Discworld

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Discworld
Cover of an early edition of The Colour of Magic; art by Josh Kirby
Author	Terry Pratchett
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre	Fantasy / comedy

Discworld is a comedic fantasy book series by English^[1] author Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle,^[2] Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody, or at least take inspiration from, J. R. R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft and William Shakespeare, as well as mythology, folklore and fairy tales, often using them for satirical parallels with current cultural, political and scientific issues.

Since the first novel, The Colour of Magic (1983), 37 Discworld novels have been published as of October 2009^[update], four of which are marketed as children's or "young-adult" (YA) books. The original British editions of the first 26 novels, up to Thief of Time (2001), had distinctive cover art by Josh Kirby; the American editions, published by HarperCollins, used their own cover art. Since Kirby's death in October 2001, the covers have been designed by Paul Kidby. Recent British editions of Pratchett's older novels no longer reuse Kirby's art. There have also been six short stories (some only loosely related to the Discworld), three popular science books, and a number of supplementary books and reference guides. In addition, the series has been adapted for the theatre, as computer games, and as music inspired by the series. The first live-action screen adaptation for television (Terry Pratchett's Hogfather) was broadcast over Christmas 2006. A second, two-part TV adaptation of The Colour of Magic was broadcast on 23 March 2008 in the UK.

Newly released Discworld books regularly top The Sunday Times best-sellers list, making Pratchett the UK's best-selling author in the 1990s, although he has since been overtaken by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. Discworld novels have also won awards such as the Prometheus Award and the Carnegie Medal. In the BBC's Big Read, five Discworld books were in the top 100, and a total of fifteen in the top 200.

Contents 1 Composition 2 Themes and motifs 3 Storylines 3.1 Rincewind 3.2 Death 3.3 Susan Sto Helit 3.4 The Witches 3.5 The City Watch 3.6 The Wizards 3.7 Tiffany Aching 3.8 Moist von Lipwig 3.9 The History Monks 4 Bibliography 4.1 Novels 4.2 Short stories 4.3 The Mapps 4.4 Science books 4.5 Quiz books 4.6 Diaries 4.7 Other books 5 Reading orders 6 Adaptations 6.1 Stage 6.2 Film and television 6.3 Radio 6.4 Audio books 6.5 Comic books 7 Merchandise 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Composition

Very few of the Discworld novels have chapter divisions, instead featuring interweaving story-lines. Pratchett is quoted as saying that he "just never got into the habit of chapters",^[3] later adding that "I have to shove them in the putative YA books because my editor screams until I do".^[4] However, the first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic, was divided into "books", as is Pyramids. Additionally, Going Postal and Making Money do indeed have chapters, prologue, epilogue, and brief teasers of what is to come in each chapter, in the style of A. A. Milne, Jules Verne and Jerome K. Jerome.

[edit] Themes and motifs

The Discworld novels contain common themes and motifs that run through the series. Fantasy clichés are parodied in many of the novels, as are various sub-genres of fantasy, such as fairy tales (notably Witches Abroad), witch and vampire stories (Carpe Jugulum) and so on. Analogies of real-world issues, such as religion (Small Gods), business and politics (Making Money), are recurring themes, as are music genres such as opera (Maskerade) or rock music (Soul Music). Parodies of non-Discworld fiction also occur frequently, including Shakespeare, Beatrix Potter and several movies. Major historical events, especially battles, are sometimes used as the basis for both trivial and key events in Discworld stories (Jingo, Pyramids), as are trends in science, technology, and pop culture (Moving Pictures, Men At Arms). There are also humanist themes in many of the Discworld novels, and a focus on critical thinking skills in the Witches and Tiffany Aching series.

