September 2008

Pratchett to address Conservative Party tonight

29 September 2008 (14:42) Comment!

Terry Pratchett will be appearing at the Conservative Party Conference tonight in his continuing campaign for increased funding for Alzheimer’s research, saying it is under-funded compared to other diseases.

“I am appalled that research into Alzheimer’s and related diseases which affects 700,000 people in the UK, currently receives just three per cent of government medical research funding,” he plans to say in his speech tonight. “Perhaps that is why, for example, I know three people who have successfully survived brain tumours but no-one who has beaten Alzheimer’s.”

Pratchett donated £500,000 earlier in 2008 to the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, for which Rebecca Wood is the Chief Executive.

“Dementia costs the UK economy £17 billion a year …” Wood said. “Politicians from all parties must recognise that the only socially just and financially prudent policy is to vastly increase funding for dementia research.”

The U.K. government spent £25 million on Alzheimer’s in the 2005-2006 period, an amount which a Department of Health spokesperson called “significant Government funding.”

Another Nation review

29 September 2008 (14:24) 1 Comment

The favorable reviews of Nation continue, as Michael Dirda writes (slight spoilers at the link) in The Washington Post that “no reader is every likely to forget Terry Pratchett’s Nation“

No reader is ever likely to forget Terry Pratchett’s Nation…. Nation is — as Terry Pratchett tells us in his author’s note — “set in a parallel universe, a phenomenon known only to advanced physicists and anyone who has ever watched any episode of any SF series, anywhere.” It is also what’s called a crossover novel, which means that while Nation may be aimed primarily at bright-eyed young adults– as were Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy and the Harry Potter books of J.K. Rowling — many grizzled old adults are likely to enjoy it, too. You don’t even need to know anything about Pratchett’s earlier work: It’s a stand-alone book, with no connection whatsoever to Discworld.

Nation remains at heart a novel of ideas, a ferocious questioning of vested cultural attitudes and beliefs. In form it is a classic “Robinsonade,” that is, a book in which characters are marooned on a desert island and there create a little civilization of their own….

It is a thrilling story.

Nation is out already in the U.K., and can be pre-ordered in the U.S.

Danny Boyle to direct Truckers?

20 September 2008 (22:51) Comment!

Coming Soon reports that Danny Boyle wants to direct an animated Truckers movie based on Terry Pratchett’s children’s book.

“You’re more like a ringmaster,” 28 Days Later director Boyle said of directing an animated feature, “[You’re] kind of organizing this huge army of illustrators who can change the movie. It’s really weird.”

Boyle tentatively hopes to work with screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce, who has called Truckers his favorite book.

“Part of me thought: brilliant,” Boyce said of hearing Truckers would be adapted for the screen. “That’ll be a great film. But another part of me felt mugged. Truckers was my secret, a blessing I bestowed on the people I most liked.”

Danny Boyle has also directed Sunshine, Trainspotting, and Slumdog Millionaire, and hopes to work with Dreamworks on Truckers.

Pratchett essay on Nation from HarperCollins

19 September 2008 (21:43) Comment!

HarperCollins had published an essay Terry Pratchett wrote (slight spoilers at link) on his newest non-Discworld book, Nation which comes out September 30 in the U.S. (It is already available in the U.K.) To quote the essay:

I don’t think I’ve ever worked so hard on a book…

Nation was born several years ago…. About four months later, when I hadn’t even scheduled the book, Indonesia was struck by the most recent tsunami, and I thought: There will be a time for Nation, but it’s not now. The story still cooked itself through, at the back of my mind, while I waited a few years.

After that disaster, I saw footage of people celebrating because the wave, which had flattened their whole village, had miraculously left their new mosque standing. But that seemed to me to be not much of a miracle—one that flattens flimsy huts and fails to disturb a solid-looking house of worship. Surely the miracle of a caring god would have razed his holy temple but left every little house intact? What had in reality taken place was the opposite of a miracle, wasn’t it? The trouble is, we call these things acts of God….

Is this the right kind of topic for a young adult book? Probably none better, I thought.

And the rest of the book fell into place like a clicking Rubik’s cube.

Pre-order and preview Nation

19 September 2008 (21:33) Comment!

American Pratchett fans can now pre-order the U.S. edition of Terry Pratchett’s newest non-Discworld book, Nation, which goes on sale September 30.

