Talk:Book:Snuff

From Discworld & Terry Pratchett Wiki
Revision as of 00:15, 23 April 2012 by AgProv (talk | contribs) (→‎Absent Character?)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

I wonder if the title will survive considering this one. --Old Dickens 03:02, 30 January 2011 (CET)


Ah. There are now, seemingly, at least three meanings to the word "snuff". --AgProv 15:35, 30 January 2011 (CET) But Terry, rather thankfuly, spares us the third...--AgProv 14:00, 24 October 2011 (CEST)


Ah. Vimes investigating a murder, or series of, in an upscale country mansion house.

Which way will it leap?

"I accuse Colonel Rustard, in the library, with the lead pipe!"

Or will he be upstaged either by a nosy old lady, or by a portly, fussily dressed, amateur detective from the Sto Kerrig/Quirm borders, who will assemble everyone in the library and - in a heavy Quirmian accent - forensically dissect the evidence, progressively eliminating people from any active culpability, until only one suspect remains? Everyone, including Vimes, wil be a suspect, naturally! (In which case, Vimes is reduced to the status of he well-meaning but essentially thick local plod who officially makes the arrest after either Poirot or Miss Marple have done the detective work...) --AgProv 17:34, 3 March 2011 (CET)

Wrong all the way! But glad I was... --AgProv 13:58, 24 October 2011 (CEST)

Continuity

I've found terry's lax attitude to continuity to be a bit jarring on occasion. In this book several mentions are made to sending young Sam to University specifically to become a wizard. This is obviously quite different from some of the earlier books which stated that you had to be the seventh son of a seventh son to become a wizard. --Fhh98 05:13, 21 October 2011 (CEST)

Haven't that changed gradually a bit over time, and never been the only way to be a wizard? Anyway. I haven't read it through yet but after reading more then half. It's never stated as a fact or said by any wizard or representative from UU, but rather by people i the Vimes household who says it. Maybe they have contacts, or maybe they don't consider or know of any policy from UU or how magic works? Ttias 12:56, 24 October 2011 (CEST)

To be honest, continuity completely jumped off the Disc in UA already. Only constant that remained: You have to be able to DO magic. (It was 8th son's 8th son on the Disc, btw). If sam jr can't even see octarin, his father should be concerned about people around him wanting his son dead. Trying to study at the UU without any skills in magic is, well, suicide.--LilMaibe 13:38, 24 October 2011 (CEST)
From what I'm aware of, the "eighth son of the eighth son" rule applies to sourcerers (sic), not wizards. And his father must be a wizard. (See the "Magic" entry in The Discworld Companion.) --C3POwen 18:25, 24 October 2011 (CEST)
Eight son's eight son = wizards. Eight son's eight son's eight son=sourcerer.--LilMaibe 19:02, 24 October 2011 (CEST)
What about Victor Tugelbend in MP, who becomes a (student) wizard despite having no magical background?
We can assume that he at least brings the basics for a wizard with him. Otherwise he would have never been accepted, no matter who his uncle was.--LilMaibe 17:15, 22 April 2012 (CEST)

But the focus at the University appears to have gradually shifted, under Ridcully, from magic to science? Magic is still there running things, but the emphasis appears to have shifted to understanding how it works rather using it for its own sake. And in all the books he has appeared in so far, has Ponder Stibbons ever done even one old-time spell, or indeed been seen wih a staff? Ponder represents a new generation of wizards whose skills are otherwise directed; young Sam might fit in brilliantly with such a tutor?--AgProv 13:58, 24 October 2011 (CEST)

Yes, we see Ponder do actual magic. Or at least him preparing to do so. In Last Continent, when he's finally fed up with the situation.--LilMaibe 14:25, 24 October 2011 (CEST)

Absent Character?

I just realized that Death never seems to appear in this book (well, as a character).

Or did I just miss his cameo? Can some other fan double-check that? I think he was in every book before (except the Wee-Free Men of course). CharonX 02:01, 9 November 2011 (CET)

Unfortunately he doesn't appear in Snuff, I actually found this really disappointing and am more than a little curious why Terry did this. On a happier note, welcome to this little corner of l-space --Zdm 02:46, 9 November 2011 (CET)

It has been suggested (Ref. Snuff Annotations page} that Vimes, on at least two occassions in the book, is revisiting Death's persdonal epiphany in Reaper Man - could it be that Sam is covering the post on behalf of? AgProv 02:15, 23 April 2012 (CEST)