Pyramids: Difference between revisions

** Subverted when Teppic's father meets [[Grim Reaper|Death]], and is confused because he does not look like a giant scarab. Apparently, Death ''used'' to look like whatever people expected the personification of death to look like, until it became too tiresome and he decided to settle for the "[[Dem Bones|skeleton with a scythe]]" look.

* [[Anachronism Stew]]: The Tsortean delegation is stated to be mimicing Djeli culture imperfectly; in particular, their clothing is based on clothing from multiple different eras of Djeli history. A footnote explains that it's comparable to an ambassador to the UK wearing "a bowler hat, a claymore, a Civil War breastplate, Saxon trousers, and a Jacobean haircut".

* [[Ancient Egypt]]: Djelibeybi is a [[Fantasy Counterpart Culture]] of this, turned [[Up to Eleven]].

* [[Anti-Villain]]: Dios.

** And [[Fridge Brilliance]] for those that realised that when he imagines the hieroglyphs for 'feather mattress' it's a hippo's bottom, a reference to a long-running series of bed adverts in the UK starring a hippo and canary.

** Of course the literal translation of 'Djelibeybi' is child of the Djel. Djeli-baby...

*** In a Usenet posting, Terry Pratchett realized that this sailed right over the heads of most American readers, as Jelly Babies are not generally sold there. One of the alternative jokes he suggested, Hersheba, later became an actual country in Discworld.

* [[Grapes of Luxury]]: Partially subverted. Teppic doesn't really approve of the practice, and even asks that the servants not peel the grapes because most of the vitamins are found in the skins.

* [[Riddling Sphinx]]: Asks the [[Riddle of the Sphinx]]. Pteppic manages to pick apart the metaphor and confuse it into letting him go.

* [[Shaggy Frog Story]]: Copolymer (the Greatest Storyteller in the World) constantly lapses into this due to his bad memory and short attention span.

** Quite a lot of elements in this novel are ''[[Gormenghast]]'' references, particularly Teppic's parents and how Dios's endlessly-repeated daily activities have worn depressions in stone, he's retraced his daily path so perfectly so many times.

** The relationship between Dios and Teppic is a shout-out to the British comedy of government, ''[[Yes Minister]]'', with Dios playing the [[The Humphrey|Sir Humphrey Appleby]] role of senior civil servant effortlessly running rings round an enthusiastic but clueless Minister. Dios even ''says'' "I am but a humble servant..."