Product Description

In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was: " Hey, you " For Brutha, the novice is the Chosen One. He wants peace and justice and brotherly love. He also wants the Inquisition to stop torturing him, now, please.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6258 in Books
• Published on: 1993-05-27
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Discworld is an extragavanza--among much else, it has billions of gods. "They swarm as thick as herring roe," writes Terry Pratchett in Small Gods, the 13th book in the series. Where there are gods galore, there are priests, high and low, and ... there are novices. Brutha is a novice with little chance to become a priest--thinking does not come easily to him, although believing does. But it is to Brutha that the great god Om manifests, in the lowly form of a tortoise.

Book Information
In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was: "Hey, you!" For Bruntha the novice is the Chosen One. He wants peace, justice and brotherly love. He also wants the Inquisition to stop torturing him now, please...

From the Media
"Surely the best novel Terry Pratchett has ever written, and the best comedy" -- John Clute, Interzone

About the Author
Terry Pratchett was born in 1948. He started work as a journalist one day in 1965 and saw his first corpse three hours later, work experience meaning something in those days. After doing just about every job it's possible to do in provincial journalism--except of course covering Saturday afternoon football--he joined the Central Electricity Generating Board and became press officer for four nuclear power stations. He'd write a book about his experiences if he thought anyone would believe it.

All this came to an end in 1987 when it became obvious that the Discworld series was much more enjoyable than real work. Since then the books have reached double figures and have a regular place in the bestseller lists. He also writes books for younger readers. Occasionally he gets accused of literature.

Terry Pratchett lives in Wiltshire with his wife Lyn and daughter Rhianna. He says writing is the most fun anyone can have by themselves.

From the Back Cover
In the beginning was the Word.

And the Word was: "Hey, you!"

For Brutha the novice is the Chosen One. He wants peace and justice and brotherly love.

He also wants the Inquisition to stop torturing him now, please...

Customer Reviews

The Audio-CD
I can't seem to find any other crits of the audio-book version of this title. So first of all, let me clear the air by saying that 'Small Gods" is possibly my favourite of all the Discworld novels...and yes, I have read them all, and adore every one. BUT...butbutbutbutbut...I'd really counsel against buying ANY of the Tony Robinson (Baldrick) narrated CD versions. I made the mistake of ordering the first ten, and am getting more and more infuriated by them as the weeks go by.
I'm convinced a) that Robinson has never read the books, b) that the narrated versions didn't have a producer in the studio, and c) that nobody involved bothered to check on other, previous attempts. Let me explain: The character 'Death' for instance, speaks, in the books, in CAPITAL LETTERS. You might hear this as a shout, I suppose, or just as a Big Voice (I hear James Earl Jones or Orson Welles)...but you wouldn't whisper those lines, would you? Robinson does. In the vile animated-film versions, at least the voices were right, and Death was, I think, Vincent Price or someone similarly sonorous. Perfect. What it's not is a sodding whisper. Thus, no-one can have done any research, and Robinson can never have read the original books.
He also has a maddening habit of adding punctuation where it's not wanted, wasn't in the original, and trips up the narrative. For example, there's a country called Klatch. Robinson reads it as K-latch. Why? He does this a lot. Just read the damn book, Baldrick!
Finally, the absence of any production values: Pratchett frequently writes short passages from separate adventures in different locations happening simultaneously. It gives lots of opportunities for extra humour, and even some tension. In the books, the change in location is easily indicated by double line-spacing. In the narrated versions, there's no gap at all! A small sound-effect would do the job, and take no extra time. But as it is, it's infuriatingly confusing. You have to assume that these discs were produced on the cheap.
It's all a tragic shame, and in the end, ruins the books. I'd have given this a single star (but the website wouldn't let me), because had this been the first encounter I'd ever had with the Discworld oeuvre, I'd never have tried the printed versions. The Album covers and typography is excellent, though. Trouble is, it makes you think that the recorded product is produced with equal sensitivity. It ain't. It's pants.

The Turtle Moves
"Small Gods" is the thirteenth book in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, and was first published in 1992.

