The Carpet People

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It is also a book that is full of humour, imagination and puns and everything that made Terry Pratchett the globally loved author that he was – and still is. In-universe: 'Mouls', 'Munrungs' and, as below, 'Wights' all mean 'The People' or 'The True Human Beings'.

To Serve Man: One of the reasons the Mouls take prisoners. Also implied to be the fate of a traitor who worked for them. The time-line of the trip to Ware is not linear – mainly due to incredible abilities of the Wights, who “remember the future as well as the past”. At one point, Glurk insists: I was a young teenager when I first read The Carpet People. I loved it then and I still love it now. It’s a fantastically imaginative, funny tale, and it has some characters in it that are cherished by me to this day. Likovi su maštoviti i psihološki okarakterisani; meni je omiljeni Brokando, koji se svojom glupošću izdiže iznad kolektiviteta; koji ne shvata zašto ne mogu napadati neprijatelje kad spuste oružje ili zašto se neprijatelji ne mogu bacati sa balkona 😂 A million times the wights lost, and were killed. But that was somewhere else, in a world that might have been. And now they were alive. And that’s known as History, which is written only by the living.”

Tennant creates a clearly defined voice for every single character. The level of preparation he put into his performance is evident in the sheer range of accents, tones and dialects he displays. Each character’s voice wonderfully matches their personality, even those that only appear briefly. At times it’s hard to believe there’s just one narrator. I was convinced Gormaleesh (a cunning Moul) had to be voiced by Simon Farnaby as it sounded so much like him. Plus whenever Tennant switched from his natural Scottish accent to an English one it reiterated just how masterfully he is able to switch between the two. It’s such a treat to listen to a narrator whose honed their craft, showcase it to the best of their abilities as it truly heightens the strengths of the writing. Stylistically the book is straight forward, with none of the more complex allusions or random digressions that characterise some of Pratchett's other work, indeed though often humorous, the humour here comes mostly from situation, word play and comical characterisation rather than zany comparisons to our own world. Perhaps my only problem with much of Pratchett's description is that with such an intriguing and alien setting as the Carpet, I would've liked more details than he actually gives to aide imagination, ---- for instance though you are told Snark's are predatory creatures and though their behaviour would imply that they're wolves, they are never described in more detail than noting the colour of their coats, likewise though characters speak of day and night, the sky is never mentioned and while the oblique references to "above" are intriguing, with such a basic aspect of the world explanation rather than mystery would've been far more satisfying.

They were a strange people, the Dumii. They thought they were as level headed as a table, as practical as a shovel – and yet, in a great big world full of chaos and darkness, they acted as though they really believed in their little inventions, like ‘law’ and ‘justice’. And they didn’t have enough imagination to give in.” Around 3,000 copies of the novel, featuring Pratchett’s own illustrations, were printed in 1971, when Pratchett was 23. It sold fairly well, said Smythe – after a launch party held in the carpet department of Heal’s in London. “We were discussing at the time whether he would write a sequel. He thought it would be a good idea but he was talked out of it by a friend, who said that sequels didn’t do well. I disagreed with that,” said Smythe. “Nevertheless, he decided to try his hand at science fiction.” A letter from Pratchett to Smythe, discussing the possibility of a follow-up, is included in the new edition of The Carpet People. That's the old story everyone knows and loves (even if they don't really believe it). But now the Carpet is home to many different tribes and peoples and there's a new story in the making. The story of the Fray, sweeping a trail of destruction across the Carpet. The story of power-hungry mouls - and of two Munrung brothers, who set out on an adventure to end all adventures when their village is flattened First of all this is not a great example for an introduction into Terry Pratchett. If you're a younger reader then I'd suggest Wee Free Men or the 'Johnny And The...' Series, although font let that put you off starting with The Colour of Magic. That is where I'd suggest any older readers start read a good few of Pratchett's novels and then read Strata and THEN read The Carpet People. That is how you'll get most from it. Before Discworld, Terry Pratchett created a carpet planet. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of this, a new audiobook version has been published.If any book begs for a sequel, it is this one, and I do sometimes find myself wondering if perhaps there is another leg of the Trousers of Time where Pratchett wrote 39 Carpet People novels instead of Discworld ones. Perhaps in that world Pratchett would be an even more notable author than he already is, certainly in that world, I would count myself as a major Pratchett fan, rather than a more casual admirer. One of Pratchett’s illustrations in the original edition of The Carpet People. Photograph: Terry Pratchett

