{"id":4756,"date":"2018-11-02T05:00:18","date_gmt":"2018-11-02T12:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=4756"},"modified":"2018-10-28T19:37:19","modified_gmt":"2018-10-29T02:37:19","slug":"mark-reads-the-science-of-discworld-ii-chapter-23","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2018\/11\/mark-reads-the-science-of-discworld-ii-chapter-23\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads ‘The Science of Discworld II’: Chapter 23"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the twenty-third chapter of The Science of Discworld II<\/i>, Rincewind has a REALLY good idea. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Discworld<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I think there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a slight flaw in the approach to this, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not that I want to discount the importance of William Shakespeare to the development of art and culture. His work absolutely continues to affect our world in meaningful ways, hundreds of years later. But I do think this influence has mostly been in the Western<\/i> world, and this book occasionally makes it seem as if Shakespeare mattered to the whole<\/i> world. I am not so sure I buy the notion that all<\/i> of humanity would not have developed an appreciation for art, sculpture, and storytelling without him. I say that because there are examples of these very art forms in what we now refer to as the East or the Global South, and they existed long before Shakespeare did. If I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m wrong here, correct me, but didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the Greek tragedies influence Shakespeare? Ovid and Virgil and Chaucer played a part in his storytelling, right?<\/p>\n

So I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m guessing instead of actually finding the chronological \u00e2\u20ac\u0153first,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or focusing on a specific culture, this book is just choosing one point and sticking with it. And look, Shakespeare is a fine point if this is more arbitrary and if these authors needed an artist who worked best for narrativium. I get that! It works for this story, and it works as a starting point for Discworld<\/i>, especially once the Librarian and Rincewind go watch a play that is… not good. LIke, VERY not good. It seemed an odd choice for the plot because I had misunderstood why Rincewind saw it as an important development. But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s because I approached the conflict with the elves from the wrong perspective. I kept thinking about how the wizards needed to defeat them, whereas Rincewind suggests inspiring humans to the point that they<\/i> fight back against the elves.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That inspiration is complicated, though, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m intrigued by how Rincewind sees this going. Ponder is definitely right that belief operates differently on Roundworld, but that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean they should discount it. So, if the wizards can inspire people to tell stories, to appreciate the connection between the imagination and the real world, then perhaps humans will have some ammunition against creatures that would otherwise be \u00e2\u20ac\u0153imaginary\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to them. Well, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not imaginary in this context, but still! So, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a theory as to what Rincewind\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Stage Two is. The first is inspiration, planting that link between the mind and reality. We see that<\/i> on the page in the form of Rincewind\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s conversations with Burnt Stick Man and then, later, Red Hands Man. I admit that these scenes are a treat because, as pointed out in the text itself, Rincewind isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/i> running away from a conflict. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s actively trying to solve it, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also using his survival skills in order to do so. That whole thing of talking in gestures and grunts? I am certain this isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the first time he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ever had to do this.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The seeds are planted in the minds of early humans. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re imagining things, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re making them reality, and they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re telling stories<\/i>. Even with the elves now aware of what the wizards are doing, I think there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a clear advantage here. They don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know why<\/i> this is happening, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m really excited to see them realize what it is Rincewind and the others started. At the end of the chapter, Pratchett reveals that Rincewind traveled somewhere else to continue more of the same thing, but… I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know where that is. To a different time? A different place? WHAT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S GOING ON.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/youtu.be\/zPW5Q90QOB8<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– My YA contemporary debut, ANGER IS A GIFT<\/a>, is now out in the world!\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"