SPOILERS Raising Steam *Warning Spoilers*
- Thread starter Tonyblack
- Start date
I suppose your right, you've read some so you know how rubbish it can get, I have not however and will be reading a lot when no new discworld novels come out. the idea of an angua and sally lesbian fanfic leads to thinking of a vetinari and vimes gay fanfic..... as I recall there is one out there 
twas mentioned on another thread. you've a point about the fans reflection in the work but I can't be satisfied with the same old stories for ever and ever, when T Prtchett passes away there's going to be nothing OTHER than fan fiction (new stuff that is).
twas mentioned on another thread. you've a point about the fans reflection in the work but I can't be satisfied with the same old stories for ever and ever, when T Prtchett passes away there's going to be nothing OTHER than fan fiction (new stuff that is).
I've got a list of Discworld fanfiction sites here:
http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/...&sid=0567e31ddfc37f7bdf61f7241e3ea445#p303282
Fanfiction.net and Archiveofourown.org are top, with over a thousand fanfics each.
Where's the great Angua/Sally stash then? I found some explicit fan art once! It's broadly Polly/Maladicta.
http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/...&sid=0567e31ddfc37f7bdf61f7241e3ea445#p303282
Fanfiction.net and Archiveofourown.org are top, with over a thousand fanfics each.
Where's the great Angua/Sally stash then? I found some explicit fan art once! It's broadly Polly/Maladicta.
It has been said by some that the pace of the book is like a steam engine, slowly accelerating as it builds up steam for the big whoosh at the end, whistles blowing, full speed ahead.
But then, I live where I can still hear railroad whistles and rumbling trains.
I happen to think that even subtle human interactions count as something happening, which is probably why I overreact when I read that complaint. I've read it quite a lot lately about books by Diana Wynne Jones, for instance - books in which there are wars and personal tragedies and families broken up by manipulation behind the scenes. Not enough car chases, I guess.
But then, I live where I can still hear railroad whistles and rumbling trains.
I happen to think that even subtle human interactions count as something happening, which is probably why I overreact when I read that complaint. I've read it quite a lot lately about books by Diana Wynne Jones, for instance - books in which there are wars and personal tragedies and families broken up by manipulation behind the scenes. Not enough car chases, I guess.
Sister Jennifer said:
I will be more patient 
.
.
Please accept my apology. My overreaction was from my having been reading reviews of other writers online, on blogs and so on, and it seems as though half the reviewers complain about books being "slow" when as near as I can tell (having read the books in question), character and tension are being built by a good author. The other half complain that not enough time is spent tying up every loose end in a story, except when they complain that every loose end is so neatly tied up that the author seems compulsive... probably I should stop reading online reviews.
I was pretty disappointed in Raising Steam, not because it was bad per se, but because I always look forward to the next book by Pratchett. Perhaps my standards are too high?
I found the characters way too bombastic. They spent so much time winking mischievously at each other and talking about what scoundrels they were, that they didn't do much that was mischievous or scandalous! Though, to be fair, King does like to talk about himself. Maybe the difference in this book is that he plays such a prominent part that he just kind of started wearing on my nerves.
Another problem I had was with the pace. Others have compared the book to an actual steam engine; starting slow and gathering speed. This is why I drive an internal combustion engine. In a book predominately about a steam engine, you had to read a third of the book before the engine even moved! And it wasn't until you were halfway done before it did anything more than go around in a circle! The three big action scenes were also too brief and lacking in detail to deserve the build-up that they got, especially when Rhys returned to reclaim her throne. The fight on the train wasn't too bad, but it was the same thing over and over; dwarf jumps onto train roof, Moist knocks dwarf off or out, and Vimes gets them all to spill their guts with a friendly little chat.
One of my favourite things about the Discworld books are spotting the cultural references inserted into the stories, followed closely by the clever puns. For example; I found Monstrous Regiment more interesting after reading accounts of women dressing up as men to fight in the American Civil War. Some of the stories I found online appear to have directly inspired several of the characters, though that could easily be a coincidence. In recent books it seems that what we get instead are funny accents that can sometimes be difficult to decipher.
I was also disappointed with Moist. First of all, after resurrecting the Post Office, getting the city started on paper currency (which improves the economy and allows Vetenari to fund his projects), and saving the city from the ancient golums, it seems pretty unfair for Vetenari to once again threaten to execute Moist if he doesn't do something impossible. Add that to the fact that Moist ought to have considerable leverage over Vetenari since he knows the secret of how to control the giant golum army and it seems out of character for him to meekly accept his fate and even volunteer his life on a very risky guarantee. Moist has always liked a little danger in life, but he was always sensible and never suicidal.
