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carolinesunshine's review
adventurous
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
evamaria's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
maureen_fox's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
pestyninja's review
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
strategineer's review against another edition
4.0
Terry is dedicated to the bit. More than anything he is committed to creating absurd worlds that feel real. His work has aged beautifully because the world we live in is as absurd as it's ever been and it's only getting more absurd from here on out.
Small Gods is about an autistic savant (pour a drink every time Terry Pratchett includes an autistic character in one of his Discworld books) named Brutha who is a lowly priest/monk in the church of Om. Hijinks ensue.
It turns out that Brutha is the only true believer of Om (everyone else only believes in the rules, the hierarchy, the organisation of the church, everything except the actual deity). And so, when Om finds himself reincarnated as a turtle (because only one person believes in him), he can only communicate with Brutha and no one else.
The unlikely pair form a bond and travel together as Brutha, using his eidetic memory, helps Vorbis, the head of the Quisition, with his plan to conquer the blasphemous Ephebians (Greek-esque philosophers).
Along the way, Brutha and Om meet a bunch of wacky characters with whom they discuss religion and philosophy giving Terry Pratchett ample opportunity to poke fun at both.
I enjoyed Small Gods quite a bit. After reading about half a dozen of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, I can say that they feel consistently well written and familiar to me but manage to avoid being formulaic.
There's something about the way he writes that leaves me with a constant smile on my face. Small Gods is not my favorite of his books (Going Postal is really really good y'all) but it comes pretty close.
Small Gods is about an autistic savant (pour a drink every time Terry Pratchett includes an autistic character in one of his Discworld books) named Brutha who is a lowly priest/monk in the church of Om. Hijinks ensue.
It turns out that Brutha is the only true believer of Om (everyone else only believes in the rules, the hierarchy, the organisation of the church, everything except the actual deity). And so, when Om finds himself reincarnated as a turtle (because only one person believes in him), he can only communicate with Brutha and no one else.
The unlikely pair form a bond and travel together as Brutha, using his eidetic memory, helps Vorbis, the head of the Quisition, with his plan to conquer the blasphemous Ephebians (Greek-esque philosophers).
Along the way, Brutha and Om meet a bunch of wacky characters with whom they discuss religion and philosophy giving Terry Pratchett ample opportunity to poke fun at both.
I enjoyed Small Gods quite a bit. After reading about half a dozen of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, I can say that they feel consistently well written and familiar to me but manage to avoid being formulaic.
There's something about the way he writes that leaves me with a constant smile on my face. Small Gods is not my favorite of his books (Going Postal is really really good y'all) but it comes pretty close.
bobbiejowoo's review against another edition
I tried I really really did, but this is the first ever Pratchett that I've DNFed.
While the wit and humor was there- I'm just very much not one for a religion based story, even one that's told by my favorite.
Perhaps I'll try again, until then on to the next!
While the wit and humor was there- I'm just very much not one for a religion based story, even one that's told by my favorite.
Perhaps I'll try again, until then on to the next!
misc_trash's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
iswendle's review
5.0
What starts off as another quick witted adventure into the flat world carried by a turtle ends on a clever parody on human faith.
I read this book after Mort, which is Pratchett's first work about Death. In Small Gods, you can really see Pratchett put aside his love for parody of fantasy, and instead wrote a book that tells the actual story of humankind and faith (just hidden in the shell of a parody). Don't get me wrong, Small Gods reads like a discworld novel throughout the first 250 pages, but the last 50 put it in overdrive! The comedy takes the back seat, Pratchett delivers something that feels like a speech: the world religions are just repetitions of one another, built upon some ideas of kindness and then turned into a human construct (the books, the bureaucracy, the holy wars). The cycle will always continue, unless you can build a religion without the divine part; the basis should be the kindness, doing something out of the kindness of your heart, not that of a/the Lord.
At least that's what I read in those last pages, though it is still filled with a storm of typically atypical fantasy tropes interacting with one another, it's still just a fun book too.
So had it not been for those convincing last pages, it would be a fun discworld novel. But the ending delivered something entirely different on a seemingly mellow setup. I loved it, also Death made his usual appearances, which you cannot help but smile at. The "best" Discworld novel.
I read this book after Mort, which is Pratchett's first work about Death. In Small Gods, you can really see Pratchett put aside his love for parody of fantasy, and instead wrote a book that tells the actual story of humankind and faith (just hidden in the shell of a parody). Don't get me wrong, Small Gods reads like a discworld novel throughout the first 250 pages, but the last 50 put it in overdrive! The comedy takes the back seat, Pratchett delivers something that feels like a speech: the world religions are just repetitions of one another, built upon some ideas of kindness and then turned into a human construct (the books, the bureaucracy, the holy wars). The cycle will always continue, unless you can build a religion without the divine part; the basis should be the kindness, doing something out of the kindness of your heart, not that of a/the Lord.
At least that's what I read in those last pages, though it is still filled with a storm of typically atypical fantasy tropes interacting with one another, it's still just a fun book too.
So had it not been for those convincing last pages, it would be a fun discworld novel. But the ending delivered something entirely different on a seemingly mellow setup. I loved it, also Death made his usual appearances, which you cannot help but smile at. The "best" Discworld novel.
charlie583's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
sailor_marmar's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5