Unseen Academicals
By Terry Pratchett
(Harper, Mass Market Paperback, 9780061161728, 448pp.)
Publication Date: October 2010
Other Editions of This Title: Hardcover, Hardcover
Categories: Humorous, Fantasy - General
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The wizards at Ankh-Morpork's Unseen University are renowned for many things—wisdom, magic, their love of teatime—but athletics is most assuredly not on the list. So when Lord Vetinari, the city's benevolent tyrant, strongly suggests to Archchancellor Mustrum Ridcully that the university put forth a football team composed of faculty, students, and staff—or lose the funding that pays for their nine daily meals—the more-than-usually-at-sea UU wizards find themselves in a quandary. To begin with, they have to figure out just what it is that makes this sport of foot-the-ball so popular with Ankh-Morporkians of all ages and social strata. Then they have to learn how to play it. Oh, and on top of that, they must somehow win a football match without using magic.
And the thing about football—the most important thing about football—is that it is never just about football.
Sir Terry Pratchett's many honors include the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, a Printz Honor, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Britain's Carnegie Medal, the American Library Association's Margaret A. Edwards Award for lasting contribution to young adult literature, and the World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award. His books have sold more than 75 million copies worldwide. Knighted for his "services to literature," Sir Terry lives in England with his wife and many cats.
“In short, this is as busy and as daft as any other Discworld yarn, which means it is the quintessence of daft. Nobody writes fantasy funnier than Pratchett.”
-Booklist
“At its heart, this is an intelligent, cheeky love letter to football, its fans and the unifying power of sports.
-Publishers Weekly
“This account of Unseen University’s entry into the world of soccer (or, as they occasionally call it, “foot-the-ball”) pushes past the usual conventions of satire to offer equal parts absurdist philosophy and heartwarming romance....A witty addition to the long-running fantasy series”
-Kirkus Reviews
“Thirty-seven books in and ... Discworld is still going strong...and doing so with undimmed, triumphant exuberance. ”
-The Guardian
“It’s a triumphant effort”
-The Independent on Sunday
This book is on these lists:
Erin partaker's Wish List by erin partakerScorpiodeal's Wish List by scorpiodeal
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