Going Postal A Novel Of Discworld

Con artist and fraud Moist von Lipwig is faced with a life choice: be hanged, or put Ankh-Morpork's ailing postal service back on its feet.

Moist von Lipwig is a con artist... ... and a fraud and a man faced with a life choice: be hanged, or put Ankh-Morpork's ailing postal service back on its feet. It's a tough decision. But he's got to see that the mail gets through, come rain, hail, sleet, dogs, the Post Office Workers' Friendly and Benevolent Society, the evil chairman of the Grand Trunk Semaphore Company, and a midnight killer. Getting a date with Adora Bell Dearheart would be nice, too...

'Always push your luck because no one else would push it for you.' Imprisoned in Ankh-Morpork, con artist Moist von Lipwig is offered a choice: to be executed or to accept a job as the city's Postmaster General. It's a tough decision, but he's already survived one hanging and isn't in the mood to try it again. The Post Office is down on its luck: beset by mountains of undelivered mail, eccentric employees, and a dangerous secret order. To save his skin, Moist will need to restore the postal service to its former glory, with the help of tough talking activist Adora Belle Dearheart. Who happens to be very attractive, in an 'entire womanful of anger' kind of way. But there's new technology to compete against and an evil chairman who will stop at nothing to delay Ankh-Morpork's post for good . . . 'One of the best expressions of his unstoppable flow of comic invention' The Times Going Postal is the first book in the Moist von Lipwig series, but you can read the Discworld novels in any order.

Eric calls up a demon to grant him three wishes - but what he gets is the Discworld's most incompetent wizard... Eric is the Discworld's only demonology hacker. The trouble is, he's not very good at it. All he wants is the usual three wishes: to be immortal, rule the world and have the most beautiful woman fall madly in love with him. The usual stuff. But what he gets is Rincewind, the Disc's most incompetent wizard, and Rincewind's Luggage (the world's most dangerous travel accessory) into the bargain. Terry Pratchett's hilarious take on the Faust legend stars many of the Discworld's most popular characters in an outrageous adventure that will leave Eric wishing once more - this time, quite fervently, that he'd never been born.

Amazingly, former arch-swindler-turned-Postmaster General Moist von Lipwig has somehow managed to get the woefully inefficient Ankh-Morpork Post Office running like . . . well, not like a government office at all. Now the supreme despot Lord Vetinari is asking Moist if he'd like to make some real money. Vetinari wants Moist to resuscitate the venerable Royal Mint—so that perhaps it will no longer cost considerably more than a penny to make a penny. Moist doesn't want the job. However, a request from Ankh-Morpork's current ruling tyrant isn't a "request" per se, more like a "once-in-a-lifetime-offer-you-can-certainly-refuse-if-you-feel-you've-lived-quite-long-enough." So Moist will just have to learn to deal with elderly Royal Bank chairman Topsy (née Turvy) Lavish and her two loaded crossbows, a face-lapping Mint manager, and a chief clerk who's probably a vampire. But he'll soon be making lethal enemies as well as money, especially if he can't figure out where all the gold has gone.

After growing from humble beginnings as a Sword & Sorcery parody to more than 30 volumes of wit, wisdom, and whimsy, the Discworld series has become a phenomenon unlike any other. Now, in The Turtle Moves!, Lawrence Watt-Evans presents a story-by-story history of Discworld's evolution as well as essays on Pratchett's place in literary canon, the nature of the Disc itself, and the causes and results of the Discworld phenomenon, all refreshingly free of literary jargon littered with informative footnotes. Part breezy reference guide, part droll commentary, The Turtle Moves! will enlighten and entertain every Pratchett reader, from the casual browser to the most devout of Discworld's fans.

In a city like Ankh-Morpork, where Assassins assassinate, thieves thieve and seamstresses, um . . . don't, Law and Order can be a complicated business. Thankfully His Grace, His Excellency, The Duke of Ankh, Commander Sir Samuel Vimes (Blackboard Monitor) and the Ankh-Morpork City Watch are here to keep the peace. The finest body of men, women, dwarfs, trolls, werewolves, golems, igors, gnomes, feegles, vampires (and whatever Nobby Nobbs is) on the face of the Discworld! The Ankh-Morpork City Watch Journal provides jotting space for your notes, reports, observations and investigations, so kick back, relax and take down your particulars. To help you keep on the straight and narrow, you'll be aided and abetted by some choice quotes from Terry Pratchett's seminal City Watch novels.

