The Last Unseen University Chapter: Unseen Academicals Book Review

What You’ll Find in This Article:

• Unseen Academicals - A Book Review of the last Unseen University Adventure

• My Favourite Quotes from Unseen Academicals

• In what order should I read the Unseen University books?

Unseen Academicals - A Book Review of the last Unseen University Adventure

I was about to make yet another pun joke about returning to the Unseen University, but at this point I think that after posting my reviews on Snuff, Mort, Guards! Guards!, and The Colour of Magic, you’ve probably guessed that I’ve been determined to make my way through the entirety of the Discworld series, as part of my 2025 reading challenge.

But, unlike any sane reader that actually approaches book series in the way they’re supposed to read, I went on the road of absolute chaos, and decided that I will read the books in the order I’ve put them on my book shelf. Moronic, I know, but to be fair, it has proven to be quite a fascinating reading experience.

Fairy warning here: if you’ve fallen on your head recently or suffer from any type of brain fog, which would make you consider replicating my approach, be warned! I’ve actually read some of the Discworld books in the past and have a standing understanding of the world, structure, characters, and relationships. So there is some method to my madness…

Unseen Academicals Book Synopsis and Review

Right, so let’s actually see what Rincewind and the rest of the faculty of the UU have been up to since the last time we saw them.

If you remember, we were first introduced to the Unseen University in The Colour of Magic, where Rincewind met the Discworld’s first tourist and went on to have a series of unfortunate adventures with him that concluded with an Olympic gold-worthy jump over the Rim of the Discworld in a DIY spaceship.

If you’ve only gotten until this point, then I highly advice you to stop reading here and go check out the other books from the Unseen University collection (I’ll list the correct reading order at the end of this article).

But if you are keen to know how the wizards’ story ends, you’ll be pleased to hear that Rincewind, Ridcully, and the rest have come a long way since those early days.

Things seem to have calmed down a bit, at least when it comes to events with the potential to shatter the time-space continuum. But just as you begin to think that there is nothing left in the Discworld (or any other dimensions) that could make them all turn white with dread, the unspeakable happens: the Unseen University faces it’s most difficult battle yet - securing financial endowment.

For you see, as a prestigious learning institution, the Unseen University receives a large number of donations and stipends from various individuals across the Discworld, in order to maintain what I will very generously call “their standard of learning”.

Yet, as it turns out, they have forgotten to meet one of the stipulated requirements - participating in a violent game that could very well result in the destruction of half of Ankh Morpork. And if they refuse, the money stops coming… and along with it, their cheeseboards, hams, wines, and other bare necessities needed by senior faculty members to function properly.

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Much like the Unseen University’s Faculty, I also require cheese, hams, figs, wine, and some other vital necessities to continue providing content at a somewhat acceptable level. So, keep in mind that there might be some affiliate links in this blog post going forward - so if you buy something, make sure it’s the entire Discworld collection, because my instant noodle supplies are running dangerously low!

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The Main Theme of Unseen Academicals

The entire story is essentially both an ode and vicious mockery of the game of football (yes, football, my dear friends from across the pond, and not “soccer”, as you so graciously tend to refer to it).

But this isn’t football in the traditional sense. This is a game of pure brutality, complete lack of skill, and guided by the dubious rules of mob mentality… so kind of like football in the traditional sense, actually.

Bringing modernization to an age old tradition

The game of football is an ancient and brutal tradition, which has remained unchanged pretty much since its invention. As you can imagine, unleashing a bunch of wizards to attempt athletic exertion of any kind without adult supervision could very well result in half the city being blown to cinders.

And you’re not the only ones to come to this conclusion, for Lord Vetinari steps in to help the wizards create a new (and therefore modern) version of the game, which should, theoretically, limit the mayhem and chaos quite a bit. Obviously, the plan backfires. But we’ll get to tham

The Teams

If you know anything about football, it should be that 1) you need something to kick, and 2) you need someone to kick it against.

So on one hand we have our wizarding superstars, who’ve dubbed themselves the Unseen Academicals.

And on the other, we have a gathering of some of the most unhinged and vicious representatives of various local mob teams, bundled neatly into one for the simple goal of causing as much damage to the UU team (and everything around them) as possible.

The Points of View

The books is presented though 4 main points of view:

• Mr Nutt - a curious individual working various odd jobs for the Unseen University, who harbours a dark and terrible secret, related to his origin.

• Trevor Likely - your typical football fan, son of a famous footballer and a mother who absolutely prohibits him to have anything to do with the game, Trevor’s true passion is playing the game and living the lifestyle. And his only flaw is a complete lack of talent for either.

• Glenda Sugarbean - Gleda is a pie-maker that works in the kitchens of the UU, and is therefore considered an important individual within the university’s grounds. She’s also one of those women who has both the intelligence to understand why a mouse in the kitchen is a bad thing, and the brute force necessary to life the stove with one hand while smacking the unlucky rodent with a broom in the other.

• Juliet Stollop - Glenda’s best friend, and her total opposite. As pretty as a doll and just as smart. Juliet’s one goal in life is to lead an easy and privileged life, and when the opportunity to become a rather unconventional model knocks at her door, Juliet begins her journey to becoming the Discworld’s most famous fashion icon.

My thoughts on Unseen Academicals

Contrary to first impressions, this is not a book about football, although football does play an important role in it.

It’s a book about friendship, about acceptance, and about the dangers of modern fame and blind mob mentality. It’s about growth, self-reflection, and finding a place in the world. And it’s about standing for what you believe in, whatever the odds.

Unseen Academicals is probably one of my favourite Discworld books, simply because of how masterfully its complexity is hidden behind such a simple and straightforward plot device as a football game.

The character development on all side is superb (if you exclude the faculty members, whose characters are as immovable as the cheese and wine stains on their robes), and each POV character’s struggle against change and their fight to find a community that accepts them for who they are is relatable on a primal level to anyone who’s ever felt like they don’t belong.

In fact, the characters of Mr Nutt, Glenda, Trevor, and Juliet are so well written, I could definitely see myself reading at least a couple of books more where they play a role. And, if I were to take into account all the secondary storylines, such as the rehabilitation of the orcs, the establishment of the embassy, and so on, I could see how Terry Pratchett might have been building up to a big event in the Discworld that would have set the stage for those characters to take on a more central role. But alas, it wasn’t meant to be and we will never know what could have been…

My Favourite Quotes from Unseen Academicals

Here is a selection of my favourite Unseen Academicals quotes by the late Sir Terry Pratchett.

“The last thing she wanted was to see her friend getting ideas in her head. There was such a lot of room in there for them to bounce around and do damage.”

— Terry Pratchett, Unseen Academicals

“Be one of the crowd? It went against everything a wizard stood for, and a wizard would not stand for anything if he could sit down for it, but even sitting down, you had to stand out.”

— Terry Pratchett, Unseen Academicals

In what order should I read the Unseen University books?

If you want to experience the Unseen Univesity Books they way they were supposed to be experienced, especially if this is your first time reading the Discworld books, then I advise you to stick to the suggested order below:

• Start with: The Colour of Magic

• Follow with: The Light Fantastic

• Follow with: Sourcery

• Follow with: Eric

• Follow with: Moving Pictures

• Follow with: Interesting Times

• Follow with: The Last Continent

• Finish with: Unseen Academicals

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