon is a semiconductor, and while many good superconductors are also semiconductors, silicon is not a superconductor. It requires high levels of impurity to get silicon to become a superconductor at a fraction of a degree from absolute zero, and the warmest superconductor is still a mercury barium ceramic at -138 Celsius. It's also not the sort of thing that gets better as you get colder. It's either full-on superconductor or normal conductivity. The mechanism isn't clear, but the last theory I remember, phonons, requires perfect coherence, and any non-coherent electrons will ruin the effect.[[User:Superluser|superluser]][[User_talk:Superluser|t]][[Special:Contributions/Superluser|c]] 2010 November 13, 11:21 (UTC)

Cuddy's tuition of Detritus in basic mathematics is very reminiscent of musical comedian Tom Lehrer's exposition of the New Math in base eight...[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wHDn8LDks8] Detritus is being taught to count in Base eight form, using twos, fours and eights. - I've heard it said that Detritus, having a silicon brain, is better at this form of maths not because it's base eight, but because it's binary.

'''''Corgi Paperback page 112, page 334''''
''I got the power, me...'' Gaspode's warning to Big Fido echoes a chart-topping song from 1991, a year or two before publication of {{MAA}}. ''I Got the Power'' was a worldwide hit for the group Snap.

Black Roger and Butch, the Canine Guild enforcers, sound and act suspiciously like the demons Hastur and Ligur in {{GO}}.

[[Category:Annotations|Men at Arms/Annotations]]

Mr. Shine

2014-05-22T20:41:56Z

DuckMan:

{{spoilersfor|''[[Book:Thud!|Thud!]]''}}
'''Mr. Shine''' is a [[Diamond King|diamond troll]], and the rightful and indisputable king of the trolls in the common year [[2005]] (Year of the Prawn).
{{Character Data
|title= Mr. Shine
|photo=
|name= Mr. Shine
|age=
|race= [[Trolls|Troll]]
|occupation= King of the [[Trolls]]
|appearance= Tall, brilliant (literally)
|residence=
|death=
|parents=
|relatives=
|children=
|marital status=
|books= [[Book:Thud!|Thud!]]
}}
===Biography===
Mr. Shine is first mentioned in mysterious [[Trolls|Troll]] graffiti, usually in the form "Mr Shine! Him diamond!" In ''[[Book:Thud!|Thud!]]'', [[Samuel Vimes|Commander Vimes]] eventually learns who -- and, perhaps more importantly, what -- Mr Shine actually is.

===Characteristics and Habits===
As with all diamond trolls, Mr. Shine is capable of regulating the temperature of his brain by reflecting all heat. The troll brain being a lump of impure silicon, troll intelligence is lowered by increases in temperature. Mr. Shine's ability to regulate temperature makes him quite intelligent, and intelligent in all environments. He speaks with a human-like voice, rather than the slow grunting voice the other trolls have. During a discussion with [[Samuel Vimes|Commander Vimes]], frost forms on Mr. Shine's body within seconds, indicating that he keeps his body well below freezing most, if not all, of the time. Mr. Shine describes himself as very smart, with an analytical mind and having a love of puzzles and games. He is a formidable player of [[Thud]] in both the troll and dwarf game, and he is a member, if not founder, of the [[Pointer & Pickles|club]] in [[Ankh-Morpork]].

Mr. Shine's diamond body tends to reflect light in blinding flashes. This may be one of the reasons why he commonly wears black clothing, including velvet gloves and a black robe. However, Mr. Shine states that he can be quite hard to see if that is his wish. Mr. Shine has also been known to use the flashes to dazzle or distract others. This implies that Mr. Shine is capable of regulating the reflectivity and index of refraction of his body in addition to its temperature.

In {{T!}}, Mr. Shine appears reclusive, however there is a great deal of graffiti written about him, implying some general knowledge of his existence in the troll community. Mr. Shine's motives for not assuming a public position may be an interest in delaying his ascent to kingship until he is ready. Mr. Shine is definitely known to the [[Low King]], and probably to the [[Patrician]]. It is implied that [[Detritus]] knows about Mr. Shine, but to what extent is not revealed.

Mr. Shine is demonstrably compassionate, in {{T!}} he is stated to have tried to help [[Brick]], a [[slab]] addict, come clean (although alone he couldn't quite do it), and expresses concern for his well being, bringing him to the Watch to keep him safe.

===Role in the battle at Koom Valley===
Mr. Shine played a role in averting a battle at [[Koom Valley]]. Indirectly, Mr. Shine gave [[Samuel Vimes|Commander Vimes]] several clues in his investigation of the murder of [[Grag]] [[Hamcrusher]] and the theft of [[Methodia Rascal]]'s 'The Battle of [[Koom Valley]].' Directly, Mr. Shine appeared at the camp of [[Rhys Rhysson]] the [[Low King]] as the leader of a band of trolls and requested parley.

As of {{T!}}, The Low King and Mr Shine have a truce by which at least many of the heads of the major dwarfish and trollish clans abide. Mighty mountains may be ground down by the passage of soft water, and these two deep thinkers - natural enemies but allies in their peaceable intentions - may well have set the seal for the eventual ending of hostilities between the two races.

Vetinari respects the Diamond King as the unopposed leader of his people, and as of {{SN}} negotiates directly with him as a powerful sovereign Leader, head of state to head of state. Vimes discovers he may have cooled a friendly relationship somewhat with one of the consequences of the crime he has discovered in the Shires; Vetinari, for pressing internal reasons, is unable to comply with the Diamond King's request to extradite [[Gravid Rust]] for crimes against trolldom. The fact he is similarly unable to favour the Low King of the Dwarfs may go some way to appeasing the trolls.

:
[[category: Discworld characters|Shine, Mr.]]
[[Category:Troll characters|Shine, Mr.]]
[[de:Schein]]

Albrecht Albrechtson

2014-05-22T19:49:28Z

DuckMan:

{{Character Data
|title= Albrecht Albrechtson
|photo= Dwarf2.jpg|Albrecht Albrechtson, as drawn by [[User:Knmatt|Matt Smith]]
|name= Albrecht Albrechtson
|age= old
|race= [[Dwarfs|Dwarf]]

|occupation= Deep-Downer
|appearance=

|residence= Below [[Überwald]]

|books= {{T5E}}
}}

Albrecht Albrechtson is a dwarf who was previously a candidate for the [[Low Throne]] and the [[Scone of Stone]] (two [[Roundworld]] parodies: the ''High Throne'' of many fantasies, notably those at Cair Paravel in the ''Narnia'' series; and the Stone of Scone, the Pictish seat of kings in 12th century Scotland) deep under Überwald.

He is a [[Deep-Downers|Deep-Downer]] and hates the thought of the Overworld for he fears its taint, and the reality that it is dragging Dwarfs away from their traditions. He is a known expert on the Scone of Stone and is privileged to many of the secrets of higher dwarf society, such as the fact that the Scone of Stone is not the real Scone that was baked hundreds of years ago. Despite his views, he abides by the law and accepts Rhys as the King. In {{RS}}, he makes a speech supporting Rhys and pledging loyalty to him, for the greater good of all Dwarfs. He adds the previously unknown pejorative ''Ginnungagap'' to the recorded richness of Dwarf speech.

{{stub}}
[[Category:Discworld characters]]
[[Category:Dwarf characters]]
[[de:Albrecht Albrechtson]]

Book:Men at Arms/Annotations

2014-05-22T19:40:54Z

DuckMan:

== {{MAA}} Annotations ==

The name of Edward d'Eath may be a parody of [[Wikipedia:Edward Heath|Edward Heath]], a British prime minister. But [[Wikipedia:De'Ath|De'Ath]] does exist as a rare English surname; the origin of it isn't very clear.

The recruitment song (p313/238) seems familiar.
:To what, pray? --[[User:Knmatt|Knmatt]] 20:45, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

I think it has an echo of the traditional Irish song "The Recruiting Sergeant", which dates (at least in the form used by the Pogues) from 1916.
The original song starts something like

''As I was walking down the road

''A feelin' fine and dandy-oh,

''A recruiting sergeant came up to me

''And said "You'll look fine in khaki-oh"...

and ends

''Come rain or hail or wind or snow,

''I'm not going out to Flanders-oh,

''There's fighting in Dublin to be done,

''Let your sergeants and your commanders go!

''Let English men fight English wars,

''Cos near every time you start them all,

''And wishing the sergeant a very good night,

''There and then we parted right!''

The Ankh-Morpork version lacks the republican sentiment, the principled refusal to enlist, and indeed the scan and rhyme and rhythm of the original, and reduces the arguments to "enlist or you get your goohulog heads kicked in". According to my old English Lit teacher, this is a fine example of "bathetis"....--[[User:AgProv|AgProv]] 22:11, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

:According to the APF v9.0[http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/men-at-arms.html], it is based off a song called ''Ratcliffe Highway''.--[[User:AutisticMajor|AutisticMajor]] 03:47, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

p.182 (Harper Fiction mass market paperback): ''Superconductivity!'' Dunno if this should be an annotation (maybe it's mentioned in one of the Science of Discworld books), but Roundworld superconductivity does not work that way. Superconductivity is a method by which the electrical resistance for some substance is reduced to approximately zero. Silicon is a semiconductor, and while many good superconductors are also semiconductors, silicon is not a superconductor. It requires high levels of impurity to get silicon to become a superconductor at a fraction of a degree from absolute zero, and the warmest superconductor is still a mercury barium ceramic at -138 Celsius. It's also not the sort of thing that gets better as you get colder. It's either full-on superconductor or normal conductivity. The mechanism isn't clear, but the last theory I remember, phonons, requires perfect coherence, and any non-coherent electrons will ruin the effect.[[User:Superluser|superluser]][[User_talk:Superluser|t]][[Special:Contributions/Superluser|c]] 2010 November 13, 11:21 (UTC)

Cuddy's tuition of Detritus in basic mathematics is very reminiscent of musical comedian Tom Lehrer's exposition of the New Math in base eight...[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wHDn8LDks8] Detritus is being taught to count in Base eight form, using twos, fours and eights. - I've heard it said that Detritus, having a silicon brain, is better at this form of maths not because it's base eight, but because it's binary.

'''''Corgi Paperback page 112, page 334''''
''I got the power, me...'' Gaspode's warning to Big Fido echoes a chart-topping song from 1991, a year or two before publication of {{MAA}}. ''I Got the Power'' was a worldwide hit for the group Snap.

Black Roger and Butch, the Canine Guild enforcers, sound and act suspiciously like the demons Hastur and Ligur in {{GO}}.

[[Category:Annotations|Men at Arms/Annotations]]

Book:Men at Arms

2014-05-22T19:31:03Z

DuckMan:

{{Book Data
|title= Men at Arms
|cover=
[[File:Cover Men At Arms.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Josh Kirby]]
|coauthors=
|illustrator=
|date= 1993
|publisher= Victor Gollancz
|isbn=0552140287
|pages=288
|rrp=
|series=Watch Series
|characters=[[Ankh-Morpork City Watch]], [[Havelock Vetinari]], [[Edward d'Eath]]
|annotations=yes
|notes= Book #15
}}

==Blurb==
"Be a [[humans|MAN]] in the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch|City Watch]]! The City watch needs MEN!"

But what it's ''got'' includes Corporal Carrot (technically a dwarf), Lance-constable Cuddy (really a [[dwarfs|dwarf]]), Lance-constable Detritus (a [[trolls|troll]]), Lance-constable Angua (a woman ... most of the time) and Corporal Nobbs (disqualified from the human race for shoving).

And they need all the help they can get. Because there's evil in the air and murder afoot and something very nasty in the streets.

It'd help if it could all be sorted out by noon, because that's when Captain Vimes is officially retiring, handing in his badge and getting married.

And since this is [[Ankh-Morpork]], noon promises to be not just high, but stinking.

==Plot==
Captain [[Samuel Vimes]] is forced by [[Havelock Vetinari|Lord Vetinari]] to take on a group of new recruits for the purposes of ensuring diversity - a [[dwarf]] called [[Cuddy]], a werewolf called [[Angua]] and a [[troll]] called [[Detritus]]. Angua becomes involved in a romantic relationship with Corporal [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]], but he does not react well to discovering that she is a werewolf. There has recently been a string of mysterious murders in the city that appear to be connected. Vetinari bans Vimes from investigating the murders in a successful attempt to provoke him into doing so.

The murders have been committed by young assassin called [[Edward d'Eath]]. After researching the city's history, he developed an obsessive desire to overthrow Vetinari and restore the monarchy, of which Carrot is the actual heir. He committed the murders with the "[[gonne]]", the Disc's first and only hand-held firearm, a dangerous invention of [[Leonard of Quirm]] that d'Eath stole from the [[Assassins' Guild]]. The gonne appears to have a demonic power that tempts people into using it. When d'Eath explains his plan to [[Cruces|Dr. Cruces]], the head of the Assassins' Guild, Cruces shoots him and decides to carry out the plan himself.

The Night Watch intervene to stop Cruces from killing Vetinari, but Cuddy and Angua are both killed in the struggle. Vimes and Carrot then confront Cruces. Cruces reveals to Carrot that he is the rightful heir to the throne of Ankh Morpork. Vimes seizes the gonne from Cruces. He finds himself tempted to use the weapon, but Carrot stops him. Carrot is immune to being tempted by the gonne, which he believes is because he was raised as a dwarf and trained not to listen to inanimate objects. He buries the dismantled gonne in Cuddy's coffin. Because a werewolf can only be killed with silver, Angua wakes up and recovers the following night.

Vimes holds his wedding with [[Sybil Ramkin]]. Vetinari fears that Carrot will use his status as the rightful ruler of Ankh Morpork to blackmail him. When he arrives, Carrot instead asks for Vetinari to instead presents to him a plan to reform policing in the city by merging the Day Watch and the Night Watch into a new, modern and effective police force, with more funding and better working conditions. Vetinari agrees; Carrot is promoted to the rank of Captain, while Vimes is promoted to the newly-restored post of Commander of the Watch.

==Cover==
The front cover features (from left to right) Cuddy, Detritus, Angua, Carrot, Nobby and Colon. Illustrator [[Josh Kirby]] neglected to give Cuddy the dwarf a beard. At the bottom right there is a dog, presumably Gaspode.

==Characters==

===Main characters===
*[[Angua von Überwald|Angua]]
*[[Fred Colon]]
*[[Cuddy]]
*[[Detritus]]
*[[Carrot Ironfoundersson]]
*[[Nobby]]
*[[Lord Vetinari]]
*[[Samuel Vimes]]

===Minor characters===
*[[Bauxite]]
*[[Beano]] the Clown
*[[Big Fido]], Chief Barker of the Dog Guild
*[[Blenkin]], servant of the d'Eath residence
*[[Boffo (Clown)|Boffo]] the Clown
*[[Chubby]] the swamp dragon
*[[Coalface]]
*[[Cornice-overlooking-Broadway]]
*[[Cruces|Doctor Cruces]], head Assassin
*[[Silas Cumberbatch]], former town crier
*[[Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler]]
*[[Lord Downey]], then assistant head Assassin
*[[Edward d'Eath]]
*[[Duke of Eorle]]
*[[Gaspode]]
*[[Sir George]]
*[[Gayheart Talonthrust]] a swamp dragon
*[[Bjorn Hammerhock]]
*[[Leonard of Quirm]]
*[[Queen Molly]]
*[[Lord Monflathers]]
*Lord and Lady [[Omnius]]
*Captain [[Quirke]] of the Day Watch
*[[Sybil Ramkin]]
*[[Lord Rust]]
*[[Mr. Scant]]
*Lady [[Selachii]]
*[[Sendivoge]], Alchemist Guild secretary
*[[Thomas Silverfish]], head of the Alchemists
*[[Viscount Skater]]
*[[Abba Stronginthearm]]
*Lord [[Venturi]]
*[[Willikins]]
*[[Dr. Whiteface]]

===Cameos and Mentions===
*Kings and Queens of Ankh-Morpork (ancestors of Carrot's):
**Queen Alguinna IV
**Queen Coanna
**King Paragore
**King Veltrick III
**King Tyrril, ruled in AM 907
**King Webblethorpe the Unconscious
*Famous Architects:
**Capability Brown
**[[Bloody Stupid Johnson]]
**Intuition De Vere Slade-Gore
**Sagacity Smith
*[[Mrs. Cake]]
*[[Cheese]] (the pub owner, not the rotting of milk)
*[[Cumblethigh]], a dwarf
*[[Death]]
*[[Mr. Flannel]]
*[[Gimlet Gimlet]]
*[[Hamslinger]], a dwarf
*[[Sham Harga]]
*Deranged Lord [[Harmoni]]
*[[Here'n'now]]
*[[Grabber Hoskins]]
*[[Ironfoundersson]]
*[[Jimi]], God of Beggars
*Sergeant [[Kepple]]
*[[Lorenzo the Kind]]
*[[Lettice Knibbs]]
*[[Cumbling Michael]]
*Mr. [[Schwarzlache von Morecombe|Morecombe]], Ramkin family lawyer
*[[Bundo Prung]]
*[[Ruby]]
*Laughing Lord [[Scapula]]
*[[Reg Shoe]]
*[[Dribbling Sidney]]
*Mad Lord [[Snapcase]]
*[[Gerhardt Sock]]
*[[Grabpot Thundergust]]
*[[Stoneface Vimes]]
*Homicidal [[Lord Winder]]
*[[Zorgo]] the Retrophrenologist
*Sgt [[Wimbler]]
*[[Carbuncle]]

==Locations==
*[[Ankh-Morpork]]
**[[Street of Alchemists]]
**[[Borborygmic Lane]]
**[[Brass Bridge]]
**[[Broad Way]]
**[[The Bucket]]
**[[Cable Street]]
**[[Elm Street]]
**[[Filigree Street]]
**[[Gleam Street]]
**[[Grope Alley]]
**[[Hubwards Gate]]
**[[Knuckle Passage]]
**[[Mormius Street]]
**[[Patrician's Palace]]
**[[Phedre Road]]
**[[Post Office]]
**[[Pork Futures Warehouse]], along [[Morpork Street]]
**[[Pseudopolis Yard]]
**[[Quarry Lane]]
**[[Rime Street]]
**[[River Ankh]]
**[[Scoone Avenue]]
**[[The Shades]]
**[[Sheer Street]]
**[[Shirt Alley]]
**[[Short Street]]
**Lady Sybil's [[Sunshine Sanctuary for Sick Dragons]]
**[[Three Lamps Alley]]
**[[Unseen University]]
***[[High Energy Magic Building]]
***[[Tower of Art]]
**[[Whirligig Alley]]
**[[Zephire Street]]
*[[Copperhead]]
*[[Dunmanifestin]] (mentioned)
*[[Koom Valley]] (mentioned)
*[[Quirm Manor]], presumably in Quirm?

==Things and Concepts==
*A Slow Comfortable Double-Entendre, drink
*[[Guilds of Ankh-Morpork]]
**[[Alchemists' Guild]]
**[[Assassins' Guild]]
**[[Butchers' Guild]]
**[[Dogs' Guild]]
**[[Fools' Guild]]
**[[Gamblers' Guild]] (mentioned)
**[[Merchants' Guild]]
**[[Thieves' Guild]]
*[[Battle of Koom Valley]]
*[[Dwarfs]]
*[[Swamp dragons]]
*Flameless Gripe, swamp dragon disease
*"Gathering Sweet Lilacs"- folk dance
*[[Gargoyles]]
*[[Gimlet's Hole Food Delicatessen]]
*C.M.O.T. Dibbler's Genuine Authentic Soggy Mountain Dew
*The [[Gonne]]
*[[Hermit Elephant]]
*[[Iconograph]]
*The [[Assassins' Guild|Inhumation Bell]]
*The March of the Idiots, clown anthem.
*[[Monarchy]]
*[[Twurp's Peerage]]
*Herbalist Plants:
**Eyebright for eyes
**''Phallicus impudicus''
**Spleenwort for spleens
**Teethwort for teeth
*[[No. 1 Powder]]- gunpowder
*[[Rats]]
*[[Retrophrenology]]
*Thighbiter's [[The Ankh-Morpork Succession]]
*[[Trolls]]
*[[Velvet Gown]]
*[[Ankh-Morpork City Watch]]
*[[Wellcome to Ankh-Morporke, Citie of One Thousand Surprises]]
*[[Werewolves]]
*[[Jimkin Bearhugger's Whiskey]]

==Annotations==

When he and Carrot have chased down and arrested Dr Cruces, Vimes ineffectually fights the blandishments of the Gonne as it insists that he must kill Cruces and take the power to himself. Cruces, remember, has just seemingly killed Angua: the natural tendency of a policeman who has just seen a fellow copper killed is not going to be one mercy and forgiveness. Vimes is eventually shocked out of the killing mood by Carrot, and lowers his weapon.

This evokes an episode in hard-man cop show ''The Sweeney[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sweeney]'', where Flying Squad copper Inspector Regan, in a rage after seeing a copper shot, almost has to be physically disarmed by his sidekick Sergeant Carter before he realises he has almost stepped over the invisible line, and taken out irrevocable rough justice on a cornered criminal. Note that the junior, subordinate, copper takes the lead in both situations.

==External links==
[http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/men-at-arms.html ''Men at Arms'' Annotations - The Annotated Pratchett File]

{{series|before=Lords and Ladies|series=Discworld|after=Soul Music}}
{{series|series=Watch|before=Guards! Guards!|after=Feet of Clay}}

[[Category:Discworld Series|Men at Arms]]
[[Category:Watch Series|Men at Arms]]
[[de:Buch:Helle Barden]]

Book:Witches Abroad

2014-05-01T23:38:22Z

DuckMan: /* Plot */

{{Book Data
|title= Witches Abroad
|cover=
[[File:Cover Witches Abroad.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Josh Kirby]]
|coauthors=
|illustrator=
|date= November 1991
|publisher= Victor Gollancz
|isbn=0552134651
|pages=288
|rrp=
|series= Witches Series
|characters= [[Granny Weatherwax]], [[Nanny Ogg]], [[Magrat Garlick]], [[Lily Weatherwax]]
|annotations=
|notes= Book #12
}}

==Blurb==
It seemed an easy job ...

