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Interesting Times
''Interesting Times'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the seventeenth book in the ''Discworld'' series, set in the Aurient (a fictional analogue of the Orient). The title refers to the common myth that there exists a Chinese curse "may you live in interesting times". Plot Two gods, Fate and the Lady, oppose each other in a game over the outcome of the struggle for the throne of the Agatean Empire on the Counterweight Continent. The Patrician of Ankh-Morpork receives a demand that the "Great Wizzard" be sent to the distant Agatean Empire, and he orders Archchancellor Mustrum Ridcully of Unseen University to comply. As the spelling, "Wizzard," matches that on Rincewind's hat, the faculty decide to send him. Using the machine Hex, which has seemingly been augmenting its own infrastructure, they teleport him to the University from a desert island where he has been living since the events of ''Eric''. They offer him the right to call himself a Wizard, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his ''Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first novel, ''The Carpet People'', was published in 1971. The first ''Discworld'' novel, ''The Colour of Magic'', was published in 1983, after which Pratchett wrote an average of two books a year. The final ''Discworld'' novel, ''The Shepherd's Crown'', was published in August 2015, five months after his death. With more than 85 million books sold worldwide in 37 languages, Pratchett was the UK's best-selling author of the 1990s. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1998 and was knighted for services to literature in the 2009 New Year Honours. In 2001 he won the annual Carnegie Medal for ''The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents'', the first ''Discworld'' book marketed for children. He received the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
May You Live In Interesting Times
"May you live in interesting times" is an English expression that is claimed to be a translation of a traditional Chinese curse. While seemingly a blessing, the expression is normally used ironically; life is better in "uninteresting times" of peace and tranquility than in "interesting" ones, which are usually times of trouble. Despite being so common in English as to be known as the "Chinese curse", the saying is apocryphal, and no actual Chinese source has ever been produced. The most likely connection to Chinese culture may be deduced from analysis of the late-19th-century speeches of Joseph Chamberlain, probably erroneously transmitted and revised through his son Austen Chamberlain. Origins Despite being widely attributed as a Chinese curse, there is no known equivalent expression in Chinese. The nearest related Chinese expression translates as "Better to be a dog in times of tranquility than a human in times of chaos." () The expression originates from Volume 3 of the 1627 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Discworld Books
''Discworld'' is a comic fantasy"Humorous Fantasy" in David Pringle, ed., ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' (pp.31-33). London, Carlton,2006. book series written by the English author Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat planet balanced on the backs of four elephants which in turn stand on the back of a giant turtle. The series began in 1983 with ''The Colour of Magic'' and continued until the final novel ''The Shepherd's Crown'', which was published in 2015, following Pratchett's death. The books frequently parody or take inspiration from classic works, usually fantasy or science fiction, as well as mythology, folklore and fairy tales, and often use them for satirical parallels with cultural, political and scientific issues. Forty-one ''Discworld'' novels were published. Apart from the first novel in the series, ''The Colour of Magic'', the original British editions of the first 26 novels, up to ''Thief of Time'' (2001), had cover art by Josh Kirby. After Ki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1994 British Novels
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson Mandela casts his vote in the 1994 South African general election, in which he was elected South Africa's first president, and which effectively brought Apartheid to an end; NAFTA, which was signed in 1992, comes into effect in Canada, the United States, and Mexico; The first passenger rail service to utilize the newly-opened Channel tunnel; The 1994 FIFA World Cup is held in the United States; Skulls from the Rwandan genocide, in which over half a million Tutsi people were massacred by Hutus., 300x300px, thumb rect 0 0 200 200 1994 Winter Olympics rect 200 0 400 200 Northridge earthquake rect 400 0 600 200 Sinking of the MS Estonia rect 0 200 300 400 Rwandan genocide rect 300 200 600 400 Nelson Mandela rect 0 400 200 600 1994 FIFA Worl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Last Continent
''The Last Continent'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the twenty-second book in his ''Discworld'' series. First published in 1998, it mocks the aspects of time travel such as the grandfather paradox and the Ray Bradbury short story "A Sound of Thunder". It also parodies Australian people and aspects of Australian culture, such as the ''Crocodile Dundee'', ''The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'' and ''Mad Max'' movies, the Australian beer XXXX, Vegemite, thongs, cork hats, the Peach Melba, '' Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'', the Henley-on-Todd Regatta, and the popular Australian songs "Waltzing Matilda", "Down Under", and "The Man From Snowy River". Plot summary The story opens weeks after the events of ''Interesting Times'', in which Rincewind is magically transported to the continent of XXXX, where he meets the magical kangaroo Scrappy. Scrappy explains to Rincewind that he is fated to bring back meaning the rain, and end the eons-long drought. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Discworld Reading Order