[edit] Storylines

To a greater or lesser degree, Discworld stories stand alone as independent works set in the same fantasy universe. However, a number of novels and stories can be grouped together into grand story arcs dealing with a set number of characters and events. For the most part, the arcs occur in real time, with a year between publications equalling a year in the story. The main threads within the Discworld series are:

[edit] Rincewind

Rincewind was the first protagonist of Discworld; a wizard with no skill, no wizardly qualifications and no interest in heroics. He is the archetypal coward, but is constantly thrust into extremely dangerous adventures. In The Last Hero he flatly states that he does not wish to join an expedition to explore over the edge of the Disc—but, being fully geared for the expedition at the time, clarifies by saying that any amount of protesting on his part is futile, as something will eventually occur that will bring him into the expedition anyway. As such, he not only constantly succeeds to stay alive, but also saves Discworld on several occasions, and has an instrumental role in the emergence of life on Roundworld (Science of Discworld).

Other characters in the Rincewind story arc include: Cohen the Barbarian, an aging hero of the old fantasy tradition, out of touch with the modern world and still fighting despite his advanced age; Twoflower, a naive tourist from the Agatean Empire (inspired by cultures of the Far East, particularly Japan and China); and The Luggage, a magical, semi-sentient and exceptionally vicious multi-legged travelling accessory, made from Sapient Pearwood. Rincewind has appeared in six Discworld novels as well as the three Science of Discworld supplementary books.

[edit] Death

Death appears in every novel except The Wee Free Men, although sometimes with only a few lines, if any. As dictated by tradition, he is a seven-foot-tall skeleton with a black robe and a scythe who sits astride a pale horse (called Binky). His dialogue is always depicted in small caps, a trait that other characters often remark upon.

The anthropomorphic personification of death, his job is to guide souls onward from this world into the next. Over millennia in the role, Death has developed a fascination with humanity, even going so far as to create a house for himself in his personal dimension. Also, in Mort it was mentioned that he once attempted to play the banjo.

Characters that often appear with Death include his butler Albert; his granddaughter Susan Sto Helit; the Death of Rats, the part of Death in charge of gathering the souls of rodents; Quoth, a talking raven (a parody of Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven); and the Auditors of Reality, personifications of the orderly laws of nature. Death or Susan appear as the main characters in five Discworld novels. He also appears in the short stories Death and What Comes Next, Theatre of Cruelty and Turntables of the Night.

[edit] Susan Sto Helit

Susan Sto Helit is the "granddaughter" (by means of his adopted daughter Ysabell and apprentice Mort) of Death. She is first introduced as a sixteen-year-old pupil at the Quirm College for Young Ladies in Soul Music, shortly after the death of her parents. (Death could not save them, only grant them an eternal moment in his domain, which they refused.) After graduating—and despite technically being the current Duchess of Sto Helit—she begins a teaching career, first as a governess (in Hogfather) and then as a schoolteacher (in Thief of Time). She insists on being addressed as "Miss Susan". She was 16 when first encountered in Soul Music and, since the novels take place roughly in real time, was roughly 21 during her final appearance to date in Thief of Time.

Susan is a "slightly built young woman". Her hair is pure white, but with a streak of black running through it from end to end. Although its natural state is a frizzy mass reminiscent of a dandelion, it rearranges its style of its own accord depending on Susan's mood; it tends to form a tight bun while she is working. Susan has a very striking physical presence, and despite her relative youth, she projects a sense of great age. She possesses a birthmark on her cheek that shows itself only when she blushes; it consists of three finger-like lines identical to those left on her father when Death slapped him in Mort, and which glow when she is angry. In Soul Music, she complains that, as Death's granddaughter, she should have been born with better cheekbones. She also has a Look (always capitalised) which can be rather disconcerting, even to those in authority, such as her grandfather and the headmistress of the school in which she teaches.

[edit] The Witches

Witches in Pratchett's universe are largely stripped of their modern occultist, Wiccan associations (though Pratchett does frequently use his stories to lampoon such conceptions of witchcraft), and act as herbalists, adjudicators and wise women. That is not to say that witches on the Disc cannot use magic; they simply prefer not to, finding simple but cunningly applied psychology (often referred to as "headology", or sometimes "boffo") far more effective.

