Discworld & Terry Pratchett Wiki - User contributions [en]

Discworld & Pratchett Wiki:Mended Drum

2026-06-02T00:55:31Z

Old Dickens: update

 '''This is a location to discuss non-content matters (what do we do with content disputes, vandalism, etc, what do we want to do with this wiki, and so on).'''

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==AI content and fan project promotion==
So we have a new contributor (hello [[User:DugBride|DugBride]] if you’re reading this) who is adding AI-generated images to pages without images, and attributing them to their fan project, [https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3162903/oath-stories-discworld/page/1 a Discworld “re-skin” of the board game ''Oath'']. Which means the time has come for us to have a policy about AI-generated content. As a writer, actor, teacher, podcaster and more, every facet of my life is currently being made worse or at best more complicated by diffusion model images and large language model text, so I’m not a fan. But I recognise that’s not necessarily a majority opinion. So: what do we think? I don’t think we want AI text here at all, and at a bare minimum I want art to be clearly attributed to the model that created it. I would prefer hand-drawn fan art for character and item art, and I confess I am not a fan of some of the images uploaded so far, but again I recognise that’s a preference. But I am also not in favour of the wiki being filled up with images that promote a fan project, even if it is one I’m interested in. (This is why I have limited mention of my own podcast here, and started my own wiki for the detail I wanted to share.) What do you folks think? -- [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 22:48, 7 December 2023 (UTC)
:I'm not a fan either, of course, and I would certainly ban AI-generated text, except how would you recognise it? Images are more difficult. What if the image were created in an old-fashioned (two years ago?) drawing program? What about photographs? I expect you know a lot more about the process than I; what if the AI is just used to smooth out an original drawing or color it, or...? Enforcement seems to be the hardest part. Other ideas, anyone? [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 23:37, 7 December 2023 (UTC)
I’m not proposing we get too draconian about it, but having an official policy (or as close to official as we get) is enough to get us started. If folks want to ignore the rules and do it anyway, we can address that if necessary. I would just like us to be clear about whether we want images created by a diffusion model - which is to say, a generative AI like MidJourney or Dall-E which takes a text prompt and then creates an image based on analysis of training images (many used without permission) and associated descriptions. If someone makes art themselves and includes some kind of computer assistance in their process, I am not that fussed, just as I don’t mind if someone has a chat with ChatGPT to get inspiration for the fanfic they then go on to write. But the kind of thing created just by prompting an algorithm seems rather against the fandom spirit of L-Space, to me; fandom involves community, and that means if you need art for a project, you talk to other fans and find fan artists who are willing to help. An example policy might be something like: “This wiki does not permit the use of content created wholly or primarily by generative AI systems, including large language and diffusion models for text or art. All text added should be the work of the contributor; any art uploaded should be done so only with permission, and attributed to the creator.” -- [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 08:00, 9 December 2023 (UTC)

::Hi there thanks for the welcome and open discussion I was aware both issues you have raised were contentious which is why I messaged [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] direct before touching a page to get the go ahead to open this can of worms. I don't know how the back end of these things work so had to feel my way and have learned a fair bit in the past couple of days. Including where you talk about these things.<br> Here is where I am at...I would say if you don't like AI content then don't allow any AI content, if it is uploaded but then attributed to the model then I think you would be promoting it and will get a lot more. It has been surprisingly easy for me as a first time user to access and upload images seemingly without any gatekeeping, I am sure you already have safeguards against this but you may want to relook at those if you are hoping people will act in good faith. As for the project promotion, I agree it's a bit too much and if it's OK I will remove all references just leave the link in in my profile. Following the example set by [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]]. I will of course not add any more pics but, it might be best if the current images stay while you make your decision, a picture tells a 1000 words even if those words are “we don't want these pictures” if then they are removed you may have to do it because although I can remove the page code, I have no idea how to delete uploaded files. Ironically I have been using both this reference and [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]]’s podcast regularly without knowing they are connected for the last few months to get up to speed on Discworld, it took me all my life to read most of the books and so I have had to take shortcuts to work on the project references. I have a lot of respect for both sources and wouldn't want to cause any trouble. <br> If the images are unwelcome then I doubt I will have much to add as a contributor, there are a few unanswered questions when doing my research that I might be able to offer something on; Holy horns gesture? Guild Weathervanes? But you seem to have a lot covered and I have my own shed to be working in, maybe further down the road if you need some help administrating incoming imagery then I can help, although my field is Digital Imagery I am no artist and no expert in spotting deep fakes either. Finally I am thrilled you have both looked at my work in progress even if your not fans, I appreciate discerning feedback but happy to keep in my shed for now where I can choose how long Carrot has grown his hair. [[User:DugBride|DugBride]] 11:44, 9 December 2023 (UTC)
Hey DugBride - I might not be a fan of the art, or even ''Oath'', but your project is pretty amazing! And we do have a [[Fandom]] page where you could list it, at the very least. I want to thank you for engaging in this discussion in generous good faith, too. I’m not interested in having to police images really, but I think if we have a policy and find the right place to get it in front of users then that should be enough - I’m not expecting a torrent of diffusion model generated Discworld characters any time soon! — [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 20:10, 14 December 2023 (UTC)
:I'd go along with Guybrush's policy statement, above, now, where does it go? I wouldn't like a big banner of "don'ts" on the front page, but if it's in "About", or Help:Editing nobody will read it. Help:Editing is already noted at the top of every editing page, so I guess we could say ignorance of the law is no excuse. I have to defer to Guybrush on interpretation of what's too much AI; I don't suppose it's possible to credit the source in an AI image when there might be dozens. [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 18:44, 10 December 2023 (UTC)
::I think on image upload I had to tick a box marked "this is my own work" If it had said this is my own work and not AI generated I would have halted at that point. Apologies for the multi edits; still learning. --[[User:DugBride|DugBride]] ([[User talk:DugBride|talk]]) 12:33, 11 December 2023 (UTC)
This is a pretty good idea. What if we create a policies page (it could also include guidelines on annotations etc) and then link to that from the upload page? We can probably change the language on the upload page itself, too. And to be honest ownership is part of the problem; at the moment the ownership of generated images is murky at best, and it’s certainly unclear who owns copyright. So that does seem like the right place to put it. — [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 20:10, 14 December 2023 (UTC)
On the subject of “how much AI is too much AI” I don’t think that’s a big problem; right now the thing we don’t want are wholly generated images - things created by diffusion models and similar tools, stuff like MidJourney or Dall-E, which create an image for you based on a text prompt. We don’t need to worry about folks using “AI” tools when making digital fan art (anything vaguely automated is being misleadingly lLabelled “AI” At the moment, even when many of those technologies already existed under other more sensible names). Perhaps we just need a clarifying clause on the “your own artwork” covering that it has to be yours, used with permission, allowed by copyright law and attributable to a person. I think it will also help to include in our art policy that as a fan project we want to showcase fan artists; you are welcome to use whatever you like to make art for yourself or or your own projects, but here we want to showcase human-drawn (etc) fan art. And as a longer term solution, perhaps I can do some call-outs in other fan spaces asking if folks have character and location fan art they’d be happy for us to use on the wiki for articles which lack images? — [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 20:24, 14 December 2023 (UTC)
:I second all that, except that the '''Upload file''' page is for images and doesn't relate to annotations; also it's a "special page" and Osiris would have to modify it. '''Help:editing''' is already linked from editing pages. [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 21:19, 14 December 2023 (UTC)<BR>
:[[User:DugBride|DugBride]] has removed his contributions. I'm of two minds on this; I have despised computer-generated pop music for many years now and I would prefer hand-made art or clever photographs, ''but'' we've begged for illustration for years and some of what we have isn't very good. I wish we could have more as useful as PetuliaGristle.jpg for example. Are these opposite and irreconcilable viewpoints? [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 04:17, 16 December 2023 (UTC)
:: Missed one, just removed Detritus from the page this morning, like I said I can't do much about the images I uploaded as it won't let me delete the copy on the server. I sympathise with your issue, there are significant characters and locations without graphical representation. The AI works for me as I have to produce 250 images for a very small audience on zero budget, and I am more keen on design and mechanics than artistry. I don't think its as vital a part of your offering. Its possible that in the new year I will take [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]]'s advise and reach out to some of the fan-artists to see if they want to help my project but only when I have something significant to demonstrate. I'll be happy to mention the gaps here that need filling, but it sounds like you have already been down that road. --[[User:DugBride|DugBride]] ([[User talk:DugBride|talk]]) 12:00, 18 December 2023 (UTC)
:::Hi, all, sorry I'm late to the discussion... boarding school at Hogswatch is a time sink. Anyway, y'all have said pretty much everything I would have, so all I'll do here is lend one more voice in support of Guybrush's suggestion, ''This wiki does not permit the use of content created wholly or primarily by generative AI systems, including large language and diffusion models for text or art. All text added should be the work of the contributor; any art uploaded should be done so only with permission, and attributed to the creator.'' I don't think we need to do much more in terms of advertising or enforcement, as long as we have something like this clearly stated somewhere. People don't necessarily read rules before editing. If we find someone using ChatGPT to make articles, we politely ask them to stop, and can point them to the statement if they wonder whether the polite ask has community consensus behind it. [[User:Moishe Rosenbaum|Moishe Rosenbaum]] ([[User talk:Moishe Rosenbaum|talk]]) 01:01, 21 December 2023 (UTC)
:Have you watched ''The Holdovers''? [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 02:30, 21 December 2023 (UTC)
::I haven't, but I just read about the movie... boarding schools are (for the most part) very, very different places in 2023 than they were in 1970. Yet, the popular perception of class privilege and influence lives on in the zeitgeist. My school doesn't allow students to remain on campus over Christmas break. The ones for whom getting home would be prohibitive - usually just a few folks from overseas - generally stay with friends. We have a faculty member who helps coordinate such stays if students need help. My family hosted several of my son's friends, who were from China and Vietnam, on occasion.

::Okay, in spring 2020 most of our international students remained on campus, and I was one of many faculty who volunteered to chaperone / entertain them. That's a very different story, with very different cultural context, to what I read about The Holdovers. <smile>

==Atom==
Clicking '''Atom''' in the sidebar bar produces the message: "This XML file does not appear to have any style information associated with it. The document tree is shown below.", followed by pages of XML gibberish. Not widely useful. [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 03:34, 26 December 2023 (UTC)
:The Atom link is only visible in Recent Changes, your Watchlist or the history of a specific page, and generates an RSS feed (in [[wikipedia:Atom (web standard)|Atom format]]) from entries in that list using XML which is (hypothetically) useful for other apps or websites to read. The main use case I’ve seen for that recently is a Discord bot which posts recent changes to a specific text channel, but generally speaking RSS has fallen from favour for most uses except podcasting. The Atom feed option is built in to MediaWiki so we can’t remove it by [[mediawiki:Sidebar|editing the sidebar menu]], but probably there’s an option to disable it in the config file if we really want to. (FYI I don’t get the error you mentioned, though I did get a different one trying to view the feed for my Watchlist that suggests we might have an out of date extension somewhere?) — [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 12:29, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

==Spamagain==
Suddenly, the SEOs are back! [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 16:34, 14 March 2024 (UTC)
:Might be time to turn on new account approval? I run a plugin for that on my wiki, works pretty well. -- [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 09:08, 12 June 2024 (UTC)
::May I ask the name of the plugin you use? I wanted to switch to Turnstyle captcha but that isn't in the stable release of Mediawiki yet --[[User:Osiris|Osiris]] ([[User talk:Osiris|talk]]) 04:02, 13 June 2024 (UTC)
:I use [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:ConfirmAccount Confirm User Accounts]. I get a little spam (I just checked and there were three junk requests) but they doesn’t slow down the wiki or result in any vandalism. It has a “Spam” response which doesn’t send an email to the requester. The main downsides are that you have to respond to each request individually, and it does throw a couple of error messages, though nothing serious. (I’m currently running MediaWiki 1.40.1 and Confirm User Accounts 224079f.) It might not be the best available! -- [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 07:44, 14 June 2024 (UTC)
Twenty-five at once is getting back to the bad old days! [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 16:01, 1 August 2024 (UTC)<BR>
Forty-three so far today, almost all from the same source. I wonder what the "human not bot" filter does. [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 16:25, 14 August 2024 (UTC)

It's getting to be a bit much, and for extra annoyance, when I'm logged in I can't see any but the most recent deletions. If I log out, I can see that the spammers I've just deleted still show, but I can't do anything with them. Fortunately, they don't seem to be active but they still show in Recent changes. Can AI-assisted bots now defeat any captcha? , [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 02:27, 11 October 2024 (UTC)

The Chicago insurance agent is getting really tiresome. It can do fifteen at once all day and night, apparently automated. [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 18:13, 4 November 2024 (UTC)

:Any word on user account approval, [[User:Osiris|Osiris]]? -- [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 05:37, 13 November 2024 (UTC)

The log in procedure seems to have changed and there's a pause in vandalism. Will it last? [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 05:41, 14 November 2024 (UTC)...no, they're back. [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 05:23, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

== Independent Wiki Federation? ==
I think we'd be a prime candidate for membership in the [https://indiewikifederation.org/ Independent Wiki Federation], which might be a nice way to attract some additional contributors and mods. They also have a very friendly Discord full of very knowledgeable folk who specialise in MediaWiki and might be able to help us solve our spam woes. What do we reckon? Doesn't cost us anything, and it would link us to a bigger community. -- [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 07:29, 24 November 2024 (UTC)
:I don't see why not, but I suppose [[User:Osiris|Osiris]] would have to apply. (I wouldn't even know where to find the org-application channel.) [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 18:24, 24 November 2024 (UTC)
:: I’m happy to do the paperwork, as it were, but only if we have consensus here that we want to do it. In any case I’m on the Discord and I’ll ask for some advice about dealing with spam account creation. It’s really gotten out of hand. — [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 21:30, 2 December 2024 (UTC)
:Indeed. (No opinion from [[User:Osiris|headquarters]].) [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 21:41, 2 December 2024 (UTC)

==More trolls==
Well, today must be the worst ever. Over a hundred.surely. (The counter doesn't even try to keep track.) [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 01:40, 17 January 2025 (UTC)
:The CAPTCHA isn’t doing anything to slow them down; I’ve finally got around to asking for suggestions from the IWF (as mentioned above; it got away from me.) I’ll report when I hear anything! -- [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 05:45, 27 January 2025 (UTC)

== New art process? ==
I’ve been keeping an eye out on Reddit and other social media for Discworld fan art to help provide pictures of various characters. I recently asked one if they’d like to join - and they did! Welcome [[User:HeiryProblems|HeiryProblems]]. They don’t have wiki experience so I’ve been helping them get started, but so far the art they’ve done is for characters who have existing art. Should we update the art? Add a gallery section for characters to showcase more than one bit of fan art? Not sure what the best step there is. (I’ve helped [[User:HeiryProblems|HeiryProblems]] with a gallery of works on their user page, so you can see some there.) -- [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 05:49, 27 January 2025 (UTC)

:I don't see any upgrades in illustrations there (too cartoonish}, Add a gallery section of illustrations maybe, or a fan art section? [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 05:59, 27 January 2025 (UTC)

== Suggestions for stopping the SEO spambots ==
I asked at the IWF, and was recommended a few different MediaWiki extensions: [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:ConfirmEdit ConfirmEdit] (which we do have installed), [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:HoneyPot HoneyPot] (which we don't) and [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:QuestyCaptcha QuestyCaptcha] (now part of ComfirmEdit), which adds questions users have to answer when submitting an edit - something I think we have or had on this Wiki, for new users at least? One of the admins and founders of IWF specifically recommended AbuseFilter (which we do have installed) and supplied the list of keywords he uses which he says works very well to stop nearly all spam on his wikis. I see I have permission to add new filters to AbuseFilter, so I'm going to give this a try. The same person also recommended that as a last ditch option we could try deactivating open account creation completely for a week or so. The bots will find themselves unable to do their thing, and eventually take us off their lists of places to try. We don't get a lot of legit new users so this ought to be okay, and if anyone asks during that period we admins should be able to manually make them an account. -- [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 23:42, 28 January 2025 (UTC)
:Oh, almost forgot - they also recommended the [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:UserMerge UserMerge] extension as a way to delete multiple users at once, basically by merging a bunch of spambot accounts into one, then deleting the one that's left. We already have this one installed, too, so worth a look? -- [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 23:56, 28 January 2025 (UTC)
::Yes, we used Questy for a while and we had Merge for a while, which I enjoyed. I've thought before that we could handle manual approval of new users but I don't know how difficult it might be to set up. I've been wondering if any captcha can defeat AI-enhanced bots. [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 02:27, 29 January 2025 (UTC)
:::CAPTCHA, no - but the new filter in AbuseFilter seems to be working, it's already caught and auto-blocked one spambot from the tail end of the burst we got around the time I added the rule. The real test will be the next big influx, but I feel optimistic that it'll catch and block those accounts while also preventing them from creating those pages. -- [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 04:59, 29 January 2025 (UTC)

== Spambot update ==
Things are mostly looking good on this front!
* The new AbuseFilter rule is working, [[Special:AbuseLog|and only seems to be blocking spambots]]. So hopefully our spambot problem is solved!
* We still have a large number of spambot accounts that flew under our radar before this. They’re pretty easy to identify via the [[Special:ActiveUsers|list of active users]], though - they’re only in the list because the account was recently created, and they either have zero edits or just a user page. Worth looking for an extension that automatically deletes unused accounts after a period of time?
:: Update on this - there’s a maintenance script for this purpose: [[mw:Manual:RemoveUnusedAccounts.php|RemoveUnusedAccounts.php]]. Might be worth running, [[User:Osiris|Osiris]]? -- [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 22:33, 6 February 2025 (UTC)
* The AbuseFilter has a block time of 3 days which is much better than my manual block time - I naively used 3 months or <strike>1 year</strike> indefinite! This has caused a problem in that some fan artists I’ve been encouraging to share their work here have been unable to create an account because their IP is blocked.
For now, I’m going to find and unblock the IPs which haven’t seen activity for a while; new spam accounts will be blocked by AbuseFilter. -- [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 22:24, 6 February 2025 (UTC)
:Hallelujah! Most of them seem to have stopped trying, even. Only three in the last four days. [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 23:16, 6 February 2025 (UTC)
::Yeah, once the first attempt is blocked you don’t get thirty more the same day! So we should see only small numbers when they do crop up. You’ll see some activity from today in the block log - that’s me going through and reducing the time for a bunch of old blocks I’d put in place, so they’ll expire soon (it was a bit quicker and easier to do that than manually unblock them). Hopefully that will help with new user signups which were being blocked. The rest ought to expire in the next few months, so hopefully as they disappear we’ll see those new user registration problems stop as well. Now we just need to start cleaning up all those bot user accounts... -- [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 00:29, 10 February 2025 (UTC)
:Now that you mention it, I used indefinite blocking (not knowing any better) back in the last major attack, before The Move, and it didn't seem to cause a problem. Another piece I don't understand; I'd have thought there were more IP addresses than that. [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 01:50, 10 February 2025 (UTC)
::Well, there are a huge number of possible IP addresses, but owning a unique one with direct Internet access isn’t free. Regular Internet users get allocated an IP from a pool available to their ISP, and people running SEO spam might get their Internet access through the same companies. Long block times make this more likely - an IP address once used by bots has probably since been freed up and used by a legit service. -- [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 03:54, 10 February 2025 (UTC)
:::I've been shamefully absent from this wiki for a bit, owing to a new daily morning show I've been doing and to a bit of depression since November. I'll try to get back to putzing around, but THANK YOU to all keeping the spam away. I'm not good at technical things, so I appreciate those who are.[[User:Moishe Rosenbaum|Moishe Rosenbaum]] ([[User talk:Moishe Rosenbaum|talk]]) 23:02, 16 February 2025 (UTC)
:One got through today, though. Spam hidden in a link with only Korean? name. [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 03:07, 18 February 2025 (UTC)
:Again today, spam only within a link. Every two weeks isn't bad, I suppose. [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 03:33, 4 March 2025 (UTC)
::Thanks for the tip-off; I’ll have a look out for the next one and see if there are any obvious keywords I can add. We should think about what to do about the accounts that are created but don’t post anything, too. -- [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 11:37, 12 March 2025 (UTC)
:Well, they're back. New style: a boilerplate user page followed by a long page of nonsense with no filter triggers. I guess the point is seo. Slowing the wiki quite a lot, too. [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 17:23, 14 March 2025 (UTC)
::If you can capture the text from one before you delete it, that’d be very helpful! I’m sure we can find something in there that’s worth using in an update to the filter, especially combined with the absence of Discworld-appropriate keywords. -- [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 07:58, 16 March 2025 (UTC)
:E-mailing rather than re-publishing it, but I doubt you can pick keywords. [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 03:11, 17 March 2025 (UTC)
::Thanks for letting me know - thought you might have been hacked there for a second! It’s true that’s a difficult one, since it seems to be text stolen from an unrelated source. But some otherwise inoccuous words can go on the list when we consider the page also has to be missing the Discworld keywords in the other part of the filter. -- [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 04:58, 17 March 2025 (UTC)
:Do you want another one? [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 01:57, 18 March 2025 (UTC)
::If there's another representative one with a different theme, yeah! I think the changes I made have helped? Basically I'm adding keywords which while not indicative of spam links on their own, would be weird to see appear on a page on this wiki without some more Pratchett or Discworld related words as well. -- [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 22:23, 23 March 2025 (UTC)
:Sure, but don't overdo it, it's working pretty well. I assume the restrictions only apply to a first post? E-mail away. [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 02:49, 24 March 2025 (UTC)
::That's right - this filter only applies to a user's first edit, so a real person who probably makes a reasonable edit to an existing page before creating a user page, or creates a reasonable user page, will be fine. (The block also only lasts three days, and we can remove it if anyone gets caught by mistake.) I've added several more, but the formatting in that last one you sent seemed to be a failed template that I think was a rich source of potential options. It should stop a few more without going overboard! -- [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 10:47, 25 March 2025 (UTC)

== The Perils of Automatic Blocking ==
It says that blocking KendraGatlin also blocked me, but maybe administrators get away with it? [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 02:28, 4 April 2025 (UTC)
:Hmmm...yes, this is the problem with blocking IP addresses, though I wouldn't have thought it'd be so prevalent! It's affected a few fan artists I've tried to recruit as well. But this is a good reason to keep the block times short! -- [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 14:58, 7 April 2025 (UTC)

==Another exception==
Hmm. User:JuliannHooks got by the filter although the page contained "my web-page". Probably because JuliannHooks is not a new user, having been blocked last year? [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 21:31, 14 April 2025 (UTC)
Likewise, User:RicardoBiraban. [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 16:36, 16 April 2025 (UTC)
:The filter focuses on first edits, so yeah - if they’d already made an edit and their account still existed... This is why we need to figure out the most efficient way to delete the bot accounts. The usual way is to merge them into a generic user account, but I haven’t figured out the best way to do that for large numbers yet. -- [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 00:50, 19 April 2025 (UTC)
We used to have Merge, too. It was very convenient. [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 00:58, 19 April 2025 (UTC)<BR>

I wonder how these people are getting through with banned phrases and no previous record. [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 19:27, 16 June 2025 (UTC)
:The current spam detector is based only on first edit, could they be making an innocuous one first and then something else? -- [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 11:10, 18 June 2025 (UTC)
That was the loophole for some, but the latest batch shows no previous Contributions. [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 16:15, 18 June 2025 (UTC

==Slowdown?==
It's very time-consuming killing spammers with the wiki as slow as it is. I wonder what happened there. [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 03:13, 24 September 2025 (UTC)<BR>
Service seems to back to full speed today. Much nicer. [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 02:56, 28 September 2025 (UTC)<BR>
But then it's back to dead slow! ¿Que pasa? [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 22:42, 28 September 2025 (UTC)<br/>
I've experienced some very slow response times, including some 502 errors, over the last ten hours or so, in case this datapoint is helpful? — [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 20:46, 28 November 2025 (UTC)

== AbuseFilter update ==
Hi all - I’ve just added a few terms to the anti-spam rule in the AbuseFilter, as another wiki I work on has recently been hit and it has a lot more “fake guide” content than the keywords currently in the list. The postive words should prevent this from being a problem. I wonder if it’s also worth updating to the latest version of MediaWiki - I think the newest one has made some improvements to the AbuseFilter. -- [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 22:05, 7 November 2025 (UTC)

== Another tool to get rid of the spam - SmiteSpam ==
I’ve just tried the [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:SmiteSpam SmiteSpam extension] on another wiki and it’s pretty great - it handled a few thousand spambot accounts and pages very quickly (compared to doing them manually). It would speed up the deletion of spambot accounts here, at least ones that manage to create a page, anyway. (I’m not sure if it detects accounts that don’t do anything.) The false-positive count was very low, and it shows you a list of suspect users and the pages they created for you to check before you get it to action anything. Worth a go? -- [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 06:10, 10 November 2025 (UTC)
:I know nothing and Osiris says nothing. [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 05:29, 16 November 2025 (UTC)
::Well, in case Osiris does pop up, I’d also recommend activating the TitleBlacklist extension which comes with Mediawiki, and maybe also installing the StopForumSpam extension. These will help stop the accounts being created. It might be a good idea to run the RemoveUnusedAccounts script, though that will only remove the accounts which never created a spam page. These steps have really helped the other wiki which was getting absolutely hammered with spam accounts and pages. -- [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 01:05, 21 November 2025 (UTC)

==Slow?==
I'm working with a couple of screwn-up computers here. Does anyone else find the wiki r e a l l y s l o o o w? [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 04:24, 2 December 2025 (UTC)
:Oh yeah, it’s been unreachable or unusable for me for the last few days, but seems much better now. Everything okay? — [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 14:44, 3 December 2025 (UTC)
Hmm. Yes, it seems normal, suddenly, at least after start-up. [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 17:19, 3 December 2025 (UTC)<BR>
But back to dead slow now: 2 minutes for a new page, is it the weather?. You'd think this would deter spammers, but apparently not.[[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 04:07, 26 January 2026 (UTC) <BR>
Oh boy! Express service has been restored. [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 23:25, 30 January 2026 (UTC)

== Time for a new featured article and trivia? ==
Might be nice to change those things up. Anyone have a favourite, relatively complete, well-written article we could put as the new featured one? Or ideas for new bits of trivia to add? -- [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 07:27, 12 February 2026 (UTC):
:Surely past time. Might well be changed weekly. Suggestions: The gods, The Chalk. Harry King, Seamstresses' Guild, Cabinet of Curiosity. (Timed out by extremely slow site on the first try.)<BR>
:But should we keep the request for editing (since no one ever did), or just present it as a good example? [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 04:54, 15 February 2026 (UTC)

== ==
The wiki is running smoothly for a third day! Crossed fingers emoji not available. [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 01:28, 7 March 2026 (UTC)<BR>
Not any more! Waiting minutes per click makes these mass attacks a tiresome lot of work. I don't know if there'll be time this evening. It's hard to believe there's an excuse for these regular periods of uselessness. [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 22:06, 14 May 2026 (UTC)<BR>
Fortunately, some only needed a one-step reversion so it didn't take all night. Tiresome, though. [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 00:07, 15 May 2026 (UTC)

Ye gods! I don't know if I got it all. This is a highly motivated vandal with better access than I have and the Abuse Filter only works on spam. [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 04:37, 19 May 2026 (UTC)

==We're back!==
After a thorough update and refurbishing, the wiki is back and running at a rate of knots. (My Recent changes Preferences still don't work, though.) [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 00:54, 2 June 2026 (UTC)

Bibliography

2026-05-25T19:15:34Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by Abcdefabric (talk) to last revision by Old Dickens

A Terry Pratchett '''bibliography''' (originally derived from [[Wikipedia:|Wikipedia]], the free encyclopedia on 3 July 2005 and ppint's bibliography, mucked about with since then). All dates are of first publication. Revised editions and collections are not listed. The recommended reading order of the books is given in the article [[Reading Order]]. Several books are adapted to the theatre, [[TV and film adaptations|TV or film]] or are planned to be.

==Books==
===Discworld===
====Novels====
* 01 {{COM}} (Colin Smythe, 1983)
* 02 {{TLF}} (Colin Smythe, 1986)
* 03 {{ER}} ([[Gollancz]], Colin Smythe, 1987)
* 04 {{M}} (Gollancz, Colin Smythe, 1987)
* 05 {{S}} (Gollancz, Colin Smythe, 1988)
* 06 {{WS}} (Gollancz, 1988)
* 07 {{P}} (Gollancz, 1989)
* 08 {{G!G!}} (Gollancz, 1989)
* 09 {{E}} (Gollancz, 1990)
* 10 {{MP}} (Gollancz, 1990)
* 11 {{RM}} (Gollancz, 1991)
* 12 {{WA}} (Gollancz, 1991)
* 13 {{SG}} (Gollancz, 1992)
* 14 {{LL}} (Gollancz, 1992)
* 15 {{MAA}} (Gollancz, 1993)
* 16 {{SM}} (Gollancz, 1994)
* 17 {{IT}} (Gollancz, 1994)
* 18 {{M!!!}} (Gollancz, 1995)
* 19 {{FOC}} (Gollancz, 1996)
* 20 {{H}} (Gollancz, 1996)
* 21 {{J}} (Gollancz, 1997)
* 22 {{TLC}} (Doubleday, 1998)
* 23 {{CJ}} (Doubleday, 1998)
* 24 {{TFE}} (Doubleday, 1999)
* 25 {{TT}} (Doubleday, 2000)
* 26 {{TOT}} (Doubleday, 2001)
* 27 {{TLH}} (Gollancz, 2001)
* 28 {{TAM}} (Doubleday, 2001)
* 29 {{NW}} (Doubleday, 2002)
* 30 {{WFM}} (Doubleday, 2003)
* 31 {{MR}} (Doubleday, 2003)
* 32 {{HFOS}} (Doubleday, 2004)
* 33 {{GP}} (Doubleday, 2004)
* 34 {{T!}} (Doubleday, 2005)
* 35 {{W}} (Doubleday, 2006)
* 36 {{MM}} (Doubleday, 2007)
* 37 {{UA}} (Doubleday, 2009)
* 38 {{ISWM}} (Doubleday, 2010)
* 39 {{SN}} (Doubleday, 2011)
* 40 {{RS}} (Doubleday, 2013)
* 41 {{TSC}} (Doubleday, 2015)

====Graphic Novels====
* [[Book:The Discworld Graphic Novels The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic|''The Colour of Magic The Graphic Novel'']] (Corgi 1992)
* [[Book:The Discworld Graphic Novels The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic|''The Light Fantastic The Graphic Novel'']] (Corgi 1993)
* [[Book:Mort A Discworld Big Comic|''Mort A Discworld Big Comic'']] (Gollancz, 1994)
* [[Book:Guards! Guards! A Discworld Graphic Novel|''Guards! Guards! A Discworld Graphic Novel'']] (Gollancz, 2000)
* {{TLH}} (Gollancz 2001)
* [[Book:The Illustrated Wee Free Men|''The Illustrated Wee Free Men'']] (Doubleday 2008)
* {{COM}} and {{TLF}} 25th Anniversary Edition (omnibus, with [[Stephen Player]]) (Gollancz 2008), Illustrated Edition.
* [[Book:The Discworld Graphic Novels The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic|''The Discworld Graphic Novels The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic'']] (omnibus) (Doubleday 2008)
* [[Book:The Illustrated Eric|''The Illustrated Eric'']] (Gollancz, 2011)
* [[TV and Film:Soul Music|''Soul Music: The Illustrated Screenplay'']] (Corgi 1997)
* [[TV and Film:Wyrd Sisters|''Wyrd Sisters: The Illustrated Screenplay'']] (Corgi 1998)
* [[TV and Film:Hogfather|''Terry Pratchett's Hogfather: The Illustrated Screenplay'']] (Gollancz 2006)
* [[TV and Film:The Colour of Magic|''Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic: The Illustrated Screenplay'']] (Gollancz 2008)
* [[Book:Small Gods A Discworld Graphic Novel|''Small Gods A Discworld Graphic Novel'']] (Doubleday, 2016)
* {{M}} Illustrated Edition (The Folio Society, 2016)
* {{SG}} Illustrated Edition (The Folio Society, 2016)
* [[Book:The Illustrated Guards! Guards!|''The Illustrated Guards! Guards!'']] (Gollancz, September 2020)

====[[Collections]]====
* The Witches Trilogy (1995)
* Death Trilogy (1998)
* The First Discworld Novels The Colour of Magic/The Light Fantastic (1999)
* City Watch Trilogy (1999)
* Rincewind the Wizzard (1999)
* Tales of Discworld (2000)
* The Gods Trilogy (2000)
* The Rincewind Trilogy (2001)
* The Wee Free Men: The Beginning (2010)
* Tiffany Aching Complete Collection (2014, updated 2015)

====[[Rumoured and Unfinished Works|Rumored]]====
* [[Book:Raising Taxes|''Raising Taxes'']]
* [[Book:Scouting for Trolls|''Scouting for Trolls'']]
* [[Book:The Missing Chapter|''The Missing Chapter'']]
* [[Book:Running Water| ''Running Water'']]

Following Terry Pratchett's [[death]] on March 12, 2015 it was announced that {{TSC}} would be the last published Discworld novel.

====Short Stories====
* {{TB}} (1992)
* {{TOC}} (1993)
* {{SALF}} (1998)
* [[We Can Rule You Wholesale|''We Can Rule You Wholesale'']] (1999)
* [[Medical Notes|''Medical Notes'']] (2002)
* [[A Few Words From Lord Havelock Vetinari|''A Few Words From Lord Havelock Vetinari'']] (2002)
* [[Short Story:Death and What Comes Next|''Death and What Comes Next'']] (2004)
* [[Short Story:A Collegiate Casting-Out of Devilish Devices|''A Collegiate Casting-Out of Devilish Devices'']] (2005)
* [[Short Story:Thud-A Historical Perspective|''Thud-A Historical Perspective'']] (2002)
* [[Ankh-Morpork Scouting (and possibly Urban Survival) Federation|''The Minutes of the Meeting To Form The Proposed Ankh-Morpork Federation of Scouts'']] (2007)
* [[The Ankh-Morpork Football Association Hall of Fame playing cards|''The Ankh-Morpork Football Association Hall of Fame playing cards'']] (2009)

====Maps====
* {{SAM}} (Corgi, 1993)
* {{DM}} (Corgi, 1995)
* {{TGL}} (Corgi, 1998)
* {{DD}} (Corgi, 1999)
* {{CAM}} (Doubleday, 2012)
* {{CDA}} (Doubleday 2015)

====Companions====
* {{DC}} (with [[Stephen Briggs]]) (Gollancz, 1994, 1997)
* {{DC}} ''Updated'' (with [[Stephen Briggs]]) (Gollancz, 2001)
* {{NDC}} (with [[Stephen Briggs]]) (Gollancz, 2003)
* {{TR}}: The Discworld Companion...So Far (with [[Stephen Briggs]]) (Gollancz, 2012)
* {{UDC}} (with [[Stephen Briggs]]) (Gollancz, 2021)

====Science of Discworld====
* {{SOD1}} (with [[Ian Stewart]] and [[Jack Cohen]]) (Ebury Press, 1999; updated in 2002)
* {{SOD2}} (with [[Ian Stewart]] and [[Jack Cohen]]) (Ebury Press 2002)
* {{SOD3}} (with [[Ian Stewart]] and [[Jack Cohen]]) (Ebury Press, 2005)
* {{SOD4}} (with [[Ian Stewart]] and [[Jack Cohen]]) (Ebury Press, 2013)

====Miscellany====
* [[The Authorised Terry Pratchett's Discworld Magazine|''SFX Presents The Authorised Terry Pratchett's Discworld Magazine'']] (with M.J. Simpson) (Future Publishing, 1997)
* {{NOC}} (with [[Stephen Briggs]] and [[Tina Hannan]]) (Doubleday, 1999) (Corgi, 2001)
* [[Book:Where's My Cow?|''Where's My Cow?'']] (illustrated spin-off of {{T!}} ) (Doubleday, 2005)
* [[Book:The Unseen University Cut-out Book|''The Unseen University Cut-out Book'']] (with [[Bernard Pearson]] and Alan Batley) (Doubleday, 2006)
* [[Book:The Wit and Wisdom of Discworld|''The Wit and Wisdom of Discworld'']] (with [[Stephen Briggs]]) (Doubleday, 2007)
* [[Book:The Folklore of Discworld|''The Folklore of Discworld'']] (with Dr. [[Jacqueline Simpson]]) (Doubleday, 2008, updated in 2009 and 2013)
* {{TWOP}} (illustrated spin-off of {{SN}}) (Doubleday, 2012)
* [[Book:Mrs Bradshaw's Handbook|''Mrs Bradshaw's Handbook'']] (Doubleday, 2014)
* [[Book:The Nac Mac Feegles' Big Wee Alphabet Book|''The Nac Mac Feegles' Big Wee Alphabet Book'']] (Dunmanifestin Ltd, March 2022)

====Art books====
* [[Book:The Josh Kirby Poster Book|''The Josh Kirby Poster Book'']] (with [[Josh Kirby]]) (Corgi, 1989)
* [[Book:The Josh Kirby Discworld Portfolio|''The Josh Kirby Discworld Portfolio'']] (with [[Josh Kirby]]) (Paper Tiger, 1993)
* {{TPP}} ''A Compendium of Discworld Characters'' (with [[Paul Kidby]]) (Gollancz, 1996)
* {{AOD}} (with [[Paul Kidby]]) (HarperCollins, 2004)
* [[Book:Discworld and Beyond A Retrospective|''Discworld and Beyond-A Retrospective'']] (with [[Paul Kidby]]) (St Barbe Museum & Art Gallery, 2012)
* [[Book:Terry Pratchett's Discworld Colouring Book|''Terry Pratchett's Discworld Colouring Book'']] (with [[Paul Kidby]]) (Gollancz, 2016)
* [[Book:Terry Pratchett's Discworld Imaginarium|''Terry Pratchett's Discworld Imaginarium'']] (with [[Paul Kidby]]) ([[Gollancz]], November 2017)

====CD====
* [[From the Discworld]] (with Dave Greenslade) (EMI, 1994)
* [[TV and Film:Soul Music|Soul Music]] based on the animated series (with Keith Hopwood and Phil Bush) (Pluto, 1998)
* [[Wintersmith (Steeleye Span)|Wintersmith]] - musical version - the story of {{W}} retold using English folk-music, provided by a house-band Nanny Ogg would have not only loved but would have wanted to sing with - [[Maddy Prior|Steeleye Span]]. (Park Records, 2013).

