{"id":4969,"date":"2019-06-10T05:00:41","date_gmt":"2019-06-10T12:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=4969"},"modified":"2019-06-09T22:25:09","modified_gmt":"2019-06-10T05:25:09","slug":"mark-reads-unseen-academicals-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2019\/06\/mark-reads-unseen-academicals-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads &#8216;Unseen Academicals&#8217;: Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In the first part of <i>Unseen Academicals<\/i>, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a scraping of pottery, a big-ass candle, and the Megapode. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read <i>Discworld<\/i>.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Here we are, friends, at the start of <i>Discworld<\/i> book #37, and that sentence is a DELIGHT to type. Thirty-seven! That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so many books!!! Remember when I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do something more than like a trilogy on Mark Reads??? GLAD I CHANGED THAT RULE.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I am guessing purely from the title and the <i>one<\/i> scene in this opener that <i>Unseen Academicals <\/i>is a book about the Wizards? As is usually the case with a <i>Discworld<\/i> book, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m given very little to go on. Actually, wait, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not true. In hindsight, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll realize that there was a TON of information in these two scenes, but right now? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get the scene at the Royal Art Museum, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know if the Emperor matters, and what the hell is a Megapode???<\/p>\n<p>More on that later.<\/p>\n<p><b>Rudolph Scattering<\/b><\/p>\n<p>I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not sure we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see Rudolph again, but I enjoyed that this character served as both a set-up for a punchline and a whole person. In a very small space within the text, we get a sense for who Rudolph is and how he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s almost drifted through life, trying to make a living while also being immensely afraid of <i>literally everything<\/i>. The joke, of course, is that his job puts him into a position of being frightened because\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s basically a security guard. And there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a tiny detail at the beginning that I caught, which is that Rudolph was a <i>new<\/i> employee, meaning he probably came from somewhere else. And given that he moves on to a new job, lasts three days, and then moves on again, I feel like this is his whole life. Something at every job spooks him.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>As for what happens in the museum? I have not a single guess. I thought initially that the sound of scraping pottery was because someone was stealing art, but then the slow-motion explosion makes no sense to me. Neither does this:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>But he never told anyone about the gloriously glittering lady holding a large ball over her head who smiled at him before she vanished.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t recall <i>ever<\/i> meeting a <i>Discworld<\/i> character like this before. What the HELL?<\/p>\n<p><b>Lectrology<\/b><\/p>\n<p>After Rudoloph\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s scene, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a section about the study of the bed. That is not an exaggeration, and I have no idea what the importance is of all of this. Are these characters we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see later in the book? Mr. Nutt appears in GREAT detail as he PROFESSIONALLY TROLLS Smeems, but what about Trevor Likely, Glenda, and Juliet Stollop? Perhaps? Even if they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t, one thing I gleamed from this was that each of these descriptions really <i>did<\/i> give me a sense for who these people are. If you told me that a person could sleep anywhere, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a character trait. At least to me! Glenda\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bed seemed comfortable, like it was her safe space from the world. Juliet\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bed tells a whole damn story. And Mr. Nutt\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s get deeper into that.<\/p>\n<p><b>Nutt and Smeems<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Hi, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m <i>real<\/i> into the comedic dynamic between these two, especially since it seems like Nutt is always willing to push the boundaries of what is acceptable to say to the Candle Knave, named Smeems. Smeems takes his job VERY seriously, and while that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also used for comedic affect, I realized how much his job actually reveals an important detail about Unseen University: that place is DARK AS HELL. Of course it is!!! It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a huge building with almost no windows, so how else is the place going to stay lit? It makes a ton of sense that someone like Smeems has worked in the university all these years.<\/p>\n<p>As for the Emperor\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthe mega-candle that has never gone out (but has gone out but we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t talk about it going out)\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 tradition? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s kinda a cool tradition, though carving out a space within the castle itself so that the Emperor could grow to THIRTY-EIGHT FEET is certainly a commitment to the tradition. But I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m guessing that this is one aspect we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re meant to focus on: What traditions are there at Unseen University? What practices or rituals have stood the test of time, have been passed on from one generation to the next? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s interesting that Smeems cares deeply about the Emperor, but seems uninterested in any other tradition around the place. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s <i>his<\/i> thing, the act that makes him feel like he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a part of the school.<\/p>\n<p><b>Ho, the Megapode!<\/b><\/p>\n<p>And then there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the creature. Which might not be a creature at all, but a bunch of wizards dressed up as\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, whatever a Megapode <i>is<\/i>. I recall hearing this phrase countless times at the most recent <i>Discworld<\/i> convention in Warwick. I believe Rob Wilkins called it out during opening ceremonies! And I certainly recall being REALLY FUCKING CONFUSED because I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know if it was a <i>Discworld<\/i> in-universe joke or a fandom thing that developed outside the books themselves or something entirely different. I just smiled and nodded, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m mostly doing that now, because WHAT IS THE CHASE OF THE MEGAPODE. Smeems says it is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153part of one of the gentlemen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s magically essential magical activities,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d that it is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153vital to the proper running of the world.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Maybe it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a bit meta. Maybe it makes the wizards feel like they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re part of something bigger than themselves! That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the beauty of ritual, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m interested to see if the Megapode will come up again.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Actually, not just that. Nutt is really funny, but there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something hiding there: Why is he <i>really<\/i> good at math? And why did Pratchett make a point of making sure we saw that?<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/youtu.be\/HNZ1Ji0NC2A<\/p>\n<p><b>Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&#8211; <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.markoshiro.com\/blog\/2019\/5\/7\/the-anger-is-a-gift-trade-paperback-is-out-today\">The paperback edition of my debut, ANGER IS A GIFT, is now OUT!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><strong>If you&#8217;d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, <a href=\"http:\/\/eepurl.com\/ey636\">sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the first part of Unseen Academicals, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a scraping of pottery, a big-ass candle, and the Megapode. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Discworld.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[451],"tags":[463,248,561],"class_list":["post-4969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discworld","tag-mark-reads-discworld","tag-terry-pratchett","tag-unseen-academicals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4969\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<!-- WP Super Cache is installed but broken. 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