- The Nome Trilogy
-
The Nome Trilogy
(The Bromeliad Trilogy)Truckers
Diggers
WingsAuthor Terry Pratchett Country United Kingdom Language English Genre Fantasy Published 1989-1990 The Nome Trilogy, also known in the US as The Bromeliad Trilogy, is a trilogy of children's books by Terry Pratchett, consisting of
The trilogy tells the story of the Nomes, a race of tiny people from another world who now live hidden among humans. Through the books they struggle to survive in the world and, once they learn of their history from an artifact known as "The Thing", make plans to return home.
Diggers and Wings are to be read as contemporaneous sequels to Truckers, as each book follows different characters through (mostly) concurrent events. The central character throughout Truckers and Wings is Masklin, in Diggers it is mainly Grimma.
Contents
Themes
Pratchett covered the idea of small people in his first novel, The Carpet People (1971/1992), about a race of tiny people even smaller than Nomes. That book is unconnected to this series.
Continuity
References in the books suggest that they are set in the same world as Pratchett's Johnny Maxwell novels (1992–1996), which begin with Only You Can Save Mankind.
After being asked if he would write about the Nomes' return (as implied at the end of Wings), Pratchett replied, "there may be another book about the nomes."[1]
US version
The name of Bromeliad series refers to the fact that some species of small frogs live their entire lives inside Bromeliad plants, which is a metaphor used throughout the books. The title is partly a pun on The Belgariad, a fantasy series by David Eddings, and the Iliad by Homer.
Other differences include the earth-moving machine JCB called "Jekub" in the UK version but "CAT" in the US editions.
Plot synopses
Truckers (1989)
Diggers (1990)
Wings (1990)
The book opens in an airport with Masklin, Angelo and Gurder searching for a plane. They have found out that Richard Arnold, 39 (or Grandson 39, as the nomes call him), the grandson of the Arnold Bros who built the store, is planning to fly to Florida for the launch of a new satellite. The Thing told the nomes that if they can get it onboard the space shuttle it will be able to contact the spaceship that the nomes arrived in. The ship has been waiting for thousands of years to take the nomes home.
They begin to search the airport for Richard. The Thing is able to talk to the computers in the airport, and it tells the nomes where the plane is. The plane is the Concorde, and the three nomes sneak along a boarding ramp. The nomes are in Blackburn, England. The Concorde will take them to Florida, USA.
Gurder is overwhelmed that the Concorde is like the store, except there are not many places for the nomes to hide. Angelo gets into the cockpit and is seen by one of the humans. For a short time The Thing takes control of the jet.
Masklin discovers where Richard Arnold is sitting. Once they all meet up, he suggests hiding in his carry-on luggage.
After they land they get off the jet and they are taken to the hotel where Arnold is staying. A waiter arrives with some food while Arnold is taking a shower; the nomes help themselves to the food. Arnold comes out of the shower and sees Masklin. The nomes run outside and camp out by some fires that have gone out.
They discover another group of nomes who live outside. They do not understand each other. However, The Thing is able to translate; the new group of nomes speak authentic nomish, the original language of nomes.
The outside nomes have learned to control geese. The Thing tells them the launch of the new satellite will be soon. They get on a goose which takes them close to the launch pad. The Thing asks to be put under the rocket to transmit a message to the satellite which will call the ship. The nomes escape moments before the exhaust from the rocket ignites.
The Thing has stopped talking, as it used up all its power. They are not near any power source. Masklin realises that without The Thing to guide the ship it could crash. He is forced to reveal himself to the humans, who take him to a building with electricity. The Thing recharges and informs Masklin that the ship will arrive in four minutes. They escape from the building and Masklin discovers that one of the humans is Arnold. The Thing is able to talk to Arnold, and it asks Arnold to take Masklin to the ship.
The ship stops; it hovers four inches above the ground directly over Gurder, Pion and Angelo.
Masklin and Arnold have a short conversation. Arnold informs Masklin that his grandfather and his brother guessed there were nomes in the store because they heard noises at night. Masklin gets aboard the ship where he meets Gurder, Pion and Angelo. They decide to return to the quarry to get the others, but The Thing does not know the way. They make a short detour to South America to pick up some frogs in a bromeliad.
The nomes see the Concorde flying over the sea. Masklin realizes that it must be flying back to England. They arrive in England and discover the quarry. They see the burnt-out truck and Jekub. (This is the story of Diggers, which happens simultaneously with Wings.) All the nomes climb on board the ship; they fly into space and head home.
Main characters
- Masklin — A member of the Outside Nomes, Masklin is brave and adventurous.
- The Thing — A small, sentient computer. A part of 'The Ship'.
- Torrit — The elderly leader of the Outside Nomes, tasked with keeping The Thing safe. His recent death is mentioned early on in Diggers. Also called old Torrit.
- Grimma — A female counterpart to Masklin, who hates sexism.
- Gurder — A religious store nome. Later becomes the abbot.
- Angelo De Haberdasheri — Store nome obsessed with the 'Outside', who welcomes the Outsiders on their arrival in the store.
