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Discworld #7
Pyramids
Being trained by the Assassin's Guild in Ankh-Morpork did not fit Teppic for the task assigned to him by fate. He inherited the throne of the desert kingdom of Djelibeybi rather earlier than he expected (his father wasn’t too happy about it either), but that was only the beginning of his problems...
341 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
2590 people are currently reading
23830 people want to read
About the author
Terry Pratchett
680 books46.2k followersSir Terence David John Pratchett was an English author, humorist, and satirist, best known for the Discworld series of 41 comic fantasy novels published between 1983–2015, and for the apocalyptic comedy novel Good Omens (1990), which he co-wrote with Neil Gaiman.
Pratchett's first novel, The Carpet People, was published in 1971. The first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983, after which Pratchett wrote an average of two books a year. The final Discworld novel, The Shepherd's Crown, was published in August 2015, five months after his death.
With more than 100 million books sold worldwide in 43 languages, Pratchett was the UK's best-selling author of the 1990s. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1998 and was knighted for services to literature in the 2009 New Year Honours. In 2001 he won the annual Carnegie Medal for The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, the first Discworld book marketed for children. He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2010.
In December 2007 Pratchett announced that he had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. He later made a substantial public donation to the Alzheimer's Research Trust (now Alzheimer's Research UK, ARUK), filmed three television programmes chronicling his experiences with the condition for the BBC, and became a patron of ARUK. Pratchett died on 12 March 2015, at the age of 66.
Pratchett's first novel, The Carpet People, was published in 1971. The first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983, after which Pratchett wrote an average of two books a year. The final Discworld novel, The Shepherd's Crown, was published in August 2015, five months after his death.
With more than 100 million books sold worldwide in 43 languages, Pratchett was the UK's best-selling author of the 1990s. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1998 and was knighted for services to literature in the 2009 New Year Honours. In 2001 he won the annual Carnegie Medal for The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, the first Discworld book marketed for children. He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2010.
In December 2007 Pratchett announced that he had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. He later made a substantial public donation to the Alzheimer's Research Trust (now Alzheimer's Research UK, ARUK), filmed three television programmes chronicling his experiences with the condition for the BBC, and became a patron of ARUK. Pratchett died on 12 March 2015, at the age of 66.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,464 reviews
June 21, 2020
Conservatives vs progressives was, even in this version of ancient Egypt, a hot topic, and Pratchett ridicules the arguments of antiquated minds by exaggerating their prime goals and authorities in general.
It´s never bad for craftsmen to organize in guilds or unions and if the specialization is something not as mainstream as wood and metalwork, but, let´s say, different forms of working with living material, it gives the whole idea potential for satirizing the strange bureaucracy of the political apparatus. If robbers, assassins, smugglers, prostitutes,… all have their accepted, democratic councils and can influence legislation and jurisdiction, the manifold interests and manipulations that are forming the processes in real life can be shown in a new light.
Madness in the form of prestige buildings, world wonders costing the lives of tens of thousands and more, have such a fascination for humans that we may keep building them forever, no matter what a waste of time, resources, and money it is. Bloody old temples and pyramids, but the modern skyscrapers for which instead endless amounts of standard houses could be built, speak a similar language.
And it doesn´t stop with that, it stays, in Western countries, mostly just metaphorical dirty and gritty, but not in the third world, and in the ancient times nothing could be more fun than sacrificing and killing to ensure that the Gods are happy and willing to help the wise ruler. Who, befitting his rank, needed of course vast amounts of undead zombie servants, mistresses, court jesters, to have a good afterlife. Not to forget all the ones who didn´t already die as slave workers while constructing the monument tourists love to visit today, but were specialists building the treasure chambers and needed special treatments to ensure that they stayed silent and didn´t give away the secret of the exact location or where the Indiana Jones style pitfalls, rolling stones, murder holes, mystical paranormal bioweapons, etc. are hidden. Just as the architects, the soldiers killing the workers and the architects, the soldiers killing the soldiers, difficult to keep track of such things, one ought have a good coordinator. And kill her/him. And his family and friends in the style of ancient Asia until the seventh grade of acquaintance, piling one or two extra layers of corpses onto the dark, poisonous wedding cake of insanity and greed.
Today all is more subtle, politically correct, greenwashed, bigoted, corporate responsible, dishonest, code of conducty, PR fine tuned, state media approved,… but if I see a headquarter of a company, bank, public buildings, seat of governments and ministries, hotels,… I imagine the environmental destruction, neocolonialism, suffering, neoconservatism, neoliberalism, exploitation,… leading to superpowerful states able to construct such useless monuments of oldfashioned thinking of nationality, patriotism, and megalomania.
One of the rare cases that Pratchett uses a bit of theoretical hard science as a plot element, may be a reminiscence of some of his first attempts at writing, including some Sci-Fi ideas. It´s used to show that it may be disillusioning and frustrating to meet the idols of ones´ time, be it different physically manifested ancient deities or possibly stars and politicians nowadays. Exceptions are authors, of course, they are all admirable and epic.
I find this one of the funniest early works, showing that Pratchett trained his muscles enough and is coming closer and closer to ingenuity and unique telling talent. From now on, each book is a total must read, except of the later ones which turn dark and are sometimes so different that it may be difficult to find traces of Pratchetts´early, lighthearted, exceptionally funny, writing in them. And I don´t mean a bit sad or something, I mean depressingly and frustratingly showing the darkest sides of humankind in pictures ineradicable out of the readers´ mind.
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
This one is added to all Pratchettian reviews:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheibe...
The idea of the dissected motifs rocks, highlighting the main real world inspirational elements of fiction and satire is something usually done with so called higher literature, but a much more interesting field in readable literature, as it offers the joy of reading, subtle criticism, and feeling smart all together.
It´s never bad for craftsmen to organize in guilds or unions and if the specialization is something not as mainstream as wood and metalwork, but, let´s say, different forms of working with living material, it gives the whole idea potential for satirizing the strange bureaucracy of the political apparatus. If robbers, assassins, smugglers, prostitutes,… all have their accepted, democratic councils and can influence legislation and jurisdiction, the manifold interests and manipulations that are forming the processes in real life can be shown in a new light.
Madness in the form of prestige buildings, world wonders costing the lives of tens of thousands and more, have such a fascination for humans that we may keep building them forever, no matter what a waste of time, resources, and money it is. Bloody old temples and pyramids, but the modern skyscrapers for which instead endless amounts of standard houses could be built, speak a similar language.
And it doesn´t stop with that, it stays, in Western countries, mostly just metaphorical dirty and gritty, but not in the third world, and in the ancient times nothing could be more fun than sacrificing and killing to ensure that the Gods are happy and willing to help the wise ruler. Who, befitting his rank, needed of course vast amounts of undead zombie servants, mistresses, court jesters, to have a good afterlife. Not to forget all the ones who didn´t already die as slave workers while constructing the monument tourists love to visit today, but were specialists building the treasure chambers and needed special treatments to ensure that they stayed silent and didn´t give away the secret of the exact location or where the Indiana Jones style pitfalls, rolling stones, murder holes, mystical paranormal bioweapons, etc. are hidden. Just as the architects, the soldiers killing the workers and the architects, the soldiers killing the soldiers, difficult to keep track of such things, one ought have a good coordinator. And kill her/him. And his family and friends in the style of ancient Asia until the seventh grade of acquaintance, piling one or two extra layers of corpses onto the dark, poisonous wedding cake of insanity and greed.
Today all is more subtle, politically correct, greenwashed, bigoted, corporate responsible, dishonest, code of conducty, PR fine tuned, state media approved,… but if I see a headquarter of a company, bank, public buildings, seat of governments and ministries, hotels,… I imagine the environmental destruction, neocolonialism, suffering, neoconservatism, neoliberalism, exploitation,… leading to superpowerful states able to construct such useless monuments of oldfashioned thinking of nationality, patriotism, and megalomania.
One of the rare cases that Pratchett uses a bit of theoretical hard science as a plot element, may be a reminiscence of some of his first attempts at writing, including some Sci-Fi ideas. It´s used to show that it may be disillusioning and frustrating to meet the idols of ones´ time, be it different physically manifested ancient deities or possibly stars and politicians nowadays. Exceptions are authors, of course, they are all admirable and epic.
I find this one of the funniest early works, showing that Pratchett trained his muscles enough and is coming closer and closer to ingenuity and unique telling talent. From now on, each book is a total must read, except of the later ones which turn dark and are sometimes so different that it may be difficult to find traces of Pratchetts´early, lighthearted, exceptionally funny, writing in them. And I don´t mean a bit sad or something, I mean depressingly and frustratingly showing the darkest sides of humankind in pictures ineradicable out of the readers´ mind.
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
This one is added to all Pratchettian reviews:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheibe...
The idea of the dissected motifs rocks, highlighting the main real world inspirational elements of fiction and satire is something usually done with so called higher literature, but a much more interesting field in readable literature, as it offers the joy of reading, subtle criticism, and feeling smart all together.
September 10, 2024
Pyramids is Sir Terry Pratchett’s 7th Discworld book and the Pratchett Smile-O-Meter is dancing happily as this is another fun ride with cool Uncle Terry.
