It seems to be a clear allegory for the Abrahamic faiths, except in this world, gods are not a matter of belief, but a simple fact of existence. Om likes his rule to be followed absolutely and his detractors to be punished with extreme prejudice. The Omnians believe the world is round and worship the god Om, a patriarchal figure said to take the appearance of a bull. Vorbis is hilariously evil, a man who says things like “where there is punishment, there is always a crime” and “the real truth must sometimes be protected by a labyrinth of lies”. One of these people is Vorbis, head of the Quisition, the branch of the church charged with hunting down heretics (with a side-hustle in expanding the empire). Small Gods is set in the empire of Omnia, a theocracy run by people “several levels down, where it’s still possible to get things done”.

In Small Gods this is a central point of philosophical contention, between those who accept that the turtle exists, and the “round-earthers” who believe the world is a globe.

But where to start – there are 40 of them! Following the first blog I came across on Google, I chose this one, Small Gods.Īll I knew about the Discworld is that the cycle is set on a flat earth supported on the back of a turtle swimming through space. I was looking to read a well-loved fantasy novel and then I remembered Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series.

Book small gods