Tag Archives: Discworld

1,000th Post Party!

Posted on March 4, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

It’s the 1,000th post on A Pilgrim in Narnia! Huzzah! I began this blog way back in 2011 as a sandbox project for thoughts about C.S. Lewis’ writings. “Pilgrimage” was a word-picture I was using a lot for my life … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links | Tagged books, C.S. Lewis, Discworld, Earthsea, Field of Arbol, H.P. Lovecraft, Harry Potter, Jane Austen, L.M. Montgomery, Lilliput, Middle Earth, Narnia, Númenor, Neil Gaiman, New Urth, Oz, Panem, Prince Edward Island, Ringworld, Stephen King, The Dark Tower, The Enderverse, The Great Divorce | 38 Comments

The Shepherd’s Crown: Terry Pratchett’s Last Discworld Novel

Posted on December 12, 2019 by Brenton Dickieson

It was six years ago, late summer in 2013, when I decided to read through Terry Pratchett‘s Discworld. At that point, the fortieth novel had been published and we already knew that Pratchett had a terminal illness. There might have … Continue reading →

Posted in Memorable Quotes, Reviews | Tagged Anne McCaffrey, Discworld, Moist von Lipwig, Monstrous Regiment, Raising Steam, Seinfeld, Terry Pratchett, The Game of Thrones, The Shepherd's Crown, Tiffany Aching, Ursula K. Le Guin, Wee Free Men | 8 Comments

Lessons on Christian Culture from Good Omens, and Why the Protests Make Weird Sense

Posted on July 2, 2019 by Brenton Dickieson

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett My rating: 4 of 5 stars I decided to reread Good Omens because of the Amazon Prime series–though don’t tell fundamentalist American Christians that the series … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged american fundamentalism, Candide, Discworld, George R.R. Martin, Good Omens, Harry Potter, mythopoiea, Neil Gaiman, Patrick Rothfuss, Stephen King, Terry Pratchett, The Omen, Voltaire | 18 Comments

Wintersmith: Terry Pratchett’s Mythic Showdown and a Good Winter Read

Posted on January 1, 2019 by Brenton Dickieson

Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett My rating: 4 of 5 stars I love the Tiffany Aching character within Terry Pratchett‘s imaginative and expansive Discworld, though I found this book a little slow in the middle. Though anatomy majors will do better, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged Discworld, Granny Weatherwax, I Shall Wear Midnight, myth, Terry Pratchett, Wintersmith | 6 Comments

2017: A Year of Reading

Posted on January 8, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

“The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Unless a … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links | Tagged academic, C.S. Lewis, Discworld, feminism, George MacDonald, Inklings, J.R.R. Tolkien, L.M. Montgomery, Margaret Atwood, PhD Research, Ransom Trilogy, Reading, Stephen King, The Quest of Bleheris, William Morris | 17 Comments

A Call for a Silmarillion Talmud

Posted on April 10, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

Though we live in a digital age, we are sometimes artificially constrained by older technologies. Like modern cars and trains that are largely designed according to the size of Roman cart paths, our reading is still shaped by a time … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Bible, Corey Olsen, Discworld, J.R.R. Tolkien, Judaism, literature, Mishnah, Narnia, Reading, storytelling, Talmud, technology, The Silmarillion, writing | 30 Comments

From the Mouths of Atheists: Faith Lessons from Terry Pratchett

Posted on April 6, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

In creating the Discworld, Terry Pratchett set for himself an interesting problem for an atheist of his era: he created a world where gods are a reality. From an artist’s perspective, this is no particular problem at all. Pratchett made what … Continue reading →

Posted in Fictional Worlds, Memorable Quotes, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged apologetics, atheism, Bart Ehrman, Carpe Jugulum, Discworld, faith, Granny Weatherwax, Mightily Oats, Small Gods, Terry Pratchett, The Golden Bough, Theology of Culture, vampires | 15 Comments

Terry Pratchett’s Topsy-Turvy Witches

Posted on June 22, 2015 by Brenton Dickieson

At Mythcon last year, a bright young scholar said that she thought that Granny Weatherwax is the alter ego of Terry Pratchett—not in personality, but in her wry, upside-down, “limit evil” approach to life in this strange world. At least, … Continue reading →

Posted in Fictional Worlds, Memorable Quotes | Tagged Discworld, Granny Weatherwax, Macbeth, Mythcon, stereotypes, Terry Pratchett, Tiffany Aching, witches, Witches Abroad, writing | 14 Comments

What if C.S. Lewis Wrote Dante’s Inferno? by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

Posted on April 30, 2015 by Brenton Dickieson

Undoubtedly, one of the 20th century’s most inventive world-builders was Larry Niven. He is perhaps most famous for Known Space, the universe where Ringworld (1970) and another 11 books are set. Niven’s inventions are now scattered in the background of much of … Continue reading →

Posted in Fictional Worlds, Memorable Quotes | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Dante, Discworld, Ender's Game, fantasy, Fictional Universes, fictional worlds, Harry Potter, Inferno, Known Space, Larry Niven, Narnia, On Writing, Ringworld, The Great Divorce | 27 Comments

“You’re one of me too”: Venn Diagram Friends by Neil Gaiman and C.S. Lewis

Posted on April 28, 2015 by Brenton Dickieson

It is one of the of the more moving moments in C.S. Lewis’ autobiography, Surprised by Joy. Lewis was living a largely lonely childhood, his only friend being his older brother. Then something utterly surprising happens: It is a curious truth, … Continue reading →