Who are yer? Who are yer? (Unseen Academicals - Terry Pratchett)

Member Name: SWSt

Product:	Unseen Academicals - Terry Pratchett
Date:	02/11/09 (58 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Trademark Pratchett humour, a host of new characters increases Discworld's scope

Disadvantages: Takes a while to get going, seems to have too many plots going on

After casting his eye over films, music, opera, journalism and many other aspects of "civilised society", Terry Pratchett turns to football for his latest Discworld novel, Unseen Academicals.

The story in this one is slightly convoluted (although Discworld books generally are!) It surrounds attempts by The Patrician, Lord Vetinari, to turn football from a street game played by thugs into a respectable sport. To achieve this, he turns to the wizards of Unseen University (UU) and one of their employees - a goblin, to whom there is more than meets the eye.

Even this slightly-longer-than-usual (for me) plot synopsis doesn't even come close to summing up this book: there are also sub-plots surrounding a dwarf fashion house, a peek at life in the kitchens at Unseen University, simmering rivalry between the Archchancellor or UU and a former employee, together with Pratchett's usual digressions and wry observations on life.

In fact, this proves to be something of an issue which prevents Unseen Academicals from joining the elite group of the best Discworld novels. There is almost too much going on to fit within the confines of the book. It's as though Pratchett had storylines for several different books buzzing around in his head, but then tried to incorporate them all in a single volume. Somehow, it never quite seems to hang together as a coherent book, and each element detracts from another. Sub-plots feel underdeveloped and slightly convenient - only re-appearing when the plot needs them, then disappearing again. This is particularly true of the fashion sub-plot. A parody of the world of fashion is deserving of a whole book in its own right, yet here it occupies only a tiny part of the book and never really develops as it should. Pratchett's caustic observations on a world so alien to "normal people" would have been fascinating and I found myself frustrated that I was only getting "edited highlights". This is true of other elements - they all feel disjointed and disconnected from what has gone before or what follows.

Since we're being critical (I'll get onto the good stuff in a minute) Unseen Academicals also takes an awfully long time to get going. It features a lot of new characters who need to be introduced before the central plot can start, and this inevitably takes time and the slightly slower pace may frustrate some readers, anxious to get to the meat of the book. At over 400 pages long, this is at the upper end of the scale for Discworld novels, and some readers may question whether the extra pages actually hamper the book.

Where the new characters are successful, though, is in enabling Pratchett to cast his eye over new areas, without being limited by what characters have done in previous books. Even within the confines of Unseen University (UU), there have been significant changes and an apparent influx of new staff which helps to alter the dynamic between the wizards. Veteran Pratchett readers who like their Discworld to remain static may bemoan these changes, but once you adjust, they actually work well giving a new dimension to a familiar environment.

Pratchett always does characters well, and Unseen Academicals is no exception. If you were feeling uncharitable, you could accuse him of recycling certain character types (Glenda is little more than Agnes Nitt re-cast as a cook; Nutt is essentially Walter from Maskerade), but this would be churlish. The truth is, Pratchett develops the characters needed for the plot and - within the confines of that plot, they feel very real and act in exactly the way you expect them to. Each is multi-dimensional, slotting into the storyline with an audible click, and sits comfortably with what we already know about Ankh-Morpork, whilst adding something new.

As ever with Pratchett books, it's the relationships between characters which produces many laughs. The way they talk to one another, the constant misunderstandings and petty rivalries really brings the characters to life and makes for many of the book's laugh out loud moments. In the finest Pratchett tradition, the characters are all slightly exaggerated caricatures, giving him the chance to focus in on human behaviour in all its absurdities.

Whatever weaknesses Unseen Academicals has, it still delivers on the humour. This flows throughout the book taking a variety of forms: amusing asides and footnotes, deliberate or accidental misunderstandings leading to "humorous situations", dry, thought-provoking observations about human behaviour and outright parodies of films, books and "real life". There are times when Unseen Academicals seem has a much sharper, more cynical edge to than previous works and this worked particularly well. As ever, his observations will make you laugh out loud, whilst also making you think - and there are not many books that you can say that about.

One final aspect I was slightly disappointed with was that Unseen Academicals never provided quite as much on the parody front as perhaps it could have. The world of football, with its ridiculous rules, pampered players and officious officials was just begging to be ridiculed. There is some of this, but this is another example of all the various sub-plots detracting from each other. It never quite parodies football, for example, in the same way that Maskerade did for opera or Moving Pictures for film. Sure, it would have been an obvious target, but I was left with a slight feeling that a golden opportunity had been missed. I'd have been really interested to see his take on the petulance of certain football managers, or the banality of some commentators, filtered through the Discworld environment.

It should go without saying that readers new to the Discworld should not with this book, since it builds on elements and characters from previous ones. Starting with Unseen Academicals would probably leave you totally bewildered as to who all these strange characters were and why they act in the way they do. Still, if you choose to start with number 37 in a series, you deserve everything you get!

So, 37 not out. Whilst this might not be the greatest addition to the Discworld series, there is still enough of Pratchett's trademark wit and wry observations to entertain the reader and make long-term fans hope for further visits to the Discworld.

Basic Information
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Unseen Academicals
Terry Pratchett
Doubleday, 2009
ISBN: 978-0385609340

© Copyright SWSt 2009

Summary: A good, but not great Discworld novels