I’ve heard people complain that the book isn’t up to Terry Prachett’s Discworld standards. Well, in fairness, he was only seventeen when he imagined and wrote the original concept (as I think is quite well known by his fans (?), he rewrote it when he was forty-three, although I'm not sure how heavily it was revised). There might be a few little problems with the flow of the narrative, (occasionally you are told things, important things, before they've even been shown), but on the whole I have to disagree with the critics of the book. This is a story of bravery, of never giving up, of fighting against overwhelming odds, of freedom, of self-determination, of history in the making, and of what sort of future you want for yourself and those you care about: The Quisling: Brocando's brother sells Jeopard to the mouls in Brocando's absence so he can say he's the king. The story follows the journey of a tribe called the Munrungs, across a world known as the Carpet. Its resemblance to carpets does not end there; instead of trees, the landscape is a forest of hairs, and is littered with large grains of dust. The sky is only referred to as above and below the surface is underlay, riddled with caves, and ultimately the Floor. Posebno mi se svidio feministički dio na samoj peripetiji romana koji daje značaj ženama u ratu. (I same utvare, kao bitni likovi su žene!)un'opera per bambini, visto che lui amava scrivere per i più piccoli (non a caso considerava il ciclo di Tiffany Aching uno dei suoi lavori migliori), dove è possibile vedere quanto in quest'uomo fosse evidente da subito il genio e, in seguito, come pensasse che non si è mai troppo piccoli per assimilare concetti profondi ed importanti e che i libri per bambini devono almeno provare ad aprire la mente, perché anche se dentro Il Popolo del Tappeto si possono trovare concetti abbastanza scontati per un adulto, credo sia possibile che un ragazzino li trovi lì scritti per la prima volta. In Dec. of 2007, Pratchett disclosed that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. On 18 Feb, 2009, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. Politically Incorrect Hero: Bane. When Brocando argues that the women of Ware should be trained and armed in preparation for the moul siege, Bane absolutely forbids it, insisting that women don't know how to fight and that their presence would turn the battle into a "vulgar mess". (Brocando, who knows better, goes ahead and does it anyway.) The first is, like many, it was an important book in my life. This wasn't just the first book that got me into the genre, this was the first book that got me reading. This was the first book I choose myself, read to myself and most importantly, finished. Perhaps the best example of this morality is represented in The Mouls, a group of creatures who are seemingly standard fantasy orcs (they even ride upon what are virtually wolves), while it is clearly stated their leader is a sadist, at the same time ample attention is given to the fact that "moul" is the Moul word for "true human being" and that the Mouls are thus acting out of a certain belief system and a set of exclusively nationalistic motivations which sadistic leaders took advantage of. Pratchett thus achieves something quite notable in a book heavily concerned with conflict against an enemy race, he does not caricature that race, making them evil for their own sake, but neither does he flinch from the fact that unless they are stopped their motivations will produce misery and suffering for all concerned.

Averted with the Deftmenes; though they're even more diminutive than the other tribes, their main trait is excessive belligerence. Anche se grazie alla Salani (avete il mio odio) non vedremo mai tutti i libri di Mondo Disco in Italia (e a questo punto credo neanche quelli de La Lunga Terra), grazie alla Kappalab potremmo vedere gli altri. Pratchett described The Carpet People as “not exactly the book I wrote then. It’s not exactly the book I’d write now. It’s a joint effort but, heh heh, I don’t have to give him half the royalties … This book had two authors, and they were both the same person.” Our Wights Are Different: Very different indeed - more like Our Elves Are Different with a different name, even. Given that 'Wight' simply means 'person' in Old English, this is another case of a tribe name meaning 'The People' or 'The True Human Beings'And so from the dust came us, the Carpet People. We gave the Carpet its name, and named the creatures, and the weaving was complete. We were the first to give the Carpet a name. Now it knew about itself.[…] So, besides the fact that the book is brilliant, there is the audio. I knew I was going to love it due to the fact that it is David Tennant. He really does bring The Carpet People to life. Every character has their own distinct voice, resulting in the listener being able to recognise each character. But not just that, he has the perfect comic timing to deliver each killer line.