Kiwi writer and poet Freya Daly Sadgrove joins Liz and Ben from Sydney as we adjust our uniforms and march into the horrible realities of war (class, gender and literal) to discuss Terry Pratchett’s thirty-first Discworld novel, 2003’s Monstrous Regiment.

Polly Perks has cut off her hair, put on some trousers and joined the army under the name of Oliver, all so she can find her strong but gentle-minded brother, Paul. Is soon turns out that her regiment, led by the infamous Sergeant Jackrum who swears to look after “his little lads”, is quite possibly the last one left in all of Borogravia. In her search for Paul, Polly will have to deal with the enemy, the free press, a vampire who might kill for a coffee, Sam Vimes, and The Secret: she might not be the only impostor in the ranks…

Coming in between the first two Tiffany Aching novels, Monstrous Regiment – which is also monstrous in size, possibly Pratchett’s second longest novel – is the last truly standalone Discworld story. It introduces a wonderful cast of characters who, sadly, we’ll never see again. Not only that, but it gives major supporting roles to old favourites Sam Vimes and William de Worde, with a side order of Otto von Chriek! Critics at the time compared it to Evelyn Waugh, Jonathan Swift and All Quiet on the Western Front, and it remains one of Pratchett’s most beloved and celebrated novels – both for what it says about war, and about gender.

Did you know The Secret before you read Monstrous Regiment? What’s it like re-reading it when you do know? How do you feel about the ending(s)? How does Pratchett’s handling of gender hold up against our modern understanding? What would you prohibit, in Nugganite fashion? And would you rather have a type of food or clothing named after you? Get on board the conversation for this episode with the hashtag #Pratchat76.

Freya Daly Sadgrove (she/her) is a pākehā writer and performance poet from New Zealand, currently living in Sydney. Her first book of poetry, Head Girl, was published in 2020 by Te Herenga Waka University Press, and she is one of the creators of New Zealand live poetry showcase Show Ponies, which presents poets like they’re pop stars. Her first full-length live show, 2023’s Whole New Woman, blended poetry with live rock music. Freya has a website at freyadalysad.com (though it might not be available at the moment), and you can also find her as @FreyaDalySad on Twitter.

As usual you’ll find comprehensive notes and errata for this episode on our website, including lots of photos of the components we discuss.

Next episode we’re discussing two short stories about animals: “Hollywood Chickens” (found in A Blink of the Screen) and “From the Horse’s Mouth” (from A Stroke of the Pen). Our guest will be the author of The Animals in That Country, Laura Jean McKay. Get your questions in by mid-April 2024 by replying to us or using the hashtag #Pratchat77 on social media, or email us at [email protected].

Want to help us get to the end of our six(ish) year mission and read every Pratchett book – and more? You can support us with a tip, or a subscription for as little as $2 a month, and that’s cuttin’ our own throats! See our Support Us page for details.

Our Monstrous Regiment episode still isn’t quite ready, so we’ve had to push it to April. In the meantime, Ben gets nerdy about some recent Discworld and Pratchett news about books and roleplaying games.

A few brief notes:

• “50 Years of Terry Pratchett” was actually announced in November 2021, marking fifty years since the publication of The Carpet People in 1971. (In Ben’s defence, those early pandemic years all blur into one.) It kicked off with a new print and audiobook edition of that book; the new audio version was read by David Tennant! The new Discworld audiobooks and paperbacks from Penguin were published between 2022 and 2023, though the audiobook of Hogfather was released early for Christmas 2021, using the same artwork as the 25th anniversary paperback edition.
• For more on the books released as part of 50th anniversary celebrations, see the L-Space wiki “50 Years of Terry” article.
• You can check out the cover design for the new edition of The Last Hero on the Gollancz website.
• The new paperback edition of Eric was published on 23 February 2023. The new audiobook, read by Colin Morgan, had been previously released with the other Wizards books on 7 July 2022.
• The Collector’s Library edition of Dodger can be seen in the terrypratchett.com announcement.
• You can see the “Forty Years of Discworld” logo at terrypratchett.com. The “Year of Discworld” was announced on the day of the fortieth anniversary, promising “more on that soon”.
• Both the terrypratchett.com announcement and Modiphius announcement for Terry Pratchett’s Discworld: Adventure in Ankh-Morpork include links to Modiphius’ fan survey (it’s a Google form). Modiphius also has a mailing list you can sign up to for more news.
• Ben forgot to mention this, but Modiphius’ license is for Discworld “tabletop games”, including board games. No news on those yet, though!

