Terry Pratchett is a brilliant social commentator, taking aspects of our society and sprinkling them with Octarine and reflecting them back on us. In Unseen Academicals he takes a look at community, race and prejudice and delivers his usual magic. ( )

One of the less funny, less well written books in the discworld series. Some nice ideas, some nice passages, but the plot is mediocre and the development of the story is lame. This book leaves the impression it has been made by recipe: Take a topic many people are interested in, add the bad guy and the beauty, mix in a few spicy characters (Sam, Rincewind) and add a handful of jokes. It takes quite some pages to get interesting, and at least for a Terry Pratchett fan there are no surprises, nothing really new in this. I am not sure, if I have read too many Pratchett books, or if Pratchett has written too many ;-) ( )

Pratchett's fans require a high standard and Unseen Academicals is, by literary standards, a great book. Academicals includes interesting and fresh characters, recurring characters to keep the regulars happy and a clever, interesting and wry storyline. It's also very British. As a Discworld novel it lacks a certain Pratchett magic - too frequently the storyline is misplaced, buried as Pratchett muses about some subject or other. In a smaller book, with a single plot such padding would be fine, however Academicals is a hefty tome, with several plots weaving their way around each other. That aside, there are still enough moments that will make you think/smile/appreciate life that are expected from Practhett and ultimately Unseen Academicals is a solid entry in to the Discworld saga. ( )

I think this is the best book of Terry Pratchett's in a number of years, but it suffers from being overly complicated. That is what he's famous for, having many characters, many plots, and tying them all neatly at the end. The characters make sense, the plot closes nicely, I am able to tell the different characters apart but there is just too much of it!

What I really loved about this book is the role of Lord Veterini. He's usually a shadowy figure, running his city with well placed short meetings. This time around, we see more of him, and how he thinks. I like the Unseen University, but I have a hard time believing that ancient wizards want to play football. They are school, wheres the students to bully into doing this. And of course, there's the ethical quandary involved, this time an orc, who species is known for being terribly warlike and dangerous. ( )

A good, solid, competent Discworld story about football (It's not just about the football) with some wonderful new characters - Mr Nutt (a most singular goblin), Trevor Likely (son of the legendary footballer Dave Likely and who promised his mother he wouldn't play football like his Dad), Glenda Sugarbean (the best cook in the Night Kitchen) and Pepe (a dwarf by choice). It also has a welcome return of many favourites, including larger roles for Vetinari (the tyrant of Ankh-Morpork) and Mustrum Ridcully (Archchancellor of Unseen University) to many cameo roles, including Sam Vimes and CMOT Dibler.

Pratchett fits in many many humorous passages to a fast moving main plot about foot-the-ball and sub-plot about celebrity.

.. and yet, I worried about the performance and thought that the gentle moralising was just slightly overdone. Perhaps I have read too many Discworld novels. I was afraid it just might not work, even when I was thoroughly enjoying it. I did not lose myself entirely to the story of new characters like I did in Going Postal. But I am looking for the extraordinary amongst the very, very good.

A hugely enjoyable read and a worthy addition to the Discworld canon. ( )