The principal witch in the series is Granny Weatherwax, who at first glance seems to be a taciturn, bitter old crone, from the small mountain country of Lancre. She largely despises people but takes on the role of their healer and protector because no one else can do the job as well as she can. Her closest friend is Nanny Ogg, a jolly, personable witch with the "common touch" who enjoys a smoke and a pint of beer. The two take on apprentice witches, initially Magrat Garlick, then Agnes Nitt, and then Tiffany Aching, who in turn grow on to become accomplished witches in their own right, or, in Magrat's case, Queen of Lancre.

Other characters in the Witches series include: King Verence II of Lancre, a onetime Fool; Jason Ogg, Nanny Ogg's eldest son and local blacksmith; Shawn Ogg, Nanny's youngest son who serves as his country's entire army; and Nanny's murderous cat Greebo. The witches have appeared in numerous Discworld books, but have featured as main protagonists in seven. They have also appeared in the short story The Sea and Little Fishes. Their stories frequently draw on ancient European folklore and fairy tales, and also parody famous works of literature, particularly by Shakespeare.

[edit] The City Watch

The stories featuring the Ankh-Morpork City Watch are urban-set, and frequently show the clashes that result when a traditional, magically run fantasy world such as the Disc comes into contact with modern technology and civilization. They center around the growth of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch from a hopeless gang of three to a fully equipped and efficient police force. The stories are largely police procedurals, featuring crimes that have heavy political or societal overtones.

The main character is Watch Captain Sam Vimes, a haggard, cynical street copper who finds himself swept up in history as his inept cadre of law enforcement officials (petty thief Nobby Nobbs and perennially lazy Sergeant Colon) grows and takes on new recruits, particularly from the Disc's "minority groups", such as dwarfs, trolls, and the undead. As his influence grows, Vimes' social standing also grows from Watch Captain to Commander and eventually to Duke.

Other main characters include Carrot Ironfoundersson, (possibly) the rightful heir to the throne of Ankh-Morpork; Angua, a werewolf; Detritus, a troll; Cuddy, a Dwarf who appears in Men at Arms; Golem Constable Dorfl; Cheery Littlebottom, the Watch's forensics expert, who is one of the first dwarfs to be openly female; Sam's wife, Lady Sybil Vimes; and Havelock Vetinari, the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork. The City Watch have starred in eight Discworld stories, and have cameoed in a number of others, including the children's book, Where's My Cow? and the short story Theatre of Cruelty.

Pratchett has stated on numerous occasions that the presence of the City Watch makes Ankh-Morpork stories 'problematic', as stories set in the city that don't directly involve Vimes and the Watch often require a Watch presence to maintain the story—at which point, it becomes a Watch story by default.

[edit] The Wizards

The Wizards of the Unseen University (UU) have represented a strong thread through many of the Discworld novels, although the only books that they star in exclusively are the Science of the Discworld series and the novel Unseen Academicals. In the early books, the faculty of UU changed frequently, as rising to the top usually involved assassination. However, with the ascension of the bombastic Mustrum Ridcully to the position of Archchancellor, the hierarchy has settled and characters have been given the chance to develop. The earlier books featuring the wizards also frequently dealt with the possible invasion of the Discworld by the creatures from the Dungeon Dimensions, Lovecraftian monsters that hunger for the magic and potential of the Discworld.

The wizards of UU employ the traditional "whizz-bang" type of magic seen in Dungeons & Dragons games, but also investigate the rules and structure of magic in terms highly reminiscent of particle physics. Prominent members include Ponder Stibbons, a geeky young wizard; Hex, the Disc's first computer; the Librarian, who was turned into an orangutan by magical accident; the Dean; and the Bursar. In later novels, Rincewind also joins their group.

The Wizards have featured prominently in nine Discworld books and have also starred in the Science of Discworld series and the short story A Collegiate Casting-Out of Devilish Devices.