We’ll be back with #Pratchat76, our proper Monstrous Regiment episode on 8 April. Then in May we’ll be reading “Hollywood Chickens” (which you can find in A Blink of the Screen) and “From the Horse’s Mouth” (from A Stroke of the Pen, or in earlier form as “Johnno, The Talking Horse” in The Time Traveling Caveman and Other Stories) with guest Laura Jean McKay. Send in your questions about those stories via email, or using the hashtag #Pratchat77 on social media.

Want to help us get to the end of our six(ish) year mission and read every Pratchett book – and more? You can support us with a tip, or a subscription for as little as $2 a month, and that’s cuttin’ our own throats! See our Support Us page for details.

Our Monstrous Regiment episode won’t be ready until later in the month, but we didn’t want to let International Women’s Day pass without some kind of comment. So here’s a mini episode in your feed recommending some other Pratchett and Discworld podcasts hosted by women and non-binary folks.

Here’s a list of the Discworld podcasts Ben mentioned:

• The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret, hosted by Francine Carrel and Joanna Hagan. They covered Monstrous Regiment over three episodes in April 2023: “[REDACTED]”, “The Implication of Hippo” and “Gender is a Fake Drug”. You can support them on Patreon.
• Disc Coverers, hosted by Iris Jay, Grace Lovelace, Balina Mahigan, and Juniper Theory.
• Nanny Ogg’s Book Club, hosted by Tessa Swelha and Nigel. Their Monstrous Regiment episode was in September 2023.
• Teaching My Cat to Read, hosted by Eli, M, Ro and Lotti. You can support them on Ko-Fi.
• Fiction Fans, hosted by Sara and Lily. You can support them on Patreon.

Other links from this episode:

• Our wiki indexing Discworld podcasts is the Guild of Recappers and Podcasters. There’s a page for Monstrous Regiment listing all the episodes discussing it.
• The Melbourne-based charity is independent feminist organisation the Victorian Women’s Trust. They’ve produced their own podcasts, including Money Power Freedom, which was co-hosted by Cal Wilson.
• We won’t link to it, but don’t go to internationalwomensday.com; instead you want the official UN Women site, unwomen.org.

Our April episode, #Pratchat77, will be with guest Laura Jean McKay, author of The Animals in That Country. We’ll be discussing the short stories “Hollywood Chickens” from A Blink of the Screen, and “From the Horse’s Mouth” from A Stroke of the Pen. An earlier version of “From the Horse’s Mouth” is “Johnno, the Talking Horse”, which was collected in The Time-Travelling Caveman and Other Stories, and in deluxe editions of The Witch’s Vacuum Cleaner and Other Stories.

In this very three-quarters-of-a-century episode, Liz, Ben and guest Dr Melissa Rogerson get out the eight-sided dice and roll for initative – or at least cunning – as we play the 2011 board game, Guards! Guards!, designed by Leonard Boyd and David Brashaw, and based on the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett.

The eight great spells have escaped from Unseen University’s library, ready to unleash chaos on Ankh-Morpork! Thankfully Commander Vimes has taken charge. He’s assigned members of the Watch (that’s you) to liaise with four of the Guilds to round up volunteers and bring those spells back. But Guild rivalries run deep, and surely the Patrician will look kindly on whoever saves the day the most. So if one of the other Guilds’ volunteers should go missing or explode or fall into the Ankh, your Guild would only be too willing to shoulder more of the burden of saving the city…

Created by two Irish Discworld fans who approached Terry with the idea (see David Brashaw’s great interview with The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret), Guards! Guards! A Discworld Board Game sees players roaming about a hexagon-based map of Ankh-Morpork collecting Discworld characters, casting spells from scrolls, equipping magic items and occasionally fighting dragons. Which sounds suspiciously like a very different kind of game… Originally published in 2011 by BackSpindle Games and Z-Man Games, and reprinted with a revised rulebook in 2012, Guards! Guards! was a hit with fans – but board game hobbyists were less enthusiastic.

