Customer Reviews

Soul Music

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

No one agrees on which is the best Terry Pratchett novel, but a lot of his fans, myself included, would name this as a candidate. In this novel, he takes his manic punning, wordplay and double- and triple-entendre to the highest level.

Soul Music has three narrative threads: Death takes a holiday (which Pratchett fans will remember from _Mort_), Mort's orphan daughter, Susan Sto Helit, and her attempts to cope with the family legacy, and the discovery of rock and roll on the disc. The three stories intertwine and the result, for me, ranged from snickers to guffaws.

The big news is that rock and roll comes to the disk, through the agency of a pawnshop guitar and a skilled harpist, whose name translates as "Bud of Holly" and who looks kind of Elvis[h]. With a dwarvish horn player named Glod and a trollish drummer named Cliff, the band Music with Rocks In takes the Discworld by storm. The Librarian, the monk... orangutan who runs the Wizard's library, sits in on keyboards, and exceeds even the excesses of Jerry Lee Lewis. You cannot imagine a rock music issue that Pterry doesn't reach. Women fans pitch articles of clothing; espresso shops appear; rock promoters - C.M.O.T. Dibbler, of course - arrive; even the sedate wizards wear leather, do their best James Dean and show they, too, are "Born to Rune."

Parts of the book are a pastiche of "Blues Brothers" ("We're on a mission from Glod"), "Spinal Tap," and "Woodstock." Other parts are simply Pratchett's own mad invention. And this book also features Pterry's best pun - "some felonious monk;" possibly the best pun in literature since Niven's and Gerrold's _The Flying Sorcerors_. You can spend a lot of time just working out the puns. And let me note that Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" gets the treatment it righteously deserves.

But while Buddy and his band tour with their roadie Asphalt and inescapably head towards Dead Man's Curve, and while Death does his best to learn how to forget with the help of the Klatchian Foreign Legion and alcohol, Susan makes increasingly frantic efforts to keep what passes for reality on the Discworld from coming completely unstuck. With the help of the Death of Rats, Albert and other favorites, the Disc is saved, but not without some uncommon poignancy.

There are scholarly articles on whether Pratchett writes parody or satire. However labelled, this was the high water mark for his experiments with the pure form. Anglo-American literature has never had as brilliant a satirist/parodist as Terry Pratchett. He may have written better Discworld books, but I'm not sure he has written a funnier book. Especially if you know and like rock music.

"Bee There Orr Bee A Rectangular Thyng"

Here we are again. Death, the skeletal fellow who goes around wearing black robes, carrying a scythe, riding a pale white horse (named Binky), and TALKS LIKE THIS, has once again grown tired of the job and gone to try to forget things by joining the... um... (glancing at a piece of paper) the Klatchian Foreign Legion.

That's an in-joke about how NOBODY in the Klatchian Foreign Legion can remember anything.

...so, his granddaughter Susan inherits the job accidentally.

Meanwhile, the young bard Imp y Celyn starts to make it big when he finds a magical guitar and music takes over his soul. He changes his name to Buddy...

...and, in positively classic Pratchett style, the two plotlines come together in a rush of magic, energy, and Music With Rocks In!

I very highly recommend this book to anyone with... well, anyone with a willpower rating of above 10, which is what you need to move.

As Death would likely say, DON'T FORGET. I CAN'T ANYWAY, SO IT'S NOT A PROBLEM. BUT YOU HUMANS...

And you don't want to miss the Death of Rats who goes around saying SQUEAK.

The answers to those questions and more may be found in Terry Pratchett's hilariously funny and thoughtful Soul Music.

Soul Music consists of two parallel plot lines which, because this is Discworld and not the earth, converge as they reach the story's horizons. First we meet Imp y Celyn, soon to be known to the world as Bud of the Holly or Buddy, as he travels the long and winding road from his home of Llamedos to Ankh-Morpork. Back home, Imp's music always made his people smile and he knew if he had a chance he could make some people dance and maybe they'd be happy for a while. Unable to raise enough cash to join the musicians' guild, Buddy, after picking up a very odd guitar at a strange music store joins up with Glod the dwarf and Lias the troll and form a musical group. In short order the group has a gig at the Mended Drum.

In the meantime, DEATH is in the midst of his nineteenth nervous breakdown. As DEATH walks through his land of broken dreams, he seems unconcerned about what becomes of those who should now be departed. There will be disastrous consequences for the universe (see Reaper Man) if DEATH does not perform his obligations. The Death of Rats and his raven translator Quoth go desperately seeking Susan, DEATH's granddaughter. She is persuaded by Death of Rats to fill in until DEATH can be found and persuaded to return to work. Susan soon finds herself atop DEATH's horse Binky. She's eight miles high and when she touches down in Ankh-Morpork she enters the Mended Drum to meet her first assignment - - - Buddy. And then all heck breaks loose.

