A Quote Game: thread #16

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The Patrician leaned back in an attitude that suggested attentive listening.

Soul Music maybe.

Sourcery perhaps

Argh, didn't even last an hour. AnnieMod got it. :)

Nice to get a new thread going. ;)

I will make a random educated guess and will get it. Argh. Next:

"There were three types of beer. There were even smoked rat sandwiches with the crusts and tails cut off. And there was a bowl of finest anthracite coke with ash on it."

#5 ;) it's my first. I was so excited!

My guess Thud

Nope.

Soul Music?

Yep.

It wasn't one of your modern wardrobes, fit only for nervous adulterers to jump into when the husband returned home early, but an ancient oak affair, dark as night, in whose dusty depths coat-hangers lurked and bred.

Hogfather?

The quote rings a bell in my memory but I can't remember which book. Grrrr ...

There is a scary wardrobe in Hogfather, but I think this one is in Rincewind's room in UU. The Luggage has made its home on top of it in Sourcery.

You have the baton justjim.

Well if you put it like that, you force me to use this particular quote...

Remember, every lance-constable has a field-marshal's baton in his knapsack.

Men at Arms? This must be watch.

I'll go for Night Watch

It's the earlier of the two. Alas, poor Cuddy.

Yer up, pwaites.

"The shortest unit of time in the multiverse is the New York Second, defined as the period of time between the traffic lights turning green and the cab behind you honking."

Ooo I know this. Just not which book.

Men at Arms?

I'll go for the obvious since I haven't a clue ...

Thief of Time

Fifth Elephant?

Just a guess out of left field, Good Omens?

Nope. Here's a hint - it is Discworld.

Thud?

Lords and Ladies?

Although I am sure Annie is correct, I will try Jingo.

Lords and Ladies it is! Over to you, AnnieMod.

Sorry everyone -- traveling this week and my internet is spotty. Can someone take over please?

I'll jump in. Here it is:

Ankh-Morpork, largest city in the lands around the Circle Sea, slept.

I thought that Ankh-Morpork never slept so I will go for one of the early books:

The Colour of Magic?

No. :)

Yeah the line is followed up with all the parts of the city not asleep.

Feet of Clay?

No. :)

Pyramids?

lol, no again. But, you are on the right track. Where *is* everybody?

//This somebody here is traveling so not answering :)//

Assassins? Night Watch?

The Last Continent?

No and no. Do you guys really want hints? It's too easy then but your choice! :)

Safe travels Annie!

How about Mort?

No...

No hints - there is a finite number of books; someone will hit on the right one eventually.

Hogfather ?

No. :)

I agree that it must be early. If it isn't TCoM, why has nobody tried The Light Fantastic?

If pyramids was on track then perhaps it is all that sand so I'll go for Small Gods

Jim got it. It is The Light Fantastic. Minnie, the on track was referring to earlier books but I seem to have confused the issue.

Over to you Jim.

Allll righty then!

'People give us stuff, mind you. People can be very gen'rous to witches,' said Mrs Ogg, happily. 'On bakin' days in our village, sometimes I can't move for cake.'

*This* sounds like the Tiffany books...perhaps A Hat Full of Sky?

No, sorry.

Lords and Ladies?

No, not L&L.

Hmm The Wee Free Men?

Aye, Bigjobs! That's the richt ane. Yer awa!

Lol, nice feegle accent. Here we go:

it's generally very quiet in the Unseen University library. There's perhaps the shuffling of feet as wizards wander between the shelves, the occasional hacking cough to disturb the academic silence, and every once in a while a dying scream as an unwary student fails to treat an old magical book with the caution it deserves.

I'll try The Colour of Magic.

Nope. :)

Guards! Guards!

No...

Soul Music ?

No. :) Keep going guys. You'll get there.

Men at arms ?

Yes! Over to you barnouille. :)

"They ceased their boiling spaghetti dance and, to pass through this chicane of history, charged forward neck and neck in their race across the rubber sheet of incontinent Time."

Eric perhaps?

No :)

I don't recall ever reading about spaghetti so I will go for Johnny and the Bomb.

