Thursday 11 January 2018

Review: Terry Pratchett's Discworld Imaginarium - Paul Kidby

A stunning portfolio of Discworld illustrations from the brush of Paul Kidby, Sir Terry Pratchett's artist of choice.

Paul Kidby, Sir Terry Pratchett's artist of choice, provided the illustrations for The Last Hero, designed the covers for the Discworld novels since 2002, and is the author of the bestselling The Art Of Discworld.

Now, Paul Kidby has collected the very best of his Discworld illustrations in this definitive volume, including 40 pieces never before seen, 30 pieces that have only appeared in foreign editions, limited editions and BCA editions, and 17 book cover illustrations since 2004 that have never been seen without cover text.

If Terry Pratchett's pen gave his characters life, Paul Kidby's brush allowed them to live it, and nowhere is that better illustrated than in this magnificent book. For fans old and new, this beautiful collectors item is the perfect gift for Christmas.

'The closest anyone's got to how I see the characters' - Sir Terry Pratchett

Discworld Series:
The Colour of Magic (Rincewind book 1)
The Light Fantastic (Rincewind book 2)
Equal Rites (Witches book 1)
Mort (Death book 1)
Sourcery (Rincewind book 3)
Wyrd Sisters (Witches book 2)
Pyramids
Guards! Guards! (Ankh-Morpork City Watch book 1)
Eric (Rincewind book 4)
Moving Pictures (Industrial Revolution book 1)
Reaper Man (Death book 2)
Witches Abroad (Witches book 3)
Small Gods
Lords and Ladies (Witches book 4)
Men at Arms (Ankh-Morpork City Watch book 2)
Soul Music (Death book 3)
Interesting Times (Rincewind book 5)
Maskerade (Witches book 5)
Feet of Clay (Ankh-Morpork City Watch book 3)
Hogfather (Death book 4)
Jingo (Ankh-Morpork City Watch book 4)
The Last Continent (Rincewind book 6)
Carpe Jugulum (Witches book 6)
The Fifth Elephant (Ankh-Morpork City Watch book 5)
The Truth (Industrial Revolution book 2)
Thief of Time (Death book 5)
The Last Hero (Rincewind book 7)
The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents
Night Watch (Ankh-Morpork City Watch book 6)
The Wee Free Men (Tiffany Aching book 1)
Monstrous Regiment (Industrial Revolution book 3)
A Hat Full of Sky (Tiffany Aching book 2)
Going Postal (Moist von Lipwig book 1) (Industrial Revolution book 4)
Thud! (Ankh-Morpork City Watch book 7)
Wintersmith (Tiffany Aching book 3)
Making Money (Moist von Lipwig book 2) (Industrial Revolution book 5)
Unseen Academicals (Rincewind book 8)
I Shall Wear Midnight (Tiffany Aching book 4)
Snuff (Ankh-Morpork City Watch book 8)
The World of Poo
Raising Steam (Moist von Lipwig book 3) (Industrial Revolution book 6)
The Shepherd's Crown (Tiffany Aching book 5)

Discworld Related books:
The Discworld Mapp - Terry Pratchett & Stephen Briggs
Terry Pratchett's Discworld Colouring Book - Paul Kidby
Terry Pratchett's Discworld Imaginarium - Paul Kidby

Visit Paul Kidby's website for more information

Review:
If you're a fan of the Discworld series then there is no way you've not come across Paul Kidby's gorgeous artwork as he's been illustrating the covers since 2002 and has brought all of Terry Pratchett's most popular characters to life.


This is an absolutely gorgeous hardback that includes all of Paul Kidby's favourite Discworld pictures, many you may have seen before but also some that were only used for foreign covers or limited editions or that have never been published elsewhere. You'll find images in a mix of mediums from black and white pencil drawings to sepia or full colour acrylic and oil paintings. I loved that some images we get to see the whole process from initial pencil drawing to finished acrylic painting.

The images are split into categories which should make it easier for you to go back and find your favourite images at a later date.

The Chalk - Focuses on images of Tiffany Aching and the Wee Free Men along with the occasional appearance from Granny Weatherwax and other characters found in the Chalk.


Lancre - Set in the Ramtop Mountains Lancre is home to Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg (and of course her cat Greebo) and Magrat.


Ankh Morpork - Expect to find characters like Rincewind, Twoflower, Moist Von Lipwig, Lord Vetinari, the Hogfather and groups like the Fool's Guild.


Pseudopolis Yard - Home to the Ankh Morpork City Watch Headquarters here you'll see Captain Sam Vines, Captain Carrot, Sergeant Fred Colon, Corporal Angua, Sergeant Detritus, Nobby Nobbs and of course Errol.


Unseen University - Hangout of wizards like Archchancellor Cutangle, the Librarian, Hex, the Eater of Socks and Eskarina Smith.


Uberwald - Discworld's version of Transylvania and home to vampires, werewolves, the igors, dwarves, trolls and don't forget Amazing Maurice and his educated rodents.


Death's Domain - Focuses on Death & Binky, the Death of Rats, Mort, Susan, Albert and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.


Terra Incognita - this includes all the images that don't quite fit into any of the other categories, things like Rincewind on the moon, the Dungeon Dimension, Dunmanifestin (the home of the gods), the Wyrmberg, Four Ecks, Rimfall and of course the Great A'Tuin.


Ex Atelieris - This section includes drawings, paintings and sculptures of the great man Terry Pratchett himself both with and without his characters included and one of my favourite images of Terry playing chess with Death.


This really is a stunning book, I wish I'd been able to afford the Deluxe Special Edition that is only available directly from Paul Kidby or via the Discworld website but even the standard edition is a book that any fan would be proud to add to their collection!

Source: Purchased

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Signed Limited Edition Hardback / Standard Hardback / Kindle:

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