Events on the Discworld have been chronicled in the best-selling works of Terry Pratchett. Fans have learned of the adventures of Rincewind the incompetent wizard, Granny Weatherwax the witch, Captain Carrot the six-foot dwarf, Archchancellor Ridcully, Susan Sto Helit (granddaughter of Death), and a cast of strange and unique characters. The world is flat. It rests on the back of four giant elephants, who in turn stand on the back of great A'Tuin, the only turtle to form the basis of an entire branch of astrophysics.
Discworld is a comedic fantasy book series by the British author Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle, Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody, or at least take inspiration from, J. R. R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft and William Shakespeare, as well as mythology, folklore and fairy tales, often using them for satirical parallels with current cultural, technological and scientific issues.
Added by: gaman_yuriy | Karma: 25.81 | Fiction literature | 9 March 2009
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In the high-energy magic facility of Unseen University, the wizards have created a miniature cosmos that includes Roundworld, known to us as Earth. As they bicker over the meaning of this - to them - unfeasible and bizarre planet, we go on a tour of Big Science. From astrophysics to quantum mechanics, the interleaved chapters give us a briefing on the history and the present state of play of our scientific learning, while stressing alway the limits of our knowledge–.