Diggers (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "WINTER, SAID MASKLIN firmly..." (more)
Key Phrases: Big John, Arnold Bros, Granny Morkie (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Bromeliad trilogy, begun in Truckers , continues with this slapstick romp laced with some sharp, satirical barbs. Diggers again features the nomes, little people from outer space who have set up housekeeping in an abandoned quarry. But, as nomes often comment, wherever humans have been, they're sure to return, and the quarry is no exception. Soon the nomes are once again scrambling for safety, with hilarious results. While those familiar with Truckers are sure to have a ball with Diggers, the action will make no sense to the uninitiated. Pratchett may have bitten off more subplots than he can chew here, but he promises to resolve them--including the cliffhanger that ends this volume, in the final installment of the serial. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-- This newest addition to what will become the Bromeliad trilogy continues the adventures of a race of miniature creatures called nomes, whose story began in Truckers (Delacorte, 1990). The nomes, a Borrower-like folk, have fled from their comfortable homes beneath the floorboards of a large department store after learning that it is about to be demolished. They now live in an old rock quarry where they are at the mercy of humans, wild animals, weather, and changing seasons. The nomes' salvation seems to rest in their ability to take over and drive the Cat, a huge yellow piece of earth-moving equipment, which will take them to the Barn, a place of relative safety. Their efforts to drive the monster fail just as a mysterious "airplane without wings" floats over them. Dorcas, one of the older, wiser nomes, is convinced that this signals the return of their leader Masklin, who has been off exploring. As the story ends, Dorcas is wondering just what Masklin has been up to, and that, obviously, is what readers will find out in the yet-to-be-published part three of the trilogy. While this tale may work well as a sequel, it will not have wide appeal to readers who missed the first installment. Background information is needed to follow the plot, and character development is dependent on prior knowledge of the major players. The tongue-in-cheek humor that pokes fun at the nomes' many foibles and the satirical slant of the fantasy will be lost on many youngsters. Still, for those who read and enjoyed Truckers , this will be a welcome continuation of those adventures. --Bruce Anne Shook, Mendenhall Middle School, Greensboro, NC
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers; First American Edition edition (January 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385301529
• ISBN-13: 978-0385301527
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,957,292 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 2 in The Bromeliad Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Return of the nomes, May 1, 2004

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Bromeliad Trilogy: Diggers (Paperback)

Terry Pratchett's lovable nomes return in "Diggers," the second book of the Bromeliad trilogy. It's an improvement on the first book "Truckers," with a steadier pace and a new twist on this tiny-aliens-among-us plotline. It gets a bit silly at times, but doesn't wear out its welcome.

When last seen, the peculiar, lovable nomes had managed to drive a truck away from the Arnold Bros. store, and had set up a new home in an abandoned quarry. Masklin and his little band are doing fine, although many of the more pampered nomes are having to get used to the idea of farming and living in a place with no heating and too much open space.

Then everything changes. A human brings a paper to the quarry, and the nomes learn that the quarry is going to be reopened -- and the nomes risk discovery unless they can find a new place to live. When Masklin ventures off to the mysterious Florida, to find the descendent of Arnold Bros., a fanatic called Nisodemus takes the opportunity to rally the nomes in rebellion. Just then, Dorcas (a sort of nome technogeek) reveals the Cat (a bulldozer), which might help them against the humans.

Terry Pratchett seems to have found more solid footing in "Diggers." The book feels a lot steadier and surer, now that he's established the groundwork. He weaves in a little subtle social commentary (particularly on religious fanatics); it's not as subtle as it could be, but it isn't too annoying.

"Diggers" is also faster-moving than "Truckers." His sense of quirky humor (like the idea of Florida being made of orange juice) is present constantly, but he doesn't do it in a mean-spirited way. You laugh with the innocent nomes, not at them. Probably the biggest problem is that "Diggers" ends on a cliffhanger of sorts, with the line "I'd very much like to know what Masklin has been doing these past few weeks."

Masklin and the Thing aren't present for most of the story; they show up again in the third book, "Wings." So most of the focus is on Grimma, the girl Masklin wants to marry, and Dorcas the nome technogeek. Their characters are well-drawn, and their struggles to deal with the fanatical nome is tense and well-plotted.

While it's not his best work, Terry Pratchett is in good form in the second book of the Bromeliad trilogy. "Diggers" is a good return for the nomes, and a fun fantasy read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Impossible to put down!, May 6, 2001

By	Stephanie Noverraz "crooty" (Lausanne, Switzerland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Diggers (The Truckers Trilogy) (Paperback)

This the second book of the Bromeliad trilogy (following Truckers and followed by Wings).

After escaping from the doomed Store of Arnold Bros (est. 1905), the nomes find refuge in a disused quarry. And although life's harder Outside than it was in the Store, after a while everything goes well... until they find out that the quarry is going to be reopened.

At the same time, they also learn that Grandson Richard, 39, an heir to the Arnold Bros (est. 1905) fortune, is going to Florida to watch the launch of his first telecom satellite. To Masklin it's an oportunity to send the Thing back into space where it could contact the Ship which will bring them back HOME. And so he sets out, with Gurder and Angalo, on a trip to the airport.

And as the rest of the nomes are waiting for them to come back, their food reserves are inexorably running out and the humans' presence is starting to be a real nuisance. Are they going to flee and hide or are they going to stand up to them?

As expected, Diggers is brilliant and extremely funny. And again, the confrontation between the nomes' and our view of the world is the source of many of the typically "Pratchettian" puns we've all come to love!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The story goes on from Pratchett's "TRUCKERS", July 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Diggers (The Truckers Trilogy) (Paperback)

At the end of "TRUCKERS" by Terry Pratchett. Maskerlin and the gnomes of the doomed supermarket floor boards, escaped into the outside world, with Maskerlin driving a lorry carrying the gnomes. After the famous epic, A new adventure has dawned, The Gnomes from the lost supermarket lead by the heroic Maskerlin, make a new home inside the devastated buildings of a old quarry. The Gnomes begin to face a nightmare reality, as things suddenly happen, as their home has rain fall from the Earth's sky, in ice drops and the humans start causing chaos. But the Gnomes as a band of colonists, are brought toghere to protect their new home from humans in the horizon who have the help of a beast named Jekub. This is the best follow-up to Terry Pratchett's Gnome classic "TRUCKERS".