Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Fun in Discworld

Unseen Academicals
by Terry Pratchett

Foot-the-ball is one of the most watched and dangerous games played in Ankh-Morpork. Lord Vetinari is said not to like the game, but a brilliant tyrant like he must know he'd have a riot on his hands if he tried to stop it. When Ponder Stebbins discovers that the Unseen University will lose some trust funds if they don't field a team, Lord Vetinari brilliantly maneuvers to help them and to get the game under control.

So now the Discworld series has grown to 30+ books, including a few teen titles. Too late to jump in? Not at all! Characteristically of Pratchett's stories, this has a mix of fantasy, satire, and slapstick that suits my weird sense of humor. Trevor, Glenda, Juliet, and Nutt are fun characters to spend time with, and I liked seeing their relationships change (with more than a nod to Romeo and Juliet thrown in for good measure) and each of them grow over the course of the book. This one stands with Lords and Ladies as one of my favorite in the series.

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