After all, how difficult could it be to make sure that a servant girl doesn't marry a prince?

But for the [[witches magic|witches]] [[Granny Weatherwax]], [[Nanny Ogg]] and [[Magrat Garlick]], traveling to the distant city of [[Genua]], things are never that simple ...

For one thing, all they've got is [[Erzulie Gogol|Mrs. Gogol]]'s voodoo, a [[Greebo|one-eyed cat]] and a second-hand magic wand that can only do pumpkins. And they're up against the malignant power of the [[Fairy-Godmothering|Godmother]] herself, who has made Destiny an offer it can't refuse. And finally there's the sheer power of the Story. Servant girls have to marry the Prince. That's what life is all about.

You can't fight a Happy Ending.

At least – up until now ...

==Plot==
After the death of [[Desiderata Hollow]], a witch and Fairy Godmother, [[Magrat Garlick]] inherits her wand. Magrat is not able to do much with it other than turn things into pumpkins. Desiderata had promised to a young woman in [[Genua]] called [[Ella Saturday|Emberella]] to protect her from being forced to marry the [[Duc]], a frog prince. Magrat has thus inherited her status as Fairy Godmother and must protect Emberella from being forced to marry him, even though a witch called [[Lily Weatherwax|Lilith]] is trying to arrange this. She leaves for Genua with [[Granny Weatherwax]] and [[Nanny Ogg]]. Their journey takes some time and features several scenes that reference well-known fairytales.

In Genua, Magrat meats Emberella while the two other witches meet local voodoo witch [[Erzulie Gogol]] and her servant [[Baron Saturday]] (a zombie). Magrat realizes that Emberella has two fairy godmothers, her and Lilith. Lilith has turned Genua into a police state, forcing the citizens to be happy and live as though they are in a fairytale. Those who don't fill their roles properly are arrested, including a toymaker who is not jolly enough and an innkeeper who is too thin. She is revealed to be [[Lily Weatherwax]], the sister of Granny, and she was also responsible for setting up many of the adventures during the witches' journey to Genua.

Granny convinces Magrat to attend the Masked Ball in place of Emberella, although the glass slippers do not fit her. The witches are caught and imprisoned, but Emberella, Gogol and Baron Saturday rescue them. The high concentration of Magic causes the Duc to turn back into a frog and he is squashed by Baron Saturday. As Lily flees, Gogol tries to stop her with a voodoo doll in an attempt to kill her, but Granny stops her. She then pursues her sister alone.

It is revealed that Baron Saturday was the former ruler of Genua and that Emberella is his daughter, so she becomes the new ruler. Her first act is to order an end to the Ball, as she decides she would prefer to go drinking at a Mardi Gras parade instead. Granny defeats Lily by trapping her in a mirror. With Genua now liberated, the witches now return home. Granny shows Margrat how to use the wand to do magic, but Magrat eventually decides to throw it away.

==Characters==

=== Main characters ===

*[[Granny Weatherwax|Esme Weatherwax]]
*[[Nanny Ogg]]
*[[Magrat Garlick]]
*[[Greebo]]
*[[Lily Weatherwax|Lily]] aka Lilith de Tempscire
*[[Ella Saturday|Emberella]]
*[[Mrs Pleasant]]
*[[Erzulie Gogol]]
*[[Baron Saturday]]

=== Minor characters ===

* [[Casanunda|Count Casanunda]]
* [[Death]]
* The [[Duc]], a frog prince
* [[Desiderata Hollow]]

=== Cameos and Mentions ===

*[[Birthday, Frog-like humanoid thing with a|Frog-like humanoid thing with a Birthday]]
* [[Voodoo]] gods created by Mrs Gogol
** [[Mister Safe Way]], whose name parodies a supermarket
** [[Lady Bon Anna]],
** [[Hotaloga Andrews]],
** [[Stride Wide Man]]
* [[Al-Ybi|Seriph of Al-Ybi]] (mentioned)
* [[Glod]] (mentioned), a severely inconvenienced [[dwarfs|dwarf]]
* [[Chert]], a [[trolls|troll]] who works at a sawmill and sells coffins at a good price
* [[Albert Hurker]], aka "Hurker the Poacher"
* [[Gammer Brevis]], a witch
* [[Old Mother Dismass]], a witch
* [[Granny Hopliss]], a dead witch
* Mrs [[Singe]], a dead witch
* [[Mabel Peavey|Gammer Peavey]], a witch who died mountain climbing
* [[Simplicity Garlick]], [[Magrat Garlick]]'s mother
* [[Araminta Garlick]], Magrat Garlick's grandmother (probably maternal)
* [[Yolande Garlick]], Magrat Garlick's aunt
* [[Shane Ogg]], Nanny Ogg's grandson
* [[Millie Hopgood]], a girl from [[Slice]] with a squint, suggested as a replacement for Desiderata Hollow
* [[Gertie Simmons]], a witch with a very bad squint
* [[Sophia Ogg]], Nanny Ogg's great-aunt
* [[Jason Ogg]], master blacksmith/farrier, Nanny Ogg's son, who knows [[the Horseman's Word]]
* [[Shawn Ogg|Sean Ogg]] (mentioned), Nanny Ogg's son(?)
* Mr [[Vernissage]], a hatter in [[Slice]] whose makes 'very' strong hats
* [[Guy de Yoyo]], an explorer who discovered the Disc's 2nd-highest waterfall in the [[Year of the Revolving Crab]]
* [[Legba]], a spirit in the form of a rooster (or perhaps just a big black cock)
* [[Goodie Whemper]], Magrat's predecessor and mentor
* [[Lagro te Kabona]], innkeeper
* [[Mister Frank]], a card sharp
* [[Yen Buddhism]], an extremely rich religious sect (parodying {{wp|Zen|Zen Buddhism}})
* [[Black Aliss]] (mentioned)
* [[Deliria Skibbly]] (mentioned)
* [[Sumpkins]] (mentioned), a dirty old man who lodged with Nanny Ogg's grandmother
* [[Shaker Wistley]], footwear fetishist
* [[Ronald the Third]], unpleasant Lancre king whose name is rhyming slang for something nasty (mentioned)
* [[Mr Wilkins]] (mentioned). Granny made him '''think''' he was a frog after he insulted her
* [[Mr Travis]], senior footman
* [[Beryl Ogg]], Nanny's sister (mentioned)
* Guests at the Ball
** [[Henry Gleet]] and [[Lady Gleet]]
** [[Douglas Incessant]]
** [[Kompt de Yoyo]]
** [[Magrat|Mysterious and Beautiful Stranger]]
** [[Volentia D'Arrangement]], who's approximately Granny's size, dress-wise
** [[Captain de Vere]], of the Palace Guard
** [[Sir Roger the Coverley]]
** [[Colonel Moutarde]], whose name parodies {{wp|List_of_Cluedo_characters|Colonel Mustard}} from ''Cluedo'' (North American: ''Clue''.)

== Locations ==

* [[Ramtop Mountains]]
**[[Lancre]]
***[[Lancre Town]]
*** [[Bear Mountain]], a 'bare' mountain, not a mountain with bears on it
*** [[Broken Mountain]] (mentioned)
*** [[Creel Springs]] (mentioned)
* [[Sto Plains]] (mentioned)
*[[Überwald]]
*[[Borogravia]]
*[[Genua]]
* [[Vieux River]]

== Events and Timeframes ==

* [[Fat Tuesday]] aka Mardi Gras aka Samedi Nuit Mort (literally, "Saturday Night Dead", parodying the TV show {{wp|Saturday_Night_Live|Saturday Night Live}}
* Although the Roundworld Carnival and Mardi Gras occur in late winter, just before Lent, Genua's Carnival occurs in the fall; Terry appears to have calqued it upon the Haitian Night of the Dead (All Hallows' Eve), when Voudon worshipers beat drums in cemeteries to awaken the dancing Lord of the Dead Baron Samedi (Saturday) and his troupe of Gede revelers; the Duc's masked ball relates the night to the Halloween tradition.

== Items and Concepts ==

* [[magic wand]]
* [[Marietta_Cosmopilite|Way of Mrs Cosmopilite]], mentioned
* [[Path of The Scorpion]], a book(?) written by [[Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler|Grand Master Lobsang Dibbler]]
* [[With Wand and Broomstick Across the Great Nef Desert]], chapter heading of one of [[Desiderata Hollow]]'s books
* [[magrats]], trousers for women
* [[dwarf bread]]
* [[Hedgehog Song]]
* [[That Thing With The Bulls]], parodying the [[Roundworld]] {{wp|Running_of_the_Bulls|Running of the Bulls}} in Pamplona, Spain (and other locations)
* [[Cripple Mister Onion]], a card game
* [[Chase My Neighbour Up the Passage]], a game (mentioned)
* [[Three-Banded Coit]], type of snake
* [[Klatchian Candle]], firework parodying {{wp|Roman_candle (firework)|Roman Candle}}

== Annotations ==

* Even though they're on a presumably "covert" mission, Nanny hands her letters to the nearest passer-by for delivery. Does this seem wise? And none of them arrived before she did.

* 'In some foreign parts "bum" means "tramp" and "tramp" means "hobo"' - On [[Roundworld]], this is true for American English. The full chain goes something like this: "American [kitty] = British fanny", "American fanny = British bum", "American bum = British tramp", "American tramp = uh, ... lady of easy virtue". Interestingly, we've never seen any part of DiscWorld that's similar to the USA. (Even though the riverboat ride down the Vieux River is irrestibly close to the high life of the antebellum Deep South, what with a floating pleasure palace for the gentry, and slaves, ie chained trolls, providing the motive power to turn the wheels of the boat. Could have been the Mississipi running down to the Delta and N'awlins, y'all...)

* While traveling down a subterranean river, a creature climbs out of the water on a log, declaring to the witches that, "It's my birthday." This is a reference to the character Gollum from ''The Hobbit'' and ''Lord of the Rings'' books, who acquired the One Ring on his birthday.

* While walking down a road paved with yellow bricks, a small farm house lands on Nanny Ogg, the only one of the witches wearing red boots. Shortly afterward, a group of dwarves show up asking if they can have her boots. In ''The Wizard of Oz'', the Wicked Witch of the East is crushed by Dorothy Gale's farmhouse and her sparkly red shoes are given to the witchicidal young woman.

==External links==
[http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/witches-abroad.html ''Witches Abroad'' Annotations - The Annotated Pratchett File]

{{series|before=Reaper Man|series=Discworld|after=Small Gods}}
{{series|series=Witches|before=Wyrd Sisters|after=Lords and Ladies}}

[[Category:Discworld Series|Witches Abroad]]
[[Category:Witches Series|Witches Abroad]]
[[de:Buch:Total verhext]]

Book:Witches Abroad

2014-05-01T23:36:01Z

DuckMan:

{{Book Data
|title= Witches Abroad
|cover=
[[File:Cover Witches Abroad.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Josh Kirby]]
|coauthors=
|illustrator=
|date= November 1991
|publisher= Victor Gollancz
|isbn=0552134651
|pages=288
|rrp=
|series= Witches Series
|characters= [[Granny Weatherwax]], [[Nanny Ogg]], [[Magrat Garlick]], [[Lily Weatherwax]]
|annotations=
|notes= Book #12
}}

==Blurb==
It seemed an easy job ...

After all, how difficult could it be to make sure that a servant girl doesn't marry a prince?

But for the [[witches magic|witches]] [[Granny Weatherwax]], [[Nanny Ogg]] and [[Magrat Garlick]], traveling to the distant city of [[Genua]], things are never that simple ...

For one thing, all they've got is [[Erzulie Gogol|Mrs. Gogol]]'s voodoo, a [[Greebo|one-eyed cat]] and a second-hand magic wand that can only do pumpkins. And they're up against the malignant power of the [[Fairy-Godmothering|Godmother]] herself, who has made Destiny an offer it can't refuse. And finally there's the sheer power of the Story. Servant girls have to marry the Prince. That's what life is all about.

You can't fight a Happy Ending.

At least – up until now ...

==Plot==
After the death of [[Desiderata Hollow]], a witch and Fairy Godmother, [[Magrat Garlick]] inherits her wand. Magrat is not able to do much with it other than turn things into pumpkins. Desiderata had promised to a young woman in [[Genua]] called [[Ella Saturday|Emberella]] to protect her from being forced to marry the [[Duc]], a frog prince. Magrat has thus inherited her status as Fairy Godmother and must protect Emberella from being forced to marry him, even though a witch called [[Lily Weatherwax|Lilith]] is trying to arrange this. She leaves for Genua with [[Granny Weatherwax]] and [[Nanny Ogg]]. Their journey takes some time and features several scenes that reference well-known fairytales.

In Genua, Magrat meats Emberella while the two other witches meet local voodoo witch [[Erzulie Gogol]] and her servant [[Baron Saturday]] (a zombie). Magrat realizes that Emberella has two fairy godmothers, her and Lilith. Lilith has turned Genua into a police state, forcing the citizens to be happy and live as though they are in a fairytale. Those who don't fill their roles properly are arrested, including a toymaker who is not jolly enough and an innkeeper who isn't fat. She is revealed to be [[Lily Weatherwax]], the sister of Granny, and she was also responsible for setting up many of the scenes during the witches' journey to Genua.

Granny convinces Magrat to attend the Masked Ball in place of Emberella, although the glass slippers do not fit her. The witches are caught and imprisoned, but Emberella, Gogol and Baron Saturday rescue them. The high concentration of magic causes the Duc to turn back into a frog and he is squashed by Baron Saturday. As Lily flees, Gogol tries to stop her with a voodoo doll in an attempt to kill her, but Granny stops her. She then pursues her sister alone.

Emberella is the daughter of Baron Saturday and she becomes the new ruler. Her first act is to order an end to the Ball, as she decides she would prefer to go drinking at a Mardi Gras parade instead. Granny defeats Lily by trapping her in a mirror. With Genua now liberated, the witches now return home. Granny shows Margrat how to use the wand to do magic, but Magrat eventually decides to throw it away.

==Characters==

=== Main characters ===

*[[Granny Weatherwax|Esme Weatherwax]]
*[[Nanny Ogg]]
*[[Magrat Garlick]]
*[[Greebo]]
*[[Lily Weatherwax|Lily]] aka Lilith de Tempscire
*[[Ella Saturday|Emberella]]
*[[Mrs Pleasant]]
*[[Erzulie Gogol]]
*[[Baron Saturday]]

=== Minor characters ===

* [[Casanunda|Count Casanunda]]
* [[Death]]
* The [[Duc]], a frog prince
* [[Desiderata Hollow]]

=== Cameos and Mentions ===

*[[Birthday, Frog-like humanoid thing with a|Frog-like humanoid thing with a Birthday]]
* [[Voodoo]] gods created by Mrs Gogol
** [[Mister Safe Way]], whose name parodies a supermarket
** [[Lady Bon Anna]],
** [[Hotaloga Andrews]],
** [[Stride Wide Man]]
* [[Al-Ybi|Seriph of Al-Ybi]] (mentioned)
* [[Glod]] (mentioned), a severely inconvenienced [[dwarfs|dwarf]]
* [[Chert]], a [[trolls|troll]] who works at a sawmill and sells coffins at a good price
* [[Albert Hurker]], aka "Hurker the Poacher"
* [[Gammer Brevis]], a witch
* [[Old Mother Dismass]], a witch
* [[Granny Hopliss]], a dead witch
* Mrs [[Singe]], a dead witch
* [[Mabel Peavey|Gammer Peavey]], a witch who died mountain climbing
* [[Simplicity Garlick]], [[Magrat Garlick]]'s mother
* [[Araminta Garlick]], Magrat Garlick's grandmother (probably maternal)
* [[Yolande Garlick]], Magrat Garlick's aunt
* [[Shane Ogg]], Nanny Ogg's grandson
* [[Millie Hopgood]], a girl from [[Slice]] with a squint, suggested as a replacement for Desiderata Hollow
* [[Gertie Simmons]], a witch with a very bad squint
* [[Sophia Ogg]], Nanny Ogg's great-aunt
* [[Jason Ogg]], master blacksmith/farrier, Nanny Ogg's son, who knows [[the Horseman's Word]]
* [[Shawn Ogg|Sean Ogg]] (mentioned), Nanny Ogg's son(?)
* Mr [[Vernissage]], a hatter in [[Slice]] whose makes 'very' strong hats
* [[Guy de Yoyo]], an explorer who discovered the Disc's 2nd-highest waterfall in the [[Year of the Revolving Crab]]
* [[Legba]], a spirit in the form of a rooster (or perhaps just a big black cock)
* [[Goodie Whemper]], Magrat's predecessor and mentor
* [[Lagro te Kabona]], innkeeper
* [[Mister Frank]], a card sharp
* [[Yen Buddhism]], an extremely rich religious sect (parodying {{wp|Zen|Zen Buddhism}})
* [[Black Aliss]] (mentioned)
* [[Deliria Skibbly]] (mentioned)
* [[Sumpkins]] (mentioned), a dirty old man who lodged with Nanny Ogg's grandmother
* [[Shaker Wistley]], footwear fetishist
* [[Ronald the Third]], unpleasant Lancre king whose name is rhyming slang for something nasty (mentioned)
* [[Mr Wilkins]] (mentioned). Granny made him '''think''' he was a frog after he insulted her
* [[Mr Travis]], senior footman
* [[Beryl Ogg]], Nanny's sister (mentioned)
* Guests at the Ball
** [[Henry Gleet]] and [[Lady Gleet]]
** [[Douglas Incessant]]
** [[Kompt de Yoyo]]
** [[Magrat|Mysterious and Beautiful Stranger]]
** [[Volentia D'Arrangement]], who's approximately Granny's size, dress-wise
** [[Captain de Vere]], of the Palace Guard
** [[Sir Roger the Coverley]]
** [[Colonel Moutarde]], whose name parodies {{wp|List_of_Cluedo_characters|Colonel Mustard}} from ''Cluedo'' (North American: ''Clue''.)

== Locations ==

* [[Ramtop Mountains]]
**[[Lancre]]
***[[Lancre Town]]
*** [[Bear Mountain]], a 'bare' mountain, not a mountain with bears on it
*** [[Broken Mountain]] (mentioned)
*** [[Creel Springs]] (mentioned)
* [[Sto Plains]] (mentioned)
*[[Überwald]]
*[[Borogravia]]
*[[Genua]]
* [[Vieux River]]

== Events and Timeframes ==

* [[Fat Tuesday]] aka Mardi Gras aka Samedi Nuit Mort (literally, "Saturday Night Dead", parodying the TV show {{wp|Saturday_Night_Live|Saturday Night Live}}
* Although the Roundworld Carnival and Mardi Gras occur in late winter, just before Lent, Genua's Carnival occurs in the fall; Terry appears to have calqued it upon the Haitian Night of the Dead (All Hallows' Eve), when Voudon worshipers beat drums in cemeteries to awaken the dancing Lord of the Dead Baron Samedi (Saturday) and his troupe of Gede revelers; the Duc's masked ball relates the night to the Halloween tradition.

== Items and Concepts ==

* [[magic wand]]
* [[Marietta_Cosmopilite|Way of Mrs Cosmopilite]], mentioned
* [[Path of The Scorpion]], a book(?) written by [[Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler|Grand Master Lobsang Dibbler]]
* [[With Wand and Broomstick Across the Great Nef Desert]], chapter heading of one of [[Desiderata Hollow]]'s books
* [[magrats]], trousers for women
* [[dwarf bread]]
* [[Hedgehog Song]]
* [[That Thing With The Bulls]], parodying the [[Roundworld]] {{wp|Running_of_the_Bulls|Running of the Bulls}} in Pamplona, Spain (and other locations)
* [[Cripple Mister Onion]], a card game
* [[Chase My Neighbour Up the Passage]], a game (mentioned)
* [[Three-Banded Coit]], type of snake
* [[Klatchian Candle]], firework parodying {{wp|Roman_candle (firework)|Roman Candle}}

== Annotations ==

* Even though they're on a presumably "covert" mission, Nanny hands her letters to the nearest passer-by for delivery. Does this seem wise? And none of them arrived before she did.

* 'In some foreign parts "bum" means "tramp" and "tramp" means "hobo"' - On [[Roundworld]], this is true for American English. The full chain goes something like this: "American [kitty] = British fanny", "American fanny = British bum", "American bum = British tramp", "American tramp = uh, ... lady of easy virtue". Interestingly, we've never seen any part of DiscWorld that's similar to the USA. (Even though the riverboat ride down the Vieux River is irrestibly close to the high life of the antebellum Deep South, what with a floating pleasure palace for the gentry, and slaves, ie chained trolls, providing the motive power to turn the wheels of the boat. Could have been the Mississipi running down to the Delta and N'awlins, y'all...)

* While traveling down a subterranean river, a creature climbs out of the water on a log, declaring to the witches that, "It's my birthday." This is a reference to the character Gollum from ''The Hobbit'' and ''Lord of the Rings'' books, who acquired the One Ring on his birthday.

* While walking down a road paved with yellow bricks, a small farm house lands on Nanny Ogg, the only one of the witches wearing red boots. Shortly afterward, a group of dwarves show up asking if they can have her boots. In ''The Wizard of Oz'', the Wicked Witch of the East is crushed by Dorothy Gale's farmhouse and her sparkly red shoes are given to the witchicidal young woman.

==External links==
[http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/witches-abroad.html ''Witches Abroad'' Annotations - The Annotated Pratchett File]

{{series|before=Reaper Man|series=Discworld|after=Small Gods}}
{{series|series=Witches|before=Wyrd Sisters|after=Lords and Ladies}}

[[Category:Discworld Series|Witches Abroad]]
[[Category:Witches Series|Witches Abroad]]
[[de:Buch:Total verhext]]

Book:Small Gods

2014-05-01T23:06:55Z

DuckMan: /* Plot */

{{Book Data
|title= Small Gods
|cover=
[[File:Cover Small Gods.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Josh Kirby]]
|coauthors=
|illustrator=
|date= May 1992
|publisher= Victor Gollancz
|isbn=0575052228
|pages=288
|rrp=
|series=
|characters=[[Brutha]]. [[Om]], [[Vorbis]]
|annotations=yes
|notes=
}}

==Blurb==
[[Brutha]] is the Chosen One.

