Pyramids

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1. 

   Daniel Jolley @ 8:32 pm

   Pyramids represents something of a detour in Pratchett’s Discworld series. The principal action takes place in the heretofore unfamiliar land of Djelibeybi, located in northern Klatch across the Circle Sea from Anhk-Morpork. This is a unique realm of the Discworld, two miles wide and 150 miles long. It is often referred to as the Old Kingdom for a very good reason-it is quite old, over 7000 years old in fact. It is a desert land whose pharaohs are obsessed with pyramid-building; besides bankrupting the country, this obsession has also had the unforeseen consequence of keeping the country firmly entrenched in the past. Pyramids, you see, slow down time, and there are so many pyramids in Djelibeybi now that new time is continually sucked in by them and released nightly in flares. In a land where the same time is reused daily, it comes as something of a surprise when the pharaoh Teppicymon XXVII decides to send his son Teppic outside of the kingdom to get his education. Just after becoming a certified, guild-approved assassin, young Teppic is called upon to return home after his father suffers the unfortunate consequences attendant upon thinking he can fly. Three months into his reign, he basically loses his kingdom-literally. The Great Pyramid being built for his father’s mummy is much too big, and eventually it causes the temporal dislocation of Djelibeybi from the face of the Discworld. Accompanied by the handmaiden Ptraci, whom he rescued from certain death, and a camel whose name would be edited were I to state it here, Teppic must find a way to restore his kingdom back to its proper place and time above the ground. The ordeal is only complicated further by the fact that all of the land’s dead and thousands of gods suddenly have appeared in person, acting as if they own the place.

   While its unusual setting and the fact that it features characters seen here and nowhere else makes this novel seem a little different from its fellow Discworld chronicles, I must admit it is quite an enjoyable read. Pratchett ingeniously incorporates ideas and practices from ancient Egypt and ancient Greece: pyramids, mummification, Greek philosophers, the Trojan War and its Horse in particular, etc. Teppic is an enjoyable enough character, but we never seem to delve deeply enough to understand him properly. I loved the brash handmaiden Ptraci and her fearless contempt for tradition. All of the dead pharaohs are quite funny, particularly in terms of their opinions on an afterlife spent shut inside a tomb inside an escape-proof pyramid. The subplot featuring the history of warfare between two neighboring kingdoms really helps make this novel a true winner. Perhaps the most interesting thing to be found in these pages, though, is the actual identity and thought processes of Discworld’s greatest mathematician. There is also much to amuse and delight fans of temporal dislocation theories-the pyramid builders make many incredible discoveries in the process of building the Great Pyramid, not the least of which is a means of utilizing the structure’s innate time loop to call forth several different selves to help make sure the job is finished in the allotted time.

   Even though this book is funny and satisfying enough to stand on its own, I would not start my Discworld reading with it. Aside from Teppic’s time spent in Anhk-Morpork learning to be an assassin, the action takes place outside the much more familiar lands we encounter time and again in the other novels. Of course, Pratchett devotees will want to read it for the very reason that it acquaints us with a strange, otherwise unfamiliar section of the Discworld.

   
2. 

   Marc Ruby™ @ 9:15 pm

   This is a fairly early Terry Pratchett (number seven I believe) and demonstrate his unique ability to lampoon nearly everything at once. We find ourselves with Teppic the heir to throne of Djelibeybi, who has been sent off to Ankh-Morpark to learn a decent trade. Or rather, a lucrative indecent trade of inhumation (otherwise called assassination). Djelibeybi has been building bigger and bigger pyramids for some 7,000 years and is way behind on its payments. Somebody has to bring home a paycheck.

   Teppic has mastered all the requisite skills (tucking equipment everywhere, wearing black clothes, swinging from buildings, etc) and now, in a flash of accidental good luck, he has passed his final exam. At this crucial moment, Teppic’s father develops a sudden urge to fly and our young assassin must return to the world’s most tradition bound kingdom (no toilets, no mattresses, and no aqueducts). Having spent years in the most corrupt city on Discworld Teppic must wear a very heavy mask, sleep on stone beds, and be a very bored god. And bankrupt the kingdom building his father’s pyramid.

   Pyramids are the problem. Since each one has to be bigger than the last, they have long since achieved enough mass to bend light and absorb time. This keeps their occupants alive, but the accumulation of present and future time has to be vented off nightly. The reason Teppic’s country is so stodgy is that all the present and future is being shot off into space and they only have the past left to live in.

   Now Teppic decides that his father’s tomb will be an order of magnitude larger than its predecessors, and all quantum breaks out. Even before it is finished is becomes a major time hazard and suddenly, in one great big pffft, it folds Djellibaybi into a Hilbert space and leaves Teppic with a camel sized headache. Needless to say this irritates the heck out of Teppic’s father (dead or not), all the mummified kings, and a large number of loose gods.

   Pratchett uses this opportunity to mach fun of organized religion, solipsistic scientists, relativity, archaism, relatives, politics, war, and mathematicians with one or two humps and four stomachs. He spares no one, and it is great fun for the reader. His ability to pull a horrible pun out of thin air is unequalled. Pratchett’s message has always been that life is too important to take seriously, By all means hunt this up, you’ll be mummified laughing.

