Small Gods: (Discworld Novel 13) (Discworld Novels)

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Religion is a competitive business in the Discworld. Everyone has their own opinion and their own gods, of every shape and size – all fighting for faith, followers, and a place at the top. Simony may refer to Simon the Zealot, a follower of Jesus Christ who wanted to wage war on the Roman occupiers Cut-Me-Own-Hand-Off Dhblah, a "convenience food" merchant working in the Place of Lamentation, the public square by the Temple. He is known for "live yoghurt" that threatens to climb out of its container. He is the Omnian equivalent of the Ankh-Morporkian 'merchant venturer' Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler.

You think it's like watching words paint themselves across the sky? Hah! It's like trying to make sense of a bundle of weeds. Intentions, yes. Emotions, yes. But not thoughts. Half the time you don't know what you're thinking, so why should I?" There are many references to famous Greek philosophers in the book. In fact, if you know the legend of how Aeschylus died, then with some thought it becomes obvious how Vorbis will die. Bowdlerize - Played With: The footnoted translation of the phrase mentioned in Gratuitous Latin is given as "When their full attention is in your grip, their hearts and minds will follow." "Testiculos" doesn't translate to "full attention"...

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Ironic Hell: For Vorbis, the desert every Omnian has to cross in the afterlife to reach judgement turns into this, as he's spent his whole life believing that he was following the voice of his god and realizes that it was his own all along. The realization that he's now alone without anyone to guide him leaves him prostrated in terror, until Brutha finds him a hundred years later (a literal eternity from his perspective, according to Death) and takes mercy on him. Last night there seemed to be a chance. Anything was possible last night. That was the trouble with last nights. They were always followed by this mornings.”

Om's first follower was a shepherd, looking for a lost sheep. It's said of him that he "had a hundred sheep, and it might have been surprising that he was prepared to spend days searching for one sheep; in fact, it was because he was the kind of man prepared to spend days looking for a lost sheep that he had a hundred sheep." This is a reference to the Parable of the Lost Sheep from the New Testament: "If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?" Odd Job Gods: Om mentions he knows a goddess of lettuce. He actually praises her ingenuity; it's such a specific niche that she'll never be all that powerful, but it also means nobody cares enough to challenge her for it and she can fit herself into the mythology of whatever major god is dominant at the moment as a lessor spirit. The Easy Way or the Hard Way: At the end of the book, Brutha tells Sergeant Simony to stop the Exquisition the hard way—that is, with as few casualties as possible. Death Equals Redemption: In the epilogue, after a hundred years in the desert with only the company of his own thoughts, Vorbis gets a chance at redemption thanks to Brutha. Artistic License – Biology: Om bites an eagle in the testicles even though birds don't have any external genitalia.The Horseshoe Effect: The novel features an atheist character of such burning passion that their atheism works just like belief in the gods. Smoked Dulse Stout — 5.0 % (Beer / Bière) Profile: This is a fairly classic style stout that is made with both fresh dulse, harvested the day before we added it to...