Discworld & Terry Pratchett Wiki - User contributions [en]

Book:Raising Steam

2016-02-22T21:59:05Z

Konczewski: punctuation

{{Book Data
|title=Raising Steam
|cover=
[[File:RaisingSteam.jpg|240px|Cover art by Paul Kidby]]
|illustrator=Paul Kidby
|date=7 Nov, 2013
|publisher=Doubleday
|isbn=0857522272
|pages=384
|rrp=£20.00
|series=Ankh-Morpork Books
|characters=[[Moist von Lipwig]]
|annotations= yes
|notes=The fortieth Discworld novel
}}

==Blurb==
To the consternation of the patrician, [[Lord Vetinari]], a new invention has arrived in [[Ankh-Morpork]] - a great clanging monster of a machine that harnesses the power of all of the elements: earth, air, fire and water. This being Ankh-Morpork, it's soon drawing astonished crowds, some of whom caught the zeitgeist early and arrive armed with notepads and very sensible rainwear.
[[Moist von Lipwig]] is not a man who enjoys hard work - as master of the Post Office, the Mint and the Royal Bank his input is, of course, vital... but largely dependent on words, which are fortunately not very heavy and don't always need greasing. However, he does enjoy being alive, which makes a new job offer from Vetinari hard to refuse...
Steam is rising over Discworld, driven by Mister Simnel, the man wi' t'flat cap and sliding rule who has an interesting arrangement with the sine and cosine. Moist will have to grapple with gallons of grease, goblins, a fat controller with a history of throwing employees down the stairs and some very angry dwarfs if he's going to stop it all going off the rails...

'''Quote'''
''The villains of the storybook had found their place in society, at last. All it needed was technology''.

==Characters==
*'''Major characters'''
**[[Adora Belle Dearheart|Adora Belle von Lipwig]]
**[[Ardent]]
**[[Moist von Lipwig]]
**[[Rhys Rhysson|Low King Rhys]]
**[[Havelock Vetinari]]
**[[Ned Simnel]] (deceased)
**[[Dick Simnel]]

*'''Minor characters'''
**[[Bedwyr Beddsson]]
**[[Cedric]]
**[[CMOT Dibbler]]
**[[Fflergant]]
**[[Blodwen Footcracker]]
**[[Sulien Heddwyn]]
**[[Elsie Simnel]]
** Mr [[Thunderbolt]]
**[[Stoker Blake]]

==Interesting Additional Features==
* The Doubleday hardback features an expanded two page map of the Central Sea region on pp8-9, (or at least of its Hubwards side), which provides a lot of interesting detail as to locations of places previously only hinted at or else vaguely located. The map covers the region [[Quirm]]-[[Ankh-Morpork]] - [[Scrote]] - [[Überwald]] - [[Lancre]] with [[The Chalk]], [[Sheepridge]] and the [[Octarine Grass Country]] shading in. No indication of scale is given, save for the incidental detail in the text that the completed railway line from Ankh-Morpork to Überwald is 1,200 miles long.

* The Doubleday hardback special edition exclusive to the retailer WHSmith contained an additional extra short story [[Short Story:Humphrey Newt's Thunderbolt Carriage|''Humphrey Newt's Thunderbolt Carriage'']].

{{series|series=Discworld|before=Snuff|after=The Shepherd's Crown}}
{{series|series=Ankh-Morpork|before=Unseen Academicals|after=}}

[[Category:Ankh-Morpork Series|Raising Steam]]
[[Category:Discworld Series|Raising Steam]]

Sacharissa Cripslock

2016-02-22T21:50:29Z

Konczewski: rearranged

{{Character Data
|title=Sacharissa Cripslock
|photo=scoopmine.jpg|Sacharissa Cripslock, as drawn by [[User:darkplush|Kit Cox]]
|name=Sacharissa Cripslock
|age=Twenty-something
|race=Human
|occupation=Journalist
|appearance=Buxom, attractive young lady
|residence=[[Ankh-Morpork]]
|death=
|parents=Mr Cripslock, engraver
|relatives=
|children=
|marital status= married, spouse unknown
|books={{TT}}
|cameos={{GP}}<br/>{{MM}}<br/>{{ISWM}}
}}

The Discworld's very own [[wikipedia:Lois Lane|Lois Lane]], '''Sacharissa Cripslock''' is the granddaughter of the [[Engravers' Guild|engraver]] formerly employed by [[William de Worde]] to make copies of his newsletter. She confronts him angrily when he starts printing his newsletter with [[Gunilla Goodmountain]], threatening her grandfather's livelihood.

