Discworld Read-Along #7: Pyramids

I’ve read Terry Pratchett’s Pyramids several times. Technically, I know for sure I’ve read it four times now, but I believe there are a couple more times than that. My feelings on the novel have fluctuated over the years, though, with each reread being approached from a new perspective. This time around, on this read-through, I was initially confused as to why I held this book in such high regard. After a long hiatus (sorry about that), I came back to the novel with fresh eyes and was ready to really reflect on my reasonings for having loved this book so much when I first read it a decade ago.

What Is This?

Maybe you’re new here, or maybe my nearly year-long hiatus caused you to forget what’s going on here, so let me clue you in as to what’s happening. This is my ongoing chronological read-along of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, and we are currently on the seventh book in the series: Pyramids. I myself have been a fan of Discworld since I first read The Wee Free Men at about 12 or 13, and a fan of Terry Pratchett (whom I have since considered my favorite author for the majority of my life) since I first read Only You Can Save Mankind long before that. You can participate in this read-along very easily! Just pick up the next book we’re reading in the series, read it, and then participate in the discussion post that I put up on my YouTube channel’s Community tab later on!

We’ll get into more details about that toward the end of the post. Today is the discussion day, and as you may have guessed, we’re going to be talking about Pyramids, a book I was surprised to learn isn’t really much of a favorite among readers. Despite not everyone loving this book, there is a lot to unpack from it. Pyramids is rich with worldbuilding, metaphors, hilarity, and parody. We can’t cover everything in this discussion post, but I’ll be hitting all the important notes—your thoughts, my thoughts, and the Internet’s thoughts.

So, without too much ado, let’s talk about Pyramids.

Structure of Pyramids

Pyramids has a structure that is unique to Discworld. Where previous books were largely void of chapters, this one is more similar to The Colour of Magic in that it is divided into books. Though, for The Colour of Magic, those were novellas that were pulled together into a novel-length collection, whereas Pyramids was written as a cohesive whole, then divided into its four shorter “books”. These books are The Book of Going Forth, The Book of the Dead, The Book of the New Son, and The Book of 101 Things a Boy Can Do. Each of these titles is, as you might expect, a reference to something. The Book of the Dead, I figure, is rather obvious. The Book of the New Son is both a pun referring to what takes place in Pyramids and a reference to an earlier work titled The Book of the New Sun—that is to say, Sun with a U. Ultimately they’re the same pun, but they apply in different ways. The Book of 101 Things a Boy Can Do is another straightforward reference—you’ve probably seen all of those The Book of 101 X books at libraries, in the hands of children, or even on your own shelves.

My top pick among the book titles in Pyramids is The Book of Going Forth. This title caught my attention during this chronological reading because it reminded me of a similar title from The Light Fantastic: The Book of Going Forth Around Elevenish. In going down the rabbit hole regarding this, I also learned that the real Book of the Dead was once called The Book of Going Forth by Day. So, "The Book of Going Forth" is likely a reference to both the in-world Discworld book and the real-world The Book of the Dead. I thought that was a pretty fun tidbit; of course, it seems that the entire Discworld fandom already knew this except for me, but it was a nice little discovery for myself.

Summary of Pyramids

I want to take the opportunity that the structure of Pyramids has given us to summarize it in four parts. Instead of just summarizing the book as a whole, I’m going to take the time to summarize each of its four internal books. If you haven’t read Pyramids and you don’t want spoilers, this is the part of the post where you should stop, go read Pyramids—it’ll only take an afternoon or two if you start around elevenish—and then come back. Okay, you’ve been warned. Let’s trudge on!

Book One: The Book of Going Forth

We open Pyramids with the young lad Teppic, a veritable Prince of Egypt (or, for Discworld, Djelibeybi). When the story begins, Teppic is taking his Assassin’s Exam, administered by what we can infer is one of the more strict and harsh instructors for the guild. The opening here is an admittedly confusing mixture of flashbacks and present-day, wherein we see Teppic flashing back to his days in Djelibeybi, his time being educated by the Assassin’s Guild, and then snapping back to the exam he’s currently taking as he overcomes pitfall after pitfall before finally arriving at the final stage of the exam: an assassination. Teppic determines he can’t justify assassinating this target, and so instead of killing the subject, fires his crossbow waywardly in the hopes of failing his exam. Instead, the bolt ricochets and Teppic passes the exam anyway.