====[[Theatre Adaptations]]====
All adapted by [[Stephen Briggs]] except for Lords and Ladies which is adapted by Irana Brown.
*{{M}} The Play (Corgi, 1996)
*{{WS}} The Play (Corgi, 1996)
*{{G!G!}} The Play (Corgi, 1997)
*{{MAA}} The Play (Corgi, 1997)
*{{M!!!}} The Play (Samuel French, 1998)
*{{CJ}} The Play (Samuel French, 1999)
*{{LL}} The Play (Samuel French, 2001. Methuen, March 2021)
*{{TFE}} The Play (Methuen, 2002)
*{{TT}} The Play (Methuen, 2002)
*{{NW}} The Play (Methuen, 2004)
*{{MR}} The Play (Methuen, 2004)
*{{J}} The Play (Methuen, 2005)
*{{IT}} The Play (Methuen, 2005)
*{{GP}} The Play (Methuen, 2005)
*{{TAM}} The Play (Oxford University Press, 2006)
*{{MM}} The Play (Samuel French, 2011)
*{{TAM}} Musical Pack (Bloomsbury, 2011) by Matthew Holmes
*{{FOC}} The Play (Oberon Modern Plays, 2015)
*{{UA}} The Play (Oberon Modern Plays, 2015)
*[[Book:The Rince Cycle|''The Rince Cycle'']] (Oberon Modern Plays, 2015)
*[[Book:All The Discworld's A Stage|''All The Discworld's A Stage'']] (omnibus, Feet of Clay/The Rince Cycle/Unseen Academicals) (Oberon Modern Plays, 2015)
*''[[The Shakespeare Codex]]'' (Methuen, March 2021)
*{{H}} (Methuen, March 2021)
*''[[Murder in Ankh-Morpork]]'' (TBA)

====Gaming====
=====Board games=====
* ''[[Thud]]'': Strategy game for two players available from 2008
* Watch Out: Discworld Board Game from The Cunning Artificer 2004, never released, only several prototypes were ever made.
* [[Ankh Morpork Discworld Board Game|''Discworld Ankh-Morpork'']], from Treefrog Games 2011.
* [[Game:Guards! Guards! A Discworld Boardgame|''Guards! Guards! A Discworld Boardgame'']] from Z-Man Games 2011.
* [[Game:The Witches A Discworld Game|''The Witches A Discworld Game'']], from Treefrog Games 2013
* [[Game:Clacks A Discworld Board Game|''Clacks A Discworld Board Game'']], by Backspindle Games 2014 (Designers: Leonard Boyd & David Brashaw), published in conjunction with Z-Man Games.

=====Computer games=====
* [[Game:The Colour of Magic|The Colour of Magic]], for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64, 1986.
* [[Discworld (game)|Discworld]], PC/Mac/Sony Playstation/Sega Saturn game, developed by Perfect 10 Productions and Teeny Weeny Games, published by Psygnosis 1995.
* [[Discworld II: Missing Presumed...!?]], PC/Sony Playstation/Sega Saturn game, developed by Perfect Entertainment, published by Psygnosis (PC/PSX versions) and Sega (Saturn version) 1996.
* [[Discworld Noir]], GSP Games 2000.
* [[Game:Discworld: The Colour of Magic|Discworld: The Colour of Magic]], developed for mobile phones, 2006.
* [[Game:Discworld: The Ankh-Morpork Map|Discworld: The Ankh-Morpork Map]], developed for IOS systems by Random House, 2013.

=====Tabletop role-playing=====
* ''[[Book:GURPS Discworld|GURPS Discworld]]'', with Phil Masters (SJ Games, 1998; maps by [[Stephen Briggs]] and [[Stephen Player]], art by [[Paul Kidby]])<br/>Discworld converted to the GURPS RPG system<br/>Later rebranded under the "Powered by GURPS" banner as the ''Discworld Roleplaying Game.''
* ''[[Book:GURPS Discworld#GURPS Discworld Also|GURPS Discworld Also]]'', with Phil Masters and John M. Ford (SJ Games, 2001; art by Sean Murray)<br/>Additional material converted to the GURPS system.
* ''[[Book:GURPS Discworld#Discworld Roleplaying Game|The Discworld Roleplaying Game]]'', with Phil Masters (SJ Games, 2016)<br/>A revised edition of the previous game which combines ''GURPS Discworld'' and ''GURPS Discworld Also'', updates the rules to GURPS 4th edition, and adds information on newer Discworld novels not included in earlier editions. (SJ Games, November 2016)
* ''[[Book:Adventures in Ankh-Morpork|Terry Pratchett’s Discworld: Adventures in Ankh-Morpork]]'', Modiphius Entertainment.<br/>Officially announced in February 2024, to be funded via a Kickstarter campaign in “late 2024”.

=====[[Jigsaw Puzzles]]=====
1000 piece jigsaw puzzles based on the book covers/maps from:
* {{ER}}
* {{M}}
* {{RM}}
* {{M!!!}}
* {{DM}}
* {{CJ}}
* {{CAM}}

====Quiz====
* [[Book:The Unseen University Challenge|''The Unseen University Challenge'']] (quiz book by {{wp|Dave Langford|Dave Langford}}) (Gollancz, 1996)
* [[Book:The Wyrdest Link|''The Wyrdest Link'']] (quiz book by {{wp|Dave Langford|Dave Langford}}) (Gollancz, 2002, 2006)

====Diaries====
* {{UUD}} (with [[Stephen Briggs]])
* {{CWD}} (with [[Stephen Briggs]])
* {{AGD}} (with [[Stephen Briggs]])
* {{FGD}} (with [[Stephen Briggs]])
* {{TGD}} (with [[Stephen Briggs]])
* {{RVD}} (with [[Stephen Briggs]] and [[Paul Kidby]])
* {{TCDA}} for the Year of the Prawn being the common year 2005 (with [[Bernard Pearson]])
* {{AMPOH}} (with [[Stephen Briggs]] and [[Paul Kidby]])
* {{LTYOE}} (with [[Stephen Briggs]] and Paul Kidby) (Gollancz, 2007) Release Date 30 Aug 2007
* [[Book:The Best of the Discworld Diaries|''The Best of the Discworld Diaries'']] (Goldmann, 2012 with [[Stephen Briggs]], [[Paul Kidby]] and Andreas Brandhorst)
* {{WRI}} (2015 Diary, with [[Bernard Pearson]])
* {{APMMW}} (2016 Diary, with [[Bernard Pearson]])
* {{TPD}} (2017 Diary, with [[Bernard Pearson]])
* {{TPQD}} (2018, with the [[Discworld Emporium]])
* {{DAFJ}} (2019, with the [[Discworld Emporium]])
* {{AMAV1}} (Gollancz 2019, with [[Stephen Briggs]] and [[Paul Kidby]])
* {{CWJ}} (Gollancz 2020, with the [[Discworld Emporium]])
* {{AMAV2}} (Gollancz 2020, with [[Stephen Briggs]] and [[Paul Kidby]])

====[[Discworld Calendars]]====
* Terry Pratchett's Collectors' Edition Discworld Day-to-Day Calendar 1999
* Terry Pratchett's Discworld Collectors' Edition Calendar 1999
* Terry Pratchett's Discworld Collectors Edition Day-to-Day Calendar 2000
* Terry Pratchett's Discworld Collectors' Edition Mini Calendar 2000
* Terry Pratchett's Discworld Collectors' Edition Calendar 2000
* Terry Pratchett's Discworld Collectors' Edition Calendar 2001
* Terry Pratchett's Discworld Collectors' Edition Calendar 2002
* Terry Pratchett's Discworld Collectors' Edition Calendar 2003
* Terry Pratchett's Discworld Collectors' Edition Calendar 2004
* Terry Pratchett's Discworld Collectors' Edition Calendar 2005
* Terry Pratchett's Discworld Collectors' Edition Calendar 2006
* Terry Pratchett's Hogfather Discworld Calendar 2007
* Terry Pratchett's Discworld Collectors' Edition Calendar 2008
* Terry Pratchett's Discworld Collectors' Edition Calendar 2009
* Terry Pratchett's Discworld Collectors' Edition Calendar 2010
* Terry Pratchett's Discworld Collector's Edition Calendar 2011
* Terry Pratchett's Discworld Collectors' Edition Calendar 2012
* Terry Pratchett's Discworld Collectors' Edition Calendar 2013
* Terry Pratchett's Discworld Collectors' Edition Calendar 2014
* Terry Pratchett's Discworld Collectors' Edition Calendar 2015
* Terry Pratchett's Discworld Collectors' Edition Calendar 2016
* Terry Pratchett's Discworld Collectors' Edition Calendar 2017
* Terry Pratchett's Discworld Collectors' Edition Calendar 2018

====Anthologies====
* The Flying Sorcerers, ed. Peter Haining, Souvenir Press, 1998: multi-author anthology including the first release of the Pratchett short story '''''Turntables of the Night'''''.
* Legends, ed. Robert Silverberg, Souvenir Press, 1998: multi-author anthology including the first release of the Pratchett short story '''''The Sea and Little Fishes'''''.
* After the King: Stories In Honour of J.R.R. Tolkien edited by Martin H. Greenberg (1992) contains '''''Troll Bridge''''', a short story featuring Cohen the Barbarian. This story was also published in the compilation The Mammoth Book of Comic Fantasy (2001, edited by Mike Ashley).
* The Wizards of Odd, a short-story compilation edited by Peter Haining (1996), includes a Discworld short story called '''''Theatre of Cruelty'''''.

===Non-Discworld===
====Novels====
* {{TCP}} ([[Colin Smythe]], 1971)
* {{TDSOTS}} (Colin Smythe, 1976)
* {{ST}} (Colin Smythe, 1981)
* {{T}} ([[Doubleday]], 1989)
* {{TUC}} (with [[Gray Jolliffe]]) (Gollancz, 1989)
* {{GO}} (with [[Neil Gaiman]]) (Gollancz, 1990)
* {{D}} (Doubleday, 1990)
* {{WI}} (Doubleday, 1990)
* [[Bromeliad|''The Bromeliad'']] (omnibus, Corgi, 2008)
* {{OY}} (Doubleday, 1992)
* {{JATD}} (Doubleday, 1993)
* {{JATB}} (Doubleday, 1996)
* [[Book:The Johnny Maxwell Trilogy|''The Johnny Maxwell Trilogy'']] (omnibus, Doubleday, 1999)
* {{N}} (Doubleday, 2008)
* {{DO}} (Doubleday, 2012)

====Graphic Novels====
*[[Book:Truckers Picture Book|''Truckers Picture Book'']] (Ladybird Press, 1992 and Picture Corgi, 1992) based off of the TV series.
*[[Book:The Carpet People Illustrated Edition|''The Carpet People Illustrated Edition'']] (Doubleday, 2009)
*[[Book:Truckers|''Truckers Illustrated Edition'']] (Corgi Children's, 18th October 2018)
*[[Book:The Definitive Good Omens|''The Definitive Good Omens'']] (Gollancz, 21st May 2019)
*[[Book:Good Omens The Official (and Ineffable) Graphic Novel|''Good Omens: The Official (and Ineffable) Graphic Novel'']] ([[Dunmanifestin]], TBA)

====The ''Long Earth'' Series====
''Co-written with {{wp|Stephen Baxter|Stephen Baxter}}''
* {{TLE}} (Doubleday, 2012)
* {{TLW}} (Doubleday, 2013)
* {{TLM}} (Doubleday, April 2014)
* {{TLU}} (Doubleday and Random House, June 2015)
* {{TLCO}} (Doubleday, June 2016)

====CD====
* [[TV and Film:Johnny and the Dead|''Johnny and the Dead'']] soundtrack to the TV series (with Stefan Girandet) (Weekend, 1995).
* {{OYCSM}} songs from the musical (Colin Smythe Ltd, 2009).
* {{GO}} The BBC Radio 4 Dramatisation (BBC Physical Audio, 2015).

====[[Theatre Adaptations|Plays]]====
* {{JatD}} The Play (adapted by [[Stephen Briggs]]) (Oxford University Press, 1996)
* {{N}} The Play (adapted by Mark Ravenhill) (Oxford University Press, 2009)
* {{JATB}} Musical Pack (adapted by Matthew Holmes) (Bloomsbury, 2012)
* {{DO}} The Play (adapted by [[Stephen Briggs]]) (Oxford Playscripts, 2014)

====Short Stories====
This is not a complete list, just the significant stories which have their own entries. See also [[:Category:Short Stories|the Short Stories category]].
* “[[Short Story:The Hades Business|The Hades Business]]” (1963) Republished in {{BS}}.
* “[[Short Story:Night Dweller|Night Dweller]]” (1965)
* “[[Short Story:Humphrey Newt's Thunderbolt Carriage|Humphrey Newt's Thunderbolt Carriage]]” (1967)
* “[[Short Story:The Abominable Snowman|The Abominable Snowman]]” (1969) Republished in {{DCC}}.
* “[[Short Story:Rincemangle, The Gnome of Even Moor|Rincemangle, the Gnome of Even Moor]]” (1973) Republished in {{BS}} and {{TWVC}}.
* “[[Short Story:The High Meggas|The High Meggas]]” (1986) Republished in {{BS}}.
* “[[Short Story:Twenty Pence With Envelope and Seasonal Greetings|Twenty Pence With Envelope and Seasonal Greetings]]” (1987) Republished in {{BS}}.
* “[[Short Story:Final Reward|Final Reward]]” (1988) Republished in {{BS}}.
* “[[Short Story:Incubust|Incubust]]” (1988) Republished in {{BS}}.
* “[[Short Story:Turntables of the Night|Turntables of the Night]]” (1989) Republished in {{BS}}.
* “[[Short Story:History in the Faking|''History in the Faking'']]” (1990)
* “[[Short Story:ifdefDEBUG + ‘world/enough’ + ‘time’|#ifdefDEBUG + ‘world/enough’ + ‘time’]]” (1990) Republished in {{BS}}.
* “[[Short Story:Hollywood Chickens|Hollywood Chickens]]” (1990) Republished in {{BS}}
* “[[Short Story:The Secret Book of the Dead|The Secret Book of the Dead]]” (1991) Republished in {{BS}}.
* “[[Short Story:Once And Future|Once And Future]]” (1995) Republished in {{BS}}
* “[[Short Story:The Computer Who Wrote to Santa Claus|The Computer Who Wrote to Santa Claus]]” (1996), also known as “The Megabyte Drive to Believe in Santa Claus” and “FTB”. Republished in {{OMWF}}, {{BS}} and {{FCFB}}.
* “[[An Ode to Multiple Universes|An Ode to Multiple Universes]]” (2005) Republished in ''[[Book:Terry Pratchett's Folio|Terry Pratchett's Folio]]''.

====Anthologies====
* [[The Ultimate Encyclopaedia of Fantasy (the definitive illustrated guide)|The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy]], edited by David Pringle (1998), Terry contributed a preface, republished in {{OMWF}}
* Now We Are Sick, written by Neil Gaiman and Stephen Jones (1994), includes the poem called '''''The Secret Book of the Dead''''' by Pratchett.
* Knights of Madness (1998, edited by Peter Haining) includes a short story called '''''Hollywood Chickens'''''. Republished in {{BS}}
* The Leaky Establishment, written by David Langford (1984), has a foreword by Terry in later reissues (from 2001). Republished in {{SK}}
* Meditations on Middle-Earth, an anthology of essays on Middle Earth compiled by Karen Haber, contains Terry Pratchett's essay '''''Cult Classic''''' (2002). Republished in {{SK}}
* Imagined Lives: Portraits of Unknown People (National Portrait Gallery, 2011), Terry contributed a story, '''''Sir Joshua Easement: A Biographical Note'''''. Republished in {{BS}}
* {{OMWF}} ([[New England Science Fiction Association]], 2004) is a collection of several of the above Dw and Non-Dw short stories. Terry Pratchett also wrote several stories under the pseudonym [[Uncle Jim]] for the ''Bucks Free Press''.
* {{BS}} (Doubleday, 2012)
* {{DCC}} (Doubleday, 11 September 2014)
* {{SK}} (Doubleday, 25 Sep 2014)
* [[Book:Terry Pratchett's Folio|''Terry Pratchett's Folio'']] (Privately published, 2014)
* [[Book:Terry Pratchett's Memorial Folio|''Terry Pratchett's Memorial Folio'']] (Clays Ltd, 2016)
* {{TWVC}} (Doubleday Children's, 2016)
* {{FCFB}} (Doubleday Children's, 2017)
* {{TTTC}} (Doubleday Children's, 2020)
* {{SP}} (Transworld, 2023)

====Miscellany====
* The Richard Dimbleby Lecture 2010: available here[http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/feb/01/terry-pratchett-alzheimer-assisted-suicide], abridged. Video version: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqjfwrRQvQA| The Richard Dimbley Lecture 2010]
* ''[[Book:The Dodger's Guide to London|The Dodger's Guide to London]]'' (Doubleday, 2013)
* Terry writing on [http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/15/a-butt-of-my-own-jokes-terry-pratchett-on-the-disease-that-finally-claimed-him on the Embuggerance]
* [[Book:Shaking Hands With Death|''Shaking Hands With Death'']] (Corgi, 2015) also published in [[Book:A Slip of the Keyboard|''A Slip of the Keyboard'']]
* [[Book:Seriously Funny: The Endlessly Quotable Terry Pratchett|''Seriously Funny: The Endlessly Quotable Terry Pratchett'']] (Doubleday, 2016)
* [[Book:Terry Pratchett: HisWorld A Brief Guide to Discworld|''Terry Pratchett: HisWorld A Brief Guide to Discworld'']] (Clays Ltd, September 2017)
* [[Book:Terry Pratchett HisWorld Official Exhibition Companion|''Terry Pratchett HisWorld Official Exhibition Companion'']] (Dunmanifestin Ltd, October 2018)

==Publishers==
* [[B. Wahlströms]]
* [[Colin Smythe]]
* [[Doubleday]]
* [[Gollancz]]
* [[HarperCollins]]
* [[Heyne]]
* [[L'Atalante]]
* [[Random House]]

==See Also==
* [[Articles and Speeches]]
* [[Contributions to other works]]
* [[Dedications]]
* [[Deleted Scenes]]

==External links==
* [[wikipedia:Terry Pratchett|Terry Pratchett]] on Wikipedia
* [[wikipedia:Discworld|Discworld]] on Wikipedia
* [http://www.terrypratchett.co.uk/ Terry Pratchett] - Verlagsgruppe Random House / Doubleday / etc.
* [http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/ Terry Pratchett Books] - (HarperCollins)
* [http://www.colinsmythe.co.uk/ Colin Smythe Ltd]
* [http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/p/terry-pratchett/ Fantastic fiction]
* [http://www.terrypratchettbooks.org/discworld/threads/the-ultimate-guide-to-terry-pratchetts-written-works.93/ The Ultimate Guide To Terry Pratchett's Written Works]
* [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ch.cgi?155 Terry Pratchett - Chronological Bibliography]

[[Category:Books by Terry Pratchett| ]]
[[Category:Discworld Series| ]]
[[Category:Witches Series| ]]
[[Category:Rincewind Series| ]]
[[Category:Death Series| ]]
[[Category:Watch Series| ]]
[[Category:Tiffany Series| ]]
[[Category:Maps| ]]
[[Category:Bromeliad series| ]]
[[Category:Johnny Maxwell Series| ]]
[[de:Bücher:Übersicht]]

The Shades

2026-05-25T17:18:18Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by AVandalDistroyingWiki (talk) to last revision by Deathofrats0808

The [[Guild of Merchants|Merchant's Guild]] describes the Shades as 'a folklorique network of old alleys and picturesque streets, wherre exitement and romans lurke arounde everry corner and much may be heard the traditional street cries of old time also the laughing visages of the denuizens as they goe about their business private.'

In other words, a commentary drily adds, you have been warned.

Others just call it "colourful".

This is the oldest part of the city of [[Ankh-Morpork]], located on the same side of the river as [[UU|Unseen University]]. It is considered dangerous even by the standards of the rest of the city, and absolutely not a place to be after dark. However, it must be realised that the entire area known as the Shades extends from [[Treacle Mine Road]] to the rimward wall and includes popular and vital parts of the city's commerce such as:
*[[Rosemary Palm|Mrs. Palm]]'s famous house of good repute, the [[Whore Pits]] and the whole "club" district in the angle of [[Treacle Mine Road]] and [[Elm Street]].
*The Mortuary, located where the traffic is.
*[[Mrs. Cake]]'s rooming house for the differently respectable.
*Igneous's Wholesale Pottery and Chalky's Building Supplies.
*The docks: most of the city's sea trade.
*[[Harga's House of Ribs]]: popular diner in the docks area.
*[[Grabpot Thundergust]]'s cosmetic mill and the Streets of Perfume Blenders.
*The late [[Bjorn Hammerhock]]'s workshop.
*The Cattle Market and the whole meat-processing industry.
These locations are obviously not avoided by citizens or visitors. The central portion, roughly from the [[the Troll's Head]] tavern to near [[Cockbill Street]] and centered on [[Shamlegger Street]] seems to be the area where even the Watch once feared to go. In recent years, the augmented Watch, especially [[Trolls|Troll]] officers, have put the fear of god (or Sam Vimes) in the locals. It may now be possible to cross the area unscathed, if one is quick and careful.

Despite all this, it has produced a number of Ankh-Morpork's famous citizens. Perhaps the most notable is [[Samuel Vimes]], now Duke of Ankh and Commander of the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch]]. Others include [[Lupine Wonse]] and the Duke's formidable butler [[Willikins]], once a ''Rude Boy'' from the hard core, and [[Nobby Nobbs]], who perhaps best sums up the typical qualities of someone raised within the Shades.

[[Category:Streets of Ankh-Morpork|Shades,The]]
[[de:Schatten]]

Ephebe

2026-05-25T17:16:54Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by AVandalDistroyingWiki (talk) to last revision by Deathofrats0808

{{Nation Data
|title= Ephebe
|picture=Blank.jpg|
|established=
|motto=

|neighbours= [[Omnia]](turnwise), [[Djelibeybi]](widdershins), [[Ur]](rimwards).

|features= clement offshore islands such as [[Papylos]], the [[Pyrinankles]].

|capital= Ephebe

|population=small
|size=small
|government= Democracy (vote limited to all those who are not a slave, mad, female, poor or foreign) Ruled by The Tyrant
|notablecitizens= [[Didactylos]], [[Urn]], [[Abraxas|"Charcoal" Abraxas]] & [[Lavaeolus]]

|imports=
|exports= Ideas, wine, figs & dates; decorative stone; the occasional Gorgon. The [[Elgin Marbles]].
|anthem=
|books= {{P}}, {{SG}}, {{CDA}}

|cameos= {{UA}}

}}

A country in the continent of [[Klatch (continent)|Klatch]] and on the coast of the [[Circle Sea]]. Ephebe is home to thousands of toga-wearing, wine-drinking, food-fighting [[Philosophers|philosophers]]. "Philosophy" includes logics, theology, social-economics, mathematics, and "natural philosophy" (physics, etc). Ephebe is powerful in politics, military, and knowledge base. Ephebe once boasted the second-largest [[Library of Ephebe‎|Library]] on the Disc, but this was burnt down by the [[Omnia]]ns and hundreds of irreplaceable scrolls were presumed lost. (The fact many of them turned up later in the [[Library]] of [[Unseen University]] has not, oddly enough, aroused much comment).

In Ephebe, citizens can own ''slaves'' but have to pay them well, feed them well, and allow days-off. A slave who has worked long enough and earned enough money might choose to lose the slave status and become his own man. Otherwise he might remain a slave because the work benefits are so good and guarantee a minimum lifestyle which the free owner of slaves might not be able to afford, as so much of his income has to go on ensuring a minimum standard for his slaves. For the most part, the slaves in Ephebe are paid domestic staff or other kinds of employees. The ruler of Ephebe is a ''Tyrant'' elected by the citizens. The one privilege of citizens not enjoyed by slaves is the right to vote in the election for the next Tyrant.

[[Tsort]] is Ephebe's traditional enemy, because thousands of years ago, Tsort stole the queen [[Elenor of Tsort|Elenor]] from Ephebe. It should be noted that even famous saga-narrators in Ephebe are not capable of getting the fact straight, whether Elenor was stolen from Ephebe by Tsort or from Tsort by Ephebe. It was just one cause of a long, exhausting, jolly-good-fun war (see {{E}}). Ephebe is also neighbour to [[Djelibeybi]] and [[Omnia]].

Major appearances of the location or the country as a military entity in {{E}}, {{P}}, and {{SG}}. Often mentioned as the country where a philosopher might have been pondering a question while in his bath, suddenly realizing the answer, and then running out on the street shouting "Eureka!", which [[Ankh-Morpork|Ankh-Morporkians]] interpret as "Give me a towel!" (see {{MP}}).

Ephebe uses bronze coinage called Derechmi and Obols.

[[Gorgon]]s are apparently a viable non-human species here: one has emigrated to [[Ankh-Morpork]] and become a Watchwoman. In {{CDA}}, tourism has become a saleable commodity, with Ephebian Islands and the associated lifestyle being marketed as a plus point. (As is the guaranteed philosopher-free nature of the island of [[Papylos]].)

==Annotations==

The resemblance to classical Athens here on [[Roundworld]] is too obvious to require much comment. The word ''Ephebe'' is the English form of the Greek ''Ephebos'', an adolescent boy. In Athens such boys were normally taken under the wing of an older man in a purely Platonic relationship - well ideally anyway. In Sparta, for instance, the mentoring relationship was formally expected to take a more personal and intimate direction, which was believed to foster a strong bond in battle. The Thebans even built an army regiment out of ''many'' such man-boy pairings. The word is still there in modern psychology (and these days, criminology) to denote a certain practice - {{wp|Ephebophilia|ephebophilia}}. A euphemism for one who lives openly as gay is that they have ''a Greek island lifestyle''. No doubt habitués of the [[Blue Cat Club]] are referred to as ''enjoying Ephebian island holidays'', nudge-nudge.

''Derechmi and Obols'' are not a million miles away from the old (soon to be resumed?) Greek currency of drachmae.

[[Category:Discworld geography]]
[[de:Ephebe]]

Borogravia

2026-05-25T17:15:32Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by AVandalDistroyingWiki (talk) to last revision by Deathofrats0808

{{Nation Data
|title= Borogravia
|picture=Blank.jpg|
|established= n/a
|motto=

|neighbours= [[Überwald]], [[Zlobenia]], [[Mouldavia]]

|features= River Kneck, beet farms

|capital=Prince Marmaduke Piotre Albert-Hans Joseph Bernhardt Wilhelmsberg

|population= limited by wars
|size= medium-large
|government= Monarchy, current ruler: [[Annagovia|"The Dutchess"]] de facto ruler: [[Froc|General Froc]]

|notablecitizens= [[Polly Perks]], [[Jackrum|Sergeant Jackrum]], [[Minstrel|The Minstrel]]

|imports= War
|exports= War

|anthem= [[Borogravian National Anthem]]

|books= {{MR}}
}}
'''Borogravia''' is a small, backward country, engaged in near-constant war with its neighbours, especially recently with [[Zlobenia]]. Formerly part of the Dark Empire, it is located next to [[Uberwald]]. It was first (and last) seen in the book {{MR}}, though it has been mentioned as far back as {{COM}}.

It is (theoretically) ruled by a monarch known as "[[Annagovia|The Duchess]]", who is worshipped almost as a god. The country's main deity is [[Nuggan]], whose propensity for declaring almost everything an "Abomination" has driven the small country to poverty and starvation.

For instance, Nuggan declared [[chocolate]] to be an Abomination. This is despite the fact that Borogravia was, and in some quarters still is, regarded across the Disc as a centre of chocolate-making excellence. This may explain why [[Chocolate|Wienrich and Boettcher]] ended up in Ankh-Morpork - as refugees from Nugganitic persecution, much to Borogravia's detriment and [[Susan Sto Helit]]'s advantage. If fact between the numerous abominations and constant war much of the population are now left with little to eat but [[Horse Bread]].

All this, however, seems set to change, following the events of ''Monstrous Regiment'' and the interference of [[Ankh-Morpork]].

In ''Monstrous Regiment'' we learn that Borogravia has been the aggressor in many wars with the neighbouring countries and the military seems to control the country in The Duchess's name.

Its [[Borogravian National Anthem|National Anthem]] is a particularly aggressive and warlike anthem.

The language spoken is Borogravian, though ''The Colour of Magic'' mentions a language called "High Borogravian", which may indicate a second language. And everyone seems to understand Morporkian just fine, ''c.f.'' the fragment of the ''[[Ankh-Morpork Times|Times]]'' that [[Polly Perks|Polly]] finds.

==Annotations==
The name itself seems to be derived from "Borogove", a nonsense word invented by Lewis Carroll that appeared in the poem ''Jabberwocky'', but it resembles also {{wp|Burgenland|Burgenland}}, the easternmost province of Austria, bordering (among other countries) Slovenia (see [[Zlobenia]]); the particle ''-gravia'' (replacing the ''-land'') resembles the {{wp|Latin|Latinized}} form of German ''Grafschaft'', meaning a territory ruled by a {{wp|Graf|''Graf''}}, i.e. ''Count'' or ''Earl''. The name could also be a reference to ''Borgravia'', an {{wp|Austrian Empire|Austria}} analogue which appeared in the 1972 science-fiction novel'' {{wp|The Iron Dream|The Iron Dream}}''. It might also be a reference to {{wp|Belgravia|Belgravia}}, a district of central London, more or less owned by the Duke of Westminster.

The country appears to have been influenced by a number of nations on [[Roundworld]]. Most obviously, its wars with its neighbours suggest a {{wp|Balkan|Balkans}} or middle-eastern nation. This impression is enforced by the names of some of its neighbours, [[Zlobenia]] (cf. {{wp|Slovenia|Slovenia}}), and [[Mouldavia]] (cf. {{wp|Moldova|Moldova, formerly Moldavia}}). The constant creation of Abominations could mean many things. Afghanistan under the Taliban, Early fundamentalist Iran and perhaps even Cromwellian England in the 1600's. The army resembles the British army of the late 18th/early 19th centuries in its dress (although Swiss mercenaries in French service wore a very similar uniform).

[[Category:Discworld geography]]
[[de:Borograwien]]

The Luggage

2026-05-25T17:12:19Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by AVandalDistroyingWiki (talk) to last revision by Deathofrats0808

{{Character Data
|title= The Luggage
|photo= Luggage.jpg|© [[Discworld Emporium]]
|name= The Luggage
|age=
|race=

|occupation= Carrying stuff around, Protecting its owner.
|appearance= A large brass bound wooden chest with hundreds of little pink legs. Is sometimes shown to have Sycamore white teeth and a long mahogany red tongue.

|residence= Wherever its current owner lives

|death=
|parents=
|relatives= Owned by [[Rincewind]].
|children= Several smaller trunks.
|marital status=

|books= All books in the [[:Category:Rincewind Series|Rincewind Series]].
|cameos= {{UA}}
}}
'''The Luggage''' is a trunk with legs. It is made of [[sapient pearwood]], and is immensely faithful. Its first owner was a tourist called [[Twoflower]], who at the end of ''[[Book:The Light Fantastic|The Light Fantastic]]'', gave the Luggage over to [[Rincewind]] as a parting gift. It appears to hold many dimensions, and has often swallowed people that have tried to hurt its owner. It always has a pair of fresh underwear ready smelling slightly of lavender. It has also been used as a mode of transportation by [[Cohen the Barbarian]] in ''The Light Fantastic'', and it will even cross dimensions to be with its owner, as it does in {{E}}.

There is some inconsistency in the books regarding the origins of The Luggage. In {{TLF}} it is established that it came from a [[Wandering Shop]], meaning it could've originated from any place (or past time) on the Disc or even possibly from another world. In {{IT}} however, we learn that many other (albeit smaller) Luggages live on the [[Counterweight Continent]], allowing it to start a family there.

In order to eat the enemies of its owner, the Luggage will usually lure them with a trap, such as raising its lid invitingly to reveal piles of gleaming gold. The last sight many unlucky men see at the mercy of the Luggage are large, tombstone-like teeth and a huge red tongue. However, if left behind somewhere and forced to catch up with its owner, the Luggage often just tears through a place leaving a wake of destruction and completely swallowing everything in its path. A person can survive inside the Luggage, however, as mentioned above.

The Luggage is often seen as a malevolent entity and has made a definite impression on the faculty of [[Unseen University]]. [[Twoflower]] originally bought the Luggage in [[Wandering_Shop|one of ''those'' shops]], but, while in the [[Agatean Empire]] the Luggage met others of its kind and has now mated and reproduced in {{IT}}. Its unceasing loyalty to its master can also be seen as a good trait, and it has often helped its owners out of many different situations- usually by stomping, jumping up and down on, or swallowing whatever is threatening its master.

The Luggage was briefly worshipped by the [[Tezuman Empire]] as a god in ''Eric'' when the Luggage crushes their [[Quezovercoatl|former god]] on the top of a pyramid. They rationally decided that if something can crush their god that easily, it would probably be wise to start worshipping it instead. However, when the Luggage never returned, despite all the worshipping they did, the Tezumans killed their priests and switched to enlightened atheism instead.

The Luggage even once swallowed the [[Octavo]] (at the end of {{TLF}}), but we later learn (in {{S}}) that it "sulked for three days" and later spat it out.

It makes a brief appearance in {{UA}} as a prospective member of the [[Unseen University]] football team, though it is ultimately disqualified from joining.

[[Cohen the Barbarian]] once attacked the Luggage in {{TLF}} because he was "scared of it." However, this is not quite is surprising when one considers the psychology of the individual: Cohen's normal state of mind is to attack anything that moves. Something that scares him would be a prime target, as attacking it would eventually end up with either he, it, or both of them being dead, removing the source of fear regardless of the outcome. More importantly, seeing piles of gold is undoubtedly a lure for Cohen.

== Annotations ==

Pratchett has stated on several occasions that the Luggage was created from the time he watched a woman's suitcase wobbling across the tiles of an airport. He has also stated however that the airport story and several others were fabricated for the benefit of interviewers and quite frankly he can't remember the precise origin of the Luggage. He had earlier used a similar idea when designing [[Dungeons and Dragons|role-playing games ]] for friends, a walking trunk which could carry all the players' possessions and would follow any instructions given to it but ''only'' the instructions given to it (rather like a golem), which inevitably led it to absentmindedly walking off the edge of a cliff as soon as the quest party got distracted. (Source: [[The Pratchett Portfolio: A Compendium of Discworld Characters]]).

Technically, the Luggage acts as a classic {{wp|Bag_of_holding|Bag of Holding}} but with the added bonus that items of laundry stuffed in will also come out cleaned, pressed and smelling faintly of lavender.

[[Category:Discworld characters|Luggage, The]]
[[Category:Serial characters|Luggage, The]]
[[Category:Supporting characters|Luggage, The]]
[[Category:Devices|Luggage.The]]
[[de:Truhe]]

Reacher Gilt

2026-05-25T17:11:08Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by AVandalDistroyingWiki (talk) to last revision by Deathofrats0808

{{Character Data
|title= Reacher Gilt
|photo=Blank.jpg|
|name= Reacher Gilt
|age=
|race= [[Humans|Human]]

|occupation= ex-Director of the [[Grand Trunk]]
|appearance= One eye, eyepatch, and a smile like a tiger

|residence= [[Ankh-Morpork]]

|death= Presumably at the end of {{GP}} at the [[Patrician's Palace]]
|parents=
|relatives=
|children=
|marital status=

|books= {{GP}}
|cameos=
}}

Antagonist of [[Moist von Lipwig]] in {{GP}}, and Chairman of the [[Grand Trunk]]. He dressed in the manner of a retired pirate, and lived as such, with a cockatoo named Alphonse which had been taught to say the phrase "12 and a half percent" (that is, a ''single'' piece of eight). Other than being the Chairman of the Grand Trunk, nobody knew much about him, though two things were certain: he threw the most incredible and extravagant parties(1), and he was rich enough to purchase his own ancestors as well as the services of an [[Igor]]. Some say he owned a gold mine. Others say he was a pirate, though considering the fact that he practically dressed up as one, most may have dismissed it out of hand.