This book provides high school and undergraduate students, and other interested readers, with a comprehensive survey of science fiction history and numerous essays addressing major science fiction topics, authors, works, and subgenres written by a distinguished scholar. This encyclopedia deals with written science fiction in all of its forms, not only novels and short stories but also mediums often ignored in other reference books, such as plays, poems, comic books, and graphic novels. Some science fiction films, television programs, and video games are also mentioned, particularly when they are relevant to written texts. Its focus is on science fiction in the English language, though due attention is given to international authors whose works have been frequently translated into English. Since science fiction became a recognized genre and greatly expanded in the 20th century, works published in the 20th and 21st centuries are most frequently discussed, though important earlier works are not neglected. The texts are designed to be helpful to numerous readers, ranging from students first encountering science fiction to experienced scholars in the field. Provides readers with information about written science fiction in all its forms—novels, stories, plays, poems, comic books, and graphic novels Includes original interviews with major writers like Ted Chiang, Samuel R. Delany, Kim Stanley Robinson, and Connie Willis that are not available elsewhere Features numerous sidebars with additional data about various subjects and key passages from several classic works Includes hundreds of bibliographies of sources that provide additional information on various specific topics and the genre of science fiction as a whole

This revised edition provides a way of understanding the vast universe of genre fiction in an easy-to-use format. Expert readers' advisor Joyce Saricks offers groundbreaking reconsideration of the connections among genres.

Experienced librarian and coach Ruth Metz outlines a focused and results-oriented plan for achieving the best results from staff members through a coaching style of management.

‘As bright and shiny as a newly minted coin; clever, engaging and laugh-out-loud funny’ The Times The Discworld is very much like our own – if our own were to consist of a flat planet balanced on the back of four elephants which stand on the back of a giant turtle, that is . . . Whoever said you can't fool an honest man wasn't one. The Royal Bank is facing a crisis, and it’s time for a change of management. There are a few problems that may arise with the job . . . The Chief Cashier is almost certainly a vampire – there's something nameless in the cellar and it turns out that the Royal Mint runs at a loss. Meanwhile, people actually want to know where the money’s gone. It's a job for life. But, as former con-man Moist von Lipwig is learning, that life is not necessarily a long one. He’s about to be exposed as a fraud, but if he’s lucky the Assassins’ Guild might get him first. In fact, a lot of people want him dead. Everywhere he looks he's making enemies. Oh. And every day he has to take the Chairman for walkies. ____________________ The Discworld novels can be read in any order but Making Money is the second book in the Moist von Lipwig series.

This collection of new essays applies a wide range of critical frameworks to the analysis of prolific fantasy author Terry Pratchett's Discworld books. Essays focus on topics such as Pratchett's treatment of noise and silence and their political implications; art as an anodyne for racial conflict; humor and cognitive debugging; visual semiotics; linguistic stylistics and readers' perspectives of word choice; and Derrida and the "monstrous Regiment of Women." The volume also includes an annotated bibliography of critical sources. The essays provide fresh perspectives on Pratchett's work, which has stealthily redefined both fantasy and humor for modern audiences.

A hugely revealing critical encyclopedia of the whole Pratchett oeuvre, including non-Discworld novels, works for children and miscellania.

An in-depth look into the life and writings of the bestselling author of the Discworld novels, Good Omens, and Nation. The Magic of Terry Pratchett is the first full biography of Sir Terry Pratchett ever written. Sir Terry was Britain’s bestselling living author*, and before his death in 2015 had sold more than 85 million copies of his books worldwide. Best known for the Discworld series, his work has been translated into thirty-seven languages, and performed as plays on every continent in the world, including Antarctica. Journalist, comedian and Pratchett fan Marc Burrows delves into the back story of one of UK’s most enduring and beloved authors, from his childhood in the Chiltern Hills, to his time as a journalist, and the journey that would take him—via more than sixty best-selling books—to an OBE, a knighthood and national treasure status. The Magic Of Terry Pratchett is the result of painstaking archival research alongside interviews with friends and contemporaries who knew the real man under the famous black hat, helping to piece together the full story of one of British literature’s most remarkable and beloved figures for the very first time. * Now disqualified on both counts. Praise for The Magic of Terry Pratchett "In this encompassing biography of the prolific fantasy and science-fiction author, writer and comedian Burrows details both the writing accomplishments and the personal life of Sir Terry Pratchett. . . . Burrows spoke to friends and family, and this biography has moments of sadness, especially when discussing Pratchett’s fight with Alzheimer’s. But the book is also funny and conversational in tone, and an excellent tribute to a beloved author.” —Booklist “Affable and consistently engaging . . . Burrow’s buoyant, pun-peppered, and aptly footnote-flecked style . . . helpfully marries his subject matter, propelling us through decade after decade of a heavily writing-centric life while illuminating Pratchett’s complexities and contradictions without any drag in the tempo.” —Locus Magazine “An impressively comprehensive, engagingly written biography. ****”—SFX

Debuting at #4, this "New York Times" bestseller by the popular author of "Going Postal" describes a game of Trolls and Dwarfs, where the player must take both sides to win.