Buddy starts to play the guitar just like he's ringing a bell and the world seems to stop. It may be that only the good, like Buddy, die young but in this instance Susan says something DEATH would never say: "it isn't fair". Though no fault of her own, Buddy does not go up to that spirit in the sky, Buddy and his music live on. The obvious question becomes why is he still alive and to what purpose?

"Music with rocks in" it becomes the next big thing. Even the wizards at Unseen University fall prey to these musical magic moments, so different and so new. Cut Me Own Throat Dibbler soon makes an appearance and rapidly transforms himself from purveyor of sausages to greedy rapacious rock and roll impresario. Soon, every kid in Ankh-Morpork wants to be a music with rocks in star. They get electric guitars but don't learn how to play. They think with their hair swung right and their pants too tight it will be all right. Little do they know that in the crafty hands of CMOT Dibbler even musicians with talent will soon be in dire straights.

Meanwhile, Susan, Death of Rats and even Albert, DEATH's loyal man Friday, search Discworld for DEATH. DEATH has been seen sitting on the dock of the river in Ankh-Morpork, drinking whiskey and rye with the good ole boys at the Mended Drum, and standing guard at midnight at an oasis manned by the Klatchian Foreign Legion. His internal dialogue is priceless, funny, and thoughtful.

Events proceed rapidly as Dibbler prepares the band for a huge free concert in Ankh-Morpork. This will be Discworld's Woodstock. Will Susan's sense of justice prevail? Will Buddy survive even though the sands in his hour glass are long gone? Will the Librarian get money for nothing and his chimps for free? Will the wizards ride though mansions of glory in suicide machines? The answers to these questions aren't blowing in the wind but they are in the book.

As far as Terry Pratchett's Discworld books are concerned, Soul Music is near the top of the charts . . . with a bullet.

Elvish has left the building.

Terry Pratchett is without a doubt one of the most gifted writers to grace the world of literature. His Discworld novel, 'Soul Music', is the most entertaining book I've read in many years. This is the story of Susan Sto Helit- boarding school student, granddaughter of Death, and acting CEO of the family business. When Death joins the Klatchian Foreign Legion to forget (in general), Susan has to take up the scythe and fill in for a time. Not particularly well suited for the job, Susan refuses to collect the life of Imp Y Celyn- a young man who along with a dwarf trumpet player and a troll percussionist, has introduced Music With Rocks In to the good people of Ankh-Morpork. Imp has been influenced by a magical guitar with a life of it's own, and given birth to 'Rock' music. Susan feels it's not right for Imp to 'live fast and die young', and this upsets the balance of nature on Discworld. Assisted by Albert- Death's manservant, and the Death of Rats- Susansets out to find her grandfather and try to set things right. Music With Rocks in has upset every aspect of society in Ankh-Morpork, much like rock'n'roll in 1950's America. The wizards of Unseen University are under a spell like nothing anyone has ever seen. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the whole fantasy/sci-fi genre, but Pratchett's Discworld novels are more akin to flights of fancy... enjoyable on many levels. His works leave the reader with a pleasant sense of fulfillment that few authors can approach. You never find yourself wishing things turned out differently than Pratchett's vision, like so many other novels today. This splendid work has to be read to fully grasp the beauty of it's complex fluidity, and the humorous footnotes are fantastic. I would recommend Terry Pratchett's 'Discworld' series to anyone- they are a pleasure to read and finished far too soon.

Who but Terry Pratchett could seek sympathy for the feelings of the Death of the Discworld? And obtain it? Once again, Pratchett offers readers a rich banquet of deep philosophic questions served with his saucy wit. As usual the repast may be taken lightly, skimming off the quirky characters - the Raven takes the top marks in this book - or the horrid puns emanating from the music [Welsh for Buddy Holly??!! arghh!]. Otherwise, the gourmet PTerry fan may relish fully the issues surrounding life. And death. Pratchett, as always, may be read at many levels. Any Discworld book may be read repeatedly, and this one is no exception.

Death is unique among the Four Horsemen - he's the only one that's inevitable. As an Anthropomorphic Personification, Death is something other than simply a blind force. Small feelings burrow through his consciousness. Without a human frame of reference, he cannot comprehend them fully. He is, however, aware that things aren't quite right. He therefore goes off to determine what is wrong. His departure leaves a void demanding filling.

His replacement is the daughter of his foundling and his apprentice - Susan Sto Helit. With Susan, Pratchett turns away from Death to examine Life. In this instance, Life shows how powerful it can be, even self generating. Life, the universe itself, may be the result of a musical note. Never mind the Big Bang, how about the Big Bong? Life, through Music, shows its universality through Music With Rocks In. Rock music can be performed by everyone. Talent, discipline, training all may be ignored. Music With Rocks In is little more than the fullest expression of human feeling. Even Susan, much detached from her surroundings, is caught up in its force.