Gilt was actually a con artist of legendary skill; Moist instantly recognized Gilt's inner nature and he would have begged Gilt to teach him the trade had he not been Gilt's primary enemy at the time. He ''told'' people he was going to fleece them and they loved it. This brings friends very quickly, such as Messrs [[Nutmeg]], [[Greenyham]], [[Crispin Horsefry|Horsefry]] and [[Stowley]]. And so with his help they stole the Grand Trunk from the [[Robert Dearheart|Dearhearts]] via a method called the "Double Lever"; purchasing the company with its own money. While head of the [[Grand Trunk]], Gilt had his office in the [[Tump tower|Tump Tower]], though as with everything that is "gilt", that was mainly for show.

Gilt proceeded to squeeze as much money as possible out of the Grand Trunk, raising fees, cutting down on maintenance and development, presumably to a degree that would have worried his supporters. Had the Trunk failed and gone bankrupt, he would have sold off his assets in the company long before that happened and, through another company, re-bought them at rock bottom prices only to proceed to run it into the ground once more.

So for a while, for Gilt and company, life was good, and Greenyham, Horsefry and Stowley happily rode the tail of the tiger until the resurrection of the [[Ankh-Morpork Post Office]] by [[Moist von Lipwig]] through the machinations of [[Lord Vetinari]].

While both were at heart con artists, Gilt differed from Moist by being utterly ruthless and willing to resort to murder. Any obstacle tended to be removed, courtesy of a Mr [[Gryle]], an ''inhumanly'' efficient killer. Soon Greenyham, Nutmeg and Stowley (minus Horsefry, thanks to the aforementioned Mr Gryle) found it difficult to get off the tiger that they were riding. Gilt was a proud person, and the constant piques and humiliations he suffered at the hands of Moist eventually become too much to bear. Infuriated, he failed to anticipate Moist's plan and was caught in a trap.

He is presumably dead: after discovering that he'd been trapped by Moist, he fled. Despite assuming a new identity and changing his appearance he was apprehended, probably by Mr [[Pump]], and brought before the [[Patrician]]. He was offered the job of re-structuring the [[Ankh-Morpork Mint|Royal Mint]], which came with a salary, and some kind of hat. He was also freely given the choice to decline and walk out of the office. He declined, and it is inferred he walked out of a door with a treacherous first step, as the second was several stories below. While he wasn't a believer in [[angels]] he was a firm believer in (his) personal freedom, to the extent that he might well have been aware of the terminal consequences of his choice, but was determined to be the one to make the choice.

(1) At one party a [[trolls|troll]] [[Guild of Ecdysiasts, Nautchers, Cancanieres and Exponents of Exotic Dance|stripper]] was hired, and as a result three people jumped out of the windows (despite the fact that troll strippers actually don ''more'' clothing instead of removing it).

[[Category:Discworld characters|Gilt, Reacher]]
[[Category:Human characters|Gilt, Reacher]]
[[de:Reacher Gilt]]

Pseudopolis Yard

2026-05-25T17:09:43Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by AVandalDistroyingWiki (talk) to last revision by Deathofrats0808

'''Pseudopolis Yard''' is the name of a circular street in the [[Isle of Gods]], a bit of uptown [[Ankh-Morpork]] almost circled by the river [[Ankh (river)|Ankh]], connected to the rest of uptown Ankh-Morpork by two streets, and to downtown Morpork by four bridges.

Nine streets radiate out from the Yard. Proceeding Turnwise (clockwise) from Lower Broad Way, these are described as:-

*Lower [[Broad Way]] leads back to the [[Patrician's Palace]] and onwards, via the [[Brass Bridge]]. [[Brewer Street]] radiates off halfway along and, via [[Contract Bridge (landmark)|Contract Bridge]], leads to [[Cheapside]] on the other side of the river.
*[[Holofernes Street]] crosses back to the University quarter and the main Guildhouses on the [[Street of Alchemists]] and [[Peach Pie Street]] via the [[New Bridge]].
*[[Lag Lane]] is a service road to the [[Tanty]] prison that does not cross the river.
* Polestaff Lane runs on the other side of the Tanty and leads onto Don't Look Back Street, which leads onto [[Body Street]] and terminates at the riverside [[Chain Walk]].
*[[Salis Street]] leads, via one of the swingbridges over [[The Cut|the Cut]], to the Ankh side and the crossroads with [[Prouts]] and [[Park Lane]].
* The next street is [[Quilldaisy Stairs]], which goes directly to [[Pon's Bridge]] towards the Shades. On the far side of Pons it is named as [[Sheer Street]].
*[[Squeezebelly Alley]] does not cross the river. which ends at the riverbank at [[By-Your-Leave Walk]] and does not cross the river.
*[[The Butts|Butt's Treat]] also does not cross the river, but it leads to the archery practice fields.

It can therefore be seen from the Mappe that the major arterial roadway through the city of Ankh-Morpork runs [[Hubwards Gate]] - Upper Broadway-Patrician's Palace - Brass Bridge-Lower Broad Way - Pseudopolis Yard - Salis Street - the Cut - [[Park Lane]] - [[Edgeway Road]] - [[Rimwards Gate]]. This road can be traced as one completely straight unbroken road right through the City from Gate to Gate.

The [[Opera House]] stands at the dead centre of Pseudopolis Yard, which, in some theories, makes it the absolute dead centre of the City. On the other side of the street, the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch]]'s headquarters can be found. Given its links to policing, possibly a reference to {{wp|Scotland_Yard|Scotland Yard}}

According to [[Book:The Compleat Ankh-Morpork|The Compleat Ankh-Morpork]], Pseudopolis Yard also offers a choice of two public houses - 'The Singing Hippos' on the corner of Lower [[Broadway]], opposite the Watch House, and 'The Stab in the Back' on the corner of [[Salis Street]].

[[Category:Streets of Ankh-Morpork]]
[[de:Pseudopolisplatz]]

Cohen the Barbarian

2026-05-25T17:08:39Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by AVandalDistroyingWiki (talk) to last revision by Deathofrats0808

{{Character Data
|title= The Barbarian
|Cohen the Barbarian Illustrated by [[User:puggdogg|Michael Collins]] a.k.a. puggdogg
|photo= Cohen The Barbarian.jpg|
|name= Cohen the Barbarian
|age= 90 something
|race= [[:Category:Human characters|Human]]
|occupation= Barbarian
|appearance= Old, spry, bald, knee-length beard, one eye, crab like
|residence= [[Discworld]]
|death=
|parents=
|relatives=
|children= [[Conina]]
|marital status=
|books= {{TLF}}<br/>{{IT}}<br/>{{TLH}}<br/>{{TB}}
|cameos= {{J}}
Mention in {{MP}} and {{S}}.
}}

Also known as '''''Ghenghiz Cohen''''', '''Cohen the Barbarian''' is the last and greatest of the [[barbarian heroes]]. He is over 90 years old (or 87 in ''The Light Fantastic'', in which he declares "If I wash twenty yearsh younger...I'd be shixty sheven"), which just goes to show how good Cohen is at not dying. Known to be leader of the [[Silver Horde]], a small group of similarly elderly barbarian heroes, many of whom have served with Cohen for numerous years. Like Cohen himself, the Silver Horde is ''very'' good at not dying in a line of work where insane risks and life-and-death gambles are relatively routine (note we say 'and' instead of 'or' - this is intentional, as *someone* tends to die in the instances).

In the book {{TLF}}, he commissioned a dwarf to make a set of special dentures made from the diamond teeth of Old Grandad, an ancient troll. It is speculated that he may be the only person on the Disc who can actually get away with this without drawing excessive retribution from trolls, mostly because he's sort of a force of nature. [[Rincewind]] describes the effect in the following way: "Once they've been around him for a while, people start seeing the world the way he does. All big and simple. And they want to be a part of it." Cohen's charisma is powerful enough for him to have attracted the [[Silver Horde]], despite the notoriously individualistic nature of barbarians.

He is of a wiry build and wears just his loincloth even in the snow.

The best things in life according to him are "hot water, good dentishtry and shoft lavatory paper".

He has at least one known daughter (and is assumed to have many more children, most of whom he does not know). Her name is [[Conina]]. She is the daughter of a temple dancer.

It is generally difficult for others to consider Cohen a friend, given his volatile nature; when questioned by [[Havelock Vetinari]], Rincewind conceded that he could be considered Cohen's friend simply because he and Cohen had met a couple of times and Cohen hadn't killed him.

Cohen married [[Bethan]] who was a sacrificial virgin (at least back then she was) with a tanned perfect body, and a knowledge of chiropody - a perfect complement to Cohen's age-warped back. It is presumed they broke up at some point. According to Rincewind, Conina and Bethan are about the same age.

He wrote (or got somebody to write) the book ''[[Inne Juste 7 Dayes I wille make you a Barbearian Hero!]]''. However, it is suspected that [[CMOT Dibbler]] could have some responsibility for that.

Cohen served a brief stint as Emperor of the Agatean Empire, after the Silver Horde stole the entire Empire. However, he soon grew bored of a life bereft of constant adventure and peril, and when [[Old Vincent]] choked on a cucumber (a decidedly un-heroic way to die), he led the Horde on a final mission - returning fire to the gods in the form of Agatean Thunder Clay.

Cohen, over the course of his long career, has been everywhere and done everything, sometimes twice. After learning of the man's exploits, he views himself as similar to [[Carelinus]], the greatest conquerer in the history of the Disc, only "not as cissy, obviously".

During his final adventure (on the Disc, at least), Cohen joined the very small group of people who have successfully cheated [[Fate]] by rolling a 7 on a 6-sided die. Of course, he did this by cutting it in half while it was up in the air, so that both the side showing 6 and the side showing 1 landed face up, but everyone agreed that it was a fine stroke and certainly a very barbarian-like way of solving the problem.

He, and most of the rest of his horde, was last seen taking his leave of [[Dunmanifestin]], the home of Gods, on stolen Valkyries mounts, after a mission aimed to blow the place to smithereens. Whether or not they were actually dead at the time is left to speculation, but as Cohen said, they didn't think they were dead and they'd never cared what anyone else thought.

Once bought an apple.

==Annotations==

Cohen is clearly based on the mighty {{wp|Conan_the_Barbarian|Conan the Barbarian}}, created by Robert E. Howard as a "virile, axe-wielding, fur-bearing, cranium-smashing barbarian" and being still reimagined today. Cohen is the end-of-life, what-they-might-become story of an elderly hero whose days of trampling the jewelled thrones of the world beneath his sandalled feet etc. etc. are not over yet, even if he needs a support to trample these days.

While the epithet ''Cohen the Barbarian'' parodies Conan the Barbarian, his proper name ''Ghenghiz Cohen'' is a clear reference to ''Genghis Khan'', a barbarian who became the founder and Emperor of the Mongol Empire in the 11th-12th centuries. Like Cohen, he was also said to have fathered a large number of descendants. His grandson Kublai Khan would conquer China, the primary [[Roundworld]] counterpart of the Agatean Empire.

The "Cohen" part leads to the gag "wholesale slaughter", being a pune on the Roundworld understanding of Jews being rather good salespeople.

"The best things in life according to him are "hot water, good dentishtry and shoft lavatory paper". This is a reference to the Arnold Schwarzenegger {{wp|Conan_the_Barbarian_(1982_film)|movie version}} of Conan, wherein in some forsaken yurt the various gathered chieftains and warriors are swapping their versions of what is best in life. Conan is asked, and replies "to crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentations of their women." TP builds this scene up in much the same way, to end on the gags about growing old. The Conan quote is itself based on one (likely apocryphally) attributed to Genghis Khan.

{{wp|David_Bradley_%28English_actor%29|David Bradley}} (the caretaker; Argus Filch; in the ''Harry Potter'' movies and the gangster Stemroach in ''Ideal'') plays Cohen in the Sky One adaptation of {{COM}}.

[[Category:Discworld characters]]
[[Category:Serial characters]]
[[Category:Leading characters]]
[[de:Dschingis Cohen]]

Om

2026-05-25T17:07:45Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by AVandalDistroyingWiki (talk) to last revision by Deathofrats0808

{{Character Data
|title= Om
|photo=Blank.jpg|
|name= Om
|age=
|race= [[Gods|God]]
|occupation= Deity
|appearance= Changed at will; in [[Book:Small Gods|Small Gods]] mostly as a tortoise, but in power also as the more traditional human, swan and bull forms.
|residence= Wherever he wants, now.
|death=
|parents=
|relatives=
|children=
|marital status=
|books= [[Book:Small Gods|Small Gods]], {{SOD4}}
|cameos=
}}
One of the more powerful [[gods]] on the [[Discworld (world)|Discworld]]. (On and off)

==Personality==
As far as gods go, Om is fairly lazy. In the events of ''[[Book:Small Gods|Small Gods]]'', despite having a huge empire of worshippers, he only has one true believer, [[Brutha]].
He started (as all Discworld gods) as a faint pinch of ego, and as he accumulated belief he became more powerful and vengeful. After conquering and smiting his opposition's flock of believers he became the most powerful god in the area.
Eventually the rituals and priesthood became the true focus of belief, leaving the god dying within the shell of a religion. (This is compared to a type of fish, which accumulates a bigger and bigger shell, then dies) In these times he tried to come to earth as a white bull or a swan (like Zeus, etc. in Roundworld mythologies) but he only had the belief of two people in the world (Brutha and his Grandmother) so he appeared on earth as a tortoise with amnesia.

Om, through an amazing coincidence, managed to land in a soft spot right next to his one surviving believer, Brutha, after being dropped from the sky by an eagle who hoped to eat the shattered tortoise. This was after several years of being a tortoise.

When manifesting at the height of his powers, he speaks in commandments. Due to the time he spent as a tortoise, one of them involves commanding his worshipers to pick up tortoises and carry them wherever they bloody well please. Unless, and this is important, you are an eagle.

==Worshippers==
Om's worshippers have founded a church-state, [[Omnia]]. The Omnians' fervent but often mistaken beliefs have long been causes of war on the continent of [[Klatch (continent)|Klatch]]. Om, like many other gods, likes to manifest to some human and claim to be ''one of the more powerful gods''. Yet, the Omnians tend to subsequently proclaim that human as a prophet, and say that Om has said that he is ''the only god''. For centuries, Omnians insist that Om chooses a prophet every two hundred years, while in fact Om just manifests and speaks casually whenever he likes. He cannot recall ever dictating any of the books that the prophets passed on to the Omnian church. Some of the prophets Om cannot recall ever meeting. The burning bush incident he recalls mostly as an exercise in "Hey, look what I can do!". He manifests himself as a white bull, or as a tortoise (though not intentionally) (See ''[[Book:Small Gods|Small Gods]]'').

Ever since the time of Brutha, Omnians have been encouraged to question more of Om's teaching, leading to frequent schisms (as mentioned in {{CJ}}). These schisms lead to some fairly unusually named sects ("Reunited Free Chelonianists", who later schismed into a "Hubwards Convocation" and a "Rimwards Convocation" - see Annotations). Before Brutha, it would have been heresy to declare that there were such directions, as the world was quite clearly round, and orbiting the sun, rather than (as it in fact is) a disc borne on the backs of four elephants standing on the shell of a turtle.

==Notable Sects, Schisms and Sub-Divisions==

* The [[Church of the Latter-Day Omnians]] has since surfaced in [[Ankh-Morpork]], and makes a nuisance of itself in the debate on who has title to the Roundworld Project, Church or Science.
* ''ReUnited Free Chelonianists'' (Hubwards Convocation)
* ''ReUnited Free Chelonianists'' (Rimwards Convocation)
* ''Very, Very, Very Plain Omnianism'' is practiced by a schismatic group who are described in {{CDA}} as "religious extremists" who fled persecution in the old Omnia and in fact fled as far away as they could, to the [[Great Outdoors]], where they live a nomadic and extremely plain existence in the [[Slaked Plains]], farming the rich bounty of the salt flats and practicing an ultra-strict rule version of the religion. The description suggests they have a lot in common with religious groupings in Roundworld's USA who fled Europe, or in the case of the Mormons the East Coast, to escape religious intolerance of a sort that didn't like their sort of religious intolerance.

==Annotations==
"Omni-" is a prefix meaning "all", famously used in connection with the [[Roundworld]] Judeo-Christian God, as in "omniscient/omnicognisant" (all-knowing), "omnipotent" (all-powerful) and "omnipresent" (present everywhere at any time). Although the prefix is "Omni", "Om" is the part of the words more immediately visible as common, and thus: The Great God Om.

The most likely precedent for using the word 'Om', however, comes from the syllable chanted ''ad infinitum'' by certain followers of vaguely Buddhist-Hindu traditions - generally with crossed legs and arms extended with thumbs and forefingers touching. The origin of ''this'' is in the word '''Aum''', the syllable with which we are told Brahma brought the world into being in the Hindu tradition, and which itself is made up of four parts, representing the four stages of consciousness: awake, asleep, dreaming and the opening of the third eye of wisdom through meditation. In fact, these four stages precisely summarise the downfall and rise to new heights which Om personally experiences throughout the course of events related in {{SG}}. From a state of normal awareness (everyday consciousness) Om, unaware of how much belief in him has drained away, attempts to manifest but turns into his tortoise form by mistake - like a [[Witches magic|witch]] who has Borrowed another form for too long, his awareness of having been a great God is lost to the tortoise form, just as the ego disintegrates for anyone when they fall asleep. He enters the dream-state, (''mana''), and to all intents and purposes, ''becomes'' a tortoise. We are told he wanders as a humble tortoise for three years, losing an eye (shades of the god Odin) in an unspecified incident. Then an encounter with a passing eagle is the [[million-to-one chance]] that puts him near enough to his one last remaining True Believer ([[Brutha]]) for him to awake again and remember who he is (or was. Or will be again). Finally, the power of the Third Eye awakens at the climax of the book, and he resumes his Godhood.

The religion of Om also has much in common with the Judeo-Christian religions, in terms of smiting, manifestations, monotheism, churches, sermons, inquisitions, commandments and the dry, dusty, desert country it calls home. "Catholic" originally meant "universal" or "'''Om'''nipresent".

The schisms of the Church mimic a Roundworld joke about a strict Scottish Presbyterian congregation (or a Southern Baptist church in the USA, according to taste and nationality) which progressively splits and schisms over the tiniest articles of faith, until there is a Western Congregation sitting on the left-hand side of the aisle, and an Eastern Congregation, using the right-hand pews of the same church... (see "Discussion")

==Possible earlier appearance?==
The following passage appears in ''[[Book:Pyramids|Pyramids]]''.

''He found Ptraci sitting on the grass under a poplar tree, feeding the tortoise. He gave it a suspicious look, in case it was a god trying it on. It did not look like a god. If it was a god, it was putting on an incredibly good act.''

This might be a sly appearance of Om in his amnesiac tortoise days. Of course, it could just be co-incidence (or some nice foreshadowing).

[[Category:Discworld characters]]
[[Category:Leading characters]]
[[Category:Supernatural entities]]
[[de:Om]]

Main Page

2026-05-25T17:06:10Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by AVandalDistroyingWiki (talk) to last revision by Old Dickens

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===Recent news about Terry===
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;Thursday, April 16th, 2026: Amazon Prime Video release a trailer for the final “season” of {{GOTV}}, confirming a release date of May 13th, 2026. ([https://youtu.be/r3zCN9S2RXg Amazon Prime Video UK and IE YouTube])

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;Thursday, January 30th, 2025: In an update on Kickstarter, the Pratchett Estate state that "in light of new articles and allegations" the [[Book:Good Omens The Official (and Ineffable) Graphic Novel|''Good Omens'' graphic novel]] project will now be controlled solely by the Estate, and that Neil Gaiman will have no financial interest or involvement. They have also opened a new window for refunds which will last until 27 February, and add a way for backers to opt out of certain rewards. ([https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dunmanifestin/good-omens/posts/4302179 Kickstarter update])

===Significant Pratchett Events===
;Wednesday, August 30th, 2017: In accordance with his final wishes Sir Terry Pratchett's unfinished novels are destroyed using a steamroller. [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/aug/30/terry-pratchett-unfinished-novels-destroyed-streamroller News Article]

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;Thursday, August 27th, 2015: Publication of the final Discworld novel, {{TSC}}.

;Thursday, March 12th, 2015: Sir Terry Pratchett died at home in Wiltshire following a long battle with Alzheimer's. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-31858156 BBC report, 3:26pm GMT]

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Zombies

2026-05-25T17:04:04Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by AVandalDistroyingWiki (talk) to last revision by Deathofrats0808

[[Image:Zombie.jpg|240px|left|thumb|Drawn by [[User:Knmatt|Matt Smith]]]] Walking corpses, many of whom are still intelligent, usually from the human species. No [[dwarfs|dwarf]], [[gnomes|gnome]], [[pictsies|pictsie]], or [[trolls|troll]] zombies have been reported. Also, no zombies reported to be from ordinary animal species. Many zombies can still see, hear, smell, talk, move, think, plan, and scheme. Some can even eat. Depending on length of time since death, a zombie's flesh may look gray or green, his skin may be flaking off, he may smell rotten or smell of preservatives. When "injured", for example a finger having been cut off, a zombie does not bleed; the wound can be sewn up, but there will be no wound-healing or tissue-regeneration.

The process of death strips away all illusions, so a zombie, if he wishes, can control all his body functions extremely well, and think very clear thoughts. For this reason, a zombie can be a powerful fighter. Their bodily strength is so great that they are supposedly able to walk through walls and rip people apart just like that. Notable zombies in [[Ankh-Morpork]] include [[Mr. Slant]] the head of the [[Guild of Lawyers]], [[Mr Bendy]], the obituarist on [[Ankh-Morpork Times|The Times]], and the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch|Watchman]] [[Reg Shoe]], also a dead rights activist. The zombie [[Baron Saturday]] makes an appearance in ''[[Book:Witches Abroad|Witches Abroad]]''.

Several reasons might cause a corpse to continue walking around and talking to people. The most prominent reason is magic. Corpses can be resurrected by application of proper spells and/or potions. Gods are also known for fiddling around with human bodies. At least one case is known, where a person ([[Windle Poons]]) continued to walk around after his death, simply because [[Death]] had not come around to collect his soul (''[[Book:Reaper Man|Reaper Man]]''). In a related fashion, some become zombies merely because their life-timers have not run out at the point of their death.

Revenants - that is, unintelligent walking corpses - have also been reported, in the [[Borogravia|Borogravian]] crypt for their military heroes (''[[Book:Monstrous Regiment|Monstrous Regiment]]''). Only the unfinished war with Zlobenia keeps them "alive"; just enough sentience remains for them to recognise the Grand Duchess [[Annagovia]] manifesting through [[Wazzer Goom]].

==Annotations==

The idea of a grim Gothic castle used as the last resting place of a nation's great generals. Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler intended the Castle of Wewelsburg to be the spiritual heart of the SS organisation. To this end, he devised and had built a crypt to hold the bodies of Waffen-SS generals who died nobly in action. Assorted post-war novels and computer games have dealt with the question of what might happen if, for whatever reason, the dead Generals of Wewelsberg refused to stay dead, and returned as vampires or zombies of varying degrees of sentience...

Stories of [[Roundworld]] {{wp|Zombies|zombies}} originated in the Afro-Caribbean spiritual belief system of {{wp|Haitian_Voodoo|Vodou}}, which told of the people being controlled as labourers by a powerful sorcerer. Zombies became a popular device in modern horror fiction, largely because of the success of George A. Romero's 1968 film ''Night of the Living Dead''. Since then they have grown in popular fiction and culture into the lurching, grey-skinned, hard-to-kill, powerful creatures we find on the Disc.

It may also be noted that the difference between Zombies and Revenants are switched from their [[Roundworld]] equivalents, zombies on [[Roundworld]] are the mindless corpses while Revenants sustain much of their original sentience, being driven by revenge or some other compulsion that they were not able to complete in their first life.

[[Category:Undead characters|Zombies]]
[[de:Zombies]]
[[Category:Discworld humanoid species]]

Agatean Empire

2026-05-25T16:51:45Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by AVandalDistroyingWiki (talk) to last revision by Deathofrats0808

The political entity that rules over the entire [[Counterweight Continent]], and also once used to have heavy influence on foreign countries as powerful as [[Ankh-Morpork]], until the Agatean government lost interest in all places foreign and, in order to keep citizens happily toiling away within the walls of the Empire, told the citizens that all foreign lands were barren wastelands with howling ghosts.

Gold is common on the Counterweight Continent, and deemed less valuable by Agateans than as regarded by foreigners. Once upon the time, the Agateans were more technologically advanced: [[iconograph]]s, spectacles, dentures, and so on. These devices were soon copied by foreigners when [[Twoflower]] the tourist went out into the world, and speedily evolved in the hands of the [[Wizard's magic|wizards]], artificers, [[Alchemists' Guild|alchemists]] etc. in [[Ankh-Morpork]]. [[CMOT Dibbler|Some Agateans]] think that foreigners are flesh-and-blood humans who might have some money to buy some Agatean products, but tend to think that foreigners have nothing and therefore everything is worth selling: silk (which Ankh-Morpork in fact buys from [[Klatch_(continent)|Klatch]]) or tea which is bought from [[Howondaland]] etc.

The Agateans do not understand how much power can be derived from their gold. The Agatean government had once wielded huge naval fleets, but had ceased contact with the other countries and therefore its influence was diminished. The Agatean Empire, then, is an agricultural country with no exports and no influences on world politics except when a foreign ruler remembers the fear that they once regarded the Empire with. The Empire has turned its forces inward, having a formal and showy civil war between feudal lords every time that an Emperor needs to be selected, and oppressing revolutionaries who talk about the sort of freedom found in the outside world. The Agatean Empire has become one of the sources of the refugee sort of immigrants who arrive in Ankh-Morpork.

When the Discworld chronicles began, the Agatean Empire was ruled by an idealistic and possibly more open-minded boy Emperor (see ''[[Book:The Colour of Magic|The Colour of Magic]]''), who was clever enough to turn a Grand Vizier's murder scheme against himself (see ''[[Book:Mort|Mort]]''). The boy Emperor was likely subsequently, successfully murdered, as the Empire was ruled by a whimsical old man and again oppressive when a [[Silver Horde|certain group]] of [[barbarian heroes]] invaded (see ''[[Book:Interesting Times|Interesting Times]]''). After the barbarian heroes successfully seized the throne, diplomatic relations were re-established, and embassies of, for example, [[Ankh-Morpork]], were settled in the capital city [[Hunghung]]. The barbarian-minded new Emperor subsequently deserted the throne and went on yet another quest (see ''[[Book:The Last Hero|The Last Hero]]''), and the subsequent political arrangements within the Empire are clarified in {{CDA}}. Apparently the Revolution succeeded and there is no longer an Emperor. The country is now The [[People's Beneficent Republic of Agatea]], headed by the Chairman of the People's Committee.

[[Bes Pelargic]] is a seaport in a remote corner of the Agatean Empire. Being from Bes Pelargic is a good excuse for eccentricities.

===Noble Families of the Agatean Empire===
*[[Hongs]]
*[[Sungs]]
*[[Fangs]]
*[[Tangs]]
*[[McSweeneys]]

==Annotations==
Its huge size, the horseman-baiting wall around it, its former political and scientific prominence followed by centuries of introverted stagnation and feuding warlords, followed in turn by the formation of a people's republic - not to mention [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terracotta_Army its flowerpot soldiers] - make it obvious which [[Roundworld]] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China country the Agatean Empire is a parody of]. Other small references to East Asian culture make it a vague portmanteau of the region in general, although cameo references to places such as [[Grimchi]] and [[Bhangbhangduc]] have helped to separate it out some.

[[Category:Discworld geography]]
[[de:Achatenes Reich]]

Mavolio Bent

2026-05-25T16:50:49Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by AVandalDistroyingWiki (talk) to last revision by Deathofrats0808

{{Character Data
|title= Mr. Bent
|photo=Blank.jpg|
|name= Mavolio Bent, birthname Charlie Benito
|age= 47 at the time of ''[[Making Money]]''
|race= suspected [[Vampires|vampire]], but probably just [[human]]. The real truth may be something more terrible and unspeakably spine-chilling than a mere vampire, though.

|occupation= Chief Cashier at the [[Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork]], and [[Fools' Guild|clown]]
|appearance= A fussy little man in impeccable black jacket and pinstripe trousers, and over-large impeccably shiny shoes. (Later wears a red clown nose.)
|residence= He lodges at Mrs [[Evadne Cake]]'s on [[Elm Street]].
|death=
|parents= Mother deceased, Father presumed deceased.
|relatives= unknown
|children= presumed none
|marital status= About to be married to Miss [[Drapes]], who isn't likely to let go in a hurry.
|books= {{MM}}
|cameos=
}}
'''Mr Mavolio Bent''' is the Chief Cashier at the [[Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork]]. He is a fussy little man in impeccable black jacket and pinstripe trousers. He has a peculiar way of walking that involves lifting his feet high and gently setting them down again, like a slow-motion goosestep. He also has no sense of humour – this is apparently due to [[Nichtlachen-Keinwortz Syndrome]], but as if in compensation, is very good with numbers. He has the air about him of one who stands very quietly in a cupboard when not in use.

He is a ferociously good mathematician. He can run his eyes down an enormous list of numbers and add them together instantly. As such he has risen to a position of enormous power in the Bank. He sits on a mechanical platform in the centre of the office which he calls his {{wp|Panopticon|"panopticon"}} so can treadle around to watch any of the junior clerks under his power as they beaver away. He is held in awe by all who work for him, such as [[Robert Spittle]]. And he inspires ''absolute devotion'' from his Senior Clerk, [[Drapes|Miss Drapes]].

Mavolio Bent was born Charlie Benito. His father was a renowned clown, his mother loved clowns – or at least loved ''a'' clown for a night. His mother brought him up to be normal, but he still ended up as a clown. He failed at the job (or rather, was too good at it in that he actually made others ''laugh''), and while on the run he bumped into a group of [[Travelling Accountants|travelling accountants]]. There he discovered his talent for numbers, started his career as a banker, until the events of {{MM}} led to the discovery of his hidden talents. His catch phrase, or at least the password to his magic locks and what he utters before attempted pie-ing of public authority, is "Here we are again!". This, of course, is an homage to the Victorian-era Payne Brothers.

==Annotation==
"Mavolio Bent" works on three levels:

i) in the Shakespeare play "'''Twelfth Night'''", Malvolio is the humourless, conscientious, Pooterish steward who has a grey and austere, rather pompous, outer manner, the butt of the joke for other characters who possess a more rudimentary sense of humour; but who is shown to have a rich and very human fantasy life on the inside.

ii) A long-running children's animation on British TV is "'''Mr Benn'''."[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr_Benn]. The star is a dapper well-dressed bank cashier, impeccably dressed in black jacket and pinstripe trousers, who has a '''''most''''' peculiar stiff-legged way of walking. Again he is a grey, mousy, individual on the surface, but the moment he walks into the [[Wandering Shop|mysterious shop]] that appears from nowhere, and dons a costume, he walks out onto an Adventure...
For those of you who are British and have forgotten, and those of you from elsewhere who never got to see this show as a kid, here's a sample episode:."[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OK6jdj9B_7E] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu9IKu9Z1Yw]

iii) In criminal parlance, a "Bent" clerk is one who has been corrupted, and will tell secret information or assist in stealing from the bank.

Bent's childhood story of running away from the life of a clown with the travelling accountants is a reversal of the [[Roundworld]] cliché of someone stuck in a monotonous job running away to join the circus.

Of course the {{wp|John_Major|greyest, blandest, dullest British Prime Minister of recent years}} was born to a circus family and did leave because he found Conservative politics (both small and large 'c') more to his taste. The idea of his leading a double life as a clown was explored by ''The Comic Strip'', but this is probably a coincidence. Even though prior to entering politics, he trained as a bank manager, and after entering politics and attaining the rank of Chancellor of the Exchequer, he treated the British economy as if it were a delinquent (overdrawn) account on the grand scale. As Prime Minister, his refusal to abandon a flawed economic standard (the ERM, to which the pound, and his own financial reputation, was tied) precipitated a major economic collapse and recession.

[[Category:Making Money|Bent,Malvolio]]
[[Category:Discworld characters|Bent,Malvolio]]
[[Category:Human characters|Bent,Malvolio]]
[[de:Mavolio Beuge]]

Stephen Briggs

2026-05-25T16:48:25Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by AVandalDistroyingWiki (talk) to last revision by Deathofrats0808

{{Character Data
|title=Stephen Briggs
|photo=Stephen Briggs.jpg|240px|
|name=Stephen Briggs, aka cmotdibbler
|age=b. 1951 CE
|race=[[Human]]
|occupation= Renaissance Man
|appearance= Rather like the [[Patrician]]
|residence= Oxford, England
|death=
|parents=
|relatives=
|children=
|marital status= married
|books=
|cameos=
}}
Dramatist, thespian, lexicographer, encyclopedist, illustrator, cartographer and huckster to the Discworld community, the busy Mr. Briggs dramatises Discworld books for the stage and performs in the resulting plays, specialising in the role of the [[Havelock Vetinari|Patrician]]. He has provided the voices of Discworld (and [[Nomes|Nome]]) characters in more than twenty recordings. He has compiled reference books and plotted the various [[:Category:Maps|''Mapps'']] of Discworld, and once operated a Web store, [[Discworld.com|cmotdibbler.com]], selling a range of Discworld items. (However, cmotdibbler has not been available for some time. Lord Vetinari informs us by omniscope that he is "experiencing problems with technology".<sup>1</sup>)

In his spare time, he maintained his regular job in the civil service for many years (confirming our suspicions about the civil service) but he now describes himself as a <u>former</u> civil servant. He was born in Oxford and lives there still.

(1)''Or he may have sold the wrong sausage to the wrong customer...''

“My involvement in Discworld came about almost by accident. I was (still am) a keen member of an amateur drama club and I had adapted Monty Python's ''Life of Brian'' and ''Holy Grail'', and Tom Sharpe's ''Porterhouse Blue'' and ''Blott on the Landscape'' for the stage. While looking for a new project, someone suggested that I might like to try the works of Terry Pratchett - and my life passed into another leg of the trousers of time!”

== Pratchett-related Works ==
=== Books ===
* {{DC}}, with [[Terry Pratchett]]
* {{NDC}}, with Terry Pratchett
* {{TR}}, with Terry Pratchett
* [[Book:Guards! Guards! A Discworld Graphic Novel|''Guards! Guards! A Discworld Graphic Novel'']], with Terry Pratchett and Graham Higgins
* [[Book:Nanny Ogg's Cookbook|''Nanny Ogg's Cookbook'']], with Terry Pratchett, [[Tina Hannan]] and [[Paul Kidby]]

=== [[Theatre Adaptations|Stage Adaptations]] ===
Many of Briggs’ scripts have been published; the publisher is given in brackets where this is the case. Amateur performance rights are handled through [[Colin Smythe]] for plays published by Corgi and Oxford University Press, and through the publishers for other plays. See the [http://colinsmythe.co.uk/terry-pratchett/visual/dramatic-adaptations/ dramatic adaptations page] on Colin’s website for details.
* {{M}} (Corgi/Transworld)
* {{WS}} (Corgi/Transworld)
* {{G!G!}} (Corgi/Transworld)
* {{MAA}} (Corgi/Transworld)
* {{M!!!}} (Samuel French)
* {{CJ}} (Samuel French)
* {{IT}} (Methuen Plays)
* {{J}} (Methuen Plays)
* {{TFE}} (Methuen Plays)
* {{NW}} (Methuen Plays)
* {{GP}} (Methuen Plays)
* {{TT}} (Methuen Plays)
* {{MR}} (Methuen Plays)
* {{TAM}} (Oxford University Press)
* {{JATD}} (Oxford University Press)
* {{DO}} (Oxford Playscripts)
* {{FOC}} (Oberon Modern Plays)
* {{MM}} (Samuel French)
* {{UA}} (Oberon Modern Plays)
* ''[[Book:The Rince Cycle|The Rince Cycle]]'' (Oberon Modern Plays)
* {{LL}} (Methuen Plays)
* {{H}} (Methuen Plays)
* ''[[The Shakespeare Codex]]''....Methuen Plays
* ''[[Murder in Ankh-Morpork]]''
* ''[[A Trip on the Stage]]''

=== Maps ===
* [[The Streets of Ankh-Morpork|''The Streets of Ankh-Morpork'']]
* [[The Discworld Mapp|''The Discworld Mapp'']]
* [[A Tourist Guide to Lancre|''A Tourist Guide to Lancre'']]
* [[Death's Domain|''Death's Domain'']]

=== [[Audiobooks]] ===
All published by Isis Books in the UK, and some by Harper Audio in the US.
* {{TLH}}
* {{E}}
* {{TFE}}
* {{TFE}}
* {{TT}}
* {{MR}}
* {{NW}}
* {{GP}}
* {{T!}}
* {{MM}}
* {{TAM}}
* {{WFM}}
* {{HFOS}}
* {{W}}
* {{T}}
* {{D}}
* {{WI}}

=== Diaries and other books ===
* ''[[Book:Discworld's Unseen University Diary 1998|Discworld's Unseen University Diary 1998]]''
* ''[[Book:Discworld's Ankh-Morpork City Watch Diary 1999|Discworld's Ankh-Morpork City Watch Diary 1999]]''
* ''[[Book:Discworld's Assassins' Guild Diary 2000|Discworld's Assassins' Guild Diary 2000]]''
* ''[[Book:Discworld Fools' Guild Yearbook and Diary 2001|Discworld Fools' Guild Yearbook and Diary 2001]]''
* ''[[Book:Discworld Thieves' Guild Yearbook and Diary 2002|Discworld Thieves' Guild Yearbook and Diary 2002]]''
* ''[[Book:Discworld (Reformed) Vampyres' Diary 2003|Discworld (Reformed) Vampyres' Diary 2003]]''
* ''[[Book:The Ankh-Morpork Post Office Handbook & Diary 2007|The Ankh-Morpork Post Office Handbook & Diary 2007]]''
* ''[[Book:Lu-Tze's Yearbook of Enlightenment 2008|Lu-Tze's Yearbook of Enlightenment 2008]]''
* ''[[Book:Terry Pratchett: HisWorld A Brief Guide to Discworld|Terry Pratchett: HisWorld A Brief Guide to Discworld]]''

==External Links==
* [http://www.stephenbriggs.com/ Stephen Briggs's Website]
* [http://www.studiotheatreclub.com/ Studio Theatre Club]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Briggs, Stephen}}

[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Order of the Honeybee]]
[[de:Stephen Briggs]]

Discworld & Pratchett Wiki:Mended Drum

2026-05-25T16:46:30Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by AVandalDistroyingWiki (talk) to last revision by Old Dickens

User talk:Deathofrats0808

2026-05-24T16:19:44Z

Old Dickens: Good show!