[edit] Tiffany Aching

Tiffany Aching is a young apprentice witch and star of a series of Discworld books aimed at young adults. Her stories often parallel mythic heroes' quests, but also deal with Tiffany's difficulties as a young girl maturing into a responsible woman. She is aided in her task by the Nac Mac Feegle, a gang of blue, 6-inch tall, hard-drinking, loudmouthed pictsie creatures also called "The Wee Free Men" who serve as her guardians. Both Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg have also appeared in her stories. She has, to date, appeared in three novels ( The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky and Wintersmith), with a fourth (I Shall Wear Midnight) due to be published. Major characters in this series include Miss Tick who discovered Tiffany, Annagrama Hawkin, and Petulia Gristle.

[edit] Moist von Lipwig

Moist von Lipwig is a professional criminal and con man to whom Havelock Vetinari gives a "second chance" after staging his execution, recognising the advantages his jack-of-all-trades abilities would have to the development of the city. After setting him in charge of the Ankh-Morpork Post Office in Going Postal, to good result, Vetinari ordered him to clear up the city's corrupt financial sector in Making Money. A third book, in which Lipwig is ordered to organise the city's taxation system, is planned. Other characters in this series include Adora Belle Dearheart, Lipwig's acerbic, chain-smoking lover; Gladys, a golem who develops a strange crush on Lipwig; and Stanley Howler, a mildly autistic young man who was raised by peas (Note not "on" peas, "by"), and becomes the Disc's first stamp collector.

[edit] The History Monks

The History Monks are a group of vaguely Taoist-like monks who have taken on the job of ensuring that history passes smoothly. They perform their task in two ways: first, their monastery is home to the History Books; 20,000 ten-foot long, lead-bound volumes that record every event of historical relevance as it occurs. Second, they manage and control the flow of time, pumping it from the places where it's wasted (the sea or the desert) to places like cities where there's never enough time. The principal History Monk in the novels is Lu-Tze, nominally the monastery's sweeper but in fact one of the highest ranking monks in the establishment. The History Monks have appeared in three Discworld novels to date (Small Gods, Thief of Time, Night Watch).

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Novels

№	Name	Published	Groups	Notes
1	The Colour of Magic	1983	Rincewind	Came 93rd in the Big Read.
2	The Light Fantastic	1986	Rincewind
3	Equal Rites	1987	The Witches, The Wizards
4	Mort	1987	Death	Came 65th in the Big Read
5	Sourcery	1988	Rincewind, The Wizards
6	Wyrd Sisters	1988	The Witches	Came 135th in the Big Read
7	Pyramids	1989	Miscellaneous (Djelibeybi)	British Science Fiction Award winner, 1989[5]
8	Guards! Guards!	1989	The City Watch	Came 69th in the Big Read
9	Faust Eric	1990	Rincewind
10	Moving Pictures	1990	Miscellaneous (Holy Wood), The Wizards
11	Reaper Man	1991	Death, The Wizards	Came 126th in the Big Read
12	Witches Abroad	1991	The Witches	Came 197th in the Big Read
13	Small Gods	1992	Miscellaneous (Omnia), The History Monks	Came 102nd in the Big Read
14	Lords and Ladies	1992	The Witches, The Wizards
15	Men at Arms	1993	The City Watch	Came 148th in the Big Read
16	Soul Music	1994	Death, Susan Sto Helit, The Wizards	Came 151st in the Big Read
17	Interesting Times	1994	Rincewind, The Wizards
18	Maskerade	1995	The Witches
19	Feet of Clay	1996	The City Watch
20	Hogfather	1996	Death, Susan Sto Helit, The Wizards	Came 137th in the Big Read; British Fantasy Award nominee, 1997[6]
21	Jingo	1997	The City Watch
22	The Last Continent	1998	Rincewind, The Wizards
23	Carpe Jugulum	1998	The Witches
24	The Fifth Elephant	1999	The City Watch	Came 153rd in the Big Read; Locus Fantasy Award nominee, 2000[7]
25	The Truth	2000	The Ankh-Morpork Times, The City Watch	Came 193rd in the Big Read
26	Thief of Time	2001	Death, Susan Sto Helit, The History Monks, The Witches	Came 152nd in the Big Read; Locus Award nominee, 2002[8]
27	The Last Hero	2001	Rincewind, The Wizards, The City Watch	Published in a larger format and fully illustrated by Paul Kidby
28	The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents	2001	Miscellaneous (Überwald)	A YA (young adult or children's) Discworld book; winner of the 2001 Carnegie Medal
29	Night Watch	2002	The City Watch, The History Monks	Received the Prometheus Award in 2003; came 73rd in the Big Read; Locus Award nominee, 2003[9]
30	The Wee Free Men	2003	Tiffany Aching	The second YA Discworld book
31	Monstrous Regiment	2003	Miscellaneous (Borogravia), The City Watch, The Ankh-Morpork Times	The title is a reference to The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women[10]
32	A Hat Full of Sky	2004	Tiffany Aching, The Witches	The third YA Discworld book
33	Going Postal	2004	Moist von Lipwig	Locus and Nebula Awards nominee, 2005[11]
34	Thud!	2005	The City Watch	Locus Award nominee, 2006[12]
35	Wintersmith	2006	Tiffany Aching, The Witches	The fourth YA book.
36	Making Money	2007	Moist von Lipwig	Locus Award winner, Nebula nominee, 2008[13]
37	Unseen Academicals	2009[14]	The Wizards, Rincewind
38	I Shall Wear Midnight[15]	2010	Tiffany Aching	Fifth YA book