This is a blisteringly funny satire on religion, faith and loyalty taking place in the blisteringly hot desert of Discworld in the Old Kingdom of Djelibeybi (which is of course analogous to Egypt in our world).
First published in 1989 and by this time Pratchett’s fame and fortune with the Discworld was established and he mixed things up a bit. The first of the “stand alone” Discworld books, this does not feature many of the standard Discworld characters or themes but Pratchett’s writing is as expected and this is just as funny and as acerbically satirical as any of his other excellent adventures.
Actually, though, this one goes a step further and was almost Vonnegutesque in it’s over the top, tongue-in-cheek attack on blind faith. Pratchett asks some tough questions and the answers are more than just playful spoofery as he demonstrates the bad and the worse of organized religion and the tyranny of traditionalism.
This also delves into some time and quantum elements that are hilariously Pratchett and we meet a very unexpected greatest mathematician in the Discworld.
A must read for Pratchett fans.
*** 2024 reread -
Too much fun.
Some have called this the first "stand alone" novel in the Discworld series, but I wonder what Terry was thinking about back then, he could have wanted to explore these themes more and we do see some very similar writing in Small Gods and Thief of Time.
"Pyramids are dams in the stream of time." Pratchett gets into some heady fantasy with maybe some science fiction elements as well as we spend some time with pyramids. The author also guides us through a satire on conservatism and tradition.
I always like to say, if the reason why we're doing something is because this is the way we've always done it, that's a bad reason. Pratchett spends some time with this concept but with thousands of years of tradition and with procedures that long ago lost their original meanings and are kept alive by religious dogma.
We also have another ruler trained as an assassin, mummies, a very smart camel with the best name in fiction since Hiro Protagonist, a reference to Gene Wolfe, lots of classical, Biblical and mythological references and maybe the best Sphinx scene this side of Monty Python.
This is a blisteringly funny satire on religion, faith and loyalty taking place in the blisteringly hot desert of Discworld in the Old Kingdom of Djelibeybi (which is of course analogous to Egypt in our world).
First published in 1989 and by this time Pratchett’s fame and fortune with the Discworld was established and he mixed things up a bit. The first of the “stand alone” Discworld books, this does not feature many of the standard Discworld characters or themes but Pratchett’s writing is as expected and this is just as funny and as acerbically satirical as any of his other excellent adventures.
Actually, though, this one goes a step further and was almost Vonnegutesque in it’s over the top, tongue-in-cheek attack on blind faith. Pratchett asks some tough questions and the answers are more than just playful spoofery as he demonstrates the bad and the worse of organized religion and the tyranny of traditionalism.
This also delves into some time and quantum elements that are hilariously Pratchett and we meet a very unexpected greatest mathematician in the Discworld.
A must read for Pratchett fans.
*** 2024 reread -
Too much fun.
Some have called this the first "stand alone" novel in the Discworld series, but I wonder what Terry was thinking about back then, he could have wanted to explore these themes more and we do see some very similar writing in Small Gods and Thief of Time.
"Pyramids are dams in the stream of time." Pratchett gets into some heady fantasy with maybe some science fiction elements as well as we spend some time with pyramids. The author also guides us through a satire on conservatism and tradition.
I always like to say, if the reason why we're doing something is because this is the way we've always done it, that's a bad reason. Pratchett spends some time with this concept but with thousands of years of tradition and with procedures that long ago lost their original meanings and are kept alive by religious dogma.
We also have another ruler trained as an assassin, mummies, a very smart camel with the best name in fiction since Hiro Protagonist, a reference to Gene Wolfe, lots of classical, Biblical and mythological references and maybe the best Sphinx scene this side of Monty Python.
June 30, 2024
Buddy Series Read with Trish 2024 onwards
Well I seem to have said it all when I read it 5 years ago. I just want to re-iterate that this is not just a funny book, but very cleverly written. A real loss the day Sir Terry died.
Solo Series Read 2019 , unfinished
So this was close to a 5 star ⭐️ book, but topped out at 4.49 recurring, thus meaning due to the law of fractals and quantum, it rounds down to 4, well that’s all according to ”You Bastard” you understand 😂
More to follow when Jeht, the Boatman of the Solar Orb, rises on the morrow.
So I'm guessing that Thrrp, The Charioteer of the Sun has also been through since I finished the book, but never mind, I'm sure I shall be forgiven if I build a pyramid in my garden.
So this book, is outrageously funny and just such a brilliant observation on human character, from Teppic the new King, through Chidder the assassin to Ptraci the handmaiden, Endos, the listener, Ptaclusp the builder, Dios the head priest and Teppicymon the dead King. But then it is Sir Terry's oh so accurate portrayal of humans that makes his books so poignant and amusing.
This book focuses on the new Kings plans to drag his (small) kingdom into the modern age, with items like plumbing and mattresses. He's learnt about these mod cons by being sent to assassins training school in Ankh Morpk, and on graduation and the death of his father tries to bring these modern ideas back to his kingdom.
Unfortunately he doesn't bank on his "conservative" Head Priest Dios, who lives his life by ritual and regularity and has no time for religion despite believing that Net was the Supreme God, oh as was Hast, Fon, Set, Bin, Sot, Dhek and Ptooie, as well as a host of others. The trouble was the kingdom was a slave to ritual and to a multitude of Gods for every occasion, with many duplicates.
With his father about to be entombed in the mother of all pyramids, calamity strikes and well, you just have to read it to find out how Teppic restores the kingdom and where the greatest living mathematician at the time, the camel, You Bastard fits in !!.
And come to think of it why was it only 4.49 recurring, maybe it was 4.51 ?? Quick send for You Bastard.
Well I seem to have said it all when I read it 5 years ago. I just want to re-iterate that this is not just a funny book, but very cleverly written. A real loss the day Sir Terry died.
Solo Series Read 2019 , unfinished
So this was close to a 5 star ⭐️ book, but topped out at 4.49 recurring, thus meaning due to the law of fractals and quantum, it rounds down to 4, well that’s all according to ”You Bastard” you understand 😂
More to follow when Jeht, the Boatman of the Solar Orb, rises on the morrow.
So I'm guessing that Thrrp, The Charioteer of the Sun has also been through since I finished the book, but never mind, I'm sure I shall be forgiven if I build a pyramid in my garden.
So this book, is outrageously funny and just such a brilliant observation on human character, from Teppic the new King, through Chidder the assassin to Ptraci the handmaiden, Endos, the listener, Ptaclusp the builder, Dios the head priest and Teppicymon the dead King. But then it is Sir Terry's oh so accurate portrayal of humans that makes his books so poignant and amusing.
This book focuses on the new Kings plans to drag his (small) kingdom into the modern age, with items like plumbing and mattresses. He's learnt about these mod cons by being sent to assassins training school in Ankh Morpk, and on graduation and the death of his father tries to bring these modern ideas back to his kingdom.
Unfortunately he doesn't bank on his "conservative" Head Priest Dios, who lives his life by ritual and regularity and has no time for religion despite believing that Net was the Supreme God, oh as was Hast, Fon, Set, Bin, Sot, Dhek and Ptooie, as well as a host of others. The trouble was the kingdom was a slave to ritual and to a multitude of Gods for every occasion, with many duplicates.
With his father about to be entombed in the mother of all pyramids, calamity strikes and well, you just have to read it to find out how Teppic restores the kingdom and where the greatest living mathematician at the time, the camel, You Bastard fits in !!.
And come to think of it why was it only 4.49 recurring, maybe it was 4.51 ?? Quick send for You Bastard.
April 17, 2022
Clever, funny and amusing. Very familiar and yet fresh. Maybe it's because I like mummies and ancient Egypt, I enjoyed it so much, but parody on gods and religion is very witty.
May 15, 2023
Discworld 7: The story of how Terric becomes an assassin, and then is forced into his inheritance to become the Pharaoh of a small, penniless country engrossed in building a monumental pyramid to honour his dead father. British Science Fiction Award winner - 1989. I am still finding it really hard to see what is so great about this mass selling, mass adored reality. A 3 out of 12, One Star read for me!
2011 read
2011 read
April 28, 2024
Re-Read 4/28/24:
I think I said it pretty much straight in my previous review, but I really should mention that the totally un-elected sun will also rise.
And, truly, a kingdom always needs a camel much more than a king.
That being said, I just bumped my star rating up to a full 5 on this one. I guess the third one's the charm. Now, where can I find a GOOD carpet?
Original review:
I think I may have enjoyed this one a bit more the second time around, but not enough to change my rating. :) Indeed, I had a lot more fun with all the quantum irregularities surrounding the Pyramids out in the boonies of Discworld.
There's a lot of great ribbing for conspiracy theorists who go on and on about the dimensions of the real pyramids and the mystical importance, even going so far as to make these monuments (at least here) into time-recyclers. It's very funny and Death isn't pleased. Fortunately for Death, however, what he doesn't know won't kill him.
It was also rather funny seeing a "handmaid" who'd never "serviced" a king and an "assassin" who'd never killed anyone fumble around their conversations with one another.
But really, I think I had the most fun with the camels. They were a very nice touch. I always thought there was something of a math genius in all of them. Quantum accounting aside, I thought this was a very interesting and funny novel, giving us a nice background for the Assassin's guild while not precisely overburdening us (at all) with characters we'll grow to love later.
