The cover image depicts Brutha in the style of religious iconography, complete with a somewhat irate tortoise tucked under his arm. Omar Rayyan has once again provided a series of sensitive illustrations which depict the inhabitants of the Disc, including Didactylos and his barrel, and the sinister Exquisitor Vorbis.

Byatt describes the author as not only ’splendidly inventive’, but also ’wise and morally complicated’.

In her introduction to The Folio Society’s edition of Mort, A. Searing in its satire but always deeply humane, it is packed with Pratchett’s familiar humour and witty footnotes. It was always Terry Pratchett’s approach to examine human nature through the lens of fantasy fiction, and Small Gods, taking on the thorny subjects of organised religion, power and philosophy, is no small triumph. Without a single honestly meant prayer, the gods of the Discworld waste away to nothing, becoming half-heard whispers of temptation in the desert, while humans move on to the next big omniscient deity. The Discworld is ripe with gods – from the impressive inhabitants of Cori Celesti to P’tang-P’tang the newt god, worshipped by a grand total of 51 believers – and all of them need belief to exist. ‘He would be amusing in any form and his spectacular inventiveness makes the Discworld series one of the perennial joys of modern fiction’

Book small gods