Have you played Guards! Guards! – and if so, how long did it take you? Do you like the kind of game where being mean to the other players is part of the fun? Do you think it captures the essence of the source material, and if so, which books in particular? Is this the best name for the game, or do you have a better suggestion? (Ours was Guilds! Guilds!) And should we play an exhibition match at the Australian Discworld Convention, of this or one of the other games? We’d love to hear what you think: use the hashtag #Pratchat75 to join the conversation.

Dr Melissa Rogerson is a Lecturer and Assistant Professor in the School of Computing and Information Systems at The University of Melbourne. She was last on for #PratchatPlaysThud, “The Troll’s Gambit”, discussing the first Discworld board game in Nivember 2022. Melissa’s current research is about hybrid games which use both physical and digital components, as well as the possibility of using games to tell the stories of older people. You can find out more about her work at hybridgameresearch.net, melissarogerson.com, or find her on Twitter and Mastodon as @melissainau, and on BoardGameGeek as melissa. (A mentioned last time, Ben is on there too, as beejay.)

As usual you’ll find comprehensive notes and errata for this episode on our website, including lots of photos of the components we discuss.

Next episode we’ll be discussing a Discworld novel for the first time in ages – and not just any Discworld novel, but one of the most beloved! Yes, for #Pratchat76 we’re finally talking about Monstrous Regiment. Get your questions in before the last week of February to give them a chance of getting on the show! Use the hashtag on social media (Mastodon, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and BlueSky), or email us at [email protected].

Want to help us get to the end of our six(ish) year mission and read every Pratchett book – and more? You can support us with a tip, or a subscription for as little as $2 a month, and that’s cuttin’ our own throats! See our Support Us page for details.

In this very special Hogswatch-adjacent episode of Pratchat, Liz and Ben don’t discuss a Terry Pratchett book! Instead, they interview Rhianna Pratchett and Gabrielle Kent, authors of Tiffany Aching’s Guide to Being a Witch.

Tiffany Aching’s Guide to Being a Witch is a new lavishly illustrated guidebook to witchcraft, compiled by the famous young witch of the Chalk – with a little help from her friends, of course. Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, Miss Tick, Mrs Letice Earwig and more have all annotated the manuscript – as have Tiffany’s fairy allies and protectors, the Nac Mac Feegle.

We’ll return to the book for a regular discussion in a future episode, but for now, please enjoy our chat with Rhianna and Gabrielle – though note that as Tiffany Aching’s Guide is set after The Shepherd’s Crown, you might catch a couple of brief spoilers for the final Discworld novel in this interview. The same is true for their previous appearances on our spiritual sibling podcasts, The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret and The Compleat Discography, which you will probably also enjoy.

You can send us comments and questions about this episode using the hashtag #Pratchat74. And as usual you can find errata and other notes for this episode on our website.

Guest Rhianna Pratchett is a writer best known for her work in videogames, most famously the 2013 reboot of Tomb Raider, and most recently Lost Words: Beyond the Page with Sketchbook Games. Rhianna also works in film and television production, and since 2012 has co-run Narrativia, the company which manages Terry Pratchett’s intellectual property. Rhianna recently made her first podcast series, Mythical Creatures, for BBC Radio 4; find it via your favourite podcast app, or on the BBC Sounds website. You can also follow Rhianna on social media at @rhipratchett on Twitter and Mastodon, and as @rhi.bsky.social on Bluesky.

Guest Gabrielle Kent is now best known as a children’s author, but worked in videogames as an artist and lecturer for many years. Her books include the Knights and Bikes series based on the videogame of the same name; the Alfie Bloom series about a boy who inherits a magical castle; and most recently Rani Reports, a series about a young aspiring journalist, co-written with her husband Satish Shewhorak. You can find out more about Gabrielle via her website, gabriellekent.com. Gabrielle is also on social media as @gabriellekent on Twitter and Bluesky.

Next month we get our game one again as we play and discuss the second published Discworld board game, Guards! Guards!, designed by Leonard Boyd and David Brashaw of BackSpindle Games. Get your questions in via social media using the hashtag #Pratchat75, or send us an email at [email protected].

