Raising Steam Audiobook CD – Audiobook, Unabridged Author: Visit Amazon's Terry Pratchett Page | Language: English | ISBN:
0804164533 | Format: EPUB
Raising Steam Audiobook CD – Audiobook, Unabridged Description
Review
Advance Praise for
Raising Steam
“A spectacular novel, and a gift from a beloved writer to his millions of fans. . . . A tremendous synthesis of everything that makes Pratchett one of the world’s most delightful writers.”
—Cory Doctorow,
Boing Boing
“From the first, the novels demonstrated Pratchett's eye for telling detail and the absurdities of the human condition. . . . He remains one of the most consistently funny writers around; a master of the stealth simile, the time-delay pun and the deflationary three-part list. . . . I could tell which of my fellow tube passengers had downloaded it to their e-readers by the bouts of spontaneous laughter.”
—Ben Aaronovitch,
The Guardian"Terry Pratchett’s creation is still going strong after 30 years. . . . Most aficionados, however, will be on the look-out for in-jokes and references from previous novels—of which there is no shortage. Discworld’s success, like that of Wodehouse’s Jeeves and Wooster stories, has never been driven by the plots. . . . It is at the level of the sentence that Pratchett wins his fans.”
—Andrew McKie,
The Times (London)
Praise for Terry Pratchett
“Terry Pratchett may still be pegged as a comic novelist, but . . . he’s a lot more. In his range of invented characters, his adroit storytelling, and his clear-eyed acceptance of humankind’s foibles, he reminds me of no one in English literature as much as Geoffrey Chaucer. No kidding.”
—Michael Dirda,
The Washington Post Book World“Given his prolificacy and breezy style, it’s easy to underestimate Pratchett. . . . He’s far more than a talented jokesmith, though. His books are almost always better than they have to be.”
—Michael Berry,
San Francisco Chronicle“Nonstop wit. . . . Pratchett is a master of juggling multiple plotlines and multiplying punchlines.”
—Ken Barnes,
USA TodayAbout the Author
TERRY PRATCHETT is the acclaimed creator of the bestselling Discworld series, the latest of which is
Raising Steam. He has been appointed OBE and a Knight Bachelor in recognition of his services to literature. He lives in England.
- Series: Discworld
- Audio CD
- Publisher: Random House Audio; Unabridged edition (March 18, 2014)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0804164533
- ISBN-13: 978-0804164535
- Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 5 x 1.1 inches
- Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
As any new Terry Pratchett book, Raising Steam was one of my most anticipated books of 2013. And indeed the book started well, reminiscent of his previous book, The Truth, where a new technology is discovered in Ankh Morporck. We are introduced to the principal characters, old and new, and the stage is set for a rollicking ride through Discworld.
Sadly though the ride was monotonous and dull as a, wait for it, railway journey through a kilometer long tunnel. Halfway through the book, I was beset with the fear that the momentum of the story would lead it nowhere in particular. Because I felt that the book reads more as a diary of accomplishments of the expansion of the Railway rather than a novel. Towards the end, my fears were, sadly, founded. it must be said, though that there are certain high points, and the tongue in cheek humour does indeed shine through in many instances.
The biggest problem I see is that there is no clear established antagonist in this book, which are a hallmark of Mr. Pratchett's books. For example, Mr de Worde in the Truth, Reacher Gilt in Going Postal, and Cosmo Lavish from Making Money etc. Also Vetinari's scenes in any Prachett book are a delight to read, full of subtlety and guile. But in Raising Steam he comes off as a total tyrant (and jackass). His dialogue so completely lacks the hallmarks of his character throughout the Discworld series that it makes me wonder if Cosmo Lavish did indeed replace him in Making Money.
I am aware that producing novels of Mr. Prachett's quality is exceedingly difficult and an admirable one at that. His books have brought hours of entertainment and joy to me, which is why I can't help but feel a tad disappointed in Raising Steam.
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