Moving Pictures (Discworld 10)
Remember before, when I said that each Discworld book is basically about the same? Same level of quality and entertainment, same difficult-to-dissect sort of fun? Well, unfortunately, Moving Pictures is the first world set on Terry Pratchett’s Discworld to fall (pardon the pun) flat.
It’s not that it doesn’t feature interesting characters — old favorites like Unseen University’s simian librarian, Detritus the Troll, street vendor Cut Me Own Throat Dibbler and the ever-present Death join a handful of new faces, and they’re likable as ever. And there’s nothing inherently unlikable about the new folk either. In fact, I found myself wishing that Gaspode the Wonder Dog made a future appearance in the series, and apparently I at least have that to look forward to.
The thing is, Discworld books usually find a way to turn typical fantasy conventions around into something new and fun, and make a few scathing social statements along the way. Unfortunately, Moving Pictures just falls back on that same clichéd story we’ve all heard a hundred thousand times: Hollywood is magical, greedy people ruin the creative process. Okay, I get it.
It seems that every writer who ever succeeded in his medium enough to gain the attention of Hollywood has a story like this in them — as if they really think we’ll all be completely captivated by their hapless fish out of water experiences dealing with studio executives and jaded performers. And sure, maybe once, back when D.W. Griffith was still producing films, this was an interesting tale. But we’ve all heard it, and we all know how it ends. Sure, Pratchett serves up the usual Discworld trappings in his “Holy Wood” tale (it is rather clever how his alchemists use established Discworld photography technology to create movies), but the result is largely the same. And just like all the other stories that came before it, it’s a struggle to convince myself that I care.
There are, as I mentioned, some saving graces to the otherwise uncharacteristically dull story — the aforementioned Gaspode (a talking dog who may be the smartest Discworld character to date), for instance. A few of the “Holy Wood” variations on well-known films are worth a snicker or two. And apparently, the colorful new Archchancellor of Unseen University, making his first appearance here, becomes a permanent part of the tapestry in stories to come.
And if nothing else, that tapestry does help keep things from falling apart completely. Cameos from prior heroes (Colon and Nobby from Guards, Guards!) and passing references to other assorted elements (Lady Ramkin, the pyramids of Tsort) at least lend weight to the idea that Pratchett is busily constructing a larger world for these stories to inhabit. So, if nothing else, Moving Pictures does deliver some fairly decent characters and an ever-widening scope of scenery. It’s just lacking a bit in the plot department. But then, maybe that’s the grand irony of a story about Hollywood.
Or maybe this one’s just — wossname — a dud.