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[readingthedark]

“God does not play dice with the universe; He plays an ineffable game of His own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of the players, (ie everybody), to being involved in an obscure and complex version of poker in a pitch-dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a Dealer who won’t tell you the rules, and who smiles

Comments

[sovay]

with a Dealer who won’t tell you the rules, and who smiles all the time.

It's always sounded more like Pratchett to me, but I wonder if there's any way to tell. It is great either way.

[readingthedark]

Supposedly, there is a secret annotated copy. Despite Gaiman claiming it was 50/50, I presume it's a classic example of the newbie doing most of the heavy lifting, so I figure Gaiman wrote the majority of the original draft.

I also (because I am so pretending I am psychic for no apparent reason) think that they fell into that groove (trap) where they were writing to please each other. That supposition would mean that the more Pratchetty it sounds, the more likely it was Gaiman.

But, yes, the "He" and the personification as a "Dealer" is much more in line with my limited understanding of Pratchett. And, yeah, it's a humdinger of a sentiment / construction, regardless of who cranked it out.

(I've actually never finished Good Omens or The Colour of Magic, which are the only Pratchett ones I've ever tried... Gaiman, on the other hand, I've read almost everything lots.)

[sovay]

(I've actually never finished Good Omens or The Colour of Magic, which are the only Pratchett ones I've ever tried... Gaiman, on the other hand, I've read almost everything lots.)

The Colour of Magic is not the place to start with Pratchett, despite its being the first in the series; it's a straight-surfaced sword-and-sorcery parody with very little of the innovation that would start to emerge with the second novel, The Light Fantastic. Over time the Discworld evolved into a more satirical and weirdly more realist vein (with a really haphazard patch in the middle where he was changing gears; nothing else explains books like Jingo or The Last Continent) until he finally ended up writing novels that are both very funny, intelligently world-built, and populated by characters with often complex histories and real questions. My favorite is Going Postal, in which a con man inherits the decrepit post office of Ankh-Morpork and has to make it work or face the noose; he turns out to be very good at it, because government work is mostly smoke

[readingthedark]

I'm a profligate enough skimmer that I've opened most of the ones you mention.

I've been told that the issue's that I dislike humor and satire (or that I have no sense of humor), but your clearly-evidenced passion means I have to give at least one or two of these another good look...