Unseen Academicals: A Discworld Novel

Terry Pratchett

Oct 2009 · Discworld Book 37 · Sold by Harper Collins

About this ebook

“Football, food, fashion and wizards collide in Pratchett’s affectionate satire on the foibles of sports and sports fans. . . . The prose crackles with wit and charm, and the sendups of league football, academic posturing, Romeo and Juliet and cheesy sports dramas are razor sharp and hilarious but never cruel. At its heart, this is an intelligent, cheeky love letter to football, its fans and the unifying power of sports.” —Publishers Weekly

Football (aka soccer) comes to the ancient city of Ankh-Morpork, upending the wizards of Unseen University—and dividing Discworld—in this wonderfully funny novel in Sir Terry Pratchett’s internationally bestselling series.

The wizards at Ankh-Morpork’s Unseen University are renowned for many things—wisdom, magic, teatime—but athletics, not so much. When Lord Vetinari, the city’s benevolent tyrant, strongly suggests to Archchancellor Mustrum Ridcully that the university revive its sports program and field a football team composed of faculty, students, and staff—or lose the funding that pays for their nine daily meals—the wizards of UU find themselves in a quandary. First, they have to understand what makes foot-the-ball so popular with Ankh-Morporkians. Then they have to learn how to play it—and win—without using magic.

Of course, the thing about football is that it is never just about football.

The Discworld novels can be read in any order but Unseen Academicals is the seventh and final book in the Wizards collection (and 37th Discworld book). The other books in the Wizards collection include:

• The Color of Magic
• The Light Fantastic
• Sourcery
• Eric
• Interesting Times
• The Last Continent

Ratings and reviews

A completely new approach to the otherwise Sam Vimes whodunnit! Entertaining and humorous and who else could be the goalkeeper but our old friend The Librarian, well cast indeed.

Pratchett is in good form

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About the author

Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) was the acclaimed creator of the globally revered Discworld series. In all, he authored more than fifty bestselling books, which have sold more than one hundred million copies worldwide. His novels have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he was the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal. He was awarded a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to literature in 2009, although he always wryly maintained that his greatest service to literature was to avoid writing any.