British author Terry Pratchett has written a large number of fantasy stories all set in a world called Discworld. Over the last few decades these Discworld novels together have formed a great fantasy series that is uncomparable to any other.
Not only are the stories brilliantly thought up and extremely funny, sir Pratchett has also written them very well. It is classic humorous fantasy as it combines high-class comedy in a world that is almost too fantastical too believe. It is fantasy making fun of fantasy: simply hilarious. Discworld itself is carried on the backs of four elephants, standing on the back of a turtle… need I say more.
Characters and themes
The stories are not all connected, although many characters and groups of characters feature in more than one story. Well-known examples of recurring (groups) of characters are Rincewind, the Wizards, the Witches, the City watch, Tiffany Aching and Death.
Many different topics and themes are discussed in the Discworld novels, from political to religious to business issues but always they are looked at from a humoristic point of view.
Novels and other works
Pratchett has written close to fourty Discworld novels so far but also many short stories and related works, like The Science of Discworld. Several of the Discworld novels, e.g. Hogfather and Going Postal, have been made into television movies.
Terry Pratchett has been diagnosed with Alzheimer but let’s hope he has many more fantastic novels to write!
Overview of the novels
1983 The Colour of Magic
1986 The Light Fantastic
1987 Equal Rites
1987 Mort
1988 Sourcery
1988 Wyrd Sisters
1989 Pyramids
1989 Guards! Guards!
1990 Eric
1990 Moving Pictures
1991 Reaper Man
1991 Witches Abroad
1992 Small Gods
1992 Lords and Ladies
1993 Men at Arms
1994 Soul Music
1994 Interesting Times
1995 Maskerade
1996 Feet of Clay
1996 Hogfather
1997 Jingo
1998 The Last Continent
1998 Carpe Jugulum
1999 The Fifth Elephant
2000 The Truth
2001 Thief of Time
2001 The Last Hero
2001 The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents
2002 Night Watch
2003 The Wee Free Men
2003 Monstrous Regiment
2004 A Hat Full of Sky
2004 Going Postal
2005 Thud!
2006 Wintersmith
2007 Making Money
2009 Unseen Academicals
2010 I Shall Wear Midnight
It is not easy to classify Pan’s Labyrinth as the movie is quite different than most other fantasy movies. Combining fantasy and horror elements, Pan’s Labyrinth is probably best labled as a dark fantasy movie.
The movie is set in Spain during the Second World War. The young girl Ofelia is given several tasks by a Faun to proof she is the reincarnation of a princess Moanna of the Underground Realm. But these tasks are not easy and the difficult circumstances and her evil step-father force her to make some difficult choices before she can return to this Realm.
Released in 2006, Pan’s Labyrinth is one of the best fantasy movies of recent years. The movie has won 3 Oscars and dozens other awards. It is the 70th best movie ever according to IMDb.
As mentioned above, Pan’s Labyrinth contains a mixture of contempory fantasy elements and disturbing horror elements. Thus results in a very intense movie, with breath-taking special effects and impressive story that really gets to you. It is not a movie that every one will like as it is not easy to swallow but I believe it to be a true masterpiece.
Sir Terence David John Pratchett, famous for wearing his black cowboy hat (and sometimes other strange hat-like creations), was born on April 28, 1948. He is extremely popular in Great Britain and also very successful around the world. Novels of his famous fantasy series Discworld have sold tens of millions of times.
Pratchett’s Discworld novels are by far the greatest example of humour in the fantasy genre. Stories by the hand of Pratchett are always brilliantly written with a lot of word puns and strange but fascinating characters, often resembling to other fictional of real persons.
Combined with well-thought-of storylines in a carefully created world, this makes for highly entertaining novels. Pratchett is not afraid to combine classic fantasy with lots of humour and modern-day political and social themes and issues.
Discworld
As mentioned above, the most famous work of Terry Pratchett is his Discworld series. Or better, the collections of novels with stories taking place in the Discworld. Over the last 25 or so years, Pratchett has written close to forty of these higly acclaimed Discworld novels with titles as Night Watch, Hogfather, Going Postal, Mort and Guards! Guards! among the most most popular and best known examples.
Allthough not being a fan of Hollywood, several of Terry Pratchett’s novels have also been made into television movies.
Sadly, Pratchett is suffering from a form of Alzheimer. We can only hope he will stay healthy and writing fit for a long time to come and will extend his Discworld empire even further.
A new page has been added to this site, discussing the best computer/ console games related to the genre of fantasy. It is an overview of what I believe to be the best and most influential fantasy games ever made.
While not all games have a strict link with fantasy as we know it from books and movies, several clearly are based on the classical form of fantasy with elves, goblins and the lot. Game characters are likely to have special abilities, like being able to fly, superstrenght and other powers. Also, games are often set in imaginary worlds with creatures such zombies, orcs, elves and vampires that either are playable characters or enemies.
The list of course contains games like World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy but also several games you may not have thought of.
Written between 1977 and 1983 by Stephen R. Donaldson, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant tell the tale of a leper who is despised in real life and very frustrated with himself.
After an accident Covenant enters a magical Land (possibly in his own mind) where he is healthy again and is considered a hero destined to defeat an evil lord. Covenant struggles to believe the world is real and tries to prove it is not, while against his wil he does take upon himself the role of defeating The Despiser.
The story takes place in a fantasy world which is very well created and often regarded as of the same level as Tolkiens Middle-earth. However, the story itself and the characters are not that comparable to Lord of the Rings.
The main character, Thomas Covenant, is an unstable, bitter man and the story is dark and psychological, with deap meanings and moral issues. This might scare away the average, casual fantasy reader but at the same time it will grip the attention of many. I believe it is a series that should definitely be read.
In the late seventies and early eighties Stephen R. Donaldson wrote two Covenant trilogies, the first being “The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever” and the second aptly called “The second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant”.
“The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant” is currently in the making. Donaldson has written and published first three books and one more is still to come.
Warner Bros has released a trailer for the movie Harry potter and the Deathly Hallows. This movie will be the first of two movies that will finalise the Harry Potter series. Part one will be released on November 17 2010 (or 18/19, depending on where you live).
Although I am not a big fan of Harry Potter, as I mentioned earlier, I will definitely watch the movie. I have good hopes that the last two movies will be darker and more violent than the last couple of movies. It will definitely be fascinating to see how the end of series is depicted on the big screen, especially in 3D.
Click here to go to the official Harry Potter movie website.
Below the trailer of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I.
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