Thank you! We don't see many drive-by good Samaritans lately. I'm confused, though, as to why these Vandalisms weren't visible when I scrubbed the other batch and how you get so much faster access than I do. Thanks again and have a Glorious Twenty-fifth.--[[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 16:19, 24 May 2026 (UTC)

Discworld & Pratchett Wiki:Mended Drum

2026-05-19T04:37:36Z

Old Dickens: Too much

Discworld & Pratchett Wiki:Mended Drum

2026-05-19T04:32:10Z

Old Dickens: restore

Game:Discworld Noir

2026-05-19T04:18:11Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by Vandal (talk) to last revision by Jagra

[[File:Disc Noir Box.jpg|250px|right|thumb]]
'''''Discworld Noir''''' is a computer game released for PC in 1999, ported to Playstation in 2000. Unlike earlier [[Discworld]] games, which are based on plots in [[:Category:Discworld Series|Discworld books]], it has a completely original storyline, which draws from and parodies the [[wikipedia:Film Noir|film noir]] genre of movies and literature.

==Terry's prologue to the Game==
FILM NOIR

''(A guide for those people who think Star Wars is an old movie)''

Technically, film noir means 'black film', but...

...look, you know what it has come to mean, even if you didn't know what it
was called, because I doubt if there has ever been a movie style that can be
so recognisably parodied. Film Noir is what you get when you stir together
The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, Casablanca, To Have and Have Not and
several dozen other movies made in the 40s and 50s. The weather is bad, the
lighting is low, the streets are mean, life is cheap and the women are tougher
than nails and have shoulder pads on which a competent pilot could land a
small jet. People tend to lie a lot and double-cross one another.
It's the monochrome world of cynical detectives with their names spelled
backwards on the glass doors of seedy offices and a bottle of rye in their
desk drawer. And people smoked a lot, probably because of the stress of the
lying, double-crossing, bad weather and walking into furniture in the low light.

Technically, it died out in the mid-50s and the lightening of the post-war
gloom, but surfaces in countless parodies (Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid)
homages (Blade Runner) and references so ingrained in popular culture that
you probably know exactly what I'm talking about even if you've never seen
one of the movies.
Play it again, Sam.

''(A guide for those people who think fantasy only comes in brick-thick volumes)''

Discworld is...

...but you're just bought the third Discworld computer game, and you don't
know about the twenty-three books, the maps, the posters, the badges, the
beers, the diaries, bookmarks, figurines, fan clubs, conventions and very
popular cross-stitch embroidery designs?

Shall we wait for you to catch up?

All right.

The action in many of the books centres in and around the ancient, thriving
and cheerfully-corrupt city of Ankh-Morpork. The weather is bad, the
lighting is low, the streets are mean (oh, yes) life is expensive because it's
death that's cheap, and the women are pretty tough even without shoulderpads.
People tend to lie a lot and double-cross one another.

It's a naked city of a million stories, many of them badly spelled and cut
very short. There are trolls, dwarfs, werewolves, zombies, wizards and
vampires among the citizenry. Mostly they just want to earn the next dollar.
And now it's just got its first private eye. He can look forward to being lied
to and double-crossed, but that's only the
start of his problems...
As they say in Sham Harga's House of Ribs:
"Play it again, Sham."

==Characters==
* [[Al-Khali (Character)|Al-Khali]]
* [[Anu-anu]]
* [[Carlotta von Überwald]]
* [[Cephut]]
* [[Clerk's Gable]]
* [[Condo]]
* [[Coom]]
* [[Jenkins|Cpt. Jenkins]]
* [[Death]]
* [[Death of Rats]]
* [[Detritus]] (only appears in a cinematic)
* [[Errata]] (doesn't appear, but is mentioned a lot)
* [[Foid]]
* [[Gaspode]]
* [[Gelid]]
* [[Havelock Vetinari]] (his voice is heard in a cinematic)
* [[Henning von Überwald]]
* [[Ilsa Vargberg]]
* [[Jasper Horst]]
* [[Leonard of Quirm]]
* [[Inspector Lewton]]
* [[Laredo Cronk]]
* Madame Loadstone (only her dead body is seen)
* [[Malachite]]
* [[Malaclypse]]
* [[Mankin]]
* [[Mooncalf]]
* [[Mr Hong]] (mentioned only)
* Mundy (only seen in a cinematic alive, then his dead body)
* [[Nobby Nobbs]]
* [[Nylonathatep]]
* [[Privetier]]
* [[Regin]]
* [[Remora Selachii]] (only in cinematics)
* [[Rhodan]]
* [[Samael]]
* [[Samuel Vimes]]
* [[Sapphire]]
* [[Satrap]]
* [[Scoplett]]
* [[Therma]]
* [[Two Conkers]]
* [[Ulrich von Überwald]] (mentioned only)
* Warb
* [[Whirl]]

==Places and Locations==
* [[Café Ankh]]
* [[The Dysk]] Theatre
* [[Dragon Street]]
* [[Guild of Archaeologists, Antiquarians and Tomb Evacuators]]
* [[Guild of Merchants]]
* Horst's Quarters
* [[Maudlin Bridge]]
* [[Milka]]
* Lewton's Office
* Observatory
* [[Octarine Parrot]]
* [[Patrician's Palace]]
* [[Pearl Dock|Wharf]]
* Pier Five
* [[Pseudopolis Yard]]
* Rhodan's Workshop
* Sanctuary of the Cult of Anu-anu
* Saturnalia Casino
* Selachii Familiy Mausoleum
* Sewers
* [[Temple of Small Gods]]
* [[Unseen University]]
* von Überwald Mansion
* [[Wizards' Pleasaunce]]

==Items==
* Crowbar
* Grappling Iron
* Purse
* [[Radiant Trapezohedron]]
* [[Tsortese Falchion]]
* KC-two perfume
* Charm Bracelet
* Troll Tooth
* Coin from [[Tsorta]]

==Annotations==
The game is rich with allusions, parodies and outright quotes from film noir. Some examples:

From ''[[wikipedia:The Maltese Falcon|The Maltese Falcon]]''
*The [[Tsortese Falchion]], a golden sword which everyone is desperate to find, mirrors the Maltese Falcon, a golden bird statuette.
*Al Khali, based on Joel Cairo - both are short and named after desert cities in their respective worlds, and both have a stout and sinister boss.
*Jasper Horst, Al Khali's boss, is direct parody of Casper Gutman, 'The Fat Man'. Horst uses or paraphrases many of Gutman's lines, e.g.: "I am a man who likes talking to a man who likes to talk."

From ''[[wikipedia:Casablanca (film)|Casablanca]]''
*Ilsa Vargberg is a reference to Ilsa Lund, Ingrid Bergman's character. Both Vargberg and Lund are towns in Bergman's native Sweden. Ilsa's relationship with Lewton and Two Conkers is also very similar to that of Ilsa Lund with Rick and Victor Lazlo.
*Samael mirrors the piano player Sam
*Many lines are from Casablanca:
**"We'll always have the Hotel Pseudopolis."/"We'll always have Paris."
**"Play it again, Sam."/"Play it, Sam." ("Play it again, Sam." was famously attributed to ''Casablanca'', despite never actually being said in full).
**"This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
**"Here's looking at you Ilsa."/"Here's looking at you kid."
*The ending of the game is also very similar to the ending of Casablanca, in which the main character sends his lost love with her husband (although she wants to stay with him) in a flying vehicle to escape the city.

From ''[[wikipedia:Double Indemnity|Double Indemnity]]''
*Just before Lewton is stabbed, his lines echo those of the detective in this film : "I couldn't hear my footsteps. It was the walk of a dead man."

From ''[[wikipedia:Farewell, My Lovely|Farewell, My Lovely]]'' (a.k.a. ''Murder, My Sweet'')
*The troll 'Mount' Malachite mirrors the dumb goon Moose Malloy, and the 'Therma' plot in Discworld Noir is very similar to the 'Velma'

==Playing the Game on a Modern PC==
Unlike the previous two Discworld games the PC version of Discworld Noir does not have any support from third party programs such as ScummVM making it much harder to play on systems post Windows 95. There are various fixes for different systems to be found online. The best current methods available are to install a virtual box on your computer for Windows 95 and then install the game on that software or to patch the game with fan made software. To patch the game install the Discworld Noir as intended and download a fan made patch by 'loma' which replaces the files tin_DXD.exe and dn.exe. This allows the game to be played on modern systems but here are still problems with displaying the game on screens with a higher bit count, however this can be remedied using additional third party software such as dgvoodoo 2. The Playstation version of the game can be played on an original Playstation or Playstation 2 without any other adjustments.

[http://www.mediafire.com/file/cifk85ab5s8u142/DiscWorldNoir_Fix.zip/file Latest Patch Version by loma (10/05/2019)]

==Gallery==
{|
|-
| valign="top" | [[File:Disc Noir Box.jpg|130px|thumb|Box Art by [[Josh Kirby]]]]
| valign="top" | [[File:Disc Noir PS.jpg|thumb|160px|Playstation Cover]]
| valign="top" | [[File:Disc Noir PC.jpg|thumb|120px|PC Re-release]]
| valign="top" | [[File:Disc Noir PC 2.jpg|thumb|120px|Best of Infogrames Release]]
| valign="top" | [[File:Disc Noir PC 3.jpg|thumb|120px|RE-Play Release]]
|}

==External Links==
[https://www.lspace.org/games/discworld/noir/index.html Discworld Noir on the Discworld game pages]

[https://www.payneful.co.uk/index.php/projects/discworld_noir Discworld Noir Fan Page]

[https://www.mobygames.com/game/discworld-noir Discworld Noir on Mobygames]

[[Category:Discworld Noir|Discworld Noir]]
[[Category:Games|Discworld Noir]]

Category:Human characters

2026-05-19T04:16:50Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by Vandal (talk) to last revision by JesseW

'''Pratchett characters who exemplify some aspect of humanity''' (not merely [[:Category:Discworld characters|Discworld characters]] who happen to be human).
[[Category:Discworld characters]]

Ankh-Morpork City Watch

2026-05-19T04:16:19Z

Old Dickens: restore

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-At-Arms
*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}}) and also in {{SN}} featuring [[Wee Mad Arthur]] taking long-distance surveillance and rescue mission, flying on an albatross
*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 outl''oo''k 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==
The Ankh-Morpork City Watch is the inspiration for a new BBC America television programme, ''[[TV and Film:The Watch|The Watch]]'', starring Richard Dormer as Sam Vimes.

See [https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/bbcstudios/2020/first-look-images-bbc-studios-bbc-america-the-watch-discworld Here] for more information.

==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]]

Ankh-Morpork City Watch

2026-05-19T04:07:42Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by Vandal (talk) to last revision by Abcdefabric

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Ankh-Morpork

2026-05-19T04:07:11Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by Vandal (talk) to last revision by Old Dickens

{{Nation Data
|title=Ankh-Morpork
|picture=AM11.png|The coat of arms of Ankh-Morpork|200px|
|established= [[-2564 UC]] (AM 1)
|motto= ''Quanti canicula ille in fenestra'' (How Much is That Doggie in the Window) and ''Merus in pectum et in aquam'' (Pure in Heart and Water)
|neighbours= The city-states of the [[Sto Plains]]
|features= River [[Ankh (river)|Ankh]], The [[Isle of Gods]], [[The Tump]]
|population= approx. 100,000 souls and ten times more inhabitants. Species include 50,000 dwarfs at the time {{T5E}}, trolls, werewolves, vampires, boogeymen, zombies, gargoyles, golems, gnolls, and Nobby Nobbs. Don't forget the humans, too.
|size= 1 mile across (about 1.6km) (excluding suburbs outside the city walls)
|capital=
|government= Ruled by a [[Patrician]], currently [[Havelock Vetinari]], under the system of ''One Man, One Vote''. Before that, a [[monarchy]].
|notablecitizens= [[Samuel Vimes|Commander Sam Vimes]] of the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch|Watch]], Captain [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]] (heir to the throne), [[Lord Downey]] (head of the [[Assassins' Guild]]), [[Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler]] (salesman), [[Lord Selachii]] and Lord [[Venturi]], perpetually warring noblemen.
|imports= [[Dwarfs]], [[Trolls]], raw materials, trouble
|exports= Manufactured goods, politics, trouble
|anthem= ''[[We Can Rule You Wholesale]]''
|books= All books in the [[:Category:Watch Series|Watch Series]] and [[:Category:Ankh-Morpork Books|Ankh-Morpork Books]], and {{M!M}}, {{SM}}, {{H}}, {{TOT}} {{TCOM}} {{TLF}} {{WS}} {{ER}} {{ISWM}} {{M}}
}}'''Ankh-Morpork''' is the largest city on the Disc with about a million inhabitants. It is also one of the most common locations for the Discworld stories. Its [[Latatian]] name is Ankhius et Morporkia. In {{MP}}, we learn its nickname is "the Big [[Wahoonie]]" (an ugly, smelly fruit). The city lies on the river [[Ankh (river)|Ankh]], which resembles solid ground more than it does water. Originally two cities separated by the river, [[Ankh (city)|Ankh]] and [[Morpork]] today are governed as one (admittedly potentially schizophrenic) entity. Ankh-Morpork is a city state which governs few lands outside its perimeter, but it has a political and economic influence which "distorts the landscape for hundreds of miles".

==The City==
The river is semi-solid, the water has a taste, the air is smoggy (the birds cough rather than sing) and following a snowfall the streets are left a muddy slurry. Baking hot in summer, cold and snowy in winter, Ankh-Morpork has a "despotic ruler" (some say) who has succeeded in so thoroughly organizing crime that it is self-regulating. While ethnic riots and feuds are common, Ankh-Morpork is still the place where everybody wants to live. Ankh-Morpork now has the largest [[dwarfs|dwarf]] population outside of [[Überwald]] and is in fact the Discworld's largest dwarf city. Likewise, Ankh-Morpork is home to probably the only [[trolls|troll]] crime syndicate on the Discworld, the [[Breccia]]. Not to be undone, the undead can meet in their own taverns or support groups and have a Bloody Mary or a mug of hot cocoa, depending on individual tastes. Evangelical preachers find a huge potential flock to convert, often immigrants seeking their fortunes here or refugees who have come seeking peaceful lives free from (specific) persecution. Perhaps they have been mis-informed by a travel log written by a ''[[Twoflower|tourist]]'', or maybe it just depends on the perspective.

The city of Ankh-Morpork is the first major setting to appear in the Discworld series, starring (as it were) in Part 1 of ''[[Book:The Colour of Magic|The Colour of Magic]]'' and reappearing in virtually every Discworld book in a cameo role if not as a major setting. Known to [[Death]] as a city that never sleeps, Ankh-Morpork prides itself on being a city where you can buy anything you can think of; indeed, if they don't have it, with a modicum of notice they will gladly steal it in order to sell it to you. It has been said that Ankh-Morpork's primary exports are smog and modern power politics. Indeed, a foreign ruler once likened Ankh-Morpork to a vampire; taking everything and turning other states into lesser copies of itself.

The city is divided clearly by the river. '''Morpork''', the widdershins half of the city is home to the most of the guilds, the [[Unseen University]] and the [[Patrician's Palace]]. It also includes most of both the city's industry and grime, including the docks, the markets and [[The Shades]] - the poorest and most densly populated part of the city. The city of '''Ankh''', the turnwise half, is mostly residential and is dominated by several large mansions and parks. The geographical centre of the city is the [[Opera House]] on [[Pseudopolis Yard]], a circular square on the [[Isle of Gods]] and a meeting point for several important roads.

Geographically, the city is built mostly on river silt and silt deposition has increased the height of the city over many centuries. As a result, many older buildings and even streets survive perfectly intact beneath the present day city. Apart from [[The Tump]], a large hill on the perimeter, the city is mostly flat.

==The People==

Ordinary Ankh-Morpork citizens are inordinately fond of street theatre, and have a very liberal definition of such. They will gather and watch anything occurring in the streets, while something that is actually interesting can bring the city to a complete halt. Some popular one-act productions include the [[Fools' Guild|Guild of Fools]] on [[Firefighters' Guild|fire]], somebody threatening to jump off the top of a building (even though everybody knows they're doing it just to get tobacco money), overturned beer carts, public hangings and so on. Where crowds gather, Mr. [[Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler]] ("cutting-me-own-throat" as in he's selling things so cheaply it's suicidal) is guaranteed to be present, selling sausages-in-a-bun and other unhygienic, possibly un-food, fast food. If there is a crowd and Dibbler is there and not selling anything, then there is something seriously wrong (''really'' seriously wrong).

Ankh-Morpork citizens are very touchy about the reputations of things such as, the state of the [[Ankh (river)|River Ankh]], the democracy, or the caterpillars in their imported cabbages. Ankh-Morpork also houses many noble families. Historically, Ankh-Morpork has warred against other city-states on the [[Sto Plains]] and against [[Klatch (country)|Klatch]] across the [[Circle Sea]]. Ankh-Morpork nobles typically look down upon [[Lancre|The Kingdom of Lancre]] and go on tours to sneer at [[Überwald]]. Many countries owe Ankh-Morpork a lot of money. When things are peaceful, Ankh-Morpork is the boss; when somebody turns directly against Ankh-Morpork however, Ankh-Morpork finds very few allies (though it does find bill-collectors rather more useful than allies in any event).

Nobles of other countries often send their children to attend the [[Assassins' Guild|Assassins']] school (assuming they look good in black clothing; otherwise The [[Fools' Guild]] - which has swallowed up and now incorporates the formerly independent guilds of Quirm and [[Überwald]] - and [[Seamstresses' Guild]] are always welcoming new members). In short, although just about everybody who lives in Ankh-Morpork has some complaints about living there, for the most part they continue. To live. There. And more people are coming every year.

Many citizens are members of the various [[Guilds]] however some others have joined various street gangs such as the [[Breccia]], The Shamlegger Rude Boys and the Cockbill Street Roaring Lads.

==Government==

The city is formally ruled by the [[Patrician]], the absolute tyrant elected by a one man, one vote system of democracy (he is the man and he has the vote), although the [[Guilds of Ankh-Morpork|guilds]] and temples make many of the everyday decisions. Affairs of state and the small volume of local government are carried out from the [[Patrician's Palace]] by a select staff of [[Clerks]] under the close supervision of Patrician [[Havelock Vetinari]]. Should any situation which requires immediate attention develop, the guild leaders, nobles and various other important city dignitaries hold an emergency council meeting, which usually consists of them bickering at each other.

There is relatively little crime in Ankh-Morpork since much of it is legalized and handled by the guilds. It's up to the guilds themselves to keep criminality at a reasonable level. The [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch]], resurrected practically only in the last few years, takes care of crimes out of the jurisdiction or sight of the Guilds, ranging from sporadic unlicensed burglaries and thefts, to major crimes or conspiracies (such as attempted assassinations of the Patrician) against the city.

==Economy==

The business of Ankh-Morpork is business. As a city-state, it has no natural resources. Even its river is too thick to navigate effectively and too soft to walk (though a brisk pace might do the trick). However the city owns things, makes things, buys and sells things. It imports the raw materials and the people who turn them into the tools, weapons, shoes, books and trinkets for most of the Disc from Llamedos to Genua. A steady stream of immigrants from all around the world bring skills, strength and new technologies and send home Ankh-Morpork dollars which buy Ankh-Morpork exports in turn.

===Taxes===

Lord Vetinari often points out that tax revenues in Ankh-Morpork are insubstantial and unreliable at best. This is normal for politicians (incumbents, that is) who are always constrained by their budgets in good times and bad. However, it does appear that few in Ankh-Morpork actually pay taxes, so how does the Palace support the Watch, the Clerks or indeed its own tax-collectors?

To fully understand the state of the Ankh-Morpork city finances, the following must be considered, based on information gleaned from various sources:

'''{{RM}}'''

*In ''Reaper Man'', through wrangling between the [[Unseen University]] and the city government (involving the trading of petty threats, and one or two which are considerably less petty), it is established that taxes are charged based on a simple fee of AM$200 per head, payable in quarterly installments. The wizards, of course, are a sacred and laudable brotherhood that none would dream of extorting in so cruel a manner. They do, however, find it in their hearts to make a charitable donation of AM$200 per capita per annum. Charitably.

'''{{MAA}} and {{FOC}}'''

*Near the end of ''Men at Arms'', we found Captain Carrot interviewing a group of [[dwarfs|dwarf]] bakers who have failed to pay their taxes.
*We also learn in ''Feet of Clay'' that Mr. [[Setha Ironcrust]], who at the time owned a single bakery, has avoided his taxes.
*Neither does Mr. Maxilotte, owner of a butchery in the [[Shambles]], pay his taxes.

Of course in these cases, they could simply have forgotten to - what with them being honest merchants who work hard all year round, it's easy to overlook financial affairs. If so, Captain [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]], who has read the roll of taxpayers and knows who pays their taxes and who doesn't, will be happy to oblige by bringing around the proper documentation and visiting ''every'' single week after work to see if the papers have been filled out...

'''{{J}}'''

*During an important meeting on the issue of the island of [[Leshp]] in the Patrician's Palace, [[Samuel Vimes]], Commander of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, is the only one in a room full of important (and extremely wealthy) Guild leaders and nobles to declare to have paid his taxes in full.
*In the same scene, the [[Assassins' Guild]] is shown to have a collective income of about AM$13,207,408 the year before. Despite this, they have paid less than 0.0004% of it in taxes through an arrangement with the [[Guild of Accountants]].
*Speaking of which, the Guild of Accountants earned AM$7,999,011 the year before, but paid nothing in taxes. In fact, they have applied for a rebate of AM$200,000 instead, which means insofar taxation is concerned, they have a ''net gain''.

'''{{MM}}'''

*We finally return to the issue of taxation in ''Making Money'', where [[Topsy Lavish]], former Manager of the [[Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork]] gives the statistic that the majority of Ankh-Morpork citizens live on AM$150 or less.
*Based on the tax rate of AM$200 as established in {{RM}}, this means that the average citizen is required to pay a tax that totals up to far more than they can actually conceivably and legally earn in the same period. On the other hand, this could mean that the average citizen lives on a ''net after-tax'' income of $150, meaning that the effective tax rate is about 57%.
*At the end of {{MM}}, we learn about the current post-holder, [[Creaser]], whose methods of collection were mainly physical and personalized.

So it is clear that the current system of taxation is in desperate need of revision. Besides typical Ankh-Morporkian sensibilities, ordinary citizens are incapable of paying their taxes altogether simply because the amount they have to pay exceeds their income. The wealthy on the other hand, pay negligible amounts or avoid paying entirely thanks to the Guild of Accountants. From the comments of Lord Vetinari in {{MM}} we can also assume that the inefficiency of tax collection is also due to the ineptitude of the gatherers themselves.

However there are other revenues available to government besides income, sales and property taxes. Duties and excise, user fees and tolls, and license fees can be levied. These tend to be more politically acceptable, as they are often charged to someone else. Duties, tolls and docking fees applied to foreigners are especially popular, since they're not immediately associated with increased prices for imported goods. As the largest city and trading port on the Disc, Ankh-Morpork has considerable capacity for this sort of "hidden" taxation.

Another revenue stream would be fines and the appropriation of the proceeds of criminal operations. Even unconvicted criminals are likely to flee the Patrician's rather rough justice, leaving behind some unaccounted valuables. [[William de Worde]] managed to scoop a rather large bag of rubies, but much of this will fall into the hands of the City Watch, and so the City. In addition, the City may also lay claim to discovery of certain resources that may prove useful, such as a large chest of gold unearthed by [[Moist von Lipwig]], an army of [[golems]], or an array of [[Technomantic Devices|Devices]].

In addition, as Vetinari himself belongs to an extremely powerful and wealthy noble family, he may actually support the city treasury out of his own pocket, and so very much unlike his predecessors who saw Patricianship as a cash cow for their drinking buddies and themselves. The latter point is more or less borne out by the excessive rate of taxation imposed on the average citizen, and the crude methods of [[Creaser]], the current [[Taxmaster]] who has been part of the several preceding (incompetent and corrupt) regimes.

Apparently such devices have sustained the system so far, and allowed it to tolerate the inept management of the revenue office, but for grand schemes [[Undertaking|underground]] a lot of money must be [[Book:Raising Taxes|raised]]. And so new blood is needed. Perhaps it will be [[Moist von Lipwig]], the same man who revived the [[Post Office]], and reformed the [[Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork|Royal Bank]] and [[Ankh-Morpork Mint|Mint]] of Ankh-Morpork? Regardless, the next Taxmaster will have his hands full dealing with the Ankh-Morpork citizenry, who are renowned for their stinginess in matters regarding the flow of money out of their own pockets. It is likely though, that whoever it will be, he would have the whole-hearted support of Commander Samuel Vimes, Captain [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]], as well as the remainder of the City Watch in any matters regarding tax collection.

==Notable places==

*The [[Tower of Art]]
*[[The Mended Drum]]
*[[Opera House]]
*The [[Patrician's Palace]]
*[[Pseudopolis Yard]]
*The [[Temple of Small Gods]]
*The [[Unseen University]]
*[[The Shades]]

[[Category:Discworld geography|Ankh-Morpork]]
[[Category:Locations|Ankh-Morpork]]
[[de:Ankh-Morpork]]

Gravid Rust

2026-05-19T04:06:40Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by Vandal (talk) to last revision by Old Dickens

The obnoxious and unpleasant son of [[Ronald Rust]] and heir to the Rust land and title. He is first encountered as the Rust son who was arrested by [[Sam Vimes]] and brought before the [[Patrician]] for shooting a servant for allegedly setting his boots out the wrong way round.

In {{FOC}} he (or his father) was later the chief suspect in paying for an assassin to kill Vimes as revenge. The assassin failed, discovering too late the lengths Vimes had gone to make the Ramkin house a lethal death-trap for unwanted intruders, and was forced to hand over the payment to Sir Samuel while suspended above the dragon pens.

In {{SN}} Vimes encounters him again, as a prime mover behind even greater crimes. Gravid Rust is capable of a certain greasy charm, and uses this to persuade people who should know better to join him in a series of escalating crimes and offences. Gravid was responsible for having [[goblins]] forcibly taken from [[Hangman's Hill]], (which is a part of Vimes' estate), and shipped for use as slave labour on his tobacco plantation in [[Howondaland]]. He also used the same shipments of tobacco to smuggle a number of troll drugs into Ankh-Morpork along with the tobacco. These included the deadly [[Crystal Slam]] and others including Slab, Slice, Slap, and Slunkie.

Three years later Gravid attempted to move a second shipment of goblins to Howondaland, (having now worked many of the previously enslaved Goblins to death), also employing the ruthless killer [[Stratford]] to tidy away witnesses and lose ends. Here Gravid overreached himself, and by [[Vetinari|a lucky accident of chance]] [[Samuel Vimes]] was on holiday in the region to uncover this crime.

While most of Gravid's lackeys and smugglers were caught, and the corrupt magistrates removed, Vetinari was forced to point out to the enraged Vimes that slavery of goblins was not then a crime (goblins having being classed as vermin) and Gravid could not be brought to trial for his actions. While Diamond King of Trolls was demanding that Gravid be sent to him for trial (and near certain execution) for his role in the manufacture and shipping/smuggling of lethal troll drugs, the Patrician knew it would not be politically feasible to hand over the son of a prominent aristocrat for trolls to kill, regardless of his crimes. Instead Vetinari told Vimes that he would have to be content with Gravid being disinherited by his father, losing his position and title (having dragged the Rust Family name into public disgrace), and exiled to [[Fourecks]] for the foreseeable future. While this would be seen as a terrible fate for most aristocrats, Vimes saw it as 'a nice holiday in the sun' for someone who had trafficked in misery and suffering for profit.

In the end, they say all sins are forgiven. But perhaps not all...later, discussing the Rusts, Drumknott mentions that the Morporkian Embassy in XXXX employs a [[Dark Clerk|clerk]] named [[Arachne]] with a particular interest in venomous spiders. Vetinari must act in the dark and outside of the Law without sanction, a luxury he envies Vimes, to ensure that there is Justice for the goblins, compelled by having heard [[Tears of the Mushroom]]'s harp composition, "Twilight Serenade".

==Annotations==
The term '[[Wikipedia:Gravid|Gravid]]' in Roundworld refers to when animals (fish or reptiles) carry their eggs inside of them. On the Discworld, the term also applies to [[swamp dragons]], so probably has a different meaning. Then again, dragons are more or less reptiles and we don´t ''know'' that they don´t carry their eggs inside themselves.

[[Category: Discworld characters]]
[[Category:Snuff]]
[[de:Gravid Rust]]

Elm Street

2026-05-19T04:06:24Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by Vandal (talk) to last revision by User

'''Elm Street''' is the birthplace of [[Nobby Nobbs]]. It's also the place where the [[Fresh Start Club]] meets, at no 668, mainly to keep [[Reg Shoe]] happy. Cab drivers refuse to stop here, on the grounds that the horse will be up on bricks and the shoes gone, plus the wheels, in no seconds nothing.

Mrs. [[Evadne Cake]]'s lodging house for residents with unique and particular needs (such as dog flaps and windows which can be opened by a paw) is also located here: famous inhabitants have included [[Angua von Überwald]] and [[Mavolio Bent]] (a seemingly normal human being who is arguably more frightening than any undead).

==Annotation==
The obvious [[Roundworld]] connection is to the horror film series ''Nightmare on Elm Street''. One wonders whether that's because of Nobby, or the gathering [[Undead]].

'''''668: The Neighbour of the Beast''''' was a working title for a possible sequel to Pratchett and Gaiman's {{GO}}.

[[Category:Streets of Ankh-Morpork]]
[[de:Ulmenstraße]]

Rufus Drumknott

2026-05-19T04:05:09Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by Vandal (talk) to last revision by Guybrush

{{Character Data
|title= Rufus Drumknott
|photo= Blank.jpg|
|name= Rufus Drumknott
|age=
|race= [[Human|Human]]

|occupation= Chief [[Clerks|Clerk]] to Lord Vetinari
|appearance=

|residence= The [[Patrician's Palace]]

|death=
|parents=
|relatives= at least one nephew
|children=
|marital status= unmarried. Although at the end of {{UA}}, there is a very unsubtle hint that this may soon be remedied, in the form of Lady [[Margolotta]]'s librarian, Miss [[Healstether]].

|books= {{FOC}}, {{J}}, {{T5E}}, {{TT}}, {{NW}}, {{GP}}, {{MM}}, {{T!}}, {{UA}}. {{SN}}, {{RS}}
|cameos=
}}

[[Rufus Drumknott]] is a faithful and loyal servant to [[Lord Vetinari]]. Drumknott has been Vetinari's chief clerk and secretary, since the previous incumbent, [[Lupine Wonse]], had the book thrown at him by (then Constable) [[Carrot|Carrot Ironfoundersson]].

A quiet, studious man, Drumknott is ever adept at performing whatever task Vetinari requires. He is an excellent clerk, and cannot abide such malpractices as deliberate misfiling. He is also affronted by a suggestion made by Vetinari concerning his never having had to buy a paperclip in his whole life. He asks for the record to be made straight, in that he has ''always'' bought paperclips for his personal use.

He has a nephew, who collects [[Post Office|stamp]]s. His own hobbies are said, by Vetinari, to include collecting stationery and designing newer and more efficient forms of ring-binder.

Prone to losing his pencils in the presence of [[Moist von Lipwig]], despite his best efforts to prevent this.

Drumknott is also seriously inconvenienced in the footwear department in {{MM}}, when his best pair of boots mysteriously goes missing. This in turn inconveniences Vetinari, who muses that there is a pattern emerging from assorted seemingly random thefts around the city. As Vetinari is ''good'' at solving puzzles - one of Drumknott's lesser tasks is to ensure the evening copy of the [[Ankh-Morpork Times|Times]] is laid open, just ''so'', at the [[Grace Speaker|puzzle page]] for his master's convenience - it is possible the Patrician has worked it out, and is quietly awaiting, with interest, the outcome of the latest assault on his life and position. However, whilst waiting to see, out of intellectual interest, how the latest attempt to depose him fails, he remarks mildly on the squeaking of Drumknott's new footwear...

Generally, however, Drumknott moves with all the rattle and clanking of a feather falling in a cathedral at midnight. Has proved himself adept at knowing his master's mind, and often hovers with exactly the correct file ready for when Vetinari requests it. Despite having no discernible personality, he is often taken into Vetinari's confidence and asked his opinion on various matters pertaining to all sorts of vexed questions, to which he answers in a measured way. Not as between equals, but in a spirit of being taken seriously. It may well be that of all Vetinari's acquaintances, Drumknott is the most valuable to him.

Despite Drumknott's elevated position in the palace, he is content to take his lunch in the same communal kitchen as all other Palace staff. This may be intentional, a way of monitoring the mood of the below-stairs employees.

Vetinari displays his concern for possibly his most valued employee in {{UA}}, where he remarks to Lady [[Margolotta]] that "he might change his life for the better should he meet a young woman who is willing to dress up as a manila envelope". Not very long after this, he meets Miss [[Healstether]]. Lady Margolotta's personal librarian, who readily consents to viewing his new designs for ringbinders....

==Annotations==
'''Name Origin'''

[http://www.behindthename.com/name/rufus Rufus] is an ancient [[Latatian]] name meaning "red-haired". (Drumknott's hair colour is not mentioned in the books.)

The Drum Knot, or [http://www.japanesegoods.jp/goods/kimono/taikomusubi/taikomusubi1.html "taiko musubi"], is the neatest and simplest way to tie an [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obi_(sash) obi] or the sash to a kimono. This knot is simple, efficient, and unobtrusive. It is most frequently used by housewives and female servants who need a simple way to keep their [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimono kimono]s neatly tied up so they can do their jobs with a minimum of fuss.

British Prime Minister Robert Peel had a secretary named Drummond. Drummond was assassinated in 1843 by Daniel M'Naghten.

Or perhaps it's just [http://www.afrodrumming.com/djembe-tuning-mali-weave.php a way of tightening the installation of a drum's skin across a drum using red rope].

{{DEFAULTSORT: Drumknott, Rufus}}
[[Category:Discworld characters]]
[[Category:Serial characters]]
[[Category:Human characters]]
[[de:Rufus Drumknott]]

Dis-organiser

2026-05-19T04:04:51Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by Vandal (talk) to last revision by Lias Bluestone

[[Image:Disorganiser.jpg|240px|right|thumb|Imp from a Dis-organiser, by [[User:Knmatt|Matt Smith]]]]

'''An extremely''' annoying personal organiser, it is powered by a (usually incompetent) [[Imps|imp]], which can perform various tasks. There have been 3 models encountered so far: the Mark 1, mark 2 and Mark 5. All of these start up with an unusually happy tune such as "bingly-bingly beep!", "bingle bingle bingle" or (when wet) "ob oggle sobble obble".

The only known dis-organiser Mark 1 was owned by [[Commander Vimes|Samuel Vimes]], and was completely incompetent. It claimed to have 15 functions, although it appeared that at least ten were apologizing for the useless manner in which it performed the others. One is the ability to recognize handwriting - "I'd recognize it anywhere" - but not to ''read'' handwriting. It is also hinted that one was owned by [[William de Worde]], but it was thrown out of a window for being unhelpful, and was subsequently taken back to the store.

The second version - retail price AM$300 - was also owned by Vimes, and it was also useless despite its ability to inform the user of theoretical future appointments. It was lost in the sands of Klatch, and subsequently started to organise a shark's schedule after being thrown into the sea by [[Death]]. Another Mark 2 was also owned by [[Mr. Pin]] and [[Mr. Tulip]], but after their death was inherited by de Worde.

An extremely compact model (a "nano imp") was discovered in the Ankhian Embassy in [[Bonk]], where it had clearly been used in the covert assembly of intelligence and useful information about the host nation. While its owner had come a terminal second in the Great Game, the disorganiser had not been found by the werewolves and enabled Vimes to piece together information about what was happening

Also owned by Commander Vimes, the next dis-organiser we encounter is the Mark 5, the {{wp|BlackBerry|Gooseberry}}, which is much more useful than its predecessors. It has games, such as "Splong", and "Guess my weight in pigs". It has an "iHum" feature, and can also interface with the [[clacks]], enabling Vimes to send messages back to Pseudopolis Yard Watch House. The Gooseberry is also able to read watch reports and do sums. In fact, this model actually works well with Commander Vimes, after a poor start, (such as Vimes telling the Gooseberry to stick its head up a duck's bottom), and has established a case for employment as a Watch member in its own right.