Want to help us get to the end of our six(ish) year mission and read every Pratchett book – and more? You can support us with a tip, or a subscription for as little as $2 a month, and that’s cuttin’ our own throats! See our Support Us page for details.

In this very special Christmas episode, Liz and Ben fly without a guest as they turn the seasonal silliness up to maximum and discuss all eleven stories in Terry Pratchett’s 2017 collection of short Christmas stories, Father Christmas’s Fake Beard.

It’s not always easy being Father Christmas. You might be forced out of home by a rogue submarine or the harsh reality of a job where you only work one day a year; you might be sent fifty thousand identical letters by a computer or put on trial for three thousand counts of breaking and entering. But at least you don’t live in Blackbury, where giant pies explode, the snow falls so thick you have to dig tunnels to see your granny, and where weird creatures show up every other day. And you won’t believe the true stories behind some of your favourite Christmas songs…

While he later claimed short stories “cost me blood”, Pratchett wrote scores of stories every year while working in his first newspaper jobs between 1965 and 1979, and continued to sell them to his old papers even after he went to work for the Central Electricity Governing Board. These included plenty of Christmas stories – and eleven of them (well…eight plus three wintery ring-ins) from between 1967 and 1992 are collected in this third volume of his early work for children.

Have you read Father Christmas’s Fake Beard? Is “Father Christmas” more British than Santa Claus? Do you prefer these (close to) original versions of the stories, or some of the later re-written versions unearthed for A Stroke of the Pen? Have you ever seen one of these stories in their original habitat, the Southwestern British Newspaper? And what should we name our Prod-Ye-A’Diddle Oh team? Join in the conversation on social media using the hashtag #Pratchat73!

“Guest” Elizabeth Flux is a freelance writer and editor, and also currently Arts Editor for The Age newspaper in Melbourne. You can find out where Liz’s short fiction has been published via her website, elizabethflux.com.

“Guest” Ben McKenzie is a writer, game designer and educator who doesn’t usually work in short fiction. But you can find a few short Twine games on his website, benmckenzie.com.au.

As usual, you can find notes and errata for this episode on our website.

Next episode we have two actual very special guests: Rhianna Pratchett and Gabrielle Kent! They’re joining us for a chat about their new book, Tiffany Aching’s Guide to Being a Witch. This will be more an interview than an in-depth discussion about the book (which, we feel we should warn you, include spoilers for some key events and characters for The Shepherd’s Crown, but we’ll try to keep those spoilers to a minimum). As well as asking our own questions, we want to ask them yours! So send them in using the hashtag #Pratchat74 or via email to [email protected], but be quick: we’ll be recording on the 15th of December!

Want to help us get to the end of our six(ish) year mission and read every Pratchett book – and more? You can support us with a tip, or a subscription for as little as $2 a month, and that’s cuttin’ our own throats! See our Support Us page for details.

24 November 2023 marks forty years since Terry Pratchett’s The Colour of Magic was first published. That’s right – it’s Discworld’s fortieth birthday! To celebrate, join Pratchat producer and co-host Ben McKenzie as he – and a bunch of special guests – try to figure out why that book, and moreso the Discworld series it started, have endured for so long.

This episode is something of an experiment for Pratchat, and as Ben says during the episode, this can’t possibly cover all the reasons why the series is so beloved. We want to hear about your favourite Discworld books, and what the Discworld means to you. And we’d love to know what you thought of this episode, and whether you’d like to hear more like it in the future! Tell us via the hashtag #PratchatRuby on social media, or get in touch via email or our subscriber Discord.

