Bookshelf >>The Pratchett Review<< >>with<< >>Andrew Wielochowski<< In this bi-month's review we focus on: Men At Arms and Soul Music >Men At Arms< >This was Terry's second book to feature the cast of Ankh-Morpork's Night Watch. The Watch have been attempting to tackle the crime-ridden streets by hiring some more men. What they in fact have is Angua (A women, er, most of the time), Cuddy (A dwarf), Detritus (A troll). Meanwhile in a stately home, plottings are afoot. Again it involves Kings and royalty of Ankh-Morpork. It would appear also that the King is at large in Ankh-Morpork. And as usually a murder is involved. A murder in Ankh-Morpork would not really be considered as an unusual occurrence. But when the victim has got a socking great big hold in his chest then matters change. And the lads down at the Night Watch uncover a lot more than they could have dreamed of. Men At Arms is the 15th Discworld book. It differs from the others because it is very much more of a murder-mystery and detective book. And the way it differs from a murder-mystery, detective book is that it is set in the Discworld, a place where magical happenings are old news and a wizard doing a serious day's work is unheard of.< ****************************************************************** >Soul Music< >Soul Music is Terry's 16th Discworld novel. It stars a hublander called Imp Y Celyn. Celyn is Welsh for holly and by an extraordinary coincidence Telyn is Welsh for harp. Imp plays a harp. Death has gone on holiday, retired, given-up. And so it passes that someone will have to be picked to become a new Death and the family title is passed onto Death's granddaughter, Susan. Meanwhile far below Death's timeless realms, the Disc is being taken over by Music. It's Lawless. It changes people. It's MUSIC WITH ROCKS IN. Imp has travelled to Ankh-Morpork to make his money by becoming a famous musician. Unfortunately to even become a musician in Ankh-Morkpork he needs money. So he eventually joins forces with two other budding musicians. This soon means a broken harp and then a stroll across the city in search of a music shop and this is where the Music really starts. Buddy (Imp) is due to die, but Susan intervenes and Buddy goes on living, but he isn't living himself. He isn't playing the music, the music is playing him. < ****************************************************************** >>WHO'S WHO IN TODAYS REVIEW<< ANGUA - - Full name, Delphine Angua Von Uberwald. She for most of the month is a well developed girl with ash-blonde hair and for those special occasions, like a full moon, she is a werewolf. She has a human intellect with certain features like the ability to smell in colours or rip out a man's jugular. CUDDY - - One glass eye and he uses a battle axe rather than the official watch truncheon. DETRITUS - - Used to be the Drum's Splatter, but now he is married to Ruby he has to have a more respectable job. IMP Y CELYN - - A hublander who changed his named to Buddy when he came to stardom. Because IMP means bud and Y CELYN means of the Holly so a name like "bud of the holly" may not go down too well. SUSAN - - Daughter of Mort and Ysabell. She is Death's granddaughter and for a while plays Death when he goes on holiday. In that time she makes a big pig's ear of it. >>NEWS FROM THE DISC<< UNKNOWN 1998 > Look out for Soul Music on Channel 4 OCTOBER 1998 > A Pratchett short story featuring Granny Weatherwax will be published in "Legends, Masters of Fantasy" NOVEMBER 1998 > Paperback of Jingo will come out and Terry's latest book "Carpe Jugulum" (I think that's how you spell it) meaning 'Seize the Throat' will be out. It'll feature all three witches and Agnes Nitt. Magrat will have a baby and it has a vampire theme. RUMOURS > Following that he'll probably have one set in Uberwald with the Watch. (Uberwald is Angua's hometown). After that possibly he take a break from Discworld for a while and write others. SEPTEMBER 1998 > The Discworld Convention. Carpe Jugulum Tour dates - November 1998 ---------------------------------------- Terry will be going walkabouts in November on a UK signing tour for his new novel Carpe Jugulum. Week 1 Saturday 07 November 1998 12.30pm Forbidden Planet, 71 New Oxford Street, London WC1A 1DG Week 2 Tuesday 10 November 12.30-1.30pm Waterstone's Booksellers, The Old Carlton Cinema, 17 Oxford Street, Swansea SA1 3AG 5.00-6.00pm Blackwell's, 13-17 Royal Arcade, Cardiff CF1 2PR Wednesday 11 November 12.00-1.00pm Andromeda, Units 2-5 Suffolk Street, Birmingham B1 1LT 5.00-6.00pm Waterstone's Booksellers, 91 Deansgate, Manchester M3 2BW Thursday 12 November 12.30-1.30pm Waterstone's Booksellers, 93-97 Albion Street, Leeds LS2 5AP 7.30-9.30pm Sheffield Off The Shelf Festival Event, The Grosvenor House Hotel (Tickets 4.50/3.50, capacity 400) Tickets available from Waterstones: Sarah 0114-272 8971 Friday 13 November 12.30-1.30pm Waterstone's Booksellers, 78-80 Peter's Street, Derby DE1 1SR 5.00-6.00pm Waterstone's Booksellers, 1-5 Bridlesmith Gate, Nottingham NG1 2GR Saturday 14 November 11.30-12.30pm Heffers, 20 Trinty Street, Cambridge CB2 1TY Week 3 Wednesday 18 November 12.30-1.30pm Waterstone's Booksellers, 13-14 Princes Street, Edinburgh EH2 2AN 5.30-6.30pm John Smith & Son, 57 St Vincent Street, Glasgow G2 5TB Thursday 19 November 1.00-2.00pm Methven's Booksellers, 26 Peascod Street, Windsor, Berkshire SL4 1DU 5.00-6.00pm WH Smith, Unit 1A, The Harlequin Centre, Watford WD1 2WS Friday 20 November 12.30-1.30pm Ottakars Bookshop, 100 The Glades, Bromley, Kent BR1 1DJ @~One for me! ... Sue 4.30-5.30pm WH Smith Ltd, 69 Churchill Square, Brighton BN1 2ET Saturday 21 November 11.30-12.30pm Waterstone's Booksellers, 69 Above Bar, Southampton SO14 7FE "The future's bright, the future's disc-shaped" - - Andrew Wielochowski - o -