Pratchett has occasionally hinted at other possible future Discworld novels. These include:

• Raising Taxes The third book in Moist's series, announced on 21 September 2007 at the book signing in Torrance, CA.^[16]
• Scouting for Trolls^[17] the title of which would parody Scouting for Boys.

[edit] Short stories

There are six short stories by Pratchett based in the Discworld, and an additional short story "Turntables of the Night", that is based in the United Kingdom and Death has a featured role:

• "Turntables of the Night" (1989); available online^[18]
• "Troll Bridge" - in After The King: Stories in honour of J. R. R. Tolkien (1992); reprinted in The Mammoth Book of Comic Fantasy edited by Mike Ashley (1998) ; available online^[19]
• "Theatre of Cruelty" (1993); available online^[20]
• "The Sea and Little Fishes" - in Legends (1998), anthology of novellas taking place within popular fantasy cycles edited by Robert Silverberg
• "Death and What Comes Next" (2002); available online^[20]
• "A Collegiate Casting-Out of Devilish Devices" (2005); available online^[21]

Four of the short stories along with Discworld miscellany (e.g. the history of Thud and the Ankh-Morpork national anthem) have been collected in a compilation of the majority of Pratchett's known short work named Once More* With Footnotes.

[edit] The Mapps

Furthermore, there are four "Mapps":

• The Streets of Ankh-Morpork (1993)
• The Discworld Mapp (1995)
• A Tourist Guide to Lancre (1998)
• Death's Domain (1999)

The first two were drawn by Stephen Player, based on plans by Pratchett and Stephen Briggs, the third is a collaboration between Briggs and Kidby, and the last is by Paul Kidby. All also contain booklets written by Pratchett and Briggs.

Terry Pratchett also admitted: "There are no maps. You can't map a sense of humour."

Several Discworld locations have been twinned with real world towns and cities. Wincanton, in Somerset, UK, for example is twinned with Ankh-Morpork, and the town is the first to even name streets after their fictional equivalents.^[22][23]

[edit] Science books

Pratchett has also collaborated with Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen on three books using the Discworld to illuminate popular science topics. Each book alternates chapters of a Discworld story and notes on real science related to it. The books are:

• The Science of Discworld (1999)
• The Science of Discworld II: The Globe (2002)
• The Science of Discworld III: Darwin's Watch (2005)

[edit] Quiz books

Two Discworld Quiz books have been compiled by David Langford:

• The Unseen University Challenge (1996), parodying the TV quiz show University Challenge
• The Wyrdest Link (2002), parodying the TV quiz show The Weakest Link

[edit] Diaries

Most years see the release of a Discworld Diary and Calendar, both usually following a particular theme.