His god has spoken to him, admittedly while currently in the shape of a tortoise.

Brutha is a simple lad. He can't read. He can't write. He's pretty good at growing melons. And his wants are few.

He wants to overthrow a huge and corrupt [[Omnia|church]].

He wants to prevent a horrible holy war.

He wants to stop the persecution of a [[philosophers|philosopher]] who has dared to suggest that, contrary to the Church's dogma, the Discworld really does go through space on the back of an enormous turtle (*).

He wants peace and justice and brotherly love. He wants the Inquisition to stop torturing him now, please.

But most of all, what he really wants, more than anything else, is for his god to Choose Someone Else ...

(* which is true, but when has that ever mattered?)

==Plot==
The story is set in the land of [[Omnia]], an oppressive theocracy that is controlled by a Church that worships the Great God [[Om]] and frequently rages war on non-believers. It is about time for Om to manifest in the world and send his eighth prophet. Om has ignored his believers for ages and is surprised to find himself stripped of his divine powers and only able to manifest himself as a tortoise. On the Disc, the power of a God is determined by how many people believe in them.

In [[Kom]], the capital of Omnia, Om meets [[Brutha]], a simple-minded boy with a remarkable memory. He struggles to convince Brutha that he is the God the boy worships. [[Vorbis]], the head of the [[Quisition]], asks Brutha to come with him on a diplomatic mission to [[Ephebe]]. While they are there, Brutha starts to take an interest in philosphy. Om meets the philosopher [[Didactylos]] and discovers that [[Brutha]] is the only remaining Omnian who actually believes in him; the others now only believe in the rules and rituals of the Church.

Brutha's memory helps him to provide information to the Omnians on how to access the Tyrant's palace via the [[Labyrinth]] that guards it. He also reads and memorises many scrolls in the library, in order to preserve the Ephebians' knowledge as Omnian soldiers burn the building down. Brutha, Om and a severely injured Vorbis flee the struggle by boat and end up lost in the desert. On their way home, they discover ruined temples that are haunted by [[Small Gods]] - ghosts of powerless gods who no-one believes in. Om begins to care about his believers for the first time.

Vorbis regains his strength as they approach Kom. He abducts Brutha and tries to finish Om off without success. He arranges for himself to be ordained the eight prophet and for Brutha to be publically burned to death by being strapped to a heated bronze statue of a tortoise. Om intervenes; an eagle flies him over to the scene and drops him on Vorbis' head, killing the priest. The crowd witness the miracle and their faith in Om is restored, allowing him to become powerful again.

Meanwhile, Ephebe has formed an alliance with several nations to invade Omnia and a battle breaks out on the coast by Kom. Brutha attempts to make peace, but the invading armies are too distrustful of the Omnians. Om plans to use his physical powers against them, but Brutha argues that he should not intervene with the actions of humans. Om is frustrated but ultimately agrees; instead he travels to [[Cori Celeste]] where he sees the other gods gambling on the fates of their believes to gain or lose them. It is here he loses his temper, even hitting some of the other gods. The soldiers stop fighting, hearing the sign from the heavens.

Brutha becomes the Eighth Prophet. He ends the Quisition and reforms the Church, turning the oppressive and dogmatic institution into a fairer-minded place. For the next century, Omnia is able to enjoy great peace, freedom and prosperity. In the epilogue, Brutha dies on the 100th anniversary of Om's return to power. It is then revealed that the events were orchestrated by [[Lu-Tze]], one of the [[History Monks]], who decided that he would rather have a century of peace than the anticipated century of war.

==Cover==
The cover illustration was drawn by [[Josh Kirby]]. It is dominated by two figures: [[Brutha]], who is chained to an altar in the form of a giant turtle and [[Vorbis]] with an eagle-like appearance interrogating him. Above both figures a large flying eagle holds a terrified turtle in its claws.

==About the book==
When reading the Discworld books starting from the first ''[[Book:The Colour of Magic|The Colour of Magic]]'' to the newest one notices a gradual change in the style of writing. Not only does the text become more picturesque and atmospheric, but the story itself becomes more elaborate. Whereas in ''The Colour of Magic'' the story seems to be a mere carrier for a multitude of jokes and anecdotes, newer books have less comedy, but make a good read, because of the intriguing story.

Small Gods is the first book in the [[:Category:Discworld Series|Discworld series]] with a noticeably changed style. The main themes of the book are theism, atheism, morality and ethics. One of the more important messages of the book is: do good things, simply because they are good and not just because a god demands it.

This might not sound too funny, but the messages are hidden in a rather humorous story (this is still a [[Terry Pratchett]] book) about Brutha, a novice priest of the church of [[Om]]. It turns out that [[Brutha]] is the only believer who really believes in Om. Everyone else is just believing in rules and rituals. After
happily ignoring his believers for ages Om decides to take a look at things. However, since the power of gods on Discworld is proportional to the number of real believers he finds himself changed into a rather powerless tortoise. Om and his only believer Brutha now try to restart the belief in Om.

Small Gods introduces [[Lu-Tze]] the [[History Monks|history-monk]]. The book is also the origin of the phrase "The turtle moves" or De Chelonian Mobile.

==Characters==

===Main characters===

* [[Brutha]]
* [[Vorbis]]
* [[Om]]
* [[A'tuin|Great A'tuin]]

===Minor characters===

* [[Lu-Tze]]
* Brother [[Nhumrod]]
* Bishop [[Drunah]]
* General Iam [[Fri'it]], his aspirations to assassinate Vorbis are cut short (as, indeed, is he)
* Sergeant [[Simony]]
* [[Death]]
* [[P'tang P'tang]], a god
* [[Didactylos]], a philosopher
* [[Urn]], a philosopher, Didactylos' nephew
* "St" [[Sevrian Thaddeus Ungulant]], a philosopher, friend to small gods
* [[Tyrant]] of [[Ephebe]]

=== Cameos/Mentioned ===

* Members of the Omnian Church (current and former, including excommunicated members)
** The [[SeptArchs]], prophets who wrote the 7 books of Omniaism
*** Prophet [[Ishkible]]
*** Prophet [[Cena]]
*** Prophet [[Fruni]]
*** Prophet [[Wallspur]]
*** Prophet [[Ossory]]
*** Prophet [[Abbys]]
*** Prophet [[Hashimi]]
** Brother [[Murduck]], beaten nearly to death (and flogged the rest of the way), ostensibly by Ephebians, but actually by the Omnian Church itself
** Brother [[Sasho]], tortured for information
** Brother [[Whelk]], teaches Comparative Religion (an interesting topic in monotheistic Omnia?)
** Bishop [[Kreeblephor]], who converted a demon by reason alone in the [[Year of the Lenient Vegetable]]
** Brother [[Preptil]], master of music
** Bishop [[Treem]], archivist
** False Prophet [[Zeb]]
** False Prophet [[Zog]]
** Members of the [[Divine Legion]], the military arm of the Church
*** Sergeant [[Aktar]]
*** Sergeant [[Fergmen]]
*** Private [[Dervi Ichlos]], killed by Simony
** Members of the [[Quisition]]
*** Inquisitor First Class [[Ishmale Quoom]], retired
*** Deacon [[Cusp]]
** [[Coplei]], a bosun on the holy ship Fin of God
* [[Cut-Me-Own-Hand-Off Dhblah]]
* Gods and goddesses
** The [[Sea Queen]]
** [[Tuvelpit]], God of Wine, aka [[Smimto]]
** [[Offler]]
** [[Astoria]], Goddess of Love
** [[Petulia]], Goddess of Negotiable Affection
** [[God of Lettuce]] (mentioned)
** [[Blind Io]]
** [[Cubal]], the Fire God
** [[Flatulus]], Wind God
** [[Fedecks]], Messenger of the Gods, whose name parodies {{wp|Fedex|Fedex}}
** [[Patina]], Goddess of Wisdom
** [[Foorgol]], Avalanche God, whose name is "log roof" backward
** [[Angus]], a small god
** [[Goddess of Plenty]], minor goddess elbowed by Om
** [[Solar God]] (Tsortean God of the Sun)
* Philosophers
** [[Legibus]], philosopher, parodies {{wp|Archimedes|Archimedes}}
** [[Aristocrates]], philosopher, secretary to the Tyrant, parodies {{wp|Aristotle|Aristotle}}
** [[Xeno]], parodies {{wp|Zeno_of_Elea|Zeno}}
** [[Ibid]], philosopher, whose name parodies the expression {{wp|ibid|ibid}}
** [[Gordo]] of Tsort, who wrote about sand
** [[Irexes]], who also wrote about sand
* the [[Librarian]]
* General [[Argavisti]], of Ephebe
* Imperiator [[Borvorius]], of Tsort
* Admiral [[Rham-ap-Efan]], of Djelibeybi
* [[Fasta Benj]], fisherman from an unnamed small nation
* [[Pacha Moj]], another person from the same unnamed small nation
* [[59th Abbot]], who mis-used his ability to see into the future
* [[493rd Abbot]]
* [[Hodgsonites]], [[Melchiorites]], and [[Ashelians]], peoples who were subjugated by the Divine Legion
* [[Koomi]] of [[Smale]], who wrote [[Ego-Video Liber Deorum]] (Gods: A Spotter's Guide), angering the Omnian Church
* [[Ur-Gilash]], god defeated by Om (and perhaps encountered by Om in the desert, though this isn't made clear), and whose capital city was [[Gilash]]
* Customers of Didactylos and Nephew:
** Mr. [[Piloxi]] the farmer, who paid in rotten green black olives
** Mrs. [[Bylaxis]]
** [[Grillos]], the cobbler
* Sister [[Sestina]] of [[Quirm]], who walked across coals for a goddess who was really only interested in hairstyles
* Brother [[Zephilite]] of Klatch, who did charity work in the name of [[F'rum]], an fairly stupid invisible god

== Locations ==

* [[Ramtops|Ramtop Mountains]]

* [[Omnia]], the rimward fringe of [[Klatch (continent)|Klatch]] on the [[Circle Sea]]
** [[Kom]], capital of Omnia
** [[Gate of Horns]]
** [[Citadel]] of the Omnian Church
** [[Place of Lamentation]]
** port of Il-Drim

* [[Ephebe]]
** [[Library of Ephebe]], 2nd largest library on the Disc

* The [[Circle Sea]]
* [[Pseudopolis]] (mentioned)
* [[Djel]] (mentioned)
* [[Tsort]] (mentioned)
* [[Brown Islands]] (mentioned)
* [[Djelibeybi]] (mentioned)
* [[Ankh-Morpork]] (mentioned)
* [[Erebos]], an island that Ossory sailed to on a millstone
* [[Rim Ocean]] (mentioned)

* Countries conquered by Omnia
** [[Istanzia]]
** [[Betrek]]
** [[Ushistan]]

* [[Unseen University]] (mentioned)
** [[Library]] (mentioned)
*** [[Lost Reading Room]] (mentioned)

* Lost City of [[Ee]] (mentioned)

* [[Sto Plains]] (mentioned)

* [[Dunmanifestin]]
** [[Cori Celesti]] (mentioned)

* [[Skant]], the [[Cenobiarch]] goes off to hermitage here when Vorbis (briefly) becomes the 8th prophet

== Miscellaneous ==

* [[Year of the Notional Serpent]] in the [[Century of the Fruitbat]], time frame for this book

* [[Year of the Astounded Beetle]], Brutha was 2 years old then (almost 3) when he saw [[derechmi]], an Ephebian coin

* The Omnian [[Quisition]], parodying [[Roundworld]]'s {{wp|Medieval Inquisition|Inquisition}}

* [[Omnian Hymns]]
** [[Omnian Hymns|He is Trampling the Unrighteous with Hooves of Hot Iron]]
** [[Omnian Hymns|The Way of the Infidel Is A Nest Of Thorns]]
** [[Lo, the infidels flee the wrath of Om]]
** [[Omnian Hymns|Claws of Iron shall Rend the Ungodly]]

* The [[Septateuch]], holy book of Omnia

* [[Klatchian Delight]], parodies {{wp|Turkish Delight|Turkish Delight}}

* [[Pointless Albatross]]

* [[Scalbie]]

* Books written by philosophers (they seem to prefer short titles)
** Didactylos' [[Meditations]]
** Xeno's [[Reflections]]
** Aristocrates' [[Platitudes]]
** Ibid's [[Discourses]] and [[Civics]]
** Legibus's [[Geometries]]
** [[Hierarch]]'s [[Theologies]]
** [[Orinjcrates]]' (whose name is a pun on "orange creates") [[On the Nature of Plants]]
** [[Philo]]'s [[Bestiary]]
** [[Abraxas]]'s [[On Religion]]
** [[Grido]]'s [[Mechanics]]
** [[Gnomon]]'s [[Ectopia]] (a {{wp|gnomon|gnomon}} is the triangular part of a sundial, while {{wp|ectopia|ectopia}} is the displacement of a bodily organ; the pun here, however, may be on {{wp|Sir_Thomas_More|Sir Thomas More}}'s {{wp|Utopia|Utopia}}
** [[Dykeri]]'s [[Principles of Navigation]]

* [[L-space]]

* [[Ambiguous Puzuma]]

* [[Aurora Corealis]], the hublights, parodying the Roundworld Northern Lights, whose proper scientific name is {{wp|Aurora Borealis|Aurora Borealis}}

* Most Holy St [[Bobby]], Ossory's ass

== Annotations ==

* "The other novices make fun of him, sometimes. Call him The Big Dumb Ox." - in Roundworld, this nickname was applied to {{wp|St Thomas Aquinas|St Thomas Aquinas}}

* "maybe a small army could get a quarter of the way, and leave a cache of water. And do that several times. And another small army could use part of that cache to go further, maybe reach halfway, and leave a cache. And another small army... It had taken months." - a version of the [http://mathworld.wolfram.com/JeepProblem.html Jeep Problem]

* "Stoics. Cynics. Big drinkers, the Cynics. Epicureans. Stochastics. Anamaxandrites. Epistemologists. Peripatetics. Synoptics." - implies that there are philosophers named {{wp|Epicurus|Epicurus}} and {{wp|Anaximander|Anaximander}}

* "The Chain Letter to the Ephebians." - parodies {{wp|chain letter|chain letter}}s

* "could drag Omnia kicking and screaming into the Century of the Fruitbat!" - the implication here is that this book takes place during the Century of the Fruitbat, even though it presumably takes place centuries before {{MP}} (Lu-tze had to travel back in time to get to Omnia). Of course, there's no solid evidence that the "current" books take place in the Century of the Fruitbat either(?), and {{TOT}} shows the Disc's space-time continuum is rather convoluted.

* "I said to [Prince [[Lasgere]] of Tsort] 'There is no royal road to learning'" - parodies {{wp|Euclid|Euclid}}'s statement to {{wp|Ptolemy_I|King Ptolemy}}: "there is no royal road to geometry" {{wp|Royal_Road#Cultural_references_to_the_Royal_Road}}

* "Got to have a whole parcel of worshipers to live on Nob Hill." - references Roundworld's {{wp|Nob Hill|Nob Hill}}, an upscale area of San Francisco.

* '[Om] plunged his beak through the brown feathers between the talons, and gripped. [...] "Now. You play, uh, ball with me, I'll play . . . ball with you."' - As the APF ({{APF|book=small-gods|anchor=p340244}}) notes, eagles don't have testicles. Of course, this might be a "balled eagle", but I doubt even Pterry would make such a bad subtle pun.

==Notes==
*This book is not a part of a series, although some place it in a "Gods" series together with [[Pyramids]] and [[Hogfather]].
*Originally published in Great Britain by Victor Gollanz Ltd. Copyright (c) 1992 by Terry and Lyn Pratchett

==External links==
[http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/small-gods.html ''Small Gods'' Annotations - The Annotated Pratchett File]

[[de:Buch:Einfach göttlich]]
[[Category:Discworld Series|Small Gods]]

{{series|before=Witches Abroad|series=Discworld|after=Lords and Ladies}}

Book:Small Gods

2014-05-01T23:06:16Z

DuckMan:

{{Book Data
|title= Small Gods
|cover=
[[File:Cover Small Gods.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Josh Kirby]]
|coauthors=
|illustrator=
|date= May 1992
|publisher= Victor Gollancz
|isbn=0575052228
|pages=288
|rrp=
|series=
|characters=[[Brutha]]. [[Om]], [[Vorbis]]
|annotations=yes
|notes=
}}

==Blurb==
[[Brutha]] is the Chosen One.

His god has spoken to him, admittedly while currently in the shape of a tortoise.

Brutha is a simple lad. He can't read. He can't write. He's pretty good at growing melons. And his wants are few.

He wants to overthrow a huge and corrupt [[Omnia|church]].

He wants to prevent a horrible holy war.

He wants to stop the persecution of a [[philosophers|philosopher]] who has dared to suggest that, contrary to the Church's dogma, the Discworld really does go through space on the back of an enormous turtle (*).

He wants peace and justice and brotherly love. He wants the Inquisition to stop torturing him now, please.

But most of all, what he really wants, more than anything else, is for his god to Choose Someone Else ...

(* which is true, but when has that ever mattered?)

==Plot==
The story is set in the land of [[Omnia]], an oppressive {{wp|theocracy}} that is controlled by a Church that worships the Great God [[Om]] and frequently rages war on non-believers. It is about time for Om to manifest in the world and send his eighth prophet. Om has ignored his believers for ages and is surprised to find himself stripped of his divine powers and only able to manifest himself as a tortoise. On the Disc, the power of a God is determined by how many people believe in them.

In [[Kom]], the capital of Omnia, Om meets [[Brutha]], a simple-minded boy with a remarkable memory. He struggles to convince Brutha that he is the God the boy worships. [[Vorbis]], the head of the [[Quisition]], asks Brutha to come with him on a diplomatic mission to [[Ephebe]]. While they are there, Brutha starts to take an interest in philosphy. Om meets the philosopher [[Didactylos]] and discovers that [[Brutha]] is the only remaining Omnian who actually believes in him; the others now only believe in the rules and rituals of the Church.

Brutha's memory helps him to provide information to the Omnians on how to access the Tyrant's palace via the [[Labyrinth]] that guards it. He also reads and memorises many scrolls in the library, in order to preserve the Ephebians' knowledge as Omnian soldiers burn the building down. Brutha, Om and a severely injured Vorbis flee the struggle by boat and end up lost in the desert. On their way home, they discover ruined temples that are haunted by [[Small Gods]] - ghosts of powerless gods who no-one believes in. Om begins to care about his believers for the first time.

Vorbis regains his strength as they approach Kom. He abducts Brutha and tries to finish Om off without success. He arranges for himself to be ordained the eight prophet and for Brutha to be publically burned to death by being strapped to a heated bronze statue of a tortoise. Om intervenes; an eagle flies him over to the scene and drops him on Vorbis' head, killing the priest. The crowd witness the miracle and their faith in Om is restored, allowing him to become powerful again.

Meanwhile, Ephebe has formed an alliance with several nations to invade Omnia and a battle breaks out on the coast by Kom. Brutha attempts to make peace, but the invading armies are too distrustful of the Omnians. Om plans to use his physical powers against them, but Brutha argues that he should not intervene with the actions of humans. Om is frustrated but ultimately agrees; instead he travels to [[Cori Celeste]] where he sees the other gods gambling on the fates of their believes to gain or lose them. It is here he loses his temper, even hitting some of the other gods. The soldiers stop fighting, hearing the sign from the heavens.

Brutha becomes the Eighth Prophet. He ends the Quisition and reforms the Church, turning the oppressive and dogmatic institution into a fairer-minded place. For the next century, Omnia is able to enjoy great peace, freedom and prosperity. In the epilogue, Brutha dies on the 100th anniversary of Om's return to power. It is then revealed that the events were orchestrated by [[Lu-Tze]], one of the [[History Monks]], who decided that he would rather have a century of peace than the anticipated century of war.

==Cover==
The cover illustration was drawn by [[Josh Kirby]]. It is dominated by two figures: [[Brutha]], who is chained to an altar in the form of a giant turtle and [[Vorbis]] with an eagle-like appearance interrogating him. Above both figures a large flying eagle holds a terrified turtle in its claws.

==About the book==
When reading the Discworld books starting from the first ''[[Book:The Colour of Magic|The Colour of Magic]]'' to the newest one notices a gradual change in the style of writing. Not only does the text become more picturesque and atmospheric, but the story itself becomes more elaborate. Whereas in ''The Colour of Magic'' the story seems to be a mere carrier for a multitude of jokes and anecdotes, newer books have less comedy, but make a good read, because of the intriguing story.

Small Gods is the first book in the [[:Category:Discworld Series|Discworld series]] with a noticeably changed style. The main themes of the book are theism, atheism, morality and ethics. One of the more important messages of the book is: do good things, simply because they are good and not just because a god demands it.

This might not sound too funny, but the messages are hidden in a rather humorous story (this is still a [[Terry Pratchett]] book) about Brutha, a novice priest of the church of [[Om]]. It turns out that [[Brutha]] is the only believer who really believes in Om. Everyone else is just believing in rules and rituals. After
happily ignoring his believers for ages Om decides to take a look at things. However, since the power of gods on Discworld is proportional to the number of real believers he finds himself changed into a rather powerless tortoise. Om and his only believer Brutha now try to restart the belief in Om.

Small Gods introduces [[Lu-Tze]] the [[History Monks|history-monk]]. The book is also the origin of the phrase "The turtle moves" or De Chelonian Mobile.