- Dorcas del Icatessen — The most scientific of the nomes. Interested in electricity.
- Granny Morkie — Elderly outside nome. Also Torrit's wife and a healer, of sorts.
- Arnold Bros. (est 1905) — The 'founder' of the Store and godlike figure to the nomes.
- Shrub —The leader of the Floridian nomes who knows how to control geese.
Appearing only in Truckers
- The Abbot — The leader of the Stationeri. Dies of old age in Truckers and is succeeded by his assistant, Gurder.
- Duke Sedo de Haberdasheri — Angelo's father. The leader of the Haberdasheri.
- Bargains Galore
- Prices Slashed: the nomes' name for the store's caretaker who is also the store's boilerman
- Torrit (also known as "Old Torrit") Is no longer seen in Diggers, but Masklin mentions his death early in Diggers.
Appearing only in Diggers
- Sacco and Nooty
- Nisodemus
Appearing only in Wings
- The Floridian Nomes
- Topknot
- Pion
- Richard Arnold - called Grandson Richard 39 by Gurder, appears briefly in Diggers
- The bromeliad frogs
Adaptations
TV series
A stop motion animated series of Truckers was produced in the United Kingdom by Cosgrove Hall.
Film
In 2001, DreamWorks (now DreamWorks Animation) acquired the film rights to the trilogy,[2] and announced plans to combine all three books into a single film, to be directed by Andrew Adamson.[3]
In late 2008, Danny Boyle had been attached to direct Truckers,[4] but the project had fallen apart as "a victim of this economic crisis".[5] Next year, the Slumdog Millionaire's Oscar-winning screenwriter Simon Beaufoy had been hired to work on the project.[6]
Plans to move forward with DreamWorks' adaptation have resurfaced in 2010 since the announcement that Legend of the Guardians screenwriter John Orloff is currently penning the script for director Anand Tucker.[7]
Translations
Language The Nome Trilogy Truckers Diggers Wings Bulgarian Трилогия за Номите Масклин Грима и Доркас Крилете на Масклин Czech Vyprávění o Nomech Velká jízda / Na cestu Velký boj / Na nepřítele Velký let / Na shledanou Danish Gnomernes Flugt Varehuset Stenbruddet Det Store Skib Finnish Onttujen kirjat Suuri ajomatka Louhoksen Valtiaat Yläilmoissa French Le Grand Livre des gnomes Les Camionneurs Les Terrassiers Les Aéronautes German Die Schlacht der Nomen Trucker Wühler Flügel Greek Τα ανόντα Φορτηγατζήδες πάνω στη γη Σκαπανείς κάτω από τη γη Φτερά και πούπουλα στον αέρα Hebrew טרילוגיית הננסים ננסי המשאית ננסי המכרות ננסי הכנפיים Hungarian Manák trilógiája Sofőrök Földvájók Szárnyalók Icelandic Ævintýri Nálfanna Flóttinn Undir berum himni Italian Trilogia del Piccolo Popolo Il Piccolo Popolo dei grandi magazzini Il Piccolo Popolo all'aria aperta Il Piccolo Popolo decolla Polish Trylogia Nomów Nomów księga wyjścia Nomów księga kopania Nomów księga odlotu Romanian Trilogia Nomilor În Camion În Excavator În Navă Russian Мир Номов Угонщики Землекопы Крылья Serbian Noumi Kamionci Buldožerci Krilci Slovenian Polpalčki Kamionarji Kopači Krila Spanish El éxodo de los Gnomos Camioneros Cavadores La Nave Swedish Resan Hem Vi far Vi flyr Vi flyger References
- ^ "Words from the Master". The L-Space Web. http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/words-from-the-master.html. Retrieved 2011-.
- ^ "DreamWorks Acquires Film Rights to Terry Pratchett's Bromeliad Trilogy". WriteNews.com. May 2, 2001. http://www.writenews.com/2001/050201_dreamworks_bromeliad.htm. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
- ^ "Pratchett gets the Shrek treatment". BBC News. June 24, 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/1403462.stm. Retrieved January 6, 2001.
- ^ Edward Douglas, Edward Douglas (September 10, 2008). "Exclusive: Danny Boyle Getting Animated?". ComingSoon.net. http://www.comingsoon.net/news/torontonews.php?id=48705. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
- ^ Arnold, William (November 20, 2008). "Q & A: Director Danny Boyle says he's happy in the 'Slum'". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. http://www.seattlepi.com/default/article/Q-A-Director-Danny-Boyle-says-he-s-happy-in-1292127.php#page-2. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
- ^ Child, Ben (March 27, 2009). "Simon Beaufoy gets on the Truckers bandwagon". Guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/mar/27/simon-beaufoy-terry-pratchett-truckers. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
- ^ Topel, Fred (October 24, 2011). "John Orloff on 'Anonymous'". Crave Online. http://www.craveonline.com/film/interviews/176692-john-orloff-on-anonymous. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
Categories:- Series of children's books
- British children's novels
- Children's fantasy novels
- British fantasy novels
- Fantasy novel trilogies
- Novels by Terry Pratchett
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