Small Gods

Since before I began reading Gaiman this year, I knew that one of the things I wanted to do in my life was to tackle Terry Pratchett's Discworld. Of course, I wasn't going to go head first into a challenge like that withou knowing anything about Pratchett's writing style, so that was my primary motivation for having read Good Omens. Fast forward a couple (or more than a couple) months later, I have begun with Discworld. Small Gods is not really linked to a big story arc, or so I have read. Because of it, it's a nice read, that doesn't require any knowledge of the Disc to be understood perfectly. Small Gods is about religion, as the title might hint. In Omnia, they believe in the Great God Om, a big theocracy is built around their religion, and they are a mighty and thriving empire. Among the very devuout Omnians, there is a novice, Brutha, who is a bit... let's just say, he isn't the brightest out of all the other novices. In the beginning of the book, his superiors even comment that he is not going to be ordered as a priest. Brutha is a very good person, with good morals and all that jazz. He also possesses an excellent photographic memory, being even able to remember the moment of his birth. To add to this, he also really /believes/. As big as his faith is, he can't help but be suspicious when a talking turtle approaches him, and tells Brutha that it (the turtle) is his Great God Om. Because, as the Omnian folclore says, when incarnated, Om takes the form of an Ox or a Swan. Nothing as petty as a turtle. Soon it is revealed to the readers that Om is in that poor shape because he has lost his powers. A god, you must know, gains power by having believers. But if Om, the god of all Omnia is powerless, then, what do the people believe in? The answer to that question is the first of many jabs that the book has to real world religions, that might hit sore spots in some people. Nevertheless, they have truth to them. Although the book itself is really humorous (Pratchett's footnotes are pure comedy), because of its main theme it can get quite dark and philosophical at times. Other than criticizing the state of Church and their believers, the book also has a debate that might remember people of Galilei vs Religion, with "De Chelonian Mobile" being similar to "Eppur si muove". In the end, this book is resolved pretty nicely and happily, with Om regaining his powers, among other nice things. I don't think I would have cared so much for this one if the characters had been blander. It's a good story, an enthralling plot, alright, but what it really sold the story to me were both Brutha and Om, and their hilarious interactions, and their character development. I think I'm a sucker for good characters with good character development, and this book certainly satiated me of my craving. A highly recommendable read, all in all.

Terry Pratchett has written more than thirty-five Discworld books. Of the lot I've ready maybe a dozen. I read Colour of Magic the year it was first published and some how completely missed that the book had become a series. Even though I introduced Ian to Pratchett's books he has read significantly more of the series than I have. I decided to read Small Gods after hearing it performed on Radio 4 and a copy came my way via BookCrossing. I'm glad I heard the audio version first because I found the jumps between scenes hard to follow at times. The lack of chapter breaks also made pacing myself more difficult (and is one of the reasons why I haven't read as many Pratchett books as Ian). After having suffered through The Silver Chair, Small Gods was like an antidote to all the preachy rhetoric of the previous book. It was a nice parody of the extremes of religion set against the philosophy cum geekery. In the middle of all of this is a once great god reduced to the status of "small god" and trapped in the body of a tortoise. It is Om's view of the war (and the world) between Omnia and Ephebe and his conversations with Brutha that really make this book funny.

This book was formative for me; I read it at 14 and it helped me become more comfortable in my agnosticism when I had been raised religious. It's also just a wonderfully written comedy with some tense drama.

Terry Pratchett takes on organized religion. Good stuff.

This book was probably the most "fun" book I've ever read. Here are some of the quotes I found fun. " 'Ah' said didactylos. 'Ambi-sinister?' 'What?' 'He means incompetent with both hands,' said Om." "Life's like a beach. And then you die." "Bishops move diagonally. That's why they often turn up where the kings don't expect them to be." "Fergmen peered around the door. He looked nervous, like an atheist in a thunderstorm" "This is Religon boy. Not comparison Bloody Shopping! You Shall Not Subject Your God To Market Forces."

Much better than Pyramids, imo. Which was way too Eurocentric, and probably intrinsically what cultural appropriation arguably is. The acolyte who believes so purely sustaining a small god incarnated (?) into a tortoise. And their journey slash pilgrimage to bring him back into prominence. This is fantastic, and I think quite respectful actually, of atheism and organized religion. It’s nuanced enough that it comes down on both positive and negatives aspects of both belief systems. Because everyone worships; it just depends what you believe _in_. And what this decides to believe in is what I would call “the right answer”, maybe the only answer, unless you’re incredibly nihilistic. The jokes here aren’t incredible, lots of bad puns. More so the pleasure of this came from the themes being absolutely nailed and punching up, after the punching down onto a pastiche of cultures in Pyramids. Why do I keep comparing it to that? I’m reading the trilogy of Gods, so.

Excellent book. Standalone in the Discworld series. The start is a little a rough, worse if you're coming from an author with a different style than Sir Terry Pratchett's, but once you get going it becomes hard to put down. Very quotable.