''Discworld'' is a comic fantasy"Humorous Fantasy" in David Pringle, ed., ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' (pp.31-33). London, Carlton,2006. book series written by the English author Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat planet balanced on the backs of four elephants which in turn stand on the back of a giant turtle. The series began in 1983 with ''The Colour of Magic'' and continued until the final novel ''The Shepherd's Crown'', which was published in 2015, following Pratchett's death. The books frequently parody or take inspiration from classic works, usually fantasy or science fiction, as well as mythology, folklore and fairy tales, and often use them for satirical parallels with cultural, political and scientific issues. Forty-one ''Discworld'' novels were published. Apart from the first novel in the series, ''The Colour of Magic'', the original British editions of the first 26 novels, up to ''Thief of Time'' (2001), had cover art by Josh Kirby. After ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mustrum Ridcully
The Unseen University (UU) is a school of wizardry in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series of fantasy novels. Located in the fictional city of Ankh-Morpork, the UU is staffed by a faculty composed of mostly indolent and inept old wizards. The university's name is a pun on the Invisible College, and many aspects of the university are references to Oxford and Cambridge University. The exploits of the head wizards of the Unseen University are one of the main plot threads in the long-running fantasy series, and have played a central role in 13 novels to date, as well as the four supplementary ''Science of Discworld'' novels and the short story, '' A Collegiate Casting-Out of Devilish Devices''. Motto and Coat of Arms The official motto of Unseen University is "Nunc Id Vides, Nunc Ne Vides", loosely translated as "Now you see it, now you don't". The unofficial motto is "η β π", or "Eta Beta Pi" ("Eat a Bit of Pie" or "Eat a Better Pie" (according to the novel ''Hogfather'')). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boomerang
A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning boomerang is designed as a weapon to be thrown straight and is traditionally used by some Aboriginal Australians for hunting. Historically, boomerangs have been used for hunting, sport, and entertainment and are made in various shapes and sizes to suit different purposes. Although considered an Australian icon, ancient boomerangs have also been discovered in Africa, the Americas, and Eurasia. Description A boomerang is a throwing stick with aerodynamic properties, traditionally made of wood, but also of bone, horn, tusks and even iron. Modern boomerangs used for sport may be made from plywood or plastics such as ABS, polypropylene, phenolic paper, or carbon fibre-reinforced plastics. Boomerangs come in many shapes and sizes dependin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kangaroo
Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern grey kangaroo, and western grey kangaroo. Kangaroos are indigenous to Australia and New Guinea. The Australian government estimates that 42.8 million kangaroos lived within the commercial harvest areas of Australia in 2019, down from 53.2 million in 2013. As with the terms "wallaroo" and "wallaby", "kangaroo" refers to a paraphyletic grouping of species. All three terms refer to members of the same taxonomic family, Macropodidae, and are distinguished according to size. The largest species in the family are called "kangaroos" and the smallest are generally called "wallabies". The term "wallaroos" refers to species of an intermediate size. There are also the tree-kangaroos, another type of macropod, which inhabit the tropical ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terracotta Army
The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE with the purpose of protecting the emperor in his afterlife. The figures, dating from approximately the late third century BCE, were discovered in 1974 by local farmers in Lintong County, outside Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. The figures vary in height according to their roles, the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots and horses. Estimates from 2007 were that the three pits containing the Terracotta Army held more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which remained buried in the pits near Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum. Other terracotta non-military figures were found in other pits, including officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians. History The construction of the tomb was described by historian Sima ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eric (novel)
''Eric'', stylized as '' Eric'', is the ninth ''Discworld'' novel by Terry Pratchett. It was originally published in 1990 as a "''Discworld'' story", in a larger format than the other novels and illustrated by Josh Kirby. It was later reissued as a normal paperback without any illustrations, and in some cases, with the title given on the cover and title pages simply as ''Eric''. (The page headers, however, continued to alternate between ' and ''Eric''.) Plot summary The story is a parody of the tale of Faust, and follows the events of ''Sourcery'' in which the Wizard Rincewind was trapped in the Dungeon Dimensions. The Discworld version of Hell or Pandemonium exists simply because some people believe that it exists for them. In other Discworld stories, such as ''Small Gods'', the afterlife is different or non-existent according to personal belief rather than divine judgement. After magical disturbances occur throughout Ankh-Morpork, the wizards of Unseen University perform ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hex (Discworld)
This article contains brief biographies for characters from Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series. This list consists of human characters. For biographies of noted members of the Discworld's "ethnic minorities" (dwarfs, trolls, undead, etc.), see the articles for those races. Some character biographies are also listed in articles relating to the organisations they belong to. For further Discworld character biographies, see the table below. Characters are listed alphabetically by name. 71-Hour Ahmed Adora Belle Dearheart The daughter of Robert Dearheart, founder of the Grand Trunk Semaphore Company, Adora Belle Dearheart appears in ''Going Postal'', ''Making Money'' and ''Raising Steam'', she is a cynical, angry heavy smoker. Adora's family is conned out of the Grand Trunk by Reacher Gilt, forcing Adora to be employed at the Golem Trust. In ''Going Postal'', Adora begins a tentative relationship with Moist von Lipwig; by the time of ''Making Money'' they have become engaged ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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