PC on both CD-ROM and Floppy. The difference between the two being that
the CD-ROM contains full speech by Eric Idle, Tony Robinson, Jon Pertwee
and Kate Robbins. The basic plot is Guards! Guards! with Rincewind thrown
in.
An FAQ for the game is regulalry posted by Christopher McMullen
mailto:chrismc@lspace.org This FAQ is also available at the
Pratchett Archives.
A demo of this game is also available from the pratchett archives.
--- Discworld II ---
Chris McMullen is "da man" when it comes to walkthrus and FAQ's for
this new game. (Bright Orange Box - you can't miss it!). These are
available at lspace web.
--- Discworld Noir ---
Not manufactured by Psygnosis this game involves you playing
Ankh-Morpork's first private detective. More information at
lspace web in the games section.
-----------------------------------------
MERCHANDISING AND FANDOM
-----------------------------------------
There is a Merchandise FAQ posted regularly to AFP. There are
two main sources of merchandise. Stephen CMOT Briggs and ClareCraft.
CMOT can be contacted at http://www.cmotdibbler.com/ and ClareCraft
has a WWW page on the lspace web
--- Discworld Convention 2002 ---
There is to be a Discworld Convention held on the 16th - 19th of August
2002 at the Hanover International Hotel in Leicestershire (UK). Guests
include Terry Pratchett, Stephen Briggs, Paul Kidby, Bernard & Isobel
Pearson, Graham Higgins, Dave Langford, Colin Smythe, Stephen Player,
Jay Hurst, Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart.
The merchandise FAQ can be found at the pratchett archives.
--- ClareCraft ---
Further information about Clarecrafts Discworld range of products,
can be requested from elton@lspace.org Including your
postal address means that they can send you a free brochure, etc ..
--- Octarine ---
Terry has this to say:
The officially unofficial Not-the-Terry-Pratchett-Fan-Club. The guy
to write to is
Chris Tregenza
22 The City
Beeston
Nottingham
NG9 2ED
"It's like this: a couple of years ago they approached me, and I said
I thought it would be an amazingly bad idea (I mean, what do you do
after issue three of the magazine: `Um. He's done another book. It's
great/okay/not as good as the last one IMHO. Um. Is he losing more
hair, or what?' So I suggested they broaden the base to include
humorous sf/fantasy generally."
--- Fan Club ---
``The Guild of Fans and Disciples'' is the unofficial fan club of
Terry Pratchett and Josh Kirby. It is run on a non profit-making basis
by a group of fans who produce a bi-monthly newsletter to keep other
fans up to date with events. Terry has no direct involvement in the
club, other than supplying news and consenting to their existence as
long as they avoid commercialism.
For more information you can e-mail mailto:gofad@bigfoot.com
--- CLARECRAFT COLLECTOR'S GUILD ---
According to ClareCraft has about 1500 members and its newsletter is
practically becoming a fanzine in its own right. Information from
ClareCraft.
-----------------------------------------
PTERRY ON THE PTELLY
-----------------------------------------
--- The Bromiliad ---
The film rights to the Bromiliad have been picked up by Dreamworks SKG
- there is a rumour that they will do this CGI like they did Shreck.
--- Good Omens: The Film ---
A movie about this is in pre-production now. Being filmed in Germany
it is going to be directed by Terry Gilliam. According to Gilliam
the contracts have been signed with Renaissance Films.
--- Truckers Video ---
There is a video of "Truckers" available. The details are: Thames
Television International, video Collection International VHS TV 8159,
110 minutes, VHS-PAL, price: approx. 8 pounds.
--- Johnny and the Dead ---
This is also available.
--- The Mort Film ---
Terry wrote a couple of script drafts which went down well and
everything was looking fine and then the US backers said "Hey, we've
been doing market research in Power Cable, Nebraska, and other
centres of culture, and the Death/skeleton bit doesn't work for us,
it's a bit of a downer, we have a problem with it, so lose the skeleton".
The rest of the consortium said, did you read the script? The Americans
said: sure, we LOVE it, it's GREAT, it's HIGH CONCEPT. Just lose the
Death angle, guys.
Whereupon, Terry is happy to say, they were told to keep on with the
medication and come back in a hundred years. Power Cable Nebraska doesn't
appear to exist BTW. (at least my Encarta 96 Atlas didn't have it!)
