Product Description

The Illustrated Edition of the hilarious fantasy, co-written by Terry Pratchett, at age seventeen, and Terry Pratchett, at age forty-three

In the beginning, there was nothing but endless flatness. Then came the Carpet…

Now, the Carpet is home to many different tribes and peoples, and a new story: the story of Fray, sweeping a trail of destruction across the Carpet; the story of power-hungry mouls — and of two Munrung brothers who set out on an adventure to end all adventures when their village is flattened. It’s a story that will come to a terrible end if someone doesn’t do something about it.


From the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #132052 in Books
• Published on: 1993-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 199 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8-Imagine a vast continent right below your feet. Terry Pratchett's The Carpet People takes listeners to a world filled with emperors, kings, and hardworking folk. Best known for his fantasy series Discworld, Pratchett has rewritten his first book, published when he was 17. In this thoroughly British import, the domain of The Carpet People is bordered by places such as "Wainscot" to "Hearthland." The minuscule "true human beings" who live in the carpet must contend with power hungry Muols overtaking the kingdoms that abound among the carpet fibers. Another constant concern is Fray, a whirlwind of destruction that sounds a lot like someone vacuuming. An amusing cast of characters is led by brothers, Glurk and Sbibril. They are leaders of the Munrungs clan and are looking for new homes after an attack by Fray. This fantasy has lots of encounters with danger and intervals with strangers who have mysterious powers. Richard Mitchley does an outstanding job of imbuing each of the characters with a vivid persona, a difficult task since there are so many characters. This audiobook is attractively and durably packaged in a vinyl book style case with information about both the book and the narrator. The cassettes are clearly marked, and there are listener prompts when each side ends. Though the long list of characters and places make The Carpet People more challenging in an audio format, it will fit very comfortably in both school and public libraries collections.
Barbara Wysocki, Cora J. Belden Library, Rocky Hill, CT
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
“Only a writer with a masterstroke of imagination could place an entire empire of goodies and baddies within the fronds of a carpet.”
–Daily Mail

“Brilliantly funny dialogue, high peaks of imagination.”
—The Times

“A passion for language, wordplay and puns bursts from the pages.”
—Daily Telegraph


From the Paperback edition.

From the Inside Flap
In the beginning, there was nothing but endless flatness. Then came the Carpet . . .

Customer Reviews

Wonderful, Wonderful, WONDERFUL!
At the timid age of 17, Terry Pratchett wrote a fantasy novel called The Carpet People, and it was published, just in case you haven't been blown away by this already, let me tell you that this is a Very Impressive Accomplishment. In his own words, it sold a bit, and then went out of print, and years later, when people started being impressed by the quality of Pratchett's work instead of by the simple fact that he was being published, they started asking for it. Mr. Pratchett took the book down from wherever he had kept it, and said (I'm quoting this incorrectly) "Wait a minute, I wrote this book when I thought fantasy was about kings and battles, now I think fantasy should be about how not to have kings and battles." So he rewrote the book, and it's been published/reissued. Plainly speaking, this book is about a bunch of infintesimally small people who live on a carpet, whole societies have evolved, empires have risen and fallen, the most ordinary objects, dropped onto the carpet and forgotten there become magical lands, homes and sources of industry to the molecullar inhabitants of The Carpet. This is the story of Snibril, one of the Munrungs (or in their language The Real Human Beings) and how he and his tribe join the Doomi empire to fight the Moules (or in their language The Real Human Beings) who live in the deepest recesses of the Carpet. It is impossible to describe how TRUE Pratchett's idea's are about war and about making your own choices. If I were a better writer, I could describe how happy this book made me, how magnificent it is. But as I am not, you're just going to have to take my word for it, or read the book.

A look at Pratchett's Early Work
Many readers are familiar with Terry Pratchett's Discworld series and its delicious range of unforgettable characters, satirical creations and dialogue and thought-provoking themes. Less known are his earlier works, including The Carpet People, which Pratchett first wrote as a teenager and had published, then went back to years later and rewrote the book to reflect his change in viewpoint.

The Carpet People feels more like a children's, or young adult story, although if it can be found, it will often be placed with Pratchett's Discworld titles in the fantasy section. The story is a delightful bit of imagination, entire societies coexisting within the world of the Carpet. These tiny creatures go about adventure on the epic scale, with Pratchett's typical ironic observations and humorous interpretations. Our hero, Snibril has to set out on a quest to save a kingdom from enemies and to stop the destruction of a force known only as The Fray.

This is not one of Pratchett's most seamless works by a long shot. I don't think he intended it to be. A lot of the themes and world-building elements he puts into practice for this work are later fulfilled with much more skill and elegance in his Discworld novels and Bromeliad trilogy. For any Pratchett fan, this book is a delight simply from its standpoint in the evolution of Pratchett's writing.

I gave this book four stars because I do not feel it is Pratchett's best work. It shouldn't be, this story was one of his earliest. This is a wonderful way to introduce younger readers to Pratchett, along with his Bromeliad trilogy. If you are discovering Terry Pratchett with this book, be aware that his writing only gets better from here! ^_^

Down among the warp and woof
The story behind this story is nearly the best story of all: "This book had two authors, one aged seventeen, one aged forty-three. Both of them were Terry Pratchett." Having penned this tale and had it lapse into obscurity, Pratchett is impelled by his editors to revive it years later. Rightly so. For the dedicated PTerry fan, this example of his early writing is an illuminating read. Many views expressed in the Discworld books are readily perceived here. For someone new to Pratchett, it's a great introduction to the scope of his ideas and his writing skills. For any reader, it's simply a delight to enjoy.

The story is a fine example of Pratchett's ability to view the world from a fresh perspective. If there's a fantasy novel lacking a dark forest and mysterious creatures, i've missed it. Pratchett, never a formula writer, simply shrinks the scope. His forested world is a thickly napped rug. Instead of pines or oaks, it's nylon and wool "hairs". The creatures are there, the snargs, the hymetors and others - including silverfish, who live under the world. There are also people - the Munrungs, the Deftmenes and - the Dumii. They interact, sometimes violently. Deep down in the pile, these people and their communities are invisible to humans. Something, however, sends terror through the forest peoples - Fray. This immensely destructive force topples cities and obliterates villages.

Pratchett builds a story of the conflict of respected traditions countered by innovation and invention. There is an Empire, to which taxes are due. That means clerks, organisation, regulations. While the Munrungs have always met the demands for revenue, others have opposed the imposition, hence, the Empire. Could two such peoples find a common cause? It seems unlikely, but the best way to unite two dissimilar tribes is having a common enemy.

Except for the conflict of good and evil, this story avoids formula approaches to fantasy. There are many characters, all of them reflected by people around us. Snibril, a Munrung, stands out but a little from the rest. One of his attributes is that he suffers sinus trouble. This isn't normally a heroic virtue, but it proves valuable here. There's also a philosopher. Everybody thinks to some extent. Philosophers are typified by telling about it in an interesting way. This description, of course, fits Pratchett admirably. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]