Into the Archive: A Comedy of Injustice

I suppose this one is really on me: on my greed, my folly, and my haste. This will make the fourth copy of Jurgen I have bought.

The first was the terrible paperback by a publisher that thought of it as an erotic classic; the second was a cheap Dover reprint (though it came with all of Frank C. Pape’s illustrations); and then there was the rather plain volume from the Storisende edition. I came across this copy on eBay while I was researching prices for Cabell books, and it caught my attention. Fifty dollars? That was much cheaper than the $100 that it had been going for. Illustrated? Who could that be by, other than the great Frank C. Pape himself?

Well, it could be by Ray F. Coyle, that’s who, and if I had slowed down a bit and done a little more research I might have realized it. Ray Coyle was a short-lived (1885 – 1924) artist whose work in pen and ink has been compared to Aubrey Beardsley. Not a style I’m particularly fond of. Only when I have one of those black hardcovers by McBride with pictures by Frank C. Pape can I finally stop buying Jurgen.

The Real McCoy (Not McCoyle)

It’s not like it’s even my favorite Cabell (that would be The Silver Stallion), nor do I reread it often. Although it might be Cabell’s most famous book, its reputation is, indeed, a little embarrassing.

Also arriving today was the copy of The Monk by Matthew G. Lewis that I had been considering. A little battered, but inexpensive and serviceable; it only needed a little care to make it presentable.

But the gem of the day must be Tiffany Aching’s Guide to Being a Witch. Put together by Terry Pratchett’s daughter Rhianna and Gabrielle Kent, an author of juvenile fantasy, and copiously illustrated by Paul Kidby, it’s a beautiful little book in both a slipcase and a book jacket. I’m wondering exactly where it fits on Terry Pratchett’s dictum ‘no more Discworld when I’m gone’; it seems to be a kind of a gathering of everything he wrote about Witches on the Discworld compiled into a sort of a scrapbook, just put together a little more seamlessly into the form of, well, a written guide (rather than a novel or a story) by one of the characters within that world. I imagine there must be some kind of new writing not by Terry to segue everything together. “I could not wish it undone, the issue of it being so proper.” Or at least, proper looking. It’s surprising to realize Terry Pratchett has been gone for almost a decade.

The Ankh-Morpork Archives: A Discworld Anthology Volume II

 

The Ankh-Morpork Archives: A Discworld Anthology Volume II

by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs

Illustrated by Paul Kidby

What I said about Volume I: 

"A hardback guidebook to Ankh-Morpork's Guilds, institutions & environs containing an anthology of text & illustrations from previous Discworld diaries - revamped & redesigned for the new visitor to Discworld's premier city! Written by Terry Pratchett and produced by Stephen Briggs, with artwork by Paul Kidby!" - https://www.discworldemporium.com/ 

By the time I became aware that there were Discworld Diaries they were almost at the end of their run. I thought I would have to make do with what was revealed of them in "The Discworld Companion". There were copies available online of course, but they were already going for fairly high prices, certainly out of my limited range. But the publishing of these Archives remedies my lack.  

"Lavish coffee-table book" pretty much describes this volume, and a good deal of its beauty is attributable to Paul Kidby, who has come to be my favorite artist when it comes to interpreting the Discworld. The art is second only (for me) to being able to read 'new' Pratchett on his fantasy world again. I can hardly wait for Volume II when it comes out in February 2022.”

 

 

As it is, it has come out in April. Just as beautiful, funny, and interesting as Volume I. I sat down and voraciously devoured it, and as it largely artwork with generously spaced text I finished it in a single afternoon. Though I can find no indication that there will be a Volume III, it seems there should be enough material in the remaining Diaries to produce one. Some of the artwork in the later Diaries is not by Kidby, though, and that might complicate things.  

Stuff&Junk: Discworld Mapps

Stuff&Junk: Video Games

Stuff&Junk: Old Calendars

 

Terry Pratchett (Paperbacks)

Equal Rites, Mort, Sourcery, by Terry Pratchett.

The first Terry Pratchett I ever read was a SFBC edition that I received by accident, “The Colour of Magic”, and then ordered “The Light Fantastic” on purpose, because I liked the satire. From then on, I got the paperbacks for a while. These first three are Signet books, “Equal Rites” and “Mort” have Josh Kirby covers; then “Sourcery” started the Darrel K. Sweet run.

Ranking: Essential.

File Code: Fantasy. Novel. Paperback.

Wyrd Sisters, Pyramids, Guards! Guards!, Faust Eric, Moving Pictures, Reaper Man, and Witches Abroad, by Terry Pratchett.

These are the ROC run of books, and they all have Darrell K. Sweet covers. Wyrd Sisters was made into a BBC animated series. I cannot write reviews for every single one of Pratchett's book: they would all read the same, anyway. Funny, wise, fantastic. 

Ranking: Essential.

File Code: Fantasy. Novel. Paperbacks.

Small Gods, Lords and Ladies, Men at Arms, Soul Music, Interesting Times, Maskerade, Feet of Clay, Hogfather, Jingo, The Last Continent, Carpe Jugulum, The Fifth Elephant, The Truth, The Thief of Time, Night Watch, Monstrous Regiment, by Terry Pratchett.

These are all Harper books now, and their covers went to being more abstract. It seemed inconceivable that Pratchett could go on writing book after book with no series fade-out, but he did. And the channel he dug just kept on getting deeper and more profound and more beautiful as he took on trope after trope and subject after subject. After this, I just went straight on into getting hardbacks of his novels. Soul Music was made into a BBC animated series.

Ranking: Essential.

File Code: Fantasy. Novel. Paperback. 

The Dark Side of the Sun, by Terry Pratchett.

Science fiction with a cover by Josh Kirby. Haven’t read it yet.

Ranking: Essential for the collection.

File Code: Science Fiction. Novel. Paperback.

The Unseen University Challenge, Compiled by David Langford.

A trivia quizbook about Terry Pratchett and Discworld, with a cover by Josh Kirby.

Ranking: Keeper.

File Code: Quizbook. Paperback.

The Discworld Companion (Updated), and The New Discworld Companion, by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs.

An older version and an expanded one, with a cover by Paul Kidby and interior illustrations by Stephen Briggs. A good guide to characters, places, and things, while avoiding being too spoilery for the stories. Has some Discworld material not available in the novels.

Ranking: Essential.

File Code: Reference. Fantasy. Paperback.

The Science of Discworld, The Science of Discworld II: The Globe, and The Science of Discworld III: Darwin’s Watch, by Terry Pratchett (with Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen)

Basically, as far as I’m concerned, Pratchett stories interrupted with science and scientific blather. The science may be accurate, but the philosophical babble should not be slipped in as hard scientific ‘truth’. Nice covers by Paul Kidby.

Ranking: Essential for the Pratchett parts.

File Code: Fantasy. Essays on science. Paperbacks.