In Susan, Pratchett demonstrates the power of his characterisation. She is Death's granddaughter, carrying his "genes" providing inexplicable powers. She can speak with THE VOICE, become invisible, ride Binky. She's human, with a strong sense of justice, vexed by the loss of good people and the survival of bad ones. She wants Death to be "fair", but He can only be what he is - inevitable. Pratchett, of course, must somehow reconcile these views, which he does with his usual panache. Through it all, the Music strives for survival. Pratchett feels that's important because it means survival for us all. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Soul Music is a story about love, death, family, the inevitability of fate, and the power of music. In true Pratchett fashion, it's also a story about the hilarity that ensues when (insert improbable events here).
This is the story of Imp Y Celyn, an ambitious teenage bard who acquires a magic guitar. With the help of his bandmates and his new instrument, Imp brings a new craze to the Discworld -- Music With Rocks In! Little does Imp know that he's fated to die on the night of his band's first performance ... or that there's something in that guitar of his that won't let him.
This is the story of Death, who's had a *very* bad day at work. There was a tragic carriage accident, you see, and he had to go and claim the lives of two of the only mortals he ever allowed himself to care about... So, in an effort to forget, Death runs away to imbibe vast amounts of alcohol and join the Klatchian Foreign Legion.
This is the story of Susan Sto Helit, a teenage girl who's recently lost both of her parents in a tragic accident. Left at a stuffy boarding school, Susan has no idea that she is the granddaughter of Death himself, and that she's about to get stuck running the family business.
This book is everything Pratchett fans have come to expect and more. It's a hilarious pastiche of the history of rock and roll, a style of music that has no place in a medieval fantasy world. It's a welcome addition to the subset of Discworld books that star Death, who is terribly good at his job, but wishes people weren't always so unhappy to see him. It's a prime example of the inspired blend of satire, high fantasy, and just plain silliness that makes Terry Pratchett one of the most popular fantasists in the world.
This is probably my favourite Discworld novel so far, and that's saying something. It's not absolutely necessary, but I suggest you read Mort before picking up this one.

Imp (Bud as in plants in Springtime) Y Celyn (Of the Holly trees) makes music his life (without understanding all the implications) and organizes a band with a troll, a dwarf, and briefly an orangutan; Death's grandaughter Susan considers the consequences of silliness, Death expresses gratitude with a rose in his teeth, a big hearing-impaired spotted cat arranges for a singer to appear with just one glove, the neighborhood witch arrangements are explained, a felonious monk's musical talent is discussed, and music-with-rocks-in is introduced.

One of the absolute best of Pratchett, and definately the best of the thread about Death. There are more rock and roll references per page than any other book in history, and more laughs than a rational man can deal with (I had no problem...) All the hallmarks of Pratchett's finest work; beautifully tangled threads of the story, humor both subtle and flagrent, puns to tears, and more than the customary presense of Death (and Death of Rats, and Death's servant Albert). It stands as well alone as it does as part of the Death stories or Ankh-Morpork stories.

Kudos!

I didn't enjoy this novel as much as I did Pratchett's Mort, but I still spent most of the book giggling to myself. More than some of his other novels, Pratchett worked in real-world tie-ins. Many of them are in pun form, some of them are just allusion, but I plan to read this several more times to see if I can find more. I recommend this book to anyone already familiar with Pratchett or anyone who enjoys Piers Anthony's punniness.

I have read with great enjoyment all of the Discword books I could get my hands on, but of them all, Soul Music is my favorite. It contains all the usual Pratchett trademarks, such as clever allusions, bizzare footnotes, and an underlying message which is as serious as the actual writing is silly. Needless to say, it's one of the funniest things I've ever read. It makes room for all my favorite Discworld characters (i.e. Death and his granddaughter Susan, the Librarian of Unseen University, and the various odd residents of Ankh-Morpork). Anyone who has read any other of the Discworld books with enjoyment needs this one as well, and anyone who hasn't needs this one to start with.

Death is easily one of my favorite characters in the Discworld series, and this book is him at his prime. Death is continually evolving into a more complex and humane character, while still maintaining a core 'deathness' about him. His residence is described in here using that great Pratchett mixture of blatently obvious statements and metaphors only he could get away with.

This book is also about music out of it's place. Rock and roll passes through Discworld, and the results are great (great meaning comedically bad). Take a very detailed and complete fantasy world, add the rebellion of rock and roll, and it seems like it writes itself. But the great part about this, and all Terry Pratchett books, is that the joke only begins with the setup, the entire book just keeps getting funnier and funnier. (Compare this to The Onion, where the entire joke is in the headline, and the story is usually just fluff.)

Finally, like all Pratchett books, through all of the ridiculous situations and absurd logic, there is a decent amount of drama at the end.

If you already know and like Terry Pratchett, here's one of his best works on Death. If you don't know him yet, you could easily start with this book. This was the second Pratchett book I ever read, and I haven't stopped since.