h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi Rehash,

first of all: sorry for answering so late!!!

I am just re-reading the truth - and I still like it. I can understand all your dislikes - it's just that they don't bother me that much... . Tht plot of a DW book has never been the most important thing to me. I marvel at the style and I like the way jokes are prepared. Plot is a bit secondary to me... .

We don't have to talk about the second point - I liked the characters but that's personal preferences... . I liked Mr. Pin and Mr. Tulip - they reminded me a bit about Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar from Neil Gaiman's "Neverwhere". I thought they were pretty strong characters... .

The point I understand most is the undead! The theme is - well - sucked dry by now!! And I find there is a terrible tendency to make EVERYBODY a nice guy... .
Oh that reminds me: I think the thing about dwarf sexuality went a bit over the top in the last books. I always feel like shouting: WE GOT IT SO STOP RUBBING IT IN!!!

Aurora

(I feel like I only babbeled here. Sorry for that!!!)

I agree with the point about dwarfs, it's almost as if Pratchett is trying to force a sexual revolution onto the disk without any apparant motivation for it. In the early books ALL the dwarfs seemed content to be what they were but now Pratchett expects us to believe that actually all the female dwarfs were horribly repressed and secretly yearning to put on lip-stick. It just doesn't ring true.

Sorry for coming all political on you!

I agree with the point about dwarfs, it's almost as if Pratchett is trying to force a sexual revolution onto the disk without any apparant motivation for it. In the early books ALL the dwarfs seemed content to be what they were but now Pratchett expects us to believe that actually all the female dwarfs were horribly repressed and secretly yearning to put on lip-stick. It just doesn't ring true.

Sorry for coming over all political on you!

That's just what I think!! My opinion exactly!!

I remember that there was a female dwarf in "Guards Guards" - Minty, Carrot's girlfriend. But as far as I know these irregularities will be explained in "Thief of time"... .

And besides: I REALLY liked the idea of female dwarfs when it all started with Ceery Littlebottom. I thought it was hilarious! It's just been mentioned to much in the books. At least in "The Truth" there was a couple of dwarfs that wanted to get married without one of them being "openly female".

By the way the whole thing reminds a bit of people talking about gays and/or lesbian.
Sometimes (too often... *sigh*) I hear people saying about gay couples that "of them is the woman" (or even worse "plays the woman"). That statement that makes me sick... . It's just so plain stupid. And in "Fith Elephant" Vimes SEVERAL times asks just that about a dwarf couple - only to be reminded by Sybill "they're both Dwarfs, Sam".
I don't know if it is just me and my twisted imagination but somehow one reminded me of the other... .

I hope you know what I mean and I didn't sound too crazy...

Aurora

PS Just this morning when I came across a joke in "The Truth" that really makes me laugh really hard whenever I read it: the warranty for the dis-organizer. For my job I've read enough software warranties to know that Pterry isn't too far away from the real thing there.
(I know that the jokes only can't make a book "good" but I thought "Truth" had a few really hilarious ones!!! )