All Apropos of Nothing At All

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Big Unc

Dedicated Member
Is it Susan who is into Rebus (Ian Rankin) and books of that ilk?

I think I already referred to Alex Gray - books about rising policeman, Lorimer (now a Detective Superintendent), set in Glasgow as opposed to Edinburgh. Currently reading the latest, "A Pound of Flesh". Much struck by a quote contained therein:

But pleasures are like poppies spread,
You sieze the flower, its bloom is shed;
Or like the snow falls in the river,
A moment white--then melts for ever;
Or like the borealis race,
That flit ere you can point their place;
Or like the rainbow's lovely form
Evanishing amid the storm.--
Nae man can tether time or tide;
The hour approaches Tam maun ride;

No prizes for guessing writer and the work.
 
Yes Big Unc its me, I'll look out for that book. I'm in the middle of Rankins lastest Complaints book, very good. The poem is beautiful is it Burns?
 
My husband reads him, Susan. I am more a Maeve Binchy person myself. I wonder if anyone else here is a Terry Pratchett fan. I have read all of his books, many times over.
 
number one terry pratchett fan sue, i've read them all too and just started ploughing through again from the beginning, interesting to see how his books changed from the early rincewind centred novels to focusing much more on ankh morpork with vimes always in the foreground or background.
 
I loved that the policceman arrested the opposing armies for breach of the peace. Only Terry Pratchet would write that.
 
Rhi said:
I loved that the policceman arrested the opposing armies for breach of the peace. Only Terry Pratchet would write that.
Click to expand...

It is a wee bit long but your line did just remind me of it:

Irish Declare War On France
The French President, is sitting in his office when his telephone rings.

"Hallo, Mr. Sarkozy!" a heavily accented voice said. "This is Paddy down at the Harp Pub in County Clare, Ireland. I am ringing to inform you that we are officially declaring war on you!"

"Well, Paddy," Sarkozy replied, "This is indeed important news! How big is your army?"

"Right now," says Paddy, after a moment's calculation, "there is meself, me cousin Sean, me next door neighbour Seamus, and the entire darts team from the pub. That makes eight!"

Sarkozy paused. "I must tell you, Paddy, that I have 100,000 men in my army waiting to move on my command."

"Begoora!" says Paddy. "I'll have to ring you back."

Sure enough, the next day, Paddy calls again. "Mr. Sarkozy, the war is still on. We have managed to get us some infantry equipment!"

"And what equipment would that be Paddy?" Sarkozy asks.

"Well, we have two combines, a bulldozer, and Murphy's farm tractor."

Sarkozy sighs amused. "I must tell you, Paddy, that I have 6,000 tanks and 5,000 armored personnel carriers. Also, I have increased my army to 150,000 since we last spoke."

"Saints preserve us!" says Paddy. "I'll have to get back to you."

Sure enough, Paddy rings again the next day. "Mr. Sarkozy, the war is still on! We have managed to get ourselves airborne! We have modified Jackie McLaughlin's ultra-light with a couple of shotguns in the cockpit, and four boys from the Shamrock Bar have joined us as well!"

Sarkozy was silent for a minute and then cleared his throat. "I must tell you, Paddy, that I have 100 bombers and 200 fighter planes. My military bases are surrounded by laser-guided, surface-to-air missile sites. And since we last spoke, I have increased my army to 200,000!"

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!" says Paddy, "I will have to ring you back."

Sure enough, Paddy calls again the next day. "Top o' the mornin', Mr. Sarkozy! I am sorry to inform you that we have had to call off the war."

"Really? I am sorry to hear that," says Sarkozy. "Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Well," says Paddy, "we had a long chat over a few pints of Guinness, and we decided there is no fookin' way we can feed 200,000 prisoners.
 
My favourite Terry Pratchett characters are the witches, especially the Tiffany books. And the Death ones, and any of the books with Susan, well basically I do like them all though I was not too sure about 'Dodger'. I prefer the Discword ones' with the exception of the 'Johnny' trilogy. I am glad that I am not alone here in liking these books.
 
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Well, I like it!
 
Sorry, just canna resist it. The Top Sign #10 That You're Being Stalked By A Leprechaun:

Sultry voice from shower soap dish asks, "Is that your shillelagh, or are you just happy to see me?"
 
totally agree rhi, once you get started you cant put them down........start from the beginning though, you can read the books cold so to speak, but better if you have the background from the start.
 
Unc, If you want to read the discworld books I would recommend you start with Guards Guards. The guards in question are at least human, slightly scruffy misfits, and not too efficient, but human. The discworld is inhabited by Dwarves, Trolls, Gnomes, etc, but the story lines are very like those in any of the cop shows we get here on 'Earth'. You do need to have a whacky sense of humour to enjoy them. Tiffant Aching, by the way is an apprentice witch. Terry wrote four books about Tiffany, I would never part with them.
 
Having read most of them up to 2 or 3 years ago,all this talk of the apprentice witch has got me interested again. Magrat was the apprentice when I last read any but she got married didn't she?? Sam Vimes had got married to the lady of the manor and did not need to work but got involved in a murder on holiday?? I'll shut up before I give too much away. ::)
 
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