==Characters==

===Main characters===

* [[Brutha]]
* [[Vorbis]]
* [[Om]]
* [[A'tuin|Great A'tuin]]

===Minor characters===

* [[Lu-Tze]]
* Brother [[Nhumrod]]
* Bishop [[Drunah]]
* General Iam [[Fri'it]], his aspirations to assassinate Vorbis are cut short (as, indeed, is he)
* Sergeant [[Simony]]
* [[Death]]
* [[P'tang P'tang]], a god
* [[Didactylos]], a philosopher
* [[Urn]], a philosopher, Didactylos' nephew
* "St" [[Sevrian Thaddeus Ungulant]], a philosopher, friend to small gods
* [[Tyrant]] of [[Ephebe]]

=== Cameos/Mentioned ===

* Members of the Omnian Church (current and former, including excommunicated members)
** The [[SeptArchs]], prophets who wrote the 7 books of Omniaism
*** Prophet [[Ishkible]]
*** Prophet [[Cena]]
*** Prophet [[Fruni]]
*** Prophet [[Wallspur]]
*** Prophet [[Ossory]]
*** Prophet [[Abbys]]
*** Prophet [[Hashimi]]
** Brother [[Murduck]], beaten nearly to death (and flogged the rest of the way), ostensibly by Ephebians, but actually by the Omnian Church itself
** Brother [[Sasho]], tortured for information
** Brother [[Whelk]], teaches Comparative Religion (an interesting topic in monotheistic Omnia?)
** Bishop [[Kreeblephor]], who converted a demon by reason alone in the [[Year of the Lenient Vegetable]]
** Brother [[Preptil]], master of music
** Bishop [[Treem]], archivist
** False Prophet [[Zeb]]
** False Prophet [[Zog]]
** Members of the [[Divine Legion]], the military arm of the Church
*** Sergeant [[Aktar]]
*** Sergeant [[Fergmen]]
*** Private [[Dervi Ichlos]], killed by Simony
** Members of the [[Quisition]]
*** Inquisitor First Class [[Ishmale Quoom]], retired
*** Deacon [[Cusp]]
** [[Coplei]], a bosun on the holy ship Fin of God
* [[Cut-Me-Own-Hand-Off Dhblah]]
* Gods and goddesses
** The [[Sea Queen]]
** [[Tuvelpit]], God of Wine, aka [[Smimto]]
** [[Offler]]
** [[Astoria]], Goddess of Love
** [[Petulia]], Goddess of Negotiable Affection
** [[God of Lettuce]] (mentioned)
** [[Blind Io]]
** [[Cubal]], the Fire God
** [[Flatulus]], Wind God
** [[Fedecks]], Messenger of the Gods, whose name parodies {{wp|Fedex|Fedex}}
** [[Patina]], Goddess of Wisdom
** [[Foorgol]], Avalanche God, whose name is "log roof" backward
** [[Angus]], a small god
** [[Goddess of Plenty]], minor goddess elbowed by Om
** [[Solar God]] (Tsortean God of the Sun)
* Philosophers
** [[Legibus]], philosopher, parodies {{wp|Archimedes|Archimedes}}
** [[Aristocrates]], philosopher, secretary to the Tyrant, parodies {{wp|Aristotle|Aristotle}}
** [[Xeno]], parodies {{wp|Zeno_of_Elea|Zeno}}
** [[Ibid]], philosopher, whose name parodies the expression {{wp|ibid|ibid}}
** [[Gordo]] of Tsort, who wrote about sand
** [[Irexes]], who also wrote about sand
* the [[Librarian]]
* General [[Argavisti]], of Ephebe
* Imperiator [[Borvorius]], of Tsort
* Admiral [[Rham-ap-Efan]], of Djelibeybi
* [[Fasta Benj]], fisherman from an unnamed small nation
* [[Pacha Moj]], another person from the same unnamed small nation
* [[59th Abbot]], who mis-used his ability to see into the future
* [[493rd Abbot]]
* [[Hodgsonites]], [[Melchiorites]], and [[Ashelians]], peoples who were subjugated by the Divine Legion
* [[Koomi]] of [[Smale]], who wrote [[Ego-Video Liber Deorum]] (Gods: A Spotter's Guide), angering the Omnian Church
* [[Ur-Gilash]], god defeated by Om (and perhaps encountered by Om in the desert, though this isn't made clear), and whose capital city was [[Gilash]]
* Customers of Didactylos and Nephew:
** Mr. [[Piloxi]] the farmer, who paid in rotten green black olives
** Mrs. [[Bylaxis]]
** [[Grillos]], the cobbler
* Sister [[Sestina]] of [[Quirm]], who walked across coals for a goddess who was really only interested in hairstyles
* Brother [[Zephilite]] of Klatch, who did charity work in the name of [[F'rum]], an fairly stupid invisible god

== Locations ==

* [[Ramtops|Ramtop Mountains]]

* [[Omnia]], the rimward fringe of [[Klatch (continent)|Klatch]] on the [[Circle Sea]]
** [[Kom]], capital of Omnia
** [[Gate of Horns]]
** [[Citadel]] of the Omnian Church
** [[Place of Lamentation]]
** port of Il-Drim

* [[Ephebe]]
** [[Library of Ephebe]], 2nd largest library on the Disc

* The [[Circle Sea]]
* [[Pseudopolis]] (mentioned)
* [[Djel]] (mentioned)
* [[Tsort]] (mentioned)
* [[Brown Islands]] (mentioned)
* [[Djelibeybi]] (mentioned)
* [[Ankh-Morpork]] (mentioned)
* [[Erebos]], an island that Ossory sailed to on a millstone
* [[Rim Ocean]] (mentioned)

* Countries conquered by Omnia
** [[Istanzia]]
** [[Betrek]]
** [[Ushistan]]

* [[Unseen University]] (mentioned)
** [[Library]] (mentioned)
*** [[Lost Reading Room]] (mentioned)

* Lost City of [[Ee]] (mentioned)

* [[Sto Plains]] (mentioned)

* [[Dunmanifestin]]
** [[Cori Celesti]] (mentioned)

* [[Skant]], the [[Cenobiarch]] goes off to hermitage here when Vorbis (briefly) becomes the 8th prophet

== Miscellaneous ==

* [[Year of the Notional Serpent]] in the [[Century of the Fruitbat]], time frame for this book

* [[Year of the Astounded Beetle]], Brutha was 2 years old then (almost 3) when he saw [[derechmi]], an Ephebian coin

* The Omnian [[Quisition]], parodying [[Roundworld]]'s {{wp|Medieval Inquisition|Inquisition}}

* [[Omnian Hymns]]
** [[Omnian Hymns|He is Trampling the Unrighteous with Hooves of Hot Iron]]
** [[Omnian Hymns|The Way of the Infidel Is A Nest Of Thorns]]
** [[Lo, the infidels flee the wrath of Om]]
** [[Omnian Hymns|Claws of Iron shall Rend the Ungodly]]

* The [[Septateuch]], holy book of Omnia

* [[Klatchian Delight]], parodies {{wp|Turkish Delight|Turkish Delight}}

* [[Pointless Albatross]]

* [[Scalbie]]

* Books written by philosophers (they seem to prefer short titles)
** Didactylos' [[Meditations]]
** Xeno's [[Reflections]]
** Aristocrates' [[Platitudes]]
** Ibid's [[Discourses]] and [[Civics]]
** Legibus's [[Geometries]]
** [[Hierarch]]'s [[Theologies]]
** [[Orinjcrates]]' (whose name is a pun on "orange creates") [[On the Nature of Plants]]
** [[Philo]]'s [[Bestiary]]
** [[Abraxas]]'s [[On Religion]]
** [[Grido]]'s [[Mechanics]]
** [[Gnomon]]'s [[Ectopia]] (a {{wp|gnomon|gnomon}} is the triangular part of a sundial, while {{wp|ectopia|ectopia}} is the displacement of a bodily organ; the pun here, however, may be on {{wp|Sir_Thomas_More|Sir Thomas More}}'s {{wp|Utopia|Utopia}}
** [[Dykeri]]'s [[Principles of Navigation]]

* [[L-space]]

* [[Ambiguous Puzuma]]

* [[Aurora Corealis]], the hublights, parodying the Roundworld Northern Lights, whose proper scientific name is {{wp|Aurora Borealis|Aurora Borealis}}

* Most Holy St [[Bobby]], Ossory's ass

== Annotations ==

* "The other novices make fun of him, sometimes. Call him The Big Dumb Ox." - in Roundworld, this nickname was applied to {{wp|St Thomas Aquinas|St Thomas Aquinas}}

* "maybe a small army could get a quarter of the way, and leave a cache of water. And do that several times. And another small army could use part of that cache to go further, maybe reach halfway, and leave a cache. And another small army... It had taken months." - a version of the [http://mathworld.wolfram.com/JeepProblem.html Jeep Problem]

* "Stoics. Cynics. Big drinkers, the Cynics. Epicureans. Stochastics. Anamaxandrites. Epistemologists. Peripatetics. Synoptics." - implies that there are philosophers named {{wp|Epicurus|Epicurus}} and {{wp|Anaximander|Anaximander}}

* "The Chain Letter to the Ephebians." - parodies {{wp|chain letter|chain letter}}s

* "could drag Omnia kicking and screaming into the Century of the Fruitbat!" - the implication here is that this book takes place during the Century of the Fruitbat, even though it presumably takes place centuries before {{MP}} (Lu-tze had to travel back in time to get to Omnia). Of course, there's no solid evidence that the "current" books take place in the Century of the Fruitbat either(?), and {{TOT}} shows the Disc's space-time continuum is rather convoluted.

* "I said to [Prince [[Lasgere]] of Tsort] 'There is no royal road to learning'" - parodies {{wp|Euclid|Euclid}}'s statement to {{wp|Ptolemy_I|King Ptolemy}}: "there is no royal road to geometry" {{wp|Royal_Road#Cultural_references_to_the_Royal_Road}}

* "Got to have a whole parcel of worshipers to live on Nob Hill." - references Roundworld's {{wp|Nob Hill|Nob Hill}}, an upscale area of San Francisco.

* '[Om] plunged his beak through the brown feathers between the talons, and gripped. [...] "Now. You play, uh, ball with me, I'll play . . . ball with you."' - As the APF ({{APF|book=small-gods|anchor=p340244}}) notes, eagles don't have testicles. Of course, this might be a "balled eagle", but I doubt even Pterry would make such a bad subtle pun.

==Notes==
*This book is not a part of a series, although some place it in a "Gods" series together with [[Pyramids]] and [[Hogfather]].
*Originally published in Great Britain by Victor Gollanz Ltd. Copyright (c) 1992 by Terry and Lyn Pratchett

==External links==
[http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/small-gods.html ''Small Gods'' Annotations - The Annotated Pratchett File]

[[de:Buch:Einfach göttlich]]
[[Category:Discworld Series|Small Gods]]

{{series|before=Witches Abroad|series=Discworld|after=Lords and Ladies}}

Book:Making Money

2014-05-01T22:21:51Z

DuckMan:

{{Book Data
|cover=
[[File:Cover Making Money.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Paul Kidby]]
|date=20th September 2007
|publisher= Doubleday
|isbn= 0385611013
|pages= 352

|series= Ankh-Morpork Books
|characters= [[Moist von Lipwig]], [[Adora Belle Dearheart]]
|annotations=yes
|notes=
}}

==Blurb==
It's an offer you can't refuse. Who would not to wish to be the man in charge of [[Ankh-Morpork]]'s [[Ankh-Morpork Mint|Royal Mint]] and the [[Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork|bank]] next door? It's a job for life. But, as former con-man [[Moist von Lipwig]] is learning, the life is not necessarily for long. The [[Mavolio Bent|Chief Cashier]] is almost certainly a [[vampires|vampire]]. There's [[Glooper|something nameless in the cellar]] (and the [[Fornication|cellar itself is pretty nameless]]), it turns out that the [[currency|Royal Mint]] runs at a loss. A [[Flead|300 year old wizard]] is after his [[Adora Belle Dearheart|girlfriend]], he's about to be exposed as a fraud, but the [[Assassins' Guild]] might get him first. In fact lot of people want him dead. Oh... and every day he has to take the [[Mr Fusspot|Chairman]] for walkies. Everywhere he looks he's making enemies. What he should be doing is... Making Money!

==Plot==
[[Moist von Lipwig]] is content but slightly bored with his successful leadership of the [[Ankh-Morpork Post Office]]. [[Havelock Vetinari|Lord Vetinari]] offers him the job of running the [[Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork]] and the [[Ankh-Morpork Mint]]. Moist visits both places, where he meets [[Mavolio Bent]], the Chief Cashier and the bank's chairman [[Topsy Lavish]]. Lavish deduces that Moist is a crook and thus takes a liking to him, but after leaving Moist decides to refuse the job offer. A short while afterwards, Lavish dies and the majority of shares in the bank are inherited by her dog [[Mr Fusspot]], making him the chairman. She has also specified in her will that Moist should ensure Mr Fusspot carries out his duties correctly and that the [[Assassins' Guild]] would enforce this contract, effectively forcing Moist to run the bank.

Moist is met with several challenges in office. The Royal Mint is operating at a ''loss'' because the metal required to produce the coins costs more than their actual value. Because the official currency is weak, many people have taken to using Post Office stamps as coins instead. He tries to reform the currency by introducing [[Paper Money]]. This brings him into conflict with both Bent and the wealthy Lavish family who try to dispose of him without success. [[Cosmo Lavish]] goes a step further and tries to replace Vetinari by taking on his identity, but fails.

Meanwhile, [[Adora Belle Dearheart]] has been working to uncover several golems from the ruins of the ancient city of [[Um]]. She succeeds in ordering them to travel to Ankh-Morpork, but due to a translation error, it is discovered that instead of sending "four golden golems", she is sending four thousand golems. This would potentially trigger a war with the neighbouring city states, who would be threatened by the 4,000 golems. Moist discovers the secret to controlling the golems and orders them to bury themselves on the outskirts of the city, except for a few that will be used for manual labour. He realises that the golems will prove a much better foundation for the currency than gold and thus introduces the 'golem standard'. A clacks message is then sent out to other cities to explain how to control the golems, to ensure that they cannot be used for warfare.

At the end of the book, Vetinari notes that the Chief Tax Collector is approaching retirement age and may soon need replacing.

==Characters==
* '''Major characters'''
** [[Moist von Lipwig]], Postmaster General and Vice Chairman of the Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork.
** [[Adora Belle Dearheart]], fiancee of Moist and manager of the [[Golem Trust]]
** [[Mr Fusspot]], Chairman of the Bank
** Lord [[Havelock Vetinari|Vetinari]], Patrician
** Mr [[Mavolio Bent]], Chief Cashier of the Bank
** [[Cosmo Lavish]], a director of the Bank
** Rev [[Cribbins]], villain with impressive teeth

* '''Minor characters'''
** [[Owlswick Jenkins]], artist, presumed to be hangèd
** [[Hubert Turvy]], economist
** [[Pucci Lavish]], member of the [[Lavishes|Lavish family]]
** [[Gladys]], a gender confused golem
** [[Drumknott]], Vetinari's secretary
** [[Igor#Igor at the Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork|Igor]], Hubert Turvy's assistant
** Mr [[Shady]], the hereditary foreman of the Mint
** [[Topsy Lavish]], nee Turvy, Chairman of the Bank
** [[Death]], you know who
** [[Stanley Howler]], Head of Stamps
** [[Heretofore]], Cosmo Lavish's secretary
** "Professor" [[Cranberry]], Cosmo Lavish's Assassin
** [[Ribcage Jack]], associate of Professor Cranberry
** Mr. [[Slant]], Ankh Morpork's premier lawyer (and zombie)
** Corporal [[Nobby Nobbs]], of the Watch
** Sergeant [[Fred Colon]], of the Watch
** Sergeant [[Angua von Überwald]], of the Watch
** [[Sacharissa Cripslock]], reporter from The Times
** [[Aimsbury]], [[Mr Fusspot]]'s cook
** [[Peggy]], Aimsbury's daughter
** [[Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler]], sausage purveyor
** [[Harry King]], the king of golden river
** [[Evadne Cake|Mrs. Cake]], landlady
** [[Bellyster]], prison guard
** Mr [[Spools]], printer of the firm [[Teemer and Spools]]
** [[Chair of Indefinite Studies]]
** [[Ponder Stibbons]], a wizard
** Dr [[John Hicks]], head of the [[Department of Post-Mortem Communications]], ('''''not''''' a necromancer)
** Professor [[Flead]], deceased necromancer
**[[Barnsforth]] a student wizard, soon to be a Doctor of Post-Mortem Communications following some terse negotiation;
**[[Goatly]] another student wizard soon to become a Doctor;
** [[Hammersmith Coot]], a junior bank clerk
** Miss [[Drapes]], assistant to Mavolio Bent
** [[Ludmilla Cake]], Mrs Cake's daughter
** [[Robert Spittle]], a bank clerk
** Ms [[Berenice Houser]], clerk at the [[Ankh-Morpork Times]]
**[[Grace Speaker]], an otherwise blameless woman who runs a petfood shop, who attracts [[Vetinari]]'s attention.
** Constable [[Haddock]], of the Watch
** Sergeant [[Detritus]], of the Watch
** Captain [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]], of the Watch
** [[Anoia]], Goddess of Things That Get Stuck in Drawers
** Commander [[Samuel Vimes]], of the Watch
** Lord [[Downey]], head of the [[Assassins' Guild]]
** Dr. [[Whiteface]], head of the [[Fools' Guild]]

== Things and Concepts ==
*[[Cabinet of Curiosity]]
*[[Glooper|The Glooper]]
*[[Exclusive Possession|Monopoly]]

{{series|series=Discworld|before=Wintersmith|after=Unseen Academicals}}
{{series|series=Ankh-Morpork|before=Going Postal|after=Unseen Academicals}}

:
[[Category:Discworld Series|Making Money]]
[[Category:Ankh-Morpork Series|Making Money]]
[[Category:Making Money]]
[[de:Buch:Schöne Scheine]]

Book:Going Postal

2014-04-26T16:35:52Z

DuckMan:

{{Book Data
|title= Going Postal
|cover=
[[File:Cover Going Postal.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Paul Kidby]]
|date= 25 Sep 2004
|pages= 329
|publisher= Doubleday
|isbn= 0385603428
|series= Ankh-Morpork Books
|characters= [[Moist von Lipwig]], [[Adora Belle Dearheart]], [[Reacher Gilt]]
|annotations=yes
|notes=Adapted as a TV film in 2010
}}
==Blurb==
[[Moist von Lipwig]] is a con artist and a fraud and a man faced with a life choice: be hanged, or put [[Ankh-Morpork]]'s ailing [[Ankh-Morpork Post Office|postal service]] back on its feet.

It's a tough decision.

But he's got to see that the mail gets through, come rain, hail, sleet, dogs, [[Ankh-Morpork_Order_of_Postal_Workers_Benevolent_and_Friendly_Society|the Post Office Workers Friendly and Benevolent Society]], the evil chairman of the [[Grand Trunk Semaphore Company]], and a midnight killer.

Getting a date with [[Adora Belle Dearheart]] would be nice, too.

Maybe it'll take a criminal to succeed where honest men have failed, or maybe it's a death sentence either way.

Or perhaps there's a shot at redemption in the mad world of the mail, waiting for a man who's prepared to push the envelope...

==Plot==
Moist von Lipwig is a travelling fraudster who is finally arrested in Ankh-Morpork under the name of Albert Spangler. However, the hangman fakes his execution and Moist wakes up in the care of the Patrician. Vetinari, having been the one who arranged for Lipwig to only be hanged "to within half an inch" of his life, offers Moist a job as the new Postmaster General, or he can walk out the door and "never hear from me again". Since walking out the door will result in death via a semi-disguised pit of spikes, Moist accepts the job. Once outside he immediately flees the city, but is apprehended in [[Hapley]] by his new parole officer, a golem called [[Mr. Pump]].

Moist begins work at the Post Office, once a thriving business that collapsed, leaving the building as a decaying shell full of piles of undelivered letters. Only two staff remain: [[Tolliver Groat]], an aged "Junior" Post Officer, and his assistant [[Stanley Howler]]. It turns out that in recent months, Vetinari has tried to revive the business, but four Postmasters have already died in mysterious accidents. Stanley and Groat are initially distrustful of Moist's presence and appear to be afraid of a mysterious presence that is haunting the building.

Vetinari meets with the Grand Trunk Semaphore Company, led by [[Reacher Gilt]], who have taken full control of the [[Clacks]]. The Patrician has noticed that the quality of the communications has deteriorated ever since they bought the Clacks network, but he fails to persuade Gilt to change his ways. Meanwhile, Moist discovers that two of his predecessors died because they hallucinated in the past and fell through non-existent floor, while another died of fright. Moist falls into a huge pile of letters and almost suffocates to death, but he is rescued by Mr Pump. Moist realises that the building is haunted because of the large number of undelivered letters. He hears voices in his head from the letters, demanding that they be delivered.

Moist begins by rehiring some of the old postmen, who initiate him by forcing him to do a treacherous blindfolded ''Postman's Walk''. To prove himself worthy of leadership, they additionally set several Lipwigzer dogs on him, but Moist knows how to control them, as he hails from the town of Lipwig where the dogs also originate and his grandfather breeds such dogs. Groat then shows Moist the mail-sorting machine; a time/space-warping, (and now wrecked) creation of the infamous [[Bloody Stupid Johnson]], which was partly responsible for the collapse of the old Post Office, and later for the death of a Postmaster.

While hiring new postmen, Moist falls in love-at-first-sight with [[Adora Belle Dearheart]], the chain-smoking golem-rights activist. Her father, [[Robert Dearheart]], invented the Clacks system, but it was stolen from him by Gilt using financial trickery. Her brother, [[John Dearheart]], organised a rival New Trunk, but he died mysteriously (in the prologue of the book). Moist also invents paper stamps for use by the Post Office, hires golems as postmen, gets the business working by delivering some of the undelivered mail and brings the Post Office in competition with the Clacks. His interview in the [[Ankh-Morpork Times]] coincides neatly with yet another breakdown of the Clacks, giving the Post Office public attention as he personally delivers mail to [[Sto Lat]].

