MythTickle by Justin Thompson for August 06, 2009

Now, don’t gang up on Dudley, guys! He’s trying to help Boody, who stepped over the Edge of the Earth! You know, like in “Here there be dragons”?

Enough people believing it? More Terry Pratchett ?

enough people started believing in it? I’m getting a strong Terry Pratchett vibe from this story! (Which is great by me!)

(and if anyone knows where my first post went, I’d like it back!)

Edit: Found it, thanks Radical, but it wasn’t there when I posted!

If Boody is a dragon, doesn’t he have wings?

Tell A’Tuin I said “HI”!

“Clap if you believe”.

Steve, Your first post is just above your second post…..

I believe, I believe! He can fly!

I now have to go clap on the pinkerton strip…..

Could somebody please email me about Terry Pratchett? I know the name but I’ve never read his/her books. I’m just curious as to why today’s strip alludes to Pratchett. Might be something I’d like to check out. Thanks.

j

The Pratchett references concern his popular ‘Discworld’ series, satiric fantasy set on a flat earth (where you really can fall off the edge; as Pratchett says, “space travel is just a mis-step away”) where magic works. The specific comments about belief refer to the system of gods on the disc, who seem to be some kind of intelligent life form that is nourished by belief (this is described in detail in the book “Small Gods”). When there is a lot of belief, the laws of nature can change.

That sounds cool! Thanks.

For the record, Intelligent Design is “stupid,” not “OK.”

Brilliant stuff, Justin. Can’t wait to see where this goes! And you really should check out Terry Pratchett. I highly recommend “Thud!”

Another way to put it, Calspace, would be “Intelligent Design is Not.”

Not all dragons can fly, Stanly the Steamer dragon who guards the Gap in Xanth can’t fly.

I like Karma saying “It goes round ‘n round!” What goes around comes around…

Oh, Justin, you’re in for a treat - start with “The Colour of Magic” and just read your way right through - as fantasy, Pratchett is stunningly good, but as satire, he’s absolutely astounding.

It’s hard to believe now, but I started reading him at a time when he hadn’t caught on in the US and his books were mostly out of print here - and so I had to snag them when I passed through London once or twice a year.

Point of information for Pratchett fans: Sir Terence will be in the US at the North American Discworld Convention Sept 4-7 (Tempe, AZ):

http://www.nadwcon.org/

I fully agree, both that there is a subconscious Pratchett influence on this strip, and that Mr. Thompson would enjoy the books. Pratchett has a wonderful way with puns. He’s the one author I’m can’t read on airplane trips ‘cause I wind up laughing too much.

Poor Mr. Pratchett has Alzheimer’s Disease. Savor the last few books.

Fortunetly his Alzheimers is not the typical kind. It affects motor skills but not his ability to write novels. He’s dealing with it as you’d expect, with courage and grace.

@ Burgundy2 (and Justin), you are indeed in for a treat. My advice is to start with “Mort”. It’s where he began to hit his stride. The Colour of Magic was his first, and it is wonderful. But I think it’s a better one to come back to and read after you’re hooked and want to know how it all started. The earlier ones, such as Mort, stood alone, so it’s ok to read it later.

PS My avatar is supposed to be Sam Vimes, Commander of the Watch and a true hero.

I’d start with the Color of Magic myself. The Common Swamp Dragons in his stories don’t fly; in fact, it’s amazing they live at all.

BTW, I was at Wal-Mart and picked up a DVD of “Color of Magic.” Not the best, at least compared to the 2nd movie “Hogfather,” but still fun.

I had no idea there were so many Terry Pratchett fans in the group. Glad to meet you all!

Well, SIsyphos, if there wheren’t any before, there are now.

There are three types of people in the world. Terry Pratchett fans. People who are about to be blessed with becoming T.Pratchett fans. And those who will never get it.

I think my favorite Discworld book is “Moving Pictures”.

No, “Guards!, Guards!”

No, “Mort”

No, “Wyrd SIsters”

(You get the point…)

And don’t overlook “Good Omens”, his collaboration with Neil Gaiman

this is going to be good

The Wyrd Sisters are so well known they make the occasional appearance at Hogwarts.

I am aghast, amazed, AND astounded that you - Justin - do not know Discworld. Your work is so close to Pratchetts that it is as if you were working beyond his pages.

Another awesome book of his - not of Discworld - is Good Omens, with Neil Gaiman – a classic. But then, Gaiman’s American Gods and Anansi’s Boys should be part of your library as well.

O Justin, a very - unique - world is about to open to you. Please tell me you know about Piers Anthony and Xanth.

Good Omens and the four Bikers of the Apocralypse …. Oh dear, now we’ve probably started something. How can anyone not have encountered Captain Carrot’s sheer literalism, Sergeant Angua’s one woman K9 squad or the sheer lunacy of Holy Wood in Moving Pictures? And what about “The amazing Maurice and his educated rodents”? Or Cohen the Barbarian and his Silver Horde, the NacMacfeegle, Uberwald and the “Multicultural” populace of Ankh Morpork which includes the Undead, Humans, Trolls, Dwarves and all shades between?

A whole new multiverse awaits ….

Do start with Colour of Magic …