Unseen Academicals is the 37th novel in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. The novel satirises football, and features Mustrum Ridcully setting up an Unseen University football team, with the Librarian in goal. It includes new details about "below stairs" life at the university. The book introduces several new characters, including Trevor Likely, a street urchin with a wonderful talent for kicking a tin can; Glenda Sugarbean, a maker of "jolly good" pies; Juliet Stollop, a dim but beautiful young woman who might just turn out to be the greatest fashion model there has ever been; and the mysterious Mr Nutt, a cultured, enigmatic, idealistic savant. According to the publisher, Transworld, the "on sale" date for the hardback was 1 October 2009 although the official publication date is 8 October 2009. Bookshop chain Borders included a small set of exclusive Discworld football cards with each book.The title is a play on the …
Unseen Academicals is the 37th novel in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. The novel satirises football, and features Mustrum Ridcully setting up an Unseen University football team, with the Librarian in goal. It includes new details about "below stairs" life at the university. The book introduces several new characters, including Trevor Likely, a street urchin with a wonderful talent for kicking a tin can; Glenda Sugarbean, a maker of "jolly good" pies; Juliet Stollop, a dim but beautiful young woman who might just turn out to be the greatest fashion model there has ever been; and the mysterious Mr Nutt, a cultured, enigmatic, idealistic savant. According to the publisher, Transworld, the "on sale" date for the hardback was 1 October 2009 although the official publication date is 8 October 2009. Bookshop chain Borders included a small set of exclusive Discworld football cards with each book.The title is a play on the names of rugby and football teams in the UK who have or have had a connection to educational institutions, examples being Hamilton Academical and Edinburgh Academicals. The time in between the publication of Unseen Academicals and the previous Discworld entry, Making Money, was over 2 years, making it longest time between Discworld novels since 1983's The Colour of Magic and 1986's The Light Fantastic. Between 1986 and 2007, at least one Discworld novel was published every year. This delay was in part due to Pratchett's Alzheimer's diagnosis, which led to a great deal of his time being taken up with interviews and public advocacy.
Viime vuoden Kiekkomaailma-rykäisystä jäi vielä uupumaan mm. tämä jalkapallotarina. Tavanomaiseen kohellukseen on heitetty mausteeksi Will Huntingia, Beckhamien kaltaisia valmisteita ja sen sellaista. Vähän väsyneen oloinen kokonaisuus, joka kierrättää samoja vitsejä tämän tästä.
Nonostante sia ambientato nell'università, in questo libri Scuotivento è solo un personaggio secondario. Non mancano però molti altri personaggi noti, inclusa qualche comparsa dalla saga delle Guardie.
In questo libro i maghi si trovano ad inventare il gioco del calcio. O, più precisamente, a regolamentarlo per dargli una dignità e portarlo fuori dai bassi fondi.
Protagonista della saga è Nutt. Un personaggio strano che, nonostante l'elevata cultura e le grandi capacità, pare soffrire di grosse crisi di autostima che lo portano non trovarsi mai a proprio agio in nessun posto.
Nell'ennesimo capitolo del Discworld, questa volta Pratchett prende in giro il mondo del calcio, o meglio dei tifosi e di tutto quello che sta intorno. Lord Vetinari ha pensato di addomesticare le partite tra squadre (bande?) rivali introducendo una serie di regole (bellissima la spiegazione del fuorigioco); potete immaginarvi il risultato finale, conoscendo l'attitudine tipica dei cittadini di Ankh-Morpork e l'attitudine parallela delle bande di tifosi calcistici, non solo in Italia ma anche in Inghilterra. Il tutto condito dalle lotte in punta di parola tra l'antica Unseen University e i parvenu di Brazeneck, e dalle citazioni di autori fintotedeschi... pardon, di Uberwald. Devo però dire che il risultato mi pare un po' deludente; anche la figura del protagonista di questo libro, Mister Nutt, evolve troppo a salti. Ciò detto, vale sempre la pena di leggere Pratchett per gli spaccati di vita del nostro mondo, come la scena della carrozza notturna.