She is described as eclectically attractive insofar as facial features are concerned: various aspects of her face would have had differing appeal over the centuries and went in and out of fashion. However, certain bodily features never go out of style and she is quite well-endowed in that respect.

Sacharissa strives for Respectability – however she suffers from misplaced assumptions on what exactly constitutes Respectability. She takes most of her cues from previous centuries, and believes that correct mannerisms are an adequate substitute for good manners. Either way it is a difficult task for one with her figure, which she tries to conceal with old-fashioned dresses (to no avail). When provoked, she can also fire out [[-ing]]'s in the same indiscriminate way [[Detritus]] fires his [[Piecemaker]].

She ends up becoming a reporter with the new ''[[Ankh-Morpork Times]]'', where she shows considerable talent as a journalist with a nose for news and a knack of creating snappy headlines. Unlike most citizens of [[Ankh-Morpork]], she does not wield a pen like a carving knife, and has a firm grasp on the idea of punctuation. In addition, thanks to her physical qualities, various young men from all walks of life tend to come to her with various titbits which she can put into the paper.

In {{GP}}, she wears a wedding ring: it is more than likely that she married William, who was quite taken with her in {{TT}}, eventually getting up the courage to ask her to lunch... before the hungry press intervened! Despite being married, she still refers to herself as ''Miss'', which [[Moist von Lipwig]] surmises upon first meeting her means that she has Views. In {{RS}}, a footnote on page 123 explicitly refers to "Mr de Worde and wife". However, the reference does not elaborate as to ''whom''. The lack of emphasis upon a romance between William and Sacharissa may reflect on their own reluctance to publicize their private lives (perhaps with good cause in William's case!). Or, it may just be another example of Pratchett's relaxed attitude towards the traditional narrative, in which the main characters' romance would certainly take center stage. Pratchett characters frequently marry; far less frequently is a Big Deal made over the nuptials, provided a dragon doesn't show up.

==Appearances in other media==
Sacharissa was played by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamsin_Greig Tamsin Greig] in the TV adaptation of {{GP}}.

==External links==
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discworld_characters#Sacharissa_Cripslock Sacharissa Cripslock] on Wikipedia

[[Category:Discworld characters|Cripslock,Sacharissa]]
[[Category:Human characters|Cripslock,Sacharissa]]
[[Category:Serial characters|Cripslock,Sacharissa]]
[[de:Sacharissa Kratzgut]]

Otto Chriek

2016-02-22T21:47:15Z

Konczewski: bolding

{{Character Data
|title=Otto Chriek
|photo=
|name=Otto Chriek
|age=
|race= [[Vampire]]
|occupation= Iconographer for The [[Ankh-Morpork Times]]
|appearance= Oval dark glasses, pocket-lined vest
|residence=[[Ankh-Morpork]]
|death= Several times
|parents=
|relatives=
|children=
|marital status=
|books= {{TT}}
|cameos={{MR}}, {{GP}}, {{T!}}, {{MM}}
}}

''Otto Chriek'' is a [[Vampires|vampire]] who moved from [[Überwald]] and is now living in [[Ankh-Morpork]]. Like most vampires in Ankh-Morpork, he is a [[Black Ribbon|Black Ribboner]], meaning that he has joined the [[Überwald League of Temperance|League of Temperance]] and sworn off blood.

However, the energy that was once spent devising ways of capturing young virgins must be re-directed. Otto has successfully transferred that obsession to iconography, and so he makes quite a good iconographer, with one fault - he experimented in {{TT}} with dark light, which had terrible and unforeseen consequences, and he has since stopped trying to use it to replace natural light.

The inherent problem with being a Vampire Iconographer is that flashes of bright light will cause Otto to shriek in pain, and more often than not reduce him to a pinch of dust on the floor. Thanks to a suggestion by [[William de Worde]], Otto finally solved this problem by wearing a vial of blood around his neck, creating an automatic reconstitution mechanism - whenever he crumbles to dust, the vial breaks, reconstructing Otto. The entire process happens within a matter of moments, allowing him to pick up the picture he undied for before it hits the ground.

Otto is quite loyal to [[William de Worde]] for giving him his job as an Iconographer, recognizing William's misgivings and struggles to distance himself from his speciesist father. In {{TT}}, when William confronts his father about his part in the plot to discredit [[Vetinari]], the senior [[de Worde]] decides to have his son sent to a far off land to prevent him from meddling in his affairs. Otto, who was following William, defends him from the would-be abductors, and while strongly tempted to break his vow and bite William's father, acquiesces to William's urging to not do so.

