OK, these are going to take a little explanation. There have been a few books out in the last few years with titles like "The Physics of Star Trek" or "The Science of Star Wars." These books generally explain why some of the wild sci-fi happenings (wormholes, warp drive, phasers, etc.) either are or are not realistic, and try to teach some science along the way. I had thought that's what these books would be like, but I was a little mistaken.
For those of you that aren't familiar with Terry Pratchett's Discworld, stop reading right now and follow that link. In a nutshell, it's a fantasy parody of our own world, which allows Pratchett to make all sorts of humorous analogies on everything from politics and religion to business and relationships. Very funny stuff; I am an unabashed fan and own pretty much the whole collection. So, when I saw these "Science of Discworld" books, I had to read them. Unfortunately, they were published in the UK only, so it took a while to collect them through Amazon's used bookseller program. When I finally started reading them, I found they weren't quite what I thought.
Each book is laid out in alternating chapters: first a chapter of actual narrative involving the characters of Discworld (specifically the Wizards of Unseen University), then a chapter discussing those events scientifically. The narrative revolves around the wizards having accidentally created another universe, containing a planet that they come to call "Roundworld" - which of course works differently than they are used to. It's in their discovering the rules at work on Roundworld that the science comes in.
These are extremely well done, on both sides - the Discworld stories must have had help from Pratchett, The sense of humor is unmistakable. And the science is up-to-date, well explained, and not without a touch of humor itself. I'm not sure I can actually recommend these to anyone I know - you'd have to be a Pratchett fan as well as kind of a science nerd/nonfiction reader to enjoy them. But I sure did.
I'm counting these three books as one; I really only read the most recent one this year.
(Book 6)
1 comment:
After checking out the link to the Discworld books, I think these are something I'd like to read. I do love fantasy, especially YA/Children's fantasy- my absolute favorite! So when this class gets over, I'll have to do some speed-reading before the next one starts. Thanks for the recommendation!
-A
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