...I'm finally answering StrawberryGirl's question:
StrawberryGirl wrote:I'm most likely revealing my sad, sad lack of knowledge regarding all things literary, but- I don't know anything about Terry Pratchett.
What type of stuff does he write? Those titles sound sci fi, which would normally turn me off, but with that glowing recommendation, I don't know...
The MSCL.com team (mglenn & sab) got off to a good start by linking Pratchett with Douglass adams, though Pratchett is known primarily for fantasy (Discworld) and Adams for Sci-Fi (Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy). Their styles are so similar, I wouldn't be surprised if Pratchett was influenced by the slightly elder works of Adams. Then again, some of their writing was concurrent, so it might go both ways.
Pratchett did write some Sci-Fi in his early years, but the bulk of his work, the Discworld series, is humorous fantasy. The Discworld itself is just what it sounds like: a flat, circular pun on Pre-Columbian European worldviews, which happens to be spinning on the backs of four huge elephants, which in turn stand on the shell of a vast, spaceborne sea turtle, which is probably a pun on Pre-Columbian Non-European worldviews. It's all so clear now, isn't it?
The basic plot structure of DW novels seems like standard issue fantasy on the surface: Some evil power, or freak of nature, or diabolical villian, or whatever, is threatening a city, or a village, or the entire Disc, and a certain unlikely hero, or heroes, must stop it, with many comical misadventures along the way. Sounds rather common, until you consider the "basic structure" of a few famous artworks. Mona Lisa: a smiling woman with a landscape behind her. David: a big naked man carved in stone. My So-Called Life: a teenage girl goes to school, pines for her crush, snubs her nerdy suitor, interacts with friends and family, and never stops talking to herself. My point being, none of those descriptions lives up to the real thing. It's impossible for me, or anyone else, to sum up those incredibly detailed and multi-layered works in a few sentences.
What the hell, here's the Reader's Digest version of Pratchett's good points:
- Hilarious fantasy
Believable characters
Deep philosophical insights
Ribald, if oblique, social commentary
The most original and memorable phrases coined in the history of the English language
In the end, the only way you'll really know if you'll enjoy reading Terry Pratchett books is to read Terry Pratchett books. As LeVar Burton used to say at the end of Reading Rainbow, "Don't take my word for it!"