Most Dis-organisers are the product of the [[Thaumatological Park]], a business enterprise set up under the auspices of [[Unseen University]]. Utilising what was formerly known as the [[Unreal Estate]], this is now a thriving go-ahead hub of magical business, where the commercial by-products of research magic are made available to the general public. The name of [[Ponder Stibbons]] may not be far away from this development, which might explain the extreme honesty of its name.

It is interesting to note that in the trade of Dis-organisers the term "write-only documents" has been crafted.

==Annotations==

It is interesting to note how often defective magical devices of this sort end up by being thrown into the sea by their exasperated owner. [[Kring|more here]]

There is an echo of ''{{wp|The_Silmarillion|The Silmarillion}}'' here. The last surviving son of the rebellious elf-king Fëanor refuses to surrender the last Silmaril to the custody of the Lords of the West. Under the glamour of its beauty, he argues that the magical jewel is his father's creation and he has a right to it, both as surviving son, and as were-gild for his dead father and six dead brothers. He keeps the stone, despite a curse upon it that makes it leadenly heavy and painful to his touch. Finally he can suffer it near him no more, and throws it into the deepest sea. He then spends the rest of his days wandering the seashore in mingled regret and relief, lamenting what he has lost. This has an odd familiar echo in this context...

(Although if [[Samuel Vimes|Vimes]] were ever to take a seaside holiday, his reaction might be ''"thank the Gods I got rid of the godsdamned thing!"'' and a nod in the direction of the [[Sea-Goddess]], lest she throw it back...)

There's also a second layer of meaning to Dis-organiser. Not only is it simply the opposite of something that is supposed to help organise your schedule, but ''{{wp|Dis_(Divine_Comedy)|Dis}}'' is the the name of a city encompassing the sixth through ninth levels of hell in Dante's ''The Divine Comedy'', inspired by a Roman god of the underworld ''{{wp|Dīs_Pater|Dis Pater}}''. And imps come from hell. Hence Dis-organiser, a hellish organiser that causes immense frustration to its owner.

[[Category:Devices]]
[[de:Disorganizer]]

Jonathan Teatime

2026-05-19T04:04:20Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by Vandal (talk) to last revision by Daibhid C

{{Character Data
|title= Mr. Teatime
|photo= Teatimemine.jpg|Mr. Teatime by [[User:Darkplush|Kit Cox]]
|name= Jonathan Teatime
|age= In his 20s or early 30s
|race= [[Humans|Human]]
|occupation= Assassin
|appearance= Boyish, smiling, curly hair. One eye has a pin-hole-sized pupil, the other is glass
|residence= [[Assassins' Guild]]
|death= At the end of {{H}}, which would be around [[1988 UC]]
|parents= Not named; died in a tragic accident, though the accident may have been bringing Jonathan into the world.
|relatives=
|children=
|marital status=
|books= {{H}}
|cameos=
}}

'''Mr. Jonathan Teatime''', (pronounced "''Teh-ah-tim-eh'',") was a graduate assassin from [[Ankh-Morpork]], who was hired by the [[Auditors]] to inhume the [[Hogfather]].

He was taken into the Ankh-Morpork [[Assassins' Guild]] as a child because the administration took pity on him after his parents suffered a tragic accident. Lord Downey once reflected that the Guild should have looked into this.

He is boyishly handsome, with curly hair and a ready smile, but these features are ruined by his eyes. One is glass and the other is off-white, with a tiny, pinhole-sized pupil. He is, undoubtedly, a genius, but also sociopathic to an astonishing degree. His mind has been compared at times to both a corkscrew and a shattered mirror (i.e. something brilliant, sharp, and dazzling, but also fundamentally and irrevocably broken). His main problem seems to be that he sees things differently from other people, in that he sees other people as things. This gets him into a spot of trouble early on, as his assassinations often include the brutal murders of not just the target, but also their family, their servants, and very often their pets, all of which is, while not against Guild policy, definitely against the philosophy of the Guild, which is elegance and style in everything.

However, when the [[Auditors]] need someone to assassinate the [[Hogfather]], Mr. Teatime is just the man for the job. When questioned, he reveals to his superior, [[Lord Downey]], that he devised methods to inhume, not only the Hogfather, but also the [[Tooth Fairy]] and the [[Soul Cake Duck]] (Discworld's version of the Easter Bunny), among others (including [[Death]]) in his spare time. In the instance of the Hogfather it was while waiting up one Hogswatch eve when most kids are listening for sleigh bells. He commissions the help of a cadre of criminals, ranging from big [[Banjo Lilywhite]] to the locksmith Mr.[[Brown]], and sets about putting his ingenious plan into action, which inevitably pits him against [[Susan Sto Helit]] and her grandfather, Death.

Most of the time, Mr. Teatime seems a pleasant, albeit odd, young man. He only seems to get irritated when people mispronounce his name. However, he possesses physical abilities which defy physics, and has been known to perform feats such as stabbing through all layers of clothing but stopping before hitting flesh, holding a blade just touching the eye, flipping on thin air, and killing so fast he appears to be a blur, all of which he will do without any notice or provocation. Rumours among his associates (somewhat confirmed in the non-canonical GURPS Discworld sourcebook) imply that the glass eye is in fact a scrying crystal, which might go some way towards explaining his abilities but also means that he had implanted Discworld-magic ''into his own eye socket''. At the end of the events of {{H}}, the glass eye in-question ended-up in the possession of young [[Gawain Gaiter]], who'd found it lying in the Gaiter's nursery-fireplace after Teatime's body had been removed and mistook it for a marble, with which he would never lose a game.

Supporting the premise that Jonathan's parents were killed by Teatime himself is what Susan Sto Helit says about his childhood: "''You were the little boy who didn't know the difference between throwing a stone at a cat and setting a cat on fire''". She continued to say: "''You were the little boy that looked up little dolls dresses''"; he denied that remark.

The Assassins' Guild lists him as having vanished without trace since the events in Hogfather, though they have named a "''Teatime Prize''" in his honour, which is given annually to the student who devises the most creative hypothetical inhumation.

In the Sky One adaption of Hogfather, Mr. Teatime is played by Marc Warren.

==Annotation==
The name "Teatime" is very likely a tribute to fellow fantasy writer Douglas' Adams work, [[wikipedia:The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul|The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul]]. The central premise of the novel is that the gods were created by the human compulsion to personify forces. They never completely die, but rather become more and more powerless as fewer people believe in them, and eventually end up as a sort of divine vagrant. In Adams' novel the gods are quite easily taken advantage of by unscrupulous humans.

[[Category:Discworld characters|Teatime,Jonathan]]
[[Category:Leading characters|Teatime,Jonathan]]
[[de:Jonathan Kaffeetrinken]]

Broad Way

2026-05-19T04:03:58Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by Vandal (talk) to last revision by Myk Streja

'''Broad Way''' is the central thoroughfare of [[Ankh-Morpork]], beginning at the foot of [[Pseudopolis Yard]] in the [[Isle of Gods]] and running [[Hubwards]]-by-[[Widdershins]] across the [[Brass Bridge]] to the [[Patrician's Palace]], which it surrounds by splitting into [[Turnwise]] and Widdershins Broad Way. It then continues to the Hubwards Gate. It is divided into Upper and Lower Broad Way by the [[Brass Bridge]]. With typical disregard for spelling conventions, it is often written as ''Broadway'', as in the official [[Book:The Streets of Ankh-Morpork|mapp]]. The same Morporkian logic that makes [[Short Street]] the city's longest causes the elevated portion on the Isle of Gods to be called Lower Broad Way and the low side Upper Broad Way. In {{TOT}} and {{T!}} we learn that the [[Royal Art Museum]] is located here, and in {{MM}} we learn the [[Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork]] is also located on Broad Way.

==Annotation==

Another multiversal convention centers the theater district on Lower Broad Way, starting at the [[Opera House]] in Pseudopolis Yard and passing [[The Dysk (theatre)|The Dysk]] and the [[Bear Pit]]. This resonates with the [[Roundworld]] {{wp|Broadway_theatre|Broadway in New York}}, upon which are many of the world's finest theaters and all the best plays are performed.

[[Category:Streets of Ankh-Morpork]]
[[de:Breiter Weg]]

Jason Ogg

2026-05-19T04:03:27Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by Vandal (talk) to last revision by A7sharp9

{{Character Data
|title=Jason
|photo= Jason.jpg|Jason Ogg, as drawn by [[User:Knmatt|Matt Smith]]
|name= Jason Ogg
|age= Fiftyish
|race= Human

|occupation=Smith
|appearance= Very large and muscular
|residence=[[Lancre Town]], Kingdom of [[Lancre]]

|death=
|parents= [[Gytha Ogg]]
|relatives= [[Shawn Ogg]], 13 more siblings
|children= Several, [[Pewsey Ogg|Pewsey]] the youngest
|marital status=Married

|books= [[:Category:Witches Series|Witches Series]]
|cameos=
}}

'''Jason Ogg''' is the smith of Lancre. No, you don't understand: Jason Ogg is The [[Smith]] of [[Lancre Town|Lancre]]. The Smith in Lancre has a long-term contract. He can shoe '''anything''', and when '''anything''' shows up, he has to shoe it. Some of the local lads once brought him an ant. He made the tools and spent a long night over a powerful lens. The ant can still be heard, occasionally, clattering across the forge floor.

A smith is a kind of male [[Witches magic|witch]]: he knows things other people don't know (e.g., [[The Horseman's Word]]), he has power over iron. He needs to follow the protocol, and know how to keep a secret, especially in Lancre. A regular client at the forge is [[Binky]], [[Death]]'s trusty steed; endorsements don't get much better than that. He also once fitted a [[unicorn]] with silver shoes. Some people say Jason is a bit slow, because he doesn't say much. Some people don't pay attention.

Jason is the eldest son of Gytha "[[Nanny Ogg|Nanny]]" Ogg, Lancre Town's resident witch. Nanny
is a small woman, so the connection can be hard to grasp. Her little boy has "arms like tree trunks and legs like beer barrels stacked in twos". Presumably his late father, the previous Lancre Town smith, was as large if not larger.

Jason is the unofficial town sheriff because he can break up pub fights by picking up one contestant in each hand and banging them together if necessary. He also takes a leading part in the [[Lancre Morris Men]], the local folk-dancing, little theater and [[Scumble]] tasting society.

==Annotation==
The tradition of shoeing the unshoeable is well established throughout Roundworld history, starting with St. Dunstan, X century English bishop. Being a hands-on man of cloth, he was once working in his forge when the Devil decided to pay a visit; Dunstan grabbed him by the nose with his tongs and shoed him. Also, there is a popular Russian XIX century novella "The tale of squint-eyed Lefty from Tula and the steel flea" where the eponymous character, self-taught craftsman from the Russian coutryside, is called upon by the Tsar to one-up the miraculous dancing clockwork flea from England; he and his team hole up in their shed for a month and then present their work - the same flea, with the mechanism seemingly broken, as it can no longer dance. However, upon an examination through a microscope it is discovered that the flea has been shoed with golden shoes, with Lefty himself providing the nails.

[[Category:Discworld characters|Ogg, Jason]]
[[Category:Serial characters|Ogg, Jason]]
[[Category:Human characters|Ogg, Jason]]
[[de:Jason Ogg]]

Wiki Copyright Information

2026-05-19T04:01:37Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by Abcdefabric (talk) to last revision by Jagra

==From the main page of Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5, also see the CC button on bottom left of this Wiki==
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==Some Tips to Students==
If you are a student, trying to write a literature-analysis essay for a class, and you want to use some information you found on this Wiki, what can you do? Most importantly, how can you make it clear to your teacher that you aren't plagiarising?
*Follow the main points of the Creative Commons license as listed above.

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*Getting to your article of interest through the address http://wiki.lspace.org/index.php/Main_Page page and listing in your citation the appropriate addresses for each article will probably look better than going through the http://wiki.affordable-prawns.co.uk/ address.

Disclaimer: This list of tips is written in a spirit of fellow-feeling, sympathy, and helpfulness, but this list is by no means exhaustive, and in no way guarantees a good grade for your essay.

[[Category:Wiki Data|Wiki Copyright Information]]

Discworld & Terry Pratchett Wiki:General disclaimer

2026-05-19T04:00:27Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by Abcdefabric (talk) to last revision by Osiris

<center>
'''All Generals are hereby disclaimed.'''

'''Lieutenants are claimed instead; primarily for their nutritional value.'''

[[Category:Wiki Data|Discworld & Terry Pratchett Wiki:General Disclaimer]]

Iconograph

2026-05-19T03:59:30Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by Vandal (talk) to last revision by EinFritz

An '''iconograph''' is a wonderful device that allows you to make "instantaneous paintings". In fact, an [[Imps|imp]] with brushes, pencils and a good eye for colours is put in a box, and when you push the button, you open a little window on the box and the imp draws ''really'' fast what it sees through the opening. [[Salamander]]s are used when more light is necessary for the imp to paint a good picture. All but the cheapest of today's iconographs can paint in colour.

Imps have no imagination whatsoever, and as a result, paint very accurate pictures. They do whatever they are told so long as it is within the limits of their training, such as being able to "zoom" in and paint in very small detail, or even to paint the picture of a cart and its number if it exceeds the speed limit.

First introduced in [[Ankh-Morpork]] by the [[Agatean Empire|Agatean]] tourist [[Twoflower]] (in ''[[Book:The Colour of Magic|The Colour of Magic]]''), they are now very common, and are used in the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch|Watch]] (''[[Book:Feet of Clay|Feet of Clay]]'' and ''[[Book:The Fifth Elephant|The Fifth Elephant]]'') or in [[Ankh-Morpork Times|newspapers]]. Very small imps, called nano-imps, are used in very small iconographs that can be kept in a pocket, a favorite tool of spying diplomats (see ''[[Book:The Fifth Elephant|The Fifth Elephant]]'').

A multi-imp variation had been used in the [[Century of the Fruitbat|moving pictures]] industry (see ''[[Book:Moving Pictures|Moving Pictures]]''). Another recent adaption is using three imps with different coloured goggles to achieve coloured printing. A [[Otto Chriek|vampire]] slightly well-known in Ankh-Morpork was experimenting with the use of dark light from [[Überwaldean land eels]], but no progress has been reported (see ''[[Book:The Truth|The Truth]]'').

Theoretically the lifespan of the imp is endless, but the imps of the cheaper iconographs seem to disappear rather quickly. Independently of this, the painting colours used by the imp have to be refilled as they are used up, and the imps themselves require regular feeding, though they seem to be able to survive without any form of sustenance for several weeks.

Normally, the user of the iconograph is called "iconographer", but another term could well be "[[Photographer]]".

==Annotations==
The principle of splitting the light unto three strips of monochromatic film with different filtering is how {{wp|Technicolor|Technicolor(tm)}} actually works. It also needs a lot of money to work.

:
[[Category:Devices]]
[[de:Ikonographen]]

TV and film adaptations

2026-05-19T03:58:52Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by Vandal (talk) to last revision by Guybrush

Despite his (deserved) scepticism, several of [[Biography|Pratchett's]] books have been adapted as television series or specials, and movies are being planned.

:"The difference between me and Neil in our attitude to movie projects is that he doesn't believe they're going to happen until he's sitting in his seat eating popcorn, and I don't believe they're going to happen."
:—[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.pratchett/msg/e430a912282553b2 Terry Pratchett], alt.fan.pratchett

==Aired==
*[[TV and Film:Truckers|''Truckers'']], 1992, an animated series by Cosgrove Hall.
*[[TV and Film:Johnny and the Dead|''Johnny and the Dead'']], a TV serial by ITV, 1995.
*[[TV and Film:Soul Music|''Soul Music'']], 1997, an animated series by Cosgrove Hall.
*[[TV and Film:Wyrd Sisters|''Wyrd Sisters'']], 1997, an animated series by Cosgrove Hall.
*[[TV and Film:Johnny and the Bomb|''Johnny and the Bomb'']], 2006, a three-part TV series on the [http://www.johnnyandthebomb.tv/ BBC].
*[[TV and Film:Hogfather|''Hogfather'']], aired by Sky One, Christmas 2006 [http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article344232.ece as TV film].
*[[TV and Film:The Colour of Magic|''The Colour of Magic'']], aired by Sky One, Easter 2008 as TV film.
*[[TV and Film:Going Postal|''Going Postal'']], aired by Sky One, Easter 2010 as TV film.
*[[TV and Film:Troll Bridge|''Troll Bridge'']], 2019, premiered at Flickerfest International Film Festival, 16th January.
*[[TV and Film:Good Omens|''Good Omens'']], 2019, 6 episode miniseries made available to stream on Amazon Video on 31st May.
*[[TV and Film:The Watch|''The Watch'']], the first episode of season one was released on AMC+ on December 31st 2020.
*[[TV and Film:The Abominable Snow Baby|''The Abominable Snow Baby'']], animated television film aired on Channel 4 on Christmas Day, 2021.

==Documentaries==
Terry Pratchett has also starred in several documentaries covering important subjects close to his heart:
*[[TV and Film:Terry Pratchett's Jungle Quest|''Terry Pratchett's Jungle Quest'']] (1994)
*[[TV and Film:Terry Pratchett Living With Alzheimer's|''Terry Pratchett Living With Alzheimer's'']] (2009)
*[[TV and Film:Terry Pratchett Choosing to Die|''Terry Pratchett Choosing to Die'']] (2011)
*[[TV and Film:Terry Pratchett Facing Extinction|''Terry Pratchett Facing Extinction'']] (2013)
*[[TV and Film:Terry Pratchett: Back in Black|''Terry Pratchett: Back in Black'']] (2017, a documentary about Terry Pratchett)

==Planned and speculated==
==={{WFM}}===
In 2006, the [http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4590000/newsid_4598600/4598672.stm BBC reported] that Sam Raimi would direct a big-screen adaptation the book. As detailed in {{ALWF}}, this was scuppered as Pratchett thought the script was "shit".

On July 19, 2016 The Jim Henson Company announced to be creating a feature film version of {{WFM}} in conjunction with [[Narrativia]]. It will be written by [[Rhianna Pratchett]] and produced by Brian Henson. (The [[Narrativia (production company)|Narrativia]] announcement has been removed from their website, but you can [https://web.archive.org/web/20191126015641/http://narrativia.com/wee-free-men.html find it here at archive.org].)

==={{M}}===
The first book rumoured to be put on the big screen, as far back as 1992, according to talk on alt.fan.pratchett. But even then the prospects weren't too good:
:"A production company was put together and there was US and Scandinavian and European involvement, and I wrote a couple of script drafts which went down well and everything was looking fine and then the US people said 'Hey, we've been doing market research in Power Cable, Nebraska, and other centres of culture, and the Death/skeleton bit doesn't work for us, it's a bit of a downer, we have a prarm with it, so lose the skeleton.' The rest of the consortium said, did you read the script? The Americans said: sure, we LOVE it, it's GREAT, it's HIGH CONCEPT. Just lose the Death angle, guys.
:"Whereupon, I'm happy to say, they were told to keep on with the medication and come back in a hundred years."
:—[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.pratchett/msg/74f15906c92f4212 Terry Pratchett], alt.fan.pratchett

In 1998, an update was posted about ''Mort'', the Movie:
:"...is looking like it won't happen now, despite months of development work.
:"Without going into lots of detail, it's hit the familiar Hollywood iceberg (the one which would've set ''Good Omens'' in Indiana without the Four Horsemen). People suddenly grow an extra head and say things like "we have to make this relevant to the American teenager". And it's at times like this I get very glad that control has not been completely relinquished, because people are going to start suggesting really dumb things. There's still some UK involvement, but I really cannot see a purely UK movie made. ''Mort'' isn't fashionable UK movie material – there's no parts in it for Hugh or Emma, it's not set it Sheffield, and no one shoves drugs up their bum..."
:—[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.pratchett/msg/f1959457a1a57f47 Terry Pratchett], alt.fan.pratchett

A [[Fan Films|fan adaptation]] of Mort was created in 2001 by Orange Cow Productions.

In 2016 it was announced that {{M}} would be adapted as a film, directed by Terry Rossio, produced by Rod Brown, [[Narrativia (company)|Narrativia Ltd.]] and Gooji Limited. A screenplay was completed, but so far goes unproduced.

==={{TAM}}===
In 2019 an animated adaptation of {{TAM}}, ''The Amazing Maurice'', was announced, to be produced by Ulysses Filmproduktion alongside Cantilever Media with a screenplay by Terry Rossio. It's been completed and will be released in December 2022.

==Aired: Pre-release News==
*[[TV and Film:Troll Bridge|''Troll Bridge'']] is planned by [http://www.snowgumfilms.com/trollbridge Snowgum Films] and will begin in earnest very soon, following a successful [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/snowgumfilms/terry-pratchetts-troll-bridge Kickstarter] campaign to raise money from fans.

*[[TV and Film:Good Omens|''Good Omens'']] production started in 2000, but due to lack of funds the movie has been postponed to an unknown date. Although both Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman have never publicly said it isn't going to happen, chances are slim. As [http://www.neilgaiman.com/journal/2003/01/terry-gilliam-talks-about-good-omens.asp Neil Gaiman said]:

:"Personally I don't really think the ''Good Omens'' movie is dead. I think of it as lying in a glass coffin with white lilies on its chest and with mournful dwarfs all around it, all of them waiting for a prince to ride up on a big white horse, carrying with him about sixty million dollars."

Pratchett [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.pratchett/msg/cef9b66be1c1de91 said]:

:"I currently regard it like all other film projects – it's not ''absolutely'' certain that it won't happen..."

The movie is no longer listed on [http://www.imdb.com/ IMDB.com].

It appears that the film could be back on as [http://www.primefocusworld.com/ Prime Focus] have [http://www.primefocusworld.com/news/2011/03/prime-focus-launches-prime-focus-productions confirmed that will be their first] project for their new Productions section of their company.

[[Neil Gaiman]] announced in 2016 that he would be adapting the book into a television series.

Thursday 19th January 2017 [[Narrativia]] announced the production of the {{GO}} TV Series to be co-produced with BBC Studios and Neil Gaiman's Blank Corporation, the series will be broadcast in 2018 by Amazon Prime Video and the BBC. [http://narrativia.com/good-omens-announcement.html Announcement]
On February 14th 2019 Amazon announced that the Good Omens TV series would begin streaming on May 31st 2019 with six one hour episodes being available simultaneously on Amazon Prime Video [https://www.radiotimes.com/news/on-demand/2019-02-14/good-omens-release-date-cast-characters-news-plot-neil-gaiman-updates-amazon-prime-video-bbc/]

*[[TV and Film:The Watch|''The Watch'']] crime series. Prime Focus Productions are going to produce a crime-a-week drama set in Ankh-Morpork. See [[http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/03/14/terry-pratchetts-discworld-being-adapted-to-crime-of-the-week-mystery-tv-series/|here]].

Greenlit by BBC America in 2018: [https://discworld.com/bbc-america-greenlights-original-scripted-series-the-watch/ Release News]

==Not happening, postponed to unknown date==
* {{UA}}: airing in 2012, or not.
* {{S}}: 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]].

[[Category:Terry Pratchett|TV and film adaptations]]
[[Category:TV and Film|TV and film adaptations]]
[[Category:Peripherals|TV and film adaptations]]
[[de:Filme]]

Tanty

2026-05-19T03:57:19Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by Vandal (talk) to last revision by Old Dickens

[[Ankh-Morpork]]'s main prison. This is the principal State facility, and as such is suppplemental to the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch|Watch]] cells, and any local brigs or bridewells the various [[Guilds]] may maintain as a disciplinary measure (or in the normal run of commercial transaction, in the case of the [[Seamstresses' Guild|Seamstresses]]).

The Tanty is fairly humanely run, and the stirabout has named meat in it (at least once a day). In fact, run to humane liberal principles, it offers a better standard of living than most criminals would be assured of on the '''''outside''''' (what with fairly clean straw to sleep on, three stirabout meals a day, at least one with named meat, and dry cells into the bargain) ...

Knowing this and keen not to provoke an unseemly queue for admission, the [[Patrician]] sees to it that stays in the Tanty are fairly short and usually end quite conclusively. With a suspended sentence, one might say...

The prison gave its name to the penny dreadful crime reportage paper, the [[Tanty Bugle]]. "Gave" is probably the key word, as it is unlikely the paper pays royalties for use of the name....

The Staff:

* Mr. [[Bellyster]], a nasty warder;
* Mr. [[Wilkinson]], a more pleasant warder;
* Ron, who works with Mr Wilkinson
* The Warden - un-named, but evidently the Governor, answerable to [[Vetinari]] for his management of the prison;
* Mr [[Trooper|Daniel "One Drop" Trooper]], the Civic Hangman.

We are told in the {{NDC}} that the Tanty is on Ankh-Morpork's "Rim Bank", but there is no clue on {{SAM}} as to where this is, whether it is a street, a region, or other location.

== Location? - Located! ==

{{NDC}} tells us the Tanty is a corrupted name of ''the Tantiment'', a former royal palace which several hundred years before the present day was converted to a prison. It also provides the information that the prison is located on the Rim Bank, which is neither marked nor referred to on {{SAM}}.

The original {{DC}} (1994 edition) has no entry on the Tanty. What is ''does'' have, however, is an illustrated endpaper which takes the form of an expanded and more detailed Mapp of the city centre, zooming down into more street names and additional features than the small scale of the Mapp can comfortably hold.

And guess what... the Rim Bank is clearly marked. It is that part of the riverside running along the edge of the [[Isle of Gods]] between the Brass Bridge and widdershins round, possibly to The Cut. The Tanty is clearly marked as immediately adjacent to the Opera House, just across Pseudopolis Yard in the ten o'clock position. Its immediately adjacent streets are not noted on the Mapp, but the illustration in the {{DC}} identifies them as Body Street(on the Mapp) While the name of one street is unclear on this reproduction of the map section, it has been suggested that this text can be interpreted as ''[[Lag Lane]]'', which fits a service road to a prison. Close examination of the original endpaper bears this out.

A block away and also facing the Opera House, just off Holofernes Street, the major road leading over the New Bridge, is a street called "The Screws". (Accomodation for prison officers?)

so now we know!

[[File:Tanty.JPG]]

[[Category:Locations]]
[[de:Kittchen]]

Offler

2026-05-19T03:56:27Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by Vandal (talk) to last revision by Old Dickens

[[Image:Offler.jpg|thumb|right|240px|High Priest of Offler, as drawn by Matt Smith]]

Offler, a crocodile [[the gods|god]] originating from [[Klatch (continent)|Klatch]], is one of the major gods of the Discworld. Offler's usual appearance resembles that of the ancient Egyptian crocodile god Sobek with a human body and a crocodile head. The crocodile mouth makes him speak with a lisp. He is worshipped all over [[Discworld (world)| the Disc]], especially in lands with warm climate and great rivers. His worshippers, the Offlians, are forbidden to eat broccoli. Offler is an old god and has developed, for god, a certain amount of wisdom, so he knows that people want commandments but don't want rules that they are certainly going to break. Nobody willingly eats broccoli, anyway, so this commandment is easily obeyed and makes his believers feel good in themselves.

Offler is usually seen playing games with the other gods in [[Dunmanifestin]] when he appears in the novels.

Like many of the major gods, Offler has found his worshippers migrating to [[Ankh-Morpork]]. The Ankh-Morporkian colloquialism "Is the high priest an Offlian?" means "Surely!" (parodying [[Roundworld]]'s {{wp|Is_the_Pope_Catholic|Is the Pope Catholic?}}). The high priest is not meant to mean the leader of all priests on the Discworld, because the Discworld celestial politics is very complex. At the moment, the most powerful priest in Ankh-Morpork is [[Hughnon Ridcully]], high priest of [[Blind Io]], result both of Blind Io's status as the leader of [[the gods]], and of Ridcully's own force of personality (or personality of force).

There is a Lost Jewelled Temple of Offler somewhere deep in the jungles of [[Howondaland]], [[Klatch (continent)|Klatch]]. This temple is lost, and neither worshippers nor [[barbarian heroes]] (read ''temple-robbers'') ever made it alive to the inner sanctum to either worship or rob (except once). Two priests reside in this Lost Temple and take turns at being the High Priest (see ''[[Book:Reaper Man|Reaper Man]]'').
There is also a Grand Temple of Offler, mentioned by [[Laredo Cronk]] in the computer game [[Discworld Noir]], in which there is an artifact called the Tear of Offler. Laredo broke in several times, and stole the artifact every time its followers got it back.

According to {{H}}, some of his followers abstain from alcohol, and have formed [[Offler's League of Temperance]].

In {{M}}, we learn that Offler has a flock of holy birds that bring him news and keep his teeth clean (parodying the toothpaste commerical that popularized this [surprisingly unauthenticated] "fact" about the {{wp|Egyptian_Plover|Crocodile Bird}}.

The preferred burnt offering to lay on the altar fire is a pound of sausages, the more choice the better in the eyes of the junior priests, who are duty-bound to ritually consume the gross and earthy portion left over after Offler has taken his fill of the spiritual essence of sausigiosity that rises to him on the higher airs of the cooking fire.

Interestingly enough, one other worldy arena where a crocodile has an affinity for a string of sausages is the Punch and Judy Show. Perhaps the Punch and Judy puppet tales are a sort of Offlerian '''koan''', teaching parables for the true Believer to learn and derive wisdom from?

[[Category:Discworld characters]]
[[Category:Supernatural entities]]
[[de:Offler]]

Cable Street

2026-05-19T03:55:36Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by Vandal (talk) to last revision by AgProv

A street in [[Ankh-Morpork]], located in the [[widdershins]]-[[rimwards]] quarter of the city, near the river. It runs between [[Treacle Mine Road]] and [[Easy Street]], halfway divided by [[Gleam Street]]. It is known for its tenements and workshops.

Notable buildings:

* The [[Axe and Bottle]] (Dwarf pub)
* [[Cable Street Particulars]], the "secret police";
* [[Gimlet's Hole Food Delicatessen]], a dwarf restaurant;
* The Temple of [[Anoia]], She Who Gets Things Unstuck, just above the bookie's shop.(Go up by the side stairs and ask for the Rev. [[Extremelia Mume]]. If out, leave mail at bookie's downstairs).;
* Downstairs is Lashbrooke's Bookmakers (''"Conveniently located below Miss Mume's Multi-Purpose Temple"'');
* [[Gimick|Gimmick]]'s pinnery is at number 4c.

==Other universes==
There's also a '''Cable Street''' in [[Blackbury]], U.K., setting of the [[:Category:Johnny Maxwell Series|Johnny Maxwell Series]]. It contains the ''White Swan'' pub (aka the ''Dirty Duck'') and the former taxidermy shop of the late [[Solomon Einstein]].

There is also a '''Cable Street''' in London, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_Street] the location for the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cable_Street Battle Of Cable Street]. Shades of [[Treacle Mine Road]] maybe?

[[Category:Streets of Ankh-Morpork]]
[[Category:Johnny Maxwell]]
[[de:Ankertaugasse]]

Main Page

2026-05-19T03:52:07Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edits by Abcdefabric (talk) to last revision by Old Dickens

Discworld & Pratchett Wiki:About

2026-05-19T03:48:37Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by Abcdefabric (talk) to last revision by DCool1

<center>
'''Fiat Lux!'''<br>
''a brief history for those millions who haven't been following closely''

</center>
Once there was an emerging writer of hilarious fantasy parodies called Terry Pratchett. He attracted a readership that included a large proportion of those skilled in the new art of computer communication and some of these set up an early newsgroup, [http://groups.google.ca/group/alt.fan.pratchett/topics alt.fan.pratchett]. Then a group of Dutch and English fans developed the comprehensive website of Pratchettia, [http://www.lspace.org/ ''The L-Space Web'']. The idea arose in discussions in alt.fan.pratchett that it would be interesting to create a wiki of Discworld to explain it to the masses and provide a reference for the involved. A young Dutchman among them known as [[User:Sanity|Sanity]] with a small server and unusual computer skills for an amateur volunteered to set it up. He and a small cadre (many of these speakers of English as a second language) began in 2005 and laid the foundation over several months. The wiki was then absorbed into L-Space (as everything is) for better distribution and the rest of us were given this marvellous toy.

None of the active staff (except [[User:Death|Death]]; Death's always been there) was around in that first year. Some other early contributors who deserve mention are [[User:Tony Sidaway|Tony Sidaway]], [[User:Vsl|Vsl]], [[User:Jeltz|Jeltz]], [[User:Jogibaer|Jogibaer]], [[User:Silaor|Silaor]] and [[User:Cheezewizz2000|Cheezewizz2000]]. These pioneers created the original articles and set the tone and style that largely remains today. The following year saw a boom in membership and activity and the resulting content: the current administration members joined in this period, [[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] editing, [[User:Osiris|Osiris]] (then in a human incarnation) providing technical support and [[User:AgProv|AgProv]] creating volumes of content.

By 2012, however, Sanity the care-free student found himself with a career and family and too little time to maintain the wiki and Osiris assumed the administrative burden in what became known as ''The Long Drive'' as the wiki moved from three small hard discs in the Netherlands to a large Cloud over the central U.S.

At mid-2016, the Main Page shows well over seven million views and many popular pages exceed twenty thousand. Contributors have appeared from five continents (South Americans, feel free to correct) and this wiki appears on the first page, if not first, in many searches for the people, places and things of the worlds of Terry Pratchett.

Unfortunately, much of the wiki's history was lost on the trans-Atlantic voyage and the provenance of much good work over previous years relies on only the uncertain memory of a few ancients. These lost contributors must content themselves with our thanks and the satisfaction of a job well done.

==Credits==
The wizard hat favicon is part of the [http://bogo-d.deviantart.com/art/Kingdom-Icons-212892514 Kingdom Icons] set and was provided under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ CC-Attribution 4.0] license by [http://bogo-d.deviantart.com/ Bogdan Mihaiciuc].

[[Category:Wiki Data|Discworld & Terry Pratchett Wiki:About]]

Discworld & Pratchett Wiki:Getting started

2026-05-19T03:48:10Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by Abcdefabric (talk) to last revision by Guybrush

So, you want to start contributing to the wiki? Great!

==So, how do I edit a page?==
On top of the page you'll find an "edit" link. Clicking on that edits the whole page. Pages with subsections also have a per-section "edit" link, which is a bit easier.

[Dearie, dearie. I couldn't find it until I'd created an account and logged in. I WAS being dim, but it took me days to work it out.]

The text uses Wiki-formatting. You don't have to know it all, as there's a small button bar which can insert the right code to, for example, bold text. One of the most important codes is <nowiki>[[this one]]</nowiki>, which translates the text between the brackets to a link to another page in this wiki.

Before saving, always click on "show preview" to check whether the changes you made look good and contain no spelling errors. If it looks good, click on "save page" and the content is there for everybody to enjoy.

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Reading suggestions

2026-05-19T03:45:48Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by Abcdefabric (talk) to last revision by Old Dickens

A question that regularly pops up is: ''I'm enjoying Pratchett, what other books are there I could possibly enjoy?''. This page is here to help you. If you like Pratchett, these books are recommended by the fans.

*For the more graphically-oriented, see also [[Webcomic and Graphic Novel Suggestions]].

=={{wp|Ben Aaronovitch|Ben Aaronovitch}}==
A former scriptwriter for ''Doctor Who'', Ben has branched out into writing the ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivers_of_London_(novel)| Rivers of London]'' fantasy series. (Retitled ''Midnight Riot'' in the USA). Peter Grant is a newly-graduated police constable in London. He is less than enchanted to be assigned to a department dealing with records and data-entry, and feels being labelled as a uniformed admin clerk has killed his police career before it has even begun. Then he meets Inspector Nightingale, who he discovers runs a department that the Met reluctantly accepts it has to have, but is less than generally thrilled to admit to and which it regards as an anachronistic embarrassment in this day and age. Grant finds himself re-assigned to The Folly. And becomes a policeman walking a really weird beat - dealing with things of magic, folklore and more-than-myth which are still there in London and need to be policed. He discovers in a city with two thousand years of history, some things are inevitable, and come with the turf. He becomes an apprentice wizard and learns magic is still there. And magical crime needs magical policemen. The higher echelons of the Met and British government are resigned to this and accept there needs to be such a Force. Peter's adventures in the magical underbelly of London are described with black humour and a lot of absurd moments.

Just to make it clear where he gets his inspiration from, Ben dedicates at least one of the books (in which elves ands unicorns figure) to Sir Terry Pratchett, and there's a Discworld reference or two in most of the novels - including that one of Grant's senior police colleagues is a noted fan.

* {{wp|Ben Aaronovitch|Ben Aaronovitch}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Piers Anthony|Piers Anthony}}==
{{wp|Xanth|Xanth}} series. Xanth is a very punny fantasy world. Piers Anthony also writes the "Terry Pratchett is fast, funny, and going places. Try him!" blurb found on many of Terry's books.

Xanth is probably best thought of as the ''Chronicles of Narnia'' played as a ''Carry On'' film.

I personally have found Anthony more corny than funny, with a very robotic, formulaic, writing style and a very dirty mind, even for purported "kids'" books. The humor is far sillier and more lowbrow. -[[User:Cidolfas|Cidolfas]]

Piers Anthony's other series (eg, {{wp|Incarnations_of_Immortality|''Incarnations of Immortality''}} and {{wp|Apprentice_Adept|''Apprentice Adept''}}) are not humorous, and are not similar to Terry's works. At best, the ''Incarnations'' series revolves around the idea that anthropomorphic personalities may "retire" from their jobs and return to the real world as they choose, and may select and train a successor. Anthony's Fate, for instance, takes it a step further and plays with the idea that this anthropomorphic personality might well run down a family dynasty, the female members of which each adopt one of the three faces of the classic Greek Fate. Death, in Anthony's world, is not so much a person as a job description. But this is only superficially similar to Death and Time each being a family business on the Discworld.

