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Product Description
Review
The great Terry Pratchett, whose wit is metaphysical, who creates an energetic and lively secondary world, who has a multifarious genius for strong parody... who deals with death with startling originality. Who writes amazing sentences' - A.S. Byatt, New York Times; 'His spectacular inventiveness makes the Discworld series one of the perennial joys of modern fiction' - Mail on Sunday; 'Like Jonathan Swift, Pratchett uses his other world to hold up a distorting mirror to our own, and like Swift he is a satirist of enormous talent... incredibly funny... compulsively readable' - The Times
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Book Description
The sixteenth Discworld novel.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The answers to those questions and more may be found in Terry Pratchett's hilariously funny and thoughtful Soul music.
Soul Music consists of two parallel plot lines which, because this is Discworld and not the earth, converge as they reach the story's horizons. First we meet Imp y Celyn, soon to be known to the world as Bud of the Holly or Buddy, as he travels the long and winding road from his home of Llamedos to Ankh-Morpork. Back hone, Imp's music always made his people smile and he knew if he had a chance he could make some people dance and maybe they'd be happy for a while. Unable to raise enough cash to join the musicians' guild, Buddy, after picking up a very odd guitar at a strange music store joins up with Glod the dwarf and Lias the troll and form a musical group. In short order the group has a gig at the Mended Drum.
In the meantime, DEATH is in the midst of his nineteenth nervous breakdown. As DEATH walks through his land of broken dreams, he seems unconcerned about what becomes of those who should now be departed. There will be disastrous consequences for the universe (see Reaper Man) if DEATH does not perform his obligations. The Death of Rats and his raven translator Quoth go desperately seeking Susan, DEATH's granddaughter. She is persuaded by Death of Rats to fill in until DEATH can be found and persuaded to return to work. Susan soon finds herself atop DEATH's horse Binky. She's eight miles high and when she touches down in Ankh-Morpork she enters the Mended Drum to meet her first assignment - - - Buddy. And then all heck breaks loose.
Buddy starts to play the guitar just like he's ringing a bell and the world seems to stop. It may be that only the good, like Buddy, die young but in this instance Susan says something DEATH would never say: "it isn't fair". Though no fault of her own, Buddy does not go up to that spirit in the sky, Buddy and his music live on. The obvious question becomes why is he still alive and to what purpose?
"Music with rocks in" it becomes the next big thing. Even the wizards at Unseen University fall prey to these musical magic moments, so different and so new. Cut Me Own Throat Dibbler soon makes an appearance and rapidly transforms himself from purveyor of sausages to greedy rapacious rock and roll impresario. Soon, every kid in Ankh-Morpork wants to be a music with rocks in star. They get electric guitars but don't learn how to play. They think with their hair swung right and their pants too tight it will be all right. Little do they know that in the crafty hands of CMOT Dibbler even musicians with talent will soon be in dire straights.
Meanwhile, Susan, Death of Rats and even Albert, DEATH's loyal man Friday, search Discworld for DEATH. DEATH has been seen sitting on the dock of the river in Ankh-Morpork, drinking whiskey and rye with the good ole boys at the Mended Drum, and standing guard at midnight at an oasis manned by the Klatchian Foreign Legion. His internal dialogue is priceless, funny, and thoughtful.
Events proceed rapidly as Dibbler prepares the band for a huge free concert in Ankh-Morpork. This will be Discworld's Woodstock. Will Susan's sense of justice prevail? Will Buddy survive even though the sands in his hour glass are long gone? Will the Librarian get money for nothing and his chimps for free? Will the wizards ride though mansions of glory in suicide machines? The answers to these questions aren't blowing in the wind but they are in the book.
As far as Terry Pratchett's Discworld books are concerned, Soul Music is near the top of the charts . . . with a bullet.
Elvish has left the building.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It had to happen some time. We'd already talked about movies (Moving Pictures) and gods (Small Gods), so it only could be matter of time before Pratchett dealt with that other passtime, music. And he does it very well too. But I thought this book didn't actually concentrate on music that much and spent more time dealing with Death's disappearance. The introduction of Susan, Death's grand-daughter, by adoption, is a brilliant idea, and having her take over the business is a genius touch. The bits which are about music are well written and funny, but it all draws itself to a rather disappointing end. Not one of his best, but still very good nonethless. (P.S., for all those who have read it, did you realise that Llamedos, where the lead singer comes from, is not a Welsh name, but sod-em-all written backwards?)
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Soul Music is (along with Hogfather) my favourite Discworld novel. I first read it at the age of twelve, and finally, five years later, someone got it through their heads to get it for me for Christmas.
