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Discworld and the Disciplines: Critical Approaches to the Terry Pratchett Works ed. by Anne Hiebert Alton and William C. Spruiell

2015; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 40; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/chq.2015.0005

1553-1201

Jonne Akens,

Digital Games and Media

Reviewed by: Discworld and the Disciplines: Critical Approaches to the Terry Pratchett Works ed. by Anne Hiebert Alton and William C. Spruiell Jonne Akens (bio) Discworld and the Disciplines: Critical Approaches to the Terry Pratchett Works. Edited by Anne Hiebert Alton and William C. Spruiell. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2014. Fantasy author Sir Terrence David John “Terry” Pratchett, OBE, published his first short story in the school magazine when he was only thirteen years old. Since that time, he has produced an impressive body of work containing more than fifty best sellers, with worldwide sales of eighty million books translated into thirty-eight languages. His Web site, terrypratchettbooks.com, lists forty Discworld novels (including his latest, Raising Steam, published in November 2013), ten novels for younger readers, and five texts listed as non–Discworld books. Pratchett’s considerable opus has in turn fostered video and board games, stage and screen adaptations, graphic novels, a biennial international conference, a BBC mini-series, various Web sites and wikis, and a rather large number of avid fans, not to mention puzzles, miniatures, and various other toys, collectibles, and trinkets. Pratchett’s novels have earned a steady stream of prestigious awards and enjoy a robust scholarly presence in the world of academia. Numerous publications explore a variety of topics through an equally varied list of critical approaches, yet book-length scholarship focused on Pratchett and his works is difficult to find. Noting this gap, editors Anne Hiebert Alton and William C. Spruiell offer their collection of essays in the hope that this text is only the first of many. Divided into six essays, Discworld and the Disciplines presents a compilation of interdisciplinary scholarship covering a wide range of topics. The first selection, “The Wee Free Men: Politics and the Art of Noise,” by Roderick McGillis, suggests that an examination of the noises and silences of the Nac Mac Feegles will reveal Pratchett’s critique of the ways society shapes the notion of childhood. McGillis then employs Luigi Russolo’s theory of the “Art of Noise” (originally applied to orchestral music) as a means by which the cacophony of exuberant speech and unpredictable behavior of the Nac Mac Feegles can be explored, and Pratchett’s own ideas of childhood revealed. McGillis’s fascinating study concludes that the art of noise, at least in Pratchett’s work, creates a space where readers can explore and maybe even redefine what it means to be human. Alton’s “Coloring in Octarine: Visual Semiotics and Discworld” provides a comprehensive look at the works of Pratchett illustrators Josh Kirby, Paul Kidby, and others. Calling attention to the impact other artists have had on the illustrators and their work, particularly that of Kirby and Kidby, Alton notes the influence of Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Titian, Rubens, and the cover art for Meat Loaf ’s 1977 album Bat Out of Hell (34). Alton believes that these illustrations enhance readers’ experiences with the [End Page 91] texts, creating a sense of anticipation for readers less familiar with the novels and one of joyous recognition for those more knowledgeable about the Discworld and its inhabitants. Alton asserts that the artists who have contributed images to Pratchett’s novels create a sense of magic and wonder—a sense of octarine—in their own right. In his essay “Tell It Slant: Of Gods, Philosophy and Politics in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld,” Gray Kochhar-Lindgren argues that Pratchett’s particular brand of fictionalization provides readers access to new and/or different perspectives on often difficult issues. Kochhar-Lindgren notes that in the process of examining, reconfiguring, and making old ideas, histories, and institutions new, Pratchett’s texts work a strong sort of magic, allowing readers not only to interrogate and reshape the narratives that govern their own lives, but also to use those narratives in new and different ways. Caroline Webb’s “The Watchman and the Hippopotamus: Art, Play, and Otherness in Thud!” examines how Pratchett’s text uses art to defuse racial tension and conflict. Focusing on games as art, Webb notes Pratchett’s resistance to violence and his belief that all are capable of atrocity (which weakens the good/bad binary). She then explores the potential of...