That's somewhere in the witches books.
Maskerade maybe?

No, but you're not far off AnnieMod :)

Witches Abroad?

That is definitely obscure. I'll go for Wyrd Sisters but honestly, no idea.

Had to look up the word "chicane." I had no idea that one of the definitions is, "An artificial narrowing or turn on a road or auto-racing course."

Learn something new every day, but I can't say that quote even sounds one bit familiar.

No and no ^^ I'll put another quote tomorrow if nobody got it.

(PS : i'm french, sorry if my english isn't very good ! :$)

Lords and Ladies?

The rubber sheet of incontinent time sounds to me more like Rincewind.

The Colour of Magic?

I'll go for The Last Hero since it sounds like dragons to me. Barnouille, we will get it eventually. You don't have to put a new quote up. This is what's fun. :)

I'll second anatwork.k's comment; the harder it is the more fun.

And, barnouille, there is nothing wrong with your English and if you have been reading Pratchett in the original language it must be better than good.

The books are a limited number - someone will get it :)

Hogfather? The bit where the hog-to-man-to-Hogfather progression takes place sounds a possible.

AnnieMod, you got it ;)

Oh yes, I remember now. It was the bees!

If you died of eating this sort of thing they wouldn't have to bury you, they would just need to drop you somewhere where the ground was soft.

Witches Abroad?

Nope.

The Fifth Elephant?

nope.

Unseen Academicals?

Lords and Ladies?

Nope. And Nope

The last continent?

Nope again

Lol, alright I'm done. :)

So we have some form of heavy food? Stodgy? The Philosopher's feast in Pyramids wasn't well thought of by Teppic. I'll guess that.

My thought was Dwarf Bread but I am running out of options.

Men at Arms?

No and no. :)

*sigh* Snuff?

Nope.

The Wee Free Men?

nope.

Maskerade had some good solid food in it, I seem to recall.

Nope...

Ok, I'm back with Sourcery?

Welcome back but no.

Moving Pictures?

Men at Arms?

No and No.

Nation?

Mort?

Two more of the same answer that starts with No.

Come on - this should have been easy... Do you want me to post a longer passage from there?

I'm happy to keep on guessing. After all, I will be either guessing your quote or someone else's.

But I'll leave it up to the rest of you.

Small Gods?

Nope. :)

I am going to have to make a list and tick them off as we go.

Interesting Times?

Nope....

The Colour of Magic?

Same answer as above...

Night Watch on the basis that it sounds like his grace. Also another line from the passage would be awesome. :)

So far we have tried 20 books for this quote!

>119 anatwork.k: And I thought it will be very easy...

>118 anatwork.k: Nope.

Clue: The previous sentence is:
"It was just that somewhere in the preparation something had apparently done to these innocent ingredients what it takes a million gravities to do a neutron star."

Following a process of careful elimination coupled with random guesswork I'll try The Truth.

I have a little list which I am working through ...

Thud?

Guards Guards?

No and no and no.

Wintersmith?

Nope...
Do we beat any records in number of wrong guesses here...?

I'd think so. My latest count is 22 (there is one duplicate which I have not counted).

I shall wear Midnight? :)

Nope...

This is quess 24; we muat be at least halfway through.

Equal Rites.

And wrong again

Hogfather?

Nope..

Reaper Man?

Is it a discworld book?

It is a discworld book, yes. One of the novels.

But not Reaper Man.

Going Postal?

I am going through my books shelf now

Nope....:)

Making money

I had to tick these off on a list because I couldn't keep track! Mea culpa for the double guess. Is it by any chance Monstrous Regiment? Although, they never did seem to have much food to eat... I'm treating this rather like a mystery novel now; the least likely culprit, etc...

No and no...

OK.... here is the full passage (minus the first sentence that gives it away):
"It was a bowl of cereal, nuts, and dried fruit. He didn't have any quarrel with any of that. It was just that somewhere in the preparation something had apparently done to these innocent ingredients what it takes a million gravities to do a neutron star. If you died of eating this sort of thing they wouldn't have to bury you, they would just need to drop you somewhere where the ground was soft.

He managed to swallow it. It wasn't difficult. The trick would have been preventing it from heading downwards."

Feet of Clay?

It sounds a bit like Vimes being fed muesli as part of a 'keep fit' regimen

I suspect that noone is really surprised that the answer is No again. I start thinking that we will go through all the books this time around.

It is fun, though ... I only have six books not on my list but I don't have every book in the series.

So Eric?

Finally. Of course it is Eric -- when he managed to summon Rincewind and brought him some food :) All yours.

That is someone else's default reply. I was reluctant to suggest it but 31 guesses must definitely be a record.

Oh my god Eric!! I was thinking about it too but decided it wasn't.

This is, I think, Night Watch?

Yes - it is from Night Watch.

Over to you anatwork

I think that we are all guessed out but I'll get the ball rolling again with yet another guess. Men at Arms?

Jingo?

No and no. And yes, the last round was somewhat overwhelming! ;)

Going Postal?

Nope.

Making Money?

I know that Moist was hanged in one of those two books.

Lol he was hanged in going postal, right at the beginning, but it is neither of those two books; atleast I got it from another (earlier) book.

Back to the City Watch then.

Feet of Clay?

You got it. Over to you Minnie.

Ok let's get this started.

What about Lords and Ladies?

No, not Lords and Ladies

Hogfather?

Interesting Times?

No and No.

Unseen Academicals, then?

Reaper Man?

No and no again.

Moving Pictures...?

No ...

No, not The light Fantastic

The Last Continent?

The Last Continent it is.

Your turn, Ardagor.

"They made way for an old woman bent double under the weight of a black and white pig. And then there was just the road, rutted and muddy."

Thief of Time?

No

Equal Rites?

No again

Monstrous Regiment?

Yes, anatwork.k is next

Sorry for the delay; been rather busy. Let us try this one -- it should be nice and easy. :)

"To the axeman, all supplicants are the same height."

EDIT: So sorry. I forgot the quotation marks. :( Fixed now.

Hmm... Carpe Jugulum?

Thief of Time?

No and no. :)

Thud?

Nope.

Please check the edit! Sorry...

Guards! Guards! - part of the interminable exchange of passwords at the secret society I'm sure.

Ezzackly. Its one of my favorite bits of Pratchett farce. Over to you edrandrew.

It was not because the man had used the phrase 'commence to start' in cold blood. But it ought to have been.

Going Postal?

Jingo?

Small Gods?

Thief of Time?

Argh. Can I change my guess? Because I am pretty sure I am wrong... :)

LOL - when we are all told that we guessed wrong then you can have another try.

Obviously you are sure that we have all guessed wrong so far, so you have nothing to lose by waiting a while.

:) I was semi-joking. No idea why I initially thought it is Small gods. oh well :)

Looks like AnnieMod can have her next go now as it isn't one of the above.

Lol, I am tempting fate by guessing Eric.

I'll go for my default answer. Unseen Academicals?

I can see now why Annie wanted to change her guess... ;)

Me too - it's because she's right.

Yet there is the constant desire to find some point in the twisting, knotting, raveling nets of space-time on which a metaphorical finger can be put to indicate that here, here, is the point where it all began...

201, 202: lol

I have a feeling this is Men at Arms when Edward (?) sees Carrot for the first time...? Of course, I could be wrong. :)

Nope

I'll go to the beginning too.

The Colour of Magic?

nope

Lords and Ladies.

nope.

Wild guess : The Fifth Elephant?

Is it Eric again?

Way outside the square but ... Snuff?

No,No and No.

Jingo

Thief of Time is probably a bit too obvious, but I can't think of a better guess.

Triple no again.

No.

Ok, I started opening books. It's The Hogfather.

anatwork.k, yes. Almost the beginning.

all yours

There came a thunderous knock at the door.
There is a mantra to be said on these occasions. It doesn't matter...

Rest of the passage when somebody gets the book because it is hilarious!

Thief of Time?

Nope.

We must be talking about a knock-knock routine at the Guild of Fools and Joculators. I'll try Men at Arms.

