| The Carpet People | |
| Title Orig: | The Carpet People |
| Author: | Terry Pratchett |
| Cover Artist: | Terry Pratchett |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Genre: | Comic Fantasy |
| Publisher: | Colin Smythe |
| Pub Date: | 1971, 1992 |
| Pages: | 199 |
| Isbn: | 978-0-919366-14-5 |
The Carpet People is a comic fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett. First published in 1971 and written when Pratchett was 17 years old, it was later re-written by the author when his work became more widespread and well-known.[1] [2] [3] In the Author's Note of the revised edition, published in 1992, Pratchett wrote: "This book had two authors, and they were both the same person."[4] [5]
The Carpet People contains a similar mix of humour and serious topics like war, death and religion, which later became a major part of the Discworld series. Before creating the Discworld, Pratchett wrote about two different flat worlds, first in this novel, and then in the novel Strata.
The book explores the conflict between traditions and innovation. There is an established civilization, complete with bureaucrats, taxes imposed and collected, and permits; there are people who resent the establishment; there is a need for both groups to find common ground in order to save their collective civilization.