Omnia lies on the Klatchian coast, between the Klatchian desert and Howondaland's jungles. The country is run by religious fundamentalists, with the Cenobiarch officially in charge of both the church and the state. However, the real power lies with Vorbis, head of the Quisition - who most people expect to be anointed the Eighth Prophet. (It's been 200 years since the Declaration of the Prophet Abbys, which means that the time of the Eighth Prophet was at hand - Om tends to have very punctual prophets). Vorbis terrifies most people he meets, which is hardly surprising given his job title and his physical appearance probably helps - shaven all over and eyes of the deepest black.

The Omnians have very firm beliefs - that Om is the only god and that the Discworld is round, for example. Anyone who says differently, however, is branded a heretic and booked in for an appointment with the Quisition. Unfortunately the Omnians are entirely wrong - there is plenty of gods on the Discworld, with many of the more important deities living at Dunmanifestin. Furthermore, the Discworld is flat and is supported on the backs of four great elephants - which, in turn, are carried by the great turtle A'Tuin. Vorbis, however, isn't too happy that many people in Omnia have started to believe these heretical lies - with Ephebe being blamed as the source of the wicked rumours in question. Their righteous anger has been compounded by an attack on Brother Murduck, who was visiting Ephebe, and the burning of the Omnian fleet. (Those who live in Ephebe, however, considered that an act of pre-emptive defence, following Om's invasion and occupation of Betrek and Ushistan).

Things are going to get any better for Vorbis either - as it turns out, Om's eighth prophet is Brutha. On paper, he seems to be a strange choice : Brutha, after all, is only a novice who works in a vegetable garden. (However, given that Lu-Tze - the noted History Monk - is looking after him, it's no surprise Furthermore, he can't read, write or sing - although, thanks to his amazing memory, he knows the Septateuch by heart. Neither is Om's return as glorious as his flock would have expected. Instead of arriving as an eagle, a lion or a bull, as is traditional, he arrives as a tortoise. He can't manage anything better due to their lack of belief in him - people believe in the church, its rules and especially the Quisition...but as far as real, honest, genuine belief in Om goes, Brutha is just about the height of it. Unsurprisingly, it's only a matter of time before Brutha and Vorbis meet. In fact, Vorbis decides to bring Brutha along on a very important (and officially peaceful) mission to Ephebe. Brutha, in turns, secretly brings Om...

As usual, a very enjoyable book from Pratchett - and being one of his `standalone' novels, it's a good place to begin if you haven't read any other of the Discworld books. (For those who have read a couple of the Ankh-Morpork books, the appearance of a character called Cut-Me-Own-Hand-Off Dblah will probably raise a smile though). Om and Brutha prove to be very likeable characters, and they have a very good effect on each other. Om grasps the concept of fairness, rather than smiting just because he feels like it. Brutha, on the other hand, stops blindly accepting what has been written - largely because, when he quotes scripture, Om replies hasn't got a clue what he's talking about. (As it turns out, Om didn't dictate the holy books...Ossory managed to come up with one hundred and ninety three chapters when Om appeared as a pillar of fire and said "hey, see what I can do !"). Definitely recommended.

Just plain wonderful...
I have read twenty or so of Pratchett's books, and they are a bit of a mixed bag. Most of my favourites are of the non-discworld variety, with the exception of my absolute favourite, the wonderful Small Gods.

The main plot concerns the visitation of the country of Omnia by the not so great God Om. The main problem being that Om has only one true believer left, a dim witted but kind hearted novice called Brutha, and therefore manifests as a tortoise. Brutha and Om then travel with the arch manipulator Vorbis (Head of the Inquisition) to neighbouring Ephebe, which unlike omnia has embraced science and philosophy.

This book is full of challenging ideas and themes, some of which make you scratch your head and others which make your spine tingle. Vorbis's explanation of "The Fundemental Truth" is a particularly good example of this. Also the books central idea, that all Gods start off small and grow and deminish in line with the power and number of their believers, really makes you think about the nature of faith, fundementalism and organised religion.

There are also moments of great drama, darkness and exceptional dialogue.

Not a new book anymore, but in the days of Richard Dawkins and rising fundementalism of all varities, Small Gods has, like all great satire, maintained its relevance.