The cover blurb:

The sea has taken everything.

Mau is the only one left after a giant wave sweeps his island village away. But when much is taken, something is returned, and somewhere in the jungle Daphne—a girl from the other side of the globe—is the sole survivor of a ship destroyed by the same wave.

Together the two confront the aftermath of catastrophe. Drawn by the smoke of Mau and Daphne’s sheltering fire, other refugees slowly arrive: children without parents, mothers without babies, husbands without wives—all of them hungry and all of them frightened. As Mau and Daphne struggle to keep the small band safe and fed, they defy ancestral spirits, challenge death himself, and uncover a long-hidden secret that literally turns the world upside down. . . .

Internationally revered storyteller Terry Pratchett presents a breathtaking adventure of survival and discovery, and of the courage required to forge new beliefs.

HarperCollins is also offering a sneak peek of Nation.

The U.K. edition of Nation was released September 11.

Competition: Win The Turtle Moves!

19 September 2008 (19:42) 2 Comments

Lawrence Watt-Evans’s new guide to the Discworld series, The Turtle Moves!: Discworld’s Story Unauthorized.  In celebration of its release last month, FromRimToHub is hosting a competition to win a free copy!  Just answer the following question in the comments or by email (fromrimtohub * at * gmail ~dot~ com):

The title of Watt-Evans’s book is taken from rallying cry of the Omnian rebels in Small Gods.  If you were to write a Discworld fan guide, what would you call it and why?

You can find a review of The Turtle Moves! on this site.

Pratchett receives honorary doctorate from Buckinghamshire New University

15 September 2008 (12:57) Comment!

Buckinghamshire New University honored Terry Pratchett for his career in literature and his charity work with an honorary doctorate, Pratchett’s sixth so far.

This was of course another opportunity for an interview with the eloquent Terry Pratchett, and he expands a bit on his first decision to become a writer. After selling his first story for 40 pounds, he said he “bought a very good second-hand typewriter and that was it. I sold a few more stories and I decided that this was going to be for me.”

Terry Pratchett returned the favor to Buckinghamshire New University vice chancellor Ruth Farwell, making her an honorary wizard of the Unseen University, complete with a wizard hat, scroll, badge, and banana.

A video containing the beginning of Pratchett’s speech can be found at the BucksFreePress.co.uk.

Nation promotional campaign on Second Life; Pratchett on Second Life Oct. 9

14 September 2008 (22:26) Comment!

HarperCollins launched a month-long promotional campaign for Nation, Terry Pratchett’s newest non-Discworld novel, on Second Life on September 11.

Terry Pratchett will participate in a live question-and-answer session on Second Life October 9.

Second Lifers can get a look at Mau’s island, digitally imagined, on the digitally created world The Nation. The island will include scenes and locations from Nation, as well as opportunities to win Second Life prizes and real-life prizes through a treasture hunt.

Pratchett interview on Nation

14 September 2008 (22:11) Comment!

Publishers Weekly interviewed Terry Pratchett recently (slight spoilers at the link) about Nation, calling it “more somber,” to which Pratchett responds, “It’s important for the hero to have tragic relief, the opposite of light relief. Let’s not forget that at the very beginning, the young hero has to bury everyone he’s known in his life and spends quite a lot of the book teetering on the edge of insanity. The book deals with issues that can’t be handled lightly.”

The interview takes a bit of a detour, of course, into Alzheimer’s.  Pratchett points out that “Alzheimer’s made a mistake, because it hit me with a variant that leaves me still more than capable of thinking and writing and speaking, and a lot of my time now is taken up with publicity for Alzheimer’s funding.”

He also talks a bit about kid’s reading, saying, “when I was a kid I read books well ahead of what my parents thought I read. It’s a wise child that doesn’t always let their parents know what they’re reading. I picked up quite an extensive vocabulary from reading although I must confess that for years I thought the word ‘ogre’ was pronounced ‘ogrey.’ I’d never actually heard it spoken, but I’d read it hundreds of times.”

Most intriguing of all, to those who haven’t yet read Nation Pratchett’s answer to whether or not Nation is “magical”: “That depends.”

Nation came out Sept. 11 in the U.K. and Sept. 30 in the U.S. (it is now available for preorder).

