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A review by gav_314
Small Gods by Terry Pratchett
4.0
This is not my first entry into the much acclaimed Discworld fantasy series as ‘The Colour of Magic’ was my introduction and while I didn’t dislike that book, I did find myself… underwhelmed. However I was told that his first book is ironically not the best place to start so therefore was keen to read another entry as I definitely saw potential in this whimsical and absurdist fantasy series. As I am a huge fan of mythology and loving texts based on real mythology e.g Neil
Gaiman’s American Gods or inventive new pantheons such as RF Kuang’s Poppy War trilogy, I chose ‘Small Gods’ and I was definitely not underwhelmed this time.
This book is an incredibly smart and pertinent discourse in religious theology. The story sees a young devout follower of the “Omnian” religion stumble upon his God stuck in the form of a tortoise, and he is the only one that can hear the great god speak. There, they journey to restore the god’s power and in doing so themes of ideology, the evolution of belief, culture and more are deeply explored. Pratchett does a remarkable job of balancing satire and the ridiculousness of his world with a genuine observation of religion and faith. According to Pratchett himself, he received fan mail from both believers of religion as well as atheists and agnostics both praising the book for supporting their position. So regardless of your view, there is plenty to take away and laugh at.
Speaking of which this is also a hilarious book, with many genuine laugh out loud moments for me. Pratchett is a master of levity and perfectly placed comedic elements. None of which undermines the story being told. He doesn’t sacrifice anything for a cheap joke, though there’s plenty of simple low-brow humour too.
This is the Discworld book I wish I started first, an intelligent, funny and thought provoking good time. This has skyrocketed to one of my favourite fantasy books of all time and made me excited to pick up another Discworld book.
Gaiman’s American Gods or inventive new pantheons such as RF Kuang’s Poppy War trilogy, I chose ‘Small Gods’ and I was definitely not underwhelmed this time.
This book is an incredibly smart and pertinent discourse in religious theology. The story sees a young devout follower of the “Omnian” religion stumble upon his God stuck in the form of a tortoise, and he is the only one that can hear the great god speak. There, they journey to restore the god’s power and in doing so themes of ideology, the evolution of belief, culture and more are deeply explored. Pratchett does a remarkable job of balancing satire and the ridiculousness of his world with a genuine observation of religion and faith. According to Pratchett himself, he received fan mail from both believers of religion as well as atheists and agnostics both praising the book for supporting their position. So regardless of your view, there is plenty to take away and laugh at.
Speaking of which this is also a hilarious book, with many genuine laugh out loud moments for me. Pratchett is a master of levity and perfectly placed comedic elements. None of which undermines the story being told. He doesn’t sacrifice anything for a cheap joke, though there’s plenty of simple low-brow humour too.
This is the Discworld book I wish I started first, an intelligent, funny and thought provoking good time. This has skyrocketed to one of my favourite fantasy books of all time and made me excited to pick up another Discworld book.