The New Discworld Companion

Discworld Companion Books

by Terry Pratchett, Stephen Briggs

The book compiles a precise (and often quoted directly from the books concerned) definition of words, lives of historical people, geography of places and events that have appeared in at least one Discworld book.

The third edition named The New Discworld Companion includes articles about books up to Night Watch, as well as Discworld related books and short stories. The book also contains a 10-page interview with Pratchett titled Discworld Quo Vadis?.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Reference, Humor, Science Fiction Fantasy, Speculative Fiction, Comic Fantasy

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Sir Terence David John Pratchett was an English author, humorist, and satirist, best known for the Discworld series of 41 comic fantasy novels published between 1983–2015, and for the apocalyptic comedy novel Good Omens (1990), which he co-wrote with Neil Gaiman.
Pratchett's first novel, The Carpet People, was published in 1971. The first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983, after which Pratchett wrote an average of two books a year. The final Discworld novel, The Shepherd's Crown, was published in August 2015, five months after his death.
With more than 100 million books sold worldwide in 43 languages, Pratchett was the UK's best-selling author of the 1990s. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1998 and was knighted for services to literature in the 2009 New Year Honours. In 2001 he won the annual Carnegie Medal for The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, the first Discworld book marketed for children. He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2010.
In December 2007 Pratchett announced that he had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. He later made a substantial public donation to the Alzheimer's Research Trust (now Alzheimer's Research UK, ARUK), filmed three television programmes chronicling his experiences with the condition for the BBC, and became a patron of ARUK. Pratchett died on 12 March 2015, at the age of 66.

Reviews

[[ J o ] · Rating 4 out of 5]

2003 updated companion to the Discworld series (28 of 41 this time) up to Night Watch. Very thorough and in alphabetical order, making it supremely easy to find whatever Discworld shenanigans you may want to look up.

There are a few little illustrations to accompany the entries and a rather primitive but useful map of the city of Ankh-Morpork.

The entries range from minor characters to big, roaring protagonists through to little villages we only ever hear as a passing joke, with each entry having a decent amount written about them.

It's a lovely little reference book that can be used to refresh your mind about Discworld if you're not in the mood to re-read them in their entirety. Any updated, more recently published versions should be acquired however, just to make sure you get the best enjoyment.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

So nostalgic, reading this companion... There were so many characters and places i don't remember, from his earliest works, it made me want to re-read the Discworld series from begining. I loved the detailed information about the University, The Patrician, Lankre, The Guilds and the Watch - they became more alive in my mind now, rather than when I was reading the books and was given the odd explanation/snippet of info. I learned many new facts, became more familiar with the peculiar flora & fauna of the Disc and laughed out loud on many occasions, like the "crime" of street performance, pantomime and juggling.
It's a must-read for any fan! Let's keep the memories alive.

[Buggz79 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking to get deeply immersed in the Discworld universe? This here is an invaluable companion to identify characters and locations.

[RJC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow going, I probably wont reread any Pratchett for my next few reads.

[Kate Millin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reminded me of some characters I had forgotten. Loved the longer entries about the Guilds and major characters

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good reference to all things Discworld, not only telling us what we already know, but giving the fans a few tidbits you can't clean from the actual books, which is nice. The only beef I have with it is that there are times the illustrations don't really go with the subject at hand, which can be confusing. The "World's Greatest Grandad" Susan gave to Death for example, what does that have to do with Fourecks?

[Cait · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this - lots of classic Discworld humour, some bits obviously taken from the books.

Good to get information which was printed in the books I haven't got, like in the diaries.

Really liked the pictures and the interview at the end (which must date from around the time I met him).

Glad I waited to read this because of some spoilers - some were carefully avoided in one entry but then blatantly given away in another.

Wonder if there's been an updated version.

[Sharakael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely a must-have for Discworld fans! Think of it as a Discworld Encyclopaedia; any name, place of importance, town, object, deity, animal, anything in Discworld, you can find it in this Companion. Useful when you're just trying to find out in which novel did a certain character appear, etc...

[Pedro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is great for newcomers and experts alike.

I didn't "finish" reading per se, so much as went through lots of references and still do nowadays.

It's written more like an encyclopaedia than a novel.

But if you can't remember a certain detail or wish to see the connection between many things in Discworld literature, this is the thing.

Very fun to "read".

[Küpçük Hellyea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must have reference book for non-linear readers (not that it is absolutely possible to read whole Discworld in a linear timeline) and role-playing game story tellers. Book presents background and systematic structure about characters, events, places and major concepts.

[Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

And then did it again.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glossary and guide

[Elizabeth]

Fairly indispensable, as books go.

[Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

incomprehensively complete, or not, guide to characters and places in the Discworld. Puns and fun abound, as do trolls, dwarves, witches, humas, more or less, and other fantastical beasts.

[Serena · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Rating System:
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again.

[G.R.S. Hjelm · Rating 4 out of 5]

A needed update since the Discworld is not a stagnant world and moves ever onwards

[Tommy Verhaegen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really superfluous if you read the whole series - and wh hasn't ?
Could be useful when references are made to previous books. Contains no additional information which could have made is a must-have.

[Buggz79 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Been feeling rather nostalgic since Terry's passing. It's a fabulous means of dipping into various discworld books and enjoy the man's genius

[Georgene · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second edition of this book. There is a 3rd edition. Read the 3rd edition.

This edition does have a very good interview with Terry Pratchett at the end of the book.