Nation review

14 September 2008 (21:28) Comment!

Amanda Craig of TimesOnline.co.uk reviewed Terry Pratchett’s newest book (slight spoilers at link), Nation, which comes out this month in both the U.K. and the U.S. To quote the review:

It is hard not to see the terrible wave crashing through Mau’s people’s memories as an extended metaphor for the Alzheimer’s that has stricken Pratchett’s ever-fertile mind, and Mau’s struggle to recreate something new out of devastation akin to the author’s grappling with an assault on his creative powers. Yet like all serious writers of fantasy, Pratchett has always been proccupied [sic] with death. It is curious how those who dislike this form of literature believe it to be escapist when in fact it tends towards the opposite, dramatising the sorrow of eternal loss.

Nation, a non-Discworld book, can be ordered on Amazon.co.uk and pre-ordered on Amazon.com.

The first ever FromRimToHub book review: The Turtle Moves!

14 September 2008 (20:23) Comment!

Thanks to BenBella Books, who sent FromRimToHub a review copy of The Turtle Moves: Discworld’s Story Unauthorized, we can tell you if it’s worth buying.  (Psst, here’s the short version: it is!)

The Turtle Moves! is, as Lawrence Watt-Evans admits, literary criticism, but “it’s light and fluffy literary criticism, not deep and scholarly”–and that’s a perfect description. Part plot summaries, part commentary, and part ode to Pratchett, The Turtle Moves! is a breezy, casual introduction to Discworld’s literary aspects.

The first part (which contains chapter titles like Why You Should Read This Book If You Haven’t Already Read A Bunch Of Discworld Stuff, And Maybe Even If You’ve Never Heard Of Discworld, which should give you an idea of the style of this book)–anyway, the first part of the book explains why Watt-Evans chose to write it, why fans should read it, and, indeed, why people should read it even if they aren’t. Following Part One are general comments about the Disc and its stories, a short chapter for each of the three dozen Discworld novels (and even short stories), notes on the series as a whole, a chapter for nearly every sub-series, a brief look at the minor characters and places, and finishes up with a chapter called The Secret Of Discworld’s Success. The book also includes an extensive references section, which inexplicably neglects to mention FromRimToHub. (I’m looking at you, Mr. Lawrence Watt-Evans.)

But aside from that egregious omission, The Turtle Moves! has its fine points. Watt-Evans comments impartially on the media-generated “feud” between Terry Pratchett and J. K. Rowling, provides insights into the science-fiction aspects of Discworld (yes, they’re there!), explains particularly obscure references (for example, who knew Carrot is named after an actual carrot who becomes king in a comic opera?), and analyzes Discworld’s evolution from The Colour Of Magic to Making Money. The book is well cross-referenced, and allusions to to interviews, other Discworld-related publications, and film adaptations belie either very good research or obsessive fannishness. Watt-Evans’s analysis of the series is grounded in the concept of narrativium, the power of story, and his analysis of Small Gods is particularly good.

The organization of The Turtle Moves!, however, isn’t very thought-out (do we really need three different parts titled Comments, More Comments, and Yet More Comments?), and Watt-Evans’s conversational style is off-putting at first.

All told (and it is all told in this book), The Turtlle Moves! is a great book for the literary-minded but casual Discworld reader. The insight of another fantasy writer into Terry Pratchett’s creation is a good addition to any fan’s library, and it’s all written with a humor fans are sure to appreciate.*

* And yes, there are footnotes.

The Discworld Convention 2008

3 September 2008 (8:29) 3 Comments

Many of you were lucky enough to go to the convention–but many more weren’t so lucky (including the admin of this site, a.k.a. me).  Fortunately for us, demdike from The Cunning Artificer’s forum was nice enough to be our scribe and write a convention report, in which we learn a bit about Nation, slightly more about Going Postal and other future film adaptations, and a lot about our favorite fandom:

The First Day: Friday, August 22, 2008

[The convention] started (officially) with the Opening Ceremony. There were voice-over messages asking for the stage to be cleared of party debris and on came Lu Tze with his broom. After telling everyone to go home–the Con had been and gone, and the disruption in the Number 7 procrastinator was blamed–the Men in Saffron (1 of the 2 was me) were called in to rewind 72 hours.  Cue stone grinding and Tardis noises, the lights went up and Lu Tze and the Men in Saffron had been replaced by Terry.

