Product Description

Lost in the chill deeps of space between the galaxies, it sails on forever, a flat, circular world carried on the back of a giant turtle—

Discworld

—a land where the unexpected can be expected. Where the strangest things happen to the nicest people. Like Brutha, a simple lad who only wants to tend his melon patch. Until one day he hears the voice of a god calling his name. A small god, to be sure. But bossy as Hell.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #29809 in Books
• Published on: 1994-11-01
• Released on: 1994-09-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 384 pages

Amazon.com Review
Discworld is an extragavanza--among much else, it has billions of gods. "They swarm as thick as herring roe," writes Terry Pratchett in Small Gods, the 13th book in the series. Where there are gods galore, there are priests, high and low, and... there are novices. Brutha is a novice with little chance to become a priest--thinking does not come easily to him, although believing does. But it is to Brutha that the great god Om manifests, in the lowly form of a tortoise. --Blaise Selby

Review
"Delightful . . . logically illogical as only Terry Pratchett canwrite." -- -- Anne McCaffrey

"Pratchett is the funniest parodist working in the field today,period." -- -- The New York Review of Science Fiction

"Terry Pratchett does for fantasy what Douglas Adams did forscience fiction." -- -- Today

"Terry Pratchett is fast, funny and going places. Try him!" -- -- Piers Anthony

"There is no end to the wacky wonders . . . no fantasies as consistently, inventively mad . . . wild and wonderful!" -- -- Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine

"Unadulterated fun . . . witty, frequently hilarious . . .Pratchett parodies everything in sight." -- -- San Francisco Chronicle

Review
"Surely the best novel Terry Pratchett has ever written, and the best comedy"
-John Clute, Interzone


From the Paperback edition.

Customer Reviews

I'm a Terry Pratchett's fan
Nice critic about inquisition times combined with a great introduction to small gods concept for those not familiar with it. Makes you think about faith while it makes you laugh about everything. If I had not read better Pratchett's books, I would have rated this with a five

Thought-provoking view of the role of Religion
Terry Pratchett's Discworld series includes stories that are cynical, funny, satirical, occasionally deeply moving, and very entertaining. Like many of his fans, I believe "Small Gods" ranks at the top. It examines religion in society and manages simultaneously to condemn and endorse religion; deeply critical of religion as a tool of oppression yet supportive of religion as a path to goodness and self-enlightenment. The story takes place in Omnia, a country tyrannized by high priests in a theocracy patterned on the Spanish Inquisition. The society is so relentlessly oppressed by the dictators claiming to speak in the name of their god that the religion itself has been lost, buried in tyranny and bureaucracy. In fact, paradoxically in a country ruled by "The Church", there is almost no one left who really follows the religion. Enter Brutha, a simply country boy who is the last person in the entire country who actually believes in their god. The devout Brutha is the hero of the story, and the interaction between him, the Grand Inquisitor, and especially the abandoned god that only Brutha worships makes a very entertaining and thought-provoking novel with a terrific and moving ending.

Many of the Discworld novels are interrelated with reoccurring characters, but this one happens to be a "stand-alone" story. Although I believe knowing a little about the reoccurring character Death will help a little; Death appears several times and also contributes to the story's closure. At any rate, knowing nothing about Discworld will not inhibit enjoyment of the story at all. Overall an outstanding novel that could easily have won any or all of the major prizes in the genre.

Poke fun at religious bureaucracy
I enjoyed this quirky fantasy story. It was really humorous and managed to poke fun at religious bureaucracy.

The Great God Om has been worshipped in Omnia, a region of the infamous Discworld, for centuries. Though his statues and such appear everywhere, only one man, Brutha, actually belives in him. Without his believers, Om shrinks to embody a sarcastic little turtle. Bruta and Om set off on a journey that the reader won't soon forget.