Gilt sends his private assassin, a banshee named Mr [[Gryle]], to murder the Postmaster and burn down the building. As Moist has gone out on a date and left Groat in charge, the banshee mistakenly attacks Groat, only to be repelled by Stanley. The banshee only succeeds in setting the Post Office on fire. Moist senses trouble through the letters that are haunting his consciousness. He returns to the burning building, enters the building to rescue Mr. Tiddles the Post Offices cat, and confronts Mr Gryle by the sorting machine; Gryle accidentally succeeds in getting himself liquidated by it. During his rescue, [[Anghammarad]], a 18,000-year-old messenger golem is killed by the simultaneous combination of the fire and a sudden downpour of water, and is permitted by [[Death]] to spend eternity in [[The Desert]] at Anghammarad's request.

Following this, Moist challenges the Grand Trunk to see who can get a message to [[Genua]] (a two weeks' journey away), faster, and the Clacks are only too happy to accept it. He meets [[The Smoking Gnu]], three friends of the late John Dearheart, who undermine the Grand Trunk by sending codes which can damage the Clacks machinery. They offer to help by sending a killer poke signal from an old wizard's tower after nightfall to damage the machinery.

[[Mustrum Ridcully|Archchancellor Ridcully]] gives both groups a book to send to Genua, and Moist offers to allow the Clacks to send part of the book while the mail coach delivers the rest. Moist travels with the mail coach for a short distance to the Wizards tower, where he meets the three clacksmen. At the last minute, Moist persuades them to send a different signal. The message, which appears to have been sent by dead clacksmen, exposes all of the company's crimes to the Patrician and Ankh-Morpork. The plan succeeds, and Vetinari orders an investigation. Moist is given possession of the Clacks but he gives it back to the Dearhearts and resumes his role of Postmaster.

In the epilogue, Gilt is brought before the Patrician some weeks later. Vetinari offers Gilt a similar offer to what he offered Moist, this time to reform the [[Ankh-Morpork Mint]] and banking system. Gilt declines the offer and walks out the door, where he presumably falls to his death.

==Characters==
*[[George Aggy]]
*[[Adora Belle Dearheart]]
*[[Albert Spangler]] (briefly)
*[[Anghammarad]]
* Daniel "One Drop" [[Trooper]]
*[[Gladys]]
*[[Grandad]]
*Mr [[Gryle]]
*[[Iodine Maccalariat]]
*[[Ladislav Pelc]]
*[[Moist von Lipwig]]
*[[Pump|Mr. Pump]]
*[[Reacher Gilt]]
*[[Sacharissa Cripslock]]
*[[Stanley Howler]]
*[[Tolliver Groat]]
*[[Vetinari]]

==Locations==
*[[Ankh-Morpork]]
**[[Patrician's Palace]]
**[[Post Office]]
**[[Lady Sybil Free Hospital]]
**[[Filigree Street]]
***[[The Mended Drum]]
**[[Unseen University]]
***[[Library]]
***[[Wizards' Pantry]]
**The [[Tanty]]
**[[Golem Trust]]
**[[Teemer and Spools]]
*[[Sto Lat]]
*[[Hapley]]
*[[Genua]]
*Clacks Towers
**[[Tump Tower]]
**[[Tower 181]]
**[[Tower 93]] (mentioned)

==Television==
{{TV Data
|title= Terry Pratchett's Going Postal
|asin= B003IPC3JU
|imdb= 1219817
|date= 30-31 May 2010
|channel=Sky One
|director= Jon Jones
|producer= Sue De Beauvoir
|cast=Richard Coyle, David Suchet, Claire Foy, Charles Dance
|duration= 182 minutes
|episodes= 2
|series= Ankh-Morpork Series
|annotations=
|notes=
|prev=[[Book:The Colour of Magic#Television|Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic]]
|next=
}}
'''''Terry Pratchett's Going Postal''''' was the novel's adaptation into a TV film. It was first broadcast on Sky One and Sky 1 HD, in two parts over the 30th and 31st of May 2010. [[Terry Pratchett]] made a cameo as a postman.

===Cast===
*[[Moist von Lipwig]] - Richard Coyle (''Coupling'')
*[[Reacher Gilt]] - David Suchet (''Agatha Christie's Poirot'')
*Patrician [[Havelock Vetinari]] - Charles Dance (''Game of Thrones, The Jewel in the Crown & The Golden Child'')
*[[Adora Belle Dearheart]] - Claire Foy (''Little Dorrit'')
*[[Mr. Pump]] (body) Marnix Van Den Broeke - (''Terry Pratchett's Hogfather'')
*Mr. Pump (voice) - Kerry Shale (''RKO 281, Dennis the Menace'')
*[[Drumknott]] - Steve Pemberton (''The League of Gentlemen, Psychoville'')
*[[Tolliver Groat]] - Andrew Sachs (''Fawlty Towers'')
*[[Sacharissa Cripslock]] - Tamsin Greig (''Black Books, Green Wing'')
*[[Angua]] - Ingrid Bolsø Berdal
*[[Gryle|Mr. Gryle]] - Adrian Schiller (''Being Human, A Touch of Frost'')
*[[Stanley Howler]] - Ian Bonar (''Hotel Babylon'')
*[[Crispin Horsefry]] - Madhav Sharma
*[[Mustrum Ridcully]] - Timothy West (''Edward the Seventh, Brass'')
*[[Mr. Pony]] - John Henshaw (''Early Doors, Born and Bred'')

{{series|series=Discworld|before=A Hat Full of Sky|after=Thud!}}
{{series|series=Ankh-Morpork|before=The Truth|after=Making Money}}

[[Category:Discworld Series|Going Postal]]
[[Category:Ankh-Morpork Series|Going Postal]]
[[de:Buch:Ab die Post]]

Book:Going Postal

2014-04-26T16:34:09Z

DuckMan: I'm going to take out a load of unnecessary details.

{{Book Data
|title= Going Postal
|cover=
[[File:Cover Going Postal.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Paul Kidby]]
|date= 25 Sep 2004
|pages= 329
|publisher= Doubleday
|isbn= 0385603428
|series= Ankh-Morpork Books
|characters= [[Moist von Lipwig]], [[Adora Belle Dearheart]], [[Reacher Gilt]]
|annotations=yes
|notes=Adapted as a TV film in 2010
}}
==Blurb==
[[Moist von Lipwig]] is a con artist and a fraud and a man faced with a life choice: be hanged, or put [[Ankh-Morpork]]'s ailing [[Ankh-Morpork Post Office|postal service]] back on its feet.

It's a tough decision.

But he's got to see that the mail gets through, come rain, hail, sleet, dogs, [[Ankh-Morpork_Order_of_Postal_Workers_Benevolent_and_Friendly_Society|the Post Office Workers Friendly and Benevolent Society]], the evil chairman of the [[Grand Trunk Semaphore Company]], and a midnight killer.

Getting a date with [[Adora Belle Dearheart]] would be nice, too.

Maybe it'll take a criminal to succeed where honest men have failed, or maybe it's a death sentence either way.

Or perhaps there's a shot at redemption in the mad world of the mail, waiting for a man who's prepared to push the envelope...

==Plot==
Moist von Lipwig is a travelling fraudster who is finally arrested in Ankh-Morpork under the name of Albert Spangler. However, the hangman fakes his execution and Moist wakes up in the care of the Patrician. Vetinari, having been the one who arranged for Lipwig to only be hanged "to within half an inch" of his life, offers Moist a job as the new Postmaster General, or he can walk out the door and "never hear from me again". Since walking out the door will result in death via a semi-disguised pit of spikes, Moist accepts the job. Once outside he immediately flees the city, but is apprehended in [[Hapley]] by his new parole officer, a golem called [[Mr. Pump]].

Moist begins work at the Post Office, once a thriving business that collapsed, leaving the building as a decaying shell full of piles of undelivered letters. Only two staff remain: [[Tolliver Groat]], an aged "Junior" Post Officer, and his assistant [[Stanley Howler]]. It turns out that in recent months, Vetinari has tried to revive the business, but four Postmasters have already died in mysterious accidents. Stanley and Groat are initially distrustful of Moist's presence and appear to be afraid of a mysterious presence that is haunting the building.

Vetinari meets with the Grand Trunk Semaphore Company, led by [[Reacher Gilt]], who have taken full control of the [[Clacks]]. The Patrician has noticed that the quality of the communications has deteriorated ever since they bought the Clacks network, but he fails to persuade Gilt to change his ways. Meanwhile, Moist discovers that two of his predecessors died because they hallucinated in the past and fell through non-existent floor, while another died of fright. Moist falls into a huge pile of letters and almost suffocates to death, but he is rescued by Mr Pump. Moist realises that the building is haunted because of the large number of undelivered letters. He hears voices in his head from the letters, demanding that they be delivered.

Moist begins by rehiring some of the old postmen, who initiate him by forcing him to do a treacherous blindfolded ''Postman's Walk''. To prove himself worthy of leadership, they additionally set several Lipwigzer dogs on him, but Moist knows how to control them, as he hails from the town of Lipwig where the dogs also originate and his grandfather breeds such dogs. Groat then shows Moist the mail-sorting machine; a time/space-warping, (and now wrecked) creation of the infamous [[Bloody Stupid Johnson]], which was partly responsible for the collapse of the old Post Office, and later for the death of a Postmaster.

While hiring new postmen, Moist falls in love-at-first-sight with [[Adora Belle Dearheart]], the chain-smoking golem-rights activist. Her father, [[Robert Dearheart]], invented the Clacks system, but it was stolen from him by Gilt using financial trickery. Her brother, [[John Dearheart]], organised a rival New Trunk, but he died mysteriously (in the prologue of the book). Moist also invents paper stamps for use by the Post Office, hires golems as postmen, gets the business working by delivering some of the undelivered mail and brings the Post Office in competition with the Clacks. His interview in the [[Ankh-Morpork Times]] coincides neatly with yet another breakdown of the Clacks, giving the Post Office public attention as he personally delivers mail to [[Sto Lat]].

Gilt sends his private assassin, a banshee named Mr [[Gryle]], to murder the Postmaster and burn down the building. As Moist has gone out on a date and left Groat in charge, the banshee mistakenly attacks Groat, only to be repelled by Stanley. The banshee only succeeds in setting the Post Office on fire. Moist senses trouble through the letters that are haunting his consciousness. He returns to the burning building, enters the building to rescue Mr. Tiddles the Post Offices cat, and confronts Mr Gryle by the sorting machine; Gryle accidentally succeeds in getting himself liquidated by it. During his rescue, [[Anghammarad]], a 18,000-year-old messenger golem is killed by the simultaneous combination of the fire and a sudden downpour of water, and is permitted by [[Death]] to spend eternity in [[The Desert]] at Anghammarad's request.

Following this, Moist challenges the Grand Trunk to see who can get a message to [[Genua]] (a two weeks' journey away), faster, and the Clacks are only too happy to accept it. He meets [[The Smoking Gnu]], three friends of the late John Dearheart, who undermine the Grand Trunk by sending codes which can damage the Clacks machinery. They offer to help by sending a {{wp|killer poke}} signal from an old wizard's tower after nightfall to damage the machinery.

[[Mustrum Ridcully|Archchancellor Ridcully]] gives both groups a book to send to Genua, and Moist offers to allow the Clacks to send part of the book while the mail coach delivers the rest. Moist travels with the mail coach for a short distance to the Wizards tower, where he meets the three clacksmen. At the last minute, Moist persuades them to send a different signal. The message, which appears to have been sent by dead clacksmen, exposes all of the company's crimes to the Patrician and Ankh-Morpork. The plan succeeds, and Vetinari orders an investigation. Moist is given possession of the Clacks but he gives it back to the Dearhearts and resumes his role of Postmaster.

In the epilogue, Gilt is brought before the Patrician some weeks later. Vetinari offers Gilt a similar offer to what he offered Moist, this time to reform the [[Ankh-Morpork Mint]] and banking system. Gilt declines the offer and walks out the door, where he presumably falls to his death.

==Characters==
*[[George Aggy]]
*[[Adora Belle Dearheart]]
*[[Albert Spangler]] (briefly)
*[[Anghammarad]]
* Daniel "One Drop" [[Trooper]]
*[[Gladys]]
*[[Grandad]]
*Mr [[Gryle]]
*[[Iodine Maccalariat]]
*[[Ladislav Pelc]]
*[[Moist von Lipwig]]
*[[Pump|Mr. Pump]]
*[[Reacher Gilt]]
*[[Sacharissa Cripslock]]
*[[Stanley Howler]]
*[[Tolliver Groat]]
*[[Vetinari]]

==Locations==
*[[Ankh-Morpork]]
**[[Patrician's Palace]]
**[[Post Office]]
**[[Lady Sybil Free Hospital]]
**[[Filigree Street]]
***[[The Mended Drum]]
**[[Unseen University]]
***[[Library]]
***[[Wizards' Pantry]]
**The [[Tanty]]
**[[Golem Trust]]
**[[Teemer and Spools]]
*[[Sto Lat]]
*[[Hapley]]
*[[Genua]]
*Clacks Towers
**[[Tump Tower]]
**[[Tower 181]]
**[[Tower 93]] (mentioned)

==Television==
{{TV Data
|title= Terry Pratchett's Going Postal
|asin= B003IPC3JU
|imdb= 1219817
|date= 30-31 May 2010
|channel=Sky One
|director= Jon Jones
|producer= Sue De Beauvoir
|cast=Richard Coyle, David Suchet, Claire Foy, Charles Dance
|duration= 182 minutes
|episodes= 2
|series= Ankh-Morpork Series
|annotations=
|notes=
|prev=[[Book:The Colour of Magic#Television|Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic]]
|next=
}}
'''''Terry Pratchett's Going Postal''''' was the novel's adaptation into a TV film. It was first broadcast on Sky One and Sky 1 HD, in two parts over the 30th and 31st of May 2010. [[Terry Pratchett]] made a cameo as a postman.

===Cast===
*[[Moist von Lipwig]] - Richard Coyle (''Coupling'')
*[[Reacher Gilt]] - David Suchet (''Agatha Christie's Poirot'')
*Patrician [[Havelock Vetinari]] - Charles Dance (''Game of Thrones, The Jewel in the Crown & The Golden Child'')
*[[Adora Belle Dearheart]] - Claire Foy (''Little Dorrit'')
*[[Mr. Pump]] (body) Marnix Van Den Broeke - (''Terry Pratchett's Hogfather'')
*Mr. Pump (voice) - Kerry Shale (''RKO 281, Dennis the Menace'')
*[[Drumknott]] - Steve Pemberton (''The League of Gentlemen, Psychoville'')
*[[Tolliver Groat]] - Andrew Sachs (''Fawlty Towers'')
*[[Sacharissa Cripslock]] - Tamsin Greig (''Black Books, Green Wing'')
*[[Angua]] - Ingrid Bolsø Berdal
*[[Gryle|Mr. Gryle]] - Adrian Schiller (''Being Human, A Touch of Frost'')
*[[Stanley Howler]] - Ian Bonar (''Hotel Babylon'')
*[[Crispin Horsefry]] - Madhav Sharma
*[[Mustrum Ridcully]] - Timothy West (''Edward the Seventh, Brass'')
*[[Mr. Pony]] - John Henshaw (''Early Doors, Born and Bred'')

{{series|series=Discworld|before=A Hat Full of Sky|after=Thud!}}
{{series|series=Ankh-Morpork|before=The Truth|after=Making Money}}

[[Category:Discworld Series|Going Postal]]
[[Category:Ankh-Morpork Series|Going Postal]]
[[de:Buch:Ab die Post]]

Book:Making Money

2014-04-26T16:10:12Z

DuckMan:

{{Book Data
|cover=
[[File:Cover Making Money.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Paul Kidby]]
|date=20th September 2007
|publisher= Doubleday
|isbn= 0385611013
|pages= 352

|series= Ankh-Morpork Books
|characters= [[Moist von Lipwig]], [[Adora Belle Dearheart]]
|annotations=yes
|notes=
}}

==Blurb==
It's an offer you can't refuse. Who would not to wish to be the man in charge of [[Ankh-Morpork]]'s [[Ankh-Morpork Mint|Royal Mint]] and the [[Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork|bank]] next door? It's a job for life. But, as former con-man [[Moist von Lipwig]] is learning, the life is not necessarily for long. The [[Mavolio Bent|Chief Cashier]] is almost certainly a [[vampires|vampire]]. There's [[Glooper|something nameless in the cellar]] (and the [[Fornication|cellar itself is pretty nameless]]), it turns out that the [[currency|Royal Mint]] runs at a loss. A [[Flead|300 year old wizard]] is after his [[Adora Belle Dearheart|girlfriend]], he's about to be exposed as a fraud, but the [[Assassins' Guild]] might get him first. In fact lot of people want him dead. Oh... and every day he has to take the [[Mr Fusspot|Chairman]] for walkies. Everywhere he looks he's making enemies. What he should be doing is... Making Money!

==Plot==
[[Moist von Lipwig]] is content but slightly bored with his successful leadership of the [[Ankh-Morpork Post Office]]. [[Havelock Vetinari|Lord Vetinari]] offers him the job of running the [[Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork]] and the [[Royal Mint]]. Moist visits both places, where he meets [[Mavolio Bent]], the Chief Cashier of and the bank's chairman [[Topsy Lavish]], who takes a liking to Moist, however he initially refuses the job offer. A short while afterwards, Lavish dies and the majority of shares in the bank are inherited by her dog [[Mr Fusspot]], making him the chairman. She has also specified in her will that Moist should ensure Mr Fusspot carries out his duties correctly and that the [[Assassins' Guild]] would enforce this contract, effectively forcing Moist to run the bank.

Moist is met with several challenges in office. The Royal Mint is operating at a ''loss'' because the metal required to produce the coins costs more than their actual value. Because of the weak currency, many people have taken to using Post Office stamps as a currency instead. He tries to reform the currency by introducing [[Paper Money]]. This brings him into conflict with [[Mavolio Bent]], the Chief Cashier, and the wealthy Lavish family who try to dispose of him without success. [[Cosmo Lavish]] goes a step further and tries to replace Vetinari by taking on his identity, but fails.

Meanwhile, [[Adora Belle Dearheart]] has been working to uncover several golems from the ruins of the ancient city of [[Um]]. She succeeds in ordering them to travel the city, but due to a translation error, it is discovered that instead of sending "four golden golems", she is sending four thousand golems. This would potentially trigger a war with the neighbouring city states, who would be threatened by the 4,000 golems. Moist discovers the secret to controlling the golems and orders them to bury themselves on the outskirts of the city, except for a few that will be used for manual labour. He realises that the golems will prove a much better foundation for the currency than gold and thus introduces the 'golem standard'. A clacks message is then sent out to other cities to explain how to control the golems, to ensure that they cannot be used for warfare.

At the end of the book, Vetinari notes that the Chief Tax Collector is approaching retirement age and may soon need replacing.

==Characters==
* '''Major characters'''
** [[Moist von Lipwig]], Postmaster General and Vice Chairman of the Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork.
** [[Adora Belle Dearheart]], fiancee of Moist and manager of the [[Golem Trust]]
** [[Mr Fusspot]], Chairman of the Bank
** Lord [[Havelock Vetinari|Vetinari]], Patrician
** Mr [[Mavolio Bent]], Chief Cashier of the Bank
** [[Cosmo Lavish]], a director of the Bank
** Rev [[Cribbins]], villain with impressive teeth

* '''Minor characters'''
** [[Owlswick Jenkins]], artist, presumed to be hangèd
** [[Hubert Turvy]], economist
** [[Pucci Lavish]], member of the [[Lavishes|Lavish family]]
** [[Gladys]], a gender confused golem
** [[Drumknott]], Vetinari's secretary
** [[Igor#Igor at the Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork|Igor]], Hubert Turvy's assistant
** Mr [[Shady]], the hereditary foreman of the Mint
** [[Topsy Lavish]], nee Turvy, Chairman of the Bank
** [[Death]], you know who
** [[Stanley Howler]], Head of Stamps
** [[Heretofore]], Cosmo Lavish's secretary
** "Professor" [[Cranberry]], Cosmo Lavish's Assassin
** [[Ribcage Jack]], associate of Professor Cranberry
** Mr. [[Slant]], Ankh Morpork's premier lawyer (and zombie)
** Corporal [[Nobby Nobbs]], of the Watch
** Sergeant [[Fred Colon]], of the Watch
** Sergeant [[Angua von Überwald]], of the Watch
** [[Sacharissa Cripslock]], reporter from The Times
** [[Aimsbury]], [[Mr Fusspot]]'s cook
** [[Peggy]], Aimsbury's daughter
** [[Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler]], sausage purveyor
** [[Harry King]], the king of golden river
** [[Evadne Cake|Mrs. Cake]], landlady
** [[Bellyster]], prison guard
** Mr [[Spools]], printer of the firm [[Teemer and Spools]]
** [[Chair of Indefinite Studies]]
** [[Ponder Stibbons]], a wizard
** Dr [[John Hicks]], head of the [[Department of Post-Mortem Communications]], ('''''not''''' a necromancer)
** Professor [[Flead]], deceased necromancer
**[[Barnsforth]] a student wizard, soon to be a Doctor of Post-Mortem Communications following some terse negotiation;
**[[Goatly]] another student wizard soon to become a Doctor;
** [[Hammersmith Coot]], a junior bank clerk
** Miss [[Drapes]], assistant to Mavolio Bent
** [[Ludmilla Cake]], Mrs Cake's daughter
** [[Robert Spittle]], a bank clerk
** Ms [[Berenice Houser]], clerk at the [[Ankh-Morpork Times]]
**[[Grace Speaker]], an otherwise blameless woman who runs a petfood shop, who attracts [[Vetinari]]'s attention.
** Constable [[Haddock]], of the Watch
** Sergeant [[Detritus]], of the Watch
** Captain [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]], of the Watch
** [[Anoia]], Goddess of Things That Get Stuck in Drawers
** Commander [[Samuel Vimes]], of the Watch
** Lord [[Downey]], head of the [[Assassins' Guild]]
** Dr. [[Whiteface]], head of the [[Fools' Guild]]

== Things and Concepts ==
*[[Cabinet of Curiosity]]
*[[Glooper|The Glooper]]
*[[Exclusive Possession|Monopoly]]

{{series|series=Discworld|before=Wintersmith|after=Unseen Academicals}}
{{series|series=Ankh-Morpork|before=Going Postal|after=Unseen Academicals}}

:
[[Category:Discworld Series|Making Money]]
[[Category:Ankh-Morpork Series|Making Money]]
[[Category:Making Money]]
[[de:Buch:Schöne Scheine]]

Book:Making Money

2014-04-26T16:08:55Z

DuckMan:

{{Book Data
|cover=
[[File:Cover Making Money.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Paul Kidby]]
|date=20th September 2007
|publisher= Doubleday
|isbn= 0385611013
|pages= 352

|series= Ankh-Morpork Books
|characters= [[Moist von Lipwig]], [[Adora Belle Dearheart]]
|annotations=yes
|notes=
}}

==Blurb==
It's an offer you can't refuse. Who would not to wish to be the man in charge of [[Ankh-Morpork]]'s [[Ankh-Morpork Mint|Royal Mint]] and the [[Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork|bank]] next door? It's a job for life. But, as former con-man [[Moist von Lipwig]] is learning, the life is not necessarily for long. The [[Mavolio Bent|Chief Cashier]] is almost certainly a [[vampires|vampire]]. There's [[Glooper|something nameless in the cellar]] (and the [[Fornication|cellar itself is pretty nameless]]), it turns out that the [[currency|Royal Mint]] runs at a loss. A [[Flead|300 year old wizard]] is after his [[Adora Belle Dearheart|girlfriend]], he's about to be exposed as a fraud, but the [[Assassins' Guild]] might get him first. In fact lot of people want him dead. Oh... and every day he has to take the [[Mr Fusspot|Chairman]] for walkies. Everywhere he looks he's making enemies. What he should be doing is... Making Money!