Maybe someone wants to go to Nebraska and plant a sign declaring
Lincoln to actually be Power Cable. If there is ever an American
DWCon we should hold it in Nebraska. There is even a place called
Terrytown in Nebraska. Perhaps someone should get a photo of them
selves infront of the sign with a P infront of the T.
--- Soul Music/Wyrd Sisters ---
Also available on video for those that are interested. Details in the
merchandise FAQ.
--- Terry Pratchett's Borneo Adventure ---
He also helped out with a wildlife documentary in Borneo on Orang-Utans.
This was recently (May 1995) shown in the United Kingdom and no one really
knows if it is going to be released on video. I heard from the production
company and if there is enough interest it will be.
--- Theatrical Plays ---
Oxford's Studio Theatre Club went on to stage Stephen's adaptations of
Wyrd Sisters, Mort, Guards! Guards!,Maskerade and Jingo
If you are interested in more information, please E-mail:
mailto:sbriggs@cix.compulink.co.uk
Some of these plays are available in book form as well. (see Bib)
--- From the Discworld CD ---
A mainly instrumental collection written by Dave Greenslade, a friend
of Terry's probably best known for the Pentateuch double album. A
Discworld Theme album.
-----------------------------------------
COMMON THREADS.
-----------------------------------------
Some threads, like the perennial bad penny, just keep turning up. At
least read this section of the FAQ before indulging yourself in posting
about any of the following subjects. Remember your [I]'s and [R]'s please!
--- Using groups.google if you want ---
Sometimes it is a great idea to trawl groups.google to look at threads past.
Interestingly enough, this very document comes up in the database as one of
the oldest posts on AFP. Though it is fair to say that it has already been
said before you will most likely pull some pearls from an afp of the past.
This is definitely recommended if you are posting a new thread that you
suspect may have been discussed before.
Point your browser at and in the search terms box
place your topic and alt.fan.pratchett.
Just because something has been discussed before doesn't mean it can't
be discussed again - but if you are looking for an answer to a question
(which is what this FAQ is about) then groups.google is a great start.
--- What is the "N-Word" in Soul Music ---
Quoth, the Raven, won't say the N-Word. The N-Word is "Never More".
You can find out more about the literary relevance of this
phrase (if you don't recognise it) and the answers to questions
that you didn't know that you had in the Annotated Pratchett File
available at your friendly neighborhood lspace web.
--- Old AFP versus New AFP ---
Every now and then the group gets very restless. I suspect this has
more to do with people deciding that what they once found was funny
is now somewhat tiresome. The "good old days" are brought up and
handed around. This at times has lead to the creation of the
new groups like alt.books.pratchett. Other times this leads to flame
wars.
My only advice on this one is that you consider that at some stage
you are likely to be, or have been, on the other side of this
argument. If you stick around you WILL become an oldbie. You will
probably get annoyed at newbies. Those that seem locked in their
ivory tower of oldbieness you will note as time goes on have
very similar views to you. It is kinda funny that way.
--- What is UNCLEAR PHYSICS and Where can I get a copy? ---
Unclear Physics was the WORKING TITLE of the book INTERESTING TIMES.
This particular FAQ writer gets at least three letters a month asking
for the ISBN of this book (which I am sure amuses everyone else on
the newsgroup :-). This happens so often that I got my copy of
IT signed as THIS IS NOT UNCLEAR PHYSICS.
I dunno if it was a joke but Terry recently said that he might
actually write a book called "unclear physics" as the title was
about a particular plot point in IT that never came to fruition.
This is speculation.
--- Posting an Annotation ---
An annotation (usually marked [A]) of a Terry Pratchett book is a
reflection of a small "inside joke" used in the text. An example of
which is the "Soul Food Cafe" scene in "Soul Music".
Something written or filmed after the publication of a TP book obviously
does not constitute an annotation. The television show "Due South"
might have been influenced in some way by "Guards! Guards!" but it is
impossible for it to have happened the other way around.
You might also want to consider how you phrase a prospective annotation.
Some annotations sound more like allegations of plagiarism rather
than a helpful attempt to point out an inside joke. Such allegations might
even be considered libelous.
