Title: The Last Hero
Author(s): Terry Pratchett
Release year: 2001
Publisher: Victor Gollancz
Why in Database: Four turtle references appears here in the text layer, and they are all about A’Tuin! The first is a standard outline of the nature of the disc, the others are statements of characters important to this world, with a piece about a turtle drawing between them. This book was published in an illustrated version, this graphic layer also includes, of course, turtle elements, for example, a vision of a dead A’Tuin. Additionally, on two pages a schematic drawing of a turtle serves as a background for the text.
The place where the story happened was a world on the back of four elephants perched on the shell of a giant turtle. That’s the advantage of space. It’s big enough to hold practically anything, and so, eventually, it does.
People think that it is strange to have a turtle ten thousand miles long and an elephant more than two thousand miles tall, which just shows that the human brain is ill-adapted for thinking and was probably originally designed for cooling the blood. It believes mere size is amazing.
There’s nothing amazing about size. Turtles are amazing, and elephants are quite astonishing. But the fact that there’s a big turtle is far less amazing than the fact that there is a turtle anywhere.
“With respect,” said Ponder, without respect, “we cannot. The seas will run dry. The sun will burn out and crash. The elephants and the turtle may cease to exist altogether.”
Inside, lightnings crackled among the falling sands. Outside, a giant turtle was engraved upon the glass.
I THINK WE SHALL HAVE TO CLEAR THE DECKS FOR THIS ONE, said Death.
“I don’t know,” said Carrot. “You know, I’m not sure I ever really believed it before. You know… about the turtle and the elephants and everything. Seeing it all like this makes me feel very… very…”
Author: XYuriTT
