Unseen Academicals (2009) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Characters/People edit see section history

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• Glenda Sugarbean: Head of the Night Kitchen at Unseen University. Friends with Juliet.
• Mister Nutt: A weird creature from Uberwald that is currently a dribbler in the candle vats of Unseen University.
• Trev Likely: Works in the candle vats of Unseen University. Friends with Nutt. Son of famous footballer Dave Likely.
• Juliet Stollop: Assistant to and friend/neighbour of Glenda. Beautiful but not very bright.
• Havelock Vetinari: The Patrician of Ankh Morpork.
• Ponder Stibbons: The only wizard at Unseen University who actually seems to do his job. And pretty much everyone else's job too.
• Mustrum Ridcully: Archchancellor of Unseen University. He is described as a big man and fit (for a wizard).
• Madame Sharn: Boss of Shatta. Friends with Pepe.
• Andy Shank: A vehement football suporter. He is a 'face', someone to be feared in the shove or anywhere else.
• Pepe: A most unusual Dwarf, the inventor of micromail and life partner of Madame Sharn.
• Carter: One of Trev's friends.
• Henry: The former Dean at Unseen University. Now Archchancellor at Brazeneck.
• Mrs Whitlow: Thehead housekeeper at Unseen University.
• Drumknott: Assistent to Lord Vetinari.
• Rincewind: He is a failed student at the Unseen University for wizards in Ankh-Morpork, and is often described by scholars as "the magical equivalent to the number zero". He spends just about all of his time running away from various bands of people who want to kill him for various reasons. The fact that he's still alive and running is explained in that although he was born with a wizard's spirit, he has the body of a long-distance sprinter. Rincewind is also reputed for being able to solve minor problems by turning them into major disasters. His unique "skill" is implied to be due to being the chosen one of "The Lady", the anthropomorphic personification of luck.
• Dr Hix: Professor of Post-Mortem Communication.
• Lady Margolotta: A reformed vampire. Involved with Vetinari. Took Nutt under her wing.
• Charlie: Skeleton who works at the office of Dr. Hix.
• Gobbo: Trev's early nickname for Nutt.
• Mister Hoggett: Leader of Ankh-Morpork United.
• Igor: A creature made of many other people's body parts. All males of the species are named Igor.
• Bledlow Nobbs: No relation to Nobby Nobbs. Works at Unseen University.
• Bengo Macarona: A professor at Unseen University and very talented at football.
• Dave Likely: Trev's dad. Died in the streets.
• Smeems: Nutt's boss in the vats. A cruel, petty, small-minded man.
• Samuel Vimes: Vimes is the Commander of the City Watch, the burgeoning police force of the Discworld's largest city, Ankh-Morpork. His rise from drunk policeman to respected member of the aristocracy, and the growth and development of the Watch under his command, have together been one of the major threads of the Discworld series. Born into poverty, he is now a highly reluctant member of the nobility, having been made both a knight and a duke. He is married to Sybil Ramkin, the richest woman in the city.
• Turnipseed: Brazeneck's equivalent to Ponder Stibbons.
• Mrs Atkinson: A mean old lady.
• Mister Ottomy: A bledlow at Unseen University.

Quotes edit see section history

• “I do beg your pardon, it’s just that the progress of history requires butchers as well as shepherds”

• “She was, in fact, quite a pleasant looking girl, even if her bosom had clearly been intended for a girl two feet taller; but she was not Her.** The Egregious Professor of Grammar and Usage would have corrected this to ‘she was not she’, which would have caused the Professor of Logic to spit out his drink.”

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• If there is any kind of supreme being, I told myself, it is up to all of us to become his moral superior.’

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• Juliet’s version of cleanliness was next to godliness, which was to say it was erratic, past all understanding and was seldom seen.

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• We play and are played and the best we can hope for is to do it with style.’

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• Truth is female, since truth is beauty rather than handsomeness; this, Ridcully reflected as the Council grumbled in, would certainly explain the saying that a lie could run around the world before Truth has got its, correction, her boots on, since she would have to choose which pair–the idea that any woman in a position to choose would have just one pair of boots being beyond rational belief.

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• It is a well-known fact in any organization that, if you want a job done, you should give it to someone who is already very busy. It has been the cause of a number of homicides, and in one case the death of a senior director from having his head shut repeatedly in quite a small filing cabinet.

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• Don’t be smart. Smart is only a polished version of dumb. Try intelligence. It will surely see you through.’

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• Apes had it worked out. No ape would philosophize, ‘The mountain is, and is not.’ They would think, ‘The banana is. I will eat the banana. There is no banana. I want another banana.’

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• The last thing she wanted was to see her friend getting ideas in her head. There was such a lot of room in there for them to bounce around and do damage.

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• ‘The female mind is certainly a devious one, my lord.’ Vetinari looked at his secretary in surprise. ‘Well, of course it is. It has to deal with the male one. I think—’

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• ‘Of course, all he’s saying is you’ve got to do your best,’ said the driver. ‘And the more best you’re capable of, the more you should do. That’s it, really.’

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Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Ankh-Morpork: The largest city on the Disc.
• Uberwald: A dark and mysterious realm. Home to vampires, werewolves, and other sundry monsters.
• Night Kitchen: Part of Unseen University, ruled by Glenda.
• Shatta: Dwarf fashion boutique.
• Brazeneck: A wizard university in Pseudopolis.
• Pseudopolis: Home of Brazeneck University.

Organizations edit see section history

• The Unseen University Faculty: Add a description of this organization.

First Sentence edit see section history

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by Making Money, and followed by I Shall Wear Midnight.

Preceded by The Last Hero.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Terry Pratchett (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• Locus Fantasy Award (2010, Nominee)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 823.914

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Add a note to help parents select a book for a child.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy › Magic & Wizards
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Comic

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• Wikipedia page for "Unseen Academicals"
• The Telegraph review of "Unseen Academicals"
• The Guardian review of "Unseen Academicals"

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history