Unseen Academicals

I finished the book a few days ago. I liked everything about it, accept the two main characters.


On further review, Glenda isn't a new take on Granny. She's just a retread of earlier Pratchett female protagonists. She's OK by herself, but her arc stinks. By the end of the novel, she learns to be an asshole. Great. As for the other main character, Mr. Nutt starts off as a humble, sympathetic character, but by the end it occurred to me that he was just a Gary Stu. Yes, book, we do remember all those other novels where other monsters integrated into Anhk-Morpork. That doesn't mean you get to get away with rehashing stuff from the far superior Men at Arms, as well as Thud!

I always felt that the fifth and weakest Discworld novel, Sourcery, could have used an extra fifty pages. If I recall correctly, Pratchett added a new threat late (midway?) in the book, but then ignored it. Unseen Academicals could have lost fifty pages. I rolled my eyes when it turned out that the orcs weren't really bad guys during some long forgotten evil empire. The whole section where the main characters confronted Nutt after he ran away, plus the stuff about crabs, should have been cut. I don't care if it ruins the themes of the book, either. I nearly gave up three fourths way though the book. Luckily the book ended with the soccer match that it had promised since the beginning, and that was great stuff.


So Unseen Academicals was the weakest Discworld book since Monstrous Regiment. Pratchett, I know you have a couple more novels in you and I can't wait to read them. Please don't make another one about Glenda.