In the meantime, Teppic’s father has passed away back home. We get a brief appearance from Death, but the pharaoh doesn’t get the same sort of treatment that we’ve seen given to other souls. Death doesn’t collect him—he leaves—and Teppic becomes a ghost, damned to a pyramid. He rather quickly starts to realize how ridiculous his beliefs have always been, and no longer wants a pyramid—a giant coffin in which he’ll be stuck for eternity. Teppic, far away from home, realizes he has to return home, and makes way for Djelibeybi.

Book Two: The Book of the Dead

Teppic returns home for the first time in a long while, and is shown his father’s mummified body. His father, Teppicymon, attempts to tell him that he’s having doubts about the whole business with pyramids and all that, but Teppic is unable to hear his father’s ghost. Dios—a figure who will play a rather significant and infuriating role from here on—speaks for Teppic’s father, claiming he can accurately convey the king’s desires. So when Teppic suggests that perhaps they bury his father at sea, Dios insists that Teppicymon is requesting a remarkable, substantial pyramid. So they push for the biggest, fanciest pyramid ever—one that has everything. They type that cheat code in that gives you access to every single possible thing, and they slap all of it on there. No Sims mansion could possibly compare, regardless of what mods are installed.

Later on, as Teppic assumes more regal duties, he realizes he’s not really in control of… anything. He sits there, he nods, and then anything he says is “interpreted” (read, misinterpreted) by Dios, who declares whatever it is he claims Teppic intended to declare. The final case Teppic hears concerns Ptraci, one of his father’s handmaidens. Unlike the other handmaidens, she has refused to be ceremoniously poisoned so she can die and serve Teppic’s father in the afterlife. She states she has no interest in being buried in a pyramid. Despite Teppic’s wishes, Dios sentences her to death—I believe by being thrown to the crocodiles—the following day. That evening, Teppic takes matters into his own hands and uses his knowledge and skill imparted to him by guild instructors to disguise himself and rescue Ptraci, which he successfully does before hiding her in an embalming room. Dios is, as would be expected, unhappy to find that Ptraci has escaped.

Teppic later returns for Ptraci and is going to help her flee by camel when they are discovered by guards, who call for Dios. Dios claims rather confidently that Teppic is not the king, but rather an assassin sent to kill the king. It isn’t just Dios being Dios, either—Dios genuinely seems to believe this statement to be true. At that moment, Teppic’s father’s pyramid seems to erupt with anomalous energy, distorting reality, time, and space. This bizarre phenomenon allows Ptraci and Teppic to escape with the camel, You Bastard, the greatest mathematician who has ever lived on the Disc.

Book Three: The Book of the New Son

The phenomenon caused by the pyramid has caused Djelibeybi to vanish… or, maybe not to vanish, but to become distorted. Ptraci notes that you can still see it if you look at the right spot in a precise way. Neither Ptraci nor Teppic can figure out how to fix it, so Teppic figures he’ll go to Ephebe and seek his answers there.

Meanwhile, back in Djelibeybi, the architect Ptaclusp determines that the kingdom has been pushed into another dimension. Interestingly, in this dimension, the gods are also present… their gods. The crazy, bizarre deities that the people of Djelibeybi have always worshipped and served, but have maybe not believed in deep down. Yet there they are, right in front of them, causing absolute mayhem. Dios doesn’t seem to be in commission during this, so the priest Koomi tries to achieve power, but Dios snaps out of it and declares that he, in fact, is in charge. Not in charge of just the kingdom, mind you—he declares he’s in charge of the gods. They don’t seem very receptive to this, however. Worse still for Dios, Pharaoh Teppicymon wakes up, stuffs gets his organs, and walks his mummified corpse out to find out what’s happening. His prime concern is that all his ancestors are likely walking around just like he is. Teppic’s father has the embalmer Dil and his apprentice Gern break the other mummies out of their pyramids. Every ancestor seems to agree that pyramids probably weren’t a smart idea after all.

