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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
Not one of my favorite from the Discworld series but it was really interesting to read more about the assassins. And I love how Pratchett writes about religion in his own humorous way.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow, this book is so boring. It’s unmotivated me to the point that this review is going to be written more than a week after I’ve read it. Pyramids by Terry Pratchett has some genuinely interesting parts. It still falls flat on its face over all. It is really weird to read Terry Pratchett book that in the end I have to say, “I didn’t like it” because usually, with other people, when I say I didn’t like a book, I usually didn’t like most of it. There might be a few other parts that I like, but overall I don’t like it over all. In this book, I liked so much, was so interested in some characters, that it’s hard to go… well I loved all of this, but overall the story made me want to fall asleep.
The thing is, the structure doesn’t grab me. Once again, we’re not starting at a point that I’m itching to see how that person get there. An assassin from Ankh Morpork is getting his final test. I am much more interested in seeing where he is going. It’s silly, all this going back and reflecting. Really, the only characters I’ve ever had an immediate interest in how they got there after seeing one thing of how they got there, is super villains. Of course, this is so that this test can set up the sort of assassin he is, and introduce how religion works in Disc World, especially when it comes to rituals and the like. The rituals are harsh and complicated and you get called a baby if you do it.
And this book is about religion, but unlike Small Gods, not only is it about a collection of gods that as an American I have no real connection to, it’s about a series of places that feel too disconnected to create what feels like a properly flowing story line. At first I thought that Small Gods went to less places, but then I realized this wasn’t so. Small Gods moves around just as much, but the plot line feels more cohesive. The thing is, I think Pyramids is more obsessed with its ideas then its places and people.
But Small Gods is the next review. For now we have an assassin who can’t kill because he’s really a good guy whose taking an interesting test that keeps getting interrupted by the back flashes that makes me uninterested in anything that is going on in either place. Then we meet some friends, one of which is obviously important later in the story, and then a seagull of all things comes down to show that our main guy is the new king and a god. A seagull. Is this real? Have you met a real seagull? They are the least godlike... when you think of big important creatures, your mind should not go to seagulls, trust me, those little squabbling things are not majestic at all. But this is the Disc World, so I guess it’s forgivable, but if this happened in ancient Egypt, then this was even more ridiculous than worshiping cats.
We have a truly delightfully evil visor, who doesn’t really believe, but that’s a theme, but who keeps tradition going to the point that the king is literally a figurehead who no one really listens to, but who gets all the blame from the little people. It’s to the point that when our main character is not wearing his mask that the priest can say to the guards to kill him since he is obviously not the king, that’s not the king’s face.
Of course, there’s certain rules like that while it’s not compulsory to be buried with the old king, if you don’t then you are thrown to the crocodiles. Little rules like that, which are useless, but fall in with tradition and keeping everyone actually doing what you want them to, while trying to not seem like they are forcing them to do horrible things. Do the thing we want or be thrown to the crocodiles, see, I’m not forcing you, I gave you a choice. Now the consequence of not choosing to be killed, is that you get killed this way.
Of course the seeming love interest is really his sister. But that’s royalty for you. The comments on how girls are actually sexier in more clothing was interesting if not always true. But I do know what he meant. And certain circumstances and how a person acts in those clothes is what makes it truly sexier or not.
They end up outside the kingdom, while the kingdom goes into another universe where all the things they said about gods really is true. And it’s horrible and traumatizing, and meeting your gods is the way to destroy your faith because suddenly you know how those beings you create act in a day to day fashion. And in the end, our main guy with the help of his ancestors destroys the pyramid that created it and the evil priest is sent to another world to look over. And it all happened, and it was very unengaging. Then the main guy gives the throne to his sister, who takes to it like duck to the water and orders her priest around.
And I don’t care anymore. I think this is the shortest standalone review that I’ve done. And I just am completely lackluster about this whole thing. Next is Small Gods, Small Gods is Pyramids done right, well, and with a commentary on a religion that I understand. Not that it is just about one religion, but the main one is pretty clear, and at least I got that. So more to like. Plus, instead of an everyday sort of protagonist, we get Pratchett’s unique characters with a personality that ties into the overall. Much more interesting.
So that is that, draw with you then.
The thing is, the structure doesn’t grab me. Once again, we’re not starting at a point that I’m itching to see how that person get there. An assassin from Ankh Morpork is getting his final test. I am much more interested in seeing where he is going. It’s silly, all this going back and reflecting. Really, the only characters I’ve ever had an immediate interest in how they got there after seeing one thing of how they got there, is super villains. Of course, this is so that this test can set up the sort of assassin he is, and introduce how religion works in Disc World, especially when it comes to rituals and the like. The rituals are harsh and complicated and you get called a baby if you do it.
And this book is about religion, but unlike Small Gods, not only is it about a collection of gods that as an American I have no real connection to, it’s about a series of places that feel too disconnected to create what feels like a properly flowing story line. At first I thought that Small Gods went to less places, but then I realized this wasn’t so. Small Gods moves around just as much, but the plot line feels more cohesive. The thing is, I think Pyramids is more obsessed with its ideas then its places and people.
