Rereading The light fantastic (3rd time) it suddenly struck me that there are huge likenesses between the main plot (the approaching red star and the end of the world) in TLF and Tove Janssons wonderful Comet in Moominland. Also in the end of the story when a bashful Luggage decides to follow Rincewind "because it seemed the best thing to do" (quote from memory) it very much reminds me of a scene in Moominland midwinter, where the little doggy comes to the same kind of decison in a very similar situation.
Being a great fan of both Moominland (the books of which I have read since early childhood, and I am now an old man) and Discworld, I found this coincidence both amusing and possible. This hypothetical inspiration seems to me also plausible, since TLF is an early DW novel, where the whole concept was not yet fully formed.
I am definitely NOT saying that our beloved TP have plagiarized Moomin, but it is well known that even the best of authors (such as TP) sometimes – consciously or unconsciously – take up themes from other works. May it be that this is such a case?
Since it most likely will be very hard to get an answer to this question from The Man himself, I put it to the forum crowd, and also to his agents/publishers, if any of them are following this forum.
Being a great fan of both Moominland (the books of which I have read since early childhood, and I am now an old man) and Discworld, I found this coincidence both amusing and possible. This hypothetical inspiration seems to me also plausible, since TLF is an early DW novel, where the whole concept was not yet fully formed.
I am definitely NOT saying that our beloved TP have plagiarized Moomin, but it is well known that even the best of authors (such as TP) sometimes – consciously or unconsciously – take up themes from other works. May it be that this is such a case?
Since it most likely will be very hard to get an answer to this question from The Man himself, I put it to the forum crowd, and also to his agents/publishers, if any of them are following this forum.