The diaries feature background information about their themes. Some topics are later used in the series; the concept of female assassins and the character of Miss Alice Band were two notable ideas that first appeared in the Assassins' Guild Yearbook.

The Discworld Almanak - The Year of The Prawn has a similar format and general contents to the diaries.

[edit] Other books

Other Discworld publications include:

• The Discworld Companion (1994) An encyclopaedia of Discworld information, compiled by Pratchett and Briggs. An updated version was released in 2003, titled The New Discworld Companion.
• The Discworld Portfolio (1996) A collection of Paul Kidby's artwork, with notes by Pratchett.
• Nanny Ogg's Cookbook (2002) A collection of Discworld recipes, combined with etiquette, language of flowers etc., written by Pratchett with Stephen Briggs and Tina Hannan.
• The Art of Discworld (2004) Another collection of Paul Kidby's art.
• The Discworld Almanak (2004) An almanac for the Discworld year, in the style of the Diaries and the Cookbook, written by Pratchett with Bernard Pearson).
• Where's My Cow? (2005) A Discworld picture book referenced in Thud!. and Wintersmith, written by Pratchett with illustrations by Melvyn Grant)
• The Unseen University Cut Out Book (2006) Build your own Unseen University, written by Pratchett with Alan Batley and Bernard Pearson, published 1 October 2006.
• Wit and Wisdom of Discworld (2007) A collection of quotations from the series.
• The Folklore of Discworld (2008) A collaboration with British folklorist Jacqueline Simpson, discussing the myths and folklore used in Discworld.

[edit] Reading orders

Reading order is not restricted to publication order; however, each arc may be best read chronologically.^[24] Some main characters may make cameo appearances in other books where they are not the primary focus; for example, Carrot Ironfoundersson and Angua von Überwald appear briefly in Going Postal and Making Money. The books take place roughly in real-time and the characters' ages change to reflect the passing of years. No distinction will ever be clear-cut. Many stories (such as The Truth and Monstrous Regiment) nominally stand alone but, nonetheless, tie in heavily with main story-lines, and the meeting of various characters from different narrative threads (e.g. Ridcully and Granny Weatherwax in Lords and Ladies, Rincewind and Carrot in The Last Hero) indicates that all the main threads take place around the same period of time (end of the Century of the Fruitbat, beginning of the Century of the Anchovy); the only exception is Small Gods, which appears to be set several hundred years before any of the other stories. A number of characters, such as members of staff of Unseen University and Lord Vetinari, appear prominently in many different story-lines without having titles of their own. As it is, many of these "standalone" stories deal with the development of the city of Ankh-Morpork into a technologically and magically advanced metropolis that readers will find analogous to real-world cities: for example, The Truth catalogues the rise of a newspaper service for the city, the Ankh-Morpork Times, and Going Postal similarly deals with the development of a postal service and the rise of the Discworld's telecommunications system, called "the clacks".

[edit] Adaptations

[edit] Stage

Stage adaptations of 15 Discworld novels have been published. The adaptations are by Stephen Briggs (apart from Lords and Ladies by Irana Brown), and were first produced by the Studio Theatre Club in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. They include adaptations of The Truth, Maskerade, Mort, Wyrd Sisters and Guards! Guards! Stage adaptations of Discworld novels have been performed on every continent in the world, including Antarctica.

A Stage version of "Eric" adapted for the stage by Scott Harrison and Lee Harris was produced and performed by The Dreaming Theatre Company in June/July 2003 inside Clifford's Tower, the 700 year old castle keep in York. It was revived in 2004 in a tour of England along with Robert Rankin's The Antipope.

