What does the future hold for Discworld?

[Crossroads Inc.]

With the most recent book out from Pratchett, we get one more glimpse into the world as it seem things are being "wraped up" for us. For a while there has been a feeling that Pratchetts more recent works have been following a 'modernization' of getting city and society to a state where it can continue without fear of strife.

We have seen through the rise of a national bank, rebuilding of the post office, and reform of the much depressed tax code. In Vimes we have seen not just the creation of an amazing and honorable police force, but the reform of 'sapiant' rights for gollums, goblins, trolls, dwarfs, and many others. In DeWord we saw the creation of a News system and independent journalism. In the Clacks system, we have an early 'internet' and information and communication revolution. In Granny we have seen a 'passing on' of witching roles to a newer generation and greater acceptance of witching outside of the country.

All in all the world seems to be 'moving forward' and toward a more modern society.
So...

One thinks, with the way the world is heading, how does oen see it progressing beyond where it is now? How will a true industrial revolution change things as steam power may replace Gollum power? How may electricty change things? What will happen when the "Gone' sooner or later begis to replace swords and bows? How might Discword look 50 or even 100 years down the road?

[SpaceMarine93]

A more or less modern day civilization just like us, except many technology is replaced with Magitek. Imps operate TVs and Combustion engines, Trolls urged to donate their live neurosystems to be used in Computer and cybernetic network technology, Mages from Unseen University have a magic powered particle accelerator?

Also, with a more scientific mind and education the Power of Belief has less hold than in the past; Gods are likely weakened, things can't pop into existence just because enough of them believes so. Magic is common used in murdane utility. Also an issue of potential overpopulation on a world only 2/5 the size of this Earth that sits on four elephants standing on a giant turtle, just like Earth during the 19th Century. Cold War with magic? Who knows?

[Archaic`]

We have seen through the rise of a national bank, rebuilding of the post office, and reform of the much depressed tax code.

Have we seen reform of the tax code yet? I thought that was meant to come in the 3rd Moist book.

[Batman]

I was about to ask that.

[Steve]

IIRC Pratchett's working on "the last Discworld book" right now? Or at least the last by him. I wonder if that'll be "Raising Taxes" or the "Scouting for Trolls" title I heard he was considering.

[Batman]

With the hints dropped in 'Making Money' about taxes, if it is the last Discworld novel we get out of Pratchett, I hope it is a Moist von Lipwig one. Now don't get me wrong I'd rather Pterry be miraculously cured and deliver plenty more, but the Watch have been done, the Witches have been done, Rincewind has been done (to death, and even DEATH would agree, I think), as has been his granddaughter, and while I think with infinite time, there's plenty more to be done with them, there's plenty that has been done already. The only characters that really need more development are Moist and possibly William De Worde.

And I can't begin to think who would be capable of picking up on the Discworld once Pterry is gone.

[Ford Prefect]

If he's going to do a very last Discworld book - and really, the series should end with him - I'd hope it would be about something a little more exciting than taxes. You'd think he'd want to go out on a more climatic note than tax reform. Maybe, I don't know, Great A'Tuin arriving at the place it's been heading all these long years.

[Mr Bean]

If he's going to do a very last Discworld book - and really, the series should end with him - I'd hope it would be about something a little more exciting than taxes. You'd think he'd want to go out on a more climatic note than tax reform. Maybe, I don't know, Great A'Tuin arriving at the place it's been heading all these long years.

As if Taxes on the Discworld would be that boring. Please if anything the last book with Taxes would be where Moist becomes Patriarch as the more that storyline goes on the more it seems that's what he's being groomed for. What all the characters we've meet are being groomed for. I expect Carrot to take the city watch, Stubbins to take over UU and other similar type shifts.

I expect some after the fact things like Vimes sneaking back in as a beat cop in incognito and things of that nature. So maybe if he can hang on long enough we will get two or three more books, maybe two Moist books one with taxes then another called "Ruling" or maybe "One Man, One vote".

[The Romulan Republic]

Of course, Moist becoming Patrician might mean Vetinari dying, which would make me sad.

I hope the series goes on for a while more. Last I heard their were two books in the works after Snuff, I think.

[Mr Bean]

Of course, Moist becoming Patrician might mean Vetinari dying, which would make me sad.

I hope the series goes on for a while more. Last I heard their were two books in the works after Snuff, I think.

Please Vetinari will die when he's good and ready. No he's going to do something much worse.
He's going to retire

[The Yosemite Bear]

retire to that island full of women that Rincewind is trapped on for certain....

[The Romulan Republic]

Vetinari doesn't seem the type to retire to an island full of beautiful women. He seems more like the type to retire somewhere quiet and maybe write his memoirs or something while playing the occassional game of Thud.

