Terry Pratchett is the acclaimed creator of the globally
bestselling Discworld series, the first of which, The Color of
Magic, was published in 1983. Raising Steam is his fortieth
Discworld novel. His books have been widely adapted for stage and
screen; he is the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie
Medal, and was awarded a knighthood for services to literature.
After falling out with his keyboard, he now talks to his computer.
Occasionally, these days, it answers back.
www.terrypratchett.com
"Consistently funny, wise and clever. . . . Rewarding to both
longtime readers and novices, filled with characters who leap off
the page and metaphors that make you laugh out loud. . . .
Pratchett's appeal isn't just his roller-coaster plots but the
depth of his ideas."
--Sam Thielman, Newsday "Salted among all the treacle miners and
nascent trainspotters are some serious ideas about technology and
the irrevocable changes it brings. . . . While exploring questions
about the unintended consequences of technology, Pratchett also
blasts fundamentalists who resist all progress. But mostly he seems
to be having fun with words in the very British strain of absurdist
humor that he has made his own. And 40 books in, why not?"
--Sara Sklaroff, The Washington Post "A delightful fantasy send-up
of politics, economics and finance, as the Discworld gets a railway
and complications ensue. . . . A lovely homage to the courage at
the core of technological advance. . . . Pratchett melds politics,
finance and the occasional dark turn with his fantasy and humor,
and as ever his footnotes are not to be missed. . . . How many
writers are more fun to spend time with?"
--Ken Armstrong, The Seattle Times "A spectacular novel, and a gift
from a beloved writer to his millions of fans. . . . A tremendous
synthesis of everything that makes Pratchett one of the world's
most delightful writers."
--Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing "What began with a farcical satire of
pseudomedieval fantasy has become a Dickensian mirror of
contemporary western society. . . . Raising Steam is the latest
transformation of a remarkable fictional world that has evolved and
grown with its creator--and it shows how, in the way of many things
invested with devotion on the Disc itself, the Discworld has taken
on a life of its own."
--Karin L. Kross, Tor.com "From the first, the novels demonstrated
Pratchett's eye for telling detail and the absurdities of the human
condition. . . . He remains one of the most consistently funny
writers around; a master of the stealth simile, the time-delay pun
and the deflationary three-part list. . . . I could tell which of
my fellow tube passengers had downloaded it to their e-readers by
the bouts of spontaneous laughter."
--Ben Aaronovitch, The Guardian "Terry Pratchett's creation is
still going strong after 30 years. . . . Most aficionados, however,
will be on the look-out for in-jokes and references from previous
novels--of which there is no shortage. Discworld's success, like
that of Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster stories, has never been
driven by the plots. . . . It is at the level of the sentence that
Pratchett wins his fans."
--Andrew McKie, The Times (London) "A brash new invention brings
social upheaval, deadly intrigues, and plenty of wry humor to the
40th installment of Pratchett's best-selling Discworld fantasy
series. . . . As always, Pratchett's unforgettable characters and
lively story mirror the best, the worst, and the oddest bits of our
own world, entertaining readers while skewering social and
political foibles in a melting pot of humanity, dwarfs, trolls,
goblins, vampires, and a werewolf or two."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Brimming with Pratchett's
trademark wit, a yarn with a serious point made with style and
elegance."
--Kirkus Reviews "Leavened with Pratchett's usual puns,
philosophical quips, and Discworld in-jokes, the story offers an
amusing allegory of Earthly technology's many seductions."
--Booklist
Praise for Terry Pratchett "Terry Pratchett may still be pegged as
a comic novelist, but . . . he's a lot more. In his range of
invented characters, his adroit storytelling, and his clear-eyed
acceptance of humankind's foibles, he reminds me of no one in
English literature as much as Geoffrey Chaucer. No kidding."
--Michael Dirda, The Washington Post Book World "Given his
prolificacy and breezy style, it's easy to underestimate Pratchett.
. . . He's far more than a talented jokesmith, though. His books
are almost always better than they have to be."
--Michael Berry, San Francisco Chronicle "Nonstop wit. . . .
Pratchett is a master of juggling multiple plotlines and
multiplying punchlines."
--Ken Barnes, USA Today
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