That being said, I had a good time and probably a bit more than the other one-off Discworld novels that came before it. :)
I think I said it pretty much straight in my previous review, but I really should mention that the totally un-elected sun will also rise.
And, truly, a kingdom always needs a camel much more than a king.
That being said, I just bumped my star rating up to a full 5 on this one. I guess the third one's the charm. Now, where can I find a GOOD carpet?
Original review:
I think I may have enjoyed this one a bit more the second time around, but not enough to change my rating. :) Indeed, I had a lot more fun with all the quantum irregularities surrounding the Pyramids out in the boonies of Discworld.
There's a lot of great ribbing for conspiracy theorists who go on and on about the dimensions of the real pyramids and the mystical importance, even going so far as to make these monuments (at least here) into time-recyclers. It's very funny and Death isn't pleased. Fortunately for Death, however, what he doesn't know won't kill him.
It was also rather funny seeing a "handmaid" who'd never "serviced" a king and an "assassin" who'd never killed anyone fumble around their conversations with one another.
But really, I think I had the most fun with the camels. They were a very nice touch. I always thought there was something of a math genius in all of them. Quantum accounting aside, I thought this was a very interesting and funny novel, giving us a nice background for the Assassin's guild while not precisely overburdening us (at all) with characters we'll grow to love later.
That being said, I had a good time and probably a bit more than the other one-off Discworld novels that came before it. :)
March 29, 2019
The desert kingdom of Djelibeybi is THE country to get yourself the ultimate eternal resting place. Boasting a history of thousands of years, its kings and queens had ample time to pepper the shore of the river Djel with pyramids of various sizes. Of course, such an endeavor is not exactly cheap and unsurprisingly, the entire kingdom is neck deep in debt.
It is now up to 12-year-old crown prince Pteppic to save the country. He was signed up at the prestigious Assassin's Guild in far off Ankh Morpork, to become a certified assassin... provided of course, he can survive the grueling training.
Pyramids had a lot of potential as a concept, and to his credit, sir Terry Pratchett really tried to cover as much of Egyptian history and customs as possible... and therein lies the problem.
The first part (my favorite) mainly covers Pteppic's assassin training. We learn a lot about the customs of the Assassins' Guild, about the type of people who'd enlist for training, not to mention the extremely difficult graduation exam. So an excellent treat for anyone wishing for Discworld world-building.
The second part focuses on Pteppic's life back in Djelibeybi, as he tries to adapt (again) to life at home, sans the modern comforts of Ankh Morpork... such as plumbing. I was torn between humor and genuine sadness when he finds out just how powerless a king is in his country.
The third and final part details the supernatural adventures of Pteppic and Ptracy, while trying to save the kingdom, from all its legends and beliefs. This was the place where my patience became rather thin, and my close-to-non-existent attention span began to take a hike.
Sore: 3/5 stars
A very good starting point, but lost in a much too convoluted storyline.
For those of you hoping to encounter one of your favorite Discworld characters, choose another book... unless you're happy with a minor guest appearance from Death.
In theory, there should be something for almost everyone in this book. Cramming ancient Mythology, History and Mathematics in less 350 pages, is not the best way to go about it, though.
It is now up to 12-year-old crown prince Pteppic to save the country. He was signed up at the prestigious Assassin's Guild in far off Ankh Morpork, to become a certified assassin... provided of course, he can survive the grueling training.
Pyramids had a lot of potential as a concept, and to his credit, sir Terry Pratchett really tried to cover as much of Egyptian history and customs as possible... and therein lies the problem.
The first part (my favorite) mainly covers Pteppic's assassin training. We learn a lot about the customs of the Assassins' Guild, about the type of people who'd enlist for training, not to mention the extremely difficult graduation exam. So an excellent treat for anyone wishing for Discworld world-building.
The second part focuses on Pteppic's life back in Djelibeybi, as he tries to adapt (again) to life at home, sans the modern comforts of Ankh Morpork... such as plumbing. I was torn between humor and genuine sadness when he finds out just how powerless a king is in his country.
The third and final part details the supernatural adventures of Pteppic and Ptracy, while trying to save the kingdom, from all its legends and beliefs. This was the place where my patience became rather thin, and my close-to-non-existent attention span began to take a hike.
Sore: 3/5 stars
A very good starting point, but lost in a much too convoluted storyline.
For those of you hoping to encounter one of your favorite Discworld characters, choose another book... unless you're happy with a minor guest appearance from Death.
In theory, there should be something for almost everyone in this book. Cramming ancient Mythology, History and Mathematics in less 350 pages, is not the best way to go about it, though.
February 7, 2017
Terry Pratchett takes the mick out of ancient Egyptians, hilarity follows
Overview
Pyramids gets a solid 4 star rating. I rarely have a physical reaction when I'm reading but I was chuckling on the train to this one…hopefully not too loudly! This has turned me from a fan to a Pratchett fanboy.
Structure
Pyramids uses a fairly straight forward structure. It's linear and focuses, mainly, on Teppic our main character. The paragraphs are nice and short in the main. It also includes the nice little footnotes that Pratchett uses in most of his works. All in all, a very easy book to read.
Characters
Teppic is one of the better characters I've come across in the Discworld. There are funny moments littered throughout and I did end up feeling sorry for him throughout this book. And that's the holy grail when writing characters isn't it, make me feel for them. Pratchett certainly does so here.
There isn't a huge amount of character development, Teppic’s arc is good, but considering the type of book this is there is no need to have a hugely meaningful and introspective dive into the character.
The side characters are all well formed. I loved Teppicymon when he was a ghost commenting how silly all the pyramid nonsense was.
Writing
This is where Pratchett thrives, in his writing. If you laid out any two or three sentences and asked me to identify it's owner, it would be easy to spot Pratchett’s work. It's simply beautiful. Here's a few of my favourites:
Mere animals couldn’t possibly manage to act like this. You need to be a human being to be really stupid.
‘In layman’s terms,’ the doctor sniffed, ‘he’s as dead as a doornail.’ ‘What are the complications?’ The doctor looked shifty. ‘He’s still breathing,’ he said. <><><>‘Well, what can you do about it?’ said Arthur. ‘Nothing. He’s dead. All the medical tests prove it. So, er … bury him, keep him nice and cool, and tell him to come and see me next week. In daylight, for preference.’
He also gets brownie points for using the word inhume to describe assassination.
Complaints
I didn't spot any errors within. My only minor complaint came with the end where it got a little confused and jumped to different povs almost from paragraph to paragraph which meant I found myself having to back track just to keep up. As I said though, fairly minor.
Overview
Pyramids gets a solid 4 star rating. I rarely have a physical reaction when I'm reading but I was chuckling on the train to this one…hopefully not too loudly! This has turned me from a fan to a Pratchett fanboy.
Structure
Pyramids uses a fairly straight forward structure. It's linear and focuses, mainly, on Teppic our main character. The paragraphs are nice and short in the main. It also includes the nice little footnotes that Pratchett uses in most of his works. All in all, a very easy book to read.
Characters
Teppic is one of the better characters I've come across in the Discworld. There are funny moments littered throughout and I did end up feeling sorry for him throughout this book. And that's the holy grail when writing characters isn't it, make me feel for them. Pratchett certainly does so here.
There isn't a huge amount of character development, Teppic’s arc is good, but considering the type of book this is there is no need to have a hugely meaningful and introspective dive into the character.
The side characters are all well formed. I loved Teppicymon when he was a ghost commenting how silly all the pyramid nonsense was.
Writing
This is where Pratchett thrives, in his writing. If you laid out any two or three sentences and asked me to identify it's owner, it would be easy to spot Pratchett’s work. It's simply beautiful. Here's a few of my favourites:
Mere animals couldn’t possibly manage to act like this. You need to be a human being to be really stupid.
‘In layman’s terms,’ the doctor sniffed, ‘he’s as dead as a doornail.’ ‘What are the complications?’ The doctor looked shifty. ‘He’s still breathing,’ he said. <><><>‘Well, what can you do about it?’ said Arthur. ‘Nothing. He’s dead. All the medical tests prove it. So, er … bury him, keep him nice and cool, and tell him to come and see me next week. In daylight, for preference.’
He also gets brownie points for using the word inhume to describe assassination.
Complaints
I didn't spot any errors within. My only minor complaint came with the end where it got a little confused and jumped to different povs almost from paragraph to paragraph which meant I found myself having to back track just to keep up. As I said though, fairly minor.
April 21, 2014
When I think about the Discworld series I instinctively want to give them all 5 stars, they (via Sir Pratchett) provide such a huge amount of entertainment, fire such delights of imagination and offer much food for thought on any number of subjects both Big and small and yet as I run through the audio books in an attempts to stem the flowing tide of flabby bits about my middle I find myself unable to truthfully say that every entry is worthy of that ultimate rating. Pyramids is one such title, it is a fabulously funny book, loaded with memorable moments, classic Pratchett characters and his trademark dismantling of every day absurdities in our own reality via his fantastical world, in this instance religion, and yet it doesn't quite cause me to explode with enthusiasm for it as Mort or Wyrd Sisters did previously and I expect Guards! Guards! to do next.