Teppic and Ptraci make it to Ephebe and seek to meet with the Ephebians to find answers. Teppic is invited to a summit, but Ptraci is told that she isn’t invited. Don’t worry, it’s not because they’re sexist—it’s just that a woman’s brain can’t handle all that intelligent and philosophical conversation, so they’re simply looking out for her well-being. At the summit, everyone talks, but no one really listens except for one person, Endos the Listener, who is… well, paid to listen to everyone yammer. Teppic finally gets answers from Pthagonal, who tells him that the very shape of pyramids distort and consume time, forcing the kingdom to essentially exist in time that already passed (it makes sense, I’m sure). Once reunited with Ptraci, Teppic tells her what he has learned and she tells him that maybe it would be wisest to simply leave the kingdom to its own devices. Teppic does consider this, then hears someone call him by name: an old classmate from his time with the assassins. The other young man, Chidder, allows Ptraci and Teppic to dine with him, and begins to propose a sort of allegiance between his organization of people who are certainly not pirates and Teppic’s kingdom of Djelibeybi.

While sleeping that night, Teppic dreams about his ancestors in a cryptic, yet hilarious montage of strangeness and religious commentary. The dream is pulled almost directly from the Bible, referencing a dream Joseph explained (though, I don’t think Joseph’s had a trombone or anything like that in it). The seven fat cows and seven thin cows are also mentioned a few times in this novel, and every time is at least mildly amusing, though the actual dream itself is hysterical. Once Teppic’s hilarious dream has ended and he awakens, he leaves, fetches You Bastard, and makes his way back to Djelibeybi with newfound motivation to recover his kingdom. Together with You Bastard and some clever thinking that makes use of the camel’s dehydration and nose for water, Teppic runs through a stone wall, vanishes, and appears in another dimension… but it’s not the one he wanted.

Book Four: The Book of 101 Things a Boy Can Do

Teppic and You Bastard have entered the pocket dimension containing the Sphinx, which of course gives him a riddle as would be expected. It’s one of the dumber riddles, and thankfully Terry (through Teppic) tears it apart. You’ve probably heard it before, the old “what walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening” schtick, with “a human” as the answer… somehow. This scene goes on for some time, as Teppic explains to the Sphinx why the riddle doesn’t make sense and how to make it make sense (although, even once it’s made to make sense, it still really doesn’t). Once the Sphinx has been stalled and tricked, Teppic makes his escape and finally makes his way into Djelibeybi.

The priests of Djelibeybi are completely confused because no matter what they do or say, the gods don’t really seem to care. Dios has no effect on them, either, and they don’t have a king who can represent them in their attempt to communicate with the deities of Djelibeybi. Dios recalls that, long ago, kings would be sacrificed to the gods to appease them and wrest them back under control, so he decides that this may be the best course of action for them. As they are deliberating over this, the army of mummies bursts into the pyramid of King Khuft, the first pharaoh, where they discover writing on the walls that they… very slowly interpret.

Teppic, finally back in his kingdom, makes way for the palace. When he realizes there’s no one there, he sees them gathered at the riverbank and heads down to speak with them. This is where he learns that the priests of Djelibeybi are seeking to speak with the dead, but have taken all the boats, preventing Teppic from crossing. As Teppic tries to figure out a way to cross the river, he feels divine power surging through him and uses it to part the sea in yet another biblical nod. He crosses the river on solid ground and reaches the City of the Dead, which he navigates acrobatically to reach the new pyramid. He seeks out the architect Ptaclusp and talks to him about what has caused this phenomenon.

