Pratchett and Gaiman

The Carpet People by Terry Pratchett

This was apparently Pratchett’s first novel, written when he was 17 and then revised for this print run when he was 43. It bears a number of his hallmarks; the inventiveness and wit that we see in greater depth in his later novels is definitely in its infancy here. (I’m reminded of Strata more than any of his other books, though I can’t exactly say why.) If you like his style, this is a cute and fast read that shows where he started out. But he’s got a giant catalogue of better books to read first.


The Ocean At the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

“Oh, Monsters are scared,” said Lettie. “That’s why they’re monsters.”

A story about children and childhood fears, for adults. It’s a fast read, and a bit less involved than some of his other books for adults, but still very good. It hits a lot of Gaiman’s usual themes about the supernatural and the truly mundane nature of it, and of memory and childhood wonderment. Worth the read.

Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights

It’s the thrill of the hunt for treasure animatus, you know, not actually acquiring the treasure. It’s not like he’s one of those boorish “treasure hunters” or anything. He just loves figuring out puzzles, that’s all. Really.

( There is not, and was never any question that this is a Professor Layton rip-off. )

Overall: Somebody saw that the Layton series was making money and thought, “Hey, if we ripped that off, we could make money, too!” but had no idea what made the Layton games good. I’m sure there’s an audience who likes this (particularly if you like stealth segments, puzzle-ish mon battles, random French history, and mild misogyny), but I don’t think it’s the Layton audience and I don’t really think it’s me.