Customer Reviews
Another classic - By: Mr. D. L. Price, 14 Mar 2010 
Just when you think Discworld may have run its course, we find here another facet of life in Ankh Morpork that entertains & holds a mirror up to us alll.
Sharply funny, & revealing more about human character than it lets on, another triumph for Sir Terry. Far from being on the wain, he keeps coming back stronger & stronger.
A very disappointing TP book... - By: A. Kefalas, 01 Mar 2010 
Take it from somone who has read ALL of Terry Pratchett books: this is probably one of his worst books ever... Its a shame, cause the subject is very very interesting.. Read it only if you got nothing else to read, or if you WANT to still believe that Terry can still produce works of art like Jingo, Hogfather, or Mort...
Almost up there with his best - By: Mr. Jr Ward, 24 Feb 2010 
I'm a huge Terry Pratchett fan & have been since I saw The Colour of Magic for sale when I was about 11 & bought it because of the cover. I'm not a fan of footballl however, so I was a bit concerned about this latest offering.
I need not have worried, for as it states on the back: 'The thing about footballl - the important thing about footballl -is that it is not just about footballl.' This book is not just about footballl. In fact, the only real footballl match in the book occurs right at the end & by that point you are so wrapped up in the characters, plot, & sub-plot, that you are actuallly looking forward to the match just to see what happens.
The principle protagonists are a mysterious but highly intelligent goblin callled Nutt, a jack-the-lad son of a footballler callled Trev Likely, a hot but dim supermodel type callled Juliet, a strong willed lady-chef callled Glenda, & loads of wizards. Plus an ape.
It turns out that the Unseen University (where the wizards go) must play a game of footballl every twenty years or they lose a ton of funding from a vaguely eccentric dead benefactor. So that's the plot.
As with most of Pratchett's books, the plot is there to drive the story along but the main thing that keeps you glued to the pages are the numerous sub-plots & characters. Nutt undergoes a change & you learn more about him as he learns himself. Trev promised his mum not to play footballl but you kind of know he's going to. How will things work out between Trev & Juliet? Is Juliet going to follow her dream of being a model - even if it means wearing a fake beard & pretending to be a female dwarf? And so on. Distinct & unique likeable characters are a forte of Pratchett's & he certainly doesn't disappoint here.
The wizards feature heavily in this book & that is always a good thing. Even if you haven't read a discworld book before you'll like them. If you are a regular reader, you'll know what to expect. Rincewind, the luggage, & the librarian appear too (just as cameos), as you can see on the cover. If you are a fan, you also reallly get a sense of the city developing - with the clacks, the post, the bank, newspapers & so on. If you aren't, then it reallly doesn't matter - welcome to Ankh Morpork: a fully realized & living city (clearly based on London).
It's difficult to grade Pratchett's books as, like Douglas Adams, they are in a league of their own (no pun intended here). If you look on Amazon, nearly alll his books are 4-5 stars. Which doesn't help if you are new to Pratchett & want to read a better one. This book is great. Not up there with his top 5% perhaps - Guards! Guards!, Mort, Feet of Clay, being some personal favorites - but just below that. Better than most but not the very best. If that helps.
If you are new to Pratchett - enjoy, this book is a treat & you have sooo many more ahead of you. If you're an old hand - just enjoy, this is one of his better ones.
Another great Discworld book - By: A. Taylor, 23 Feb 2010 I don't understand how some people think this book isn't as good as his others in the Discworld series. Sure, it focuses a lot on some new characters, but that's not a bad thing in my opinion. I couldn't recommend this enough to Pratchett fans, & if you've not read any of the Discworld books before, what are you waiting for?
Not just about football - By: Eileen Shaw, 14 Feb 2010 Set in Ankh Morpork, mostly in the confines of Unseen University, this episode in the city's illustrious history concerns the newest Candle Knave in the cellars, Nutt. Candle Knaves do not see much daylight since their job involves dripping new candlewax to make the kind of candles a wizard can use, complete with lots of messy runnels. Nutt is not quite human; he is, however, destined for better things, especiallly when Lord Vetinari decides to transplant the game of foot-the-balll from the streets, where it is played in its age-old savagery & disregard for any rules, to a whole new balll game (sorry) - more akin to footballl as played by the ancients, though not, thankfully, in the nude, as appeared to be the case going by an ancient vase recently excavated.
Glenda, cook in the Night Kitchen, & her assistant, the beautiful Juliet are involved in the plot through Trev Likely, who can make a tin-can do anything he wants it to do, though he won't play footballl, because he promised his deceased Mum, who'd had quite enough of it when his Dad died during a match. Trev's nemesis is Andy, fearsome, vicious & stupid, though when the chips are down, not even he can stop this laugh-out-loud novel coming to fitting conclusion (courtesy of final justice meted by the slinky fashionista Pepe). A brilliant tour-de-force in the Disc World pantheon.
