1990; 337 pages. Book #10 in the Discworld series. Genre : Fantasy; Comedy. Overall Rating : 6*/10.
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Moving Pictures is Pratchett's salute to the Motion Picture industry, here called "Holy Wood". The Ankh-Morpork alchemists have (re)-discovered something called "octo-cellulose", which plunges them into making movies (silents, and in black-&-white) and reviving the deserted patch where long ago in a bygone era, film lots and sets were once constructed.
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Going to the movies becomes instantly and incredibly popular in Ankh-Morpork. But something is not quite right. The equilibrium between reality and unreality has shifted. As the people become more enamored with the silver-screen fantasies, some of the real world is slipping away. And in its place...
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What's To Like...
Pratchett pays tribute to all sorts of movies and TV shows. To list a few : Lassie, Tom & Jerry (or is it Itchy & Scratchy?), The Thief of Bagdad, The Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind, Ben Hur, Jaws, and King Kong. So if movies are your thing, reading Moving Pictures will bring back fond memories.
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A lot of old Discworld friends are here - Gaspode the Wonder Dog (one of my favorites), Detritus the Troll, Cut Me Own Throat Dibbler (call him "CMOT" for short), the Librarian (Oook!), and all the Ankh-Morpork alchemists and wizards, including Archchancellor Ridcully.
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There is the usual plenitude of plotlines. For Mystery lovers, there's something called a resograph, which keeps shooting potentially-lethal pellets around the Unseen University hall for no discernible reason. For you Romantics, there's a trolls-in-love story. And if it's Action you want, how 'bout an Elephant Drive, with 1000 pachyderms tromping over everything, leaving only poop and dust in their wake?
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Quibbles...
The two main cinematic idols - Victor Tugelbend and Ginger (real name : Theda Withel) are kinda blah. Pratchett may have agreed; ANAICT, they're "once-and-dones". The plot is good, but it really doesn't get going until 2/3 of the way through the book. The book lacks the usual quantity of zaniness and humor we've come to expect of Discworld novels.
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But the ending is great. No spoilers here; we'll just say that it's kinda like watching an insane, inverted King Kong flick.
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Kewl New Words...
Crinoline : A hoop-skirt. Languorous : dreamy; lacking spirit or liveliness. Brassica : Cabbages, cauliflowers, turnips, and such (Pratchett somehow is able to turn this into an adjective). Fractious : Stubbornly resistant to authority or control. Pillock : A person whos's not very bright; an idiot.
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Excerpts...
"Now look here," said Rock, his voice winding up like a pitcher's arm. "What you're saying is, is OK for trolls to be shown bashing people with clubs, is not OK to show trolls have finer feelings like squashy humans?"
"She's not saying that at all," said Soll desperately. "She's not-"
"If you cut me, do I not bleed?" said Rock.
No, you don't," said Soll, "but-"
"Ah, yes, but I would bleed if I had blood..." (pg. 202)
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"It's deliquescing," said the Lecturer in Recent Runes.
"Is it?" said the Chair. "I thought that was some kind of shop." (pg. 308)
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The Movies. The Magic. The Mayhem. And a Talking Mutt.
This is not the finest book in the Discworld series, but an "okay" Pratchett book is still pretty good. Personally, there were too many movie tributes and not enough plot for the first 200 pages. But I'm not a cinema buff.
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When the story finally does get going, Pratchett is back in his element, and it's a great read. But that's a lot of "meh" to wade through first. So we'll give it 6 stars, and suggest that if you've never read a Discworld book, don't make Moving Pictures your first one.
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