|
Truckers
Diggers Wings |
|
| Author | Terry Pratchett |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Published | 1989-1990 |
The Nome Trilogy, also known in both the UK and 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 |
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.
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]
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.
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.
A stop motion animated series of Truckers was produced in the United Kingdom by Cosgrove Hall.
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]
| 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 |