Huge thanks to everyone who contributed to this episode:

• Rachel and Jason of the newsletter Better Than a Poke in the Eye (previously known as Discworld Monthly). You can read their thoughts on the fortieth anniversary here: “Celebrating 40 years of Terry Pratchett’s The Colour of Magic”.
• Marc Burrows, author of The Magic of Terry Pratchett and creator of the one-man stage show of the same name. Marc is also the guest host for the final episode of Desert Island Discworld, also released on the fortieth anniversary. (Note that it’s about The Shepherd’s Crown.)
• Adam Ford, poet. Find his zines in his Gumroad shop.
• Danny (aka Molokov) from Nullus Anxietas, the Australian Discworld Convention. The next one is in Adelaide in July 2024. Hopefully we’ll be there!
• Ian Banks.
• Aaron from The Compleat Discography podcast.
• Pratchat’s own Elizabeth Flux.
• Francine Carrel and Joanna Hagan of The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret. We appeared on their recent episode “Picture Books and Board Games” talking about Where’s My Cow? and the Discworld board games; it also includes an interview with David Brashaw of Backspindle Games.

Our original discussion of The Colour of Magic can be found in #Pratchat14, “City-State Lampoon’s Disc-Wide Vacation”, from December 2018.

Our December episode will be #Pratchat73, discussing the stories of Father Christmas’s Fake Beard. But we are hoping to bring you one more little extra before the year is out.

Want to help us get to every Pratchett book? You can subscribe for as little as $2 a month – and that’s cuttin’ our own throats! (Sorry.) Check out our Support Us page for details.

Want to help us get to the end of our six(ish) year mission and read every Pratchett book – and more? You can support us with a tip, or a subscription for as little as $2 a month, and that’s cuttin’ our own throats! See our Support Us page for details.

Unlike some DJs, Liz and Ben do take requests – like this month’s short story! They’re joined by comedian and DJ Andrew McClelland to spin discs with the soul collector, as they discuss Terry Pratchett’s 1989 short story “Turntables of the Night”.

John, one half of the “Hellfire Disco” mobile DJ business, is helping the police with their enquiries. His latest gig, a fairly sedate Halloween party, did not go smoothly – and it all revolves around a mysterious visitor to the dancefloor, who had an unusual request for DJ Wayne…

Written for Diana Wynne Jones’ 1989 collection of original fiction Hidden Turnings, “Turntables of the Night” came to Pratchett title first. It’s a spooky tale of obsession, records, music and death – or rather Death, appearing outside the Discworld for perhaps the first time in Pratchett’s writing.

Is this fantasy or horror? Did Pratchett really know who Ian Curtis was? Who did he call up to get insight into the DJ trade? What would Death ask you to curate for him? Who would be the crown jewel in his collection now? And which of Pratchett’s other short stories do you want us to devote an entire episode to? Join in the conversation using the hashtag #Pratchat72 on social media.

Guest Andrew McClelland (he/him) is a writer, comedian and DJ who has often mixed in his other loves, like history, music, DJing and Gilbert & Sullivan, to create the “niche” nerdy and gentlemanly comedy for which he’s known. Andy has also frequently collaborated with #Pratchat38 guest Lawrence Leung. As a DJ, Andy works constantly in Melbourne and did indeed open for Cher during her 2018 Australia and New Zealand tour. His club night Andrew McClelland’s Finishing School doesn’t run as regularly as it used to, but as of this episode it has a 15th anniversary night on 10 November, and an annual 90s night on 24 November. Find Andy on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter (if you must) or at his website djandrewmcclelland.com. Finishing School is on Facebook.

As usual, you can find notes and errata for this episode on our website.

Next episode we get into the Hogswatch spirit by opening an entire book of season stories, as we discuss the 2017 collection of Pratchett’s children’s fiction, Father Christmas’s Fake Beard. You can send us questions about any of the stories (which we’ll list on our website for reference), or about the book in general, using the hashtag #Pratchat72 on social media. Or send them in via email to [email protected].

Want to help us get to the end of our six(ish) year mission and read every Pratchett book – and more? You can support us with a tip, or a subscription for as little as $2 a month, and that’s cuttin’ our own throats! See our Support Us page for details.

Liz and Ben are blessed by two returning guests, the Rev Dr Avril Hannah-Jones and Dr Charlotte Pezaro, as they go on one last visit to Roundworld – this time as clerics, wizards and librarians clash over who should take ownership. It’s Terry Pratchett’s fourth and final collaboration with Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen, 2013’s The Science of Discworld IV: Judgement Day.

