Much like his novels that star the ex-swindler Moist von Lipwig and the reporter William de Worde, Pratchett takes a idea from the real world and twists to fit in the Discworld universe, leaving it slightly similar but not quite the same.

Nutt, an employee of the University as a candle dribbler and a very, very smart person, fills in the role of a certain fantasy race that hasn’t been touched on before. Lastly, a little goblin-like creature named Mr. Meanwhile, deep within the bowels of the University, the son of a famous football player, Trev Likely, is smitten by a certain Juliet Stollop, a girl whose intelligence does not have the same caliber as her natural beauty, who in turn is being guarded by a Glenda Sugarbean, a baker of pies and a night cook in the University, all of whom are entangled within the University’s decision to give the game a try, and the chaos that follows. The story begins with the simultaneous discovery of a strange artifact within Ankh-Morpork’s Royal Art Museum and an old tradition deep within the archives of the Unseen University, Ankh-Morpork’s institution of higher magical education, which states that the wizards of the university must continue the tradition of playing the game of “foot-the-ball,” which has been banned in the city by the Patrician due to the grievous bodily harms it causes, or risk losing a considerable amount of income, which worries these old and well-fed wizards as they stand to lose a majority of their food bill. Following the inherent and quirky logic of the Discworld universe, Pratchett creates a version of football that parodies the sport in the real world while tackling the issues of worth, identity, and fashion on the way.

For years and years, it has sparked controversy and debate, and it is something that every single person on this planet has their own opinion on: football (or soccer if you live in the U.S.). In the latest installment of the books set within the realm of the Discworld, Terry Pratchett takes on a topic that many of his fellow Englishmen, and possibly Englishwomen, hold in a special place in their hearts.

Unseen university books