Darwin's Watch: The Science of Discworld III: A Novel

by Terry Pratchett, Ian Stewart, Jack Cohen M.D.

Overview

When Charles Darwin writes the wrong book and reverses the progress of science, Unseen University’s wizards must once again save Roundworld (Earth, that is) from an apocalyptic end.
 
Ever since a wizardly experiment inadvertently brought about the creation of Roundworld, the wizard scholars of Unseen University have done their best to put things on the right course. In Darwin's Watch they may face their greatest challenge yet: A man called Darwin has written a bestselling book called The Theology of the Species, and his theory of scientific design has been witlessly embraced by Victorian society. As a result, scientific progress has slowed to a crawl, and the wizards must find a way to change history back to the way it should have been.
 
DARWIN'S WATCH EXPLORES THE REVERBERATIONS of major scientific advances on our planet and our culture, the dangers of obscurantism, and the theory of evolution as you have never seen it before. This brilliant addition to Pratchett's beloved Discworld series illustrates with great wit and wisdom how the laws of our universe truly are stranger than fiction.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780804168984
Publisher:	Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date:	06/09/2015
Series:	Make Way for Lucia
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	122,224
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

TERRY PRATCHETT is the acclaimed creator of the global bestselling Discworld series, the first of which, The Color of Magic, was published in 1983. In all, he is the author of over seventy books. His novels have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he was the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal, as well as being awarded a knighthood for services to literature. Worldwide sales of his books now stand at over 85 million (but who’s counting), and they have been published in thirty-eight languages. He died in 2015.
 
www.terrypratchettbooks.com

Hometown:

Salisbury, Wiltshire, England

Date of Birth:

April 28, 1948

Date of Death:

March 12, 2015

Place of Birth:

Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England

Place of Death:

http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/

Education:

Four honorary degrees in literature from the universities of Portsmouth, Bristol, Bath and Warwick

Editorial Reviews

09/07/2015
The third Science of Discworld volume takes readers on an adventure across alternate timelines and behind the evolution of evolution. Ever since the wizards of Discworld's Unseen University accidentally created "Roundworld"—aka Earth—they've been trying to ensure humanity's survival, with mixed results. In Roundworld's Victorian England, Charles Darwin's "Theology of Species," and its support for the idea that life on Earth could only have risen from a godly designer's hand, has slowed scientific progress to a crawl. Outside interference has sent Roundworld down "a different leg of the Trousers of Time," and unless the wizards can put it back where it belongs, humans won't survive the next extinction event. The story alternates chapters with wry and illuminating essays on scientific progress and the history of evolution theory. The late Pratchett, creator of the wildly popular Discworld novels, and his coauthors offer fascinating insight into Darwin, his world, and how Victorian life shaped his theory of evolution. Even technophobic readers will enjoy this cheerful, accessible look at the less-than-linear path of scientific discovery, where the most comfortable answer is usually not the best. (June)

Publishers Weekly

An irreverent but genuinely profound romp through the history and philosophy of science, cunningly disguised as a collection of funny stories about wizards and mobile luggage.” —Frontiers
 
“[Pratchett alters] history with such brilliant effortlessness . . . it all gels into a cohesive and exciting whole — which demands to be both read and enjoyed. For anyone looking for something fresh or even more off the beaten path than Pratchett’s own ‘Discworld’ universe, one would be hard pressed to find a better pick than this.” —ScienceFiction.com

From the Publisher