"I tried reading ''A Spell for Chameleon'' back in 1986 and threw it across the room after three chapters. I tried again in 2007 and lasted for five chapters. Just can't do it". This illustrates the idea that Xanth, while a tour-de-farce of the imagination, can in some readers evoke a reaction similar to that of Susan Sto Helit when she contemplates dancing across the rooftops with a cheeky cheery chimney sweep. Susan would see nothing wrong in a spoonful of sugar, but gallons of cloying syrup might well provoke a vomiting reflex. Xanth, with its heavy archness, is best approached when in a mood of whimsy and minimal critical function. In this frame of mind, it is not unpleasant, but too much syrup can kill tastebuds. The concept of the Adult Secret involves a perceived Adult Conspiracy to keep children in the dark about sexual matters for as long as possible.

Re-reading Piers Anthony lately - not just Xanth but more mainline novels - I also felt v. uneasy about Piers A's occasional lapses into fascination with the physical development of pubescent girls. In one of the ''Incarnations'' books, for instance, he has an eleven year old girl strip naked while an older relative has a private inner reverie about the attractive shape of her body. It isn't pornographic, and the plot that calls for it isn't too contrived, but it's written in enough loving detail to make me feel uneasy and voyeuristic about reading it. And this isn't exactly an isolated occurrence in his books, ref. an interest in pre-teen girls...--[[User:AgProv|AgProv]] 11:39, 26 February 2010 (UTC)

As a forensic psychologist, I'm writing further to what AgProv has written on the Piers Anthony sexual storyline with the 11 year old child. Frankly, Anthony's writing verges on unlawful pedophilia writings and I am amazed that a mainstream publisher would actually give credence to Anthony's perverted and sick fantasies involving children that are truly DISTURBING. He is like a dirty old man leering over a legal minor in the kind of graphic and sick sexual detail that makes my hair stand on end. Let's be clear - this kind of pedophilia-type "prose" would be condemned almost anywhere, if it wasn't dressed up as 'literature'. Piers Anthony is way out of the league of Terry Pratchett, and shouldn't even be compared. He is not even a poor imitation. I would welcome what others have to say, but for me, Xanth far from being a Chronicles of Narnia, is a poorly-written tripe. What bothers me most is how Piers Anthony writes such plainly disturbing pedophilia sexual accounts involving a minor, which is typical pedophile behavior both pre- and post-action. This should be wholeheartedly condemned by all responsible adults... --[[User:Jongerman|Jongerman]] 09:11, 29 January 2011 (EST)

Further details about PA's approach to sexual content ''[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AuthorAppeal here]''. No editorialising, judge for yourself.

And while the purpose of this entry isn't to try the man, but to point out he HAS written some eminently readable sci-fi and fantasy ('''''Prosthro Plus'''''. about an Earth dentist abducted into Space and having to get up to speed with alien oral hygiene ''very quickly'', is hilarious and recommended), it is perhaps germane to consider a "quest" book Anthony wrote in the Xanth series. It becomes of extreme importance for the questing party to get a true answer to a mystery which gives the novel its name - '''''The Color of Her Panties'''''. In which female knickers pertaining to younger ladies are discussed and described at length. - --[[User:AgProv|AgProv]] 19:59, 12 May 2011 (CEST)

* {{wp|Piers_Anthony|Piers Anthony}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Kelley Armstrong|Kelley Armstrong}}==
Author of a series of books concerning how members of magical and Undead races have had to "go underground" to survive in the modern USA. '''''"Men of the Otherworld"''''' is about a young Werewolf growing up in his Pack and learning how to behave so as to fit into human society. He is taught who he can eat, when he can eat them, about Pack dynamics and politics, and how not to stand out at school (eating the class guinea pig is a great big no-no).

In '''''"No Humans Involved"''''', the location is a Haunted House TV show. In the UK these are shot in green light in an allegedly haunted house while it is cooling from the day in the wee small hours of the morning. Therefore there are a lot of creaks and drips for an ex-childrens' TV presenter and a camp scouse "psychic" to get excited about.
In Kelley Armstrong's USA, what happens when a ''real'' psychic, in fact a trained and hereditary Necromancer, joins the presenting team on such a show...

Horror done with wicked humour. She has also written the ''Nadia Stafford'' trilogy: about a woman who has the skills, resolve, and methodical ability to plan and avoid ''over-confidence'' that makes her into somebody who could walk into the Guild of Assassins and be instantly welcomed as part of the Sorority.

Reccomendation by --[[User:AgProv|AgProv]] 17:15, 27 August 2010 (UTC)

* {{wp|Kelley_Armstrong|Kelley Armstrong}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Robert Asprin|Robert Asprin}}==
Author of the hilarious {{wp|Mythadventures|''Mythadventures''}} series of novels, featuring a young magician, his pet dragon, a tough-but-lovable demon friend, a sexy trollop assassin, her hairy troll brother, a couple of mafia hitmen, a moll, and more.

* {{wp|Robert_Asprin|Robert Asprin}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Josef Assad|Josef Assad}}==
Released his first novel [http://www.archive.org/details/JosefAssad_TheBanjoPlayersMustDie ''The Banjo Players Must Die''] under a free Creative Commons license. Reading like a misanthropic Terry Pratchett, it is a dystopian and self-referential history of how Judgment Day came about, for very small values of 'came about'.

* {{wp|Josef_Assad|Josef Assad}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Clive Barker|Clive Barker}}==
Clive Barker is a fantasy writer known for painting amazing watercolors to accompany his writing. Some of his works include the award winning series '''[[Wikipedia:Abarat|Abarat]]''', '''[[Wikipedia:Imajica|Imajica]]''' and '''The Damnation Game'''. The book ''Abarat'' and its sequels tell the story of Candy Quakenbush, a teenage girl who gets pulled into a strange archipelago called The Abarat. The Abarat consists of twenty five islands, each one a different hour of the day, and one island that is time out of time. The series centers around the conflict between the islands of day and the islands of night. While ''Abarat'' and other books by Clive Barker are not a funny as Pratchett's they more then make up for it in oddness and the insanity of the worlds and characters.

* {{wp|Clive_Barker|Clive Barker}} on Wikipedia
* Clive Barker's website: [http://www.clivebarker.info/]

=={{wp|James Bibby|James Bibby}}==
The author of ''Ronan the Barbarian'' and its two sequels, all of which fit perfectly in the genre of comic fantasy. Much like Pratchett's earlier novels (although admittedly, much more ''adult''-oriented), the novel plays on the clichéd fantasy genre, but also includes genuinely interesting and likable characters. The book may be hard to find -- as it was only published in 1995, and once more in 1996 -- but definitely worth the trouble, being close-to the funniest author I've had the pleasure of reading. - [[User:Quoth|Quoth]]

* {{wp|James_Bibby|James Bibby}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|S.G. Browne|S.G. Browne}}==
S.G. Browne (Scott Browne) is an American author of blackly comic novels. So far there are ten of them, and a recurring theme is Zombies. Not the shambling revenants of fiction and film. Browne's vision is more rounded and bleakly funny than that. his debut novel ''Breathers: A Zombie's Lament'' deals with those unfortuante souls in the USA who are fated to return to worldly existence, occupying the bodies they thought they had left behind, in the modern USA. Browne begins with the idea that there are only two ways a Zombie can go after undeath kicks in. they can become homeless derilects - who really looks at a homeless person on the street? They are guaranteed invisibility. Or else they can live in California. Even then the Resurrected face hostility, persecution and lack of understanding from the Breathers - normal living people. Andy Warner is one such. He got up and staggered away from the car crash that killed his wife only to discover the awful truth - he was now part of a despised underclass perceived as fair game for sadistic cruelty and denied civil rights. He even joins a mutual support group for the Undead, presided over by a naive idealist who was killed trying to resolve a marital disagreement between two of her therapy patients. Most of the zombies who attend agree that they only attend because they feel sorry for Helen. They are resigned to a life of slowly disintegrating and falling into rotten decay, as well as avoiding drunken frat members who have seen "Dawn of the Dead" once too often. Andy decides to become an Undead Rights activist. And then they meet Ray, who introduces them to the miracle food, which he describes as "venison"... Recommended by [[User:AgProv|AgProv]] ([[User talk:AgProv|talk]])

* {{wp|S.G. Browne|S.G. Browne}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Susanna Clarke|Susanna Clarke}}==
The author(ess?) of ''Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell''. This is an enormous book, written as an alternate history set in 19th-century England around the time of the Napoleonic Wars. It is based on the premise that magic once existed in England and has returned with two men: Gilbert Norrell and Jonathan Strange. Centering on the relationship between these two men, the novel investigates the nature of "Englishness" and the boundary between reason and madness. It has been described as a fantasy novel, an alternate history, and an historical novel. The narrative draws on various Romantic literary traditions, such as the comedy of manners, the Gothic tale, and the Byronic hero. The novel's language is a pastiche of 19th-century writing styles, such as those of Jane Austen and Charles Dickens. Clarke describes the supernatural with mundane details. Neil Gaiman, no less, described it as "unquestionably the finest English novel of the fantastic written in the last 70 years". Look it up on Wikipedia - the way Bloomsbury pushed its publication is jaw-dropping - and even more so when you know it was her first novel! Recommended by --[[User:Knmatt|Knmatt]] 18:23, 7 February 2010 (UTC)

* {{wp|Susanna_Clarke|Susanna Clarke}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Eoin Colfer|Eoin Colfer}}==
Eoin (pronounced "Owen") Colfer has come up with another world not too dissimilar to ours, but this time it's our world as we know it interfacing with the world of the Lower Elements: fairies, trolls (even thicker than TP's!), goblins, dwarves and the like. It even has a reason why the word Leprechaun exists: it comes from LEP Recon – the reconnaissance and recovery side of the Lower Elements Police. They are nominally childrens' books, but none the worse for that. So, essentially, is ''The Hobbit'' (see also comments for Diana Wynne Jones). The books centre around one "Artemis Fowl" - a twelve-year-old criminal mastermind. Swallow that, and the books are delightful. There is a large dollop of Pratchett-esque humour: witness why dwarves are such good diggers!!!! --[[User:Knmatt|Knmatt]] 18:57, 25 July 2007 (CEST)

'''Breaking News:''' Eoin Colfer has been selected to complete a largely unstarted sixth volume of [[Douglas Adams]]' h2g2 series:-
[http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/sep/17/douglasadams] The resultant book has now been released under the title of '''''And Another Thing....''''' I'm reading it. It's good! --[[User:AgProv|AgProv]] 09:04, 16 October 2009 (UTC).

He's pretty darn good. And the Artemis Fowl timeline is essentially a budget version of the Disc's: as convoluted as you can make it in seven books. --[[User:Dragon4|Dragon4]] ([[User talk:Dragon4|talk]]) 21:16, 13 January 2013 (GMT)

* {{wp|Eoin_Colfer|Eoin Colfer}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Edward Conlon|Edward Conlon}}==
Written in 2004, Conlon's autobiography '''Blue Blood''' came too late for it to have directly influenced most of the Watch books. Conlon is the third generation of his family to have served in the New York Police Department, following his grandfather and father. In 560 pages, he relates many accounts of the events likely to happen to an NYPD patrolman in the course of his duties. These can be horrifying, amusing, or just plain weird by turns. Many of them, such as the possibly rabid domestic cat that could make [[Greebo]] look like a placid neuteree, could have been scripted for the Watch to deal with. The everyday frustrations of police work, such as the bureaucracy, the chore of report-writing, political interference from above, and the personality types of his fellow cops, could all be background for a Watch novel. Among many other little details of police life, conlon also has an interesting take on the whole grey area between legitimate "perks" and outright bribe-taking. He also describes his grandfather with love and affection, a beat cop who Fred Colon would have hailed as a long-lost brother. Conlon does for the NYPD what Joseph Wambaugh (a known influence on the Watch) does for the LAPD on the other coast. Recommended by [[User:AgProv|AgProv]] ([[User talk:AgProv|talk]]) 15:10, 16 August 2015 (UTC)

* {{wp|Edward Conlon|Edward Conlon}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Lindsey|Lindsey Davis}}==

Author of a very funny and at the same time extremely erudite series set in the Ancient Rome of Vespasian, about an informer (something like a private detective) by the name of Marcus Didius Falco, an Aventine guttersnipe who, having fallen in love with a senator's daughter, the spirited, independent-minded Helena, sets out to better himself socially and financially. Ms Davis takes a light-and-dark, and entertainingly cynical, approach to the seedy realities of day-to-day life and politics in Vespasian's Rome, and has Marcus and Helena involved in a string of mysteries as they accept jobs from everyone from jealous spouses to the emperor himself. A spin-off series is set in a slightly later time when Falco has prudently retired from investigating, citing a need to stay away from the attentions of a paranoid and despotic new Emperor who he investigated when he was merely a Prince, and has incriminating evidence against. The focus of the series now moves to his adopted daughter Flavia Albia, who has learnt well from her father and become a private detective herself. Very well written and highly addictive.

* {{wp|Lindsey|Lindsey Davis}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Diane Duane|Diane Duane }}==
Again, another writer of YA books, but very ''very'' good ones. Her {{wp|Young Wizards|''Young Wizards''}} series, starting off with "So You Want to be a Wizard", explores what ''really'' happens when you sign up to be a wizard, eg: travelling to alternate dimensions with friendly, ''sentient'' micro-stars, inviting alien foreign exchange students to stay the planet, and helping whales perform ancient rituals underneath the sea to prevent the earth from cracking like an egg. I could go on, but I think a quote from TVTropes sums up the series perfectly: "Infamous in its fandom for a tendency to grab you by the heart and squeeze" --[[User:Varriount|Varriount]]

* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diane_Duane Diane Duane] on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Jasper Fforde|Jasper Fforde}}==
Author of the Thursday Next books which started with ''The Eyre Affair.''

Perhaps the closest thing to the Pratchett theme of story-driven reality, but start with ''The Eyre Affair''; we were pretty disappointed with ''Something Rotten'' at our house.--[[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]]
:I'll go with that - ''Something Rotten'' was pretty rotten, but the four '''Thursday Next''' books are excellent. --[[User:Knmatt|Knmatt]] 18:57, 25 July 2007 (CEST)

Fforde is very apt at twisting the narrative conventions, and his humour is very Pratchett-like indeed. I also recommend the Nursery Rhyme series, starting with The ''Big Over Easy'', starring Marlowe-like detective Jack Spratt. --Abie, 25 May 2010.

His books are very good: The Last Dragonslayer books are hilarious, and the first one especially has quite a clever premise. One of his latest books had a review along the lines of 'Watch out Terry Pratchett,' on it, so that should give you some idea...--[[User:AnnieBudgie|AnnieBudgie]] ([[User talk:AnnieBudgie|talk]]) 11:21, 21 July 2016 (UTC)

Indeed, the [[Terry Pratchett|Creator]] himself said of ''The Eyre Affair'': "Ingenious. I shall watch Jasper Fforde nervously."

* {{wp|Jasper_Fforde|Jasper Fforde}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|George MacDonald Fraser|George MacDonald Fraser}}==
Fraser was cited by Terry Pratchett as one of five authors whose books he would buy immediately on publication. His best-known works are the ''Flashman'' series (the cowardly but lucky Harry Flashman has many points of similarity with Rincewind) and the [[Daft Wullie|''McAuslan'']] series (whose Gordon Highlanders are [[Book:The Wee Free Men/Annotations|Roundworld Nac Mac Feegle]].) Fraser's books are usually scrupulously accurate history with a few fictitious characters inserted, and include copious footnotes and endnotes.

While the accepted Discworld referent for Flashman is usually taken to be Rincewind, Flashman is also a bluff, genial, con-man whose whole life is predicated on persuading people to accept he is something he is not. He pulls some almightily audacious bluffs in his career, and on one occasion, his wholly reasonable tendency towards self-preservation (which could uncharitably be described as cowardice) is subverted by a chemical substance which his lover of the moment assures him is a nice relaxing tonic. This enables him to fight and lead a battle without any fear at all and in fact to avert a Russian invasion of India whilst British attention is focused on the Crimea. A similar thing happens to Moist von Lipwig in {{RS}}...

* {{wp|George MacDonald Fraser|George MacDonald Fraser}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Neil Gaiman|Neil Gaiman}}==
Co-author of {{GO}}, so an easy choice. Pratchett fans seem to prefer ''Neverwhere'' and ''American Gods''. One of the latest novels is ''Anansi Boys''. {{wp|Neil_Gaiman|Gaiman}} is known for his ability to create fascinating pantheons - if you're at all interested in comics, the ''Sandman'' series (which rightfully catapulted Gaiman to the fame he enjoys today) is one of the best ever written. His perky-goth Death is the best anyone's ever done with the character after Pratchett.
Terry himself says that his novel, ''Coraline'', "...has the delicate horror of the finest fairy tales, and is a masterpiece."

Neil was a founder-member of the [[H.P. Lovecraft Holiday Fun Club]].

Recommended by [[User:Sanity|Sanity]].

* {{wp|Neil_Gaiman|Neil Gaiman}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Craig Shaw Gardner|Craig Shaw Gardner}}==
''Ebenezum'' and ''Wuntvor'' series are quite humorous, though the latter tends to drag a bit.

* {{wp|Craig_Shaw_Gardner|Craig Shaw Gardner}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Mary Gentle|Mary Gentle}}==
Mary Gentle's masterwork ''Ash: A Secret History'' must be recommended here as one of those books that lingers in the mind and fires neurons into new and different arrangements. There is certainly humour here: most obviously in the Rabelaisian adventures of a mediaeval mercenary company, hiring itself out to the highest bidder and finding laughter where it can in, a mediaeval landscape straight out of ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''. There is also a deeper, rather black, humour of a more satirical kind, as the book deals with deeper and more profound issues of time and history and the way we perceive the passage of both. There are two interleaved stories here: one deals with the adventures of the mercenary company of the Lion, commanded by the warrior-woman Ash. The second story takes place in our own time, and deals with a historian trying to make sense of the legend of Ash, who starts to discover that the historical certainties of the past are slipping and changing around him wherever he looks. There can only be ''one'' past, right? Dead wrong. His suspicions are confirmed when archaeologist colleagues start to unearth artefacts relating to a past that by all rights should never have happened, and which start to prove the established history books are utterly dead wrong.

History is changing. All the indications point to the trigger point being somewhere in the late 1400's and somehow, Ash the warrior captain is intimately involved. Something happened in or around the year 1476 to completely alter the course of history - and belatedly, the late 1990's are changing to conform to that time-rift. The sequence of events in the late 1400's very nearly destroyed the world and ''something'' moved to correct it, to rewrite history into the form in which we knew it. Until the history professor started looking into the life of Ash and pulling together the random shreds that remained, out of place and time, of that secret history...

As well as being a thrilling fantasy/sci-fi adventure, Ash is also a satire on the practice and teaching of history, which (as Vetinari and the History Monks know) is neither fixed nor objective. Indeed, it offers insight into how the History Monks might operate, were they to exist on Roundworld, to restitch time and history after, say, a Sourcerer or a Glass Clock nearly blew it into smithereens. It vividly describes what people might notice, what would be observed, during a time-slip of this nature, and what loose ends would be left flapping afterwards that not even a Lu-Tze could tidy away. It even suggests a mechanism, which has to do with pyramids, and suggests that some VERY strange things happened in the latter 1400's in known history that are strange and anomalous...

Did TP read this book before, say, writing {{TOT}}? Ash was published in 1999, ten years after TP wrote {{S}}, but definitely released before {{TOT}} (published 2001). It's a very tempting thought... oh, and there are golems in this book. Like and unlike to those of the Discworld.

In a far lighter vein, Mary Gentle has also written '''''Grunts!''''', an account of the Eternal War between Good and Evil, as seen through the jaundiced eyes of those expendable foot-soldiers of the dark and sword-fodder for Heroes, the Orcs. Both repulsive and oddly sympathetic at the same time, the Orcs discover a trans-dimensional dragon whose hoard includes an entire United States Marine Corps armoury.

Equipped with high-tech weapons, the Orcs then see about carving out a corner of the fantasy world they can call theirs.

As Mary Gentle, along with Neil Gaiman, is a founder-member of the [[H.P. Lovecraft Holiday Fun Club]] to whom an early Discworld novel is dedicated (the HPLHFC consists of members of the new wave of British sci-fi/fantasy authors), then it would appear reasonably certain that TP is aware of her books. There are fairly unmistakable references to '''''Grunts''''' in the pages of {{UA}}, which given the subject matter would be even more remarkable by their absence.

Much recommended!

Both books recommended by [[User:AgProv|AgProv]].

* {{wp|Mary Gentle|Mary Gentle}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Alan Gordon|Alan Gordon}}==
Alan Gordon (born 1959) is the author of several mysteries, the first of which is based on the characters from William Shakespeare's '''''Twelfth Night'''''. He writes about jesters as advisers to the king, who actually make up a super-secret spy ring that try to keep peace and control the leaders of different countries. The Fool's Guild of these novels is portrayed as a mockery to the church, and they refer to Jesus Christ as "Their Saviour, the First Fool".

Alan Gordon began writing his novels about fools and jesters as a supra-national spy ring in 1999. This is exactly the same idea TP came up with a year or two earlier to explain the survival of the otherwise increasingly irrelevant Fools' and Clowns' Guild into the modern era - that the Guild's graduates go everywhere, end up in some very high places, and periodically report back to Doctor Whiteface. Making him both very rich and very powerful.

Is it possible AG got the basic idea for his seven Fools' Guild novels from Pratchett? I hope to track down at least one Alan Gordon novel today, read it, and report back here, as the similarities to Pratchett's Fools' Guild are just so obvious...

Just finished reading ''A Death in the Venetian Quarter'', about Byzantine plots in old Constantinople. The jokes are funnier - although in some places have a desperate Prachettian cod-mediaeval ring to them - the jesters, Fools and troubadours (ref ({{TLH}}) are happier and enjoy their vocation, and there is a Guild HQ which assigns both surface tasks (''"you are to proceed to Constantinople where you will be resident Fool to the Empress and the Princesses of the royal house of Byzantium"'') and hidden, clandestine, ones (''"while you are there you will assist and take a leading role in deposing the current Emperor, who is a drooling inbred dolt and not the man we need to keep out the Pope's crusaders on one side and the Turks on the other"'').

Fools serve both leaders in a war and can cross the lines freely to interchange information and updates, as well as acting as informal diplomats and heralds. This was apparently so in mediaeval times, as most people didn't take them seriously. (In Gordon's world, they also have useful Assassin skills, although outside the world of [[sloshi]], Lord Downey might have a demarcation issue with Doctor Whiteface.)

Reccomended!

* {{wp|Alan Gordon|Alan Gordon}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Michael Green|Michael Green}}==
While perhaps a little bit dated now, Mike Green's series of comic "how-not-to-do-it" guides, dating from the 1950's and 1960's, are masterpieces of a certain sort of British humour. The ''Art of Coarse...'' books are based on the premise that only a precious few, a stellar minority, of us can ever be genuinely good and gifted at any given sporting or leisure pursuit. The rest of us... well, we are fated to be only Coarse practitioners, spear-carriers and extras in the theatre of life. Green illustrates this fact of essential glorious mediocrity over a series of books, dealing with topics as wide and varied as rugby football, sailing, golf, sex, and amateur dramatics. A Coarse Sailor is defined as one who, in extremis, forgets all nautical language, and shouts "For God's sake, turn left!" ''The Art of Coarse Acting'' develops the theme of am-dram in a manner that Vittoler's strolling players would recognise, and indeed there is a lengthy discourse on why Shakespeare's clowns and fools are so abjectly unfunny, ''however'' you say the lines. This may be familar to readers of Pratchett, although there is no certainty that he has read these books. I would not be surprised, though! A cast of recurring characters, including Green's totally loathsome friend Askew, help carry the stories, all drawn from his real-life experience. (Although Green was better at rugby than he claims - he turned out, if only once, for the Leicester first fifteen, which is akin to playing for a premiership soccer side.) The series was continued by Spike Jones, although his books are nowhere near as good as Green's.

* {{wp|Michael_Green|Michael Green}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Simon R. Green|Simon R. Green}}==
For something a little darker, try the ''Nightside'' series by Simon R. Green. Imagine Neil Gaiman's ''Neverwhere'' tossed in a blender with the noir detective template and every bit of myth, fantasy and sci-fi you 've ever seen or read and you'll get the delicious smoothie that is Nightside. Set in a secret city-within-a-city at the heart of London, follow John Taylor, a hard-nose private-eye as he sorts out cases both horrifying and fantastic.

Green's definitely a name-dropper, and references tons of stories and myths, but his own characters and plots are original and fascinating, and utterly steeped in darkness. (Seriously... This guy's darker than Neil gets sometimes...) But it's all tied together with subtle English wit in the (almost obligatory to the noir genre) first-person narrative. (I've even heard a review with a favorable comparison to Terry, so there! Proof!) It's at least an M rating, but a heartily recommended read.

* {{wp|Simon_R._Green|Simon R. Green}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Harry Harrison|Harry Harrison}}==
Prodigious author of science-fiction, ranging from potboilers through more "serious" exploratory sci-fi works and counterfactual histories, to out-and-out science-fiction humour.
Anyone who perceived the slightly tongue-in-cheek aspect of '''''Strata''''' and '''''Dark Side of the Sun''''' will appreciate the parodic quality of Harrison's '''''Bill, the Galactic Hero''''' series of comic sci-fi novels. These send up every aspect of the classic gung-ho shoot 'em up space operas, in which, generally, American domestic paranoia about those goddamn Commies was projected out into space and time, and gave all-American heroes the chance to stand and fight for those good ol' fashioned values and Mom's apple pie. (Is it a matter of time before the space enemy starts to manifest recognisable aspects of Middle Eastern culture?)

Harrison's funniest sci-fi comedies by far, though, are the nine or ten books of the '''''Stainless Steel Rat''''' series. In a future that has largely eliminated crime, Jim diGriz is one of the last crooks left in the galaxy. While he is not averse to the occasional bank robbery, he prefers other, largely non-confrontational and consensual, methods of separating people from their money. He is principled and ethical enough to absolutely refuse to kill in the line of business, and has a ball as he travels the galaxy, bilking, bunco-ing, cheating and generally con-man-ning in a thousand inventive ways. But one day he comes a cropper and is offered the choice of (i) having his mind re-programmed to remove all criminal tendencies; or (ii) working on the side of the angels, as a member of the Galactic "Special Corps", an elite unit of part-detectives, part-policemen, part special agents. Choosing to accept his Angel, in the form of the Machiavellian Special corps Director Inskipp, diGriz bites the bullet and reluctantly becomes poacher-turned-gamekeeper. His first assignment is to track down and arrest the beautiful and deadly Angelina, a woman with serious anger management issues and strong criminal tendencies. He does this so well they end up married, and adopt the nicknames of "Slippery Jim" and "Spike" for each other. (Do the descriptions remind you of anyone in the Pratchett character list?) Later books chart a marriage made in larcenous heaven, and the birth of twin sons who take after Mum and Dad...

''The Stainless Steel Rat For President'' relates a tale of DiGriz and his family collaborating to fix the elections on a repressive planet ruled by a tyrant and dictator. The most rigged, bent and skewed election in the Universe then ensues, with both parties doing what they can to gerrymander, fix and fiddle the vote. A real lesson, as these things have all apparently been done in Roundworld elections... this was especially prescient of Harrison, as the electronic vote-counting machinery is rigged to the point of falling over. And this was written a ''long'' time before a certain business in Florida...
Recommended by [[User:AgProv|AgProv]].

* {{wp|Harry_Harrison|Harry Harrison}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Robert Shea|Robert Shea}} and {{wp|Robert Anton Wilson|Robert Anton Wilson}} (Honorary #23)==
A cautionary note: Shea and Wilson are rightly famed, in alternative circles, for the '''''Illuminatus!''''' series of novels. The trilogy is a joyously anarchic and irreverent romp through the whole scope of the occult, politics, conspiracy theory, secret societies, not-so-secret societies, et c, and sends up many genres of writing including the police procedural, horror, fantasy, political polemic (Ayn Rand gets a kicking), et c.

The novice approaching ''Illuminatus!'' for the first time should not try to understand what's going on, as that way lieth doom. It's like trying to appreciate opera ''and'' understand the lyrics. On a first read, just see it as a series of loosely connected episodes but don't try too hard to comprehend the relationship between them. Just accept as a unifying theme that unless something is done to stop it, the Eschaton is about to be Immanetized (ie, the world is about to end in a manner loosely reminiscent of {{GO}}. Hell, there's even a [[Kraken|Leviathan]] as well as some unpretty denizens of Earth's [[Dungeon Dimensions]]).

You get characters like the cynical street policeman who's seen too much; the hippies who really ARE about to be made streetwise (man) whether they want to be or not; the occupants of a submarine (which for some reason is painted bright yellow), whose mission is to prevent a war starting -initially out of a dispute over ownership of a [[Leshp|small, hitherto unregarded, island]]; the arch-villain Putney Drake, who controls all crime in the USA but has decided he wants to find his angel and go straight; the arch-manipulator Hagbard Celine who saves the world but has an agenda all of his own; 0023, the secret agent Britain is not proud of, and who gets all the weird X-files-like assignments that Bond sneers at; and a cast of eldrich supernatural entities, who are partly or wholly not human. Oh, and there are lots of Justified, Illuminated and Elucidated secret societies, with their own passwords and doorway ritual, administered by Brother Gatekeepers...

(As an aside. Flawed criminal mastermind Putney ''Drake'', who controls all organised crime in the USA but still wants more. Compare to Eoin Colfer's Artemis ''Fowl''?)

James Joyce is referenced many times and indeed even enters the book as a character at one point. This has to be said, as the structure of the book owes something to Joyce, the episodes stepping in and out of linear time and causal order. Therefore it's not an easy book to read but it rewards time, attention and frequent re-reading.

It's also very, very, funny.

I can guarantee you will never see the Reverend Billy Graham in quite the same light again after the manner of his cameo appearance! (Indeed, if the book has any conventional political stance, it can be discerned by the way the Republican/Religious Right Middle-American world-view is remorselessly sent up).

Slipping in under the radar, and done with humour, is a lot of interesting philosophical stuff. For instance, what is the nature of money? (Ref. {{MM}}). We blithely refer to political affiliation as being left-wing, right-wing, anarchist, communist, et c, but what do these convenient labels ''really'' mean? Does the conspiracy theory or the cock-up theory govern human history, or a mixture of both, and at bottom is there really a difference? What is conspiracy theory? Do you have to be paranoid to believe it exists? Is there any validity to magic, occult, and psychic thought and practice? Can one Leader really exert a difference? What is the mystical all-importance of the number 23, and all its associations, like the letter "W"? Did the events of ''The Lord of the Rings'' really happen, making Tolkien not so much an author as an observer?

This trilogy is believed to have influenced Terry Pratchett - there are just too many allusions and associations in the Discworld books. Recommended!

Shea and Wilson went on to write a second trilogy, '''''The Universe Next Door''''', that develops Illuminatus themes and ideas while being true to the original. This deals a lot with quantum physics and the multiple-worlds model of the multiverse, whilst remaining extremely funny.

Possibly far more accessible as novels, while still being in the spirit of ''Illuminatus!'', are the books Shea and Wilson wrote solo: '''''The Historical Illuminatus''''' trilogy, by Wilson, charts the life of Neapolitan wunderkind Sigismundo Celine in the latter part of the eighteenth century. There's sound history, intriguing discussions on the origins of Freemasonry, the decline of Catholicism, the Occult underground in Europe, why revolutions happen (lilac may or may not be included), and the ''true'' nature of scholarly footnotes at the bottom of the page. (they're a separate rogue novel, a kind of parasitic literary form trying to break into the reality of the main text) A jolly good story with believable characters, not without humour. Sigismundo Celine even invents a theoretically working steam locomotive - but evidently Naples and Paris are not the right orchards for this idea to blossom into steam-engine time, as he is derided and laughed out of university, much to his chagrin.

Shea wrote a series of novels where the themes of Illuminatus! are further explored, where West met East in the mediaeval crusades and the western world suddenly became too small for old orthodoxies. (''All Things Are Lights'' and ''Saracen!''). In a second series, the underlying themes of ''Illuminatus!'' are seen through the eyes and experiences of a Zen warrior-monk, in what on the surface of things is nothing more than a rip-roaring adventure story set in mediaeval Japan and Kublai Khan's China. ( ''Shiké: Last of the Zinja'' and ''Shiké: Last of the Dragons'')

Sadly, both authors are now deceased, having left their respective solo works unfinished, and their central characters hanging in limbo. (Although Robert Shea has placed many of his writings on his website, including completed and partially completed novels, so that they may be accessed for free). But - worth reading! Recommended by [[User:AgProv|AgProv]].

* {{wp|Robert Anton Wilson|Robert Anton Wilson}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Reginald Hill|Reginald Hill}}==
Author of some very funny police procedurals, the Dalziel and Pascoe series (these have been adapted for TV), and the more humour-based adventures of Luton PI Joe Sixsmith. In an internet interview, Hill has identified Terry as one of his favourite authors. His novels are set in the real world, although there are occasional touches of the supernatural in the Dalziel and Pascoe books. Hill's stories can be odd (Jane Austen's ''Emma'' rewritten as a murder thriller, anyone?), but are always satisfying. A good place to start is probably the Dalziel and Pascoe book ''Dialogues of the Dead'' and its direct sequel ''Death's Jest-Book'', or the Joe Sixsmith novel ''The Roar of the Butterflies'', which pays tribute to P.G Wodehouse.

* {{wp|Reginald Hill|Reginald Hill}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Tom Holt|Tom Holt}}==
Author of various parodies and stories based on mythology or other tales (sound familiar).
First novel based on Wagner's ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' is called ''Expecting Someone Taller''. Although most books are standalone, there is a series of sorts starting with ''The Portable Door'', which can arguably be termed a more adult and crankier Harry Potter in a cubicle farm.

Holt's books combine what might otherwise be called ''chick-lit'' from the male point of view - there is invariably a romance between a man and a woman who almost completely fail to communicate nor see the subtleties of the other gender's form of world-view - made even more complex by the intrusion of magic and the supernatural. The paradoxes of using magic are dealt with at great length, as are the staples of fantasy fiction and folklore. Old pantheons of Gods who nobody seriously believes in any more are shunted off to a ''very special'' old peoples' home on the south coast of England. They proceed to have ''Last of the Summer Wine'' style adventures involving lash-up machinery and half-remembered magical artefacts. ''You don't have to be evil to work here, but it helps'' develops the theme of Hell being a Human Resources department full of management bollocks-speak and continual assessments with Health and Safety Law making it impossible to go out and slay dragons. A very tall dwarf and a very short giant feature as characters...

* {{wp|Tom_Holt|Tom Holt}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Nick Hornby|Nick Hornby}}==
To be more specific; for the non-British reader to better understand {{UA}} and the importance of football the autobiographical ''Fever Pitch'' is a must read. Written by a left-leaning intellectual well versed in feminist theory who to the amazement of his peers spent much of his formative years on Highbury's North Bank.

This specific recommendation by [[User:Iron Hippo|Iron Hippo]] 20:13, 23 October 2009 (UTC), and backed by --[[User:Knmatt|Knmatt]] 20:08, 8 November 2009 (UTC). It's a fantastically funny and searingly true book, but don't bother reading any of his others. Nanny Ogg's got a word for them. And it's not complimentary.

* {{wp|Nick Hornby|Nick Hornby}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Tanya Huff|Tanya Huff}}==
The Keeper's Chronicles are a set of three (so far) books taking place in Canada, a sort of urban fantasy-comedy. More overt than Discworld but a lot of fun.

* {{wp|Tanya_Huff|Tanya Huff}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Barry Hughart|Barry Hughart}}==
''Bridge of Birds'' - "A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was."

Li Kao is a great scholar with a slight flaw in his character. His patron and servant, by turns, is Number Ten Ox, a peasant lad of unusual size and strength and more wit than anyone expects. The two engage in fantastic adventures in a version of Seventh-Century China unknown to historians. Annotators might find more amusement than even Pratchett provides (if they are serious students of Chinese history) trying to separate the research from the imagination.

The similarity between Li Kao and another wrinkly little old man with unusual powers will strike most Pratchett readers. Don't tell the British press; they'll be off to Arizona to pester Mr. Hughart for his reaction to the outrageous plagiarism (again.)

The series continues with ''Eight Skilled Gentlemen'' and ''The Story of the Stone'', but these are rare and expensive.

* {{wp|Barry_Hughart|Barry Hughart}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Diana Wynne Jones|Diana Wynne Jones}}==
The books are intended for a younger audience but I (and other Pratchett fans with the Tiffany Aching series) have often found so-called children's books to be extremely well written, often more so than their adult counterparts. One of the major themes in her books is the "multiverse" theory--explored in Pratchett as Quantum and [[Trousers of Time|The Trousers of Time]]. She has a fairly extensive bibliography; I would recommend starting with "Deep Secret" (written in a psuedo-epistolary style) or "Charmed Life" (in The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Vol 1). "Charmed Life" has a more Tiffany Aching-esque feel to it. --[[User:Anatwork|Anatwork]] 05:27, 2 April 2007 (CEST).