"What's lacking?" I hear you scream and the answer is that I honestly couldn't tell you, if I knew that I'd probably be a poor struggling book editor/publisher instead of a comfortable house husband with a lifetime of renovations with a cold beer in my hand to look forward to. The teenage years of Teppic is our first real look at the inner workings of that most illustrious of Ankh-Morpork guilds, the Assassins and Pratchett pretty much nails it first time, creating a believable and fascinating world within the city within the world and if anything there isn't ENOUGH attention paid to it. The Kingdom of Djelibeybi (potentially a silly joke but one that seems to work and make me smile every time, especially in audio book!) with its ancient customs and giant pyramids is a minefield of clever puns, and religious satire and the overall plot is one that is both completely obvious from the outset and yet the path to enlightenment is littered with detours through crocodile infested rivers and camel laden deserts so that you can easily forget that you know how things will end.
Considering the humble beginnings of this series Pratchett has very quickly spread his wings and in doing so the scope of the Disc has opened up enormously in just a few short novels. It's really quite remarkable the changes in style and content and already by book seven there's nobody else quite like him or likely ever will be again.
"What's lacking?" I hear you scream and the answer is that I honestly couldn't tell you, if I knew that I'd probably be a poor struggling book editor/publisher instead of a comfortable house husband with a lifetime of renovations with a cold beer in my hand to look forward to. The teenage years of Teppic is our first real look at the inner workings of that most illustrious of Ankh-Morpork guilds, the Assassins and Pratchett pretty much nails it first time, creating a believable and fascinating world within the city within the world and if anything there isn't ENOUGH attention paid to it. The Kingdom of Djelibeybi (potentially a silly joke but one that seems to work and make me smile every time, especially in audio book!) with its ancient customs and giant pyramids is a minefield of clever puns, and religious satire and the overall plot is one that is both completely obvious from the outset and yet the path to enlightenment is littered with detours through crocodile infested rivers and camel laden deserts so that you can easily forget that you know how things will end.
Considering the humble beginnings of this series Pratchett has very quickly spread his wings and in doing so the scope of the Disc has opened up enormously in just a few short novels. It's really quite remarkable the changes in style and content and already by book seven there's nobody else quite like him or likely ever will be again.
April 28, 2025
„Пирамиди“ е много приятна сатира на древноегипетските нрави и религия! Забавният и поучителен сюжет е разгърнат в царство, което е част от Света на Диска, обаче историята е самостоятелна. Мисля че книгата би била доста подходяща за първа среща с творчеството на големия Тери Пратчет.
„Диос беше максимално върховен жрец в националната религия, която беше ферментирала, сраствала и бълбукала в продължение на повече от седем хиляди години и никога не изхвърляше никой бог, защото все може да ти потрябва за нещо. Знаеше, че голямо количество взаимно изключващи се неща си бяха верни. Ако не бяха — тогава религията и вярата не ставаха за нищо, а ако те не стават за нищо — значи в такъв случай светът не съществува. В резултат на този начин на мислене жреците на Джел бяха в състояние да предоставят умствено пространство за редица идеи, които биха принудили всеки квантов механик да се предаде и върне куфарчето с инструментите си.“
„Диос беше максимално върховен жрец в националната религия, която беше ферментирала, сраствала и бълбукала в продължение на повече от седем хиляди години и никога не изхвърляше никой бог, защото все може да ти потрябва за нещо. Знаеше, че голямо количество взаимно изключващи се неща си бяха верни. Ако не бяха — тогава религията и вярата не ставаха за нищо, а ако те не стават за нищо — значи в такъв случай светът не съществува. В резултат на този начин на мислене жреците на Джел бяха в състояние да предоставят умствено пространство за редица идеи, които биха принудили всеки квантов механик да се предаде и върне куфарчето с инструментите си.“
February 10, 2023
як завжди добре, як завжди важко запам'ятати чим все закінчилося.
November 9, 2017
This seventh Discworld novel is, for once, divided into three parts.
The first part, The Book of Going Forth, tells the story of the main character Pteppic (I'm reminded of the German word Teppich, which means carpet). He is the son of the ruler of the desert-country of Djelibeybi (the Discworld equivalent of Egypt) but because his mother insisted on a foreign education before her death, he spent most of his years at Ankh-Morpork's Assassin's Guild.
The second part, The Book of the Dead, takes the reader and Pteppic back to Pteppic's home country after his father's death, where he become's the new king (pharaoh). We learn about Djelibeybi's culture and beliefs.
The third and final part, The Book of the New Son, details Pteppic's and Ptraci's quest to undo the problems from the gigantic pyramid and putting everything back in order.
Naturally, since this is Terry Pratchett, he also talks about all manner of other topics from religion and the power of belief to tradition vs. reform, antique and modern concepts, the role of women in all of that (although only lightly here) and education in all its forms.
What stands out here is the amount of clever puns and twists on well-known stories from our world. The puns are not only used to explain phenomena on the Discworld but are even used as names of characters (like IIb which spells as "to be" and is the name of the eldest son of Ptaclusp, who is of course destined to become his father's successor - his younger brother is called IIa).
So while the book has a straight-forward story, as usual for Pratchett's Discworld, it's more about what the story is used to explore in the author's trademark humour, which isn't for everyone but I love it.
The first part, The Book of Going Forth, tells the story of the main character Pteppic (I'm reminded of the German word Teppich, which means carpet). He is the son of the ruler of the desert-country of Djelibeybi (the Discworld equivalent of Egypt) but because his mother insisted on a foreign education before her death, he spent most of his years at Ankh-Morpork's Assassin's Guild.
The second part, The Book of the Dead, takes the reader and Pteppic back to Pteppic's home country after his father's death, where he become's the new king (pharaoh). We learn about Djelibeybi's culture and beliefs.
The third and final part, The Book of the New Son, details Pteppic's and Ptraci's quest to undo the problems from the gigantic pyramid and putting everything back in order.
The story itself was not as laugh-out-loud funny as the ones about the witches or Death, but the very sarcastic and ironic view on Egyptology (culture and mythology of Ancient Egypt) was immense fun nonetheless - I suppose because I always liked anything to do with Ancient Egypt so much.
Naturally, since this is Terry Pratchett, he also talks about all manner of other topics from religion and the power of belief to tradition vs. reform, antique and modern concepts, the role of women in all of that (although only lightly here) and education in all its forms.
What stands out here is the amount of clever puns and twists on well-known stories from our world. The puns are not only used to explain phenomena on the Discworld but are even used as names of characters (like IIb which spells as "to be" and is the name of the eldest son of Ptaclusp, who is of course destined to become his father's successor - his younger brother is called IIa).
So while the book has a straight-forward story, as usual for Pratchett's Discworld, it's more about what the story is used to explore in the author's trademark humour, which isn't for everyone but I love it.
September 19, 2025
Zamiast silić się na recenzowanie konkretnych tomów, postanowiłem, że będę wyrzucał swoje ulubione cytaty.
Cytat na dzisiaj:
"Błędem jest próba rozweselenia wielbłąda. Równie dobrze można by wrzucać bezy do czarnej dziury."
Dziękuję bardzo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nb57...
Cytat na dzisiaj:
"Błędem jest próba rozweselenia wielbłąda. Równie dobrze można by wrzucać bezy do czarnej dziury."
Dziękuję bardzo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nb57...
April 29, 2024
The seventh in my re-read of the entire Discworld series and it was even better this time around!
One reason why I decided to re-read the series is that I can never just indulge in one of the volumes. The other is that the audiobooks were newly produced and the casts looked amazing.
Reading this seventh book (in chronological order) are:
Teppic (a funny pun on the German word for carpet) is the heir to the desert kingdom of Djelibeybi and has left his home to become a member of the Assassin's Guild in Ankh-Morpork. However, it does't take long before fate recalls him home ... his father has died, and he doesn't like it any more than Teppic does. Especially since everything he believed in while alive now seems rather silly - and nobody listens to him regarding his true last wish.
But there are even bigger problems in the kingdom. You see, they have been building bigger and bigger pyramids for thousands of years and that sort of thing can mess with ... celestial math. Just ask Youbastard, the camel.
I did appreciate the highly critical look at history, religion, traditions and political systems much more this time around. Accepting anything uncritically "because if it was good enough for your grandfather, it will be bloody well good enough for you, too" hit far closer to home now than when I read this book for the first time. It's the perpetual struggle between the older and younger generation for whether or not things should change and how much / in what direction.
Once again, the audio version was absolutely charming and the actors reading the book were fantastic. Alfred Enoch had a wonderful way of giving the desert-dry humour that extra oomph to drive home every point. Absolutely fantastic!
One reason why I decided to re-read the series is that I can never just indulge in one of the volumes. The other is that the audiobooks were newly produced and the casts looked amazing.
Reading this seventh book (in chronological order) are:
Teppic (a funny pun on the German word for carpet) is the heir to the desert kingdom of Djelibeybi and has left his home to become a member of the Assassin's Guild in Ankh-Morpork. However, it does't take long before fate recalls him home ... his father has died, and he doesn't like it any more than Teppic does. Especially since everything he believed in while alive now seems rather silly - and nobody listens to him regarding his true last wish.
