Three of the best Discworld novels involve
Death personified. Mort(1987), the most consis-
tently clever of the early titles, investigates the
consequences when a temporary stand-in for
Death refuses to take the life of a young girl, whose
continued existence vaguely perplexes her family
and friends. Reaper Man(1991) and Soul Music
(1994) continue in this vein, although not as suc-
cessfully. Guards! Guards!(1989) is the first of the
Night Watch sequence. The forces of law and
order in Discworld’s largest city struggle to appre-
hend a murderous dragon, spoofing a number of
detective fiction tropes in the process. Men at
Arms(1996) and Feet of Clay(1996) are similar
episodes. A new island rises from beneath the sea
just beyond the city in Jingo (1997), and time
travel makes detection even more difficult in Night
Watch(2002).
Pyramids(1989) is more or less independent,
set in an Egyptian-patterned society in a distant
part of Discworld. Moving Pictures(1990) very ef-
fectively lampoons Hollywood, and Small Gods
(1992) does the same for organized religion, intro-
ducing a cult that believes that Discworld is spher-
ical rather than flat. Lords and Ladies(1995) is one
of Pratchett’s least successful efforts, but Hogfather
(1996), in which Discworld’s version of Father
Christmas is kidnapped, is one of his best. Carpe
Jugulum(1998) informs us of the downside of invit-
ing vampires to family events, and The Truth
(2000), another relentlessly satiric story, describes
what happens when a man magically incapable of
telling a lie becomes the publisher of a newspaper.
Time is a quantifiable commodity in Thief of Time
(2001), and an aging, out-of-fashion hero con-
fronts the gods to tell them off in The Last Hero
(2001).
In recent years Pratchett has written some ti-
tles aimed at children, starting with The Amazing
Maurice and His Educated Rodents(2001). The Wee
Free Men(2003) and A Hatful of Sky(2004) are in
the same vein. “Troll Bridge” (1992) is also set in
Discworld. Pratchett is a publishing phenomenon
in England, certainly the best-selling novelist in
that country, and has a large following around the
world. Considering that the series has already
reached more than 30 volumes, it remains surpris-
ingly fresh and innovative.
“The Distressing Tale of Thangobrind the
Jeweler, and of the Doom That Befell
Him”Lord Dunsany(1912)
Edward Plunkett, Lord DUNSANY, was one of the
earliest fantasy writers and had a strong influence
on the work of J. R. R. TOLKIENand through him
on virtually every fantasy writer who would follow.
His stories are told in a very literate but slightly ar-
tificial style and are structured much like fairy tales
in that they made no effort to realistically describe
the psychology of his characters. Gods and magical
creatures are there in abundance, some traditional,
some not, and many of the tales are essentially
episodes, sometimes with virtually no plot.
One of his most famous stories is this short
history of one Thangobrind, ostensibly a jeweler
but in practice a brilliant thief who specializes in
stealing only the most precious of stones. One of
his clients approaches him with a commission to
steal a diamond as large as a man’s head from its
resting place in the lap of a distant and notoriously
vengeful god. The client offers to pay for the dia-
mond with the soul of his oldest daughter, and
Thangobrind accepts the job, perhaps as much for
its challenge as for the material gains. There fol-
lows a brief, capsule account of his lengthy journey
to the temple of the dreaded god, in which the au-
thor alludes briefly to adventures that could have
filled an entire novel.
At last he arrives in the land of Hlo-hlo’s ad-
herents, where he drugs the local priests long
enough to make off with the diamond. When they
recover, the priests are oddly calm, perhaps because
the jewel has been stolen in the past but always re-
turns to its original resting place. Thangobrind is
celebrating his success when he begins to feel that
he is being pursued. Ultimately, the idol reclaims
the diamond, and the thief’s life is forfeit. The story
is compact, straightforward, and might be unre-
markable if it were to appear for the first time
today, but Dunsany was inventing the modern form
of fantasy at the time, and his work is recognized
today for its innovation and imaginative content.Donaldson, Stephen R.(1947– )
When the LORD OF THE RINGSby J. R. R. TOLKIEN
was finally published in mass market paperback90 “The Distressing Tale of Thangobrind the Jeweler, and of the Doom That Befell Him”