Having joined the [[Ankh-Morpork Times]] at the very beginning of the newspaper, he is currently its Head Iconographer. Where there is news, where the Ankh-Morpork crowds gather for street theatre, Otto will also be there, in his vest of many pockets and carrying his [[iconograph]] and cage of [[salamander|salamanders]].

Otto is more or less fluent in [[Morporkian]] and can speak without his Überwaldean accent, but cannot get his head around common slang. It is implied that Otto, unlike most other Black Ribboners, deliberately cultivates a stereotypical yet humorous vampiric appearance in order not to be taken seriously -- and thus, not ''feared''.

Otto has since branched out into a new venture, in that he has half-shares in an iconography shop. Flach and Chriek are based on Bluffwilder Street (just off [[Rime Street]] and [[Easy Street]], near the river, and will cater for all your iconographical needs including the new compact Brownie iconograph. Nothing other than the name is known about Mr (or Ms) Flach: their nationality, first name, gender and indeed species remain a mystery at the time of writing.

'''Name Origin'''

The name "Otto Chriek" sound suspiciously like "Ought To Shriek". As in "Ought to Shriek In Fear when you see him but you actually shriek in laughter instead". See notes about his appearance above.

[[category:Discworld characters|Chriek, Otto]]
[[category:Supporting characters|Chriek, Otto]]
[[category:Serial characters|Chriek, Otto]]
[[Category:Undead characters|Chriek, Otto]]
[[de:Otto Chriek]]

Renata Flitworth

2016-02-22T21:32:55Z

Konczewski: added info box

{{Character Data
|title=Renata Flitworth
|photo=
|name=Renata Flitworth
|age= Deceased
|race=Human
|occupation=Spinster
|appearance=
|residence= [[Octarine Grass Country]], [[Ramtops]]
|death=
|parents=
|relatives=
|children=None
|marital status=Single
|books= {{RM}}
|cameos=
}}
'''Miss Renata Flitworth''' was the archetypal farmer's wife - stoic, weather-beaten, used to life's little disasters - but she was an old spinster due to the death of her fiance [[Rufus]] the night before their wedding, due to his insistence that he needed to do one more trip across the mountains (smuggling) to pay for her. Her house is reputed by the locals to be full of treasure.

Her main claim to fame is that she took [[Bill Door]] in as a farmhand when he was a-wanderin' round the world. Bill Door was actually [[Death]] in disguise, who had been told he was surplus to requirements by the [[Auditors]]. As humans cannot see what they don't want to (a survival trait mentioned in almost all the Discworld novels), nobody (except for [[Sal Lifton|one child]]) in the isolated farming community recognised that the seven-foot skeleton stalking amongst them, speaking in a voice like coffin lids slamming, was actually that. To them, he was a slightly suspicious figure (bumpkins generally regard any foreigner [ie. anyone from further away than they can see] as suspicious), who - through familiarity becomes 'Good old Bill'. Said bumpkins are [[Gabby Wheels]], [[Duke Bottomley]] and [[William Spigot]].

Miss Flitworth watches Death-as-Bill save the life of [[Sal Lifton]], daughter of the owner of the village inn during a fire, and is amazed to find that Bill is in fact Death - a fact he inadvertently lets out when he gives Sal some of his own lifetime. When Bill is threatened by the [[New Death]] he is helpless as his mortality weighs against him, but then Miss Flitworth appears and gives him some of ''hers''. This is all he needs and Bill leaps up to destroy the New Death.

As a reward, he reappears with presents "for a lady" - a box of ''Dark Enchantments'' chocolates (missing the rum truffles), the [[Tear of Offler]] - the world's biggest diamond, and an enormous bouquet of every flower in the shop (dying). However she spurns his offer to take her anywhere because it's the village dance, and she's never missed one. So they go, and they dance all night (Death doesn't need maracas!) - until she is surprised that she's not gasping for breath. In fact she's not breathing. Bill didn't give her a start when he turned up - he gave her a stop. Her life had ended, due to her lending it to him, but Death travelled the length of the space-time continuum to speak with [[Azrael]], the ultimate being, who granted him some extra time with her as a reward.

