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Home > Books > Fiction > Fantasy Books > S Fantasy Books > Strata - Terry Pratchett
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6 Reviews

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We all know Terry Pratchett as the creator of the Discworld series (or if you don't, it's about time you did). But Strata is an early exploration of that idea and, while I don't think it's up to... more

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for Strata - Terry Pratchett

Rating Summary based on 6 reviews

  • 5 Stars
    		0
  • 4 Stars
    		3
  • 3 Stars
    		3
  • 2 Stars
    		0
  • 1 Star
    		0

Detailed rating

  • Characters
  • How does it compare to other works by the same author?
  • How does it compare to similar books?
  • Readability
  • Story
  		• 3.5
  		• 1.8
  		• 3.3
  		• 3.7
  		• 3.7
  • 106 of 106 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of Calypte

    Level 7 Calypte

    Member since 01/08/2001

    Reviews written: 139

    4 Stars Discworld Dinosaur 30/08/2002
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages fun story, interesting to see the original Discworld idea

    Disadvantages Disadvantages a bit forced, and somewhat superficial

    It’s sometimes hard to imagine, but there was once a world without Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. No, really! And even more difficult to believe - Mr Pratchett was still writing books back then. For fans of that series though, here is where it gets REALLY interesting: Here we can see those first embryonic seeds of what was to become the ‘global phenomenon’ that is the Discworld series. That’s not to say this is a Discworld novel in any sense - it’s just the basic idea that crops up, obviously sparking something in Terry Pratchett’s imagination to ... more
  • 53 of 53 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of alliecat

    alliecat

    4 Stars Look, no turtle 29/09/2002
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Well told story

    Disadvantages Disadvantages You might prefer the later novels

    Kin Arad is 210 years old. She works for The Company, designing new worlds. When you get to Kin’s age, you’ve seen it all. So when she discovers that two of her employees have planted a fossilised plesiosaur in the wrong stratum of the new planet they are building, and that the creature in question appears to be holding a placard bearing the legend “End Nuclear Testing Now”, she isn’t fazed. After all, in her own crazy youth, Kin Arad herself designed a mountain range in the shape of her own initials. When science and technology can stretch a person’s life ... more
  • 32 of 32 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of CaptainDisaster

    CaptainDisaster

    4 Stars Before Discworld was, there was Strata... 11/05/2005
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Quite funny and insightful, pretty good characters, inventice

    Disadvantages Disadvantages The Discworld concept just doesn't work as well in a sci-fi setting, Pratchett's writing style not fully developed at this stage

    We all know Terry Pratchett as the creator of the Discworld series (or if you don't, it's about time you did). But Strata is an early exploration of that idea and, while I don't think it's up to the standard of the majority of the Discworld novels, it's still good and is basically required reading for Pratchett fans. The story centres around Kin Arad, a woman over 200 years old (surgical techniques are pretty advanced and people are paid by The Company in "days" rather than cash), who works for the afore-mentioned "Company". This organisation creates planets - they take a likely looking ... more
  • 5 of 6 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of andrewsi

    andrewsi

    3 Stars Discworld meets Ringworld 17/04/2001
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages A good book, on its own terms. Remember - it's not a Discworld novel

    Disadvantages Disadvantages Could be sorely disappointed

    Way back in the mists of time, before Terry Pratchett emerged as the one man fantasy industry that he now is, he dabbled in science fiction; this (together with The Dark Side Of The Sun) is the result. A man who was fired off into instellar space centuries ago makes an impossible reappearence. He brings with him a number of impossible gadgets, including among them a purse that's always full. To try and figure out where these items are coming from, a small party of explorers, human and alien, are despatched into the middle of nowhere. What they find there is, er, basically - the Discworld. That ... more
  • 1 of 3 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of atrisha_99

    atrisha_99

    3 Stars not as good as "discworld" 27/09/2000
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages A change from his other work

    Disadvantages Disadvantages poor compared to the discworld series

    This was actually the first Terry Pratchett book I ever read. I picked it of a mate's shelf and decided to give it a go. Had I read any discworld novels before, I might have been disappointed, but as a novel on it's own it's not bad. The book centres on terra-forming, and especially on a world shaped like a disc. (Which might be where the discworld series originated). It's really more a sci-fi rather than fantasy, but if you're a hard-core Pratchett fan it's one you shouldn't miss, but don't expect another discworld novel. I think Pratchett should stick to fantasy. ... more

Product information

for Strata - Terry Pratchett

Product Details

Type Fiction
Genre Fantasy
Title Strata
Author Terry Pratchett
ISBN 0385404751; 0450049779; 0451451112; 0861402324; 0901072915; 3492285090

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