2012 Puddly Awards
 
 
Follow us on TwitterFollow us on FacebookFollow us on TumblrSubscribe to RSS

Recently Viewed clear list

Guests | January 12, 2012

Adam Johnson: IMG Pyongyang's Cannibal Island

0 comments By Adam Johnson

The 47-story Yanggakdo Hotel is located on Yanggak Island, situated in the Taedong River that bisects Pyongyang. The hotel was built in 1995 by a... Continue »
  1. $18.20 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

    The Orphan Master's Son: A Novel of North Korea

    Adam Johnson 9780812992793
spacer
Free Shipping!

Ships free on qualified orders.
$9.95
Used Hardcover
Ships in 1 to 3 days
Add to Wishlist
Qty Store Section
1 Burnside Science Fiction and Fantasy- A to Z

eBook editions

Unseen Academicals

by Terry Pratchett

Unseen Academicals Cover

ISBN13: 9780061161704
ISBN10: 0061161705
Condition: Standard
Dustjacket: Standard
All Product Details

Only 1 left in stock at $9.95!

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

The wizards at Ankh-Morpork's Unseen University are renowned for many things—wisdom, magic, and their love of teatime—but athletics is most assuredly not on the list. And so when Lord Ventinari, the city's benevolent tyrant, strongly suggests to Archchancellor Mustrum Ridcully that the university revive an erstwhile tradition and once again put forth a football team composed of faculty, students, and staff, the wizards of UU find themselves in a quandary. To begin with, they have to figure out just what it is that makes this sport—soccer with a bit of rugby thrown in—so popular with Ankh-Morporkians of all ages and social strata. Then they have to learn how to play it. Oh, and on top of that, they must win a football match without using magic.

Meanwhile, Trev (a handsome street urchin and a right good kicker) falls hard for kitchen maid Juliet (beautiful, dim, and perhaps the greatest fashion model there ever was), and Juliet's best pal, UU night cook Glenda (homely, sensible, and a baker of jolly good pies) befriends the mysterious Mr. Nutt (about whom no one knows very much, including Mr. Nutt, which is worrisome . . .). As the big match approaches, these four lives are entangled and changed forever. Because the thing about football—the most important thing about football­—is that it is never just about football.

Synopsis:

Discworld lives on. In this latest novel, Terry Pratchett delivers the trademark insight and humor readers the world over have come to expect from the purely funniest English writer since Wodehouse ("Washington Post Book World").
back to top

About the Author

Knighted for "services to literature," Sir Terry Pratchett is one of the world's bestselling authors. In addition to his phenomenally successful series about the fantastical flat planet Discworld, he has also written more than a dozen highly acclaimed and award-winning children's books. Sir Terry lives in England.
back to top

What Our Readers Are Saying

Add a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
zimoid, January 4, 2011 (view all comments by zimoid)
Terry Pratchett continues to bring us new disc-world adventures that are fascinating and hilarious. Even after two dozen books, Pratchett still has original plot-lines and new jokes. Unseen Academicals follows along these same lines and brings much happiness to this reader.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
Jvstin, October 25, 2009 (view all comments by Jvstin)
NB: I received a review copy of this book.

Football (Soccer to us Americans). Romeo and Juliet (with a dash of Cyrano de Bergerac). Secret pasts of characters. Cooking.

Such is the Matter of Unseen Academicals, the latest Discworld novel from Terry Pratchett. Centering on Unseen University, Pratchett takes us not only into the doings of the wizards there, but the "little people" who make the University work. We meet Glenda, head of the Night Kitchen and possibly one of the best cooks anywhere. We meet Trev Lively, son of the famous football player Dave Lively (who scored an unprecedented four goals in his career in the old and illegal version of football played on Discworld's streets). We meet Juliet, a fashion star waiting to be born from her humble beginnings in the kitchen. And we meet the mysterious Mr. Nutt, who is from Uberwald. He's a candle dribbler, but also amazingly educated for someone of his station. Oh, and he is a monster of unusual stripe...

How is it? Well, while I was entertained, UA is frankly, not as good as some of Pratchett's best novels. There are a few things here which are not as well integrated as other plotlines in the novel. Stuff that felt like they should be more important, or were going to be, but never quite came to fruition. I was expecting more out of them than we actually got. Its possible, due to my scattershot reading of Pratchett's work that there are some characterization issues that I am missing. Lord Vetinari feels different than he does in the novels I have read, for example.

On the other hand, a very good Pratchett as opposed to a first-rank Pratchett is still better than a lot of the dreck out there. And there are wonderful things in the novel that frankly made me laugh aloud while reading it. The footnote about the Explorer's Guild, for example. Or the offhand mentioned consequence of yet another strange addition to the Watch. The character growth of Ponder Stibbons, who is rapidly becoming a force within the University to rival Ridcully himself. Or the climatic game for that matter. (although there is an incident in the game involving how the Librarian is removed from goalkeeper that felt very wrong).

I have a large gap in unread Pratchett novels that was little handicap in reading this novel, and so I can unreservedly recommend this latest Discworld novel to readers of all levels of familiarity with Pratchett's work. Is it up to his highest standards? No. On the other hand, only very good Pratchett is still much better than much of the competition.





Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(3 of 5 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
View all 2 comments
back to top

Product Details

ISBN:
9780061161704
Author:
Pratchett, Terry
Publisher:
Harper
Author:
Winchester, Simon
Subject:
Fantasy - General
Subject:
Humorous
Subject:
Fantasy fiction
Subject:
Wizards
Subject:
General History
Subject:
Science Fiction and Fantasy-Fantasy
Copyright:
2009
Edition Description:
Hardcover
Publication Date:
20091031
Binding:
HARDCOVER
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
400
Dimensions:
9 x 6 x 1.25 in 19.76 oz
back to top

Other books you might like

  1. $10.99 Google eBooks add to wish list

    Return to the Hundred Acre Wood

    David Benedictus 9781101149492
  2. $4.95 Used Mass Market add to wish list

    Rumble Fish

    S E Hinton 9780440975342
  3. $4.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (Aladdin Fantasy)

    Robert C Obrien 9780689710681
  4. $4.95 Used Mass Market add to wish list

    Protector of the Small #01: First Test

    Tamora Pierce 9780679889175
  5. $4.50 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    Ramona the Pest (Ramona Quimby)

    Beverly Cleary 9780380709540
  6. $3.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    Island of the Skog

    Steven Kellogg 9780803741225
back to top

Related Aisles

Unseen Academicals Used Hardcover
0 stars - 0 reviews
$9.95 In Stock
Product details 400 pages Harper - English 9780061161704 Reviews:
"Synopsis" by , Discworld lives on. In this latest novel, Terry Pratchett delivers the trademark insight and humor readers the world over have come to expect from the purely funniest English writer since Wodehouse ("Washington Post Book World").
spacer
spacer
  • back to top
Follow us on...


Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.