But Small Gods is the next review. For now we have an assassin who can’t kill because he’s really a good guy whose taking an interesting test that keeps getting interrupted by the back flashes that makes me uninterested in anything that is going on in either place. Then we meet some friends, one of which is obviously important later in the story, and then a seagull of all things comes down to show that our main guy is the new king and a god. A seagull. Is this real? Have you met a real seagull? They are the least godlike... when you think of big important creatures, your mind should not go to seagulls, trust me, those little squabbling things are not majestic at all. But this is the Disc World, so I guess it’s forgivable, but if this happened in ancient Egypt, then this was even more ridiculous than worshiping cats.
We have a truly delightfully evil visor, who doesn’t really believe, but that’s a theme, but who keeps tradition going to the point that the king is literally a figurehead who no one really listens to, but who gets all the blame from the little people. It’s to the point that when our main character is not wearing his mask that the priest can say to the guards to kill him since he is obviously not the king, that’s not the king’s face.
Of course, there’s certain rules like that while it’s not compulsory to be buried with the old king, if you don’t then you are thrown to the crocodiles. Little rules like that, which are useless, but fall in with tradition and keeping everyone actually doing what you want them to, while trying to not seem like they are forcing them to do horrible things. Do the thing we want or be thrown to the crocodiles, see, I’m not forcing you, I gave you a choice. Now the consequence of not choosing to be killed, is that you get killed this way.
Of course the seeming love interest is really his sister. But that’s royalty for you. The comments on how girls are actually sexier in more clothing was interesting if not always true. But I do know what he meant. And certain circumstances and how a person acts in those clothes is what makes it truly sexier or not.
They end up outside the kingdom, while the kingdom goes into another universe where all the things they said about gods really is true. And it’s horrible and traumatizing, and meeting your gods is the way to destroy your faith because suddenly you know how those beings you create act in a day to day fashion. And in the end, our main guy with the help of his ancestors destroys the pyramid that created it and the evil priest is sent to another world to look over. And it all happened, and it was very unengaging. Then the main guy gives the throne to his sister, who takes to it like duck to the water and orders her priest around.
And I don’t care anymore. I think this is the shortest standalone review that I’ve done. And I just am completely lackluster about this whole thing. Next is Small Gods, Small Gods is Pyramids done right, well, and with a commentary on a religion that I understand. Not that it is just about one religion, but the main one is pretty clear, and at least I got that. So more to like. Plus, instead of an everyday sort of protagonist, we get Pratchett’s unique characters with a personality that ties into the overall. Much more interesting.
So that is that, draw with you then.
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
2020 Reread: I do still enjoy the humour in this book, but on this reread I did notice how much lacking in depth the characters are, and there's vast swathes of the book where some characters just disappear from the action. It's definitely starting to show that this is an 'early' Discworld book before Terry really knew how to write well-rounded characters and a good flowing plot, but it still works well as a funny parody of Ancient Egypt.
2015 Review: I have a soft spot for this book - mostly because I wrote a playscript adaptation for it in 2002 - and so a re-read aloud being able to do all the voices of the fun and silly characters made this pretty entertaining for me & H alike. This is not one of Terry's best books - the plot and characters are rather thin - but the jokes are laugh-a-minute and there's some really great wordplay in there. A knowledge of Egyptology, Ancient Greece and the British public school system do help to get some of the references, but there's enough gags in there which don't require that much preknowledge.
If you want some silly fun, then Pyramids is a great book to read.
2015 Review: I have a soft spot for this book - mostly because I wrote a playscript adaptation for it in 2002 - and so a re-read aloud being able to do all the voices of the fun and silly characters made this pretty entertaining for me & H alike. This is not one of Terry's best books - the plot and characters are rather thin - but the jokes are laugh-a-minute and there's some really great wordplay in there. A knowledge of Egyptology, Ancient Greece and the British public school system do help to get some of the references, but there's enough gags in there which don't require that much preknowledge.
If you want some silly fun, then Pyramids is a great book to read.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Starting to see Pratchett stepping away from parody and embracing his own unique style within his incredible world. Djelibabi is a wonderful Egypt parallel, and his exploration of death, legacy, duty, the inflexibility of routine, history and systems (as well as some light metaphysics and quantum mechanics) is wonderful.
This one is not as entertaining as the past few Discworld novels I've read so I'm going to move on to the next one after I finish some of my other current reads.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Having had a big interest in ancient egyptian mythology and religion, I found this to be a wonderful laugh at it all.
I was disappointed to find that Teppic doesn't show up in any other novels as he really is a hoot to read about and You Bastard was an unexpected character I just had to love, despite his math-thinking ways.
I'll never look at camels the same again.
I was disappointed to find that Teppic doesn't show up in any other novels as he really is a hoot to read about and You Bastard was an unexpected character I just had to love, despite his math-thinking ways.
I'll never look at camels the same again.