The Folklore of Discworld

By: Terry Pratchett, Jacqueline Simpson

Narrated by: Michael Fenton Stevens

Most of us grow up having always known to touch wood or cross our fingers, and what happens when a princess kisses a frog or a boy pulls a sword from a stone, yet sadly, some of these things are now beginning to be forgotten. Legends, myths, and fairy tales: our world is made up of the stories we told ourselves about where we came from and how we got there. It is the same on Discworld, except that beings which on Earth are creatures of the imagination - like vampires, trolls, witches, and possibly, gods - are real, alive and in some cases kicking on the Disc.

In The Folklore of Discworld, Terry Pratchett teams up with leading British folklorist Jacqueline Simpson to take an irreverent yet illuminating look at the living myths and folklore that are reflected, celebrated, and affectionately libelled in the uniquely imaginative universe of Discworld.

©2008 Terry and Lyn Pratchett and Jacqueline Simpson (P)2012 Random House AudioGo

Mostly a very interesting listen

I am a huge fan of Terry Pratchett and I quite enjoyed listening to some the background behind the myths and tales from which the discworld borrows. My only complaint is that is spent far too many chapters talking about the Tiffany Aching novels and not enough time on the earlier works. Further, I would have loved to have Nation and Long earth included in the analysis even though they aren’t discworld books. However, overall it was quite informative, interesting, and entertaining.

Great insight into Sir Terry Pratchett's mind

What did you love best about The Folklore of Discworld?

I liked the depth of the details given by Sir Terry Pratchett and Jacqueline Simpson. I have read most of Sir Terry Pratchett's books and I can honestly say that I did not make half of the connections that he included in his books. That is what makes his books great, you can read a book multiple times and peel an additional layer of the onion off of the great storyline.

What other book might you compare The Folklore of Discworld to and why?

Any of the other Discworld books.

Have you listened to any of Michael Fenton Stevens’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the first one that I have listened to.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The new and old adages of Discworld and Earth

The last hour of this audiobook is a recording of the 2 authors discussing the topic!

That hour of recorded conversation between two very erudite people on a subject that is dear to their hearts is a magnificent delight after a most entertaining book. A bit sad as this must have been recorded not too long before Sir Terry was stricken by his final "embuggerance.

Interesting

I enjoyed hearing and learning about the folklore of various societies and of course the folklore of the Disk world. I find it to be very interesting.
At the end you can listen to the man himself, which was a nice surprise.

Everything I ever wanted.

This book is everything I ever wanted and never knew I needed. it shares the folklore of the disk, yes, but also shares quite a bit of folklore, specifically British folk lore, that as an American I have heard snatches of, but never knew the whole of. Thank you Terry, thank you Jacqueline.

Never knew how well researched Discworld books are

Where does The Folklore of Discworld rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Among the best, despite the potential spoilers if you haven't listened to/read a lot of the series.

What did you like best about this story?

I always thought Pratchett just had a crazy imagination, but the majority of his characters & theories are taken from Earthly lore. This book shows how much effort he goes to in researching his writing.

Have you listened to any of Michael Fenton Stevens’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't, but I've listened to every other Discworld narrator. I'd rank him second behind Steven Briggs. I didn't like his portrayal of the Feegles. They are supposed to be quick in everything they do but he dragged out their speech.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

How many magpie rhymes do you know?

Any additional comments?

Serious spoiler alerts if you haven't read/listened to a lot of the Discworld series. Other than that it's great to hear how much goes into the writing of the series.

Actually pretty great for a non-Discword fan

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

I personally don't get on with Fenton-Stevens' reading. I think I've listened to other readings by him, and there's something I find a little grating about his tone - a kind of heavy-handed emphasis, where for something like Pratchett-related stuff I think a drier, subtler reading works better.

Any additional comments?

I say I think a non-Pratchett fan would enjoy the book because despite the title, the book is really about the folklore of the Earth, using the Discwrold books as a jumping-off point. This makes sense because practically very bit of folklore in the books is based - often surprisingly - on genuine Earth folklore. Critics who don't actually read Pratchett often give him the side-eye for filling his books with things that can't possibly belong to real literature (a world on the back of four elephants and a turtle, treacle mines, verruca gnomes etc) but this book demonstrates how much of the Disc is built not out of a crazed imagination but solid Earth myth and lore.Which is not to detract from the genius mind that put it all together in unique form; the book in fact serves to demonstrate just how learned and wise Pratchett is as a writer.I'm not sure this book added much to my enjoyment of the Discworld books themselves - Pratchett may have used Earth materials, but he has made them so much part of the Disc in the writing that knowing the origins of the ideas often doesn't add very much for me - but it was a fascinating look at folklore in general. There's also a lovely interview recorded at the end between Practhett and folklorist Jaqueline Simpson. Folklore is certainly an area I plan to read more about now.

Fact filled about Terry’s use of comparative lore.

A very good explanation of Terry’s uses of folklore in his novels of the Diskworld.

An interesting listen

Any additional comments?

As a big fan of Pratchett I had to check out this book and I found it interesting in general though I usually look for audiobooks I can listen to over and over. I can't imagine listening to this as often as most of my audiobooks but I don't regret getting this book as it compares the lore of our world to the lore of Discworld and I found it quite interesting. But if you are looking for another good story of Discworld this is not it. However if you often find yourself thinking "Where did Pratchett come up with that?", you should find this book interesting as well.

A the folklore of Discworld

Very interesting the way he puts here and there together based on various talks, stories and beliefs. Enjoyed it