Diana Wynne Jones's ''The Tough Guide to Fantasyland'' is recommended by Terry, and includes many Discworld themes, such as swords, lost heirs, and Cities of Wizards. [[User:Marmosetpower|Marmosetpower]] 14:55, 7 November 2011 (CET)

Wynne Jones also wrote ''Howl's Moving Castle'' and its sequel, and its hard to beat for a story with wit and excitement and in which the characters understand perfectly how the fairytale world they inhabit is ruled by narrative imperative. The Studio Ghibli film is also great, but very different. - [[User:Guybrush|Guybrush]] ([[User talk:Guybrush|talk]]) 13:00, 23 June 2020 (UTC)

* {{wp|Diana_Wynne_Jones|Diana Wynne Jones}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Stuart M. Kaminsky|Stuart M. Kaminsky}}==
This Russian-American author wrote a series of police procedurals with a difference. Set in the Soviet Union in the 1980's, Inspector Rostnikov is a veteran policeman in the Moscow criminal investigation force. A decent and honest copper who strives very hard to stay out of politics and just do the job that's in front of him, he contends with the everyday criminality of Moscow and fending off his out-of-touch superiors whose priorities are not his and who view his efficiency as a copper with deep suspicion. Rostnikov does not believe in the approved Leninist-Marxist doctrine that criminality in the Soviet state is perpetrated by a rump of degenerate anti-social elements, who will wither away as the Revolution triumphs and there is thus no more need for crime. He's a copper. He knows there will always be crime regardless of whose social philosophy runs the State. He just gets on with it, alongside a department of underfunded, under-resourced, coppers whose attitudes range form resigned cynicism through open-eyed idealism to a sort of robotic, golem-like obedience to the State. Indeed, his most trusted colleagues are the enthusiastic youngster Sasha and the robotic Party loyalist Karpo. The collapsing years of the Soviet Union act as the backdrop to the stories, a situation where hardly anyone truly believes in communism any more, the old political truths are repated almost as a comforting mantra, everyone can see the corruption and collapse going on all around them, but nobody, apart from political dissidents, dares to say so outright. Unfortunately the police chief known as The Wolfhound is a True Believer, and behind him is the wider KGB/MVD apparatus to which the civil police is accountable. The smoke and mirrors of the USSR's last years and the trials of routine policing in this atmosphere are drawn with a great deal of black humour. [[User:AgProv|AgProv]] ([[User talk:AgProv|talk]]) 10:24, 19 November 2016 (UTC)

* {{wp|Stuart_M_Kaminsky|Stuart M. Kaminsky}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Fritz Leiber|Fritz Leiber}}==
Classic sword & sorcery, but very often kind of tongue-in-cheek. TP has admitted that his early Discworld books, which can be seen as a parody of the S&S genre, were heavily inspired by Leiber's series about Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. --[[User:Havelock|Havelock]] 02:20, 1 April 2007 (CEST)

In fact, the principal city of the ''Fafhrd and Gray Mouser'' stories is named "Lankhmar", which is very similar to that of [[Ankh-Morpork]], and seems to share its social complexity.

* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Leiber Fritz Leiber] on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Stanislaw Lem|Stanislaw Lem}}==
Stanislaw Lem is a Polish writer of science fiction, some of which is very funny and whimsical. He has been lucky with English translations that capture the spirit of the original, and try to keep up with the word play. '''''[[Wikipedia:The_Cyberiad|Cyberiad]]''''' is a great place to start; it's a series of stories about the robot inventors Trurl and Klapaucius. Great illustrations by Daniel Mróz, too! Oh, and if you saw the George Clooney film version of Lem's great novel Solaris and that turned you off, just ignore it: see the original Russian film version instead.

* {{wp|Stanislaw Lem|Stanislaw Lem}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Roy Lewis|Roy Lewis}}==
Another suggestion from Terry Pratchett himself: he brought '''''The Evolution Man''''' to a British television show-and-tell as a book he wished he'd written. He said he'd read it in 1961 when it was nearly new and the influence on the thirteen-year-old writer is apparent.<BR>
The book describes a family of "ape-men" who are responsible for most of the social and technological development of the paleolithic era over one generation, somewhat like {{wp|Jean_Auel|Jean Auel's}} Cro-Magnons in ''Clan of the Cave Bear'' but lots funnier. It has also been published as ''What We Did to Father'' and ''Once Upon an Ice Age''. Recently republished in the US by Vintage Books.

* {{wp|Roy_Lewis|Roy Lewis}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Dan McGirt|Dan McGirt}}==
{{wp|Jason_Cosmo|Jason Comso}} series, a tongue-in-cheek approach to swords and sorcery.

* {{wp|Dan_McGirt|Dan McGirt}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Michael Moorcock|Michael Moorcock}}==
Another author spoofed by Terry Pratchett ({{COM}}, {{E}}) and worth reading in his own right.

Known in his early writing years for prolific production of potboilers - the Elric series are well worth reading as "straight", if high-camp, fantasy fiction and provide a lot of background detail, as to where some of the jokes in the earliest Discworld novels originate.

Moorcock has tried his hand at farce and comic writing in the Pratchett mould: a novel called '''''The Chinese Agent''''', about a chaotic collision and an escalating series of misunderstandings between the world's secret services operating in London, is laugh-out-loud funny reading, with echoes of {{GO}}.

Similarly, there is a short story called ''The Stone Thing (A Tale of Strange Parts)'' in the anthology '''''The Flying Sorcerers''''' (Souvenir Press, 1997) where Moorcock attempts to take the mickey out of his own portentous high-camp style of writing, before anyone else does.--[[User:AgProv|AgProv]] 17:02, 9 May 2007 (CEST). This anthology also features a Terry Pratchett short story called '''''Turntables of the Night'''''. Recommended by [[User:AgProv|AgProv]].

Also worth reading is the Von Bek series, beginning with ''The Warhound and the World's Pain'', and the Dancers at the End of Time series, which begins with ''An Alien Heat'', and is full of Oscar Wilde-esque humour. Both of these series are available in omnibus editions.

* {{wp|Michael_Moorcock|Michael Moorcock}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Christopher Moore|Christopher Moore}}==
Hilariously funny novels, which while not exactly fantasy or science fiction have elements of both. Vampires, demons, cargo cults. Death turns up as well, although it's more of a Tooth Fairy-esque franchise than a single anthropomorphic personification. It's probably best to read them in publication order, as recurring characters develop over the novels. Start with ''{{wp|Practical_Demonkeeping|Practical Demonkeeping}}'', for an introduction to the barely sane inhabitants of Pine Cove.

* {{wp|Christopher_Moore_%28author%29|Christopher Moore}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|John Moore|John Moore}}==
Small but sweet novels set in a sort of alternate, anachronistic fairy-tale past. Humorous fantasy but with a definite American touch (a la Shrek). Whimsical, but with serious undertones.

* {{wp|John Moore (American author)|John Moore}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Kim Newman|Kim Newman}}==
A founder member of the [[H.P. Lovecraft Holiday Fun Club]], Kim wrote '''Anno Dracula''', the definitive "what if..." book, starting from the utter failure of van Helsing and his well-intended dreamers to destroy Count Dracula. This irritating little diversion dealt with, Dracula then resumes his trip to England, and introduces himself at Court as a member of very long-standing Rumanian royal dynasty. Which is true, to a given value of true. Queen Victoria then invites her relative - well, he's European royalty, he ''must'' be related - to come and stay at Buck House, or Sandringham, maybe Balmoral, or the one on the Isle of Wight. Having been invited into the palace, Dracula, like a certain vampire noble in {{CJ}}, stays. And stays. And takes over England. And by extension the British Empire. (Does this sound like a certain Pratchett book yet?). He even marries the royal widow and becomes King-Emperor. Then invites the family over from Transylvania. The idea if a vampire dynasty ruling Britain, the degree of acceptance/rebellion it engenders, and how Dracula dealt with threats to British world rule, is continued in the following novels of the trilogy. .--[[User:AgProv|AgProv]]
* {{wp|Kim Newman|Kim Newman}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Naomi Novik|Naomi Novik}}==
{{wp|Temeraire (series)|Temeraire}}. A fantasy dragon-story, set in the original 17th century Roundworld! The story isn't as funny as a Discworld novel, but Temeraire's dialogue (the dragon in question) can be very tongue-in-cheek! Could be a bit girlish book, but then again, you can very well be one! .--[[User:Charlie007|Charlie007]]

* {{wp|Naomi_Novik|Naomi Novik}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Pat O'Shea|Pat O'Shea}}==
Although her book {{wp|The_Hounds_of_the_Morrigan|'''''The Hounds of the Morrigan'''''}} is aimed at children, like the best children's writers she creates a world which may also be inhabited by adults without their losing face. Set in West Galway, two children come to realise that despite St Patrick's best efforts, the old Irish gods and goddesses never went away. They just went ''over there a wee bit''.

The return of the Old Gods to modern (1970's?) Ireland has its threat: the Goddess who has awoken is the old and evil Morrigan, the triple-goddess of death and chaos and nightmare. She must be stopped...

O'Shea blends the ancient tales into a modern Irish landscape with deftness and humour. The children enter the ''other'' Ireland of myth and fable, and while at its worst the humour takes on a Disney-Oirish cuteness, the colour and texture of the book slowly darken into a mythological landscape Neil Gaiman would be proud of (not without humour). Recommended. --[[User:AgProv|AgProv]] 23:15, 25 July 2007 (CEST)

* {{wp|Pat_O'Shea|Pat O'Shea}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Mervyn Peake|Mervyn Peake}}==
Have you ever wondered about the description of Lancre Castle, in the early pages of {{WS}}, as ''having been designed by an architect who'd heard about Ghormenghast, but had done the best he can despite having neither the budget nor the space?'' Or about the description of the way time and space do weird things in the precincts of Unseen University, with the effect that ''it makes Ghormenghast look like a toolshed on a railway allotment?''

Well, Peake is the source: his contribution to the fantasy fiction ouevre is the magnificent and thick-as-several-bricks ''Ghormenghast'' trilogy, a beautifully written account of life in a massive, rambling, castle-cum-city-cum-palace which has, er, accumulated over the course of several thousand years, with every new generation adding further bits to it as they see fit. Therefore it rambles a bit, like the most eccentric English stately home, and entire rooms, floors, even wings, have been lost over the centuries.

Peake richly describes the settings and populates the Castle with a civilization of grotesques, of whom the sanest and most sympathetic is possibly the good Doctor Prunesquallor, a man who like Cosmo Lavish is burdened with a dificult and sometimes embarrassing sister.

The social system is a suffocating heirarchy where a royal family rules at the top, and everyone else is born into a rigid caste system where even their very jobs are mapped out for them at birth. There is no way to change one's preordained social status, and until the advent of a rebellious kitchen scullion named Steerpike, nobody attempts to. At first a hero deserving sympathy, Steerpike climbs literally and metaphorically out of the depths of the castle kitchens and begins a calculated advance to the very top. His character subtly changes as his ambition grows, and it is clear he is seeking to depose the ruling family. After several murders, the former hero has become a monster: he is indirectly responsible for the death of the heroine Fuchsia, whose brother, Titus Groan, heir to Ghormenghast, resolves to destroy him.

A magnificent piece of fantasy and "baroque humour", a must-read for anyone into fantasy fiction, and another source of ideas and in-jokes for TP! ({{P}} is thought to be heavily influenced by Peake's characters. See [[Book:Pyramids/Annotations|here]]).

'''January 2010''': Breaking news. A fourth '''Gormenghast''' novel, started by Peake and finished, at least in draft outline, by his widow, has been discovered among a batch of the late author's papers. There is a possibility that it will see print by 2011. More here:- [http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jan/15/gormenghast-sequel-mervyn-peake-widow?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theguardian%2Fbooks%2Frss+(Books)|More_here]. --[[User:AgProv|AgProv]] 02:52, 31 January 2010 (UTC)

* {{wp|Mervyn Peake|Mervyn Peake}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Douglas Adams|Douglas Adams}} (Honorary #42)==
English comic author sometimes compared to Terry Pratchett, most famous for his ''Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' series, who passed away in May 2001.

He developed a Pratchett-like idea in his novel ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Long_Dark_Tea-Time_of_the_Soul The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul]'' (1988), where idiosyncratic private investigator Dirk Gently has to investigate a case involving the survival of the old Norse gods into the present day, and the nature of the dark pact they have to enter into to ensure their continued existence. This book echoes the Pratchett theme that a god may only survive so long as belief persists, and that there is no thing sadder than a god still doggedly hanging on after the need for him (or her) has ended.

The book also develops the concept of Thor (who is also encountered in ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life,_the_Universe_and_Everything Life, the Universe, and Everything]'' (1982) as an otherwise unnamed Thunder God trying to pull Trillian at a party, and being outwitted by Arthur Dent) as an over-muscled and somewhat thick god with exaggerated body language.

Some concepts are shared by Pratchett and Adams in their respective science-fiction work, most notably a debunking of the utopian ''Star Trek'' ideal that greater technological sophistication confers greater wisdom and a pacifistic world-view.

It can justly be said that Arthur Dent and [[Twoflower]] share a common characteristic: both are ignorant wanderers in a strange and foreign world, but the difference is that Arthur Dent is painfully and continually aware of how dangerous it all is, and of how much the settled inhabitants view him with condescending derision. (''Hey, monkeyman''!) Twoflower is blissfully unaware of the dangers and ambles unconcernedly through life. While it is true Arthur Dent does not have [[the Luggage]] to defend him, he is equipped with the Babel Fish (the equivalent is [[Rincewind]]'s ear for language) together with the resources embodied in Ford Prefect. Is Rincewind a parallel of Ford Prefect? Well, both have a vested interest in cheating death and running away from potential trouble by any means available. Just as Rincewind is constrained by the [[Patrician]]'s expressed wish to keep Twoflower alive and well, Ford must keep Arthur alive, as the last living being from planet Earth who may know the Question to the Answer. In both cases, a genuine friendship (of sorts) exists. --[[User:AgProv|AgProv]] 17:02, 9 May 2007 (CEST) Seen otherwise, Arthur Dent shares some of ''Rincewind'''s view that he will be flung into a bad situation ''no matter what''.

* [http://www.douglasadams.com/ The official Douglas Adams website]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Adams Douglas Adams] on Wikipedia
* [http://h2g2.com/ h2g2] - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

=={{wp|Philip Pullman|Philip Pullman}}==
An obvious choice, perhaps, but if you're looking for the fantastic and not just the hilarious, ''{{wp|His_Dark_Materials|His Dark Materials}}'' is a fabulous trilogy. It's probably the best fantasy since Tolkien. Terry Brooks, {{wp|Dragonlance|Weis and Hickman}}, {{wp|The_Dark_Is_Rising|Susan Cooper}} have all been and gone; JK Rowling's had a good go, but this is by far the best written of all of them. I know it's just become a film, but read the books first. The metaphysics is cool too. The idea of multiple worlds and realities (parallel universes?) could have come from [[Ponder Stibbons]] himself... --[[User:Knmatt|Knmatt]] 14:05, 23 December 2007 (CET)

* {{wp|Philip_Pullman|Philip Pullman}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Robert Rankin|Robert Rankin}}==
Much kookier than Pratchett, Rankin has a love affair with running gags and breaking down the fourth wall, has a style that seesaws between grandiose and I'll-break-yer-teeth, and his books generally involve small British towns and aliens, Hell, Elvis, time travel, or all of them at once. Described as "stark raving genius". His most recent book, ''The Educated Ape'', has a chimpanzee for its lead character who is oddly reminiscent of a certain orang-utan, thwarting misdeeds in a Victorian Steampunk London assisted by scientists, assassins, and wizards. Hmm.

* {{wp|Robert_Rankin|Robert Rankin}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Ronald Searle|Ronald Searle}}==
A cartoonist, who created the St Trinians schoolgirls, as well as the Molesworth stories (in fact written by Geoffrey Willians) and several other books, like an illustrated adaption of Gilbert and Sullivan's work for print ''Dick Dead Eye''.

* {{wp|Ronald Searle|Ronald Searle}} on Wikipedia; {{wp|Geoffrey Willians|Geoffrey Willians}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Tom Sharpe|Tom Sharpe}}==
Mostly set in mid to late 20th century England, Tom Sharpe's novels range from smile-inducing to gut-wrenchingly funny on my personal humour scale, with "Ancestral Vices", "Porterhouse Blue" and "Blott on the Landscape" being the most relentlessly funny, to my mind. He holds no subject sacred, and his humour is much more brutal than, say, P. G. Wodehouse's or Terry's, but if you can stomach the wholesale and ruthless slaughter of sacred cattle and a certain amount of crudity, he can be a very funny author indeed. Common themes are weak-willed men, ferocious women, sexual perversions, incompetent academics and eccentric peers. The ''Wilt'' series deals with higher academia and the wranglings of an out-of-touch academic bureaucracy, concerned more with prestige and power than the delivery of education. The ''Piemburg'' farces are set in apartheid South Africa and centre on an inept and incompetent police force, which comes over as the City Watch shorn of its redeeming graces - it even has its own Findthee Swing and a dedicated "Cable Street Particulars" of the old sort. Secret policeman Liutnant Verkramp is obsessed with measuring and calibrating to assess the precise degree of black African corruption in the white race and has his own interesting character tics; the unspeakable Konstabel Els, a man who views being in the police force as a licence to get away with lots of crime, is a monster all on his own who loves very large powerful weapons - and their frequent satisfying use.

* {{wp|Tom Sharpe|Tom Sharpe}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Jonathan Stroud|Jonathan Stroud}}==
Author of the Bartimaeus Trilogy. These books are very witty with a superb use of footnotes. Told from the point of view of a wisecracking demon summoned by British magicians.

* {{wp|Jonathan_Stroud|Jonathan Stroud}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Theodore Sturgeon|Theodore Sturgeon}}==
The father of modern science fiction and sometime writer of wonderful fantasy short stories. He is often mentioned for his apparent prediction of the DNA molecule in his novella, ''The Golden Helix'' .
Sturgeon was the kind of professional writer, like TP, who could knock off an assignment from elsewhere with imagination and force (e.g. {{wp|I, Libertine|''I, Libertine''}}), and he has similarly been accused of literature.<BR>
Look for {{wp|More Than Human|''More Than Human''}}, {{wp|The Dreaming Jewels|''The Dreaming Jewels''}} (aka The Synthetic Man), {{wp|Without Sorcery|''Without Sorcery''}}, ''E. Pluribus Unicorn'', ''Caviar'', but any collection you stumble across will contain a gem or two.

* {{wp|Theodore Sturgeon|Theodore Sturgeon}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Joseph Wambaugh|Joseph Wambaugh}}==
Like Edward Conlon above, Wambaugh is an ex-beat cop turned novelist. His first novel '''the New Centurions''' was written in 1971 whilst still a serving cop, and followed a group of misfits from police academy into their first probationary year on the beat on Los Angeles streets. A theme of New Centurions is the gradual build-up to a city-wide riot beginning in its equivalent of [[The Shades]] that put Los Angeles on the world map for all the wrong reasons. His fledgling cops have to deal with this as best they can - think {{MAA}} here. (In real life, the [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watts_Riots|the Watts Riot] of 1965). The work for which he is most famous, '''The Choirboys''', employs the same combination of black humour and gritty realism, and is known to have influenced Terry Pratchett in creating the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. [[User:AgProv|AgProv]] ([[User talk:AgProv|talk]]) 15:36, 16 August 2015 (UTC)

* {{wp|Joseph Wambaugh|Joseph Wambaugh}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|List_of_Dragonlance_novels|Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman}}==
The ''Dragonlance'' series of books are quite possibly the best all-out quintessential fantasy books since J. R. R. Tolkien. A normal premise (a relatively unassuming band of friends – who happen to be a warrior, a wizard, a knight, a half-elf, an elven princess, a hobbit-like creature, a dwarf and so on) become involved in a quest, and end up saving the world. Kitsch as that sounds, the story is genuinely enthralling and the first series spawned a massive TLR push, and there are now in excess of 50 books, Dungeons & Dragons-style RPGs &c all based on them. Go read - the first three (''Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night and Dragons of Spring Dawning'') are wonderful. --[[User:Knmatt|Knmatt]] 20:21, 15 August 2007 (CEST)

The {{wp|Darksword|''Darksword''}} trilogy and the {{wp|Rose_of_the_Prophet|''Rose of the Prophet''}} trilogy are well worth reading, too. They are a lot more original than any of the ''Dragonlance'' books. The seven {{wp|The_Deathgate_Cycle|''Deathgate''}} books are well written, too.

* {{wp|List_of_Dragonlance_novels|Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|P.G. Wodehouse|P.G. Wodehouse}}==
Wodehouse's stories feature light humor, similar to Pterry's earlier works. Flashes of Wodehouse whimsy appear regularly and young Pratchett heroes like [[Moist von Lipwig]] resemble PGW's ''Psmith''. Willikins the butler, of course, comes in a straight line from the famous ''Jeeves''. There are a number of direct references, including, in *Hogfather* a suggestion that the Hogfather's pigs be urged on with the cry "Pighoo--ooey!" an echo of a Wodehouse story by the same name.

Also like Wodehouse is the development of several distinct groups of stories with their own casts and localities. The Blandings books are set at Blandings Castle and usually have to with the Earl of Emsworth's obsession with his pig; the Mulliner Stories are set in the Angler's Rest and are increasingly tall tales about Mr. Mulliner's relatives; the Drones Club is set in London among a set of truly hapless, albeit wealthy young men.

The turn of phrase is very similar: Neil Gaiman has pointed out that he, PTerry, Douglas Adams, and Jasper Fforde can all do it. Pratchett goes into darker territory: the most threatening figures in Wodehouse are aunts. But it can be argued that both Wodehouse and Pratchett present a view of the world that is ultimately accepting and tolerant.

* {{wp|P.G. Wodehouse|P.G. Wodehouse}} on Wikipedia

=={{wp|Patricia C. Wrede |Patricia C. Wrede }}==
Humorous fantasy in a Candide-like style (very short chapters with very long titles). Her {{wp|Enchanted Forest Chronicles|''Enchanted Forest Chronicles''}} explore what happens to a beautiful 16-year-old princess who does not WANT to get married to a handsome prince. Ostensibly written for children, it has a ''Harry Potter''-like style that can be enjoyed by adults (and was written ''way'' before ''Harry Potter'', btw!). [[User:Kellyterryjones|Kellyterryjones]] 00:47, 24 December 2007 (CET) She has also written a series of fantasy books set in an alternate frontier America. [[User:Tiffany_Aching|Tiffany_Aching]] 10:43, 17 July 2014

* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_Wrede Patricia C. Wrede] on Wikipedia

[[Category:Reading suggestions]]

Annotations

2026-05-19T03:45:18Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by Abcdefabric (talk) to last revision by Moishe Rosenbaum

'''Annotations''' are notes by readers about the works of [[Terry Pratchett]], and clarifications produced by Terry himself. They are concerned with the background of the books, references to mythology, popular culture, etc.

:'''If you post annotations in this section you agree that your annotations may appear on the APF which doesn't use the CC license.'''

==Annotated books==
There are annotations for the following books:

* {{TCOM-APF}}
* {{TLF-APF}}
* {{ER-APF}}
* {{M-APF}}
* {{WS-APF}}
* {{P-APF}}
* {{G!G!-APF}}
* {{MP-APF}}
* {{RM-APF}}
* {{WA-APF}}
* {{SG-APF}}
* {{LL-APF}}
* {{MAA-APF}}
* {{SM-APF}}
* [[Book:Interesting Times/Annotations|''Interesting Times'' Annotations]]
* [[Book:Maskerade/Annotations|''Maskerade'' Annotations]]
* [[Book:Feet Of Clay/Annotations|''Feet Of Clay'' Annotations]]
* [[Book:Hogfather/Annotations|''Hogfather'' Annotations]]
* {{J-APF}}
* {{TLC-APF}}
* {{CJ-APF}}
* {{T5E-APF}}
* {{TT-APF}}
* {{TOT-APF}}
* {{TLH-APF}}
* {{NW-APF}}
* {{WFM-APF}}
* {{MR-APF}}
* {{GP-APF}}
* {{T!-APF}}
* [[Book:Wintersmith/Annotations|''Wintersmith'' Annotations]]''.
* {{MM-APF}}
* {{UA-APF}}
* {{ISWM-APF}}
* [[Book:Snuff/Annotations|''Snuff'' Annotations]]''.
* [[Book:Raising Steam/Annotations|''Raising Steam'' Annotations]]''
* [[Book:The Shepherd's Crown/Annotations|''The Shepherd's Crown'' Annotations]]''

==Reverse annotations==
Apart from annotations for Pratchett's books, there are also [[Reverse Annotations]]. These are (potential) references ''to'' works of Pratchett.

==Adding annotations to the wiki==
For annotations, there already is an excellent source: the {{ls|books/apf/|Annotated Pratchett File}}. Please submit your annotations to the maintainers. But as updates to the APF can be few and far between, you're welcome to share them here as well. There are a few notes, though:

* Don't copy/paste the APF here unless you have been given permission by the maintainers.
* Annotations do not fall under the CC-license of the wiki for the APF-maintainers, to prevent licensing issues for the APF. By posting your annotation here you agree that it may be used in the APF.
* For book annotations, follow the naming convention Book:Title/Annotations (which can be shortened to the template <nowiki>{{ST-APF}}</nowiki>, where "ST" is the shortened title (ie COM, TLF, SG, T!) of the book.
* If an annotation fits well in an article about a character, location or whatever, you can add a heading and place it under there. Do link to it from the appropriate book annotation page so it can easily be found (a "more here" link will suffice, no need to place it in full in both articles).
* Feel free to link to external sources

==External links==
*{{ls|books/apf/|The Annotated Pratchett File}}

[[Category:Annotations]]

Book:Designing Terry Pratchett's Discworld

2026-05-19T03:45:05Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by Abcdefabric (talk) to last revision by Guybrush

{{Book Data
|title = Designing Terry Pratchett’s Discworld
|cover = [[File:DTPD.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover by [[Paul Kidby]]]]
|coauthors = [[Paul Kidby]]
|illustrator = [[Paul Kidby]]
|date = 7 November 2024
|publisher = Transworld
|isbn = 9780857529480
|pages = 256
|rrp = £30.00
|series = Reference
|characters =
|annotations =
|notes =
}}
'''''Designing Terry Pratchett’s Discworld''''' (aka ''Designing Discworld'') is a book written and illustrated by [[Paul Kidby]] about his collaboration with [[Terry Pratchett]] as the primary Discworld illustrator. It includes some never before seen art, including unused versions of covers and characters.

==Blurb==
'''’It's still magic, even if you know how it's done’ SIR TERRY PRATCHETT'''

''Designing Terry Pratchett's Discworld'' takes readers behind the scenes of the amazing partnership between Sir Terry Pratchett and artist Paul Kidby.

It shows how the Discworld was brought to visual life - from the earliest sketches to the final magnificent masterpieces - and how Terry and Paul absorbed influences from art and pop culture, fusing them into the Discworld landscape.

Whilst Terry was the undisputed creative fountainhead, for three decades Paul has been the artistic force taking the people, places and piece of man-eating luggage from Terry's ever-fertile imagination right into our world.

This is a unique insight into one of the great literary partnerships, packed full of hitherto unseen art and the real stories behind it.

==Contents==
* Foreword by [[wikipedia:Colin Morgan|Colin Morgan]]
* Making It Up As I Go Along (preface by Paul Kidby)
* Chapter One: Journey Into Discworld
* Chapter Two: Crafting a Universe
* Chapter Three: The Wizards
* Chapter Four: The Witches
* Chapter Five: The Ankh-Morpork City Watch
* Chapter Six: Death and What Comes Next
* Chapter Seven: Tiffany Aching and the Feegles
* Chapter Eight: Gods and Heroes
* Chapter Nine: Moist von Lipwig and Ankh-Morpork
* Chapter Ten: Far-Flung Lands (''forn parts'')
* Chapter Eleven: Over the Edge
* Chapter Twelve: The Studio Environment
* Chapter Thirteen: Perchance to Dream...
* Afterword by [[Rob Wilkins]]
* Picture Credits

== External links ==
* [https://terrypratchett.com/news/announcing-designing-discworld/ official announcement] at terrypratchett.com (3 May, 2024)
* [https://www.thebookseller.com/rights/transworld-acquires-designing-terry-pratchetts-discworld media release] at The Bookseller (3 May, 2024)

[[Category:Peripherals]] [[Category:Reference]]

Book:Night Watch

2026-05-19T03:44:35Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by Abcdefabric (talk) to last revision by Guybrush

{{Book Data
|title=Night Watch
|cover=[[File:Cover Night Watch.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Paul Kidby]]
|coauthors=
|illustrator=
|date=November 2002
|publisher=Doubleday
|isbn=0385602642
|pages=368
|rrp=
|series=Watch Series
|characters=[[Sam Vimes]], [[Carcer]], [[Lu-Tze]]
|annotations=yes
|notes=
}}
==Blurb==
This morning, Commander Vimes of the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch|City Watch]] had it all. He was a Duke. He was rich. He was respected. He had a titanium cigar case. He was about to become a father.

This morning he thought longingly about the good old days.

Tonight, he's in them.

Flung back in time by a mysterious accident, Sam Vimes has to start all over again. He must get a new name and a job, and there's only one job he's good at: cop in the Watch. He must track down a brutal murderer. He must find his younger self and teach him everything he knows. He must whip the cowardly, despised Night Watch into a crack fighting force – fast. Because Sam Vimes knows what's going to happen. He remembers it. He was there. It's part of history. And you can't change history...

But Sam is going to. He has no choice. Otherwise, a bloody revolution will start, and good men will die. Sam saw their names on old headstones just this morning – but tonight they're young men who think they have a future. And rather than let them die, Sam will do anything – turn traitor, burn buildings, take over a revolt, anything – to snatch them from the jaws of history. He will do it even if victory will mean giving up the only future he knows.

For if he succeeds, he's got no wife, no child, no riches, no fame – all that will simply vanish. But if he doesn't try, he wouldn't be Sam Vimes.

And so the battle is on. He knows how it's going to end; after all, he was there. His name is on one of those headstones. But that's just a minor detail...

==Plot==
The story begins on the anniversary of the [[Glorious Revolution]]. Vimes arrives at Pseudopolis Yard in the morning to hear that another officer, Sergeant [[Abba Stronginthearm]], has been killed by Carcer, a psychopathic murderer on the loose in Ankh-Morpork. Later that day, he receives news that the Watch are staking out Carcer at the [[Unseen University]]. Vimes succeeds in cornering the villain at the dome above the [[Library]], when suddenly a magical thunderstorm strikes (the same storm appears in {{TOT}}). This triggers a magical accident which sends the pair of them back more than 30 years in time.

Vimes wakes up at night time in the care of Dr. [[John Lawn]] and [[Rosemary Palm]], having been attacked by muggers in [[The Shades]]. At first, he is surprised that they do not recognise him so he calls himself [[John Keel]], the name of his old sergeant. Later that night he is arrested by the (old) [[Night Watch]] for breaking curfew, and finds himself in the Treacle Mine Road Watch House in a cell next to a gleeful Carcer, who has just bribed his way out. Whilst he is being interviewed by the Captain in charge, time freezes and Vimes finds himself waking up in the temple of the [[History Monks]].

Vimes meets [[Lu-Tze]] (called Sweeper in the book), who explains that they cannot send him back home yet because he has work to do. The real John Keel was due to arrive in the city that night and join the Night Watch, but he was murdered by Carcer. Vimes must impersonate John Keel up until the time of his scheduled death and teach the young Sam Vimes the same lessons he learnt from the real John Keel. Sweeper explains that history naturally corrects itself, and the two separate timelines will eventually join together.

He is returned to the Captain's office, to find that no time has passed, and convinces Captain Tilden that he is the real John Keel. As a result, he joins the Night Watch and meets his younger self, who has just taken a share in Carcer's bribe. He begins to teach the same lessons that proved so important later in his life. During a patrol, the pair of them meet Carcer who has just joined the [[Cable Street Particulars|Unmentionables]], the secret police of Lord Winder, led by Captain [[Findthee Swing]].

Vimes is able to keep his part of the city relatively peaceful during the growing unrest in the city. He mutinies against the new Captain, [[Ronald Rust]] and takes charge of the watchmen and the revolutionaries. He breaks into the Headquarters of the Unmentionables and kills Captain Swing in a sword fight. The barricades grow until Vimes has one quarter of the city under his control. Originally, Keel and the watchmen were defeated when the barricades were torn down due to their failure to secure the gates. This time, Vimes-as-Keel guards both the gates and bridges and also successfully thwarts an attempt to demolish the huge barricades using a siege weapon. He begins to worry over what will happen if the revolution does succeed, and whether he can really return to the present where he belongs.

Meanwhile, Lord [[Winder]] is assassinated by a young guild student [[Havelock Vetinari]]. Lord [[Snapcase]] is sworn in and calls for a truce. However, believing that Keel is a threat, he sends Carcer and a group of guards to kill Vimes-as-Keel. In a resulting street fight, the same men who died in the original fight now die in a new battle. At the last minute, time freezes and Sweeper and [[Qu]] come to tell Vimes that his work is done, and he must grab Carcer to return home. They bring out the body of the real John Keel and tell him that they will dress the body in his armour (which will not come home with him) and leave it in his place. When time comes back, he grabs Carcer and they both vanish.

Vimes reappears before Captain Carrot, half an hour after the lightning struck. With the help of a slightly-older Doctor Lawn, Sybil gives birth to a son, who she names Sam. Vimes rewards the doctor with a large sum of cash and a freehold site in [[Goose Gate]] (for the founding of the [[Lady Sybil Free Hospital]]). He visits the grave of his old mentor in the cemetery, where he is attacked by Carcer. Vimes remembers what he taught his younger self and does not kill the murderer and instead succeeds in binding him. He promises Carcer a fair trial and a clean execution, at which point Vetinari appears. Vimes declines Vetinari's offer for a memorial to the Revolution, so the Patrician offers to rebuild the Treacle Mine Road Watch House (which was destroyed in {{G!G!}}). Carcer is dragged off to justice and presumably hanged the next day.

==Cover==
The cover was drawn by Paul Kidby, his first cover for Pratchett: It is a parody of Rembrandt's 1642 painting ''The Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch'' (more commonly known as, funnily enough, ''Night Watch''). The original features on the back of the hardback edition.<br />

The exact identities of the characters on the cover are not exactly known, but are believed to be (roughly from left to right);

*[[Henry The Hamster]] (with arm in cast, signed "with love from John Keel".)
*Three Unknown Watchmen
*[[Carcer]] (holding twin knives)
*[[Dr. Lawn]] (holding turkey baster)
*[[Lu-Tze]]/[[Sweeper]] (in orange)
*[[Havelock Vetinari]] (in background with hands together)
*[[Nobby Nobbs]] (in black; holding spoon)
*[[Reg Shoe]] (in background; holding flag)
*[[Josh Kirby]] (original Discworld cover artist; behind Reg Shoe)
*[[Billy Wiglet]] (in foreground; face obscured by helmet)
*Two Unknown Watchmen (in background; one possibly [[Ned Coates]])
*[[John Keel]]/[[Sam Vimes]] (in foreground; with eyepatch)
*[[Fred Colon]] (in background, behind [[John Keel]] and an Unknown Watchman)
*Unknown Watchman (possibly [[Ned Coates]])
*[[Horace Nancyball]] (in background; eyes obscured by helmet)
*[[Sam Vimes]] (in foreground; holding crossbow)
*[[Cecil Clapman]] (in foreground; keys hanging from belt)
*[[Dai Dickins]] (in foreground)
*Unknown [[Dragon]]
*Unknown Watchman
*[[Findthee Swing]] (in black; holding ruler)
*Unknown Figure
*Unknown Watchman

==Characters==
===The Past and Present (Major Characters)===
*[[Carcer]]
*Sergeant [[Fred Colon]]
*[[Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler]]
*[[John Lawn|Dr. Lawn]]
*[[Lu-Tze]] (Sweeper)
*Corporal [[Nobby Nobbs]]
*Lady [[Sybil Ramkin]]
*[[Reg Shoe]]
*Mr [[Slant]]
*[[Havelock Vetinari]]
*[[Samuel Vimes]]

===The Past and the Present (Minor Characters)===
*[[Sandra Battye]]
*[[Rosemary Palm]]
*[[Qu]]
*[[Willikins]]

===The Past (Major Characters)===
*Lance-Corporal [[Ned Coates]]
*Sergeant-At-Arms [[John Keel]] (Although only his corpse appears in the book, he plays an important part)
*Lady [[Roberta Meserole]]
*Captain [[Findthee Swing]]

===The Past (Minor Characters)===
* [[Abbot]] (mentioned)
*[[Agony Aunts]]
*Hon. [[John Bleedwell]], assassin
*Captain [[Burns]]
*Sergeant [[Dai Dickins]]
*[[Follett|Dr Follett]] - Master of Assassins
*[[Forsythe]], butler
*[[Franklin]]
*Sub-Lieutenant [[Harrap]]
*[[Herbert Gaskin]]
*Sergeant [[Winsborough Knock]]
*[[Gerald Leastways|Gerald "Ferret" Leastways]]
*[[Ludorum|Ludo]]
*[[Marilyn]], horse
*[[Maroon]]
*[[Horace Nancyball]]
*Corporal [[Quirke]]
*[[Ronald Rust]]
*Mr and Mrs [[Rutherford]]
*Lord [[Albert Selachii]]
*Lord [[Snapcase]]
*[[Cecil Clapman|Cecil "Snouty" Clapman]]
*[[Soon Shine Sun]]
*[[Marco Soto]]
*[[Spymould]]
*Major [[Clive Mountjoy-Standfast]]
*Captain [[Tilden]]
*[[Trebilcock]]
*[[Gussie Two-Grins]] (mentioned)
*Lord [[Charles Venturi]]
*Constable [[Waddy]]
*Constable [[Billy Wiglet]]
*Lord [[Winder]]
*Lord [[Greville-Pipe|Winstanleigh Greville-Pipe]]
*Captain [[Tom Wrangle]]

===The Present (Major Characters)===
*Sergeant [[Detritus]]
*Sergeant [[Cheery Littlebottom]]
*Captain [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]]
*[[Mustrum Ridcully]]
*[[Ponder Stibbons]]
*Corporal [[Buggy Swires]]

===The Present (Minor Characters)===
*[[Content|Mrs. Content]]
*[[Drumknott]]
*[[Legitimate First]]
*[[Igor]]
*[[Librarian]]
*Corporal [[Ping]]
*[[Buggy Swires]]
*[[Jocasta Wiggs]]

==Locations==
* [[Ankh-Morpork]]
** [[Clay Lane]]
** [[Library]]
** [[Oblong Office]]
** [[Tower of Art]]
** [[Whalebone Lane]]
* [[Borogravia]] (Mentioned)
* [[Mouldavia]] (Mentioned)
* [[Ting Ling]]

==Things and Concepts==
* [[All The Little Angels]]
* [[Mrs. Goodbody]]
* [[Hines Brothers]]
* [[Old Tom]]
* [[Procrastinators]]
* [[Twopenny Upright]]

==Adaptations==
===[[Theatre Adaptations|Theatre]]===
''Night Watch'' was adapted into a stage-play by [[Stephen Briggs]] in 2004.

