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Discworld
Trying to encapsulate what the Discworld is, is a task beyond mere mortals. It’s essence is a fantasy world created by author Terry Pratchett and expounded in a series of books – ‘The Discworld Series’, but the (un)reality of Discworld is in it’s many characters brought to life by Pratchett in it’s 39 (currently) book history.
The Discworld itself is a circular world, resting upon the shoulders of 4 elephants, who in turn are standing on a giant flying space turtle – and as you may imagine, things can only get more interesting from there on in. The Discworld is divided into countries and continents much like our own world, drawing cultural, political and fantastical inspiration from us too. Pratchett succeeds where many have failed at creating a perfect parody universe, pulling on the great artists, writers and storytellers of the ages to ensure the reader is able to understand what life on the shoulders of elephants is really like.
It’s hard to describe just how successful the Discworld series has been, the 1990′s saw Pratchett as one of the UK’s highest selling Authors, more recently overtaken by J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter series. Whilst the Potter storyline was thrust mainstream and raked in the cash, it appears that the Discworld has kept it’s head cool and retained a “niche” fantasy genre appeal, although more and more bookshelves are starting to display a “Discworld shelf”… or maybe shelves if people buy the full series!
Not limited just to the paper vestry, Discworld has transcended the digital divide and been successfully ported to television on a couple of occasions. Current adaptations include ‘The Hogfather’, ‘The Colour of Magic’ and ‘Going Postal’, ‘Unseen Academicals’ is currently in production and is set to be a fantastic version of a brilliant book.
‘Soul Music’ and ‘Wyrd Sisters’ both made it to feature length animations, in the style of graphic novels. Other mediums have also taken the Discworld and given it the shining light, radio plays, stage shows and computer games are just a few.
Sites to check out:
Official Terry Pratchett website
Worth checking out if only for the funny video of Terry Pratchett being forced to advertise the website, also probably the best source for official news on Discworld matters.
If you have a picture in your mind about what a certain Discworld character looks like, this is probably the guy that planted it there. Paul Kidby – ‘official’ Discworld Illustrator (among other great illustratory works)
The Glom of Nit is a young webcomic by professional cartoonist, Ray Friesen. Only seven strips right now, but they are excellently done and have a good sense of the humour of Discworld.