==Plot==
[[Moist van Lipwig]] is content but slightly bored with his successful leadership of the [[Ankh-Morpork Post Office]]. [[Havelock Vetinari|Lord Vetinari]] offers him the job of running the [[Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork]] and the [[Royal Mint]]. Moist visits both places, where he meets [[Malvolio Bent]], the Chief Cashier of and the bank's chairman [[Topsy Lavish]], who takes a liking to Moist, however he initially refuses the job offer. A short while afterwards, Lavish dies and the majority of shares in the bank are inherited by her dog [[Mr Fusspot]], making him the chairman. She has also specified in her will that Moist should ensure Mr Fusspot carries out his duties correctly and that the [[Assassin's Guild]] would enforce this contract, effectively forcing Moist to run the bank.

Moist is met with several challenges in office. The Royal Mint is operating at a ''loss'' because the metal required to produce the coins costs more than their actual value. Because of the weak currency, many people have taken to using Post Office stamps as a currency instead. He tries to reform the currency by introducing [[Paper Money]]. This brings him into conflict with [[Mavolio Bent]], the Chief Cashier, and the wealthy Lavish family who try to dispose of him without success. [[Cosmo Lavish]] goes a step further and tries to replace Vetinari by taking on his identity, but fails.

Meanwhile, [[Adora Belle Dearheart]] has been working to uncover several golems from the ruins of the ancient city of [[Um]]. She succeeds in ordering them to travel the city, but due to a translation error, it is discovered that instead of sending "four golden golems", she is sending four thousand golems. This would trigger a potential war with the neighbouring city states who would be threatened by the 4,000 golems. Moist discovers the secret to controlling the golems and orders them to bury themselves on the outskirts of the city, except for a few that will be used for manual labour. He realises that the golems will prove a much better foundation for the currency than gold and thus introduces the 'golem standard'. A clacks message is then sent out to other cities to explain how to control the golems, to ensure that they cannot be used for warfare.

At the end of the book, Vetinari notes that the Chief Tax Collector is approaching retirement age and may soon need replacing.

==Characters==
* '''Major characters'''
** [[Moist von Lipwig]], Postmaster General and Vice Chairman of the Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork.
** [[Adora Belle Dearheart]], fiancee of Moist and manager of the [[Golem Trust]]
** [[Mr Fusspot]], Chairman of the Bank
** Lord [[Havelock Vetinari|Vetinari]], Patrician
** Mr [[Mavolio Bent]], Chief Cashier of the Bank
** [[Cosmo Lavish]], a director of the Bank
** Rev [[Cribbins]], villain with impressive teeth

* '''Minor characters'''
** [[Owlswick Jenkins]], artist, presumed to be hangèd
** [[Hubert Turvy]], economist
** [[Pucci Lavish]], member of the [[Lavishes|Lavish family]]
** [[Gladys]], a gender confused golem
** [[Drumknott]], Vetinari's secretary
** [[Igor#Igor at the Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork|Igor]], Hubert Turvy's assistant
** Mr [[Shady]], the hereditary foreman of the Mint
** [[Topsy Lavish]], nee Turvy, Chairman of the Bank
** [[Death]], you know who
** [[Stanley Howler]], Head of Stamps
** [[Heretofore]], Cosmo Lavish's secretary
** "Professor" [[Cranberry]], Cosmo Lavish's Assassin
** [[Ribcage Jack]], associate of Professor Cranberry
** Mr. [[Slant]], Ankh Morpork's premier lawyer (and zombie)
** Corporal [[Nobby Nobbs]], of the Watch
** Sergeant [[Fred Colon]], of the Watch
** Sergeant [[Angua von Überwald]], of the Watch
** [[Sacharissa Cripslock]], reporter from The Times
** [[Aimsbury]], [[Mr Fusspot]]'s cook
** [[Peggy]], Aimsbury's daughter
** [[Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler]], sausage purveyor
** [[Harry King]], the king of golden river
** [[Evadne Cake|Mrs. Cake]], landlady
** [[Bellyster]], prison guard
** Mr [[Spools]], printer of the firm [[Teemer and Spools]]
** [[Chair of Indefinite Studies]]
** [[Ponder Stibbons]], a wizard
** Dr [[John Hicks]], head of the [[Department of Post-Mortem Communications]], ('''''not''''' a necromancer)
** Professor [[Flead]], deceased necromancer
**[[Barnsforth]] a student wizard, soon to be a Doctor of Post-Mortem Communications following some terse negotiation;
**[[Goatly]] another student wizard soon to become a Doctor;
** [[Hammersmith Coot]], a junior bank clerk
** Miss [[Drapes]], assistant to Mavolio Bent
** [[Ludmilla Cake]], Mrs Cake's daughter
** [[Robert Spittle]], a bank clerk
** Ms [[Berenice Houser]], clerk at the [[Ankh-Morpork Times]]
**[[Grace Speaker]], an otherwise blameless woman who runs a petfood shop, who attracts [[Vetinari]]'s attention.
** Constable [[Haddock]], of the Watch
** Sergeant [[Detritus]], of the Watch
** Captain [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]], of the Watch
** [[Anoia]], Goddess of Things That Get Stuck in Drawers
** Commander [[Samuel Vimes]], of the Watch
** Lord [[Downey]], head of the [[Assassins' Guild]]
** Dr. [[Whiteface]], head of the [[Fools' Guild]]

== Things and Concepts ==
*[[Cabinet of Curiosity]]
*[[Glooper|The Glooper]]
*[[Exclusive Possession|Monopoly]]

{{series|series=Discworld|before=Wintersmith|after=Unseen Academicals}}
{{series|series=Ankh-Morpork|before=Going Postal|after=Unseen Academicals}}

:
[[Category:Discworld Series|Making Money]]
[[Category:Ankh-Morpork Series|Making Money]]
[[Category:Making Money]]
[[de:Buch:Schöne Scheine]]

Book:Soul Music

2014-04-26T15:26:33Z

DuckMan:

{{Book Data
|title= Soul Music
|cover=
[[File:Cover Soul Music.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Josh Kirby]]
|coauthors=
|illustrator=
|date= May 1994
|publisher= Victor Gollancz
|isbn=0575055049
|pages=288
|rrp=
|series=Death Series
|characters=[[Imp y Celyn]], [[Death]], [[Susan Sto-Helit]], [[Glod Glodsson]], [[Lias Bluestone]]
|annotations=yes
|notes=
}}

==Blurb==
Other children got given xylophones. Susan just had to ask her grandfather to take his vest off.

Yes. There's a [[Death]] in the family.

It's hard to grow up normally when Grandfather rides a [[Binky|white horse]] and wields a scythe – especially when you have to take over the family business, and everyone mistakes you for the Tooth Fairy.

And especially when you have to face the new and addictive music that has entered the [[Discworld (world)|Discworld]].

It's Lawless. It changes people.

It's called [[Music With Rocks In]].

It's got a beat and you can dance to it, but ...

It's alive.

And it won't fade away.

==Plot==
The book tells the story of Rock 'n' Roll's brief appearance on the Disc. [[Imp y Celyn]] (aka Buddy) emigrates from [[Llamedos]] to [[Ankh-Morpork]], with a harp as his only hope of making money. He meets dwarf hornist [[Glod Glodsson]] and troll percussionist [[Lias Bluestone|Lias "Cliff" Bluestone]] and they apply to join the [[Musicians' Guild]], only to discover that the malicious secretary [[Clete]] charges a ridiculously high membership fee. To make their situation worse, Cliff accidentally crushes Buddy's harp. As a replacement, Buddy purchases a strange guitar which produces a distorted and extremely loud noise despite having no sound chamber. Although it is illegal for musicians outside of the guild to perform in public, they decide to play gigs at pubs and clubs.

The book features the first appearance of [[Susan Sto Helit]], the daughter of [[Mort]] and [[Ysabell]] and a student in [[Quirm]]. At the beginning of the book, Mort and Ysabell have just been killed in a coach accident. [[Death]] takes leave from his post due to his grief and Susan is forced to fill in his duty. As part of the job, Susan has to attend the scheduled Death of "Imp y Celyn" in Ankh-Morpork. As the band, who later become known as [[The Band With Rocks In]], are playing in a club, she sees a barbarian throw an axe at the stage. Instead of killing the singer however, it misses at the moment of his scheduled death. She soon discovers that the Music is a magical and almost demonic force which is artificially extending his life by manipulating his luck.

The band soon rise to prominence in Ankh-Morpork after they come under the care of [[Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler]], who become the Disc's first ever Band Manager. He arranges for them to play at the [[Cavern Club]], to a huge and enthusiastic reception. Again, the Music stops Buddy from being killed a second time by Clete's private assassins. The hypnotic power of the Music means both the band and the audience are put under a spell during the shows. Soon, more bands are being formed in Ankh-Morpork and many hopeful musicians are learning guitar and forming bands, even the Wizards at the [[Unseen University]]. Dibbler arranges them to go on a tour to several cities, and the band a greeted with huge crowds wherever they play. At the same time, Buddy is becoming increasingly tired and depleted, saying and doing almost nothing between the shows.

The band arranges a huge free concert at [[Hide Park]] in [[Ankh-Morpork]] (a parody of the {{wp|Woodstock Festival|Woodstock Festival}}, and also referencing a famous concert by The Rolling Stones), featuring other bands with varying degrees of incompetence. They then flee the city, pursued by Dibbler, the Musician's Guild, Susan and Death. Their cart falls off the edge of a cliff, but Death intervenes and drives the Music off the Disc by destroying the guitar. The fate of the band is ambiguous and it is suggested near the end that Imp may have ended up working at a chip shop in Quirm.

==Characters==

===Main Characters===
*[[The Band With Rocks In]]:
**[[Imp y Celyn]]: Member (lead vocals & eclectric whatzit)
**[[Glod Glodsson]]: Member (Horn)
**[[Lias Bluestone]]: Member (Percussion)
**The [[Librarian]]: Short-term member (Organ)
**[[Asphalt]]: Roadie
**[[CMOT Dibbler]]: Manager

*The Death family and associates:
**[[Death]]
**[[Susan Sto-Helit]]
**[[Mort]]
**[[Ysabell]]
**[[Binky]]
**[[Death of Rats]]
**[[Quoth]]

*[[Musicians' Guild|Ankh-Morpork Musicians Guild]]:
**Mr. [[Clete]]
**Mr. [[Satchelmouth Lemon]]
**[[Herbert Shuffle]]
**[[Grisham Frord Close Harmony Singers]]

*The Wizards:
**[[Mustrum Ridcully]]
**The [[Dean]]
**The [[Bursar]]
**[[Lecturer in Recent Runes]]
**[[Senior Wrangler]]
**[[Chair of Indefinite Studies]]
**[[Ponder Stibbons]]
**[[Adrian Turnipseed]]

===Minor Characters===
*Staff and residents of [[Quirm College for Young Ladies]]:
**Miss [[Eulalie Butts]]
**Miss [[Delacross]]
**[[Gloria Thogsdaughter]]
**[[Lady Sara]]
**[[Jade|Princess Jade]]
*[[Nobby Nobbs]]
*[[Fred Colon]]

===Cameos and Mentions===
*[[Giamo Casanunda]] (mentioned)
*[[The Duck Man]] (mentioned)
*Owen Mwnyy (mentioned)
*[[Hogfather]] (mentioned)
*[[Mr Hong|Mr. Hong]] (mentioned)
*The [[Soul Cake Duck]] (mentioned)
*C. H. Lavatory & Son (mentioned)
*Gorlick and Hammerjug (mentioned)
*Mr. [[Dorfl]] (mentioned)

*[[Klatchian Foreign Legion]]

*Other music groups:
**[[Ande Supporting Bandes]] (Crash & Jimbo)
**Trollz
**Dwarfs With Altitude
**Boyz from the Wood
**&U

===Concepts, Items, Etc.===

*Books:
**''[[Along the Ankh with Bow, Rod and Staff with a Knob on the End]]''
**''[[Blert Wheedown's Guitar Primer]]''

*Songs:
**"Great Fiery Balls"
**Don't Tread On My New Blue Boots
**Good Gracious Miss Polly
**Sto Helit Lace
**Pathway to Paradise
**Something's gotten into my beard
**There's A Great Deal Of Shaking Happening
**Give Me That Music With Rocks In
**Sioni Bod Da

*Other
**[[Noxeuse's Divisibility Paradox]]

==Locations==
*[[Ankh-Morpork]]
**The [[Musicians' Guild]]
**[[The Mended Drum]]
**[[Unseen University]]
**[[The Backs]]
**[[Hide Park]]
*[[Llamedos]]
*[[Sto Plains]]
*[[Scrote]]
*[[Hersheba]] (mentioned)
*[[Quirm]]
**[[Quirm College for Young Ladies]]
**[[Three Roses Alley]]
*A [[Wandering Shop]]
*The [[Cavern Club]]
*[[Sto Lat]]
*[[Pseudopolis]]
*[[The Gritz]]
*Joe's Livery Stable

== Television ==
{{TV Data
|title= Soul Music
|asin= B00004CW4G
|imdb= 0159914
|date= 1996
|channel=Channel 4
|producer= Jean Flynn
|cast=Christopher Lee, Andy Hockley, Debra Gillett, Graham Crowden
|duration= 159 minutes
|episodes= 7
|series= Death Series
|annotations=
|notes=
|prev=[[Book:Wyrd Sisters#Television|Wyrd Sisters]]
|next=[[Book:Hogfather#Television|Terry Pratchett's Hogfather]]
}}

An animated mini-series adaptation was produced by Cosgrove Hall Films for Channel 4 in 1996. It was later released in a two-VHS box set.

An accompanying soundtrack album was released - The CD is now out of print, but the album is available through iTunes[http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/soul-music/id295153491].

===Cast===
*[[Imp y Celyn]] - Andy Hockley (''Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'')
*[[Susan Sto Helit]] - Debra Gillett (''The Witches, Truckers'')
*[[Death]] - Christopher Lee (''The Wicker Man, The Man with the Golden Gun, Lord of the Rings'' trilogy)
*[[Mustrum Ridcully]] - Graham Crowden (''Waiting for God'')
*[[Mort]] - Neil Morrissey (''Men Behaving Badly, Bob the Builder'')
*[[Asphalt]] - Bernard Wrigley

===References===
The TV adaptation of ''Soul Music'' takes the association of the "Band with Rocks In" with the Beatles even further than the book does. Their style evolves from 1950s rock and early 1960s beat music (and mixing-bowl haircuts) in Ankh-Morpork, to acid rock in Scrote, to spiritual hippie rock in Quirm. In Sto Lat, they sound like the Jimi Hendrix Experience or Bad Company, but are dressed in clothes similar to the Beatles on the cover of the ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' album. Also in Quirm, Buddy says that the band is 'more popular than cheeses,' referring to John Lennon's famous quote proclaiming the Beatles to be more popular than Jesus. In Pseudopolis, their outfits and style resemble the Blues Brothers. Crash's band is also given the name "Socks Pastels".

==External links==
[http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/soul-music.html ''Soul Music'' Annotations - The Annotated Pratchett File]

{{series|before=Men at Arms|series=Discworld|after=Interesting Times}}
{{series|series=Death|before=Reaper Man|after=Hogfather}}

[[Category:Discworld Series|Soul Music]]
[[Category:Death Series|Soul Music]]
[[de:Buch:Rollende Steine]]

Book:Monstrous Regiment

2014-04-16T20:24:40Z

DuckMan:

{{Book Data
|title= Monstrous Regiment
|cover=
[[File:Cover Monstrous Regiment.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Paul Kidby]]
|coauthors=
|illustrator=
|date= 25th September 2003
|publisher= Doubleday
|isbn=0385603401
|pages=329
|rrp=
|series=Death Series
|characters=[[Polly Perks]], [[Jack Jackrum|Sergeant Jackrum]], [[Samuel Vimes|Sam Vimes]]
|annotations=yes
|notes=
}}

==Blurb==
It was a sudden strange fancy... 
[[Polly Perks]] had to become a boy in a hurry. Cutting off her hair and wearing trousers was easy. Learning to fart and belch in public and walk like an ape took more time...

And now she's enlisted in the [[Borogravia|army]], and searching for her lost brother. But there's a war on. There's always a war on. And Polly and her fellow recruits are suddenly in the thick of it, without any training, and the enemy is hunting them.

All they have on their side is the most artful sergeant in the army and a [[vampires|vampire]] with a lust for coffee. Well... they have the Secret. And as they take the war to the heart of the enemy, they have to use all the resources of... the Monstrous Regiment.

==Plot==
[[Borogravia]] is a small, backward country which is at war with [[Zlobenia]]. The traditional deity of the country is [[Nuggan]], but he has become increasingly psychotic deity and taken to declaring many trivial things to being "Abominations" - including garlic, cats and ginger hair. As a result, the population are losing their faith in Nuggan and many are starting to instead worship their official leader, Duchess [[Annagovia]].

[[Polly Perks]] sets out to find her slow-witted brother Paul after he disappears while serving in the army. Nuggantic law prevents women from owning property, meaning that unless Paul returns the family pub will pass to their cousin (a drunk) after their father's death. Women are also prohibited from serving in the army, so Polly disguises herself as a boy with the name "Oliver" in order to enlist. After she enlists, she meets the patriotic Corporal [[Strappi]] and [[Sergeant Jackrum]]. Her fellow soldiers include a vampire named [[Maladict]], a Troll named [[Carborundum]], and an [[Igor]]. They also include [[Tonker Halter|"Tonker" Halter]], [[Shufti Manickle|"Shufti" Manickle]], [[Wazzer Goom|"Wazzer" Goom]], and [[Lofty Tewt|"Lofty" Tewt]].

On the night after joining, Polly hears a mysterious voice from someone who knows her to be a girl, but promises not to tell and even gives tips on how to conceal her gender. Over the next few days, Polly realizes that Lofty and Shufti are both girls. As the story progresses, she gradually discovers that the entire regiment consists of girls pretending to be male soldiers. She also realizes that Borogravia's situation in the war is hopeless.

The regiment head towards the Keep where their enemies are based, on a mission to rescue Borogravian soldiers who are in their captivity. They run into an elite enemy detachment that includes Zlobenia's Prince Heinrich and manage to easily defeat them. As a result, the regiment get publicity with the outside world via the [[Ankh-Morpork Times]]. They also draw the interest of [[Samuel Vimes]], who is stationed with his alliance at the Keep.

Polly and most of the rest of the regiment infiltrate the Keep disguised as washerwomen. They manage to free the captured troops and take control of most of the building, but when Polly admits that they are women, their own forces remove them from the conflict. They are brought before a council of senior officers. They are about be discharged and sent home, when Jackrum arrives and reveals that many of them are also women. In the midst of this, Wazzer becomes possessed by Annagovia. The Duchess is actually dead, but Because of how the power of belief works in [[Discworld]], she has turned into a deity. By communicating through Wazzer, she urges the generals to abandon the war, return home and repair the country.

It is then revealed that Jackrum is also a woman. The regiment is sent to the enemy and successfully negotiates peace. The military rules are changed to allow women to serve, while Polly finds her brother and they return home. At the end of the book, it is revealed that another conflict has broken out and Polly sneaks away from the family pub (now in her possession) to join the army and become commander of a group of boy-impersonating female soldiers.

==Characters==
'''Borogravians'''
* Grand Duchess [[Annagovia]]
* General [[Froc]]
* Major [[Clogston]]
* Lieutenant [[Blouse]] (of the [[Tenth Infantry]])
* Private [[Lart Hubukurk]] the younger
* Private [[Joe Hubukurk]] the elder (retired)
* Sergeant-Major [[Jack Jackrum]]
* Corporal [[Strappi]]
* [[Polly Perks]]
* [[Igor#Igor in the Ins-and-Outs, Borogravia|Igor]]
* [[Maladict]]
* [[Carborundum]]
* [[Tonker Halter|"Tonker" Halter]]
* [[Shufti Manickle|"Shufti" Manickle]]
* [[Wazzer Goom|"Wazzer" Goom]]
* [[Lofty Tewt|"Lofty" Tewt]]
* [[Enid]]
'''Zlobenians and other neighboring countries'''
* Prince [[Heinrich]]
'''Ankh-Morporkians'''
* [[Samuel Vimes]] (of the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch]])
* [[Angua von Überwald]]
* [[Buggy Swires]]
* [[Reg Shoe]]
* [[Clarence Chinny]] (Consul to Zlobenia)
* [[William de Worde]] (of the ''[[Ankh-Morpork Times]]'')
* [[Otto Chriek]] (of the ''Ankh-Morpork Times'')
* [[Ronald Rust]]

==Annotations==
The title of the book comes from ''{{wp|The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstruous Regiment of Women}}'', a misogynistic book written by the Protestant preacher {{wp|John Knox}}. He criticized Mary I of England and Mary of Guise (the acting ruler of Scotland) and argued that having women in power went against the Bible. This backfired spectacularly on him because Elizabeth I became the Queen of England later that year. Although a Protestant, Elizabeth was offended by his writings and banned him from entering England for the rest of his life. At the time the two words had different meanings: "monstruous"/"monstrous" meant "unnatural" while "regiment" meant "rule"/"governance".

