Unseen Academicals: Discworld #32

While not as laugh out loud funny as Thud or Going Postal, this latest Discworld romp skewers the worlds of academic tenure, sports, and high fashion, and has its fair share of chuckles. The dry, witty voice of narrator Briggs is uniquely suited to the material. Two thumbs and two big toes, straight up.

I've loved nearly all of Terry Pratchett's work, and this one is no exception. While his stories and characters have matured over the course of his career, it is nice to see him return to the wizards on Unseen University.
I'm not much a sports fan, so the football theme is not really my cup of tea, but this book did manage to make it fun and interesting to me. Seeing the character growth of Ponder Stibbins was a particular joy.
On the other hand, unlike several of the more recent Discworld books, this one does not really move the world plot forward at all. With Pratchett's career's end on the horizon, I hope to see at least some glimpse of the coming future of the Disc. In this sense, the book did not deliver.

...in that, he never takes a book off. Every once in a while, I see a title from him and it gives me pause "Football... or, in American culture, soccer...?" But, its Pratchett telling the story, and I read on. I was not disappointed in the least. UA is funny, entertaining and has the hallmark real-world undercurrent, this time its social justice, which always give his stories weight and substance. Since Terry has no peers, and thus it is impossible to compare his work against anything other than his previous work, I would give this book an 8 out of 10 on the Pratchett scale. Read it. In fact, read them all.

I'm still looking for the Discworld novel as good as Going Postal. This wasn't it. Also, I think it helps to be a soccer fanatic to truly appreciate the humor here. Because of the soccer story line, it took a while for me to warm up to this, but in the end I enjoyed it.

This story has got to be my favorite of all the Disc World stories thus far! Such lovely plot contortions and wonderful, full, REAL characters, no matter what species they are!

After a long wait we once again return to the disc. This is another fine Discword book staring a new main character Nutt (who I hope we see again) and the UU council, with appearances from other major discword persons such as Lady Margolotta, Sam Vimes, the low king Rhys Rhysson and even the luggage and DEATH.

It's not really about football, it's more about people and politics - and Vetinari. The wizards are main characters but there is also an exciting addition to the list of species/creatures individuals in AnkMorpork. As always, discworld is interesting, introspective and witty. Terry Pratchett is a literary genius and while this may not be his best (that would be saying a lot) it is definitely worth adding to your library.

Terry Pratchett never fails to entrance and delight me. Great characters, great story, pointed satire ... what's not to like?

Stephen Briggs is uniformly, consistently brilliant!

Though I'm sure I missed some of the "football" jokes being an American who's not into soccer or rugby, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was fun, and, as an academic, I enjoyed the school humor quite a lot.

I love Terry Pratchett and have for years. This book is fun and enjoyable, as are most of his books, but is by no means a representation of his best work. I do enjoy the character of Mr. Nutt - a self-conscious nonentity who has some amazing talents. Also, the idea of the wizards playing football (soccer for us from the U.S.) is certainly amusing, but if your'e new to Pratchett I would recommend Thud!, The Truth, or Going Postal.