The Folklore of Discworld

By: Terry Pratchett, Jacqueline Simpson

Narrated by: Michael Fenton Stevens

Most of us grow up having always known to touch wood or cross our fingers, and what happens when a princess kisses a frog or a boy pulls a sword from a stone, yet sadly, some of these things are now beginning to be forgotten. Legends, myths, and fairy tales: our world is made up of the stories we told ourselves about where we came from and how we got there. It is the same on Discworld, except that beings which on Earth are creatures of the imagination - like vampires, trolls, witches, and possibly, gods - are real, alive and in some cases kicking on the Disc.

In The Folklore of Discworld, Terry Pratchett teams up with leading British folklorist Jacqueline Simpson to take an irreverent yet illuminating look at the living myths and folklore that are reflected, celebrated, and affectionately libelled in the uniquely imaginative universe of Discworld.

©2008 Terry and Lyn Pratchett and Jacqueline Simpson (P)2012 Random House AudioGo

Mostly a very interesting listen

I am a huge fan of Terry Pratchett and I quite enjoyed listening to some the background behind the myths and tales from which the discworld borrows. My only complaint is that is spent far too many chapters talking about the Tiffany Aching novels and not enough time on the earlier works. Further, I would have loved to have Nation and Long earth included in the analysis even though they aren’t discworld books. However, overall it was quite informative, interesting, and entertaining.

Great insight into Sir Terry Pratchett's mind

What did you love best about The Folklore of Discworld?

I liked the depth of the details given by Sir Terry Pratchett and Jacqueline Simpson. I have read most of Sir Terry Pratchett's books and I can honestly say that I did not make half of the connections that he included in his books. That is what makes his books great, you can read a book multiple times and peel an additional layer of the onion off of the great storyline.

What other book might you compare The Folklore of Discworld to and why?

Any of the other Discworld books.

Have you listened to any of Michael Fenton Stevens’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the first one that I have listened to.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The new and old adages of Discworld and Earth

Everything I ever wanted.

This book is everything I ever wanted and never knew I needed. it shares the folklore of the disk, yes, but also shares quite a bit of folklore, specifically British folk lore, that as an American I have heard snatches of, but never knew the whole of. Thank you Terry, thank you Jacqueline.

The last hour of this audiobook is a recording of the 2 authors discussing the topic!

That hour of recorded conversation between two very erudite people on a subject that is dear to their hearts is a magnificent delight after a most entertaining book. A bit sad as this must have been recorded not too long before Sir Terry was stricken by his final "embuggerance.

Interesting

I enjoyed hearing and learning about the folklore of various societies and of course the folklore of the Disk world. I find it to be very interesting.
At the end you can listen to the man himself, which was a nice surprise.