But there are even bigger problems in the kingdom. You see, they have been building bigger and bigger pyramids for thousands of years and that sort of thing can mess with ... celestial math. Just ask Youbastard, the camel.
I did appreciate the highly critical look at history, religion, traditions and political systems much more this time around. Accepting anything uncritically "because if it was good enough for your grandfather, it will be bloody well good enough for you, too" hit far closer to home now than when I read this book for the first time. It's the perpetual struggle between the older and younger generation for whether or not things should change and how much / in what direction.
Once again, the audio version was absolutely charming and the actors reading the book were fantastic. Alfred Enoch had a wonderful way of giving the desert-dry humour that extra oomph to drive home every point. Absolutely fantastic!
March 15, 2023
The camel, You Bastard, is worth the price of admission in this Discworld novel. I loved that Pratchett conceived of his camels being the mathematical geniuses of that world. Apparently, with no fingers to hold back their counting and great boredom on long desert treks, there was time and incentive to develop mathematical expertise.
Add to that the details that fascinate us all about Ancient Egypt. We all picture pyramids, hieroglyphics, gods, priests, and the Pharaoh, and Pratchett provides them all, but from his own hilarious perspective. He manages to comment on the need to keep up with societal changes and how new politicians can get weighed down under the trappings of tradition, handicapping their attempts to modernize.
I already have the next Discworld book in hand, ready for another romp.
Add to that the details that fascinate us all about Ancient Egypt. We all picture pyramids, hieroglyphics, gods, priests, and the Pharaoh, and Pratchett provides them all, but from his own hilarious perspective. He manages to comment on the need to keep up with societal changes and how new politicians can get weighed down under the trappings of tradition, handicapping their attempts to modernize.
I already have the next Discworld book in hand, ready for another romp.
November 5, 2023
I find this a pretty complicated read to be honest. It does have some great moments though. You Bastard is a brilliant character. He’s a genius mathematician but nobody will ever know it as he’s a camel. And Djelibeybi being both a funny little reference to the fourth incarnation of the doctor (Doctor Who) for me and a fascinating setting mirroring ancient Egypt is really cool. Overall, not the greatest Discworld novel but it’s definitely not bad.
April 16, 2024
Oooo, i needed that!!!! Just as exquisite and funny and inelegant as i needed it to be!!!! i LOVE this author!!!
March 4, 2021
Thus continues my weary slog through the early volumes of Discworld. As I go along, it is less and less surprising to me that my first attempt at reading this series in order 25 years ago fell to pieces less than ten books in. This volume is set in crypto-ancient Egypt and Greece. It never made its way to becoming the start of one of Pratchett's several series-within-series (i.e. Death, the Watch), although there is at least one element--the assassin's school and guild--that continues into future volumes.
I sense a proto-Small Gods or Hogfather in some occasional ponderings on belief. During part of the story, legendary figures such as gods come to perceptible life. Believing that a monstrous dung beetle rolls the sun across the sky is quite a different thing than a literal, actual monstrous dung beetle rolling the sun across the sky. Especially when it's in competition with a charioteer, and other mythological conceptions about the sun.
Other than that point of interest, you've got the most stereotypical imagery that one can imagine when given "ancient Egypt" or "Ancient Greece" for a base--olives, grapes, handmaidens, camels, mummies, gods with animal heads, pyramids with mystical powers, etc. etc.
Though all the characters, unsurprisingly, feel British at their core. You've got the rather naïve protagonist dragged around by circumstance, who also somehow also causes revolutionary change in his society. The pragmatic, sexy girl. A wily, hidebound head priest. Swathes of one-note supporting characters, 99.5% of whom are male. Maybe reading Cranford in tandem made the biases of this book stand out more, but come on. There is only one central character who's a woman, and maybe two very minor female characters in the whole thing, and otherwise it's wall-to-wall dudes.
This was a slow-as-molasses read that I never greatly enjoyed while reading, and never felt excited to pick back up again. It isn't terrible in the way that Eric was, but there's nowhere near enough good in it to counterbalance how tedious it is. Admittedly, the last half went much quicker than the first, and it all comes together decently. But I'm very glad to have it behind me so I can say I've done my duty by it... and can now bid it farewell forever. Like the aforementioned Eric, and Sourcery, it's worth reading only to say you've read them all, in my opinion. I am looking forward to Small Gods, and to Reaper Man which I'll be reading for the third time, because it's actually good!
I sense a proto-Small Gods or Hogfather in some occasional ponderings on belief. During part of the story, legendary figures such as gods come to perceptible life. Believing that a monstrous dung beetle rolls the sun across the sky is quite a different thing than a literal, actual monstrous dung beetle rolling the sun across the sky. Especially when it's in competition with a charioteer, and other mythological conceptions about the sun.
Other than that point of interest, you've got the most stereotypical imagery that one can imagine when given "ancient Egypt" or "Ancient Greece" for a base--olives, grapes, handmaidens, camels, mummies, gods with animal heads, pyramids with mystical powers, etc. etc.
Though all the characters, unsurprisingly, feel British at their core. You've got the rather naïve protagonist dragged around by circumstance, who also somehow also causes revolutionary change in his society. The pragmatic, sexy girl. A wily, hidebound head priest. Swathes of one-note supporting characters, 99.5% of whom are male. Maybe reading Cranford in tandem made the biases of this book stand out more, but come on. There is only one central character who's a woman, and maybe two very minor female characters in the whole thing, and otherwise it's wall-to-wall dudes.
This was a slow-as-molasses read that I never greatly enjoyed while reading, and never felt excited to pick back up again. It isn't terrible in the way that Eric was, but there's nowhere near enough good in it to counterbalance how tedious it is. Admittedly, the last half went much quicker than the first, and it all comes together decently. But I'm very glad to have it behind me so I can say I've done my duty by it... and can now bid it farewell forever. Like the aforementioned Eric, and Sourcery, it's worth reading only to say you've read them all, in my opinion. I am looking forward to Small Gods, and to Reaper Man which I'll be reading for the third time, because it's actually good!
March 3, 2025
3.5 stars
March 16, 2020
3.5
Necesitaba un libro que no perteneciese a ninguna saga ni fuese demasiado difícil de leer. Después de mucho pensarlo, me acordé de la “Piromides” de Terry Prachett. Sí, es cierto Prachett es un autor que puede leerse de tres maneras: siguiendo un orden cronológico, comenzando por el primer libro “El color de la magia- La luz Fantastica-ritos iguales…etc”; una segunda que es por la que opto yo por sagas “Brujas, magos, guardias, muerte…; y finalmente una tercera que es leer los libros en el orden que quieras porque no hay riesgo de spoiler.
Este libro en cuestión pertenece a la saga de las “antiguas civilizaciones” sin embargo no tiene un enlace directo con otras de las sagas ni con el siguiente libro por lo que me dispuse a ello. La premisa no era mala, típico libro de Prachett, me dije a mi misma: conociéndote seguro que te ríes por alguna tontería.
Al terminarlo me quedé como cuando empecé. No puedo decir que me haya encantado, simplemente me gustó, me pasó lo mismo con “Soul Music”. Considero que Prachett tiene mejores obras ( desde mi punto de vista) pero a pesar de todo no deja de ser un mal libro.
Necesitaba un libro que no perteneciese a ninguna saga ni fuese demasiado difícil de leer. Después de mucho pensarlo, me acordé de la “Piromides” de Terry Prachett. Sí, es cierto Prachett es un autor que puede leerse de tres maneras: siguiendo un orden cronológico, comenzando por el primer libro “El color de la magia- La luz Fantastica-ritos iguales…etc”; una segunda que es por la que opto yo por sagas “Brujas, magos, guardias, muerte…; y finalmente una tercera que es leer los libros en el orden que quieras porque no hay riesgo de spoiler.
Este libro en cuestión pertenece a la saga de las “antiguas civilizaciones” sin embargo no tiene un enlace directo con otras de las sagas ni con el siguiente libro por lo que me dispuse a ello. La premisa no era mala, típico libro de Prachett, me dije a mi misma: conociéndote seguro que te ríes por alguna tontería.
Al terminarlo me quedé como cuando empecé. No puedo decir que me haya encantado, simplemente me gustó, me pasó lo mismo con “Soul Music”. Considero que Prachett tiene mejores obras ( desde mi punto de vista) pero a pesar de todo no deja de ser un mal libro.
May 16, 2016
And the gods go crazy
24 November 2012
I am really glad that I decided to reread a the Discworld novels to give them a better commentary as I have found that I have been quite enjoying them, and in many ways they have been getting better and better. However, this is the second to last one that I read (and it seems that I may have originally read them in order of publication, since the last one I read was Guards, Guards, and that is sitting next to me waiting to be reread very soon). Pratchett seems to have tried another experiment in this one where he has created a number of new characters and a new setting, though like the other Discworld novels Anhk-Morpork does play a role.