Lastly, I've always thought that Pratchett had a habit of recycling favourite jokes in the Disc books, but I'm getting a little tired of seeing Vimes. Don't get me wrong; he's a great character, but he's been in Men at Arms, Feet of Clay, Jingo, The Fifth Elephant, The Truth, The Last Hero, Night Watch, Monstrous Regiment, Going Postal, Thud!, Making Money, Unseen Academicals, Snuff, and Raising Steam. And, of course, "Where's My Cow?". That's more than a third of the Discworld books! Actually, what I'd really like to see, is a book that features Esk (from Equal Rites) as an adult. I'm curious about how she turned out.
I found the characters way too bombastic. They spent so much time winking mischievously at each other and talking about what scoundrels they were, that they didn't do much that was mischievous or scandalous! Though, to be fair, King does like to talk about himself. Maybe the difference in this book is that he plays such a prominent part that he just kind of started wearing on my nerves.
Another problem I had was with the pace. Others have compared the book to an actual steam engine; starting slow and gathering speed. This is why I drive an internal combustion engine. In a book predominately about a steam engine, you had to read a third of the book before the engine even moved! And it wasn't until you were halfway done before it did anything more than go around in a circle! The three big action scenes were also too brief and lacking in detail to deserve the build-up that they got, especially when Rhys returned to reclaim her throne. The fight on the train wasn't too bad, but it was the same thing over and over; dwarf jumps onto train roof, Moist knocks dwarf off or out, and Vimes gets them all to spill their guts with a friendly little chat.
One of my favourite things about the Discworld books are spotting the cultural references inserted into the stories, followed closely by the clever puns. For example; I found Monstrous Regiment more interesting after reading accounts of women dressing up as men to fight in the American Civil War. Some of the stories I found online appear to have directly inspired several of the characters, though that could easily be a coincidence. In recent books it seems that what we get instead are funny accents that can sometimes be difficult to decipher.
I was also disappointed with Moist. First of all, after resurrecting the Post Office, getting the city started on paper currency (which improves the economy and allows Vetenari to fund his projects), and saving the city from the ancient golums, it seems pretty unfair for Vetenari to once again threaten to execute Moist if he doesn't do something impossible. Add that to the fact that Moist ought to have considerable leverage over Vetenari since he knows the secret of how to control the giant golum army and it seems out of character for him to meekly accept his fate and even volunteer his life on a very risky guarantee. Moist has always liked a little danger in life, but he was always sensible and never suicidal.
Lastly, I've always thought that Pratchett had a habit of recycling favourite jokes in the Disc books, but I'm getting a little tired of seeing Vimes. Don't get me wrong; he's a great character, but he's been in Men at Arms, Feet of Clay, Jingo, The Fifth Elephant, The Truth, The Last Hero, Night Watch, Monstrous Regiment, Going Postal, Thud!, Making Money, Unseen Academicals, Snuff, and Raising Steam. And, of course, "Where's My Cow?". That's more than a third of the Discworld books! Actually, what I'd really like to see, is a book that features Esk (from Equal Rites) as an adult. I'm curious about how she turned out.
*Spoilers* Re: Raising Steam, The Truth, GP+MM
It just occurred to me that Raising Steam is a successor to The Truth, in that both involve sentient machinery in non-human form. (If you include the golems then RS is also linked to Feet of Clay as well as to Going Postal and Making Money.)
The ancient army golems of MM are shown to be capable of fairly independent action though their programming/chem to obey can't be changed. The humans aren't industrialized enough to catch up with their own plans but the golems temporarily bridge the gap between desire and achievement.
In The Truth, the newspaper press, once built, demands to be fed. In Raising Steam, the engine somehow demands to receive all the latest upgrades, being entirely rebuilt from the almost-toy size of its first appearance into the fastest, strongest, most powerful engine of them all, more mobile than the press and even able to protect itself. The engine demands a track to run on, cargo to carry, people to work on it. It will rule^change the world.
It just occurred to me that Raising Steam is a successor to The Truth, in that both involve sentient machinery in non-human form. (If you include the golems then RS is also linked to Feet of Clay as well as to Going Postal and Making Money.)
The ancient army golems of MM are shown to be capable of fairly independent action though their programming/chem to obey can't be changed. The humans aren't industrialized enough to catch up with their own plans but the golems temporarily bridge the gap between desire and achievement.
In The Truth, the newspaper press, once built, demands to be fed. In Raising Steam, the engine somehow demands to receive all the latest upgrades, being entirely rebuilt from the almost-toy size of its first appearance into the fastest, strongest, most powerful engine of them all, more mobile than the press and even able to protect itself. The engine demands a track to run on, cargo to carry, people to work on it. It will rule^change the world.