Nah! Must be Guards! Guards!

Sourcery?
It's not just the end of this sentence that is hilarious - what the wizard duly says after this introduction to the mantra always makes me laugh.

Annie, yup that's what I meant. The whole bit...

There came a thunderous knock at the door.
There is a mantra to be said on these occasions. It doesn't matter if the door is a tent flap, a scrap of hide on a wind blown yurt, three inches of solid oak with great iron nails in or a rectangle of chipboard with mahogany veneer, a small light over it made of horrible bits of coloured glass and a bellpush that plays a choice of twenty popular melodies that no music lover would want to listen to even after five years' sensory deprivation.
One wizard turned to another and duly said: 'I wonder who that can be at this time of night?'

"And it was believable right up until you looked hard into those cheeky, smiling eyes, and saw, deep down, the demons looking back.

…but you mustn't spend too much time looking at those eyes, because that'd mean you'd taken your eyes off his hands, and by now one of them held a knife.
"

The Truth?

Nope.

Ohh Night Watch. And evil Carcer.

Someone else take my turn please. :)

Yep. All yours. Or whoever feels like posting something :)

This is Vimes speaking. The question is, which Watch book? I would guess The Fifth Elephant when he is talking to a certain vampire.

yes, it is from The Fifth Elephant. Over to you pwaites

"Who generally took the view that trying to find any deep meaning to events was like trying to find reflections in a mirror: you always succeeded, but you didn't learn anything new."

Bonus bragging points for those who can name the 'who' in this quote. :)

I'm going to guess that the book is Witches Abroad and that the "who" is Granny Weatherwax. That's to say, I'll start with the obvious.

It's not Witches Abroad and it is not about Granny Weatherwax, though come to think of it the quote does sound like it is referring to her.

Is it Lu Tze, or the History Monks in general? Perhaps in Small Gods.

Nope, it is neither Lu Tze, History Monks, or Small Gods.

Hola peeps. Popping in for a second. That sounds like Gaspode for some random reason in my completely erratic and exhausted mind. Maybe Moving Pictures?

Not Gaspode, and not Moving Pictures. Is a clue needed?

Well then maybe Rincewind in Interesting Times?

I'm okay without a hint. But if anyone else wants one... :)

Not Rincewind or Interesting Times, but your closer.

Ridcully about Ponder's rules in The Science of Discworld maybe? (I know that this is way out there but this is what comes to mind first so... thought I should throw it in)

You've got it! On to you, AnnieMod.

I am officially susprised - I was pretty sure I got it wrong but decided to throw it anyway. Oh well :) Next then.

"Suppose you'd watched the slow accretion of snow over thousands of years as it was compressed and pushed over the deep rock until the glacier calved its icebergs into the sea, and you watched an iceberg drift out through the chilly waters, and you got to know its cargo of happy polar bears and seals as they looked forward to a brave new life in the other hemisphere where they say the ice floes are lined with crunchy penguins, and then wham! Tragedy loomed in the shape of thousands of tons of unaccountably floating iron and an exciting sound track…"

Nation?

Nope.

Very familiar passage about perspective AFAIR. I am going to go for The Wee Free Men.

Nope.

Urm Jingo?

Nah.

Hmm The Truth? I know I have read this recently...

Nope.

The Last Continent?

Nope...

The Last Hero?

Eta. Sorry about that previous touchstone. Of course I meant the Sir Terry one! Don't know how to edit it.

No and no.

Small Gods?

Nope...
(why every time I think I chose an easy one, we end up chasing it all over the books) :)

I don't know! And this one is super easy. I have read it so recently. Okay last guess then I'm going to start opening books. Feet of Clay?

:) Nope...

Ping.

Thief of Time!!! I had a brainwave. I don't know why I didn't remember that before.

:)) But of course. All yours.

To look at _________, you'd see a man who might well, if he fell over a cliff, have to stop and ask directions on the way down.

Bonus points for naming the subject of the quote!

Pretty sure the person referred to is Fred Colon, but which book? Thud?

Exactly. You're on joannasephine.

Ok, follow me to thread #17!