This groundbreaking collection provides students with a timely and accessible overview of current trends within contemporary popular fiction.

'Always readable, illuminating and honest. It made me miss the real Terry.' - NEIL GAIMAN 'Sometimes joyfully, sometimes painfully, intimate . . . it is wonderful to have this closeup picture of the writer's working life.' - FRANK COTTRELL-BOYCE, OBSERVER 'Spins magic from mundanity in precisely the way Pratchett himself did.' - THE TELEGRAPH 'As frank, funny and unsentimental as anything its subject might have produced himself.' - MAIL ON SUNDAY -------- At the time of his death in 2015, award-winning and bestselling author Sir Terry Pratchett was working on his finest story yet - his own. The creator of the phenomenally bestselling Discworld series, Terry Pratchett was known and loved around the world for his hugely popular books, his smart satirical humour and the humanity of his campaign work. But that's only part of the picture. Before his untimely death, Terry was writing a memoir: the story of a boy who aged six was told by his teacher that he would never amount to anything and spent the rest of his life proving him wrong. For Terry lived a life full of astonishing achievements: becoming one of the UK's bestselling and most beloved writers, winning the prestigious Carnegie Medal and being awarded a knighthood. Now, the book Terry sadly couldn't finish has been written by Rob Wilkins, his former assistant, friend and now head of the Pratchett literary estate. Drawing on his own extensive memories, along with those of the author's family, friends and colleagues, Rob unveils the full picture of Terry's life - from childhood to his astonishing writing career, and how he met and coped with what he called the 'Embuggerance' of Alzheimer's disease. A deeply moving and personal portrait of the extraordinary life of Sir Terry Pratchett, written with unparalleled insight and filled with funny anecdotes, this is the only official biography of one of our finest authors. 'Of all the dead authors in the world, Terry Pratchett is the most alive.' - JOHN LLOYD

The doctorial thesis argues that the term Subcreation with its revised and broadened definition, in part differing from J.R.R. Tolkien's original term sub-creation, may be used for the discussion of the making of fictional worlds in literary discourse. The successful conception of a fictional world depends on the reader's willing suspension of disbelief. This depends both on the author and his skilled composition of the world and all its aspects, as well as on the reader's acceptance of this invented fictional world. The author needs to create a narrative with an inner consistency, which is crucial to achieving the effect of the reader's immersion in the fictional world. The fundamental aspects that an author needs to realize to achieve successful Subcreation have been structured into and analysed in four categories: Language and Linguistic Variation, Physiopoeia, Anthropoeia and Mythopoeia. Furthermore, this thesis shows that, as contemporary examples of fantastic literature, both Tad Williams's and Terry Pratchett's fictional worlds are successfully created through the realization of these aspects of Subcreation. Apart from commenting on the success of the subcreative process, this thesis also remarks upon the cultural influences both authors include in their writings. While both may be considered Anglophone in a general categorization, Pratchett's Discworld retains a feeling of 'Britishness' that is not to be found in Williams's Otherland. The thesis proposes several approaches to Subcreation that may be studied subsequently. So, for example, it may be possible to determine the success of an author's Subcreation by collecting empirical data. Apart from literary works this field of studies may also include other media.

Terry Pratchett is one of the most loved writers in the world. With worldwide sales of over 65 million copies in 37 languages, his novels are eagerly awaited by his legions of fans year after year. His first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic was released in 1983 and ever since then the series, with its whimsical heroes and fiendish foes.

'A lie can run round the world before the truth can get its boots on.' William de Worde has somehow found himself editor of Ankh-Morpork's first newspaper. Well, with a name like that . . . Launched into the world of investigative journalism, alongside reporter Sacharissa Cripslock, William soon learns that the news is a risky business. For a start, his colleagues include a band of axe-wielding dwarfs and a recovering vampire with a life-threatening passion for flash photography. It's a big news week: the most powerful man in the city has been arrested, leaving Ankh-Morpork without a leader. And a dangerous criminal organisation will do anything to control the story . . . 'An unmitigated delight . . . very, very funny' The Times The Discworld novels can be read in any order but The Truth is a standalone.