The mummified ancestors confront the priests of Djelibeybi, led by Dios, who finally admits the truth: he has lived for thousands of years and is actively fighting change. If they destroy or change the pyramids, it means that Djelibeybi will be a changeable place. He is clutching onto the kingdom’s traditions with a white-knuckled grip, refusing to release the past. The gods, priests, and ancestors notice that Teppic is moving to destroy the pyramid that has caused all these interdimensional shenanigans. Dios is intent on letting the gods stop Teppic, but the ancestors who have been stuffed into pyramids for so many years bar their path, standing to Teppic’s defense. Teppic successfully destroys the pyramid, sending everyone and everything back to the place and time they’re supposed to be.

As king, Teppic is off ordering people about and doing kingly things, this time without Dios’s intervention. Chidder eventually reaches Djelibeybi to bring Ptraci to Teppic, who suggests to her that he could leave the kingdom behind and run away with her… and then they realize that they’re siblings. Teppic gives her the kingdom, though she herself is rather pro-incest (as the kingdom itself has always been), but Teppic is rightly disgusted by it, so he leaves her behind. Ptraci becomes Queen of Djelibeybi, refusing to stick to any of the kingdom’s prior traditions. And Death finally claims the souls of all those ancestors who had been damned to life trapped in pyramids.

What Did I Think of Pyramids?

When I went in to start reading Pyramids, I was convinced that this was one of my favorite Terry Pratchett novels—I distinctly remember having loved it each time I’ve read it before, moreso than most other Discworld books. So imagine my surprise when, despite enjoying the book, I didn’t feel that same pull or draw to it that I did years ago when I first read it. I was left uncertain as to why I loved it so much, and it took some real thinking—and reflecting—to figure that out. It was during this time of reflection, in the midst of my writing of this very discussion video, that my year of 2023 was shaken up by a series of losses, failures, and frustrations that ultimately led to my absence. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that this impacted by reflection on the novel itself, so let’s have a serious talk about that.

My Initial Thoughts on Pyramids

On a surface level, Pyramids might seem like it’s just another novel dogging on religion without a lot to contribute to the discussion that’s fresh or new. On my recent read, that’s pretty much how I felt when I wrapped up reading the novel the first time. I thought, “eh, that was good, probably another three, maybe three-and-a-half star novel,” and started drafting my this post. I knew it was going to be a long one—there was certainly a lot to discuss, and I was curious to hear the thoughts of y’all and how they contrasted with my own. I was content to just say that Pyramids was entertaining, fun, and clever, but ultimately just felt like a bit of a cliche anti-religious work and move on with my day. In the gap between my reading of Pyramids and now, though, I found a new perspective and recalled why I enjoyed this book so much in the first place.

Realization Regarding Pyramids

Pyramids is not just about letting go of religion. Like much of Terry Pratchett’s writing, it has more to say than that singular blanket statement. Pyramids is a book about all of our beliefs. All of our traditions, habits, and the things we’ve just accepted. It’s about moving on, it’s about progress, and it’s about embracing the future. But, even if it is about religion—even if we limit it to that measly little element of the story—it’s still an important and meaningful message, and that is precisely why I remember it as being one of my favorite Pratchett novels.

When I read Pyramids about a decade ago, I myself was at a huge turning point in my life. Part of that turning point involved letting go of several beliefs I had held onto for much of my life after relocating to a new city and being exposed to vastly different people, worldviews, and ideas than I had been in my prior twenty or so years of existence. Rereading it now and really reflecting on it, it’s no wonder this was a book that stuck with me so much that I recalled it being a favorite; it meant a lot to me then. I read it at the right time, completely unintentionally. The story isn’t just about letting go, it’s about it being okay and even good to let go. You shouldn’t believe something or do something just because you’ve always believed it or always done it, especially when presented with new information or a better way of doing things. It’s good to grow. It’s wrong to stagnate and become inflexible and close-minded. This was something that I was wrestling with during my first time reading Pyramids, so its themes resonated with me strongly, giving me an emotional connection to the book that I had not previously dissected until writing this essay.