===[[Radio Adaptations|Radio]]===
''Night Watch'' has been turned into a [[Radio Adaptations|BBC Radio 4 drama]], first broadcast from 27 February 2008.

Cast:
*Philip Jackson: [[Samuel Vimes]]
*Carl Prekopp: Young Sam
*Paul Ritter: [[Carcer]]
*Peter Marinker: [[Tilden|Captain Tilden]], Major [[Clive Mountjoy-Standfast]]
*Clare Corbett: [[Jocasta Wiggs]], [[Rosemary Palm|Rosie]]
*Sam Dale: [[Fred Colon]]
*Ben Onwukwe: [[John Lawn|Dr. Lawn]]
*Matt Addis: [[Winsborough Knock|Sergeant Knock]]
*Rachel Atkins: [[Lady Roberta Meserole]]
*Joseph Kloska: [[Reg Shoe]]

==Gallery==
{|
|-
| valign="top" | [[File:Cover Night Watch.jpg|thumb|110px|First Edition Cover by [[Paul Kidby]]]]
| valign="top" | [[File:NW Proof.jpg|thumb|100px|Book Proof]]
| valign="top" | [[File:NW IO.jpg|thumb|110px|Cover by Istvan Orosz]]
| valign="top" | [[File:NW Black.jpg|thumb|110px|Paperback]]
| valign="top" | [[File:NW Tape.jpg|thumb|120px|Audio Cassette]]
| valign="top" | [[File:NW CD.jpg|thumb|140px|Audio CD]]
|}
{|
|-
| valign="top" | [[File:NW US.jpg|thumb|120px|US Cover]]
| valign="top" | [[File:NW US2.jpg|thumb|120px|US Cover-alt]]
| valign="top" | [[File:NW Zoom.jpg|thumb|120px|Paperback 2012]]
| valign="top" | [[File:NW CL.jpg|thumb|120px|[[Discworld Collector’s Library]] Edition]]
| valign="top" | [[File:NW 2023.jpg|thumb|120px|Paperback 2023]]
| valign="top" | [[File:NW 2025.jpg|thumb|120px|Penguin Classics]]
|}

==External Links==
[http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/night-watch.html ''Night Watch'' Annotations - The Annotated Pratchett File]

{{series|before=The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents|series=Discworld|after=The Wee Free Men}}
{{series|series=Watch|before=The Fifth Elephant|after=Thud!}}

:
[[Category:Discworld Series|Night Watch]]
[[Category:Watch Series|Night Watch]]
[[de:Buch:Die Nachtwächter]]

Discworld & Pratchett Wiki:Mended Drum

2026-05-15T00:07:33Z

Old Dickens:

Ankh-Morpork Times

2026-05-14T22:41:59Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edits by Abcdefabric (talk) to last revision by Guybrush

Motto: ''The Truth shall make Ye Free'', more or less.

The '''Ankh-Morpork Times''' was the first mass-produced, cheap-enough-for-everyone newspaper on the [[Sto Plains]], quite possibly also the first for the entire [[Discworld (world)|Discworld]].

The ''Times'' offices and printing presses are located in [[Gleam Street]].

The ''Times'' is now a far-reaching newspaper, reporting even wars in [[Borogravia]], and commenting on which country was the aggressor, which was attacked without good reason, and what sorts of refugees will be showing up in [[Ankh-Morpork]]. Many ordinary Ankh-Morporkian citizens buy the ''Times'' every day, not because they have particular things of which they want to be kept informed, but because they are interested in news of, in Miss Cripslock's words, ''human interest''. In a fashion similar to the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch]], the ''Times'' is able to upset powerful people by finding out about things. Powerful people here include [[Samuel Vimes|Commander Vimes]] of the City Watch, although he doesn't like to think of himself as such. The ''Times'' also publishes readers' letters of opinions, including the more extreme Views. The ''Times'' runs an advertisement column as well, for things such as [[Josia Wintler|humorously-shaped vegetables]], any man looking for his lost watch, and so on.
The cartoons in the Times are a common identifying feature of Punch, a magazine popular in the late 19th/early 20th Century.

It also has a crossword section as well as a game that suspiciously resembles Roundworld Sudoku. Vetinari is an avid follower of the crossword and does the [[Jikan no Muda]] in his head, but sneers at the fact that numbers can't fool you like a cunning word such as [[pysdxes]] could.

== History ==
For quite a few years, young [[William de Worde]] had been writing a one-sheet newsletter, one edition per month, which he sent to foreign dignitaries who wanted to keep up with the happenings in [[Ankh-Morpork]]. Clients included: [[Lady Margolotta]] von Überwald, the [[Mort|Duke]] of [[Sto Helit]], King [[Verence II]] of [[Lancre]], the [[Seriph]] of [[Al Khali]], and possibly others. Each paid him five dollars a month (except for the Seriph of Al Khali, who sent him half a cart of figs twice a year). This newsletter was produced by William writing the newsletter carefully, tracing it onto a block of boxwood, and paying old [[Mr Cripslock]] (grandfather of Sacharissa) to engrave the boxwood so the words could be printed on a few sheets of paper. This newsletter was expensive because of this difficulty in production, and because William had not been able to grasp the idea of expanding the market.

One night, William met Mr. Goodmountain & Co. who were bringing into Ankh-Morpork a printing press, with little metal letters that could be arranged together to print something and then taken apart for future use. Movable type had been banned in Ankh-Morpork for several reasons, and people had always paid high rates to the engravers (who, like many other professions, had a [[Engravers' Guild|guild]]).

The wizards of [[Unseen University]] were worried that metal letters used to print a book about magic might carry some of the magic to the next things they print, maybe a cookbook, and that would be real trouble. (Indeed, the wizards have since set up the [[Unseen University Press]] to capitalise on moveable type, and have discovered this sort of fear was too well-founded...)

The more conservative members of the Engraver's Guild have Views on the subject, and so far had objected to any implementation within the Guild. In addition, the act of printing itself is generally considered solely the domain of the guild. The last person who set up a printing press found it destroyed in a mysterious fire, and subsequently committed [[suicide]]. (At least, there was a suicide note. The fact that this was engraved onto the head of a pin was of minor importance.)

Lord [[Havelock Vetinari|Vetinari]], the [[Patrician]], felt that information was too valuable to be spread everywhere; he was certain that knowing too much would only upset people.

Vetinari ended up ordering William to oversee the press. Mr. Goodmountain taught William how to lower the price so more people could afford the newspaper. After a few struggles with various business competitors and shadowy figures whose underhanded dealings were being investigated by William for news-reporting purposes, the Ankh-Morpork Times became an established business and a regular, daily newspaper. More reporters were hired.

Sometimes, William uses the [[clacks]] to get news from the other cities or confirm the nonexistence of mythical news such as ''Lancre woman gives birth to snake''. William firmly believes that many of the things reported to him are made up, things such as ''heir to the throne of Ankh-Morpork is working as a Watchman'' or ''there is a [[werewolves|werewolf]] in the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch|City Watch]]''. William changed his view on the latter piece after meeting [[Nobby Nobbs|Corporal Nobby Nobbs]], a completely misdirected suspicion, though it'd be hard to imagine Nobby as entirely human either.

*''Interestingly enough, this was presaged by the entry on William de Worde in the very first edition of the'' '''Discworld Companion''' (pub. 1994). ''This was published quite some time before {{TT}} (pub. 2000), and managed to drop a very big hint that William would be a key player in a forthcoming Discworld book. TP's actual words in the 1994 edition were:-

'''''It could well be that the future holds great things for young de Worde...'''''

==Staff==
* Editor, Co-Founder & Head reporter: [[William de Worde]]
* Chief sub-editor: [[Bugsy]]
* Head reporter: [[Sacharissa Cripslock]].
* Head iconographer: [[Otto Chriek]].
* Political cartoonist: Mr. [[Fizz]].
* Literary critic: Mr. [[Tuppence Swivel]].
* Archivist and Back Numbers department: Ms. [[Berenice Houser]].
* Dwarfs behind the scenes working the printing presses:
** [[Gunilla Goodmountain]] - Co-founder of the Times
** [[Boddony]] - second-in-command of the dwarfs
** [[Caslong]]
** [[Dozy]]
** [[Gowdie]]
** [[Thunderaxe]]
* Affiliates:
** [[Foul Ole Ron]] and the [[Canting Crew]] selling the newspaper on the streets, as well as the more recent advent of newsagent's shops - which are tobacconists which saw the virtues of offering the customer something to read over a smoke.
** Sports Correspondent - [[Rocky]].
** Complaints, Beheadings and Horsewhippings Editor - Mr. [[Rocky]].
** Obituarist - [[Mr Bendy]].
** Oddly and humorously shaped fruit and vegetables - [[Josia Wintler]].
** Opinion Columnist - Miss [[Tilly]].
** Gossip Columnist - Mr [[O'Biscuit]].
** Freelance Advertising Copywriter - Mr [[C.M.O.T. Dibbler]].
** Crossword Compiler - [[Pysdxes|"Puzzler"]]. The identity of "Puzzler" is a closely-guarded secret, but [[Vetinari]] has reason to believe [[Grace Speaker]] is involved somewhere.
** Music Critic - [[Knatchbull Harrington]].

== Annotations ==
* Named for ''[[wikipedia:The Times|The Times]]'', the daily British newspaper founded in 1785 as ''The Daily Universal Register''.
* The tone of the ''Times'', especially its political commentary and cartoons by [[Fizz]], sometimes resemble ''Punch'', a satirical but patriotic British magazine established in 1841. While occasionally a source of embarrassment for British governments, ''Punch'' soon became part of the Establishment. It faded and died in the late twentieth century under pressure from more genuinely satirical publications such as ''"Private Eye"''.

[[de:Ankh-Morpork Times]]
[[Category: Ankh-Morpork Businesses]]
[[Category:Discworld culture]]
[[Category:Discworld publications]]

Carrot Ironfoundersson

2026-05-14T22:33:09Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by Abcdefabric (talk) to last revision by Guybrush

{{spoilersfor|{{G!G!}}, {{MAA}}}}
{{Character Data|
|title= Carrot
|photo=carrotmine.jpg|Capt Carrot by [[user:darkplush|Kit Cox]]
|name= Carrot Ironfoundersson
|age= b. [[1969 UC]]
|race= [[Human]] (by birth) [[Dwarfs|Dwarf]] (by upbringing)
|occupation= Captain in the ([[Ankh-Morpork City Watch|City Watch]])
|appearance= 6'6" - Very muscular, close-cropped orange hair
|residence= [[Ankh-Morpork]]
|death=
|parents= Family (presumably) attacked by bandits near the [[Copperhead]] mine. Raised by the [[Ironfoundersson|king of the mine]] and his wife.
|relatives= (adoptive) A paternal aunt, paternal great-aunt, and grandfather are mentioned in {{G!G!}}.
|children=
|marital status= Courting ([[Angua von Überwald|Angua]])
|books= {{G!G!}}<BR>{{MAA}}<BR>{{FOC}}<BR>{{J}}<BR>{{T5E}}<BR>{{TT}}<BR>{{TLH}}<BR>{{NW}}<BR>{{T!}}<BR>{{SN}}
|cameos= {{GP}}<BR>{{MM}}<BR>{{ISWM}}
}}
Technically '''Carrot (Kzad-bhat) Ironfoundersson''' is a [[dwarfs|dwarf]], for he was adopted and raised by dwarfs, even though he is biologically [[human]]. This made growing up difficult, especially since dwarfs are smaller than the typical human ([[Nobby Nobbs]], as always, is an exception to this rule) and Carrot is taller than the typical human. Carrot's adopted father sent him to [[Ankh-Morpork]] to join the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch]] in {{G!G!}} (at which point Carrot is "barely sixteen"). He is an exemplary [[watchman|policeman]], but can be seen by others as too polite. In anyone else it would be suspicious; with Carrot however it is sincere. He has an old but extremely strong and sharp sword, and a funny birthmark. His Dwarf name, ''Kzad-bhat'' means "Head Banger." His human name "Carrot" describes his shape, not his red hair.

Carrot is the most consciously and conscientiously law-abiding citizen in Ankh-Morpork. When he arrived, he brought with him the book [[The Laws and Ordinances of the Cities Ankh and Morpork]], a very old book that once belonged to a retired Ankh-Morporkian Watchman. Having been brought up in dwarf culture, Carrot takes everything literally (throughout his appearances, he develops a fuller grasp of figurative language) and believes in obeying rules. The old Watchman's descendant told Carrot about upholding justice, so Carrot enthusiastically enforced the laws as detailed in the old book, the contents of which were unknown to everyone, even old-time Watchmen. This got him into some trouble with the city government, starting with his arresting the head of the [[Thieves' Guild]]. Yet, somehow, he managed to bring morale to the Watch just as [[Lady Sybil Ramkin]] did. Carrot is now Captain of the combined [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch]]; formally he would be called "Captain Ironfoundersson", but most people call him "Captain Carrot".

"Most people" can be taken to mean both "most people who know him" and "most people in Ankh-Morpork". Carrot walks the patrol routes even on his days-off, he talks to everyone and remembers everyone's name, face, family, business, and so on. It is said that he reads the register of taxpayers for fun. Sometimes a tax-evader makes claims, in Carrot's presence, about having paid his taxes and therefore entitled to the Watch's protection, Carrot will respond by saying that he hasn't seen the name in the taxpayers' register, perhaps the good citizen has been too busy and forgotten to fill out tax forms, and Carrot would bring some along soon. Carrot genuinely thinks everyone, even the boy thugs in the street gangs, is decent and good underneath all the Ankh-Morpork prejudices and violence. For some strange reason, probably what [[Fred Colon|Sgt. Colon]] calls ''krisma'', people find that they want to meet Carrot's expectations and do what he says. It is a good thing that Carrot wants what's best for everyone, and has far fewer prejudices than most people; otherwise, he might become a ruthless despot forcing his ways on others. He also knows the cultures and languages of many immigrant groups in Ankh-Morpork, and politics and geography of places as far as [[Überwald]].

Carrot is not ''completely'' without prejudices, or perhaps quirks. A legacy of his upbringing by Dwarfs, who are reticent on some matters, is that he finds it very, very, difficult to talk about...er... ''gender-related'' issues. He therefore found the desire of some Dwarfs to openly differentiate themselves as [[Cheery Littlebottom|female]] to be very difficult to accept, and this prudish, conservative, streak caused one of his first real rows with Angua. Carrot also had red-faced difficulties with the consumer product manufactured by [[Wallace Sonky]]. During a conversation with Angua in {{MAA}} he reveals that he has a prejudice against the undead, saying "I just don't like them", although he has most likely overcome this discrimination against the "differently alive", seeing as he is now dating one.

Carrot is currently in a relationship with [[Angua von Überwald|Angua]]. His previous romantic affairs include the dwarf [[Minty Rocksmacker]] back in the mine, and the seamstress [[Reet]], who he rescued from a street thug when newly arrived in Ankh-Morpork.

Carrot is often thought of as non-threatening, which is a dangerous conclusion if you are the unlucky person who disappoints his honest nature. People think of Carrot as being simple, however their mistake is in confusing "simple" with "stupid". Carrot's simplicity is his cunning. In {{SM}}, Carrot adds supplementary questions to the quiz machine in the [[Mended Drum]], asking players who was responsible for recent crimes and makes several arrests as a result before they catch on. Carrot often sees the bright side of life. When Angua, a werewolf, tells him that her brother Andrei is stuck in wolf form and is forced to live as a champion sheepdog, Carrot notes that at least he's a champion. Carrot has also promised Angua that, should she ever follow in her brother [[Wolfgang]]'s murderous footsteps, he will be the one to stop her.

At the start of [[Book:Snuff|Snuff]], he has been elevated to Acting-Commander of the Watch so that Sam Vimes can be sent, at crossbow-point, on holiday (although it isn't necessarily [[Vetinari]] who is holding the crossbow).

==Rumours==
It is rumoured that Carrot is the last remaining descendant of the kings of [[Ankh-Morpork]], but it has never been voiced too loudly. He gets on with people well, he slays dragons, sort of, and is generally liked by a lot of people. Carrot wants no claim to any throne, he likes being in the city watch and finds that Lord [[Havelock Vetinari|Vetinari]] governing works very well. Occasionally, and in the privacy of the Oblong Office, Carrot does make suggestions that Lord Vetinari finds hard to refuse. Following the events of {{MAA}}, it is generally implied that Carrot is actually fully aware of his regal status, but a conversation with Vetinari where he was offered command of the Watch after Vimes's brief retirement included Carrot declining the offer on the grounds that people should obey the rules because they are the rules, and not because Captain Carrot is good at being obeyed. It is obliquely hinted at the end of {{J}} that Vimes' elevation to Duke of Ankh had something to do with Carrot's unclaimed status, since [[wiktionary:fons honorum|only the King, not the Patrician, can create]] a Duke. He takes advantage of it once more in {{T5E}}, noting that the retired, sacked and otherwise deposed men of the watch had sworn an oath ''to the king'', and using this to recall them all before Vimes returned.

== Annotations ==
Discovered in complete serendipity, I'm really surprised nobody else has found this. Offenbach's 19th century light opera ''Le roi Carrotte'' (King Carrot), in which a humble Carrot first becomes human, and then becomes King, deposing a hated tyrant in the process...

'''''See here:- ''''' [http://www.partitura.nl/Engels/Modernevertalingen/RoiCarotte-eng.htm]

According to Pratchett himself, the origins of the name are more mundane: he once had a technician come over to his house with a tall red-haired assistant referred to by the elder professional as "Carrot", and presumably this name stuck. When we are first introduced to Carrot in the books, however, the author takes time to note that young Carrot have gotten his name ''not'' because of the hair, "which his father has always clipped short for reasons of Hygiene", but for his broad-shouldered "tapering shape".

His character is also reminiscent of [[Wikipedia:Constable|Constable]] [[wikipedia:Benton Fraser|Benton Fraser]] from ''[[wikipedia:Due South|Due South]]'' (who also has a wolf companion).

== Fan Art ==
<gallery mode=packed heights=300px>
File:Carrot_HP.webp|By [[User:HeiryProblems|Mile Mićić]]
</gallery>

== See Also ==
* [[Wikipedia:Ankh-Morpork City Watch#Captain Carrot Ironfoundersson|Carrot Ironfoundersson's entry]] on [[wikipedia:Wikipedia|Wikipedia]]

[[category:Discworld characters|Ironfoundersson, Carrot]]
[[category:Serial characters|Ironfoundersson, Carrot]]
[[category:Supporting characters|Ironfoundersson, Carrot]]
[[Category:Human characters|Ironfoundersson,Carrot]]
[[Category:Dwarf characters|Ironfoundersson,Carrot]]
[[Category:Watchmen|Ironfoundersson,Carrot]]
[[de:Karotte_Eisengie%C3%9Fersohn]]

Eskarina Smith

2026-05-14T22:29:25Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by Abcdefabric (talk) to last revision by Guybrush

{{Character Data
|title= Eskarina Smith
|photo=eskmine.jpg| Young Eskarina Smith, by [[User:Darkplush|Kit Cox]]
|name= Eskarina Smith
|age= 7 and 8 in {{ER}}
|race= Human
|occupation= Student witch, then student wizard, now wizard no more
|appearance= Brown hair in {{ER}} White haired ponytail, wrinkles by the time of {{ISWM}}
|residence= no fixed address, since [[Bad Ass]]
|death=
|parents= [[Gordo Smith]] (Father)
|relatives=
|children= She has mentioned having a son, who she is concerned for.
|marital status= Never married. Apparently.
|books= {{ER}}<br>{{ISWM}}
|cameos= {{TSC}}
}}
'''''Eskarina Smith''''' ('''Esk''' for short) is the Disc's first and only female wizard, and [[Granny Weatherwax]]'s first pupil.

==Biography==
===Childhood===
Eskarina was born in the smithy of the village of [[Bad Ass]], the eighth <s>son</s> child of an eighth son. She inherited the magical powers and staff of [[Drum Billet]], a [[Wizard's magic|wizard]] from [[Unseen University]]. While still a small child, Esk became a pupil of [[Granny Weatherwax]], until it became clear that she had [[Wizard's magic|Wizards' magic]], not [[Witches magic|Witches' magic]]. Eskarina was the first and—as far as is known—only female student ever accepted or at least allowed to enter [[Unseen University]] (after a major battle to do so).

She was present when [[Simon]] the self-taught wizard was brought to UU. He gave lectures on the nature of magic to the senior faculty staff in his first year! Such power inevitably caused ripples in the space-time continuum; the Things from the [[Dungeon Dimensions]] clustered in his shadows, their characteristic chitering noises unnoticed by all... except Esk, with her own burgeoning magical talent.

Eventually they burst through and took Simon into the Dungeon Dimensions, where Esk followed to try to rescue him. She managed this by ''not'' using magic, which puzzled and infuriated the Things (being Thaumivores, they feed on magic).

When she and Simon eventually returned to UU they set up a research group and came up with an entire system of the non-use of magic.

===Absence===
Eskarina was missing from the ''Discworld'' series for a long time. Despite the [[Sourcerer]]'s pledge to the Librarian to restore everything "''as good as old''", she was presumed dead. An assumed scenario was that Esk was another casualty killed in the collapse of the [[Tower of Art]], during the battle with the Sourcerer.

As Granny Weatherwax's first-ever pupil, her legend attained myth-like proportions among Lancre's student witches, aided by older witches' attitudes such as Nanny Ogg's "''least-said, soonest-mended''", Miss Tick changing the subject, or a general "''Don't ask''" attitude on the part of the older witches.

=== Return ===
Esk returned in the fourth [[Tiffany Aching]] book, {{ISWM}}. She makes a final cameo appearance in {{TSC}}.

[[Mrs Proust]] told Tiffany that a hard-to-find lady (who'd find ''her'' with ease) would be keen to talk to her, and that this woman would be well worth listening to. When the [[Cunning Man]] was bearing down on Tiffany in [[Ankh-Morpork]], the mysterious "Miss Smith" came to her rescue, leading her to a safehouse within the [[Unreal Estate]]. Tiffany realised who Miss Smith was upon seeing Esk's staff; it was currently being used in a [[Shamble]], and Esk had taken the knob off the end, in a possible reference to [[Casanunda|sexual metaphors]].

She looked old, with white hair and wrinkles, but also young, with a ponytail and a childish laugh. She had learnt to manipulate time and space via the [[Travelling Now]]. Chatting over tea, Esk dispensed advice, and told the girl how she had walked through time to see the creation of the [[Cunning Man]], over 1000 years previously. Esk said she had bad memories of her wizarding past - the scary recollections were never a problem, but the "good ones can be difficult to deal with".

Miss Smith used the [[Travelling Now]] to contact Tiffany a couple more times in the novel. Most interestingly, Esk passed on the secret of time-travel to the young Tiffany, who uses it later in life.

In a single throwaway remark in {{ISWM}}, never returned to, Esk expresses concern for her son. Her son is also mentioned in {{TSC}}, but nothing is elaborated upon. It's possible her son is also the son of [[Simon]], and the child of two Wizards might well be remarkable enough for her to be concerned for his safety. In {{S}} it is mentioned that [[Ipslore the Red]]'s seven sons before Coin are all very powerful wizards, so, presumably, the child of any wizard would also be a powerful wizard. Eskarina and Simon are ''both'' very powerful wizards, so their son might be considered a threat by many; thus, they may have been banished as Ipslore was. In {{TSC}}, Eskarina opines that he might become an engineer, which may be even more frightening.

==Annotations==
* There was no mention of Esk since her first appearance until {{ISWM}}, a gap of ''35'' novels. One fan theory associated this with the problem of reconciling themes changed in later books (e.g., traits of [[Granny Weatherwax]]'s personality, the mention that [[Krull]] has a magical university and trained women professionals, etc.) that could not be explained by the continuity error-excusing time slip implied by the activity of the [[History Monks]] or in [[Wyrd Sisters]].
* It was rumoured that Esk would return for the final (or next-to-final) Tiffany Aching book, and this turned out to be true. [[Simon]]'s fate is not explicitly given, but she speaks about him in the past tense and he seems to have lived long enough for his illnesses to progress to an extreme state. Perhaps the pair of them side-stepped the War of the [[Sourceror]] altogether, having found something more interesting and productive to do?
* Esk refers to "elasticated string theory", which was one of Simon's specialties.

== Fan Art ==
<gallery mode=packed heights=300px>
File:Esk_HP.webp|By [[User:HeiryProblems|Mile Mićić]]
</gallery>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Eskarina}}
[[category:Discworld characters]]
[[category:Leading characters]]
[[category:Human characters]]
[[category:Witches]]
[[category:Wizards]]
[[Category:Tiffany Series characters]]
[[de:Eskarina Schmied]]

Fandom

2026-05-14T22:26:35Z

Old Dickens: Reverted edit by Abcdefabric (talk) to last revision by Guybrush

==External links==

*[http://www.lspace.org The L-Space Web] - ''Everything'' about Discworld (including this Wiki.)

==Newsgroups==

* [news://alt.fan.pratchett alt.fan.pratchett] - opens [[alt.fan.pratchett]] in your default mail client
** [http://groups.google.co.uk/group/alt.fan.pratchett alt.fan.pratchett] on [[Wikipedia:Google_(search_engine)|Google Groups]]
* [news://alt.fan.pratchett.announce alt.fan.pratchett.announce]
** [http://groups.google.co.uk/group/alt.fan.pratchett.announce alt.fan.pratchett.announce] on Google Groups
* [news://alt.book.pratchett alt.books.pratchett]
** [http://groups.google.co.uk/group/alt.books.pratchett alt.books.pratchett] on Google Groups
* [news://de.alt.fan.pratchett de.alt.fan.pratchett] - German fan newsgroup
** [http://groups.google.co.uk/group/de.alt.fan.pratchett de.alt.fan.pratchett] on Google Groups

==Publishers' Websites==

* [http://www.terrypratchett.co.uk/ Terry Pratchett] - Bibliography, forums and features from Verlagsgruppe Random House / Doubleday / etc.
* [http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/ Terry Pratchett Books] - A very active forum with members from around the world. Main page also includes current news and information about the books and Terry Pratchett. (HarperCollins)

==Blogs and Discussion==

* [http://www.affordable-prawns.co.uk/planet Planet afp] - A collection of afpers' weblogs.
* [http://www.electric-escape.net/pratchett Terry Pratchett Quotes] - A collection of quotations from Pratchett's novels and stories.
* [http://www.discworldmonthly.co.uk Discworld Monthly] - A free monthly newsletter about the Discworld.
* [http://goodomenslexicon.org/index.php The Good Omens Lexicon] - a fan site dedicated to this one book, and worth visiting
* [https://clacksheader.wordpress.com Clacks Header] - A collection of articles, eulogies, fanfiction and other bits and pieces gathered from various sources.

== Conventions ==
* [http://www.dwcon.org/ DWCon] - the International ''[[Discworld]]'' Convention, held in the UK (1996, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014. 2016, 2018, 2022, 2024, 2026)
* [http://www.discworld-convention.de Die Scheibenwelt Convention] - the German ''Discworld'' Convention (2007, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2023, 2025)
* [http://www.ausdwcon.org AusDWCon] - the Australian ''Discworld'' Convention, "Nullus Anxietas" (2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2024, 2026)
* [http://www.idwcon.org IDWCon] - the Irish ''Discworld'' Convention (2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2025)
* NADWCON - the North American ''Discworld'' Convention (2009, 2011, 2013, 2017, 2019; website no longer available)
* Dutch DWCon - "Cabbagecon", the Dutch ''Discworld'' Convention (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2024; website no longer avaiable)
* [https://www.theineffablecon.org.uk The Ineffable Con] - ''[[TV and Film:Good Omens|Good Omens]]'' fan convention (2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2025); also run smaller events
* [https://llamedosholidaycamp.com Llamedos Holiday Camp] - a Welsh ''Discworld'' event (2020, 2022, 2024, 2026)

== National Sites ==
* [http://www.Ankh-Morpork.de Ankh-Morpork.de] - The German Terry Pratchett Fan Club
* [http://www.discworld.cz www.discworld.cz] - The biggest Czech web page about Discworld
* [http://pratchett.org pratchett.org] - a very good Russian-language site for CIS fans of Sir Terry
* [http://www.pratchett.pl/ Pratchett.pl] - a rather comprehensive Polish site that has been hiding from us for some time. Includes a "[http://www.pratchett.pl/pratchettopedia.html Pratchettopedia]"

==Peripherals==

*[http://www.paulkidby.com Paul Kidby's homepage] - Discworld art and news.
*[https://www.discworldemporium.com/ The Discworld Emporium] - creators and vendors of objets de Discworld art.
*[[Discworld MUD]] - A text {{wp|Massively multiplayer online game|MMO}} game started in 1991, based heavily on Pratchett's work. [http://discworld.atuin.net Link to website]
*[https://ko-fi.com/album/Discworld-Q5Q81F4TW Discworld & Pratchett Paraphernalia], a wealth of illustrations by Tealin.
*[[Micro Art Studios]][http://www.shop.microartstudio.com/ - A Polish miniature manufacturer] - A company making miniatures for RPGs and collecting with a discworld range.
*An archive of [http://web.archive.org/web/20081212000857/http://www.cheerycomic.co.uk/ ''Cheerycomic''] via the Wayback Machine - a good resource for Dwarves and the Watch.
*[[Ankh-Morpork MUSH]] - a text {{wp|Massively multiplayer online game|MMO}} game started in 2019, based on Pratchett's depiction of Ankh-Morpork at the end of the novel series. [http://discworld.mush.website Link to website]

==Forums==

* [http://z6.invisionfree.com/Dungeon_Dimensions Dungeon Dimensions] - A forum dedicated to Discworld. Not very active but a nice community feel.
* [http://z3.invisionfree.com/DWExtended Discworld Extended] - A new forum for Discworld chat, fan fiction, games and roleplay.
* [http://forum.discworldemporium.com/ Discworld Emporium Forum] - Set up by [[Bernard Pearson]], a discussion point for all things Pratchett.
* [https://www.reddit.com/r/discworld/ /r/Discworld] - A subreddit (sub-forum) of Reddit, "dedicated to the weird and wonderful Discworld". Reasonably active.

==Mastodon server==

* [http://mendeddrum.org/ The Mended Drum] - A Pratchett fan Mastodon instance.

==Wikis==
* [https://wiki.lspace.org LSpace's Discworld & Terry Pratchett Wiki] - This wiki.
* [https://pterryfanon.fandom.com/wiki/Discworld_Fanon_Wiki The Discworld Fanon Wiki] - A repository for all things Pratchett fanon. Feel free to use this for inspiration.
* [https://thelongearth.fandom.com/wiki/The_long_Earth_Wiki The Long Earth Wiki] - A great source for information on the Long Earth Series.
* [https://discworld.fandom.com/wiki/Main_Page Discworld Wiki] - The Discworld wiki at Fandom.com (previously Wikia).
* [http://www.thediscworld.de DiscWiki] - The German-language Discworld wiki.

==Podcasts==
Moved to their own page: [[Podcasts]].

==Teaching Guides==
*[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Amazing-Maurice-Educated-Rodents-Respond/dp/1407160567 ''The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents (Read & Respond)''], by Eileen Jones, Scholastic, 1st September 2016.
*[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Summary-Long-Earth-Terry-Pratchett/dp/1388253062 ''Summary of The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett''], WhizBooks, 25th July 2018.
*[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Omens-Terry-Pratchett-Gaiman-Analysis/dp/2808018886 ''Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman'']], Bright Summaries, 8th April 2019.

==Criticism, biography, commentary==

*[http://www.sfsite.com/~silverag/literature.html ''Terry Pratchett Guilty of Literature'']. The Science Fiction Foundation, 2000, edited by Andrew M. Butler, Edward James and Farah Mendlesohn.
*[http://www.amazon.co.uk/So-You-Think-Know-Discworld/dp/0340917326 ''So You Think You Know Discworld''] Hodder Children's Books, 2006, by Clive Gifford. Unofficial quiz book unlike the [[Book:The Unseen University Challenge|other]] [[Book:The Wyrdest Link|two]] by Dave Langford which were endorsed by Terry.
*[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Unofficial-Companion-Novels-Terry-Pratchett/dp/1846450012 ''An Unofficial Companion to the Novels of Terry Pratchett''] Greenwood World Publishing, 2007, Andrew M. Butler.
*[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Terry-Pratchett-Writers-Uncovered-Parker/dp/0431906432| ''Terry Pratchett (Writers Uncovered)''] Heinemann Library, 2007, Vic Parker.
*[http://www.sfsite.com/08a/tm277.htm ''The Turtle Moves'']. Benbella Books, 2008, by American commentator on all things Pratchett, {{wp|Lawrence Watt-Evans|Lawrence Watt-Evans}}
*[http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-The-Wee-Free-Discworld/dp/B004JZWRNA| ''Secrets of The Wee Free Men and Discworld: The Myths and Legends of Terry Pratchett's Multiverse''] by Carrie Pyykkonen and Linda Washington, 2008, St. Martin's Griffin.
*[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Terry-Pratchett-Fantasy-Craig-Cabell/dp/1843585073 ''Terry Pratchett-The Spirit of Fantasy''] by Craig Cabell, John Blake Publishing, 2011. (£17.99 UK). An entertaining and well-written book about Terry, part unauthorised biography, part literary criticism. Rumour has it this book has landed in remaindered bins at less than a fiver, a fate something as good as this does not deserve. (But see Amazon "customer reviews" for some violent disagreement.)
*[http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1137360151 ''Philosophy and Terry Pratchett''] edited by Jacob Held and James South, 2014, Palgrave Macmillan.
*[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Discworld-Disciplines-Approaches-Pratchett-Explorations/dp/0786474645 ''Discworld and the Disciplines: Critical Approaches to the Terry Pratchett Works''] by Anne Hiebert Alton and William C. Spruiell, 2014, McFarland & Co Inc.
*[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Memory-Tribute-Sir-Terry-Pratchett/dp/1517603609 ''In Memory: A Tribute To Sir Terry Pratchett''] by Sorin Suciu (editor), 2015, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
*[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Discworld-Philosophy-Popular-Culture/dp/081269919X ''Discworld and Philosophy''] by Nicolas Michaud (editor), 2016, Cricket Books.
*[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Terry-Pratchetts-Narrative-Worlds-Approaches/dp/3319672975 ''Terry Pratchett's Narrative Worlds: From Giant Turtles to Small Gods''] by Marion Rana (editor), 11th January 2018, Palgrave Macmillan.
*[[Book:The Magic of Terry Pratchett|''The Magic of Terry Pratchett'']] by Marc Burrows, 30th July 2020, Pen & Sword History. [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Magic-Terry-Pratchett-Marc-Burrows/dp/1526765500 Link]
*[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Terry-Pratchetts-Ethical-Worlds-Narrative-ebook/dp/B08G3KZ239 ''Terry Pratchett's Ethical Worlds: Essays on Identity and Narrative in Discworld and Beyond''] by Kristin Noone and Emily Lavin Leveret (Editors), 5th August 2020, McFarland.
*[[Book:Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes|''Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes'']] by [[Rob Wilkins]], 29th September 2022, Transworld.
*[https://www.mythsoc.org/press/mapping-sense-humor.htm ''Mapping a Sense of Humor: Narrative and Space in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld Novels''] by Daniel Lüthi, March 2023, Mythopoeic Press.

==See also==
*[[Fan fiction]]
*[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/Discworld?from=Main.Discworld TV tropes] - a really neat and entertaining site discussing the recurring "tropes", ie literary shortcuts, stereotypes and literary conventions present in TV, literature and art. A lot of space is given over to Pratchett's work, detailing how the tropes, those conventions, hooks and short-cuts present in the universal consciousness of all creative writers, work in the Discworld.

Now introducing:
*[[Fan-Art]]
*[[Fan Films]]

[[Category:Fandom|Fandom]]