==Locations==
*[[Borogravia]]
**[[Munz]]
*[[Zlobenia]]

==External links==
[http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/monstrous-regiment.html ''Monstrous Regiment'' Annotations - The Annotated Pratchett File]

{{series|series=Discworld|before=The Wee Free Men|after=A Hat Full of Sky}}

[[Category:Discworld Series|Monstrous Regiment]]
[[de:Buch:Weiberregiment]]

Book:Thud!

2013-11-25T19:01:12Z

DuckMan:

{{Book Data
|title= Thud!
|cover=
[[File:Cover Thud.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Paul Kidby]]
|coauthors=
|illustrator=
|date= 1 October 2005
|publisher= Doubleday
|isbn=0385608675
|pages=xxx
|rrp=
|series=Watch Series
|characters=[[Samuel Vimes|Commander Vimes]], [[Sybil Ramkin|Sybil Vimes]], [[Detritus]], [[Sally von Humpeding]], [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]], [[Cheery Littlebottom]], [[Angua von Überwald]], [[Mr Shine]]
|annotations=yes
|notes=
}}
==Blurb==
THUD! [[Battle of Koom Valley|Koom Valley]]? That was where the trolls ambushed the dwarfs, or the dwarfs ambushed the trolls. It was far away. It was a long time ago. But if he doesn't solve the murder of just one dwarf, Commander Sam Vimes of [[Ankh-Morpork]] City Watch is going to see the battle fought again, right outside his office. With his beloved [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch|Watch]] crumbling around him and war-drums sounding, he must unravel every clue, outwit every assassin and brave any darkness to find the solution. And darkness is following him.

==Plot==
Relationships between the dwarf and troll communities of Ankh-Morpork have always been strained on the anniversary of the (first) [[Battle of Koom Valley]], the first great battle between the two races. This year the tension has been made worse due to a dwarf demagogue Grag [[Hamcrusher]]. On the morning where the book begins, Captain Carrot brings news that Hamcrusher has been murdered, apparently by a troll, yet the dwarfs are trying to keep it secret from the watch.

Vimes visits the extensive dwarf mines beneath the city, and meets a nervous dwarf called Helmclever and Ardent, the Grags' interpreter. Ardent explains that Hamcrusher is indeed dead and the Grags are planning to appoint a "smelter", a dwarf detective to discover the truth. Vimes convinces them to choose Captain Carrot, a human who was adopted by dwarfs. Meanwhile, [[Nobby Nobbs]] and [[Fred Colon]] begin investigating the theft of [[Methodia Rascal|Methodia Rascal's]] giant painting of the Battle of Koom Valley.

While Vimes and Detritus visit [[Chrysoprase]], Carrot brings [[Angua]] and a new vampire recruit [[Sally von Humpeding|Salacia "Sally" von Humpeding]] to investigate the crime scene, and is met with a confusing group of clues. Hamcrusher must have been dead before he was hit with the troll club, but there is evidence that a troll must have been present. Meanwhile, dwarfs are gathering in [[Sator Square]] while trolls are gathering in [[Plaza of Broken Moons]]. The Watch and the [[Specials]] (including a conscripted inspector) gather between the gangs to stop a fight, though the job proves surprisingly easy as most of them become blind drunk.

Meanwhile, Angua and Sally discover four recently killed dwarfs in a disused mine tunnel, who appear to have found a strange object which resulted in their death. One of them scrawled a minesign symbol the back of a locked door. When they return to the Watch House after crawling through the underworld of the city, a mysterious troll called [[Mr. Shine]] brings [[Brick]], a troll from the gutters of the city to the care of Detritus. He tells them that the symbol means The [[Summoning Dark]], the darkest and most dangerous of minesign symbols. It turns out that Brick fell into the mine by accident under the influence of drugs, and saw Hamcrusher's body being hit with a club by another dwarf. Vimes visits Mr. Shine beneath a shop, where he reveals himself to be a [[Diamond King|diamond troll]] and the secret King of the Trolls. Carrot organizes the dwarfs to dig out the four bodies. The dwarfs abandon the mine but in a parting shot, try to attack the Commander's house.

A dwarf called Helmclever is brought back the Watch House, and over a game of [[Thud]], tells Vimes that the four miners were killed because they found a talking [[Cube]], a magical device which can record and replay sound. The cube had the voice of [[B'hrian Bloodaxe]], the King who commanded the dwarfs at Koom Valley. When Hamcrusher heard the cube, it enraged him so much he tried to destroy the words (which the dwarfs consider a heinous crime). Fighting broke out and another Grag killed him with a mining hammer. Ardent tried to conceal the crime to prevent the Watch discovering the cube. The dwarfs are now planning to use Rascal's painting to search the valley to find where there are "more lies". Helmclever dies suddenly as the candles are extinguished. A young Grag [[Bashfull Bashfullsson]] explains that the Summoning Dark killed him; he was cursed by the Summoning Dark because he heard one of the four miners dying from behind the door and did nothing in response. Unknown to Vimes, he too is cursed with the Summoning Dark because he touched the same door during his visit to the mine.

Vimes deduces that Methodia Rascal (an insane artist who lived in fear of "a chicken") found the cube in Koom Valley, learned how to make it talk but threw it away because he could not stop it. He asks [[Mustrum Ridcully]] to help him travel as fast as possible to Koom Valley, bringing Sybil, his son, [[Willikins]], Bashfullsson, Fred Colon, Nobby Nobbs, [[Cheery Littlebottom|Cheery]], Angua, Sally and Detritus, who also insists on bringing Brick.

At the valley, with help from copies of Rascal's painting which Sybil made when she was young, Vimes searches the valley for the location and eventually finds the stolen painting. He falls into a sinkhole and disappears. However, the Summoning Dark purposefully brings him to a cave full of dwarfs. In a dreamy fit of rage, Vimes attacks the dwarfs, killing or scaring most of them off. The Summoning Dark directs him to kill the helpless old Grags, but his own internal watchman stops him from losing control and drives out the demonic entity from his mind. When he regains consciousness, he meets the [[Low King]], and they agree to activate the cube after discovering the special word to start it ("Awk!").

The cube reveals that the dwarfs and trolls came to Koom Valley to make peace, but fighting broke out after they were caught in a mist and a storm. Some of the dwarfs and trolls were washed into a cave, together with the cube. They both recorded speeches on the cube and left one dwarf to try and bring it to the surface, while Bloodaxe and the Diamond King died playing Thud. At the end of the book, the cave is opened to the public with the hope that the two races can end their centuries of feuding. Back in Ankh-Morpork, Carrot tells Vetinari that the watch will expand with 60 new officers, and they have discovered an [[Axle]] in the mine under the city.

==Subplots==
* A recurring element is that every day at six o'clock, Vimes must return home and read [[Book:Where's My Cow?|Where's My Cow?]] to his son, even if it means charging through the city or shouting while fighting dwarfs.
* The [[Black Ribbon|Black Ribboners]] and Vetinari force Vimes to accept a vampire in the Watch. There is tension between Sally and Angua, especially when they both go down into the mine with Carrot, Angua's boyfriend. Later, Vimes discovers that Sally is a spy for the Low King, but he does not accept her resignation and allows her to stay in the Watch.
* Nobby Nobbs has a new girlfriend called [[Tawneee]], a pole dancer so attractive that it turns out that no men in their right mind would dare ask her out. After she helps a Angua and Sally as they find their way out of the tunnel, they invite her and Cheery for a night out drinking. At the end of the story, Nobby decides to let her down because she would be no good in the kitchen.
* Vetinari sends an inspector [[A.E. Pessimal]] to check whether the Watch is spending money wisely. Pessimal annoys Vimes so much that he conscripts the white-collar worker into the Specials, where they stand for hours in the pouring rain, sandwiched between two gangs. When Vimes decides the game is up, he refuses to leave and shows unexpected bravery when he attacks a troll (Brick) with his fists and teeth. Vimes later accepts Pessimal into the Watch, giving him administration duties, and promising he will become a sergeant in a year.
* Vimes has acquired another [[Dis-Organiser]] (a mark V), although this time, he is able to find some use for it.

==Major Characters==

*[[Grag]] [[Ardent]]
*Grag [[Bashfull Bashfullsson]]
*[[Detritus]]
*[[Brick]]
*[[Sally von Humpeding]]
*[[Carrot Ironfoundersson]]
*[[Cheery Littlebottom]]
*The [[Low King]] of the Dwarves
*[[Mr. Shine]]
*[[Angua von Überwald]]
*[[Samuel Vimes]]

==Minor Characters==

*[[B'hrian Bloodaxe]]
*Grag [[Hamcrusher]]
*[[Helmclever]]
*[[A.E. Pessimal]]
*[[Daniellarina Pouter]]
*[[Methodia Rascal]]
*Sir [[Reynold Stitched]]
*[[Tawneee]]
*[[Havelock Vetinari]]
*[[Bunty Waynesbury]] and husband

==Cameos and Mentions==

* Constable [[Brakenshield]]
* Constable [[Bluejohn]]
* [[Boggis]]
* [[Otto Chriek]]
* [[Coffin Henry]]
* [[Death]]
* Miss [[Deviante]]
* [[Dribble]], dragon
* [[Drumknott]]
* [[The Duck Man]]
* Constable [[Fittly]]
* [[Gimlet Gimlet]]
* Constable [[Haddock]]
* Special Constable [[Andy Hancock]]
* [[Hardcore]], troll
* Lance-Constable [[Hitherto|Hector Hitherto]]
* Lance-Constable [[Hitherto|Horace Hitherto]]
* [[Grabber Hoskins]] (mentioned)
* [[Igor#Igor_at_Ankh-Morpork_City_Watch.2C_Ankh-Morpork|Igor]]
* Constable [[Ironbender]]
* [[Gunder Ironcrust]]
* [[Setha Ironcrust]]
* [[Johnny]], coachman
* [[Bergholt Stuttley Johnson|Bergholt "Bloody Stupid" Stuttley Johnson]]
* Constable [[Precious Jolson]]
* [[John Keel]] (mentioned)
* [[Librarian]]
* Constable [[Mica]]
* Special Constable [[Piggle]]
* [[Mr. Pony]], [[Artificers' Guild]]
* [[Purity]], nursemaid
* [[Verity Pushpram]]
* [[Mustrum Ridcully]]
* Corporal [[Ringfounder]]
* Mrs. [[Robinson]]
* [[Ruby]], wife of Detritus
* Constable [[Schist]]
* [[Arnold Sideways]]
* Dame [[Slightly]] (mentioned)
* [[John Smith]]
* Mrs. [[Spudding]]
* [[Pors Stronginthearm]]
* [[Grabpot Thundergust]]
* [[Mavis Trouncer]]
* [[Eric Wheelbrace]]
* [[Willikins]]
* [[Doreen Winkings]]

==Locations==
*[[Ankh-Morpork]]
**The [[Cham]]
**[[Dolly Sisters]] (mentioned)
**[[Empirical Crescent]]
**[[Oblong Office]]
**The [[Pink PussyCat Club]]
**[[Plaza of Broken Moons]]
**[[Pseudopolis Yard]]
**The [[Pork Futures Warehouse]]
**[[Pointer & Pickles]]
**The [[Royal Art Museum]]
**[[Sator Square]]
**[[Tallow Lane]] (mentioned)
**[[Treacle Street]]
**[[Turn Again Lane]] (mentioned)
**[[Two Pint Dock]]
*[[Crundells]] (mentioned)
*[[Mine sign|Dwarf Mines]]
*[[Koom Valley]]
*[[Ham-on-Koom]]

==Concepts and Ideas==

*[[Thud]] the boardgame
*[[Technomantic Devices]]
*[[Cubes]]
*[[Axle|Axles]]

==See also==
* [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/fiction/article569607.ece Times Review]
* [http://www.thudgame.com/history Official Thud site and Discussion Forum including "Thud: An Historical Perspective" by Terry Pratchett]
* [[wikipedia:Thud!|The Wikipedia entry on "Thud!"]]

{{series|series=Discworld|before=Going Postal|after=Wintersmith}}
{{series|series=Watch|before=Night Watch|after=Snuff}}

[[Category:Discworld Series|Thud!]]
[[Category:Watch Series|Thud!]]
[[de:Buch:Klonk!]]
[[cs:Buch!]]

Le Poil du Chien

2013-10-25T15:58:37Z

DuckMan:

Exclusive doggie beauty salon in [[Ankh-Morpork]] which had the misfortune during {{TT}} of being tasking with disguising [[Gaspode]] as a poodle with [[Foul Ole Ron]] looking on; the manicurist was so startled that she locked herself in the lavatory. The name in French approximately means "the hair of the dog".
[[Category:Ankh-Morpork Businesses]]
[[de:Le Poil du Chien]]

Book:Thud!

2013-10-25T12:48:39Z

DuckMan:

{{Book Data
|title= Thud!
|cover=
[[File:Cover Thud.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Paul Kidby]]
|coauthors=
|illustrator=
|date= 1 October 2005
|publisher= Doubleday
|isbn=0385608675
|pages=xxx
|rrp=
|series=Watch Series
|characters=[[Samuel Vimes|Commander Vimes]], [[Sybil Ramkin|Sybil Vimes]], [[Detritus]], [[Sally von Humpeding]], [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]], [[Cheery Littlebottom]], [[Angua von Überwald]], [[Mr Shine]]
|annotations=yes
|notes=
}}
==Blurb==
THUD! [[Battle of Koom Valley|Koom Valley]]? That was where the trolls ambushed the dwarfs, or the dwarfs ambushed the trolls. It was far away. It was a long time ago. But if he doesn't solve the murder of just one dwarf, Commander Sam Vimes of [[Ankh-Morpork]] City Watch is going to see the battle fought again, right outside his office. With his beloved [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch|Watch]] crumbling around him and war-drums sounding, he must unravel every clue, outwit every assassin and brave any darkness to find the solution. And darkness is following him.

==Plot==
Relationships between the dwarf and troll communities of Ankh-Morpork have always been strained on the anniversary of the (first) [[Battle of Koom Valley]], the first great battle between the two races. This year the tension has been made worse due to a dwarf demagogue Grag [[Hamcrusher]]. On the morning where the book begins, Captain Carrot brings news that Hamcrusher has been murdered, apparently by a troll, yet the dwarfs are trying to keep it secret from the watch.

Vimes visits the extensive dwarf mines beneath the city, and meets a nervous dwarf called Helmclever and Ardent, the Grags' interpreter. Ardent explains that Hamcrusher is indeed dead and the Grags are planning to appoint a "smelter", a dwarf detective to discover the truth. Vimes convinces them to choose Captain Carrot, a human who was adopted by dwarfs. Meanwhile, [[Nobby Nobbs]] and [[Fred Colon]] begin investigating the theft of [[Methodia Rascal|Methodia Rascal's]] giant painting of the Battle of Koom Valley.

While Vimes and Detritus visit [[Chrysoprase]], Carrot brings [[Angua]] and a new vampire recruit [[Sally von Humpeding|Salacia "Sally" von Humpeding]] to investigate the crime scene, and is met with a confusing group of clues. Hamcrusher must have been dead before he was hit with the troll club, but there is evidence that a troll must have been present. Meanwhile, dwarfs are gathering in [[Sator Square]] while trolls are gathering in [[Plaza of Broken Moons]]. The Watch and the [[Specials]] (including a conscripted inspector) gather between the gangs to stop a fight, though the job proves surprisingly easy as most of them become blind drunk.

Meanwhile, Angua and Sally discover four recently killed dwarfs in a disused mine tunnel, who appear to have found a strange object which resulted in their death. One of them scrawled a minesign symbol the back of a locked door. When they return to the Watch House after crawling through the underworld of the city, a mysterious troll called [[Mr. Shine]] brings [[Brick]], a troll from the gutters of the city to the care of Detritus. He tells them that the symbol means The [[Summoning Dark]], the darkest and most dangerous of minesign symbols. It turns out that Brick fell into the mine by accident under the influence of drugs, and saw Hamcrusher's body being hit with a club by another dwarf. Vimes visits Mr. Shine beneath a shop, where he reveals himself to be a [[Diamond King|diamond troll]] and the secret King of the Trolls. Carrot organizes the dwarfs to dig out the four bodies. The dwarfs abandon the mine but in a parting shot, try to attack the Commander's house.

A dwarf called Helmclever is brought back the Watch House, and over a game of [[Thud]], tells Vimes that the four miners were killed because they found a talking [[Cube]], a magical device which can record and replay sound. The cube had the voice of [[B'hrian Bloodaxe]], the King who commanded the dwarfs at Koom Valley. When Hamcrusher heard the cube, it enraged him so much he tried to destroy the words (which the dwarfs consider a heinous crime). Fighting broke out and another Grag killed him with a mining hammer. Ardent tried to conceal the crime to prevent the Watch discovering the cube. The dwarfs are now planning to use Rascal's painting to search the valley to find where there are "more lies". Helmclever dies suddenly as the candles are extinguished. A young Grag [[Bashfull Bashfullsson]] explains that the Summoning Dark killed him; he was cursed by the Summoning Dark because he heard one of the four miners dying from behind the door and did nothing in response. Unknown to Vimes, he too is cursed with the Summoning Dark because he touched the same door during his visit to the mine.

Vimes deduces that Methodia Rascal (an insane artist who lived in fear of "a chicken") found the cube in Koom Valley, learned how to make it talk but threw it away because he could not stop it. He asks [[Mustrum Ridcully]] to help him travel as fast as possible to Koom Valley, bringing Sybil, his son, [[Willikins]], Bashfullsson, Fred Colon, Nobby Nobbs, [[Cheery Littlebottom|Cheery]], Angua, Sally and Detritus, who also insists on bringing Brick.

At the valley, with help from copies of Rascal's painting which Sybil made when she was young, Vimes searches the valley for the location and eventually finds the stolen painting. He falls into a sinkhole and disappears. However, the Summoning Dark purposefully brings him to a cave full of dwarfs. In a dreamy fit of rage, Vimes attacks the dwarfs, killing or scaring most of them off. The Summoning Dark directs him to kill the helpless old Grags, but his own internal watchman stops him from losing control and drives out the demonic entity from his mind. When he regains consciousness, he meets the [[Low King]], and they agree to activate the cube after discovering the special word to start it ("Awk!").

The cube reveals that the dwarfs and trolls came to Koom Valley to make peace, but fighting broke out after they were caught in a mist and a storm. Some of the dwarfs and trolls were washed into a cave, together with the cube. They both recorded speeches on the cube and left one dwarf to try and bring it to the surface, while Bloodaxe and the Diamond King died playing Thud. At the end of the book, the cave is opened to the public with the hope that the two races can end their centuries of feuding. Back in Ankh-Morpork, Carrot tells Vetinari that the watch will expand with 60 new officers, and they have discovered an [[Axle]] in the mine under the city.

==Subplots==
* A recurring element is that every day at six o'clock, Vimes must return home and read [[Book:Where's My Cow?|Where's My Cow?]] to his son, even if it means charging through the city or shouting while fighting dwarfs.
* The [[Black Ribbon|Black Ribboners]] and Vetinari force Vimes to accept a vampire in the Watch. There is tension between Sally and Angua, especially when they both go down into the mine with Carrot, Angua's boyfriend. Later, Vimes discovers that Sally is a spy for the Low King, but he does not accept her resignation and allows her to stay in the Watch.
* Nobby Nobbs has a new girlfriend called [[Tawneee]], a pole dancer so attractive that it turns out that no men in their right mind would dare ask her out. After she helps a Angua and Sally as they find their way out of the tunnel, they invite her and Cheery for a night out drinking. At the end of the story, Nobby decides to let her down because she would be no good in the kitchen.
* Vetinari sends an inspector [[A.E. Pessimal]] to check whether the Watch is spending money wisely. Pessimal annoys Vimes so much that he conscripts the white-collar worker into the Specials, where they stand for hours in the pouring rain, sandwiched between two gangs. When Vimes decides the game is up, he refuses to leave and shows unexpected bravery when he attacks a troll (Brick) with his fists and teeth. Vimes later accepts Pessimal into the Watch, giving him administration duties, and promising he will become a sergeant in a year.
* Vimes has acquired another [[Dis-Organiser]] (a mark V), although this time, he is able to find some use for it.