When posting an annotation it would be helpful if you included:
1) The original text you are annotating (TP's) (include page number)
2) The year of the source of the annotation. (Blues Brothers (1981))
3) As close an approximation as you can get of the text of the
source. (i.e. writing out the conversation in the Soul Food Cafe)
If you are worried that your annotation may have been covered before I
suggest that you trawl Dejanews with the original "TP" text. As we
would like you to quote the original when annotating anyway this means
that simply by searching on the original text you should be able to
find any extra commentary.
--- Criticising Terry Pratchett on Alt.Fan.Pratchett ---
The following is some quotes that Terry Posted after a mini flame war
erupted through one group of people suggesting that book X was much
worse than book Y and another group of people suggesting "get out of
your tree ... this is AFP ... we don't critisise *him* here".
Note this was from before "The Last Continent" was even a gleam
in Terry's eye.
These are Terry's exact words:
"Oh dear..."
" Let me drop a few things into this quite interesting thread.
"1 I always listen to advice. It's polite.
"2 If I *heeded* all the advice I've had over the years, I've have
written 18 books about Rincewind. Absolutely true. The most
common plea in my mail right now is 'when are we going to read
about Rincewind in XXXX?'
" I'm being instructed that I have a duty to my readers -- if I was
innocent, I'd be attaching corks to that battered pointy hat even
now. But perhaps this is an issue on which I have thought long
and hard. After all, it's my living and ten years of my life.
" If Discworld continues, then old characters will continue --
Rincewind will get red dust in his sandals, the Watch will be back,
Gaspode will probably limp into stories. And new characters will
arise. Why not? It's not as if there are *rules*. What will
probably *end* Discworld is simple crowding -- the Watch already
make Ankh-Morpork based stories a little problematical, and I won't
get into the comic book convention of having Captain Courage out
of town so that Commander Socko can take centre stage.
"3 I wish people wouldn't feel obliged to put in the 'no offence
meant, pterry' rubric. I'm a big boy. I don't take offence easily
at criticism above the 'Moving Pictures is crap' level and can tell
if offence is meant, on the whole. If something *is* offensive, to
me or anyone else, 'NOM,P' is superfluous. As they say elsewhere,
you own your words - in all senses of 'own'.
Anyway, as I've harped before, afp isn't mine. If I log on and
read something I don't like, I have the same options as anyone else
(actually, I probably don't, come to think of it -- but that's my
problem)
" I do get embarrassed when people give me a lecture on my duties,
approach to writing, tell me book X isn't a patch on book Y, and
then send me a private email hastening to assure me that 'no
offence is meant'. But I do grin when, after all of this, they
tag on that "it's about time we saw Gaspode again" or they're
waiting for Rincewind's adventures on XXXX..."
- Terry Pratchett
Terry's views are here for all to see. It would be advisable for all
sides to take note. AFP *is* about discussing the books, characters
excetra - how that discussion goes is up to you. Remember though ...
politeness is a virtue.
Terry would also like to point out that anything you post is
"Your Words in EVERY SENSE". They are stored in groups.google and
other places - they are likely to be around a very long time.
--- WHY PTERRY? ---
Pterry is an affectionate nickname in the tradition of his book
Pyramids. Pteppic, Ptracy and therefore Pterry.
--- CASTING MOVIES ---
Leo Breebaart went through 13 Mb of a.f.p. logfiles, extracted 450 Kb of "Let's
cast a Discworld movie" articles, and put together a complete list of
all the suggestions ever made, leaving out the less serious
possibilities. This can be found at the Pratchett Archives.
This thread seems to be fairly virulent at the moment so I hope all
potential posters have had a look at the casting page at www.lspace.org
You CAN post a casting thread - but I recommend you check out all
that has been suggested before so you don't do the obvious.
"I reckon that James Earl Jones would make a gread Death."
Some of us suspect that this phrase was the first ever transmitted
over the internet. It was soon followed by:
"Does Pterry Post here or What?"
What has been amusing me even more of late is the thread of casting an
AFP movie. In traditional AFP style everyone is arguing which actor would
best represent them while completely ignoring the question of the proposed
film's plot. Then again this is AFP ... there would not be a plot!
--- How should I pronounce Rincewind's Name? ---
Terry himself pronounces it to rhyme with "Mince pinned" and in Eric,
Rincewind meets his ancestor whose translated name means "Washer
[Rinser?] of Winds". Evidence would then tend to point to this
pronunciation (like the pronunciations in the Discworld Game)
--- How should I pronounce Gaspode's Name? ---
According to the game the wonder dog's name is pronounced to rhyme
with Gas-Mode. Not Gas-Po-Dee. As I thought. Apparently no one else
did. But I did. So Nyeh.