In this story we travel to the kingdom of Djelibeybi (pronounced Jellybaby) which sits on the river Djel. It is very clear that this kingdom is based on Ancient Egypt, and it is nestled between the nations of Tsort and Ephebe (which is supposed to be Greece, right down to their drunken symposiums). The thing about Djelibeybi is that it is a kingdom where tradition rules, to the point that it is impossible for the king to actually break with tradition. However, the king is not actually the ruler but rather the priests, and in particular the priest Dios.
I really don't want to give too much away but Dios is actually one of Pratchett's most memorable characters. The reason being is that despite being the antagonist of the novel, he does not come across as being either bad or misguided. He simply does things the way that things have always been done. He is a man of tradition, and tradition must be followed. As mentioned, he is the actual ruler of the kingdom, though he never actually says that, simply because he is the one who advises the king, and interprets what he says. In fact it is very clear that the subjects never actually listen to the king, but rather to him, so that when the king tries to change tradition, Dios will always interpret the words as sticking with tradition ('I shall set him free,' says the king, as which Dios interprets as being 'throw him to the crocodiles').
The problem arose when the previous king decided that he wanted his son to have a good education, and normally that would simply mean being taught by the priest, specifically Dios. Instead the king sent his son, the protagonist of the piece, to the Assassin's Guild in Ankh-Morpork. As it turns out, the Assassin's Guild actually provides probably the best well rounded education on Discworld, and the comments about the assassins are actually quite good as well. An assassin does not murder for any other reason than money, and it is not that life is cheap, on the contrary, it is actually very expensive, especially if you get an assassin to kill somebody.
Interesting concept though, because in reality that is true. It doesn't cost you much, in fact, it doesn't cost you anything, to be dead. You simply lie there and rot. However, to live, it costs you quite a lot of money ($35.00 AU per day, which includes rent and bills, public transport, groceries, health insurance, and a mobile phone). Moreso, it costs you an awful lot of money to actually stay alive and to keep on living. Hmm, I could actually do the sums, and work out how much it actually costs to live for one day, but I won't. Anyway, if you like maths, and like the idea of maths being turn on its head, you will like this book as well. As it turns out camels are the greatest mathematicians in the world (which I disagree with because it actually turns out that it is cats who are the world's greatest mathematicians - I remember having a dream back in 1994, before I had read this book, where I came to the realisation that my sister's cat, Twinkle, understood imaginary numbers and calculus, however had no reason to actually use it).
One of the interesting things about this book is the concept of belief, and it is something that I come across again and again in my Christian walk. Simply because you believe something does not make it true. I may believe that a plane will get me from Melbourne to Hong Kong, but no amount of belief is going to actually stop the engine from blowing up over the South China Sea. This idea is explored in this story, particularly with the idea that the kings of Djelibeybi believed that after death they would travel to the netherworld. This was a really strong belief that turned out to be wrong. Instead, they spent eternity as ghosts stuck in their pyramids.
The absurdity of belief comes to the fore when the entire kingdom collapses in on itself. Basically it has been said by the gods (namely Dios) that the late king would be buried in the greatest and biggest pyramid ever built, however pyramids have a habit of storing time, and the stored time must discharged regularly. Unfortuantely this pyramid was so big that it ended up throwing everything out of whack, causing Djelibeybi to be sucked into its own dimension where all of the belief became reality. As such, the gods, who only existed in the mind of Dios, became real, to the point that the five sun gods ended up playing soccer with the sun (to produce a very amusing sporting commentary), and the gods, who had no real personality or character, simply went around destroying the kingdom because they had nothing else to do.
I guess this is one of this things that I at least got out of this book: how we tend to prefer to listen to another person's interpretation of faith than actually finding out for ourselves. I have even experienced it where a priest will actually twist the words of a religious book around so that it says the complete opposite. It is not so much the priests that are the problem, but rather us, who are allowing ourselves to listen to the priests and not actually think for ourselves. Granted, many priests do not allow their interpretations to be questioned, and have studied their respective texts for so long that they are experts in interpreting it in their own way. However, the Bible was written in Koine Greek for a reason, and that was so that it could be read and understood by the common person of the day, rather than having it interpreted through a priestly cache. That was why Jesus was such a revolutionary, because his teachings took the power out of the hands of the priests and gave it back to where it rightfully belonged, and that was with God. However it is a shame that we as humans always seem to allow the priests to step in between us and God, to continue to twist his words around to suit their own selfish purposes.
24 November 2012
I am really glad that I decided to reread a the Discworld novels to give them a better commentary as I have found that I have been quite enjoying them, and in many ways they have been getting better and better. However, this is the second to last one that I read (and it seems that I may have originally read them in order of publication, since the last one I read was Guards, Guards, and that is sitting next to me waiting to be reread very soon). Pratchett seems to have tried another experiment in this one where he has created a number of new characters and a new setting, though like the other Discworld novels Anhk-Morpork does play a role.
In this story we travel to the kingdom of Djelibeybi (pronounced Jellybaby) which sits on the river Djel. It is very clear that this kingdom is based on Ancient Egypt, and it is nestled between the nations of Tsort and Ephebe (which is supposed to be Greece, right down to their drunken symposiums). The thing about Djelibeybi is that it is a kingdom where tradition rules, to the point that it is impossible for the king to actually break with tradition. However, the king is not actually the ruler but rather the priests, and in particular the priest Dios.
I really don't want to give too much away but Dios is actually one of Pratchett's most memorable characters. The reason being is that despite being the antagonist of the novel, he does not come across as being either bad or misguided. He simply does things the way that things have always been done. He is a man of tradition, and tradition must be followed. As mentioned, he is the actual ruler of the kingdom, though he never actually says that, simply because he is the one who advises the king, and interprets what he says. In fact it is very clear that the subjects never actually listen to the king, but rather to him, so that when the king tries to change tradition, Dios will always interpret the words as sticking with tradition ('I shall set him free,' says the king, as which Dios interprets as being 'throw him to the crocodiles').
The problem arose when the previous king decided that he wanted his son to have a good education, and normally that would simply mean being taught by the priest, specifically Dios. Instead the king sent his son, the protagonist of the piece, to the Assassin's Guild in Ankh-Morpork. As it turns out, the Assassin's Guild actually provides probably the best well rounded education on Discworld, and the comments about the assassins are actually quite good as well. An assassin does not murder for any other reason than money, and it is not that life is cheap, on the contrary, it is actually very expensive, especially if you get an assassin to kill somebody.
Interesting concept though, because in reality that is true. It doesn't cost you much, in fact, it doesn't cost you anything, to be dead. You simply lie there and rot. However, to live, it costs you quite a lot of money ($35.00 AU per day, which includes rent and bills, public transport, groceries, health insurance, and a mobile phone). Moreso, it costs you an awful lot of money to actually stay alive and to keep on living. Hmm, I could actually do the sums, and work out how much it actually costs to live for one day, but I won't. Anyway, if you like maths, and like the idea of maths being turn on its head, you will like this book as well. As it turns out camels are the greatest mathematicians in the world (which I disagree with because it actually turns out that it is cats who are the world's greatest mathematicians - I remember having a dream back in 1994, before I had read this book, where I came to the realisation that my sister's cat, Twinkle, understood imaginary numbers and calculus, however had no reason to actually use it).
One of the interesting things about this book is the concept of belief, and it is something that I come across again and again in my Christian walk. Simply because you believe something does not make it true. I may believe that a plane will get me from Melbourne to Hong Kong, but no amount of belief is going to actually stop the engine from blowing up over the South China Sea. This idea is explored in this story, particularly with the idea that the kings of Djelibeybi believed that after death they would travel to the netherworld. This was a really strong belief that turned out to be wrong. Instead, they spent eternity as ghosts stuck in their pyramids.
The absurdity of belief comes to the fore when the entire kingdom collapses in on itself. Basically it has been said by the gods (namely Dios) that the late king would be buried in the greatest and biggest pyramid ever built, however pyramids have a habit of storing time, and the stored time must discharged regularly. Unfortuantely this pyramid was so big that it ended up throwing everything out of whack, causing Djelibeybi to be sucked into its own dimension where all of the belief became reality. As such, the gods, who only existed in the mind of Dios, became real, to the point that the five sun gods ended up playing soccer with the sun (to produce a very amusing sporting commentary), and the gods, who had no real personality or character, simply went around destroying the kingdom because they had nothing else to do.
I guess this is one of this things that I at least got out of this book: how we tend to prefer to listen to another person's interpretation of faith than actually finding out for ourselves. I have even experienced it where a priest will actually twist the words of a religious book around so that it says the complete opposite. It is not so much the priests that are the problem, but rather us, who are allowing ourselves to listen to the priests and not actually think for ourselves. Granted, many priests do not allow their interpretations to be questioned, and have studied their respective texts for so long that they are experts in interpreting it in their own way. However, the Bible was written in Koine Greek for a reason, and that was so that it could be read and understood by the common person of the day, rather than having it interpreted through a priestly cache. That was why Jesus was such a revolutionary, because his teachings took the power out of the hands of the priests and gave it back to where it rightfully belonged, and that was with God. However it is a shame that we as humans always seem to allow the priests to step in between us and God, to continue to twist his words around to suit their own selfish purposes.
