''The Discworld Companion'' is an
encyclopaedia
An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by artic ...
of the
Discworld
''Discworld'' is a comic fantasy"Humorous Fantasy" in David Pringle, ed., ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' (pp.31-33). London, Carlton,2006. book series written by the English author Sir Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a fl ...
fictional universe
A fictional universe, also known as an imagined universe or a constructed universe, is the internally consistent fictional setting used in a narrative or a work of art. This concept is most commonly associated with works of fantasy and scie ...
, created by
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English author, humorist, and Satire, satirist, best known for the ''Discworld'' series of 41 comic fantasy novels published between 1983 and 2015, and for the Apocalyp ...
and
Stephen Briggs
Stephen Briggs (born 1951) is a British writer of subsidiary works and merchandise surrounding Terry Pratchett's comic fantasy '' Discworld''. '' The Streets of Ankh-Morpork'', the first Discworld map, was co-designed by Briggs and Pratchett a ...
. Four editions have been published, under varying titles.
The ''Companion'' contains precise definitions of words, people, places and events that have appeared in at least one ''
Discworld
''Discworld'' is a comic fantasy"Humorous Fantasy" in David Pringle, ed., ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' (pp.31-33). London, Carlton,2006. book series written by the English author Sir Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a fl ...
'' novel, map, diary or non-fiction book, or in one of the three short stories "
Troll Bridge", "
Theatre of Cruelty
The Theatre of Cruelty (, also ) is a form of theatre conceptualised by Antonin Artaud. Artaud, who was briefly a member of the surrealist movement, outlined his theories in a series of essays and letters, which were collected as '' The Theatre an ...
", and "
The Sea and Little Fishes". Material is often quoted directly from these sources, but, in each successive edition, also includes information that had not yet been worked into the novels. For instance,
William de Worde is mentioned in the first edition of the ''Companion'' six years before the publication of ''
The Truth
The Truth may refer to:
Film
* ''The Truth'' (1920 film) starring Madge Kennedy
* ''The Truth'' (1960 film) or ''La Vérité'', a French film by Henri-Georges Clouzot starring Brigitte Bardot
* ''The Truth'' (1988 film), a Hong Kong trial cri ...
'', the novel in which he is introduced. At the end of each article is an abbreviation indicating the book(s) in which the word, person, event or place appears, though if there are too many, no abbreviation is used. The book includes an introduction by Stephen Briggs and an interview with Terry Pratchett, both of which have been updated in each edition.
The first edition, published in 1994, contained information from all the novels up to ''
Soul Music
Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...
'' as well as the first two short stories. The second edition, published in 1997, added information up to ''
Maskerade
''Maskerade'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the eighteenth book in the ''Discworld'' series. The witches Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg visit the Ankh-Morpork Opera House to find Agnes Nitt, a girl from Lancre, and ...
''. The third edition was published in 2003 under the title ''The New Discworld Companion''. It contains articles based on books up to ''
Night Watch'', as well as related books and short stories. The book also contains a ten-page interview with Pratchett under the heading "Discworld Quo Vadis?".
An updated edition of the ''Companion'', published on 18 October 2012, was called ''Turtle Recall: The Discworld Companion ... So Far'' and included information from all the novels up to and including ''
Snuff''.
In March 2021 a new edition, rumoured to be titled "The Absolute Discworld Companion", was listed for pre-order at several book stores; this was later confirmed as ''The Ultimate Discworld Companion'', which is to be published on 11 November 2021 and is updated to include information from all forty-one Discworld novels. On 16 September 2021, Dunmanifestin Ltd announced a deluxe hardcover "Dunmanifestin Edition" to be published on 23 April 2022 which also includes additional information drawn from ''
The Science of Discworld
''The Science of Discworld'' is a 1999 book by novelist Terry Pratchett and popular science writers (and University of Warwick science researchers) Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen. Three sequels, '' The Science of Discworld II: The Globe'', '' The S ...
'' books.
Publication history
*
Hardcover
A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as casebound (At p. 247.)) book is one bookbinding, bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other clo ...
*
trade paperback
*
Paperback
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, ...
* Paperback, US edition
* Trade paperback, 544 pp.
* Trade paperback, 280 pp. Omits "Where Am I?"
* Paperback, 472 pp.
* Hardcover
* Hardcover, US edition, 464 pp.
* Hardcover, UK edition, 448 pp.
* Trade Paperback, UK edition, 448 pp.
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
*
Clute, John and
John Grant. ''
The Encyclopedia of Fantasy
''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' is a 1997 reference work covering fantasy fiction, edited by John Clute and John Grant (author), John Grant. As of November 2012, the full text of ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' is available online, as a compani ...
''. New York:
St Martin's Press, 1997. / London:
Orbit Books
Orbit Books is an international publisher that specialises in science fiction and fantasy books. It is a division of Lagardère Publishing.
History
Orbit Books was founded in 1974 as part of the Macdonald Futura publishing company. In 1992, ...
, 1997. .
External links
Discworld & Pratchett Wiki*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Discworld Companion, The
Encyclopedias of fictional worlds
Discworld books
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