Hello, it's Reviewsday Tuesday and today it's time for Discworld Discourses,
The show in which I talk about the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett.
Today I'm going to be talking about Pyramids, the 7th book in the Discworld series, first published in 1989.
In this book we meet Pteppic, the future king of Djelibeybi,
Who is training to be an assassin in Ankh-Morpork
When he learns that his father has died and he needs to return home to be crowned king.
This is a fun Discworld book to, there are very few Discworld books that aren't fun to read.
It's funny, it has that trademark wit of Pratchett,
The dismantling of things in our world through his fantastical world,
In this case, religion, and belief, and tradition,
Which in my opinion is one of the best things about this book,
The light it shines on our world.
I would say that I found this book a bit patchy,
And I'm not as enthused about it as I was the last, unfortunately.
There are certain bits that I really love and enjoy:
Pteppic in Ankh-Morpork, I loved the whole bit at the Assassin's Guild,
And I wish we stayed there for longer.
The stuff with the embalmers, I really liked the camel who is the greatest mathematician in the world,
The section where, for reasons I won't get into, the gods come to life and cause chaos.
There were lots of great, wonderful bits.
But generally I wasn't as interested, my mind was wandering more,
I didn't find it the easiest of reads.
I don't really think that I got to know any of the characters particularly well,
Which is always a thing which very reliably hooks me.
I felt like they were resting on stereotypes.
I also oddly felt like we were flitting around too much between plots,
I say 'oddly' because it's pretty much a staple of a Discworld book,
That weaving in and out of different plot strands.
Generally I love that sort of structure and pacing that a Discworld book has,
But I just wasn't as enamoured of it in this book.
So yeah, I enjoyed this book, there's nothing about it that I dislike, I would say,
I've just finished reading without particularly strong feelings at all,
Which I'm sure makes this a very interesting review.
My favourite bit, the memorable bit to me, was
As I said before, the Assassin's Guild at the start.
I loved that whole section, I really wish we had stayed there for a lot longer.
But if you ask me my favorite character in this book, I don't think I'd be able to answer.
I wouldn't say that any particularly grabbed me.
So, a little bit of trivia about this book!
There are a couple of things that make Pyramids stand out in the Discworld series.
Firstly, this is one of the few Discworld books to be divided up in any way,
Mostly there are no chapters in Discworld books.
This one has 'books,' it has four books which make up the story.
And it's also the very first standalone story in the Discworld so far.
Every other book we have read so far has been part of a longer series,
Whether that be witches or Rincewind.
This is the first which is purely an individual story, and the next one is Moving Pictures.
It doens't really require much knowledge of Discworld to read this book,
Although there are elements to it which make more sense if you have read previous Discworld books.
You know, Death is in this, Ankh-Morpork is in this.
I guess it also helps learning how Djelibeybi fits into the wider Discworld.
Even though this is a standalone story I wouldn't recommend
This being the first Discworld booka person reads.
So if you like this book, what should you read next?
You could try Moving Pictures, the next standalone Discworld book.
I really like that one, I'd recommend that more as a better place to start the series.
And if you didn't like this book then I'd maybe suggest sticking with Guards! Guards!
Which is the next in the series.
I've been recommending Guards! Guards for a while now in this bit of the videos,
I'm really excited to be reading it next,
And then maybe I'll finally think of a different book
To put in my 'If you didn't like this book maybe you should try this one' section.
So I will give Pyramids by Terry Pratchett 3.8 out of 5.
As Isay, the next book I will be reviewing in Discword Discourses is Guards! Guards!
That review will be on 7th May and because of the way the dates work out
That's actually three weeks from today, instead of two,
One of the few three week gaps we have in Discworld Discourses.
So we have a bit more time to read this one.
I would really love to know what you think about Pyramids,
Do you agree with me, or did you like it far more?
Let's move across to the end screen. If you would like to see more Discworld Discourses
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I hope you have a fantastic day and I will see you soon!