[[Category:Discworld characters|Flitworth,Mrs]]
[[Category:Human characters|Flitworth,Mrs]]
[[de:Renata Flinkwert]]

Renata Flitworth

2016-02-22T21:25:44Z

Konczewski: bolding

'''Miss Renata Flitworth''' was the archetypal farmer's wife - stoic, weather-beaten, used to life's little disasters - but she was an old spinster due to the death of her fiance [[Rufus]] the night before their wedding, due to his insistence that he needed to do one more trip across the mountains (smuggling) to pay for her. Her house is reputed by the locals to be full of treasure.

Her main claim to fame is that she took [[Bill Door]] in as a farmhand when he was a-wanderin' round the world. Bill Door was actually [[Death]] in disguise, who had been told he was surplus to requirements by the [[Auditors]]. As humans cannot see what they don't want to (a survival trait mentioned in almost all the Discworld novels), nobody (except for [[Sal Lifton|one child]]) in the isolated farming community recognised that the seven-foot skeleton stalking amongst them, speaking in a voice like coffin lids slamming, was actually that. To them, he was a slightly suspicious figure (bumpkins generally regard any foreigner [ie. anyone from further away than they can see] as suspicious), who - through familiarity becomes 'Good old Bill'. Said bumpkins are [[Gabby Wheels]], [[Duke Bottomley]] and [[William Spigot]].

Miss Flitworth watches Death-as-Bill save the life of [[Sal Lifton]], daughter of the owner of the village inn during a fire, and is amazed to find that Bill is in fact Death - a fact he inadvertently lets out when he gives Sal some of his own lifetime. When Bill is threatened by the [[New Death]] he is helpless as his mortality weighs against him, but then Miss Flitworth appears and gives him some of ''hers''. This is all he needs and Bill leaps up to destroy the New Death.

As a reward, he reappears with presents "for a lady" - a box of ''Dark Enchantments'' chocolates (missing the rum truffles), the [[Tear of Offler]] - the world's biggest diamond, and an enormous bouquet of every flower in the shop (dying). However she spurns his offer to take her anywhere because it's the village dance, and she's never missed one. So they go, and they dance all night (Death doesn't need maracas!) - until she is surprised that she's not gasping for breath. In fact she's not breathing. Bill didn't give her a start when he turned up - he gave her a stop. Her life had ended, due to her lending it to him, but Death travelled the length of the space-time continuum to speak with [[Azrael]], the ultimate being, who granted him some extra time with her as a reward.

[[Category:Discworld characters|Flitworth,Mrs]]
[[Category:Human characters|Flitworth,Mrs]]
[[de:Renata Flinkwert]]

Book:Small Gods

2016-02-22T17:29:02Z

Konczewski: punctuation

{{Book Data
|title= Small Gods
|cover=
[[File:Cover Small Gods.jpg|thumb|240px|Cover art by Josh Kirby]]
|coauthors=
|illustrator=
|date= May 1992
|publisher= Victor Gollancz
|isbn=0575052228
|pages=288
|rrp=
|series=
|characters=[[Brutha]]. [[Om]], [[Vorbis]]
|annotations=yes
|notes=
}}

==Blurb==
[[Brutha]] is the Chosen One.

His god has spoken to him, admittedly while currently in the shape of a tortoise.

Brutha is a simple lad. He can't read. He can't write. He's pretty good at growing melons. And his wants are few.

He wants to overthrow a huge and corrupt [[Omnia|church]].

He wants to prevent a horrible holy war.

He wants to stop the persecution of a [[philosophers|philosopher]] who has dared to suggest that, contrary to the Church's dogma, the Discworld really does go through space on the back of an enormous turtle (*).

He wants peace and justice and brotherly love. He wants the Inquisition to stop torturing him now, please.

But most of all, what he really wants, more than anything else, is for his god to Choose Someone Else ...

(* which is true, but when has that ever mattered?)

==Plot==
The story is set in the land of [[Omnia]], an oppressive theocracy that is controlled by a Church that worships the Great God [[Om]] and frequently wages war on non-believers. It is about time for Om to manifest in the world and send his eighth prophet. Om has ignored his believers for ages and is surprised to find himself stripped of his divine powers and only able to manifest himself as a tortoise. On the Disc, the power of a God is determined by how many people believe in them.

In [[Kom]], the capital of Omnia, Om meets [[Brutha]], a simple-minded boy with a remarkable memory. He struggles to convince Brutha that he is the God the boy worships. [[Vorbis]], the head of the [[Quisition]], asks Brutha to come with him on a diplomatic mission to [[Ephebe]]. While they are there, Brutha starts to take an interest in philosphy. Om meets the philosopher [[Didactylos]] and discovers that [[Brutha]] is the only remaining Omnian who actually believes in him; the others now only believe in the rules and rituals of the Church.

