Category Archives: Discworld

Listen to the Banshee

I’m not sure I’ve ever done a post about Banshees, of Inisherin or otherwise. I haven’t seen that movie, but I suspect it doesn’t have any literal Banshees in it. I did write before about the Bean-Nighe, which is sometimes considered a type of … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Authors, Cartoons, Celtic, Characters, Discworld, Etymology, Magic, Monsters, Music, Mythology, Oz, Television, Terry Pratchett | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Serious About Series

I’ve finished reading the latest issue of The Baum Bugle, which is largely dedicated to Kabumpo in Oz. Editor Sarah Crozter co-wrote a piece with Nick Campbell on the book and Oz as a series in general. I’ve seen a … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Authors, Book Reviews, Cartoons, Characters, Christmas, Cults, Discworld, Dr. Seuss, Families, Games, Holidays, L. Frank Baum, Language, Magic, Names, Oz, Oz Authors, Plays, Religion, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Terry Pratchett, Toys | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Mazes, Memory, and Magic

Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke – This is the first thing I’ve read by this author, and it was pretty fascinating. The protagonist and narrator is called Piranesi after the eighteenth century Italian artist and archaeologist (not that he knows that), … Continue reading

Posted in Authors, Book Reviews, Discworld, Final Fantasy, Games, Magic, Terry Pratchett, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Winners and Choosers

After looking at the notion of people chosen by the gods, I became curious as to how the concept of a specific person being the Chosen One originated. It’s a pretty common trope in fantasy, someone being prophesied to save the world … Continue reading

Posted in Arthurian Legend, Authors, Babylonian, British, Captain N: The Game Master, Cartoons, Characters, Christianity, Discworld, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Futurama, Greek Mythology, Harry Potter, J.R.R. Tolkien, Magic, Mario, Mythology, Oz, Philosophy, Religion, Semitic, Star Wars, Television, Terry Pratchett, Video Games, Zelda | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Gods Must Be Choosy

Paul Dana suggested a few weeks ago that I should look into the concept of chosen people in religion, and how common that was. Nowadays, it’s mostly used to refer to the Jewish people, or sometimes to other religions that … Continue reading

Posted in Authors, Christianity, Comics, Discworld, Greek Mythology, History, Judaism, Mythology, Neil Gaiman, Religion, Semitic, Terry Pratchett | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

All in How You Spell ‘Em

I saw something recently about the difference between the words “fairy” and “faerie.” Really, there’s no difference; the latter is just an archaic spelling. The word comes from the French for “fate,” and therefore “enchantment”; and was applied to many different … Continue reading

Posted in Authors, British, Celtic, Discworld, Etymology, Greek Mythology, J.R.R. Tolkien, L. Frank Baum, Language, Magic, Mythology, Norse, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Terry Pratchett | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Stand in the Place Where You Live

The Stand, by Stephen King – This was a long book, even more so since I read the unabridged edition, but I don’t know that I’ll have a long review for it. I did like it, and it’s pretty timely since … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Art, Authors, Book Reviews, Comics, Discworld, Health, Humor, Jasper Fforde, Mario, Monsters, Politics, Prejudice, Terry Pratchett, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Where the Worlds Have No Name

One night last week, I had a fitful sleep with a bunch of weird dreams. I remember one of them had me ranting about how J.R.R. Tolkien was never clear on whether Middle-Earth was his entire imaginary world or just … Continue reading

Posted in Authors, C.S. Lewis, Captain N: The Game Master, Cartoons, Chronicles of Narnia, Discworld, Dragon Quest, Dreams, Final Fantasy, J.R.R. Tolkien, L. Frank Baum, Language, Maps, March Laumer, Mario, Mythology, Names, Norse, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Television, Terry Pratchett, Video Games, Zelda | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fearsome Furnishings

Living versions of inanimate objects are common in fiction. The Oz books have a lot of them, although most of them are friendly. There are, however, many animated objects that are deadly, especially in role-playing games. I was recently thinking … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Authors, Discworld, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Focus on the Foes, Games, Jack Snow, Kid Icarus, Magic, Mario, Monsters, Oz, Oz Authors, Terry Pratchett, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

You’re in Luck

I’d thought before about how the appellation “lucky” is applied to so many Oz characters. Well, only three that I can think of, but that’s still kind of weird. They were introduced by three different authors, however. The first is … Continue reading

Posted in Advertising, Authors, Characters, Comics, Discworld, Greek Mythology, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Melody Grandy, Mythology, Oz, Oz Authors, Philosophy, Religion, Roman, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Terry Pratchett | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment