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Small Gods by Terry Pratchett
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Small Gods (original 1992; edition 1994)

by Terry Pratchett

Series: Discworld: Gods (2), Discworld (13)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
12,062177524 (4.18)340
Brutha, a simple man leading a quiet life tending his garden, finds his life irrevocably changed when his god, speaking to him through a tortoise, sends him on a mission of peace.
Member:guardianbookfest2011
Title:Small Gods
Authors:Terry Pratchett
Info:HarperTorch (1994), Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages
Collections:Your library, Favorites
Rating:*****
Tags:read

Work Information

Small Gods by Terry Pratchett (1992)

  1. 94
    American Gods {original} by Neil Gaiman (MyriadBooks)
    MyriadBooks: For the necessity of belief.
  2. 40
    Good Omens by Terry Pratchett (electronicmemory)
  3. 20
    The Blue Hawk by Peter Dickinson (souloftherose)
    souloftherose: Although The Blue Hawk is aimed specifically at children/young adults and Small Gods is an adult book, I think both books examine and raise interesting questions about faith and religion and readers who enjoyed one may well enjoy the other.
  4. 10
    Minor Mage by T. Kingfisher (MyriadBooks)
  5. 22
    People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (Eat_Read_Knit)
    Eat_Read_Knit: A very different style of book from a very different genre, but an interesting commentary on the corruption/misuse of religious faith which complements this book's treatment of the same theme.
  6. 00
    Divine Misfortune by A. Lee Martinez (electronicmemory)
    electronicmemory: Humorous but also insightful stories about ordinary mortals who find themselves caught up in the - often petty - fights of their gods.
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» See also 340 mentions

English (166)  Spanish (4)  Swedish (2)  Norwegian (1)  German (1)  French (1)  Dutch (1)  Polish (1)  All languages (177)
Showing 1-5 of 166 (next | show all)
Brutha hears the voice of the Great God Om and his entire life changes. He comes to the attention of Vorbis of the exquisition, travels to Ephebe, and meets Ephebian philosophers along the way. Then he returns home and learns even more.
Small Gods is one of my favorite Discworld novels. I love the growth of Brutha and his relationship with his God. Lu-Tze the history monk with his push broom and bonsai mountains is always fun to encounter, too. ( )
  elorin | Feb 25, 2024 |
Small Gods was the first Discworld book I ever read. At the time I was in high-school so I didn't remember much about the book, but I remember that I liked it a lot. (I was all the more confused that I didn't like many of the other books in the series.) This time around I think I picked up on a lot more details, and coupled with Nigel Planer's superb narration, I might have liked it even more than the last time. ( )
  bramboomen | Oct 18, 2023 |
I'd really like to get into fantasy and the famous Terry Pratchett - what could be a better place to start. And I did enjoy Nigel Planer's narration.

But 30 mins in (5% of the novel), I couldn't take any more. ( )
  Okies | Oct 5, 2023 |
You gotta love Om as a turtle. Gentle Brutha is probably the only one who would be able to stand him anyway. I guess panic at your own impending doom can do that. This book, like most of his other ones, makes you think about certain things. It's philosophical. It makes you question. And it makes you have faith in some things you believed in, just so that they don't vanish completely. An excellent stand alone book. ( )
  LinBee83 | Aug 23, 2023 |
I think two of the key themes in Terry Pratchett's books are integrity and power. Small Gods excels because Pratchett is absolutely in his element. He dissects organised religion and then pokes around in the entrails, finding humour and outrage. I think I enjoyed this as much as I have enjoyed any Discworld book. ( )
  robfwalter | Jul 31, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 166 (next | show all)
The problem with Small Gods is that its plot is complicated without being especially deft, and many tiny scenes exist solely to move stage scenery. Since a fair number of Pratchett's jokes recur from one book to the next, and many of the jokes in this novel are of the running or repeating variety (virtually every character, seeing Om as a tortoise, remarks, "There's good eating on one of those things"), the reader can end up looking for the good lines, like a partygoer digging through a dish of peanuts for the odd cashew.
added by Shortride | editThe Washington Post, Gregory Feeley (pay site) (May 27, 1994)
 

» Add other authors (15 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Terry Pratchettprimary authorall editionscalculated
Brandhorst, AndreasTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Couton, PatrickTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Daniele, ValentinaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ittekot, VenugopalanTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kapetanović, GoranTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kirby, JoshCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lindforss, PeterTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Planer, NigelNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Rayyan, OmarIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Sabanosh, MichaelCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Sohár, AnikóTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Solé, AlbertTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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First words
Now consider the tortoise and the eagle.
Quotations
And it came to pass that in time the Great God Om spake unto Brutha, the Chosen One: "Psst!"
The figures looked more or less human. And they were engaged in religion. You could tell by the knives (it's not murder if you do it for a god).
Gods don't like people not doing much work. People who aren't busy all the time might start to think.
Or, to put it another way, the existence of a badly put-together watch proved the existence of a blind watchmaker.
Because what gods need is belief, and what humans want is gods.
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Brutha, a simple man leading a quiet life tending his garden, finds his life irrevocably changed when his god, speaking to him through a tortoise, sends him on a mission of peace.

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Book description
In the beginning was the Word.

And the Word was: "Hey, you!"

For Brutha the novice is the Chosen One. He wants peace and justice and brotherly love.

He also wants the Inquisition to stop torturing him now, please...
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