The Carpet People

He got better!

The Carpet People is the first story Terry Pratchett published, and he was only seventeen years old. Some years ago, after he had written a lot more books, he took another look at this book and revised it. I read the revised edition.

The Carpet People is the story of a group of tiny people live in the carpet and who have had their village destroyed by the mysterious natural force of Fray (also known as sweeping). They wander quite a bit and have a number of battles and meet another group of people who are able to know the future and wander some more. Along the way, in classic Terry Pratchett style, the people have clever and silly philosophical discussions. The book is great fun.

If any book is going to make you feel rather conflicted about hoovering, this is it!

Terry Pratchett's first novel is indeed entirely novel. There are complete civilisations existing and warring between the carpet hairs. Unexpected heroes, strange creatures and some almost unpronounceable names.