   
3. 

   Leonard Fleisig @ 10:29 pm

   and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

   On earth this passage from Genesis describes the Tower of Babel. But on Discworld it just may describe the proud towers (pyramids actually) built by the people (slaves actually) of Djelibeybi in Terry Pratchett’s seventh Discworld book, Pyramids. Pyramids is an excellent addition to the Discworld series and, like just about every other volume in the series is both hilariously funny and thought provoking.

   Teppic is the heir to the throne of Djelibeybi. For each generation going back as far as anyone can remember the new king, upon the death of his father, builds a pyramid that will serve both as his tomb and an eternal monument. This would be fine but for the fact that each succeeding generation is expected to build a monument that is greater than the last. This keep Djelibeybi locked in a perpetual financial crisis and has caused each succeeding ruler (Pharaoh) to lead a life that is overly regimented to the point of insanity, or at the very least officious inanity.

   Teppic’s father, Teppicymon XXVII, seems to want a bit more from his son then a life of idleness sitting on the throne and when the story opens we find Teppic going off to `college’ in this instance the famed school run by the Guild of Assasins on Ankh-Morpork. No sooneer does Teppic pass his Assasin’s exit examination (a typical Pratchett tour de `farce’) then his father dies and Teppic is called back to assume the throne.

   Teppic chafes at the constraints put upon him and his life by Dios, the nation’s chief holy man and enforcement officer. Dios is the type of horrifically evil bureaucrat who, smitten with a bit of power, tends to be the person you must deal with at the Department of Motor Vehicles or at the bank or at the office who’s biggest skill is the ability to say `NO!!!’ in an infinite number of ways. The rest of the story follows Teppic’s adventures as the power of the new pyramid built to honor his father causes havoc with the time-space continuum and which in turn threatens to engulf the region in a disastrous war.

   Pyramids is the 7th in the Discworld series. It is far enough along in the series for the reader to see Pratchett really hitting his stride. You can see the beginning of themes that he develops with great success in later volumes, particularly in his masterful Small Gods. Pratchett’s treatment of the Ephebian philosophers is hilarious. As portrated by Pratchett these neo-Athenian philosophers would fit in perfectly with those Australian philosophers named Bruce made famous by Monty Python. The presence of mathematically inclined, nasty-tempered camels was also drawn to great effect. I’ll never see another camel again without wondering whether it is performing advanced calculus.

   Devoted fans of Terry Pratchett are likely to have read Pyramids already. However, for newcomers to Pratchett this is probably not the best place to start. I think in order to appreciate Pyramids to the fullest it is probably advisable to read at least one or two earlier Discworld stories (Color of Magic or Light Fantastic would probably be best) before getting to Pyramids. Needless to say, as someone who was made his way through about two thirds of the Discworld books, it is well worth the time and effort to get invested in the entire series.
   

   
4. 

   Anonymous @ 11:35 pm

   I’ve read many books from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, and Pyramids remains one of my favorites because of the unique setting. Most of his Discworld books takes place in the city/state of Ankh-Morpork. Pyramids, set in a Discworld-type Ancient Egypt, Djelibeibey, or “Child of the Djel”, Teppic struggles with the problems of being a teen-aged god. And Dios, the power hungry high priest isn’t making matters any easier. It’s a battle between old men, set in their ways, and the new boy king who’s going to bring Djel kicking and screaming into the Centry of the Fruitbat! I also liked how the author used a teenager for a hero. A great book, and I’d highly recommend it to any Pratchett fan.

   
5. 

   M. Smitherman @ 2:17 am

   Recently I became a fan of Terry Pratchett, after having read The Color of Magic. I continued to read the series in order, and I just finished reading Pyramids. Immediately I liked this book, because I found the Assassins Guild fascinating, and I thought Teppic was an interesting and cool main character.

   The plot goes something like this: Teppic was born in Djelibeybi (a sort of ancient Egypt-like country) and was sent to Ankh-Morpork when he was 12 to become an assassin. Just after Teppic passes the final test, his father dies and he has to return to Djelibeybi to be king. When he arrives, he realizes a pyramid has to be built for his father, and he orders that it be the biggest pyramid in the valley, with labyrinths and statues and so forth. But the pyramid is -so- big and powerful that it somehow alters the fabric of time and space, and puts Djelibeybi into its own little dimension, separate from the outside world. It’s now Teppic’s job as king (and a god) to make things right, even if the High Priest likes to twist everything he says.

   Thrown into the mix is the mysteriously old High Priest named Dios; the best mathemetician in the world (a camel); a handmaiden named Ptraci; the gods coming to life and freaking everyone out; and thousands of dead ‘ancestors’ lurching around and complaining about their pyramids. The story is humorous, as are all of Pratchett’s books, and the characters are very likeable. And for those of you who like romance, there is definitely some of that (which I was glad of).

   Some reviewers complain that the plot is thin and the characters are under-developed, but I must disagree. So far this is my favorite Discworld book, and I’m pretty sure it will stay that way. This is well worth buying, even if you’re not a huge Discworld fan!