After briefly touching on his illness (most of which has already been printed online in most places) he spoke about the last year which has propelled him from relative media obscurity to celebrity status.

The evening ended with Terry’s bedtime stories, where the usual nutters turned up in their nightwear clutching their various bed companions (mostly furry).  Terry then read from Nation. I had to leave after an hour and a half so I apparently missed the lighter passages.  Definitely a darker book than any previously written.

The Second Day: Saturday, August 23, 2008

[Saturday] was spent trying to familiarize myself with the Hotel. Although the standard of the rooms was very high, it lacked the atmosphere of previous venues. The rooms were at the end of very long corridors. There was no one place to congregate, [the hotel] having a number of bars and eating places, so I never saw some people I knew were attending, and some I saw briefly in passing and never again.  Although the lectures and workshops were very well attended, quite a lot were scheduled for the same time. In fact the lady running the candle workshop came down the corridor wondering what the queue was for and was quite horrified to find out it was waiting for her. Previously she had had around a dozen people attend and this time it was 60!  She had only brought the materials for 60 candles, so had to turn people away.

The Masquerade I shall have to leave others to describe as I took part and was locked up in the ‘Green room’ with the other participants for all of it, but I can say that during the acts the Ankh-Morpork street refuse collector was called and the anonymous disgusting gnoll that came to clear up was none other than our own Pam Gower, and the fact that she was unrecognised pleased her no end, and of course the costume was all her own work as usual.  In fact, off stage I didn’t recognise her myself until I overheard her speaking.

The Third Day: Sunday, August 24, 2008

I attended the “2008 Is Wallace Year” lecture given by Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen, which was both entertaining and informative and as usual showed that the Roundworld can be as wierd and wonderful as the Discworld, with many similarities.

Pat had made the great error of describing his audience as sitting ducks–bad move as most of the auction (and every other appearance he made) was punctuated by duck calls.  The Octavo made an extremely impressive centrepiece and I had to leave before it came up, because it never would have fitted in the car.

The evening was rounded off by the Gala Dinner and Dragon racing.  The meal was very enjoyable except for the fact that I went out for a nicotine fix between courses and someone replaced my pudding with 2 grapes on a plate!

Terry gave a speech mentioning that for half the attendees it was their very first convention, which does raise the question of what has happened to half of the regulars?  The last speech was given by Lord Vetinari and his statement of one man one vote and he had it was interrupted by Terry begging to differ. Terry also said that he wasn’t bad–he was just written that way, which amused everyone.

The Dragon racing was enjoyable with a Tote using our free money and despite numerous stewards enquiries, photo finishes and one dragon being lifted and ‘helped’ to the finishing post by Nac Mac Feegles went off very well.

The Fourth Day: Monday, August 25, 2008

[Monday] was spent mostly packing, saying goodbye to friends old and new.  The Mob had brought David Jason’s Rincewind hat (the one that had fallen in the water, so suitably snotted), Kring the magical sword, and the Bafta, which Stephen Briggs managed to photograph it held by many people.

During the Meet the Mob presentation it was mentioned that the order of the next films will be Going Postal, Making Money, then Sourcery.  Unfortunately there may be limited fan involvement as the next two will be filmed in Hungary due to a lack of suitable buildings here and that most of the action is set amongst architecture.

The Closing Ceremony

The closing ceremony was the usual mix of sadness and joy.

Joy because the prizes were given out, and we were all able to fit into the room together as at the Opening ceremony, but also sadness as one of the prizes for the Guild member who remained in charactor for the whole convention and who had contributed greatly to their guild and in promoting other peoples enjoyment was given an award named for Ewan the young assassin who captured everyone’s heart at the 2006 convention and who died shortly afterwards.

At the very end when the guests and con committee had left the stage there was the voice overs asking for someone to clear the stage of the mess and on came Lu Tze and despite being told we had only just got there, was adamant that we only got one time turn and this time really had to go home, so we did.

Home again, Wadfest next weekend, then the frantic saving for Hogswatch and Nadcon in Arizona.

Many many thanks to demdike for the report!

Would anyone else like to share their experiences? And for those who couldn’t go, how jealous are you?