Pratchett, Terry - Soul Music

[oyceter]

Death goes off to try to figure out the meaning of it all, and in the ensuing absence, a girl named Susan is called to be his substitute. Meanwhile, Imp y Celyn somehow ends up popularizing Music with Rocks in It, which causes quite a few wizards to paint their rooms black and take up drums or guitars and also wreaks havoc with Susan's job.

I actually ended up liking this less than Reaper Man, even though the A and B plots were much more balanced. A lot of that was because while the rock and roll section wasn't as boring as the other wizard plot in Reaper Man, it still didn't interest me all that much. Also, I wanted to see a lot more about Death and Susan and the Death of Rats.

I feel like this book wasn't as character-driven as the Pratchetts that I enjoy the most, so that may be part of it as well. Susan and Imp don't really develop as characters, and we don't get to see much of Death either.

It's not a bad book, by any means, but it hasn't stuck with me very much either.

(except Death of Rats, but we all knew that!)

Also, was anyone else bugged by the US MMPB cover? How old is Susan? I thought she was more a teen or a kid, not the busty woman on the cover.

Comments

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

I don't think I've seen the cover of which you speak, but yes, since Susan's in boarding school I've always seen her as a younger teenager for that one. I think you might like her better in Hogfather where she's a little older and there's more of a focus on the awkward relationship between her and her grandfather (and much cute Death of Rats stuff!).

[oyceter]

Here's the cover -- I was a little disturbed by the pose and the figure, especially because I was imagining her at around 14ish.

[larryhammer]

Wait, that's supposed to be Susan? I never saw that as her.

---L.

[oyceter]

I think it's supposed to be her... I can't think of who else it could be.

[larryhammer]

I lways thought it was Death himself. Er, itself.

---L.

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

Eeek, Susan redone as a mudflap girl?

I definitely saw Susan as a teen rather than a child there, all the bits with her classmates going boy-crazy over the Music With Rocks In scene and little comments about her little tweaks to the Death costume, etc. definitely gave me a teenager vibe. But even as an adult in later books, Susan's tastes run towards the understated and severe, so that's a rather...wacky...interpretation.

[jinian.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I have that cover, and it's clearly ridiculous. Death with a little bathroom-door WOMAN figure and a big fucking scythe would've been a lot funnier, if still not really the point of Susan.

[londonkds.livejournal.com]

*squick*

[fresne.livejournal.com]

Soul Music isn't my fav of the Susan books. I much prefer the overtop ness of Hogsfather or Thief of Time. Possibly, because Susan is a cranky adult as opposed to a teenager. Plus, the grand adventure of Susan, DEATH OF RATS, plus the Raven as translator is fairly amusing. Doth quote, "SQUEEK." etc.

Not sure what's up with the cover. Susan is a teen, and not really all that busty even later in life. Although, she does swing a mean poker.

[oyceter]

Yeah, the cover was odd! I hadn't realized how young she was till I read the book.

I love Death of Rats! I love the whole SQUEAK! SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK "da da da dum!" SQUEAK?! bit.

[fresne.livejournal.com]

Also, I'm trying to remember if it's come up, have you read, "The Practical Princess and other stories?" Susan's very practical princess in the later books.

[oyceter]

I haven't! Is that a Pratchett collection?

[fresne.livejournal.com]

No. It's a series of short stories that I read, many (many, many) years ago by Jay Williams. The book features very practical young women having adventures. For example (and this is how the story starts) the kingdom where the Practical Princess lives is attacked by a dragon. So, she stuffs one of her dresses with straw with a core of gunpowder and feeds it to the dragon. Boom. End of problem. Enter new problem.

Every now and then I encounter a female character, and depending on how practical or unwilling she is to wait for rescue, I mentally label her a Practical Princess.

[oyceter]

Oh, that sounds awesome! Also, best strategy for dragon defeat ever.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Susan should be a teenager in this one. I didn't like Soul Music as much as some others. I think Hogfather is my favorite Susan book, although I have to like Thief of Time because I ran the charity auction that got puppleball's husband put into the book as Brother Soto. :D

I think the Watch books are really my favorites. And Monstrous Regiment, even though it's got a lot of flaws and a lot of people didn't like it that much, is comfort reading for me. One of my narrative kinks is girls disguising themselves as boys, and that's what the protagonist does. :D

[oyceter]

I'm looking forward to Hogfather! And my library has it, yay.

[ponygirl2000.livejournal.com]

You should save it for closer to Christmas, since it's, well, Christmas-y.

[oyceter]

Hee, just checked it out and doubt I will be able to hold off ;).

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Soul Music is my least favorite of the Death books, even though I actually like the Unseen University wizards (other than Rincewind) a lot, though maybe that's just my fondest for crazy academia hijinks.

But I agree that you really should read Hogfather! I love it so much! It's my favorite Pratchett book. (Though I warn you that the wizards show up again.)

[oyceter]

I think I have less of a fondness for academia hijinks in general; Tam Lin and College of Magic didn't really grab me the way they grabbed most people.

Am looking forward to Hogfather!

[kate_nepveu]

UK tv did a rather good live-action _Hogfather_ adaptation last year; if and when you get there, I can hook you up.

[ckd]

We got this from Amazon UK, but haven't watched it yet. (Note to friends: the Philips DVP-3140 is cheap, plays NTSC and PAL discs, and has a remote code to make it region-free.)

[oyceter]

Ooo, ok! I have the book checked out right now ^_^.

[octopedingenue]

Soul Music was only the second Discworld I ever read and I've imprinted on it too much to not love it, but I like it best for setting up the Susan & Death relationship; "little, and broken, but still good" family dynamics hit my narrative kinks so hard.

[oyceter]

LILO AND STITCH QUOTE LOVE!

Um, yes. I loooved the Susan meets Death bit! Bony knees! I just wanted more of Susan and Death, I think.

[rilina.livejournal.com]

I seem to have liked this one more than most, but I am (1) unreasonably fond of the Death books and (2) very amused by the music jokes.

So much of Pratchett depends on how much you connect with a given Discworld's book central motif.

[oyceter]

Hee, I could see you liking the music jokes ;). I like the Death bits a lot; I was just sad there weren't more of them.

So much of Pratchett depends on how much you connect with a given Discworld's book central motif.

I now wait for him to write a book with Death, Susan, the Death of Rats, and how the knitting craze takes over Discworld.

Pleeeaase?

[chomiji]

Oooh, yick, that cover is horrible! The previous one had a flying-V-type electric guitar made of bone and other Death-ish stuff: much better!

See this picture, which is by Paul Kidby, whose work is featured in the art book. Yes, the outfit is silly, but it's pretty much canon ... .

Yeah, this one isn't that strong either, but it's getting better. Still too much emphasis on the jokes, though, and not enough on the characters and the world.

[oyceter]

Heeee to the cover. The hair!

Yeah -- I liked Reaper Man better despite the boring other plot, but I'm looking forward to Hogfather.