==Major Characters==

*[[Grag]] [[Ardent]]
*Grag [[Bashfull Bashfullsson]]
*[[Detritus]]
*[[Brick]]
*[[Sally von Humpeding]]
*[[Carrot Ironfoundersson]]
*[[Cheery Littlebottom]]
*The [[Low King]] of the Dwarves
*[[Mr. Shine]]
*[[Angua von Überwald]]
*[[Samuel Vimes]]

==Minor Characters==

*[[B'hrian Bloodaxe]]
*Grag [[Hamcrusher]]
*[[Helmclever]]
*[[A.E. Pessimal]]
*[[Daniellarina Pouter]]
*[[Methodia Rascal]]
*Sir [[Reynold Stitched]]
*[[Tawneee]]
*[[Havelock Vetinari]]
*[[Bunty Waynesbury]] and husband

==Cameos and Mentions==

* Constable [[Brakenshield]]
* Constable [[Bluejohn]]
* [[Boggis]]
* [[Otto Chriek]]
* [[Coffin Henry]]
* [[Death]]
* Miss [[Deviante]]
* [[Dribble]], dragon
* [[Drumknott]]
* [[The Duck Man]]
* Constable [[Fittly]]
* [[Gimlet Gimlet]]
* Constable [[Haddock]]
* Special Constable [[Andy Hancock]]
* [[Hardcore]], troll
* Lance-Constable [[Hitherto|Hector Hitherto]]
* Lance-Constable [[Hitherto|Horace Hitherto]]
* [[Grabber Hoskins]] (mentioned)
* [[Igor#Igor_at_Ankh-Morpork_City_Watch.2C_Ankh-Morpork|Igor]]
* Constable [[Ironbender]]
* [[Gunder Ironcrust]]
* [[Setha Ironcrust]]
* [[Johnny]], coachman
* [[Bergholt Stuttley Johnson|Bergholt "Bloody Stupid" Stuttley Johnson]]
* Constable [[Precious Jolson]]
* [[John Keel]] (mentioned)
* [[Librarian]]
* Constable [[Mica]]
* Special Constable [[Piggle]]
* [[Mr. Pony]], [[Artificers' Guild]]
* [[Purity]], nursemaid
* [[Verity Pushpram]]
* [[Mustrum Ridcully]]
* Corporal [[Ringfounder]]
* Mrs. [[Robinson]]
* [[Ruby]], wife of Detritus
* Constable [[Schist]]
* [[Arnold Sideways]]
* Dame [[Slightly]] (mentioned)
* [[John Smith]]
* Mrs. [[Spudding]]
* [[Pors Stronginthearm]]
* [[Grabpot Thundergust]]
* [[Mavis Trouncer]]
* [[Eric Wheelbrace]]
* [[Willikins]]
* [[Doreen Winkings]]

==Locations==
*[[Ankh-Morpork]]
**The [[Cham]]
**[[Dolly Sisters]] (mentioned)
**[[Empirical Crescent]]
**[[Oblong Office]]
**The [[Pink PussyCat Club]]
**[[Plaza of Broken Moons]]
**[[Pseudopolis Yard]]
**The [[Pork Futures Warehouse]]
**[[Pointer & Pickles]]
**The [[Royal Art Museum]]
**[[Sator Square]]
**[[Tallow Lane]] (mentioned)
**[[Treacle Street]]
**[[Turn Again Lane]] (mentioned)
**[[Two Pint Dock]]
*[[Crundells]] (mentioned)
*[[Mine sign|Dwarf Mines]]
*[[Koom Valley]]
*[[Ham-on-Koom]]

==Concepts and Ideas==

*[[Thud]] the boardgame
*[[Technomantic Devices]]
*[[Cubes]]
*[[Axle|Axles]]

==See also==
* [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/fiction/article569607.ece Times Review]
* [http://www.thudgame.com/history Official Thud site and Discussion Forum including "Thud: An Historical Perspective" by Terry Pratchett]
* [[wikipedia:Thud!|The Wikipedia entry on "Thud!"]]

{{series|series=Discworld|before=Going Postal|after=Wintersmith}}
{{series|series=Watch|before=Night Watch}}

[[Category:Discworld Series|Thud!]]
[[Category:Watch Series|Thud!]]
[[de:Buch:Klonk!]]
[[cs:Buch!]]

Book:The Truth

2013-10-22T18:04:22Z

DuckMan: /* Plot */

{{Book Data
|title= The Truth
|cover=
[[File:Cover The Truth.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Josh Kirby]]
|coauthors=
|illustrator=
|date= Nov 2000
|publisher= Doubleday
|isbn=0552147680
|pages=319
|rrp=
|series=Ankh-Morpork Books
|characters=[[William de Worde]] [[Sacharissa Cripslock]] [[Otto Chriek]] [[Mr. Tulip]] [[Mr. Pin]]
|annotations=yes
|notes= Book #25
}}

==Blurb==
William de Worde is the accidental editor of the Discworld's first [[Ankh-Morpork Times|newspaper]]. Now he must cope with the traditional perils of a journalist's life -- people who want him dead, a recovering [[vampires|vampire]] with a suicidal fascination for flash [[iconograph|photography]], some more people who want him dead in a different way and, worst of all, the man who keeps begging him to publish pictures of his humorously shaped potatoes.

William just wants to get at THE TRUTH. Unfortunately, everyone else wants to get at William. And it's only the third edition...

==Plot==
At the start of the story, [[William de Worde]] has been estranged from his wealthy father and makes a living writing an [[Ankh-Morpork]] newsletter which is sent out to other cities. The story begins when a group of dwarfs led by [[Gunilla Goodmountain]] arrive in the city with a new invention: a printing press with movable type. With the press set up in a hut behind [[The Bucket]] in Gleam Street, De Worde and the dwarfs begin to create Ankh-Morpork's first newspaper, the [[Ankh-Morpork Times]], with some encouragement by [[Lord Vetinari]].

Meanwhile, the New Firm ([[Mr. Pin]] and [[Mr. Tulip]], a duo of criminals) arrive in the city. They have kidnapped a Vetinari lookalike named [[Charlie (The Truth)|Charlie]], and are charged by the 'Committee to Unelect the Patrician' to frame Vetinari for a murder. They plan to use Charlie to frame the Patrician for attempting to run away with stolen gold, but this nearly fails due to the Patrician's Assassin skills. They improvise by stabbing [[Drumknott]] and pushing Charlie into the hallway to 'confess'.

Aided by his new reporter [[Sacharissa Cripslock]] and [[vampire]] iconographer [[Otto Chriek]], De Worde investigates the embezzlement against the Patrician, annoying the [[City Watch]] in the process. As it turns out, the criminals made a mistake of letting Vetinari's dog escape, and their assisting lawyer [[Mr. Slant]] warns them that the Watch will be able to extract information from it, so the New Firm are forced to search for the dog. Meanwhile, on his way back to the press, De Worde discovers that the Guild of Engravers, now the [[Guild of Engravers and Printers]] have set up a cheap tabloid paper called the ''Ankh-Morpork Inquirer'', full of totally unbelievable (even by [[Discworld]] standards) stories that a large part of the population seem to take seriously.

In the third edition of the Times, De Worde offers $25 for finding Wuffles. This causes a huge crowd of people to arrive offering a variety of animals, while the New Firm to arrive in disguise. They are just about to attack De Worde when Otto takes a picture using "Dark Light", which as a side effect causes fear and panic among the crowd and a stampede of animals. Mr Pin demands Slant to increase their fee, and head back to their base at the De Worde house, where they find Sacharissa Crisplock and take her back with them to the Press.

While they wait for De Worde to arrive, a fight breaks out and the machinery catches fire. Mr Pin and Mr Tulip take refuge in the basement, but boiling lead starts to pour through the ceiling. Pin shoots Tulip with a crossbow, and when he escapes, he attacks De Worde in a fit of rage and gets stabbed with a paper spike. De Worde discovers a [[Dis-organiser]] and by listening through the imp's memory, discovers that his father is behind the conspiracy.

De Worde confronts his father at his mansion, only to almost be captured and transported away. He is saved by Otto Chriek, who threatens Lord De Worde with vampiric revenge but ultimately lets him go. Using the New Firm's payment, De Worde buys a new press and unites with the Guild. Vetinari is reinstated as Patrician and informs De Worde that Charlie has decided to take up acting. The book ends after William and Sacharissa report over [[Captain Carrot]] saving an old lady from a runaway beer cart. Meanwhile, Mr Tulip repents before [[Death]] and is reincarnated as a woodworm, while Mr Pin is reincarnated as one of the humorously shaped potatoes mentioned in the blurb.

==Literature==
One of the themes explored in this book is the role of media in society. The toughest criticism of this is offered by Vetinari at the end of the book: "How come there is always the same amount of news?"

The two newspapers competing show mainstream journalism, with its heroic abilities, that are sometimes beyond those of the police, and yellow journalism (also known as "red-top" in Great Britain), with its potential to do damage.

*"Red-top papers: such as The ''Sun'', the ''News of the World'', the ''Sport'', the ''Daily Star'', et c, whose mast-heads are a splash of red behind the paper's name. The ''Daily Mirror'' used to be a black-top until it was bought by Robert Maxwell, who turned the masthead red and drove the paper down-market and de-intellectualised it. What had formerly been a respectable middle-market newspaper of centre-left opinion has never recovered and is still a pale ghost of what it once was.

The [[wiki:Watergate Scandal|Watergate Scandal]] is also referenced at several points:
*The New Firm enter the city through the Water Gate
*The Committee to Un-elect the Patrician is a clear parody of the [[wiki:Committee to Re-Elect the President|Committee to Re-Elect the President]], although Vetinari is not elected
*Gaspode's alias, "Deep Bone" comes from [[wiki:Deep Throat|Deep Throat]], the anonymous informer who leaked information to the Press.
*Gaspode meets De Worde by the multi-storey stable block, the Discworld equivalent of a multi-storey car park where Deep Throat met reporters in secret
*The Disorganiser which reveals Lord De Worde. Nixon originally denied the allegations he faced but was exposed after taped conversations were discovered, revealing him to be in charge. And of course the myriad ''"expletive deleted"'' euphemism of the Nixon transcripts finds its Discworld home in the frequent recourse to "[[-ing]]"....

==Characters==
===Main characters===
*[[Otto Chriek]]
*[[Sacharissa Cripslock]]
*[[Gunilla Goodmountain]]
*[[Mr. Pin]]
*[[Mr. Tulip]]
*[[Havelock Vetinari]]
*[[William de Worde]]
*[[de Worde|Lord de Worde]]
*[[Slant|Mr Slant]]

===Minor Characters===

*[[Eucrasia Arcanum]]
*[[Mr Bendy]]
*[[Boddony]]
*[[Canting Crew|The Canting Crew]]
**[[Foul Ole Ron]]
**[[Gaspode]]
**[[Coffin Henry]]
**[[The Duck Man]]
**[[Altogether Andrews]]
**[[Arnold Sideways]]
*[[Ronald Carney]]
*[[Charlie (The Truth)|Charlie]]
*[[Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler]]
*[[Rufus Drumknott]]
*[[Gaspode]]
*[[Harry King]]
*[[Nobby Nobbs]]
*[[Rocky]]
*[[Samuel Vimes]]
*[[Angua von Überwald]]
*[[Josia Wintler]]
*[[Wuffles]]

===Cameos and Mentions===

*Mr. Ronnie "Trust Me" Begholder, debtor of Chrysoprase (Mentioned)
*[[O'Biscuit]]
*Brezock the Babarian
*[[Bursar|The Bursar]]
*[[Catastrophe Carter]] (Mentioned)
*[[Caslong]]
*[[Chrysoprase]] (Mentioned)
*[[Clancy]], butcher
*[[Fred Colon]]
*[[Death of Rats]]
*[[Detritus]]
*[[Fettle Dodgast|Dr Fettle Dodgast]]
*[[Downey|Lord Downey]]
*[[Dozy]]
*Constable [[Fiddyment]]
*Slicer Gadley (Mentioned)
*[[Gowdie]]
*Heidehollen, philosopher (Mentioned)
*[[Igor|Watch Igor]]
*[[Igor|Igor the barman at the Biers (not an actual Igor}]]
*[[Carrot Ironfoundersson]]
*[[Keenside|Constable Keenside]]
*[[Effie King]] (Mentioned)
*[[Cheery Littlebottom]]
*Moltin the Snatcher (Mentioned)
*Mr. [[Passmore]]
*[[Hughnon Ridcully]]
*[[Mustrum Ridcully]]
*[[Selachii|Lady Selachii]] (Mentioned)
*[[Thunderaxe]] (Mentioned)
*[[Tilly|Miss Tilly]]
*[[Verence II]], King of [[Lancre]]
*[[De Worde|Rupert de Worde]] (Mentioned)

==Locations==
*[[Ankh-Morpork]]
**[[Ankh-Morpork League of Temperance|Abattoirs Lane]]
**[[Artificer Street]]
**[[Biers]]
**[[Brass Bridge]]
**[[Broadway]]
**[[Dolly Sisters]]
**[[Eucrasia Arcanum|Mrs Eucrasia Arcanum's Lodging House for Respectable Working Men]]
**[[Filigree Street]]
**[[Five-and-Seven Yard]] (Mentioned)
**[[Gleam Street]]
***[[The Bucket]]
***[[Ankh-Morpork Times|Offices of the Ankh-Morpork Times, Gleam Street]]
***[[Ankh-Morpork Inquirer|Offices of the Ankh-Morpork Inquirer, Gleam Street]]
**[[Guild of Conjurors]]
**[[Harry King|Harry King's Waste Reclamation Yard]]
**[[Harga's House Of Ribs]] (Mentioned)
**[[Hobson's Livery Stable]] in [[Creek Alley]]
**[[Lobbin Clout|Lobbins Clout]]
**[[Long Hogmeat]] (Mentioned)
**[[Mended Drum]]
**[[Misbegot Bridge]]
**[[Nonesuch Street]]
***[[De Worde|De Worde Town House]]
**[[Patrician's Palace]]
***[[Oblong Office]]
**[[Phedre Road]]
**[[Le Poil du Chien]]
**[[Ankh-Morpork City Watch|Ankh-Morpork City Watch HQ, Psuedopolis Yard]]
**[[Street of Small Gods]]
***[[Ankh-Morpork Temple of Om]]
**Temple of Offler (Mentioned)
**[[Thieves Guild]] (Mentioned)
**[[Unreal Estate]]
***[[Thaumatological Park]]
**[[Unseen University]]
**[[Water Gate]]
**[[Welcome Soap]]

*[[Hugglestones]] (Mentioned)

*[[Mouldavia]] (Mentioned)

*[[The Desert|The Dark Desert]]

==Sentient Species==

*[[Dwarfs]]
*[[Elves]] (mentioned)
*[[Gargoyles]]
*[[Golems]]
*[[Gnolls]]
*[[Humans]]
*[[Nobby Nobbs|Nobbs]]
*[[Trolls]]
*[[Undead]]

==Supernatural Entities==

*[[Death]]
*[[The gods|Gods]] (mentioned)

==Creatures==

*[[Dragon of Unhappiness]] (mentioned)
*[[Imps]]
*[[Salamander]]
*[[Überwaldean land eels]]

== Concepts, devices, ideas, etcetera ==

*[[Ankh-Morpork League of Temperance]]
*[[Bodrozvachski zhaltziet!]]
*[[Clacks]]
*[[Überwaldean land eels|Dark Light]]
*[[Dis-organiser|Dis-organiser Mark II]]
*[[Dried Frog Pills]]
*[[Eau-de-Nil]]
*[[Fung Shooey]]
*[[Guild of Engravers and Printers]]
*Guild of Towncriers (Mentioned)
*[[Iconograph]]
*[[Moving Pictures]] (Mentioned)
*[[Music With Rocks In]] (Mentioned)
*[[Oil of Scallatine]]
*[[Photographer]]
*[[Potato|Orthodox Potato Cult]]
*[[Three Jolly Luck|The Three Jolly Luck Takeaway Fish Bar on Dagon Street & the fate of Mr Hong]] (Mentioned)
*[[Tosheroon]]
*[[Unseen University Press]]

==External links==
[http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/the-truth.html ''The Truth'' Annotations - The Annotated Pratchett File]

{{series|before=The Fifth Elephant|series=Discworld|after=Thief of Time}}
{{series|series=Ankh-Morpork|before=|after=Going Postal}}

[[Category:Discworld Series|Truth, The]]
[[Category:Ankh-Morpork Books|Truth, The]]
[[de:Buch:Die volle Wahrheit]]

Book:The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents

2013-10-22T17:54:30Z

DuckMan:

{{Book Data
|cover=[[File:The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents.jpg|220px|Cover art for {{PAGENAME}}]]
|illustrator=[[David Wyatt]]
|date=1st November 2001
|publisher=Doubleday
|isbn=0385601239
|pages=272
|rrp=£12.99
|characters=[[Maurice]], [[Rats]], [[Keith the Piper]], [[Malicia Grim]]
|annotations=
|notes=Book #28
}}
{{TAM}} is the 28th book in the [[Discworld]] series, and the first for young readers. It was released in a smaller hardback format than the previous Discworld novels, a format which was used up to and including {{HFOS}}.

==Blurb==
:Imagine a million clever rats. 
:Rats that don't run. 
:Rats that fight...

[[Maurice]], a streetwise tomcat, has the perfect money-making scam. He's found a [[Keith the Piper|stupid-looking kid who plays a pipe]], and he has his very own plague of rats – [[The Clan|rats who are strangely educated]], so Maurice can no longer think of them as 'lunch'. And everyone knows the stories about rats and pipers...

But when they reach the stricken town of [[Bad Blintz]], the little con suddenly goes down the drain. For someone there is playing a different tune. A dark, shadowy tune. Something very, very bad is waiting in the cellars.

The educated rats must learn a new word.

EVIL.

It's not a game any more. It's a rat-eat-rat world down there. And that might only be the start...

[[Terry Pratchett]] leads readers from tale to tail in a darkly imaginative and fiendishly entertaining story, the first for young readers set in the Discworld universe.

==Plot==
[[Maurice]] the cat operates a money-making scam with a group of rats and [[Keith the Piper|Keith]], a teenage boy. The rats gained human intelligence by eating rubbish from the [[Unseen University]], while Maurice became intelligent after eating one of them. They inflict a plague of rats on every town they visit which only ends when Keith is paid to lead the rats away. The gang are not entirely harmonious - [[Dangerous Beans]], a nearly-blind rat who acts as a guru, dreams of starting a rat civilisation based on the children's book ''Mr Bunnsy Has an Adventure'', and along with the scribe [[Peaches]], has ethical concerns about their scam. [[Hamnpork]], the rats' nominal leader, does not get on with Maurice and there are rumours that [[Darktan]] is contemplating taking over as leader.

The gang agree to carry out the scam one last time in the town of [[Bad Blintz]], [[Überwald]]. The townspeople have already been complaining about rats and a lack of food, but as Darktan leads the Trap Disposal Squad around, they find the rat tunnels are empty except for traps and poison. Keith and Maurice meet Malicia, the mayor's daughter, who believes herself to be the heroine of a fairy tale. Maurice reveals that the rat catchers have been using bootlaces as fake rat tails. They decide to investigate the rat catcher's house, where they meet with Darktan's gang and find that the rat catchers have been hiding the food which was supposedly eaten by rats. They also discover cages of rats who are being bred for coursing. The rat catchers arrive, lock Keith and Malicia away and take Hamnpork away for coursing.

Maurice senses a voice which tries to enter his mind and causes the rats to start behaving like normal rats ("keekees") to the dismay of Dangerous Beans, who is also depressed to learn that ''Mr Bunnsy Has an Adventure'' is just a children's story. Dangerous Beanas and Peaches rescue Keith and Malicia, while Darktan leads a group out to rescue Hamnpork. Hamnpork is rescued after being severely injured in the coursing ring, while in the process Darktan has a near-death experience after being caught in a trap. Hamnpork dies of his injuries soon after and Darktan takes over as leader.

Malicia tricks the rat catchers into thinking they have been poisoned by slipping laxative in their drink. In return for an 'antidote' (actually more laxative) the rat catchers explain that they created a powerful [[wikipedia:Rat king (folklore)|'rat king']] called Spider by tying the tails of eight rats together, who can control the minds of other rats. Dangerous Beans confronts Spider in his burning lair. Spider is interested by how Dangerous Beans can resist him and offers for them to rule jointly and go to war against humans. Dangerous Beans refuses and resists Spider's attempts to kill him, until Maurice arrives and reverts to normal cat behaviour by pouncing on him. Maurice collapses after escaping the fire and in his near-death experience, he tries to stop the [[Death of Rats]] taking Dangerous Beans. In the end, he strikes up a deal with [[Death]] that he will give away one of his nine lives in return for Dangerous Beans being spared, in addition to losing another life for nearly dying in the fire.

With Spider defeated, the rats still have to deal with another piper who is due to arrive the next day who like Keith, supposedly has a magical pipe which can be used to charm rats. The rats respond by rounding up the keekees and locking them in the rat catcher's cages, then wearing ear plugs to prevent themselves from being charmed. Keith challenges the piper to a dual. Using a borrowed trombone (his pipe was broken by the rat catchers) Keith is able to attract a single rat, while the piper fails to attract any. The piper then reveals to Keith that his pipe can play a secret note which humans can't hear, but which drives rats crazy. Keith then leads all of the rats out of town, to the applause of the townspeople.

The rats then reveal their intelligence to the townspeople and offering to reveal to them where the stolen food and money was located in return for being allowed to live peacefully with them. Keith stays on as the town's piper and the "well-trained rats" become a tourist attraction. Maurice, however, moves on, looking for another human to "coach".

==Characters==
* [[Maurice]]
* [[The Clan]]
** [[Additives]]
** [[Dangerous Beans]]
** [[Darktan]]
** [[Hamnpork]]
** [[Nourishing]]
** [[Peaches]]
** [[Sardines]]
* [[Keith the Piper]]
* [[Malicia Grim]]
* Spider, a [[Rat King]]
* [[Death of Rats]]
* [[Ron Blunkett]]
* [[Billy Spears]]

==Adaptations==
BBC Radio 4 broadcast a 90-minute dramatisation in 2003, which was repeated on BBC 7 on June 2, 2007 and April 27, 2008. The character of Dangerous Beans was voiced by David Tennant. Darktan's voice was a spoof version of Sean Connery's Scottish burr. The narrator in the adaptation was Maurice himself, describing to Dangerous Beans how they arrived at the perilous situation near the end of the plot. Quotes from ''Mr. Bunnsy Has an Adventure'', which appear as chapter heads in the book, were read by the character Peaches. To mark the occasion of Terry Pratchett's knighthood, it was broadcast on BBC 7 again, along with other dramatizations of his work, in February 2009.

==External links==
* ''[http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/the-amazing-maurice-and-his-educated-rodents.html The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents]'' on the [[Annotated Pratchett File]]

{{series|before=The Last Hero|series=Discworld|after=Night Watch}}

[[Category:Discworld Series|Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, The]]
[[Category:Children's books|Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, The]]
[[de:Buch:Maurice, der Kater]]