My Final Thoughts on Pyramids

From a critical perspective, no, Pyramids is not my favorite Terry Pratchett book now. It may not even be in my top ten. From a personal perspective, though, Pyramids is a book that meant a lot to me many years ago. While its message and story don’t have the same impact on me today, the impact that Pyramids did have on me several years ago still lingers and for that reason, I still love it and hold it in high regard.

So, while my past self would give this five stars, I’m going to give it four, here. That doesn’t invalidate how I felt about it all those years ago; in fact, maybe in another ten years, I’ll reread it and be back in a place where I feel I need to give it five stars again. That is, if I and the rest of you haven’t been incinerated by that time.

What Did You Think of Pyramids?

If it weren’t for this next section, this would just be a series about me shouting into an echo chamber, which isn’t the point of all this. The point of all this—and what I’ve missed most during my hiatus—is to hear what you have to say and discuss that. If you don’t know, I post on my YouTube Community page during the read-along to ask for star ratings and additional thoughts from all of you. I have really missed that and am excited to get back into it, so let’s go ahead and dive in!

Star Rating

First of all, the average rating wound up being 4 stars, though we did have a good number of 2 and 3-star votes as well. I really expected this to fall more into the 3-star average, but it seems a good number of folks enjoyed this more than I expected! Also means that my 3.5 is right on the middle point, so seems we’re collectively pretty aligned! I’d love to hear especially from the extreme votes at 2 and 5 stars if any of you are still around after my absence. What about this book appealed or repelled you most?

Star ratings are fun, but the real nuance is in the comments, so let’s jump into those! I actually read this a while ago… geez, eight months ago… while I was writing this post last year, but I have the memory of that fish that doesn’t have a good memory, so this’ll be basically fresh to me.

Comments

Wolervine

It’s hard to say as I love every Discworld book in the moment. It definitely seems one of the least essential but prepares for assassin background, expansion on the role of gods, and is fun with all the maths, cloning shenanigans, and labour challenges of the Ptaclusp family… and You Bastard.

In thinking about what’s coming up in the next few novels (Guards! Guards! is next, so get pumped folks), I can definitely see how Pyramids can feel non-essential. However the world-building I feel is really important here. We’ve gotten some world-building for Discworld, but mostly it has been extraordinarily character focused from beginning to end. That’s not a bad thing, of course, but as I’ve been doing my first chronological readthrough of the series, I’ve found myself wondering when various elements I remember from the series will start arriving. The assassin training, presence of the gods, and a deeper establishment of Discworld’s setting were pretty important for this one. The story itself, though, I can see being non-essential. It does set up Small Gods, however, which I’m looking forward to hopping back into.

Amy Myers

Hello - It's taken some time to organize my thoughts about Pyramids. This is my first time reading it. I also consulted the Annotated Pratchett File website for help with obscure references. I rated Pyramids 2 stars. Out of the entirety of Discworld books, this one was lackluster. Pratchett included a lot of clever things: how the pyramids were built, the pyramids' effects on time, pocket / parallel worlds, the priest caste, and immortality. 

My major criticisms, without getting into too many spoilers, are of the lack of character development, especially Ptraci, and cut-and-paste tropes from mythology and history. I wanted more direct action in the plot by the gods of Djelibeybi rather than references to them being part of the scenery and causing destruction. I've studied archetypal myth criticism and have a little bit more knowledge of myths than the average reader, so I had higher expectations. On the other hand, I have very little knowledge of advance mathematics, so the camel's thoughts about math were entirely lost on me. Perhaps readers with a background in math would appreciate it or find humor in it. (As I often joke, I went to school for words, not numbers. LOL!). 

Overall, I look at Pyramids as establishing the background for the later novel Small Gods. Pratchett introduces Ephebe and Tsort, which will play larger roles in Small Gods. 

SPOILERS things that I enjoyed: how the masons used levitation to assemble the pyramids, how the necropolis literally became a city of the dead, how Pteppic's ancestors helped him climb the pyramid by making a mummy pyramid for him to stand on their shoulders, and the embalmers working on the dead. We can always count on Pratchett to give us a window into the lives of the working classes and their dirty jobs.

