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Soul Music | Rating | |
| B | |||
| Terry Pratchett | |||
| Series | Related Books | ||
| Discworld | The Colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic, Equal Rites, Mort, Sourcery, Wyrd Sisters, Pyramids, Guards! Guards!, Eric, Moving Pictures, Reaper Man, Witches Abroad, Small Gods, Soul Music, Feet of Clay, Interesting Times, The Firth Elephant, Going Postal | ||
Soul Music continues Pratchett's trend of concentrating his efforts on parodying a limited number of specific issues from our world by placing them in a fantasy setting. And more, but placing them in the rather warped fantasy world of the Discword, which is carried by four elephants on the back of a giant turtle. This time around, it's rock 'n roll, and all the ancilliary things attached to it such as managers and agents. But in the Discworld, music can be a living thing if it's powerful enough, and it has a purpose all its own, one that may not care much about those who sing it. Only Death knows what is going on, but he's taken a holiday, and it's left to his granddaughter to figure out what's going on - if she can.
In some ways, this book really works. The bizarre twists the author puts on rock 'n roll are pure Discworld at its best. There are a lot of small, subtle jokes embedded in the story as well, such as the main singer's name or the titles of the songs. It certainly fosters rereading, as every time I do I notice a few more. And pratchett's writing is, as usual, light and easy to read, full of little witticism and turns of phrase that are amusing at the least and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny.
Yet the book still falls a little short. This is mostly due to how its repetitious nature. Within the book, it is fine, but is a remake of some of Pratchett's earlier work. Take Mort, mix in Moving Pictures, and add a dash of Reaper Man, and you'll end up with Soul Music. The specifics differ, but the overall story has been done before, and done by Pratchett.
This is a good novel, perhaps even a great one. The author has improved a great deal since Mort was published, and it shows. Perhaps that is why this is so similar in so many aspects. Taken alone, this story may even qualify as great. It's only when you realize that you've seen this all before that it becomes a problem.
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