Ponder Stibbons has just activated Unseen University’s latest “Great Big Thing”, the culmination of six years’ research (and spending) into the frontiers of magical knowledge. It summons a side effect: improbably-named librarian Marjorie Daw, from the even less probable universe in a bottle, Roundworld. Marjorie decides to stick around when she discovers her entire universe is under threat: the Church of the Latter-Day Omnians, who believe the Disc is round, think Roundworld should be theirs. After surviving elves and Auditors, will it be lawyers and priests who decide Roundworld’s fate?

This time in the (really short!) fiction chapters, the wizards barely visit Roundworld at all; Ridcully spends most of his time talking to Marjorie, before the last few chapters detail the trial – sorry, hearing – of the century. In the non-fiction chapters, Jack and Ian do talk about science…but mostly about religion. Their big idea this time revolves around Gregory Benford’s ideas of human- and universe-centred thinking. As the fiction pits priests against wizards, you can probably see where this is going. We certainly could, and we’ll be blunt: we didn’t like it.

Is this really a book about science? How do the authors’ ideas of “religion” gel with yours – or even Pratchett’s previous books and writing on the subject? What did you think of Marjorie Daw? Do you want us to do a special episode with Avril about Scott Morrison’s book? And were we too harsh on this book? Join in the conversation using the hashtag #Pratchat71 on social media.

Guest Rev Dr Avril Hannh-Jones (she/her) is a Minister in the Uniting Church. While she should be known for her tireless activism for marginalised communities, most people know her for the Church of the Latter Day Geek: an occasional service where science fiction and fantasy stories serve as parables, and cosplay is allowed in the pews. Avril previously appeared on Pratchat back in 2019 to discuss Small Gods in #Pratchat16. Avril posts weekly Reflections on her blog, Rev Doc Geek, tweets as @DocAvvers, and would love to see you at a Sunday service at North Balwyn Uniting Church.

Guest Dr Charlotte Pezaro (she/her) is an educator with a PhD in pedagogy and years of experience communicating science and technology, and shaping how it is taught in Australian schools. She last joined us in 2021 for #Pratchat41 to discuss Nation, which is both Charlotte’s and Pratchett’s favourite Pratchett book. You can find out more about Charlotte at charlottepezaro.com, or her education work at dialogic.com.au.

As usual, you can find notes and errata for this episode on our website.

Next episode it’s time for another short story: this time a young adult one Pratchett wrote for Diana Wynn Jones in 1989, “Turntables of the Night”. It was originally published in the anthology Hidden Turnings, but you’ll most easily find it in Pratchett’s short fiction collection A Blink of the Screen. We’ll be discussing this tale of record collectors and DJs with superstar DJ and comedian, Andrew McClelland! Have a read and send us your questions using the hashtag #Pratchat72, or via email to [email protected].

Want to help us get to the end of our six(ish) year mission and read every Pratchett book – and more? You can support us with a tip, or a subscription for as little as $2 a month, and that’s cuttin’ our own throats! See our Support Us page for details.

Liz and Ben are joined by guest author Caimh “C. K.” McDonnell as they read a very early and very short chapter in the history of the Watch: Terry Pratchett’s 1993 short Discworld story, “Theatre of Cruelty”.

When the Watch discover a murdered entertainer with pockets full of change, a string of sausages round his neck, and no witnesses to the crime, the Clues are very unhelpful. But Corporal Carrot is on the case – and when it comes to solving the crime, he knows the way to do it…

Written for W H Smith’s free Bookcase magazine – a pristine copy of which now fetches a few hundred dollars – “Theatre of Cruelty” was published not long before the second Watch novel, Men at Arms. It packs more jokes into 1,000 words than most people write in a lifetime, and is also a delightful extra outing with the original officers of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. But don’t take our word for it: you can read it yourself at the L-Space web.

Is it a satisfying murder mystery? Why does Pratchett seem to have a thing for Punch and Judy? And how on Earth did we talk for nearly two hours about such a short piece of writing? Join the conversation – and send us your favourite short stories and cruel bits of theatre – using the hashtag #Pratchat70.

