Question 1

When was Pyramids published?

Accepted Answer

First published on 1 June 1989 by Victor Gollancz. It is the seventh Discworld novel, and won the British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novel in 1989.

Question 2

Is Pyramids part of a Discworld sub-series?

Accepted Answer

No. Pyramids is a standalone Discworld novel with its own self-contained characters. Teppic and Ptraci do not appear in other Discworld novels, making this one of the most independent entries in the series.

Question 3

What is the novel satirizing?

Accepted Answer

Ancient Egyptian civilization — its pyramid-building obsession, the concept of divine monarchy, the role of priests in maintaining a kingdom's inertia, and the absurdity of a society that cannot change because its gods are literally present.

Question 4

Why does the pyramid cause time problems?

Accepted Answer

On the Discworld, pyramids store and release the energy of time. A pyramid large enough distorts the local flow of time. Teppic's megapyramid is so enormous it folds Djelibeybi entirely out of normal time — stranding its population alongside their physically manifested gods.

Question 5

Is Dios truly thousands of years old?

Accepted Answer

The novel's climax reveals that Dios has been maintaining the kingdom's traditions for so long — and the pyramid time-effects so extreme — that he has been looping through its history repeatedly, making him effectively eternal. This is one of the novel's finest comic-horror twists.

Pyramids

Synopsis

How it reads

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Discworld

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Pyramids

Synopsis

How it reads

Genres, subjects and placesFantasy, Humor, Adventure +15

Genres

Subjects

Places

CharactersTeppic, Dios, Ptraci +6

AwardsBritish Science Fiction Association Award +1

About the authorTerry Pratchett

Frequently asked questionsWhen was Pyramids published? +4

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