Unseen Academicals – Terry Pratchett Review

Way back around 1994 I found a Graphic Book in the staff room of the Elderly Persons Home in which I was working. It belonged to a fellow workmate and when he caught me reading it he kindly loaned it too me. The Book was ‘The Light Fantastic’ the second book of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. I loved it and went on to read the first book ‘The Colour of Magic.’ And so it began, my love of Sir Terry Pratchett and his beloved Discworld.

I read Unseen Academicals some years later, but along with the blur of all the other books I was never able to pick a favourite. When logging into my Audible Account last month I decided to spend my monthly credit on the audible book of Unseen Academicals. It took a while to whither down my list and get around to listening to it, but when I did it didn’t take long to finish it.

I do love my audio books, it’s great to be able to crochet and listen at the same time, it’s like completing two hobbies at once. I love the story telling but this is the first book that I’ve listened to that is described as a drama. I wasn’t sure that I’d enjoy it but even though it didn’t stick to the actual story it was a fun listen. If you are not a Terry Pratchett fan then you would enjoy the drama. If you are a true fan then you may not like the changes to the book and characters, and even feel that it’s not in true Pratchett style. It’s been a long while since I actually read the book so now I have to the urge to re-read it to fill in the gaps.

Unseen Academicals

Sir Terry Pratchett loved to losely base his Discworld stories on Shakespearian ideas. Wyrd Sisters draws on Macbeth, Lords and Ladies on A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Unseen Academicals on Romeo and Juliette. 

But there is no Romeo, he is actually a footballer called Trev! 

Here’s the blurb from the book.

Football has come to the ancient city of Ankh-Morpork. And now, the wizards of Unseen University must win a football match, without using magic, so they’re in the mood for trying everything else. This is not going to be a gentleman’s game.

The prospect of the Big Match draws in a street urchin with a wonderful talent for kicking a tin can, a maker of jolly good pies, a dim but beautiful young woman, who might just turn out to be the greatest fashion model there has ever been, and the mysterious Mr Nutt (and no one knows anything much about Mr Nutt, not even Mr Nutt). As the match approaches, four lives are entangled and changed for ever. 

Because the thing about football – the important thing about football – is that it is not just about football.

Here we go! Here we go! Here we go!

My Thoughts

Although the drama did not stick faithfully to the original book I did enjoy the presentation.  David Jason was the narrator with Jon Culshaw, Matthew Horne, Josie Lawrence and Jaime Winstone voicing the characters. It made me chuckle out loud at times and I really got in to the football match which was so well presented you could feel as though you were there watching. Although to be honest, I’m rather glad I wasn’t. I certainly wouldn’t be buying anything off ‘Cut me own throat Dibbler!’

I would like to listen to another drama on Audible, I’m just not sure I will listen to another Discworld one. It was fun, but I don’t like that it did not give you the full Pratchett experience.

Audible

I currently have a credit sitting in my account and I haven’t yet made up my mind on what to use it on. I’m not sure if I want to go for a psychological thriller, which is my usual choice, or to go for something different. It’s a bit of a dilemma for me at the moment, but it’s a nice dilemma as I know I’ll be looking forward to plugging in my ear phones and getting stuck in a new book.

Some of the books offered to me this month are:

The Girl Before by JP Delaney

Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney

Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

Which one would you choose? 

Have you ever tried Audible? You can sign up now for a free trial! 

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