#pyramids discworld

PYRAMIDS finished January 29, 2026

Discworld #7

This is my first non-City Watch book. I picked this one mainly because I found it physically and it’s a standalone. But I was also particularly interested in it because it is inspired by ancient Egypt, a subject with which I have been keenly interested since I was eight years old.

I guess I don’t have all that much to say about this one though. It’s not quite as deep as some of the city watch books. Not as many characters. I had difficulty getting into it and found the pacing odd. It may be worth noting I am on a second round of antibiotics for an infection and do sometimes have trouble focusing. I also did not enjoy some of the allusions to and direct mention of how men in the story viewed women. This book did feel a little alienating at times as a female reader with certain sensitivities. I acknowledge this is a personal issue. But it did affect my enjoyment of the book. And it is noticeable that Teppic’s aunt was dropped from the story completely.

It did have its funny moments. And I loved all the bits with Teppicymon, Gern, Dil and the mummies. I can also say I got a lot more out of it than my husband who knows nothing about Egyptian history, but there were definitely some eyebrow raising decisions about how Djelibeybi was portrayed. I understand it tied into the plot, but it’s hard not to point out how advanced many real life early civilizations were even in their infancy.

It was okay. I think if Ptraci would have been handled a little differently I could have liked it a lot more. But I think it’s also fair to say this isn’t Pratchett’s strongest work even aside from my prejudices. The idea of a great story is here, but I’m not sure it worked for me. Sometimes the silliness was a little overpowering. Though I struggled through it this time, I look forward to a reread in the future that might improve my opinion.

Just solidifying my belief that a lot of the humor is missing in audio form. Case in point: "Djelibeybi"