September 19, 2020
Siempre que leo un libro de Pratchett termino con la sensación que ha merecido la pena aunque en esta ocasión no sea para mi lo mejor que llevo leído del Mundodisco. Se agradece en estos tiempos leer un libro que te evade de la triste realidad que vivimos en este 2020 y consigue sacarte una sonrisa aunque este sea en mi opinión el menos cómico de los primeros 7 pero solo por haber descubierto a ese camello de nombre Maldito Bastardo merece la pena leerlo. El mayor problema de esta entrega es que no he sentido que estaba leyendo un libro del mundodisco y es que Prachett inicia el libro con el futuro faraón matriculado en la escuela de asesinos de Ankh Morpork y justo al conseguir su titulación tiene que volver a su país para ocupar el trono tras la muerte del padre y a partir de ahí asistimos a una disparatada aventura en el antiguo Egipto con nombre cambiado . Creo que el propio Pratchett debió tener la misma sensación y por eso esta línea dentro del mundodisco no fue continuada con posteriores entregas y se quedó cerrada aquí.
July 4, 2017
"People needed to believe in gods, if only because it was so hard to believe in people."
Here's one for the history buffs. Anyone who's familiar with the Trojan War or has an interest in Ancient Egypt and Greece would probably get a kick out of this. So many good references. In case that doesn't interest you, there are also some assassins and some camels who are very good at math.
I didn't enjoy this one as much as I had expected to. I think it just felt too long (for a Pratchett novel) and there were too many tangents. Still, three stars on a Discworld novel is equivalent to what I would rate four stars on something else. He sets his own bar pretty high.
Here's one for the history buffs. Anyone who's familiar with the Trojan War or has an interest in Ancient Egypt and Greece would probably get a kick out of this. So many good references. In case that doesn't interest you, there are also some assassins and some camels who are very good at math.
I didn't enjoy this one as much as I had expected to. I think it just felt too long (for a Pratchett novel) and there were too many tangents. Still, three stars on a Discworld novel is equivalent to what I would rate four stars on something else. He sets his own bar pretty high.
September 27, 2021
🐫
I love reading this series, but I am not enjoying trying to write reviews for them, basically because while the books have variety, humour and wonderful insights into life, my reviews all boil down the same points:
-Terry Pratchett is brilliant
-I find the books frequently funny, often hilarious
-I highly recommend them, unless you dislike Terry Pratchett, in which case I don't, for obvious reasons
-I enjoyed this book, and the ones that came before it, and look forward to the next in the series
Maybe I'll have an easier time articulating my thoughts in the future, especially if I end up rereading the series in the future -- and at this point I'm pretty sure I will.
I love reading this series, but I am not enjoying trying to write reviews for them, basically because while the books have variety, humour and wonderful insights into life, my reviews all boil down the same points:
-Terry Pratchett is brilliant
-I find the books frequently funny, often hilarious
-I highly recommend them, unless you dislike Terry Pratchett, in which case I don't, for obvious reasons
-I enjoyed this book, and the ones that came before it, and look forward to the next in the series
Maybe I'll have an easier time articulating my thoughts in the future, especially if I end up rereading the series in the future -- and at this point I'm pretty sure I will.
March 23, 2021
Якось вже звиклось, що більшість подій в Террі Пратчетта відбувається на одних і тих же локаціях Дискосвіту, а тут: сеттинг Єгипту, піраміди, піски. Одним словом, цікаво.
Перепитії між фараонами та жрецями, верблюди з математичним мисленням і трішки внутрішньої кулінарії гільдії Вбивць. Справжня родзинка Дискосвіту.
Перепитії між фараонами та жрецями, верблюди з математичним мисленням і трішки внутрішньої кулінарії гільдії Вбивць. Справжня родзинка Дискосвіту.
April 25, 2025
Listened to the audiobook with Simon.
Quotes:
"He'd fail with flair."
"It wasn't a particularly pleasant smile, it was a thin and dried up smile with all the warmth long ago boiled out of it, people normally smiled like that when they've been dead two years under the broiling desert sun, but at least you felt he was making an effort."
"The boat didn't glide. It insinuated itself through the water, dancing across the waves on the tips of the twelve oars, spreading like an oil slick, gliding like a bird."
"Ye gods, he does look like they got tired of waiting for him to die and pickled him anyway."
"Deep in the duffle coat of his mind."
Quotes:
"He'd fail with flair."
"It wasn't a particularly pleasant smile, it was a thin and dried up smile with all the warmth long ago boiled out of it, people normally smiled like that when they've been dead two years under the broiling desert sun, but at least you felt he was making an effort."
"The boat didn't glide. It insinuated itself through the water, dancing across the waves on the tips of the twelve oars, spreading like an oil slick, gliding like a bird."
"Ye gods, he does look like they got tired of waiting for him to die and pickled him anyway."
"Deep in the duffle coat of his mind."
June 11, 2024
English version below
******************
Über das vorliegende Buch geht das Gerücht, es sei das schlechteste von Terry Pratchetts Scheibenweltromanen. Dieser Meinung kann ich mich so nicht anschließen.
Aber erstmal ein kurzer Überblick worum es geht. Hauptschauplatz ist ein kleines, am alten Ägypten orientiertes und extrem rückständige Land. Der Sohn des Pharaos macht eine Ausbildung zum Assassinen in Ankh-Morpork, kehrt aber, als sein Vater stirbt umgehend in seine Heimal zurück. Dort erlebt er dann Vor- und Nachteil des theokratischen Systems (mit Schwerpunkt auf den Nachteilen) und wir als Leser erfahren einiges über Pyramidenbau und Einbalsamieren.
Als Nebenschauplatz verbreitet sich Pratchett dann noch ausführlich über den Schwachsinn der Kriegsführung.
Ich könnte mir vorstellen, dass sich diejenigen Leser, denen das Buch nicht gefiel, daran gestört haben, dass Ankh-Morpork und seine Bewohner (die Stadtwache, Lord Vetinari, die unsichtbare Universität usw.) nur zu Beginn kurz eine Rolle spielen. Auch TOD hat nur einen kaum wahrnehmbar kurzen Auftritt.
Außerdem ergeht sich die Geschichte immer wieder in metaphysischen Erörterungen, denen nicht immer leicht zu folgen ist.
Für meinen Geschmack ist auch der Schluss ein wenig zu abrupt und zu wenig abgerundet ausgefallen, aber nicht so sehr, dass es mich wirklich stöten würde.
Auf der Positiv-Seite kann ich vermerken, dass der Humor an vielen Stellen ganz stark ausgeprägt ist. Ich habe mich immer wieder unglaublich amüsiert.
Die Sozialkritik war wie immer bei Pratchett, ganz hervorragend. Das Buch hat mich nicht nur rasend gut unterhalten, sondern mich auch immer wieder zum Nachdenken angeregt.
Mein Lieblingscharakter: You Bastard, das Kamel.
Alles in allem vergebe ich 4,5 Sterne und runde auf.
------------------
Rumour has it that this book is the worst of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. I don't agree with this opinion.
But first a brief overview of what it's about. The main setting is a small, extremely backward country modelled on ancient Egypt. The pharaoh's son trains as an assassin in Ankh-Morpork, but immediately returns to his homeland when his father dies. There he experiences the advantages and disadvantages of the theocratic system (with the emphasis on the disadvantages) and we as readers learn a lot about pyramid building and embalming.
As an aside, Pratchett then goes on at length about the idiocy of warfare.
I imagine that those readers who didn't like the book were bothered by the fact that Ankh-Morpork and its inhabitants (the City Guard, Lord Vetinari, the invisible university, etc.) only play a brief role at the beginning. Even DEATH only makes a barely perceptible brief appearance.
In addition, the story repeatedly indulges in metaphysical discussions that are not always easy to follow.
For my taste, the ending is also a little too abrupt and not rounded enough, but not so much that it would really bother me.
On the positive side, I can say that the humour is very strong in many places. I was incredibly amused time and time again.
As always with Pratchett, the social criticism was excellent. The book not only entertained me immensely, but also made me think again and again.
My favourite character: You Bastard, the camel.
All in all, I give it 4.5 stars and round it up.
******************
Über das vorliegende Buch geht das Gerücht, es sei das schlechteste von Terry Pratchetts Scheibenweltromanen. Dieser Meinung kann ich mich so nicht anschließen.
Aber erstmal ein kurzer Überblick worum es geht. Hauptschauplatz ist ein kleines, am alten Ägypten orientiertes und extrem rückständige Land. Der Sohn des Pharaos macht eine Ausbildung zum Assassinen in Ankh-Morpork, kehrt aber, als sein Vater stirbt umgehend in seine Heimal zurück. Dort erlebt er dann Vor- und Nachteil des theokratischen Systems (mit Schwerpunkt auf den Nachteilen) und wir als Leser erfahren einiges über Pyramidenbau und Einbalsamieren.
Als Nebenschauplatz verbreitet sich Pratchett dann noch ausführlich über den Schwachsinn der Kriegsführung.
Ich könnte mir vorstellen, dass sich diejenigen Leser, denen das Buch nicht gefiel, daran gestört haben, dass Ankh-Morpork und seine Bewohner (die Stadtwache, Lord Vetinari, die unsichtbare Universität usw.) nur zu Beginn kurz eine Rolle spielen. Auch TOD hat nur einen kaum wahrnehmbar kurzen Auftritt.
