Moving Pictures (Discworld)
Terry Pratchett
Language: English
Pages: 416
ISBN: 0062237349
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Discworld's pesky alchemists are up to their old tricks again. This time, they've discovered how to get gold from silver—the silver screen that is. Hearing the siren call of Holy Wood is one Victor Tugelbend, a would-be wizard turned extra. He can't sing, he can't dance, but he can handle a sword (sort of), and now he wants to be a star. So does Theda Withel, an ambitious ingénue from a little town you've probably never heard of.
But the click of moving pictures isn't just stirring up dreams inside Discworld.Holy Wood's magic is drifting out into the boundaries of the universes, where raw realities, the could-have-beens, the might-bes, the never-weres, and the wild ideas are beginning to ferment into a really stinky brew. It's up to Victor and Gaspode the Wonder Dog to rein in the chaos and bring order back to a starstruck Discworld. And they're definitely not ready for their close-up!
anyway. The faster you turn the handle, the faster the film goes by, the faster they have to paint. You got to get the speed just right. Very important job, handlemanning.’ ‘But isn’t it all rather, well, cruel?’ Gaffer looked surprised. ‘Oh, no. Not really. I gets a rest every half an hour. Guild of Handlemen regulations.’ He walked further along the bench, where another box stood with its back panel open. This time a cageful of sluggish-looking lizards blinked mournfully at Victor. ‘We
me,’ he said, ‘that you could do with some of that around here.’ ‘So it appears,’ said Silverfish weakly. ‘And with the money,’ said Dibbler, his voice a crowbar inserted in the cracks in reality, ‘you could really get on with perfecting your art.’ Silverfish brightened a bit. ‘That’s true,’ he said. ‘For example, some way of getting sound on—’ Dibbler wasn’t listening. He pointed to a stack of boards leaning against the wall. ‘What are those?’ he said. ‘Ah,’ said Silverfish. ‘That was my
there any dancing girls?’ ‘Um, no.’ ‘Well, are there any wild chases and people hanging by their fingertips from the edge of a cliff ?’ Silverfish brightened up slightly. ‘I think there’s a balcony at one point,’ he said. ‘Yes? Does anyone hang on it by their fingertips?’ ‘I don’t think so,’ said Silverfish. ‘I believe Melisande leans over it.’ ‘Yes, but will the audience hold their breath in case she falls off?’ ‘I hope they’d be watching Pelias’ speech,’ said Silverfish testily. ‘We had
abstractedly. Dibbler was certainly acting even stranger than usual. Even stranger than usual for Holy Wood, even … ‘Yeah,’ said Gaspode, slightly annoyed at this reception. ‘A-cavortin’ at night with eldritchly occult Intelligences from the Other Side, I shouldn’t wonder.’ ‘Good,’ said Victor. You didn’t normally burn things in Holy Wood. You saved them and painted on the other side. Despite himself, he began to get interested. ‘—a cast of thousands,’ Dibbler was saying. ‘I don’t care where
gone mad?’ said the dwarf. Soll’s eyes narrowed. ‘Because Mr Dibbler,’ he growled, ‘is a very observant man.’ Dibbler had been right. The new city was the old city distilled. Narrow alleys were narrower, tall buildings taller. Gargoyles were more fearsome, roofs more pointed. The towering Tower of Art in Unseen University was, here, even taller and more precariously towering even though it was at the same time only one quarter the size; the Unseen University was more baroque and buttressed; the