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Unseen Academicals
- An Audible Original Drama
- Narrated by: David Jason, Jon Culshaw, Mathew Horne, Josie Lawrence, Jaime Winstone
- Length: 4 hrs and 32 mins
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Publisher's Summary
Football has come to the ancient city of Ankh-Morpork - not the old fashioned, grubby pushing and shoving but the new, fast football with pointy hats for goalposts and balls that go gloing when you drop them. And now, the wizards of Unseen University must win a football match, without using magic, so they're in the mood for trying everything else.
The prospect of the Big Match draws in a street urchin with a wonderful talent for kicking a tin can, a maker of jolly good pies, a dim but beautiful young woman who might just turn out to be the greatest fashion model there has ever been, and the mysterious Mr Nutt (and no one knows anything much about Mr Nutt, not even Mr Nutt, which worries him, too).
As the match approaches, four lives are entangled and changed for ever. Because the thing about football - the important thing about football - is that it is not just about football.
This Audible Original multicast dramatisation is directed by the multiaward-winning Dirk Maggs, best known for his adaptations of Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere for the BBC.
Starring Tom Alexander, Samantha Béart, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Mark Benton, Stephen Briggs, Stephen Critchlow, Jon Culshaw, Phil Davis, Ray Fearon, Tony Gardner, Edward Harrison, David Holt, Mathew Horne, David Jason, Josie Lawrence, Toby Longworth, Harry Myers, Maggie Service, Andrew Spooner, Steven Webb, Keith Wickham and Jaime Winstone.
Featured Article: 20+ Whimsical Terry Pratchett Quotes
As the author of more than 50 best-selling titles, Sir Terry Pratchett is still influencing the hearts and minds of children and adults alike, even after his passing in 2015. Marked by his ability to make the mundane extraordinary and build continually unfolding fantasy worlds, Pratchett’s hilarious novels are deservedly beloved. Dive into the quotes below to experience Pratchett’s singularly affecting blend of humor, magic, and heart.
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What listeners say about Unseen Academicals
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- mran
- 07-14-18
Unnecessary rewriting
I'm extremely familiar with the book, and the audio book. This is a different story. It's like they took the names, dialog, and events of Pratchett's book, and rearranged them, and slapped them over different characters, for no apparent reason. Like they just stripped down the damn book for parts. The worst part, for me, is Vetinari's story about the otter eating the salmon. In Pratchett's story, this is a major statement of the author's philosophy. It ends with the Patrician saying, "if there is a god, it is surely our duty to be his moral superior." But in this bastardization, the butchers have left out that line, and turned the meaning around so that Vetinari is urging his listeners to be just as ruthless as the otter. That's inexcusable license, and not something Terry would ever have said. If you just pretend it 's a totally different story, unrelated to Pratchett, it's enjoyable. The acting is pretty good. I'll probably listen to it again, because I like to get my money's worth.
49 people found this helpful
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- Helen
- 07-13-18
Well... that was odd.
I wasn't overly fond of Maggs reworking of Douglas Adams, but this is frankly unrecognisable as being (Sir) Terry Pratchett.
It's like Shakespeare reworked in the style of the Toxic Avenger. Without the laughs.
27 people found this helpful
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- JDSteppenzyde
- 07-16-18
Characters unrecognizable and plot points twisted
This is not at all like the novel. The best part is the game coverage, but it also is problematic. The ending is abrupt. I’m a huge fan of Terry Pratchett, but this is not his book. It is well acted, with some famous talent, which is wasted on this twisted to breaking tale.
19 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-15-19
Book Vs. Audio Drama
I love the book. However, I did not like this audio drama. I know that audio dramas change the story in order to fit the new medium, but many of the changes, especially in the earlier parts of the book, completely changed many characters personalities which made how they ended up at the same spots feel slightly more awkward and forced. But if I had not previously read the book, I might have rated the story higher.
7 people found this helpful
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- Meri
- 10-29-18
Eh. Brigg's Reading is Better
1) Don't try to walk the dog while listening to this. The background ambiance, noises, and music drown out the dialog.
2) Bad changes to the story narrative. Vimes notably doesn't drink. He's an alcoholic. Henry ,the former Dean, is not a bad guy. The Stollops are not evil. It's like the person writing the teleplay doesn't know Pratchett's work and doesn't care that some of us do. I don't think they would do this to, say, Austin or King.
3) I love David Jason, and his narration is good. He knew Pratchett and his work, but it's a shame his name is tied to this.
I re-read Pratchett's work all the time. I won't be re-reading this. I'll stick to Briggs's narration. I recommend you do, too.
11 people found this helpful
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- Tony Hazzard
- 10-26-18
Not What I expected
The characters backstory was not relayed accurately. Only the names were the same but the characters were dumbed down original. Most of the story was mostly focused on Trev and some of Juliet. The wizards, Glenda, the Patrician , Commander Vimes were only used the better Trevs Story. I could not listen any further.
5 people found this helpful
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- Van
- 07-02-18
Abridged Dramatic Performance
Let there be no doubt, this is a dramatic performance of the book. This is my first time listening to a dramatic performance of a book I have read and love. I realize this is my personal opinion but I found nothing the dramatization offered that the original audiobook was lacking.
I was reminded of how I feel watching a bad movie adaptation of a great book, only intensified. This adaptation adds nothing to the original work and losses much of it.
The story is told better and is much more enjoyable in it's original audiobook format.
If you have never read Unseen Academicals you are doing yourself a great disservice settling with this version of the tale. If you have read the book I do not think you will gain anything by listening to this.
I may be missing the entire point and there may be many people who enjoy this circa 1930s radio production (in style only, the audio quality is top notch) I am not one of them. In my opinion you have nothing to lose and only a better and a much richer story to enjoy by listening to the audiobook.
I know there will be those who say that I am missing the point because this is a dramatic performance. My response is as a lover of this book and of Terry Pratchett's work, I found this way of telling his story vastly inferior to the audiobook.
46 people found this helpful
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- Marcel (MadJo)
- 07-08-18
Made me angry
This audio dramatization lacks everything that makes the book witty.
The person who made the adaptation took a lot of freedom with the characters to the point that they are no longer recognizable.
Trevor spewing beer over Mister Nutt? (where was that in the original book?).
Old man Stollop calling his daughter a "bitch" and calling Glenda "blobby", what the everloving shit?! Never once would Sir Terry have resorted to such a low level insult for one of his characters. It's also the point where I gave up on this nonsense.
I don't know what this is an adaptation of, but it ain't Discworld.
On the plus side, the actors do a tremendous job with a very mediocre script. And David Jason as narrator works for me. Though at times the background music isn't exactly in the background.
If you're a fan of Discworld, get the actual (audio)book of Unseen Academicals. Which is a fun take on Romeo and Juliet wrapped in a football story, where you learn that it is possible to get out of the crab bucket and that where you grew up, doesn't have to define who you are, no matter if you grew up in Dimwell, Dolly Sisters or Uberwald chained to an anvil.
But stay away from this audio drama.
20 people found this helpful
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- Saundra Strasser
- 11-28-19
not nearly as good as the original
They took a great story and mad it marginal. I was very disappointed with this rendition.
3 people found this helpful
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- Luke
- 07-06-18
An enjoyable adaptation!
As an avid consumer of all works Terry Pratchett related, I thoroughly enjoyed this audio drama. It is important to note that this production is not trying to match the full exposition of the unabridged audiobook, which is an amazing narration by Stephen Briggs, (who incidentally voices Drumknott in this drama). I would encourage listeners to purchase this unabridged audio of UA first, as it tells the full tale as wrote by TP; this is a variant of the classic 'read the book before you see the movie' situation.
Having said all that I found this audio drama very engaging once I suspended my disbelief and stopped getting hung up on thoughts like 'but this doesn't match the canon!'. All in all I found it to be an excellent re-work of UA for a full cast format, and I'm really hoping for more discworld audio dramas like this in the future. Full cast Night Watch adaptation anyone?
6 people found this helpful
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- Jonathan
- 07-15-18
Stick with the original.
Unfortunately the adaptation has removed almost all of Terry’s wit and wisdom. Not the performers fault at all, but very disappointing.
66 people found this helpful
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- Rob Thurgood
- 07-07-18
Very disappointing
I was very excited when I saw this was coming and pre-ordered it as soon as I saw it. when it was released I listened to it in one sitting on a long car journey. Sadly my levels of anticipation beforehand were only to be matched by my level of disappointment afterwards.
I love the book and I loved the unabridged audiobook of it, but this dramatised version changes the story so much it was barely recognisable. The character subtleties and developments that are such a key feature of Sir Terry's work are gone, to be replaced with 2D characters and storyline. All the subtle wit is gone.
If you've not read the book and / or are not a huge Sir Terry Pratchett fan then you may well enjoy this, but otherwise steer clear, you WILL be disappointed ☹️
131 people found this helpful
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- Pamela
- 01-08-19
This is terrible in every aspect
It is just plain downright awful. There are no two ways about it. I cannot recommend it on any level there is no redeeming factor. Narration poor. The story is as if the person has been asked to write the most stereotypical two-dimensional characters. The joy of a play is the dialogue between the characters, but this is almost non-existent. Instead, there is some Dad quality of reading from David Jason. It is disappointing. Buy something else.
39 people found this helpful
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- Frankieg3
- 01-08-19
This breaks my heart.
OK I am a big Disc World fan but I did come to this with and open mind, I did not expect the book.
What I liked. The cast is very good, production is what I expect from Audible and the report of the Foot the Ball Match is inspired.
Shame about the rest. Did anyone read the book? Time line was all over the place. It was if some one had taken the main points out on different pieces of paper and muddled them up. The way some of the characters have been messed around with when it was not necessary leaves me wondering who to put on the naughty step. Characters written against type, it was not necessary.
If you do not know Disc World, great, listen and enjoy. Then get the full book on Audible and laugh yourself silly at the real thing.
37 people found this helpful
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- Grumpy
- 07-14-18
This is an extremely poor adaption of one of Terry Pratchett's best books.
This version of Unseen Academicals is not a patch on the original version narrated by Stephen Briggs. This audio book only follows a general outline of the original book changing the context and character out of all recognition. The back story and character development are all missing so that you don't come to love the individual characters and get really involved in what happens to them.
This audio book is probably fine for those people who are not Terry Pratchett fans but for those of us who eagerly awaited each new addition to the Disk World it is a traversty and not a decent tribute to one of the greatest writer of modern fiction.the
101 people found this helpful
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- Kate
- 07-10-18
Terrible adaptation of a wonderful book
Terry Pratchett fans beware, this is a complete insult to the Discworld series. Beloved characters and book specific characters alike have have been changed beyond belief. Within the first few minutes I found myself perplexed by the characterisation of Angua, then utterly confused by Lord Vetenari. Then there’s the complete change to the actual story and to characters like Trev and Nutt.
Its as if the writer read the blurb of the book, a list of characters and never read any other discworld book or even this one. Don’t waste your money on what is a terrible adaptation.
147 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 08-02-18
Abomination unto Nuggan
If you're going to adapt a Terry Pratchett novel DON'T MESS WITH THE STORY LINE OR THE CHARACTERISATION!
The narration and the performances are fantastic though.
45 people found this helpful
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- L E Saull
- 01-07-19
wish I’d read the reviews first
There have been superb adaptations of Discworld book, this is definitely NOT one. I was only 5 minutes in when I made the decision to return this Audible adaptation. I didn’t recognise any of the characters, e.g. Sam Vimes threatens to retire and we all know the only way he’d leave the Guard is feet first. Angua is a shrieking harridan and Lady Margolotta and Vetinari do not trust each other. I couldn’t bear to hear any more and will be returning it, as soon as I can.
13 people found this helpful
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- Andrew M.
- 07-03-18
Avoid If you are a Discworld fan
Disgusted that this was marketed directly at Pratchett fans. Characters bent out of shape, story unrecognisable. It just grinds my gears so much I never got past Chapter 3.
87 people found this helpful
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- MISS A R DONNELLY
- 07-03-18
STP fans beware
If you're a Sir Terry diehard I doubt youll enjoy this. The story has been changed a bit- sacrilege!- but worst of all some of the characters become almost unrecognisable- for instance Trev is a complete bully at the start.
However there are other issues- this is about 60% narration, and i think thats a fairly conservative estimate. Great as David Jason is, this makes it an odd hodge podge between a reading and play, and neither is entirely successful. The brilliant character actors therefore arent trusted to do their jobs, and it makes it feel quite clunky overall. One of only two titles ive ever returned.
120 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 03-04-19
Disappointing Adaptation
If you are a Pratchett fan and have read and enjoyed this book, do yourself a favour and skip this. If you are new to Pratchett/Discworld, do yourself a favour and run away! Run away and find the Stephen Briggs narration, and your money will not be wasted. The writers have completely butchered this story as well as the representation of well-established Discworld characters (e.g. Vimes giving Vetinari his resignation).
The voice actors give good performances, particulalry David Jason who has starred in 2 different good Discworld TV dramatizations. This adaptation, however, is rubbish.
2 people found this helpful
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- Shane
- 07-14-22
Disappointing adaptation
A heavy-handed adaptation that loses much of the fun and comic inventiveness of the novel. Conflicts and antagonisms are exaggerated in the dialogue and also in the special effects that make the football games sound more like a sustained civil war. Characters are also changed with Vetinari more like a playboy villain and Nutt a smug Jeeves.
I also thought the film score like music was overused to insist on a certain emotion in various scenes.
An adaptation doesn’t have to be entirely faithful to be enjoyable, but this one exaggerates the conflict, is not very funny and is not helped by the plodding pace of David Jason’s narration.
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- mooncat1973a
- 05-09-22
Brilliantly entertaining production!
I am a Pratchett fan, and I always enjoy the content of his novels.
This production of one of his hidden gems is highly entertaining. It's not just a reading, not just a cast - this is a show!
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- Karen
- 10-31-21
Loved it!
Yes, the story has been re written, and I totally and still love the original BUT, I thought the whole performance made it. Enjoyed the character voices and being a full cast drama was fun and brought life to the story.
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- ben broncher
- 11-12-18
Very disappointing especially for Pratchett fans
I really hate to do this but this is nothing like the original book. It had been completely rewritten and unfortunately not in a good way. The characters are almost unrecognisable except for their names. The production value is great and so is the music and sound effects but if you are familiar with any of Terry's writing you will very likely be disappointed. It's essentially a completely different story and reads nothing like a discworld novel. All that aside it would probably be great for kids who aren't familiar with discworld.
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- Ry Charleson
- 08-02-18
Bad adaptation.
Didn't like this adaptation at all. Shame as this is a favourite book of mine.
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- Caroline Pierson
- 07-19-18
A travesty
Not written by a person who knows or loves Disc World. Unnecessary story changes, bad casting, completely changing the character of some of the characters. Listen to BBC radio 4 adaptations especially the ones done by Dirk Maggs and learn.