Brutha's memory helps him to provide information to the Omnians on how to access the Tyrant's palace via the [[Labyrinth]] that guards it. He also reads and memorises many scrolls in the library, in order to preserve the Ephebians' knowledge as Omnian soldiers burn the building down. Brutha, Om and a severely injured Vorbis flee the struggle by boat and end up lost in the desert. On their way home, they discover ruined temples that are haunted by [[Small Gods]] - ghosts of powerless gods who no-one believes in. Om begins to care about his believers for the first time.

Vorbis regains his strength as they approach Kom. He abducts Brutha and tries to finish Om off without success. He arranges for himself to be ordained the eighth prophet and for Brutha to be publically burned to death by being strapped to a heated bronze statue of a tortoise. Om intervenes; an eagle flies him over to the scene and drops him on Vorbis' head, killing the priest. The crowd witness the miracle and their faith in Om is restored, allowing him to become powerful again.

Meanwhile, Ephebe has formed an alliance with several nations to invade Omnia and a battle breaks out on the coast by Kom. Brutha attempts to make peace, but the invading armies are too distrustful of the Omnians. Om plans to use his physical powers against them, but Brutha argues that he should not interfere with the actions of humans. Om is frustrated but ultimately agrees; instead he travels to the top of [[Cori Celesti]] where he sees the other gods gambling on the fates of their believers to gain or lose them. Shocked by the callousness with which they treat their believers, Om loses his temper, even hitting some of the other gods. The soldiers hear a threatening sign from the heavens and stop fighting.

Brutha becomes the Eighth Prophet. He ends the Quisition and reforms the Church, turning the oppressive and dogmatic institution into a fairer-minded theology. For the next century, Omnia is able to enjoy great peace, freedom and prosperity. In the epilogue, Brutha dies on the 100th anniversary of Om's return to power. It is then revealed that the events were orchestrated by [[Lu-Tze]], one of the [[History Monks]], who decided that he would rather have a century of peace than the anticipated century of war.

==Cover==
The cover illustration was drawn by [[Josh Kirby]]. It is dominated by two figures: [[Brutha]], who is chained to an altar in the form of a giant turtle and [[Vorbis]] with an eagle-like appearance interrogating him. Above both figures a large flying eagle holds a terrified turtle in its claws.

==About the book==
When reading the Discworld books starting from the first ''[[Book:The Colour of Magic|The Colour of Magic]]'' to the newest one notices a gradual change in the style of writing. Not only does the text become more picturesque and atmospheric, but the story itself becomes more elaborate. Whereas in ''[[Book:The Colour of Magic|The Colour of Magic]]'' the story seems to be a mere carrier for a multitude of jokes and anecdotes, newer books have less comedy, but make a good read, because of the intriguing story. ''Small Gods'' is the first book in the [[:Category:Discworld Series|Discworld series]] with a noticeably changed style.

Whereas previous books were driven by satire of the fantasy genre and popular culture, ''Small Gods'' touches on deeper themes. The main themes of the book are theism, atheism, morality and ethics. There is a clear contrast between Brutha's earnest faith and compassion, compared to the organized religion of a church which at best is stagnant and corrupt, and at worst is oppressive and extremist. The storyline then reveals that [[Brutha]] is the only person who is really believing in Om himself, whereas everyone else is just believing in rules and rituals. It also shows that a bad religion or church can still have good followers.

One of the more important messages of the book is: do good things, simply because they are good and not just because a god demands it. This might not sound too funny, but the messages are hidden in a rather humorous story (this is still a [[Terry Pratchett]] book) about Brutha, a novice priest of the church of [[Om]].

''Small Gods'' introduces [[Lu-Tze]] the [[History Monks|history-monk]]. The book is also the origin of the phrase "The turtle moves" or ''De Chelonian Mobile''.

