Guest Commentary
Well, Laura was a bit busy today and did not want to miss giving you a post so I decided to post something for her. So for today we will touch on one of my favorite authors, Terry Pratchett.
Currently his discworld series is an amazing 35 books long with four of those being children's books. Do not let this intimidate you. Unlike Robert Jordan or other long winded series these novels do not continuously follow the same characters and therefore avoids stagnation.
These novels often tread into the world of the paranormal in both comic and serious ways in these novels. Take for example the psychic Ms. Cake who often answers questions before they are asked, but gets a headache if the person does not ask the question. There is also Reg Shoe who was a lawyer before he died and came back as a zombie. Upon finding himself discriminated against he went on to fight for the right of all differently living peoples.
The most serious and by far funniest characters in the series are the witches, Nanny Ogg and Esme Weatherwax. They have powers far beyond anything they would show to the outside world. Why would they not show off like the witches of other books? Because common sense and physical work often yield better results, especially when dealing in life and death. The showing off is left mostly to the wizards of Unseen University who prefer theoretical magic to actual work. Instead the witches tend to their communities; being midwives, healing the sick, settling disputes, working as a vet, etc. They are by far the closest things to the way witches used to be portrayed before the rise of the church.
Granny Weatherwax repeatedly talks about "headology" which is different than psychology because it is about perception and not psychological problems. In general it says that what people believe is real is what is real. Why make someone into a frog if you can make them believe they are a frog>? The results are the same and there is less work. It also gives a witch their sense of themselves. They know who they are, and therefore can not be strayed from being that. This has allowed them to avoid mind control, corruption, and even talk with death without problems.
There are also vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and other paranormal entities. But that I will save for another time. So if you don't mind a lack of romance you will love at least most of these books.
Happy Hunting
-Bill
Currently his discworld series is an amazing 35 books long with four of those being children's books. Do not let this intimidate you. Unlike Robert Jordan or other long winded series these novels do not continuously follow the same characters and therefore avoids stagnation.
These novels often tread into the world of the paranormal in both comic and serious ways in these novels. Take for example the psychic Ms. Cake who often answers questions before they are asked, but gets a headache if the person does not ask the question. There is also Reg Shoe who was a lawyer before he died and came back as a zombie. Upon finding himself discriminated against he went on to fight for the right of all differently living peoples.
The most serious and by far funniest characters in the series are the witches, Nanny Ogg and Esme Weatherwax. They have powers far beyond anything they would show to the outside world. Why would they not show off like the witches of other books? Because common sense and physical work often yield better results, especially when dealing in life and death. The showing off is left mostly to the wizards of Unseen University who prefer theoretical magic to actual work. Instead the witches tend to their communities; being midwives, healing the sick, settling disputes, working as a vet, etc. They are by far the closest things to the way witches used to be portrayed before the rise of the church.
Granny Weatherwax repeatedly talks about "headology" which is different than psychology because it is about perception and not psychological problems. In general it says that what people believe is real is what is real. Why make someone into a frog if you can make them believe they are a frog>? The results are the same and there is less work. It also gives a witch their sense of themselves. They know who they are, and therefore can not be strayed from being that. This has allowed them to avoid mind control, corruption, and even talk with death without problems.
There are also vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and other paranormal entities. But that I will save for another time. So if you don't mind a lack of romance you will love at least most of these books.
Happy Hunting
-Bill
posted by Laura at 11:39 AM
1 Comments:
Hurray, Another Discworld Fanatic. I started reading the series over again, and at one time wrote a huge paper on "Truth" to be used in a high school classroom. Didn't work out as well as I would have liked in the real world situation.
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