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(More customer reviews)Terry Pratchett reached prominence with the hit Discworld series. Since that series has a flat planet on the back of a turtle, it stands to reason that Pratchett can make almost any unlikely plot work. In this case, he mixes scifi and fantasy with a healthy dose of satire in the Bromeliad Trilogy.
In "Truckers," a small band of tiny nomes, led by the desperate Masklin, have nearly been killed off by the rough life on city streets. But then they find themselves in the vast Store (also called Arnold Bros, est. 1905) where there are even more nomes -- nomes who think that Outside is a legend. But they're about to have a rude awakning -- in less than a month, the store will be demolished. And if the nomes don't get away quickly, they'll be wiped out too.
"Diggers" picks up the tale of the nomes after they escape the doomed Store. They take up resident in an abandoned quarry and start to make new lives there. But when the quarry is set to be reopened, a new, long-term plan must be made -- they must get the Thing (a little talking black box) back to the ship that brought them to Earth in the first place!
"Wings" is a parallel tale to "Diggers," as Masklin struggles to get the Thing back to their ancient ship. To do that, the Thing says, it needs to go to Florida. Masklin and his friends haven't got the faintest idea where Florida is or how to get there. But to save their tiny race, Masklin will venture into the unknown -- a huge flying truck called a Concorde. But will they be successful in finding the ship?
A civilization of tiny people living in a department store sounds like the dorkier juvenile fantasy stories, but Terry Pratchett's unique spin makes it thoroughly entertaining. He sprinkles the books with Bible-like quotations ("And Arnold Bros (est. 1905) said, Let there be Signs, so that all within shall know the proper running of the Store"), and plenty of humor ("You may be interested to know that we've just broken the sound barrier!" "All right, own up. Who broke it?").
He also provides us with the Thing (a computer), which tends to be a bit more human in outlook than the nomes. While "Wings" has somewhat less tension (because we KNOW what's going to happen), it's fun to see the highly improbable schemes of the nomes being put into action. They're so innocent and pleasant that it's impossible not to root for them.
Terry Pratchett's Bromeliad trilogy isn't as complicated or strange as his other works, but it is immensely funny and very well-written. Recommended for kids and adults alike.
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In a world whose seasons are defined by Christmas sales and Spring Fashions, hundreds of tiny nomes live in the corners and crannies of a human-run department store. They have made their homes beneath the floorboards for generations and no longer remember -- or even believe in -- life beyond the Store walls.
Until the day a small band of nomes arrives at the Store from the Outside. Led by a young nome named Masklin, the Outsiders carry a mysterious black box (called the Thing), and they deliver devastating news: In twenty-one days, the Store will be destroyed.
Now all the nomes must learn to work together, and they must learn to think -- and to think BIG.
Part satire, part parable, and part adventure story par excellence, master storyteller Terry Pratchett's engaging trilogy traces the nomes' flight and search for safety, a search that leads them to discover their own astonishing origins and takes them beyond their wildest dreams.
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