[edit] Film and television

Due in part to the complexity of the novels, Discworld has been difficult to adapt to film – Pratchett is fond of an anecdote of a producer attempting to pitch an adaptation of Mort in early 1990s but told to "lose the Death angle" by US backers.^[25]

A list of completed adaptations include:

• Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic (based on both The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic): David Jason played 'Rincewind'. This adaptation aired in the UK over Easter 2008 and also features Terry Pratchett in a brief cameo role as an Astrozoologist.^[26]
• Terry Pratchett's Hogfather: In the UK, Sky One commissioned a £6 million 'made for television' adaptation of Hogfather with David Jason playing the role of Albert, which premiered 17/18 December 2006, with Terry Pratchett in a brief cameo role as the Toymaker.^[27][28]
• Lords and Ladies: A fan movie adaptation by Almost No Budget Films was completed in Germany.^[29]
• Run Rincewind Run!: A Snowgum Films original story created for Nullus Anxietas. Stars Troy Larkin as Rincewind, and features Terry Pratchett himself.
• Cosgrove Hall produced 6x30 minute adaptations of two books for Channel 4 in 1996. These were made available on DVD and VHS in the US from Acorn Media, though they are now out of print. Both series are available on a DVD boxset in Region 2
  • Soul Music - Starring Christopher Lee as Death, also featuring Neil Morrissey and Graham Crowden. First episode broadcast on 18 May 1997. The soundtrack to Soul Music was also released on CD.
  • Wyrd Sisters - Starring Christopher Lee as Death, also featuring Annette Crosbie, June Whitfield, Jane Horrocks and Les Dennis. First episode broadcast on 28 December 1998.

A list of adaptations in pre-production include:

• Troll Bridge: Australian group Snowgum Films has completed principal photography and is working through post-production.^[30]
• The Wee Free Men: In January 2006 it was announced that Sam Raimi would direct this adaptation for Sony Pictures^[31][32] but he then moved on to other projects.
• Terry Pratchett's Going Postal, to be produced by Sky1. It will star Richard Coyle, David Suchet, Charles Dance, Claire Foy, Steve Pemberton, Andrew Sachs and Tamsin Greig. It is to be broadcast at the end of May 2010.^[33]

[edit] Radio

There have been several BBC radio adaptations of Discworld stories, including Wyrd Sisters, Guards! Guards! (narrated by Martin Jarvis), The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, Mort and Small Gods. On 27 February 2008, BBC Radio 4 aired the first of a five-part, weekly adaptation of Night Watch. These were also repeated in January 2010.

[edit] Audio books

Most of Pratchett's novels have been released as audio books. For the unabridged recordings, books 1-23 in the above list, except for books 3, 6 and 9, are read by Nigel Planer. Books 3 and 6 are read by Celia Imrie. Book 9 and most of the books from 24 onward are read by Stephen Briggs. Abridged versions are read by Tony Robinson.

[edit] Comic books

The Colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic, Mort and Guards! Guards! have been adapted into graphic novels.

[edit] Merchandise

Various other types of related merchandise have been produced by cottage industries with an interest in the books, including Stephen Briggs, Bernard Pearson, Bonsai Trading, Paul Kidby and Clarecraft.

Musical releases include:

• Dave Greenslade: Terry Pratchett's From the Discworld, 1994 (Virgin CDV 2738.7243 8 39512 2 2).^[34]
• Keith Hopwood: Soul Music — Terry Pratchett's Discworld, 1998 (Proper Music Distribution / Pluto Music TH 030746), soundtrack to the animated adaptation of Soul Music.

Pratchett co-authored with Phil Masters two role-playing game supplements for Discworld, utilising the GURPS system:

• GURPS Discworld (republished as The Discworld Roleplaying Game)
• GURPS Discworld Also

Video games:

• The Colour of Magic (Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64)
• Discworld MUD (Internet)
• Discworld (PC/DOS, Macintosh, PlayStation, Saturn)
• Discworld II: Missing Presumed...!? (Discworld II: Mortality Bytes! in North America) (PC/Windows, PC/DOS, PlayStation, Saturn)
• Discworld Noir (PC/Windows, PlayStation)
• Discworld: The Colour of Magic (Mobile phone)

The board game, Thud was created by puzzle compiler Trevor Truran. The card game Cripple Mr Onion is adapted from the novels.