==Characters==

===Main characters===

* [[Brutha]]
* [[Vorbis]]
* [[Om]]
* [[A'tuin|Great A'tuin]]

===Minor characters===

* [[Lu-Tze]]
* Brother [[Nhumrod]]
* Bishop [[Drunah]]
* General Iam [[Fri'it]], his aspirations to assassinate Vorbis are cut short (as, indeed, is he)
* Sergeant [[Simony]]
* [[Death]]
* [[P'tang P'tang]], a god
* [[Didactylos]], a philosopher
* [[Urn]], a philosopher, Didactylos' nephew
* "St" [[Sevrian Thaddeus Ungulant]], a philosopher, friend to small gods
* [[Tyrant]] of [[Ephebe]]

=== Cameos/Mentioned ===

* Members of the Omnian Church (current and former, including excommunicated members)
** The [[SeptArchs]], prophets who wrote the 7 books of Omniaism
*** Prophet [[Ishkible]]
*** Prophet [[Cena]]
*** Prophet [[Fruni]]
*** Prophet [[Wallspur]]
*** Prophet [[Ossory]]
*** Prophet [[Abbys]]
*** Prophet [[Hashimi]]
** Brother [[Murduck]], beaten nearly to death (and flogged the rest of the way), ostensibly by Ephebians, but actually by the Omnian Church itself
** Brother [[Sasho]], tortured for information
** Brother [[Whelk]], teaches Comparative Religion (an interesting topic in monotheistic Omnia?)
** Bishop [[Kreeblephor]], who converted a demon by reason alone in the [[Year of the Lenient Vegetable]]
** Brother [[Preptil]], master of music
** Bishop [[Treem]], archivist
** False Prophet [[Zeb]]
** False Prophet [[Zog]]
** Members of the [[Divine Legion]], the military arm of the Church
*** Sergeant [[Aktar]]
*** Sergeant [[Fergmen]]
*** Private [[Dervi Ichlos]], killed by Simony
** Members of the [[Quisition]]
*** Inquisitor First Class [[Ishmale Quoom]], retired
*** Deacon [[Cusp]]
** [[Coplei]], a bosun on the holy ship Fin of God
* [[Cut-Me-Own-Hand-Off Dhblah]]
* Gods and goddesses
** The [[Sea Queen]]
** [[Tuvelpit]], God of Wine, aka [[Smimto]]
** [[Offler]]
** [[Astoria]], Goddess of Love
** [[Petulia]], Goddess of Negotiable Affection
** [[God of Lettuce]] (mentioned)
** [[Blind Io]]
** [[Cubal]], the Fire God
** [[Flatulus]], Wind God
** [[Fedecks]], Messenger of the Gods, whose name parodies {{wp|Fedex|Fedex}}
** [[Patina]], Goddess of Wisdom
** [[Foorgol]], Avalanche God, whose name is "log roof" backward
** [[Angus]], a small god
** [[Goddess of Plenty]], minor goddess elbowed by Om
** [[Solar God]] (Tsortean God of the Sun)
* Philosophers
** [[Legibus]], philosopher, parodies {{wp|Archimedes|Archimedes}}
** [[Aristocrates]], philosopher, secretary to the Tyrant, parodies {{wp|Aristotle|Aristotle}}
** [[Xeno]], parodies {{wp|Zeno_of_Elea|Zeno}}
** [[Ibid]], philosopher, whose name parodies the expression {{wp|ibid|ibid}}
** [[Gordo]] of Tsort, who wrote about sand
** [[Irexes]], who also wrote about sand
* the [[Librarian]]
* General [[Argavisti]], of Ephebe
* Imperiator [[Borvorius]], of Tsort
* Admiral [[Rham-ap-Efan]], of Djelibeybi
* [[Fasta Benj]], fisherman from an unnamed small nation
* [[Pacha Moj]], another person from the same unnamed small nation
* [[59th Abbot]], who mis-used his ability to see into the future
* [[493rd Abbot]]
* [[Hodgsonites]], [[Melchiorites]], and [[Ashelians]], peoples who were subjugated by the Divine Legion
* [[Koomi]] of [[Smale]], who wrote [[Ego-Video Liber Deorum]] (Gods: A Spotter's Guide), angering the Omnian Church
* [[Ur-Gilash]], god defeated by Om (and perhaps encountered by Om in the desert, though this isn't made clear), and whose capital city was [[Gilash]]
* Customers of Didactylos and Nephew:
** Mr. [[Piloxi]] the farmer, who paid in rotten green black olives
** Mrs. [[Bylaxis]]
** [[Grillos]], the cobbler
* Sister [[Sestina]] of [[Quirm]], who walked across coals for a goddess who was really only interested in hairstyles
* Brother [[Zephilite]] of Klatch, who did charity work in the name of [[F'rum]], an fairly stupid invisible god