--- What are the words to the The Hedgehog Song? ---
The words to the Hedgehog song (many different versions) can be found
at the Pratchett Archives. Download, Print, Visit the pub, consume
alcohol and sing. (It probably sounds better)(Well .. to you at least)
There is no line about a two speed hedge trimmer in this song.
--- What/Where is the Missing Chapter? ---
There is *NO* Missing Chapter!
If some guy comes up to you at a meet and says "hey baby, wanna
come back to my place, see my local area network and download
the missing chapter?" he probably just wants sex.
One of the more recalcitrant threads that pops up, much like the
legend of the Yeti, Yowie or Bigfoot, is the legend of the Missing
Chapter. The story goes that, late one night whilst working on a
particularly hilarious section of the Discworld Chronicles Terry
accidently transmitted a section of his work to alt.fan.pratchett
and then had his computer suffer something akin to a complete hard
disk failure. Fun is had by all as alt.fan.pratchett regularly mounts
search parties around the internet looking for this particular untamed
ornithoid. (this was Leo's Fault! (and TP went along with it!))
--- What is a "Merkin"? ---
Merkin is an affectionate name used by some of the denizens of
alt.fan.pratchett for citizens of the United States. If you want
to know what the word really means I suggest that you consult a good
dictionary.
Apparently on one of the larger US networks AFP's newsgroup description
says "Book signings and the sale of Merkins". One unfortunate
actually posted asking where could he order a merkin. Apparently he needed
one due to an embarrasing personal problem.
No one on AFP sells Merkins. (although it could signal a strange new
diversification of the CMOT Briggs enterprise :-). CMOT replied that
he didn't really want to explain all this to the British Postal Service.
--- Does Terry Pratchett post here or what? ---
He does - and sometimes he doesn't. It is kind of Quantum really.
--- Due South/Frazier/Carrot/Hey aren't they ... ---
A television series came along which was based around a wide
eyed Canadian Mountie working as a cop in deep dark Chicago. Many
have noted that similarities exist between the character Frazier
and the beloved Discworld "Dwarf" Carrot. Well Terry's books were
written first so no, he didn't copy the idea. I have no information
suggesting that the creators of Due South are even aware of the
adventures of Carrot. So it is likely that they didn't copy either.
If they did, I missed the episode where Frazier fought the Dragon,
or the one where a crazy man with a Gonne tried to make Frazier
mayor of Chicago ... and I am sure that the woman at the police
station who likes Frazier is *not* a werewolf.
--- What is [G], [C], [G], [O], [O], [K] ---
Several other "bracketed capitals" have cropped up on alt.fan.pratchett
These are not "official" and sometimes I wonder if people make up new
ones just to keep life interesting. [I], [R], and the occasional [A]
are simple ... anything more is bordering on the anal-retentive. You
shouldn't constantly need to refer to a manual to read Usenet!
Karen posts an FAQ explaining all of this.
--- Your Purity Test Score ---
I have a hard time reconciling this topic with anything in the TP books,
as, as mentioned in the DW Companion, there is no real sex in the DW or
other TP books. (No actual sex, just some before bits and some after
bits - as in Good Omens and Men at Arms). So unless you have something
to post about Carrot's purity score, maybe these admissions are best
left to the alt.sex groups :-)
--- Will there be a sequel to "Good Omens" ---
Nope. What is left to say?
--- What is Slood? ---
Slood is a substance only invented by intelligent civilisations.
Our civilisation hasn't invented slood. Draw your own conclusions.
-----------------------------------------
MISCELLANY
-----------------------------------------
Here's some stuff that didn't fit into any other category.
--- Similar Authors ---
P.G. Wodehouse, Douglas Adams, Jerome K. Jerome, Robert Rankin, Tom
Sharpe, Tom Holt, Calvin Trillin, P.J O'Rourke and Dave Barry are some
people whose styles are similar. He reminds me a bit of Joseph Heller
(Catch 22) as well ... although not so cynical.
Terry occasionally also posts information about books that interest
him or have impressed him recently. Keep a look out on alt.fan.pratchett
--- The Future ---
DISCWORLD POST PTERRY.
