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3.32 AVERAGE
3.32 AVERAGE
I can imagine a set of circumstances under which I would enjoy this immensely.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A very rare misstep for Pratchett - that said, this is his earliest readily available work (the version of The Carpet People you can get your hands on nowadays was heavily revised in 92 ahead of its re-release).
The Good:
-An interesting look at a handful of early ideas that made it into Discworld, if only by name,
-Some of Pratchett's trademark humour is clearly developing, with some dialogue, references and concepts landing successfully,
-A couple of genuinely interesting Sci-Fi concepts are showcased (a planet that also has a naturally-occurring artificial intelligence functioning as a bank being a standout).
The Bad:
-Pratchett was clearly developing as a writer and a lot of what he mastered later on is lacking here. Characters are one-dimensional, or generic with no unique personality to speak of.
-The pacing is break-neck, which wouldn't be an issue if it weren't for under developed links between each set piece. It can often feel like unrelated events in a series, and more than once I found myself not realising we were in an entirely different location until part-way through.
-Pratchett was never overly-descriptive (a strength in later books as he really mastered telling *just* as much as you needed), but the complete lack of description in this book can leave you getting lost quite frequently, and action sequences often disorientating and confusing,
In summary, somewhere in here is a half-decent Sci-Fi parody, but the juvenile nature of Pratchett's writing at the time make it a lot less enjoyable than his later works.
The Good:
-An interesting look at a handful of early ideas that made it into Discworld, if only by name,
-Some of Pratchett's trademark humour is clearly developing, with some dialogue, references and concepts landing successfully,
-A couple of genuinely interesting Sci-Fi concepts are showcased (a planet that also has a naturally-occurring artificial intelligence functioning as a bank being a standout).
The Bad:
-Pratchett was clearly developing as a writer and a lot of what he mastered later on is lacking here. Characters are one-dimensional, or generic with no unique personality to speak of.
-The pacing is break-neck, which wouldn't be an issue if it weren't for under developed links between each set piece. It can often feel like unrelated events in a series, and more than once I found myself not realising we were in an entirely different location until part-way through.
-Pratchett was never overly-descriptive (a strength in later books as he really mastered telling *just* as much as you needed), but the complete lack of description in this book can leave you getting lost quite frequently, and action sequences often disorientating and confusing,
In summary, somewhere in here is a half-decent Sci-Fi parody, but the juvenile nature of Pratchett's writing at the time make it a lot less enjoyable than his later works.
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Pratchett is my favourite author and has been my favourite author for over 25 years. That is the context for when I say that this book just isn't very good.
It isn't a terrible book but I find it hard to imagine that it would still be remembered -- let alone still in print -- almost fifty years after it was first published had it not been written by someone who would later go on to write many books that were much better than this one.
There are several flaws that I could point out, but the most egregious one is that this book was simply dull. Nothing about it held my interest or made me care. It is the sort of book where I regularly found my mind wandering as I read, the sort of book where I could have happily stopped reading before the last chapter without feeling any need to know the conclusion.
There were a few occasional neat ideas, or pithy phrasings. There is some interest to a Pratchett scholar or fan to see his origins as a writer and how his ideas developed. But overall, this one was a resounding miss for me.
It isn't a terrible book but I find it hard to imagine that it would still be remembered -- let alone still in print -- almost fifty years after it was first published had it not been written by someone who would later go on to write many books that were much better than this one.
There are several flaws that I could point out, but the most egregious one is that this book was simply dull. Nothing about it held my interest or made me care. It is the sort of book where I regularly found my mind wandering as I read, the sort of book where I could have happily stopped reading before the last chapter without feeling any need to know the conclusion.
There were a few occasional neat ideas, or pithy phrasings. There is some interest to a Pratchett scholar or fan to see his origins as a writer and how his ideas developed. But overall, this one was a resounding miss for me.
This reads as an early draft of Pratchett, and it wasn't as an engaging read like the rest of his works. Nevertheless, it gets 3 stars :)
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The Dark Side of the Sun is another clever and imaginative story from Terry Pratchett, only this one of course takes place outside of the Discworld series.
This science fiction story was definitely outside of what I am used to from Pratchett but perfectly demonstrated his fantastic and unique storytelling. The mystery surrounding Jokers World was brilliantly set up and I did not expect the reveal at all, but not because it wasn't plausible, but rather due to my theories being based of those of the secondary characters.
I found it very intriguing to see how the three alien races interacted and what their roles were within their shared universe. And also loved following Dom as he explored different planets and experienced space travel. I found the Bank and Chatogaster to be such enthralling characters, and am still so astonishingly amazed by Pratchett's imagination.
My main issue with this book was trying wrap my head around probability math. Don't get me wrong I was intrigued by a universe where (almost) everything could be predicted and therefore even more invested in the mystery surrounding the Jokers as this math did not work on them. However during the long pieces of exposition found in the first part of the book which was dedicated to explaining p-math I could follow to an extent before the theory started going completely over my head. I wouldn't say that this necessarily impaired my enjoyment of following Dom's journey to discover Jokers World, however I definitely believe that I would have got more for this book if I'd have understood the concept better.
That being said this was definitely a very good story and made for a very interesting read, especially as sci-fi is not a genre that I reach for very often.
3.5 stars
This science fiction story was definitely outside of what I am used to from Pratchett but perfectly demonstrated his fantastic and unique storytelling. The mystery surrounding Jokers World was brilliantly set up and I did not expect the reveal at all, but not because it wasn't plausible, but rather due to my theories being based of those of the secondary characters.
I found it very intriguing to see how the three alien races interacted and what their roles were within their shared universe. And also loved following Dom as he explored different planets and experienced space travel. I found the Bank and Chatogaster to be such enthralling characters, and am still so astonishingly amazed by Pratchett's imagination.
My main issue with this book was trying wrap my head around probability math. Don't get me wrong I was intrigued by a universe where (almost) everything could be predicted and therefore even more invested in the mystery surrounding the Jokers as this math did not work on them. However during the long pieces of exposition found in the first part of the book which was dedicated to explaining p-math I could follow to an extent before the theory started going completely over my head. I wouldn't say that this necessarily impaired my enjoyment of following Dom's journey to discover Jokers World, however I definitely believe that I would have got more for this book if I'd have understood the concept better.
That being said this was definitely a very good story and made for a very interesting read, especially as sci-fi is not a genre that I reach for very often.
3.5 stars
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No