[Steve]

Is Moist being groomed to be the new Patrician or is he being groomed to take over the city bureaucracy? Because one theory I've heard that sounds interesting is that Vetinari is trying to arrange things so that after him Ankh-Morpork won't need a Patrician anymore, or at the very least it'll render the position unable to produce another Winder or Snapcase. Not if the City Watch, the Civil Service, the Guilds, and the Aristocracy are all set up in a balance-of-power that encourages peaceful transition of the office and smooth running of the city.

(Or alternatively he'll only become Patrician after this balance is already attained and he's simply in the position to do as Vetinari does; make sure the machine works smoothly).

Because I'm not sure Moist is quite cutthroat enough to run the city as Patrician, at least not without major changes to eliminate the need for such.

[Batman]

While I want lots more Discworld as much as the next man I'm not sure I'm happy with the idea of anybody else taking over the series. Foundation-massive fail. Dune-personally, I was bored to tears by the original book so I sort of didn't care all that much, but the people who liked Dune were apparently not all that happy with the sequels (KJA. D'uh).) 'And another thing' was actually pretty good but HHGTTG ended by Adams' own admission on a very low note so that's not much of an endorsement.

[The Romulan Republic]

I just have to dispute that the ending to HHTTG was bad. It was sad, yes, and a bit on the cynical side compared to the rest of the series, but sad and cynical aren't nessissarily bad. And I thought it fit thematically with the series as a whole. I would have been interested to see another book by Adams if he wanted to write a different ending, but I did not care for And Another Thing.

I think that, much like Adams, it would be hard for anyone to follow in Pratchett's footsteps.

[Batman]

'A bit' in this case meaning an area several lightyears across. Compared to 'Mostly Harmless' the rest of HHGTTG was fluffy bunnies comedy.
In 'Mostly Harmless', Adams decided to fuck every last one of his characters over just because (when with 'So long, and thanks for all the fish' it actually looked like Arthur Dent finally got a Happy Ending).
'And Another Thing' wasn't brilliant but it was tons better than the (admitted by Adams himself to not exactly have been his most stellar work) 'Mostly Harmless'.

[The Romulan Republic]

The thing is, HHGTTG always had strong undertones of tragedy and cynicism. It became more present in Mostly Harmless, but its merely an extension of existing themes. And in taking those themes and making them more overt, it caused me to reevaluate the whole series and, I think, appreciate it more deeply. And I think its interesting that Adams didn't give everyone a typical happy ending. After all, everyone dies. No one escapes it forever. It is, indeed, the ultimate ending- one everyone has to face.

I also love The Guide Mark II as an antagonist simply because it is so utterly effective and terrifying. The fact that it accomplishes this purely through knowledge and using people against themselves makes it much more impressive than a villain who just blows things up, however powerful they may be.

And while this may be somewhat subjective, it honestly feels more like a HHGTTG story to me than book four.

I don't really want to highjack the thread, so I'll drop this tangent now, but I feel I needed to explain why Mostly Harmless is so awesome. I would seriously rate it in my top five favourite sci-fi books, at least. Granted, its been a while since I read it, so maybe I'd feel differently now.

[Simon_Jester]

I don't think someone else should try to write Discworld novels, unless, at most, all they're doing is pasting together large volumes of draft text Pratchett already had on hand. No one else can write quite like him, I suspect.

I don't know if Pratchett's got one, or two, more novels planned- he may have tentatively-planned novels that will get written or not get written depending on his medical condition, too. I think another Moist novel is definitely in order; I don't think we need another de Worde novel, as The Truth really does 'complete' the character: he ends it in a position where there's no urgent need or call for his situation to improve.

The thing is, HHGTTG always had strong undertones of tragedy and cynicism. It became more present in Mostly Harmless, but its merely an extension of existing themes. And in taking those themes and making them more overt, it caused me to reevaluate the whole series and, I think, appreciate it more deeply. And I think its interesting that Adams didn't give everyone a typical happy ending. After all, everyone dies. No one escapes it forever. It is, indeed, the ultimate ending- one everyone has to face.

Artistically, the tremendous problem with it is that it brings about these endings arbitrarily. The story feels like the artist is standing over his characters with an axe in preparation for 'killing his darlings,' rather than like the characters are naturally getting bad endings as a consequence of how the story proceeds.

It's like the plot was written to kill the characters, not like the characters die in the course of the plot.

[The Yosemite Bear]

yes, but Rianna Pratchett making the MUDD version of Diskworld with her sense of humour?

[Vendetta]

Artistically, the tremendous problem with it is that it brings about these endings arbitrarily. The story feels like the artist is standing over his characters with an axe in preparation for 'killing his darlings,' rather than like the characters are naturally getting bad endings as a consequence of how the story proceeds.

It's like the plot was written to kill the characters, not like the characters die in the course of the plot.

It was. Adams was sick and tired of people asking him for another Hitchhiker sequel.

[Simon_Jester]

Yeah, but my complaint is that it showed- Adams didn't take the time to write a convincing finale to the series; he just threw together a plot that would destroy everything in a reasonable compact manner.