The book revolves around a young man called Imp y Celyn (who's name translates roughly to "bud of the holly"), who journeys to Anhk-Morpork in a bid to become the greatest musician in the world. In the city, he meets a troll named Lias (who is incapable of counting to four) and a dwarf named Glod Glodsson (who's only in it for the money), and together, they form The Band With Rocks In. Thier style of music, dubbed "Music With Rocks In", takes the Discworld by storm, causing it's inhabitants to become obsessed with songs such as "Don't Step On My New Blue Boots" and "Good Gracious Miss Polly". Even the wizards in the Unseen University have been tranformed by it, with the Dean painting his bedroom black and weaing a studded leather robe that says "BORN TO RUNE".
Many aspiring Music With Rocks In bands spring up in The Band With Rocks In's wake, such as "We're Certainly Dwarfs" and a band that changes it's name so much they just end up being known as "Ande Supporting Bandes".
Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler also appears, eager to exploit the new fad to make himself a quick fortune.
Only thing is, Music With Rocks In is alive. And it's the only thing stopping Imp from meeting an early death.
Meanwhile, Death has joined the Klatchian Foriegn Legion in a bid to forget, and it's fallen to his granddaughter, Susan Sto-Helit, to take on the Duty. And she's more interested in saving Imp from his "Live fast, die young" destiny, which causes a lot of trouble for Albert and the Death of Rats.
All in all, Soul Music is a hilarious book and one of the best in the Discworld series, with many puns on well known aspects of music.
The book revolves around a young man called Imp y Celyn (who's name translates roughly to "bud of the holly"), who journeys to Anhk-Morpork in a bid to become the greatest musician in the world. In the city, he meets a troll named Lias (who is incapable of counting to four) and a dwarf named Glod Glodsson (who's only in it for the money), and together, they form The Band With Rocks In. Thier style of music, dubbed "Music With Rocks In", takes the Discworld by storm, causing it's inhabitants to become obsessed with songs such as "Don't Step On My New Blue Boots" and "Good Gracious Miss Polly". Even the wizards in the Unseen University have been tranformed by it, with the Dean painting his bedroom black and weaing a studded leather robe that says "BORN TO RUNE".
Many aspiring Music With Rocks In bands spring up in The Band With Rocks In's wake, such as "We're Certainly Dwarfs" and a band that changes it's name so much they just end up being known as "Ande Supporting Bandes".
Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler also appears, eager to exploit the new fad to make himself a quick fortune.
Only thing is, Music With Rocks In is alive. And it's the only thing stopping Imp from meeting an early death.
Meanwhile, Death has joined the Klatchian Foriegn Legion in a bid to forget, and it's fallen to his granddaughter, Susan Sto-Helit, to take on the Duty. And she's more interested in saving Imp from his "Live fast, die young" destiny, which causes a lot of trouble for Albert and the Death of Rats.
All in all, Soul Music is a hilarious book and one of the best in the Discworld series, with many puns on well known aspects of music.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
great terry prachett classic
for those that love the character Death in the Discworls series this is for you, funny as ever, i also love the original covers, much more interesting
Published 3 months ago by BlondestHanna
Death, music & Susan
When the young musician Imp y Celyn leaves home and travels to Ankh-Morpork he discovers that the world of music in the big city is a lot more complicated than he thought. Read more
Published 13 months ago by T. R. Alexander
Great book, quick delivery, slightly tarnished
The book came quickly and is in good condition, it feels well used which is how I think Terry pratchett books should seem, book is excellent, one of his best. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Ollie
An Interesting Discworld Novel Set Around Rock Music!
Another installment in the Death series. Death goes missing again, and its up to his grand-daughter to fill his shoes. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Louise Roberts
Old rockers never die, they just design posters.
yes well the title has nothing to do with review but it sounded good in my head at least. In this outing of the Disc worlde stories Death has an axe to grind (did you get that... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Big John
Vintage Pratchett
You buy Practchett becuase you love his style and comic genius - this doesn't disappoint.
Published on 9 May 2010 by J. Alford
Entertaining, but not one of the best
Imp y Celyn, trained as a musician in a druid society, arrives in Ankh-Morpork ready to seek his fortune. Instead, the city rapidly deprives him of the few riches he already has. Read more
Published on 9 Nov 2009 by A. Whitehead
awesome
i love terry pratchett this is a must have for any fan. gives basic character intros so neewbies to the disworld can buy this as a 1st
Published on 6 Feb 2009 by P. E. Reynolds
wonderful
All the Discworld books are good, but this is wonderful! Excellent value for money as I have read them all time and time again.
Published on 19 Aug 2007 by S. Hansen
Your Grandfather is ... Death!
Even if you haven't read much of the Discworld series, this book will lead you into the the bizarre working of on of our more known fears, Death trying to be human. Read more
Published on 9 Mar 2007 by Stephen Campbell
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