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Strata (Mass Market Paperback)

by Terry Pratchett (Author)
3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Strata + The Dark Side of the Sun + The Carpet People
Price For All Three: £16.47

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Product details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Corgi Books; New edition edition (22 April 1988)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0552133256
  • ISBN-13: 978-0552133258
  • Product Dimensions: 17.7 x 10.9 x 2.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 156,986 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Product Description
THE COMPANY BUILDS PLANETS. Kin Arad is a high-ranking official of the Company. After twenty-one decades of living, and with the help of memory surgery, she is at the top of her profession. Discovering two of her employees have placed a fossilized plesiosaur in the wrong stratum, not to mention the fact it is holding a placard which reads, 'End Nuclear Testing Now', doesn't dismay the woman who built a mountain range in the shape of her initials during her own high-spirited youth. But then came discovery of something which did intrigue Kin Arad. A flat earth was something new...First published in 1981, Strata is an early exploration of the idea that was to become the bestselling Discworld series.

From the Back Cover
The Company builds planets.

Kin Arad is a high-ranking official of the Company. After twenty-one decades of living, and with the help of memory surgery, she is at the top of her profession. Discovering two of her employees have placed a fossilized plesiosaur in the wrong stratum, not to mention the fact it is holding a placard which reads 'End Nuclear Testing Now', doesn't dismay the woman who built a mountain range in the shape of her initials during her own high-spirited youth.

But then came a discovery of something which did intrigue Kin Arad. A flat earth was something new ...

Frist published in 1981, Strata is an early exploration of the idea that was to become the best-selling Discworld series.

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Customer Reviews

12 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (6)
3 star:
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Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars The real 1st Discworld novel?, 19 Jul 2004
By dogbarkssome (England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)      
The second of two pre-Discworld science fiction novels, Strata is unfortunately a less enjoyable novel than The Dark Side of the Sun. Its most notable feature is that the novel revolves around a proto-Discworld, and while it isn't quite THE Discworld introduced in The Colour of Magic it's certainly a recognisable first draft.

The novel starts well, with a good build up as the three lead characters are drawn into a trip to the recently discovered Discworld, and the final revelation of what the Discworld is and who built it is satisfying, but there is a definite sag in the middle of the story, as the few Discworld inhabitants the exploration meet are decidedly dull. Thematically this is a sound novel, but the execution is sometimes a little flat.

A reasonably interesting but not wholly successful novel, Strata is best recommended as a curio for those Discworld fans who wish to see how Pratchett developed his ideas.

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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A great book - read it!, 5 Aug 2001
By A Customer
Having read all the discworld books, it was interesting to read this book which originally started the idea off... as well as being a great storyline, the characters were intruiging, as they were so different, and, as was pointed out many times, not at all human, yet you were still caught up with their feelings and the way their relations to each other as 'aliens' progressed. i found it interesting to read a book that wasn't discworld and was very different to the style which pterry uses in those books, and despite this difference, i really enjoyed it. it also adds the intruiging possibility that our universe really was made by aliens as part of a great big construction project....
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A cleverly written book which illustrates human values., 10 Oct 2000
By A Customer
The cover is great. That's what made me pick it up in the first place and as I got further into the book I kept turning back to the cover to see what the charecters look like. It generally helps the story along. I have read a lot of Pratchett, and although this isn't his funniest, it is one of the most clever. The story starts with a letter of complaint that modern artifacts have been found in fossils. This is intruiging and makes you want to read the book. I also like the fact that the main charecter is payed in "days" of life that she can exchange for longevity. This gives some indication that the book is set in an advanced civilisation, in fact you find out later that the book is set in the past. The "alien" charecters are interesting in that they do not have human values and you find this difficult to understand, as the writer says often. This book almost introduces the discworld,- featured in his later series and as an avid reader of his books, this interests me. I would reccomend this book to anyone who likes a sharp sence of humor and realistic conversations in Sci-Fi books.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting step in the evolution of the Discworld
Strata
It's impossible to read this book without comparing it to his works on the Discworld and very interesting to read because of that. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Ailsa Craig

4.0 out of 5 stars Patchy but interesting
Readers who criticise this book as disappointing because it isn't of the same calibre as Pratchetts later works are, I think, missing the point. Read more
Published on 9 Jan 2007 by R. N. Stell

1.0 out of 5 stars The only novel by Pratchett I regret buying
I found this book poor. The start was okay, but the middle and end were boring. It failed to grip me, I finish most of his novels in 2 or 3 days, but this took me several months... Read more
Published on 1 May 2005

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Theme but a Rushed Ending
Strata, by Terry Pratchett (published before the Discworld books), holds the basis of the creation of the original Discworld idea. Read more
Published on 19 Nov 2003 by amberzed

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Theme but a Rushed Ending
Strata, by Terry Pratchett (published before the Discworld books), holds the basis of the creation of the original Discworld idea. Read more
Published on 15 Nov 2003

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Theme but a Rushed Ending
Strata, by Terry Pratchett (published before the Discworld books), holds the basis of the creation of the original Discworld idea. Read more
Published on 14 Nov 2003

4.0 out of 5 stars Creation of the disc ?
regardless of any other things said this book, although hard to follow at times, can be viewed as a prelude to the discworld series. i feel that if you add the word; Maybe. Read more
Published on 14 Aug 2000

4.0 out of 5 stars not discworld...
this is one of pratchetts earlier work, this means all those discworld fans out there are gonna be slightly disappointed be cause this is definatly not discworld the style is... Read more
Published on 24 Jan 2000

5.0 out of 5 stars Intresting - not what I expected
Being an American, I found this book wedged between Interesting Times and The Light Fantastic in the little-visited Sci-Fi section of my local library; an avid Discworld fan... Read more
Published on 27 Nov 1999

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