== Locations ==

* [[Ramtops|Ramtop Mountains]]
* [[Omnia]], the rimward fringe of [[Klatch (continent)|Klatch]] on the [[Circle Sea]]
** [[Kom]], capital of Omnia
** [[Gate of Horns]]
** [[Citadel]] of the Omnian Church
** [[Place of Lamentation]]
** port of Il-Drim
* [[Ephebe]]
** [[Library of Ephebe]], 2nd largest library on the Disc
* The [[Circle Sea]]
* [[Pseudopolis]] (mentioned)
* [[Djel]] (mentioned)
* [[Tsort]] (mentioned)
* [[Brown Islands]] (mentioned)
* [[Djelibeybi]] (mentioned)
* [[Ankh-Morpork]] (mentioned)
* [[Erebos]], an island that Ossory sailed to on a millstone
* [[Rim Ocean]] (mentioned)

* Countries conquered by Omnia
** [[Istanzia]]
** [[Betrek]]
** [[Ushistan]]

* [[Unseen University]] (mentioned)
** [[Library]] (mentioned)
*** [[Lost Reading Room]] (mentioned)

* Lost City of [[Ee]] (mentioned)
* [[Sto Plains]] (mentioned)
* [[Dunmanifestin]]
** [[Cori Celesti]] (mentioned)
* [[Skant]], the [[Cenobiarch]] goes off to hermitage here when Vorbis (briefly) becomes the 8th prophet

== Miscellaneous ==

* [[Year of the Notional Serpent]] in the [[Century of the Fruitbat]], time frame for this book
* [[Year of the Astounded Beetle]], Brutha was 2 years old then (almost 3) when he saw [[derechmi]], an Ephebian coin
* The Omnian [[Quisition]], parodying [[Roundworld]]'s {{wp|Medieval Inquisition|Inquisition}}
* [[Omnian Hymns]]
** [[Omnian Hymns|He is Trampling the Unrighteous with Hooves of Hot Iron]]
** [[Omnian Hymns|The Way of the Infidel Is A Nest Of Thorns]]
** [[Lo, the infidels flee the wrath of Om]]
** [[Omnian Hymns|Claws of Iron shall Rend the Ungodly]]
* The [[Septateuch]], holy book of Omnia
* [[Klatchian Delight]], parodies {{wp|Turkish Delight|Turkish Delight}}
* [[Pointless Albatross]]
* [[Scalbie]]

* Books written by philosophers (they seem to prefer short titles)
** Didactylos' [[Meditations]]
** Xeno's [[Reflections]]
** Aristocrates' [[Platitudes]]
** Ibid's [[Discourses]] and [[Civics]]
** Legibus's [[Geometries]]
** [[Hierarch]]'s [[Theologies]]
** [[Orinjcrates]]' (whose name is a pun on "orange creates") [[On the Nature of Plants]]
** [[Philo]]'s [[Bestiary]]
** [[Abraxas]]'s [[On Religion]]
** [[Grido]]'s [[Mechanics]]
** [[Gnomon]]'s [[Ectopia]] (a {{wp|gnomon|gnomon}} is the triangular part of a sundial, while {{wp|ectopia|ectopia}} is the displacement of a bodily organ; the pun here, however, may be on {{wp|Sir_Thomas_More|Sir Thomas More}}'s {{wp|Utopia|Utopia}}
** [[Dykeri]]'s [[Principles of Navigation]]
* [[L-space]]
* [[Ambiguous Puzuma]]
* [[Aurora Corealis]], the hublights, parodying the Roundworld Northern Lights, whose proper scientific name is {{wp|Aurora Borealis|Aurora Borealis}}
* Most Holy St [[Bobby]], Ossory's ass

== Annotations ==

* "The other novices make fun of him, sometimes. Call him The Big Dumb Ox." - in Roundworld, this nickname was applied to {{wp|St Thomas Aquinas|St Thomas Aquinas}}

* "maybe a small army could get a quarter of the way, and leave a cache of water. And do that several times. And another small army could use part of that cache to go further, maybe reach halfway, and leave a cache. And another small army... It had taken months." - a version of the [http://mathworld.wolfram.com/JeepProblem.html Jeep Problem]

* "Stoics. Cynics. Big drinkers, the Cynics. Epicureans. Stochastics. Anamaxandrites. Epistemologists. Peripatetics. Synoptics." - implies that there are philosophers named {{wp|Epicurus|Epicurus}} and {{wp|Anaximander|Anaximander}}

* "The Chain Letter to the Ephebians." - parodies {{wp|chain letter|chain letter}}s and the {{wp|Epistles|Epistles}} of the New Testament.

