Rave Review: "Unseen Academicals" by Terry Pratchett

Quick Summary

Type: Novel, book 37 of Discworld series

Genre: Fantasy, humor

Back Cover: "Discworld lives on in Unseen Academicals, the latest novel from Terry Pratchett. Delivering the trademark insight and humor readers the world over have come to expect from 'the purely funniest English writer since Wodehouse' (Washington Post Book World), Unseen Academicals focuses on the wizards at Ankh-Morpork's Unseen University, who are reknowned for many things - sagacity, magic, and their love of teatime - as they attempt to conquer athletics."

Read Time: 6 days

Rating: 5 stars

Review

As with a few other of these reviews, I am starting before finishing the book. However, while with other of these types of reviews I absolutely hated the book, I am so far really enjoying Unseen Academicals.

As with most of the other Discworld novels I've read, there are multiple plotlines to follow: Glenda and Juliet's, Mister Nutt's, and the wizards of Unseen Academy. Unlike with the other Discworld books I've read (aside from Witches Abroad), the different plotlines are happening quite close together geographically, and the characters of these plotlines interact with each other frequently. But I'm not complaining - I really enjoy these interactions between the characters of different plotlines. I think my favorite so far might be the one between Archchancellor Ridcully and Glenda.

I also really enjoy Pratchett's descriptions of sports rivalries. I have a sneaking suspicion it's supposed to be a commentary on how ridiculous staunch rivalries are, which - fair. I suspect Pratchett exaggerated the rivalries and explanations to highlight the ridiculousness. As a diehard sports fan myself - as someone who will always, always root for San Francisco sports teams and always, always root against LA teams out of principle, I found these exaggerations hilarious. Frankly, I thought they were realistic and Pratchett could have gone even further. There's a lot of material there, and I should know: growing up, my parents joked that they would disown me if I ever dated a Dodgers fan (as if I would ever).

I am also very, very intrigued by Mister Nutt's origin, backstory, and future. I haven't gotten to the answer yet - I have a feeling that's going to be the climax of the story, and I'm only halfway through - but I'm really looking forward to finding out.

***

I have now finished the book, and I was wrong - Mister Nutt's origin was not the primary climax of the story. That part was exciting, but the true climax was, of course, the football match. I probably should have seen that coming, but I kind of assumed Mister Nutt's origin would come out at the football match.

Mister Nutt's reveal offered a satisfying conclusion to the mystery of who Mister Nutt was. It also added another layer of tension to the match. With that being said, while the match was fun to read about, I do wish the wizards had won in a way that wasn't cheating (even if technically it was allowed by rule 202). I wish Trev had finally figured out how to play football with a ball and become a star that way.

But otherwise, it was a fun read, and I really enjoyed the peek into sports in Discworld.