The Magic of Terry Pratchett (w/Marc Burrows)

Steve and Colm divert from their usual trek through the Discworld books to speak with Marc Burrows about his forthcoming book, The Magic of Terry Pratchett. Marc has written the first full biography of the great man and it’s jammed with insights, anecdotes and truly fantastic footnotes.

You can follow Marc on Twitter @20thcenturymarc & find the book at his website, askmeaboutterrypratchett.com. The Magic of Terry Pratchett will be released on July 30th.

Click here or gaze upon the truly terrible US first edition Discworld covers!

Thud! – Ace of Clubs

Colm & Steve go back to the well on Pratchett going back to the well of Dwarf-Troll tensions. They discuss brilliant atmosphere building, less than brilliant plotting and whether Vimes still works as a protagonist post-Night Watch.

Click here or be force-fed some Slab!

Going Postal – The Conman Always Rings Twice

Rose returns to join Colm and Steve in discussing the introduction of Pratchett’s final recurring protagonist, Moist Von Lipwig. They talk about community, finance, conman-archetypes, and Colm rambles about a Metal Gear Solid-style Discworld-set game replete with themed sub-bosses.

Click here or be subject to one of Tolliver Groat’s home remedies!

A Hat Full of Sky – A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Witch

Colm & Steve tackle Tiffany Aching’s second outing. Their discussion takes in everything from identity to homesickness to narrative structure, and, for some reason, a fair amount of superhero references.

Click here or find out what happens to the rest of you when you’re turned into a frog!

Monstrous Regiment – Ru Polly Oliver’s Drag War

Steve and Colm discuss this grim little outlier in the Discworld canon. Expect lots of talk about gender roles, internalised misogyny, propaganda and comparisons to post-Independence Ireland. Abominations unto Nuggan abound!

Click here or be feel the fury of Nuggan’s holy wrath!

The Wee Free Men – Rowdy Roddy Mouse-Piper

Colm and Steve look at the Discworld debut of Tiffany Aching. They discuss grief, responsibility, childhood and the godawful poetry of William McGonagle.

Click here or have your noggin knocked by a Feegle!

Night Watch – Mid Life Time Crisis

Colm and Steve tackle Night Watch, Terry Pratchett’s sprawling yet intimate time travel political thriller/character study. It’s Les Miz meets A Tale of Two Cities! It’s Demolition Man meets The Death of Stalin! It’s Vimes meets Vimes!

Click here or it’s ginger beer time!

The Amazing Maurice & His Educated Rodents – Puss in Cahoots

Colm and Steve examine the first YA Discworld book. They ponder on the difference between young adult and, eh, old adult literature. And they also discuss Pratchett’s love of cargo cults, his more cynical take on the role of stories and one of his scarier villains (no, not the rat catchers after a hefty dose of laxatives).

Click here or, well… laxatives…

The Last Hero – Saga Megadrive

Steve and Colm turn their attentions to the illustrated homage to the last days of sword and sorcery and the first days of spacefaring that is The Last Hero. They discuss the nature of heroism, legacy, magic, science-v-religion, mortality and Diego Maradona.

Click here or be subjected to Holy Nuggan’s edicts!

Thief of Time – Chocolate-Proof Monk

Steve and Colm return to the Discworld just in time for the apocalypse… again. They discuss time, life, the apocalypse and chocolate while unpacking this truly singular book. In a desperate stab at relevance and/or a fumbling attempt to articulate their thoughts on the book, they reference Game of Thrones, the Avengers, Doctor Who and Final Fantasy VI along the way.

Click here or be doomed to have your toast land butter-side down forever!