Außerdem ergeht sich die Geschichte immer wieder in metaphysischen Erörterungen, denen nicht immer leicht zu folgen ist.
Für meinen Geschmack ist auch der Schluss ein wenig zu abrupt und zu wenig abgerundet ausgefallen, aber nicht so sehr, dass es mich wirklich stöten würde.
Auf der Positiv-Seite kann ich vermerken, dass der Humor an vielen Stellen ganz stark ausgeprägt ist. Ich habe mich immer wieder unglaublich amüsiert.
Die Sozialkritik war wie immer bei Pratchett, ganz hervorragend. Das Buch hat mich nicht nur rasend gut unterhalten, sondern mich auch immer wieder zum Nachdenken angeregt.
Mein Lieblingscharakter: You Bastard, das Kamel.
Alles in allem vergebe ich 4,5 Sterne und runde auf.
------------------
Rumour has it that this book is the worst of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. I don't agree with this opinion.
But first a brief overview of what it's about. The main setting is a small, extremely backward country modelled on ancient Egypt. The pharaoh's son trains as an assassin in Ankh-Morpork, but immediately returns to his homeland when his father dies. There he experiences the advantages and disadvantages of the theocratic system (with the emphasis on the disadvantages) and we as readers learn a lot about pyramid building and embalming.
As an aside, Pratchett then goes on at length about the idiocy of warfare.
I imagine that those readers who didn't like the book were bothered by the fact that Ankh-Morpork and its inhabitants (the City Guard, Lord Vetinari, the invisible university, etc.) only play a brief role at the beginning. Even DEATH only makes a barely perceptible brief appearance.
In addition, the story repeatedly indulges in metaphysical discussions that are not always easy to follow.
For my taste, the ending is also a little too abrupt and not rounded enough, but not so much that it would really bother me.
On the positive side, I can say that the humour is very strong in many places. I was incredibly amused time and time again.
As always with Pratchett, the social criticism was excellent. The book not only entertained me immensely, but also made me think again and again.
My favourite character: You Bastard, the camel.
All in all, I give it 4.5 stars and round it up.
April 30, 2020
Fantastic early largely stand-alone story in my beloved Discworld series. It's strange to think of the seventh book in a series as "early" these days, but considering an oeuvre of over 40 books spanning 30 years and the fact that he was putting out 2 novels a year at the time, I feel okay with that label. Although I do have to wonder, would the Discworld as written be picked up for publication in 2020? I don't know. I certainly hope so. There is no denying the magic of the series, but several of the earlier books struggled with plotting and flow, so maybe we are all simply lucky that the series emerged in a time and place when it had leeway to breathe and grow.
Pyramids is an improvement over, say, books 4 (Mort) and 5 (Sourcery) it that it is a lot more polished, the plot better assembled, and the action flowing reliably from scene to scene. Chronologically it could fall anywhere in the series, with the only clear timestamp being that Vetinari is established as ruler in Ankh-Morpork. It is chock-ful of hilarity. Pratchett has flawless aim and has many subversive takes on Western impressions of ancient egyptian culture, desert life, priest-led religion, and camels. Especially camels. Even if you never thought much about camels or seen one in real life, everything he says about them rings perfectly true. And that running gag about the greatest mathematician on the Disc... pure comedy gold. The book is not perfect; there remain some lost opportunities for a more grandly climactic ending. It still has not quite hit that peak Discworld feeling that I hold in my memory, but it came awfully close. Maybe I am chasing a dragon that didn't quite exist in the first place, or maybe being older and wiser (haha) works to my detriment here. There are still plenty of Discworld books to go, so time will tell.
One standout note: on page 1 I had to google "Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram", which could have presented a challenge when this was first published in the 1980's, barring a high-quality dictionary or encyclopedia at home. Pratchett is really stepping up his cosmological vocabulary, demonstrating that he was not writing for a dull crowd. Of course, this was offset by "insterstellar wossname".
I am re-reading the Discworld books in publication order, some of them for the first time in nigh thirty years, and as I go I am developing my ideas about why I loved them so much, why they are so enduringly popular and beloved, and where their real magic lies. My early impression is that the best books in the series are rooted in a specific locale, as opposed to the disc-jumping adventures of Rincewind in the earliest books. With Pyramids I am starting to solidify my understanding of another pervasive theme in the Discworld books, that of the struggle between tradition and progress, and especially the excoriation of traditions that are followed only for tradition's sake. This isn't the first book to address this (that would be Equal Rites) but it stands out as integral to this story. In contrast, the Rincewind books don't make use of this theme, which may be why they don't shine as much. This is my new pet Discworld hypothesis at least. It requires no deep thought to see "the rise of modernity" as a recurring theme in these books, especially the latest ones, but it deepens my appreciation of the whole series as I highlight these aspects for myself.
Pyramids is an improvement over, say, books 4 (Mort) and 5 (Sourcery) it that it is a lot more polished, the plot better assembled, and the action flowing reliably from scene to scene. Chronologically it could fall anywhere in the series, with the only clear timestamp being that Vetinari is established as ruler in Ankh-Morpork. It is chock-ful of hilarity. Pratchett has flawless aim and has many subversive takes on Western impressions of ancient egyptian culture, desert life, priest-led religion, and camels. Especially camels. Even if you never thought much about camels or seen one in real life, everything he says about them rings perfectly true. And that running gag about the greatest mathematician on the Disc... pure comedy gold. The book is not perfect; there remain some lost opportunities for a more grandly climactic ending. It still has not quite hit that peak Discworld feeling that I hold in my memory, but it came awfully close. Maybe I am chasing a dragon that didn't quite exist in the first place, or maybe being older and wiser (haha) works to my detriment here. There are still plenty of Discworld books to go, so time will tell.
One standout note: on page 1 I had to google "Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram", which could have presented a challenge when this was first published in the 1980's, barring a high-quality dictionary or encyclopedia at home. Pratchett is really stepping up his cosmological vocabulary, demonstrating that he was not writing for a dull crowd. Of course, this was offset by "insterstellar wossname".
I am re-reading the Discworld books in publication order, some of them for the first time in nigh thirty years, and as I go I am developing my ideas about why I loved them so much, why they are so enduringly popular and beloved, and where their real magic lies. My early impression is that the best books in the series are rooted in a specific locale, as opposed to the disc-jumping adventures of Rincewind in the earliest books. With Pyramids I am starting to solidify my understanding of another pervasive theme in the Discworld books, that of the struggle between tradition and progress, and especially the excoriation of traditions that are followed only for tradition's sake. This isn't the first book to address this (that would be Equal Rites) but it stands out as integral to this story. In contrast, the Rincewind books don't make use of this theme, which may be why they don't shine as much. This is my new pet Discworld hypothesis at least. It requires no deep thought to see "the rise of modernity" as a recurring theme in these books, especially the latest ones, but it deepens my appreciation of the whole series as I highlight these aspects for myself.
June 4, 2024
Just an average story for me by Sir Pratchett.
August 26, 2024
An amiable standalone story set in Discworld. When his father dies, Teppic becomes the unwilling king of a small country steeped in tradition - with one of those traditions being interring their dead in increasingly elaborate and expensive pyramids. Dios is an overbearing high priest, who railroads Teppic into building a pyramid of previously unheard-of massive proportions for the late king. But this is in a world where pyramids really do have mystical power, and there are consequences to building such a large one.
While this is a Discworld novel, it’s rightly marked as a ‘standalone’ novel, as it doesn’t really rely on any of the Discworld lore that’s been established in the previous books.
It is a relatively lightweight plot-driven story, with a likeable cast of central characters: Teppic, who wants to bring modern conveniences to the old kingdom (like plumbing, and comfortable bedding); Dios, who vehemently clings to the traditions that he has overseen for his entire lifetime; and Ptraci, the somewhat predictably feisty love interest. It’s an undemanding story, that ticks along at a good pace, replete with the hallmark witticisms and pleasing turns of phrase that Pratchett excels at.
There’s some fun to be had with the naming, as always: a camel called You Bastard, and a place called Djelibaybi both made me smile every time I read them. And anyone who has seen the UK sitcom “Yes Minister” will recognise some of the power plays between Teppic and Dios.
And that’s it, really. If there was anything profound hiding between the pages, then I missed it.
While this is a Discworld novel, it’s rightly marked as a ‘standalone’ novel, as it doesn’t really rely on any of the Discworld lore that’s been established in the previous books.
It is a relatively lightweight plot-driven story, with a likeable cast of central characters: Teppic, who wants to bring modern conveniences to the old kingdom (like plumbing, and comfortable bedding); Dios, who vehemently clings to the traditions that he has overseen for his entire lifetime; and Ptraci, the somewhat predictably feisty love interest. It’s an undemanding story, that ticks along at a good pace, replete with the hallmark witticisms and pleasing turns of phrase that Pratchett excels at.
There’s some fun to be had with the naming, as always: a camel called You Bastard, and a place called Djelibaybi both made me smile every time I read them. And anyone who has seen the UK sitcom “Yes Minister” will recognise some of the power plays between Teppic and Dios.
And that’s it, really. If there was anything profound hiding between the pages, then I missed it.
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