* "could drag Omnia kicking and screaming into the Century of the Fruitbat!" - the implication here is that this book takes place during the Century of the Fruitbat, even though it presumably takes place centuries before {{MP}} (Lu-tze had to travel back in time to get to Omnia). Of course, there's no solid evidence that the "current" books take place in the Century of the Fruitbat either(?), and {{TOT}} shows the Disc's space-time continuum is rather convoluted.

* "I said to [Prince [[Lasgere]] of Tsort] 'There is no royal road to learning'" - parodies {{wp|Euclid|Euclid}}'s statement to {{wp|Ptolemy_I|King Ptolemy}}: "there is no royal road to geometry" {{wp|Royal_Road#Cultural_references_to_the_Royal_Road}}

* "Got to have a whole parcel of worshipers to live on Nob Hill." - references Roundworld's {{wp|Nob Hill|Nob Hill}}, an upscale area of San Francisco.

* '[Om] plunged his beak through the brown feathers between the talons, and gripped. [...] "Now. You play, uh, ball with me, I'll play . . . ball with you."' - As the APF ({{APF|book=small-gods|anchor=p340244}}) notes, eagles don't have testicles. Of course, this might be a "balled eagle", but I doubt even Pterry would make such a bad subtle pun.

==Notes==
*This book is not a part of a series, although some place it in a "Gods" series together with ''[[Pyramids]]'' and ''[[Hogfather]]''.
*Originally published in Great Britain by Victor Gollanz Ltd.<br/>Copyright (c) 1992 by Terry and Lyn Pratchett

==External links==
[http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/small-gods.html ''Small Gods'' Annotations - The Annotated Pratchett File]

[[de:Buch:Einfach göttlich]]
[[Category:Discworld Series|Small Gods]]

{{series|before=Witches Abroad|series=Discworld|after=Lords and Ladies}}

Josh Kirby

2016-02-22T16:56:13Z

Konczewski: Kirby did not win the Hugo at 1979 World SF convention (it was Vincent DiFate).

[[File:The Colour of Magic.jpg|thumb|{{TCOM}}: the first Discworld cover by Josh Kirby, showing [[Twoflower]] with "four eyes" and an "old" [[Rincewind]].]]

'''Ronald William Kirby''', born 27 November 1928, acquired the nickname "Josh" (after Sir Joshua Reynolds) at the Liverpool City School of Art, where he was already a talented portrait painter. After a fairly successful start in commercial portraits, especially for movie posters and publicity, he realised that he preferred book covers, particularly fantasy and science fiction. These allowed for a large input of imagination, and allowed him to work in the styles of his favourites, Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel the Elder. His first cover was for the sci-fi novel ''Cee-Tee Man'' in 1954 and he remained popular for the rest of the millennium, painting hundreds of covers. He exhibited across England and in Germany.

He was, then, already well known, when Corgi Books asked him to provide the cover for {{TCOM}}. Josh made a habit of reading the book first (not a universal practice, apparently,) and showed a lot of the character of the story and cast in his busy and elaborate, but cartoon-ish, paintings. His depictions were often wildly at odds with the author's descriptions, yet the characters were immediately recognisable and the mood of the scene would come through. He created every Discworld cover for Corgi for nearly two decades thereafter, and collaborated on the large-format edition of {{E}}, which was later republished in 2010 as ''The Illustrated Eric'', although in a smaller hardback format. He also published several portfolios and books of Discworld and other paintings.

Kirby was born in Lancashire and lived latterly near Diss, Norfolk, in a house with multiple studios and many of his original paintings, which he preferred to keep. He died in his sleep on 23 Oct 2001.

:"...quick, thus the line should go.
:"Ay, but the soul! He's Rafael! Rub it out!"
:—''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_del_Sarto_%28poem%29 Andrea del Sarto]'' (1855) by Robert Browning

==Collections==
* ''The Josh Kirby Poster Book'' (Corgi, 1989)
* ''In the Garden of Unearthly Delights'' (Paper Tiger, 1991)
* ''The Josh Kirby Discworld Portfolio'' (Paper Tiger, 1993)
* ''A Cosmic Cornucopia'' (Paper, Tiger, 1999)

==External links==
* [http://www.ansible.co.uk/misc/joshlist.html Book Covers by Josh Kirby] – a catalogue of Josh Kirby's work at David Langford's official website
* [http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/exhibitions/joshkirby/ Out of this World: the Art of Josh Kirby] on the National Museums Liverpool website, from the Walker Art Gallery's 2007 Kirby retrospective

[[Category:People|Kirby,Josh]]