The Science of Discworld IV - Hardcover

Terry Pratchett

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0091949793 ISBN 13: 9780091949792

Publisher: Ebury Press, 2013

Synopsis

The fourth book in the Science of Discworld series, and this time around dealing with The Really Big Questions, Terry Pratchett's brilliant new Discworld story. Judgement Day is annotated with very big footnotes (the interleaving chapters) by mathematician Ian Stewart and biologist Jack Cohen, to bring you a mind-mangling combination of fiction, cutting-edge science and philosophy. Marjorie Daw is a librarian, and takes her job - and indeed the truth of words - very seriously. She doesn't know it, but her world and ours - Roundworld - is in big trouble. On Discworld, a colossal row is brewing. The Wizards of Unseen University feel responsible for Roundworld (as one would for a pet gerbil). After all, they brought it into existence by bungling an experiment in Quantum ThaumoDynamics. But legal action is being brought against them by Omnians, who say that the Wizards' god-like actions make a mockery of their noble religion. As the finest legal brains in Discworld (a zombie and a priest) gird their loins to do battle - and when the Great Big Thing in the High Energy Magic Laboratory is switched on - Marjorie Daw finds herself thrown across the multiverse and right in the middle of the whole explosive affair. As God, the Universe and, frankly, Everything Else is investigated by the trio, you can expect world-bearing elephants, quantum gravity in the Escher-verse, evolutionary design, eternal inflation, dark matter, disbelief systems - and an in-depth study of how to invent a better mousetrap.

About this title

About the Authors

Professor Ian Stewart is the author of many popular science books. He is the mathematics consultant for New Scientist and a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick. He was awarded the Michael Faraday Prize for furthering the public understanding of science, and in 2001 became a Fellow of the Royal Society.

Dr Jack Cohen is an internationally-known reproductive biologist, and lives in Newent, Gloucestershire. Jack has a laboratory in his kitchen, helps couples get pregnant by referring them to colleagues, invents biologically realistic aliens for science fiction writers and, in his spare time, throws boomerangs. Jack, who has more letters to his name than can be repeated here, writes, lectures, talks and campaigns to promote public awareness of science, particularly biology. He is mostly retired.

Terry Pratchett was the acclaimed creator of the global bestselling Discworld series, the first of which, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983. In all, he was the author of over fifty bestselling books which have sold over 100 million copies worldwide. His novels have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he was the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal. He was awarded a knighthood for services to literature in 2009, although he always wryly maintained that his greatest service to literature was to avoid writing any.

www.terrypratchettbooks.com

From the Back Cover

‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ began his Lordship, ‘I cannot conceive of a more interesting case than the one we have today.



‘The dispute is over a mere artefact: shiny, I grant you, attractive in its way; and I am given to believe by the wizards and natural scientists of Unseen University and elsewhere that reasonably small though it be, it is in fact larger by many orders of magnitude than all of Discworld.


‘I intend to seek evidence of this during the deliberations of this very unusual tribunal, which has been brought into being because there are two parties that both profess to believe that the artefact is theirs.’


Lord Vetinari sighed, and said, ‘I rather fear the term “quantum” will make an appearance, but these are after all, modern times.’

From the Inside Flap

Order in Court!
On Discworld an almighty row is brewing…


The Omnians want control of Roundworld – its very existence makes a mockery of their religion. The wizards of Unseen University, however, are extremely reluctant to part with it. After all, they created it!


Enter Roundworld librarian, Marjorie Daw (accidentally, through L-space). Perhaps, with her Jimmy Choos and her enquiring and logical mind, she can help? Especially as she’s the sort of librarian who thinks that the Bible should be filed under Science Fiction and Fantasy.


Lord Vetinari presides over the tribunal. People on both sides are getting extremely angry, There are some very big questions being asked – and someone’s got some explaining to do…


The fourth in the Science of Discworld series, JUDGEMENT DAY sees Terry Pratchett, Professor Ian Stewart and Doctor Jack Cohen create a mind-mangling mix of fiction, cutting-edge science and philosophy in an attempt to answer the REALLY big questions – this time taking on God, the Universe and, frankly, Everything Else.


Proceed with caution, you may never look at your universe(s) in the same way again.

Edition details

• Publisher: Ebury Press
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0091949793
• ISBN 13: 9780091949792
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352