Guest Caimh McDonnell is a comedian, writer and author best known for two series of books. The first is the “Dublin Trilogy” comic thrillers, starring Bunny McGarry and a cast of loveable rogues, beginning with A Man With One of Those Faces in 2016 (though see the reading order on his website). The other – as C. K. McDonnell – is the comic urban fantasy series The Stranger Times, about a weird newspaper called The Stranger Times, and beginning with the novel titled…er…The Stranger Times in 2021. Aside from his books you can hear his writing on two podcasts: The Bunnycast for further crime stories, and The Stranger Times Podcast for more Stranger Times. You might also catch him live this Halloween via his Facebook or YouTube accounts! Caimh is on Twitter at @caimh, and his website is whitehairedirishman.com. The Stranger Times series has its own site at thestrangertimes.co.uk.

You’ll find notes and errata for this episode on our web site.

For our October episode, we’re going on one last trip to Roundworld as we read and discuss The Science of Discworld IV: Judgement Day with two special guests, including our old friend and Uniting Church minister, the Reverend Doctor Avril Hannah-Jones. We’re recording around the 25th of September, so don’t delay – get your questions about the book (or the Science series as a whole!) in ASAP via email to [email protected], or on social media using the hashtag #Pratchat71.

Want to help us get to the end of our six(ish) year mission and read every Pratchett book – and more? You can support us with a tip, or a subscription for as little as $2 a month, and that’s cuttin’ our own throats! See our Support Us page for details.

We engage the matrix drive and set course for the Discworld that might have been, as EJ Mann joins us to discuss Terry Pratchett’s first attempt at writing a flat Earth, 1981’s Strata.

200-year-old human Kin Arad works for the Company building planets – the traditional, oblate spheroid kind. So when deep space pioneer Jago Jalo shows up wearing an invisibility cloak, and says he’s discovered a flat Earth full of advanced technology, she can’t resist. She’s joined by Marco, a four-armed paranoid Kung pilot who thinks he’s human; and Silver, a huge, gentle, bear-like and potentially ravenous Shand linguist. But the expedition soon goes wrong: betrayed by Jalo, their ship destroyed, the trio are stranded on a bizarre Disc-world full of dragons, demons and humans with strange beliefs. It’s also a duplicate of medieval Europe – but the world is breaking down. It’s a race against time as they journey to the centre of the Disc looking for a means of escape – and something is watching them all the way…

Pratchett’s third novel, the last before The Colour of Magic changed his life forever, Strata is a direct parody of Larry Niven’s 1970 sci-fi classic Ringworld. Many of Pratchett’s favourite ideas, jokes and themes appear here for the first time. You’ll find talking ravens, magic mixed with technology, characters who TALK LIKE THIS and an author taking the fantastic seriously to the point of absurdity. There are even a few bright young things who’ll later make it big on the Discworld, like the Broken Drum and Mrs Widgery’s Lodger.

Did you know this was a parody of Ringworld? Does it stands on its own, or is it doomed to live in the shadow of it’s more successful younger sibling? Could Pratchett have made it as a science fiction writer if he hadn’t switched to fantasy? And what standalone novel do you wish would inspire a series of 41 similar-but-different novels? Let us know! Use the hashtag #Pratchat68 to join the conversation. Though not on Bluesky, if you’re joining us there, because apparently they’re too good for hashtags?

Guest EJ Mann (they/them) is spec fic fan, occasional spec fic writer (as E. H. Mann), nature nerd and long-time participant and organiser on the Australian convention scene. You can read some of their short fiction at their website, ehmannwrites.com. As mentioned at the top of the episode, EJ currently works for conservation charity Bush Heritage Australia, who work to preserve Australian wildlife by buying and caring for bushland in consultation with traditional owners. You can find out more about them at bushheritage.org.au.

As usual, you can find notes and errata for this episode on our website.

Next month we get back to the actual, honest-to-Glod Discworld with the short story “Theatre of Cruelty”, which we’ll be discussing with Irish author Caimh McDonnell! You can most easily find the story in Pratchett’s fiction anthology A Blink of the Screen. Get your questions in via social media using the hashtag #Pratchat70 (again, not on Bluesky), or send us an email at [email protected].

Want to help us get to the end of our six(ish) year mission and read every Pratchett book – and more? You can support us with a tip, or a subscription for as little as $2 a month, and that’s cuttin’ our own throats! See our Support Us page for details.