Thanks for hosting the read-along and allowing fans to contribute to the discussion. I appreciate your hard work

Firstly, oof on that last line, given that I read it and responded to it a few weeks before I vanished, and now it’s 8 months later and I’m finally getting to the video. Still, I’m glad you’re here, and I hope you’re still here!

But to address the bulk of your comment, I really appreciate you taking the time to share such insights with me! Character development here is definitely something to view as an overall pitfall for Pyramids. We had some pretty solid characters in the novels leading up to this one, so to go from that to a story-driven narrative over a character-driven one (and a story-driven narrative that, as you point out, is riddled with cliches) is a bit jarring and definitely impacted my own overall enjoyment of the novel.

You Bastard was a joy for me to read, but I am absolutely not a math person myself, so I had to accept the majority of it as fact and move on with my day in order to appreciate the joke.

The bits with the gods, though, I absolutely do agree with you. I do think that the image of the gods just being this set piece of wanton destruction in the background while folks are just going about their lives, having conversations, etc. was pretty amusing, but I am honestly not sure if that imagery was intentional or not. Given that it’s Terry Pratchett, I’m going to assume it was intentional, but I do wish the gods had played a bigger role than just being something on the green screen behind the cast.

EvilDMMk3

I’m not a huge fan, my father is but he also keeps pointing out jokes that are references to things I didn’t know about, like how Tepic dropping stuff is a reference to the 1950s kids wizard show Crackerjack (where you had to hold on to prizes and got cabbages to hold for wrong answers) or how the assassins exam closely mirrors the old UK driving test.  Upside down road signs and all.

I am left wondering how much of a headache the Djel valley gives The Order of Wen.

Okay, so I did not catch either of these given that I wasn’t alve in the 1950s and I live in freedumb land where we don’t worship the king and the driving test consists of proving you know how to use the blinker in at least one direction (and even that’s not required), but that is extremely amusing, especially the old UK driving test. That’s hilarious and I love that bit of information, so thank you for sharing that. I kind of want to look up the old UK driving tests now, but this discussion video is starting to become a novel of its own.

Sassysuzy4u

Pyramids has always been "meh" for me. Well written and gives some assassins insights, I just prefer the Watch, Witches and of course Rincewind.

Yep, I definitely agree—well, I agree now. Pyramids is pretty meh for me today, though it wasn’t always. I think it’s an important book, but has some holes in it and weaknesses that really stand out when compared to the rest of the Discworld catalog. I am excited for more assassins’ guild shenanigans, or really just all the guild shenanigans. I love the thieves’ guild, but I think everyone does. Right?

Kenneth Lawson

I didn't like the beginning of this book mainly because Teppic didn't have enough agency until he decided to save Ptraci. Then when started down this path we finally get to learn basically anything about him and I did like him as a protagonist but I did like what we got of the assassins’ guild.

I feel that in part, Teppic was supposed to be along for the ride in many respects, but reflecting on your comment, he really doesn’t have any real thoughts of his own for almost half of the book. He’s just sort of there and goes where the plot needs him. We don’t get a lot of insight into who he is as a character. But, while I wholeheartedly agreed with this sentiment when I first read your comment 8 months ago, I was a different man then, and now I have a bit of a different perspective. See, upon my own reflection as to why this book used to mean so much to me, I realized that I also was pretty much a zombie along for the ride for the first two-thirds of my life. Sure, I had more of a personality than Teppic, but I was doing what was needed and following a straight and narrow path for my own life. I wasn’t as boring as Teppic, I hope, but I was close to it. So I think it’s a double-edged sword. Teppic being along for the ride makes sense, but it could have been executed in a way that was far less dull to follow.

This is actually something that y’all discussed a bit more afterward, which I hadn’t noticed initially, and you indicate the same thing! His passivity is likely intentional and a reflection of the setting’s passivity.

