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Pyramids

Pyramids

FantasyHigh Fantasy
Pages
368
Published
1989
Language
English

Synopsis

Teppic has been trained as a professional assassin at the Ankh-Morpork Guild of Assassins, but on the day he qualifies, his father dies and he inherits the throne of Djelibeybi — a tiny, ancient desert kingdom in thrall to its thousands of gods and its vast pyramid-building tradition. When Teppic commissions the largest pyramid ever built, it warps time and space across the entire kingdom. A standalone Discworld novel that parodies ancient Egypt and the absurdity of divine monarchy, winner of the 1989 BSFA Award for Best Novel.

Prose complexity
5/10

Vibe

FunnySatiricalAdventurousWhimsical
Coming of AgeFish Out of WaterReluctant HeroQuest

Genres

Fantasy High Fantasy Comic Fiction Humor

About the author

T
Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) was an English author best known for the Discworld series, a sequence of forty-one comic fantasy novels set on a flat world carried through space on the backs of four elephants standing on a giant turtle. Across four decades, the Discworld grew from a parody of sword-and-sorcery fantasy into one of the most sustained works of social satire in English literature, examining politics, religion, science, gender, race, capitalism, and the nature of stories themselves. Pra...

Characters

TeppicProtagonist

A young man trained as a professional assassin who inherits an ancient divine kingdom he has no idea how to rule.

DiosAntagonist

Djelibeybi's ancient high priest, who has served every pharaoh for thousands of years and holds the true power of the kingdom.

PtraciSupporting

A handmaiden to the old king who is outspoken and independent-minded, and becomes Teppic's companion in the unfolding crisis.

Maldito BastardoSupporting
MericetSupporting
All characters in Pyramids

Frequently asked questions

  • When was Pyramids published?

    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.

  • Is Pyramids part of a Discworld sub-series?

    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.

  • What is the novel satirizing?

    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.

  • Why does the pyramid cause time problems?
  • Is Dios truly thousands of years old?
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