Unseen Academicals (Discworld)
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Book Description
Football comes to the Discworld! And the thing about football - the important thing about football - is that it is not just about football.
Product Description
Football has come to the ancient city of Ankh-Morpork - not the old fashioned, grubby pushing and shoving, but the new, fast football with pointy hats for goalposts and balls that go gloing when you drop them. And now, the wizards of Unseen University must win a football match, without using magic, so they're in the mood for trying everything else.
The prospect of the Big Match draws in a street urchin with a wonderful talent for kicking a tin can, a maker of jolly good pies, a dim but beautiful young woman, who might just turn out to be the greatest fashion model there has ever been, and the mysterious Mr Nutt (and no one knows anything much about Mr Nutt, not even Mr Nutt, which worries him, too). As the match approaches, four lives are entangled and changed for ever.
Because the thing about football - the important thing about football - is that it is not just about football.
Here we go! Here we go! Here we go!
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
196 of 202 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent as (almost) Always,
By
This review is from: Unseen Academicals: A Discworld Novel (Hardcover)
I was a little bit apprehensive about the idea of Unseen Academicals. I couldn't see how even a writer as gifted as Terry Pratchett could make football something true to the spirit of Discworld. Happily, the book manages to meld the strange worlds together in an energising and entertaining whole. I wasn't sure I was going to like it when it arrived, but as usualy Terry Pratchett delivers something much more than we have any right to expect.
Some parts of the book are an unusual departure in terms of the theme of the book - not so much inconsistent but as part of a continual evolution of the character of Ankh-Morpork and its various inhabitants. More so than any other Discworld book, I got the feeling from this novel that things are genuinely changing in the world. People are moving on and growing up, sometimes with surprising results. It genuinely feels like the book moves the continuing story of the Discworld on a few years. I don't want to say too much about the plot itself, but it manages to avoid that which I had feared - the 'gimmick of the episode' style thing so common to the later stages of popular franchises. It's never the case that the football element is crowbarred in - it emerges rather nicely from the usual serendipitious circumstances that we come to expect. That's especially welcome, because not being a fan of football myself, the whole theme of the book is somewhat alien to me. However, really it's not about football - it's about the people, the mythology, and the spirit of the game. In the same way that the West Wing is not a show about politics, and House is not a show about medicine, this isn't a book about football. Football is just the vehicle used to deliver some important lessons about the nature of community and belonging. It's a wonderful book, and a very worthy addition to the Discworld canon. Thanks, Terry!
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mr Nutt - the new Pratchett hero,
By
This review is from: Unseen Academicals: A Discworld Novel (Hardcover)
As always, I won't bother giving a synopsis here as others already have. This book easily gets 5 for a number of reasons: 1) It's got loads of new characters, 2) It's got loads of old characters, 3) It's got goodies and baddies, 4) Sir Terry has managed all this in spite of his illness - well done sir!, and 5) oh, you'll just have to read it and make your own list!
I love stories with an underdog, and Mr Nutt, the mysterious goblin, is my favourite out-of-the-gutter character for years. He's fabulously complex, with a dark and troubling past that is gradually revealed as the story progresses. In some ways, I was a little disappointed by the climax of this process, but overall, Mr Nutt is my new favourite character, or at the very least, in a tie with Gaspode. More insight is given in to Vetinari's character, which is always good, and as usual he excels in making everything work. We even see into his relationship with Lady Margalotta, and there's some revelations there too. So, on the whole, a thumping good read and well worth purchasing for the fans. If you're new to Pratchett, starting here won't help much (there's not even a mention of the turtles...) so go back a few novels and catch up first!
56 of 62 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Unseen Academicals,
By
This review is from: Unseen Academicals: A Discworld Novel (Hardcover)
Terry Pratchett's recent form has been criticised by many. "Nation" divided fans. "Making Money" couldn't live up to the standard set by "Going Postal" a few years before, much like "Wintersmith" with the two previous Tiffany Aching novels. But one thing was clear about these books, it was that Pratchett, even when slightly off the top form we have cme to expect from him, can still win awards for his books and is usually leagues ahead of the competition.
"Unseen Academicals" on the other hand, is utterly joyful to read. On the outside it seems like a book about football, but as the quote on the back quite aptly points out, "The important thing about football is that it isn't about football." What we have here is a novel about the uncontrollable culture of football and the broad range of football zealots, from the lovers of the game and the men with the skills to the angry old women shouting "kick 'im in da nutz!" and violent hooligans that dominate the Shove. But wrapped even more deeply is a realisation that Pratchett was actually warning us with that back cover quote. It really isn't about football. The sub-plot, surrounding Mister Nutt, an intelligent and incredibly polite goblin, and his Unseen University colleagues, Glenda the Night Kitchen cook, her assistant Juliet and candle dribbler, Trev Likely. This sub-plot, however, takes up at least 60% of the book, so to call it so would be an injustice. And further so, because it is a wonderful tale of romance, adversity and acceptance. Pratchett has created something quite special with the character of Mister Nutt, who will be a favourite of fans for years to come. The laughs are more frequent than "Making Money" and the novels of the last few years, with the Wizards, Archchancellor Ridcully in particular, and his ever present number two, Ponder Stibbons, always nearby when something is making you laugh out loud. Only Pratchett has the ability to bring such a clever wit to the level of blurt-out embarrass yourself in public laughter, and you'll experience this many times while reading "Unseen Academicals." Fans of Rincewind, be aware that he has only a cameo appearance in this book and is by no means the main character. But you will not be disappointed, because Ridcully, Nutt, Vetinari and Glenda will be more than enough to keep you entertained. "Unseen Academicals", while not one of the overall best in the Discworld series, like "Night Watch" or "Mort", is certainly in the second tier of greats and is the best Pratchett for many years, and when the final whistle blows, you'll be wishing for more!
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