Call to Action

Just because this discussion video is up doesn’t mean the discussion is over. I would still love to hear what you think about Pyramids. Did you enjoy it? How would you rate it? What do you think of my thoughts or the community’s thoughts on the book? Whatever you want to say in the comments, even if it’s roasting me, I’d love to read it and cry about it later.

Closing Remarks

As always, thank you so much for your comments. I deeply appreciate it. If even one or two of you comment, it makes all the work on these videos worthwhile because that’s why I’m doing this. I know just about every YouTuber says something similar about loving the people who engage with them and such, so this probably rings hollow, but legitimately I am excited to engage with people about Pratchett’s works, to reread this series chronologically with you all, and to hear what other people’s thoughts on these are. I get a lot of interesting perspectives from you. I have genuinely missed talking with y’all about this series, and my biggest fear in coming back after such a long hiatus is that there won’t be very many folks left given that it’s been nearly nine months now. So for those of you who commented before thank you, and for those of you who are still here or who just arrived, thank you in advance.

Pyramids is a book that took a while to really reflect on for several reasons. This video was already going to be delayed because my thoughts on it were pretty complex from the start. It was a very different experience from what we had read thus far, especially the novel Wyrd Sisters, which was… well, a lot weirder and personally more enjoyable. Yet, I was grappling with wondering why this book had previously held such a high place in my mind among the many Discworld novels I loved, so I was trying to reconcile that with my new feelings upon a reread. Then, of course, all of the awfulness of 2023 went down and I just went on a long break before finally getting the energy to come back, and now here we are with what is most likely my longest Discworld video yet (I assume—we’ll see how it tallies up in the end). This is a complicated one for me to review, but I’m glad I took the time to really give it the attention it deserved.

Too much time, really. I wish it hadn’t been so much time.

Pyramids is an okay Discworld novel, but it has an important message at its heart that, if read at the right time, can be truly impactful. The same can be said for many other novels, and yes it is riddled with cliches and there are certainly dull moments, but that doesn’t make it any less important. Whether this is the novel you read that had an impact on you or it was some other one, I will always love the effect that stories can have on us. Enjoying the book less today doesn’t make reduce its value to my younger self or my life overall.

What’s Next?

This is the part where I sit down and tell you what’s next. Normally, I give you a couple of set dates, telling you when you need to have the next book finished and when I’ll be posting my discussion video. However, I need to be more flexible with myself and you as I ease back into this. It feels wrong to try to rush back into things, and I also want to make sure I give myself time and space to breathe and work on other projects. So instead, I’ll tell you this: the next Discworld novel is Guards! Guards! and it is one of my favorites. I know I’ve said that before, but Guards! Guards! is actually one of everyone’s favorites this time, so I’m pretty confident that’s going to stay true this time. Hopefully. I can’t be wrong again. I think that’s how you get banned from YouTube or something.

Whenever you have time in the next month or two, sit down and start reading Guards! Guards!. I’ll probably begin my readthrough in a week or so. At some point between now and likely May, I’ll make a YouTube Community post asking for your reviews and thoughts on the book, and a short while after that, I’ll get to writing the next discussion post. I want to be more leisurely with this right now. Hopefully, we can work our way back into a monthly cadence, but I’m in no rush. No matter what, I am going to finish this series. I just need to be patient with myself as you all have been with me. Thanks for sticking with me.

I’ll have links in the description below where you can pick up a copy of Guards! Guards! For yourself. Doing so through my links gives me a bit of a kickback, and those ten cents eventually add up to one cup of matcha for me, so that’s greatly appreciated if you choose to grab the book that way.

Conclusion

Thank you so much, most of all, for being patient with me while I worked through what I needed to last year. I didn’t feel any insane pressures from this side of my life, and I knew I could get back to it when I had the energy and time to do so. It was important to me that when I come back, I actually be ready to come back, so I waited a bit longer than I thought I needed to. It has been a challenging hiatus for me, but I am so excited to be back to video editing and creating in this format.

If you would like to see another video from me, go ahead and click up in whatever corner the video appears in. Until next time…

Bye.