Terry is a fairly young bloke (well my dad would say so as they were born
only 2 months apart) so is only old enough to be Uncle Pterry instead of
Grandpa Pterry so there is at least 40 years left in him yet. However, in
recent times, other author's work has been "resurrected" after their death.
This brings up the possibility, of course, of Discworld (or Johnny Maxwell
and Truckers) Novels being written by "someone else". Terry had obviously
given this some thought and has put in place the legal framework so that
NO ONE BUT TERRY PRATCHETT WRITES DISCWORLD.
Whether or not this means that a "50th Anniversary Tribute" to the Discworld
could be written for Terry whilst he is still alive in 2033 similar to what
Terry himself did for Tolkien in "After the King" (see the Bib for details)
or Asimov had this done in "Friends of the Foundation" is questionable.
(You can email Terry in 2033 to ask if you want :-)
I wonder if someone changed their name by deed pole to "Terry Pratchett"
that they would be allowed to do this :-)
--- Big NO NO's! ---
The following things are advised not be done on alt.fan.pratchett. The
reasons why they should not be done are detailed here. The internet is,
of course, free and 'youcanpostwhateveryouwant' but I hope that you see
the following as an intelligent and logical set of rules.
Posting Fan Fiction to alt.fan.pratchett
It is asked that you do not post your own discworld/pratchettesque
Stories to the newsgroup. Someone might feel that an idea in a newly
released TP novel was similar to one they posted on day X. They might
even have the audacity to take TP to court on this. (this *HAS*
happened to television people on other newsgroups). To avoid the
possibility of this ever occurring Pterry politely asked that we not
post our own stories to alt.fan.pratchett. See the 'Fan Fiction
Mailing List' for where you can post your stories in safety.
Posting 'Posting Stats'
After several bad experiences it has been generally decided that
putting forward lists showing the people who contribute the most
articles to afp is a really bad idea. The reaction has been 'gosh
I only posted X articles ... better post more to improve my ranking'
This generally means alt.fan.pratchett is flooded with a higher than
usual amount of rubbish.
Posting "Test Posts"
There is a newsgroup which automatically responds to test posts
via email telling you where your news post has landed around the
world. Test posts on alt.fan.pratchett are likely to be followed
up and become long winded threads in their own right. The newsgroup
is alt.test. Although nothing is wrong with this, there is a more
effective way of testing your news server :-)
This got so out of hand that there is now a newsgroup (lspace.test)
devoted purely to afp test posts.
--- Inconsistencies ---
Well, he is fallible. Known inconsistencies are documented in the
Annotated Pratchett File. (available at the Pratchett Archives).
The Author suggests, however, that there are few inconsistencies
merely several alternative pasts. :-). These are getting rarer
as time goes on and a discworld "lore" builds itself up.
--- Appearances ---
Book signings:
He'll post when he's going walkabout, so just bide your time and see.
The alt.fan.pratchett www page usually has some information in this area
if you missed it. Generally he will sign three novels per person, and,
if there is time, get on to the others.
The Stamp which reads EX LIBRIS MORTIS - HIC EST VITA VESTER
means
FROM THE LIBRARY OF DEATH
THIS IS YOUR LIFE (S Briggs Translation)
There is a Web Page on the Lspace Web with tour details.
He generally goes on tours after a book is just published.
--- The Orang-Utan Foundation ---
Those who enjoyed the program where Terry went to Borneo and want
to find out more about Orang-Utans can contact:
The Orangutan Foundation
7 Kent Terrace,
London NW1 4RP
United Kingdom.
--- Approximate Number of Books Published ---
The current estimates that there are over 40 million Terry Pratchett
books published worldwide at the moment. This will probably increase
at a rate of a million per year. (A LOT of books)
If each Pratchett book was placed on top of another Prachett book -
There would be over 40 million of them! (you didn't see that joke
coming did you!)
-----------------------------------------
CREDITS
-----------------------------------------
Many people have contributed to this FAQ (so much so that almost two
whole pages of text were taken up with credits). In the interests of
bandwidth I removed them. If you want a list of those who have
contributed to the FAQ (and Bibliography) email me and I will forward
one to you. Thank you to all people who have helped out with this FAQ,
it is very very very very very very very much appreciated.
Thanks to Leo for all his help over the years. If it wasn't for him
there wouldn't really be any order to the online pratchett universe.
Thanks to my fiancee Oksana - you are the best!
Orin
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