Pyramids: A Discworld Novel: 7

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The phrase ‘stranger in a strange land’ originates from the Bible, Exodus 2:22. ‘And she bare [Moses] a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.’ In Exodus, the ‘strange land’ was Egypt, so Pratchett puts a twist on the phrase here as Djelibeybi is a familiar land to Teppic as he grew up there, but he is a stranger to it having lived in Ankh-Morpork while at school. Robert Heinlein used the phrase as the title of his 60s cult science fiction book. So this book, is outrageously funny and just such a brilliant observation on human character, from Teppic the new King, through Chidder the assassin to Ptraci the handmaiden, Endos, the listener, Ptaclusp the builder, Dios the head priest and Teppicymon the dead King. But then it is Sir Terry's oh so accurate portrayal of humans that makes his books so poignant and amusing. So I'm guessing that Thrrp, The Charioteer of the Sun has also been through since I finished the book, but never mind, I'm sure I shall be forgiven if I build a pyramid in my garden.

Ptaclusp I, Ptaclusp IIa and Ptaclusp IIb, the pyramid-building dynasty tasked with the construction of the Great PyramidOne of the rare cases that Pratchett uses a bit of theoretical hard science as a plot element, may be a reminiscence of some of his first attempts at writing, including some Sci-Fi ideas. It´s used to show that it may be disillusioning and frustrating to meet the idols of ones´ time, be it different physically manifested ancient deities or possibly stars and politicians nowadays. Exceptions are authors, of course, they are all admirable and epic. It was also rather funny seeing a "handmaid" who'd never "serviced" a king and an "assassin" who'd never killed anyone fumble around their conversations with one another. This also delves into some time and quantum elements that are hilariously Pratchett and we meet a very unexpected greatest mathematician in the Discworld.

This is a reference to how Egyptian art shows people with their legs and head pointing at ninety degrees to their torso and hips. Other than that point of interest, you've got the most stereotypical imagery that one can imagine when given "ancient Egypt" or "Ancient Greece" for a base--olives, grapes, handmaidens, camels, mummies, gods with animal heads, pyramids with mystical powers, etc. etc. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. It was light, and quite funny at times, and usually very quotable. I just never really got into it like I have some of the other books. I didn't care too much about the characters I guess. I found Teppic largely forgettable, Dios quite annoying and the camel and all its related jokes groan worthy. The country of Djelibeybi, the meaning of which ‘translates’ as ‘Child of the [River] Djel’ (Djel i Beybi) is an obvious play on the British gummy candy ‘Jelly Baby’ and this translation plays on Herodotus's famous claim that Egypt was the ‘gift of the Nile.’ Its name may also be a pun on Djellaba which is a loose woollen cloak worn by Arabs. Djelibeybi is the Discworld's equivalent of Ancient Egypt. It is the main setting of the novel. The country is about two miles wide along the length of the Djel, serving as a buffer zone between Tsort and Ephebe. Ephebe is the Discworld equivalent of Ancient Greece and Tsort is mainly based on Persia with some aspects of Troy mixed in. At least the headache was going. It had nearly crippled him all day; he'd been in dread of having to start the run with purple spots in front of his eyes.Prince Teppic is the heir to the desert kingdom of Djelibeybi*. His father, a non-traditional man with odd ideas, decides to send him to get the best education possible outside of the Old Kingdom, by sending him to join the Ankh-Morpork Assassins' Guild. Seven years later, Teppic is summoned home by sad news and sets about building the greatest pyramid ever seen on the Disc. This proves to be a Very Bad Idea.

The energy streaming up from their paracosmic peaks may, in chapters to come, illuminate many mysteries: why tortoises hate philosophy, why too much religion is bad for goats, and what it is that handmaidens actually do. Pyramids, Corgi pb P147: "But the stables now held ... an elderly elephant whose presence was a bit of a mystery" Naturally, since this is Terry Pratchett, he also talks about all manner of other topics from religion and the power of belief to tradition vs. reform, antique and modern concepts, the role of women in all of that (although only lightly here) and education in all its forms. Madness in the form of prestige buildings, world wonders costing the lives of tens of thousands and more, have such a fascination for humans that we may keep building them forever, no matter what a waste of time, resources, and money it is. Bloody old temples and pyramids, but the modern skyscrapers for which instead endless amounts of standard houses could be built, speak a similar language.Born Terence David John Pratchett, Sir Terry Pratchett sold his first story when he was thirteen, which earned him enough money to buy a second-hand typewriter. His first novel, a humorous fantasy entitled The Carpet People, appeared in 1971 from the publisher Colin Smythe. There's a lot of great ribbing for conspiracy theorists who go on and on about the dimensions of the real pyramids and the mystical importance, even going so far as to make these monuments (at least here) into time-recyclers. It's very funny and Death isn't pleased. Fortunately for Death, however, what he doesn't know won't kill him. Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle says that for a quantum particle (e. g. an electron), it is impossible to know with complete accuracy both where it is and how fast it is going. The act of observing it interferes with the event you want to measure (one might say that at the quantum level the observation is the event) in such a way that it is physically impossible to determine both velocity and position of the particle in question. After numerous adventures and misunderstandings, Teppic is forced to escape from the palace with a handmaiden named Ptraci, who was condemned to death for not wishing to die and serve the late pharoah in the afterlife (despite Teppic wishing to pardon her). However, during the attempt, Dios discovers them and decrees that Teppic has killed the King (as the King is only recognised whilst wearing the Mask of the Sun and Dios reasons that Teppic's actions to save Ptraci would not be those of the King) and should be put to death. Meanwhile, the massive pyramid warps space-time so much that it "rotates" Djelibeybi out of alignment with the space/time of the rest of the Disc by ninety degrees. Pyramids uses a fairly straight forward structure. It's linear and focuses, mainly, on Teppic our main character. The paragraphs are nice and short in the main. It also includes the nice little footnotes that Pratchett uses in most of his works. All in all, a very easy book to read.

This is the gulf between universes, the chill deeps of space that contain nothing but the occasional random molecule, a few lost comets and...In 2008, Harper Children's published Terry's standalone non-Discworld YA novel, Nation. Terry published Snuff in October 2011. Teppic is one of the better characters I've come across in the Discworld. There are funny moments littered throughout and I did end up feeling sorry for him throughout this book. And that's the holy grail when writing characters isn't it, make me feel for them. Pratchett certainly does so here. Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique: