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Unseen Academicals

(Discworld Novel 37)

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Unseen Academicals

By: Terry Pratchett
Narrated by: Colin Morgan, Peter Serafinowicz, Bill Nighy
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Over 1 million Discworld audiobooks sold – discover the extraordinary universe of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld like never before.

The audiobook of Unseen Academicals is read by Colin Morgan (Merlin; Testament of Youth; Belfast). BAFTA and Golden Globe award-winning actor Bill Nighy (Love Actually; Pirates of the Caribbean; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) reads the footnotes, and Peter Serafinowicz (Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace; Shaun of the Dead) stars as the voice of Death. Featuring a new theme tune composed by James Hannigan.

'We play and are played and the best we can hope for is to do it with style.'

Football has come to the ancient city of Ankh-Morpork. 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.

To do so, they recruit an unlikely group of players: Trev, a street urchin with a talent for kicking a tin can; Glenda, the night chef who makes a mean pie; Juliet, the kitchen hand turned world's greatest fashion model; and the mysterious Mr Nutt, who has something powerful, and dark, locked away inside him . . .

And the thing about football - the important thing about football - is that it is not just about football. Here we go, here we go, here we go!

Unseen Academicals is the seventh book in the Wizards series, but you can listen to the Discworld novels in any order.

The first book in the Discworld series - The Colour of Magic - was published in 1983. Some elements of the Discworld universe may reflect this.

'This isn't just football, it's Discworld football. Or, to borrow another phrase, it's about life, the Universe and everything' The Times

'No one mixes the fantastical and mundane to better comic effect' Daily Mail

© Terry and Lyn Pratchett 2009 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

 Action & Adventure Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Humorous Literature & Fiction Satire Fiction Magic Comedy Magic Users Wizardry Sports

Critic Reviews

This is the 37th in a body of work so vast that it has spawned its own concordance, yet the quality remains as high as ever and the laughs as plentiful...Like all the Discworld novels, Unseen Academicals rewards a second reading. As ever it is peppered with allusions, from Keats to the Lewinsky affair, but, like Wodehouse, Pratchett wears his learning lightly and the pleasure of rereading is in teasing them out. (Peter Inham)
Mention comic fantasy and Terry Pratchett is the first name that comes to mind...behind the fantasy Terry Pratchett looks at very real contemporary issues and scores many goals. This isn't just football, it's Discworld football. Or, to borrow another phrase, it's about life, the Universe, and everything.
The subject matter is football, with a dash of Romeo and Juliet thown in...exactly what's needed to cheer us all up in the autumnal gloom. Terry has lost none of his ability to raise a laugh...I'll wager there are a few more books in him yet.
We doubt whether Pratchett gives a fig about 22 men kicking a bag of wind,but he's ever fascinated by people,our vagaries, our vanities and our triumphs. And, when all's said and done, football is all about us, wherever we sit in society. In case you hadn't already guessed, the man of the match award goes, not for the first time, to Sir Terry Pratchett.
Satirical, historical, fantastical and irresistible.
The secret of Terry Pratchett's comic fantasy isn't so much the wackiness of the fantasy as the reliability of the comedy...Thirty-seven books in and with sales now topping 60m, Discworld is still going strong...with undimmed, triumphant exuberance. (Harry Ritchie)
You'd have thought that, by now, Pratchett would be running out of ideas; thankfully, however, the universe he created 25 years ago just keeps on giving...It's a triumphant effort.
His writing remains as spry as ever, with the humour coming thick and fast ...Satire, parody and inspired wordplay all jostle for space ...unfailingly good fun...from an author seemingly incapable of penning a bad joke.
If it's neither the funniest nor the most profound Pratchett of recent years, it's still better than most people's best. (Alex Sarll)
All stars
Most relevant
Unseen Academicals is not one of the Terry Pratchett's finest books, But Pratchett even on a bad day is still very good.

There are two problems with this audiobook.

First, bits of Unseen Academicals works well on the page but not as an audiobook. An ongoing gag is a football commentator uses the (very long) qualifications of a Wizard when they use their name. Your eyes can skim over this wall of text on the written page. But hearing it read out in full gets annoying.

Second, some of the narrator's characters are voiced like a bad amateur suburban panto play. The Trev Likely voice is just dreadful. I get the feeling the narrator does not really understand Pratchett - perhaps thinking it needs "funny" voices to help the comedy. It does not.

Growing up listening to the Tony Robinson and Nigel Planer audiobooks of Pratchett's work has spoiled me - remaster those back and bin this one.

Terry Pratchett, as ruined by Colin Morgan

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Theses bigger production audio books are fantastic to listen to, the biggest fault they have is the jarring switch between narrators to read what sounds like foot notes. I felt pulled put of the story when the chimes go off and a different voice steps in to rattles off a short sentance, that could have just as easily and quite effectively been done by the current narrator at the time.

Great over all, but there were too many narrators

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Another wonderful tale from the pen of Pratchett, presented well in audio. Overall an enjoyable listen.
The only inconsistency for me was the character Trev Likely’s voice. I’ve never heard a person with a voice like that but if they exist, they have my heartfelt sympathies. At times when Trev spoke I found myself imagining a Jim Henson creation delivering the lines. Apologies to the narrator - they did a great job otherwise.

Thoroughly amusing

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Fantastic narration compliments and elevates an already well written story.
Characters that I love from previous stories continue to develop while remaining true to their core traits, and new characters are introduced that have just as much individuality and personality as the old favourites.
The story line has the same light hearted humour with in underlining depth that tackles societal issues in a cheeky yet heart felt way that all disc world novels tend too.

Excellent all round

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I got into it after not being too sure. Everyone has an idea of what the characters sounds like in their heads and many listeners have been unappreciative of Colin Morgan’s rendition of the books from Rincewind character arc. His scope of voices and accents is brilliant. Give it a chance and see if the story comes alive for you through his interpretation.

Warmed to the narration

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