[edit] See also

• Discworld characters
• Discworld geography
• Other dimensions of the Discworld

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Discworld

• Discworld & Pratchett Wiki
• Discworld Covers Wiki Book covers collection from all over the world.
• Discworld Convention The UK Discworld Convention
• The Turtle Moves! The North American Discworld Convention
• Nullus Anxietas The Australian Discworld Convention
• Discworld Monthly monthly email newsletter / website about Terry Pratchett and Discworld.
• Gallery of Terry Pratchett's Discworld- TV Dramatisation

v • d • e Terry Pratchett's Discworld (Portal) Novels The Colour of Magic · The Light Fantastic · Equal Rites · Mort · Sourcery · Wyrd Sisters · Pyramids · Guards! Guards! · Faust Eric · Moving Pictures · Reaper Man · Witches Abroad · Small Gods · Lords and Ladies · Men at Arms · Soul Music · Interesting Times · Maskerade · Feet of Clay · Hogfather · Jingo · The Last Continent · Carpe Jugulum · The Fifth Elephant · The Truth · Thief of Time · The Last Hero · The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents · Night Watch · The Wee Free Men · Monstrous Regiment · A Hat Full of Sky · Going Postal · Thud! · Wintersmith · Making Money · Unseen Academicals · I Shall Wear Midnight · Raising Taxes Short stories "Troll Bridge" · "Theatre of Cruelty" · "The Sea and Little Fishes" · "Death and What Comes Next" · "A Collegiate Casting-Out of Devilish Devices" "Turntables of the Night" Other books The Discworld Companion · The Science of Discworld · The Science of Discworld II: The Globe · The Science of Discworld III: Darwin's Watch · The Pratchett Portfolio · The Art of Discworld · The Unseen University Challenge · The Wyrdest Link · The Streets of Ankh-Morpork · The Discworld Mapp · A Tourist Guide to Lancre · Death's Domain · Nanny Ogg's Cookbook · The Discworld Almanak · Where's My Cow? · The Unseen University Cut Out Book · The Discworld Diaries · Once More* With Footnotes · The Wit and Wisdom of Discworld · The Folklore of Discworld Games The Colour of Magic · Discworld MUD · Cripple Mr Onion · Discworld · Discworld II · Discworld Noir · GURPS Discworld · Stealth Chess · Thud Films and TV series Welcome to the Discworld · Soul Music · Wyrd Sisters · Hogfather · The Colour of Magic · Going Postal Characters Tiffany Aching · Angua · Captain Carrot · Cohen the Barbarian · Fred Colon · Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler · Hex · Igor · The Librarian · Moist von Lipwig · C.W. St J. "Nobby" Nobbs · Nanny Ogg · Mustrum Ridcully · Rincewind · Susan Sto Helit · Twoflower · Havelock Vetinari · Sam Vimes · Granny Weatherwax · more... Races and creatures Dwarfs (characters) · Elves · Golems (characters) · Nac Mac Feegle (characters) · Trolls (characters) · Undead (characters) · Other races · Flora and fauna of the Discworld Deities Death · The Great God Om · Discworld gods · Small gods · Anthropomorphic personifications · Auditors of Reality Locations Discworld (world)  · Discworld geography  · Ankh-Morpork · Other dimensions Organisations Assassins' Guild (members) · Beggars' Guild (Canting Crew) · City Watch (members) · Clacks (members) · Fools' Guild · Post Office (members) · Thieves' Guild · Other Guilds · History Monks (members) · Unseen University (members) · The Witches Other Technology of the Discworld (Inventors) · Religions of the Discworld