The Discworld Bestiary

by Terry Pratchett

Genres: Fantasy; Contemporary Fantasy; General Fiction

Synopsis

A comprehensive illustrated guide to the creatures and critters of Discworld, packed with wisdom from the great minds of the Disc as well as interjections from some of its more unconventional thinkers.

Discover the best way to care for the Terrible Man-Eating Sloth of Clup, the eating habits of the Ambiguous Puzuma, and marvel at the startling prevalence of ominous ducks in cosmic matters.

Wriggling with insights, crawling with wisdom and packed with extra advice from Rincewind, Unseen University’s latest (and reluctant) adjunct professor of Perplexing Beasts and curator of its curiobiological museum.

Release date: November 3, 2026

Publisher: Ten Speed Press

Print pages: 160

Sample

Unseen University

from the Curiobiological Museum

Almost anything can be a monster. If it’s chasing you, or you’ve disturbed its nest, or awoken it from a sepulchral slumber, or accidentally imagined it into existence or, really, come across it in any unexpected way, then it’s probably a monster.

Besides which, very few creatures are totally benign, and even then, there’s a decent chance you can trip over them, choke to death on them at a buffet, or have them drop on you accidentally from a great height. If at all possible, I’d recommend you steer clear and don’t touch anything that looks even slightly bestial.

Identification is all very well, but running away is almost always the most effective option and bypasses a lot of tedious counting of teeth and backbreaking measuring of footprints—which many creatures object to on a fairly fundamental level in the first place.

Occasionally, though, you’ll get a good look at the creature in pursuit of you, as you glance over your shoulder, cling desperately to a high tree branch, or dangle precariously from a cliff edge.

At times like these, a smattering of trivia can make all the difference. I can’t promise it will save your life, but many of the Disc’s creatures have some level of sapience and at least they’ll be flattered or entertained that you know so much about them before making you their evening meal.

Failing that, keep this book with you: it can be used to beat to death anything no bigger than a sloth, burned as a temporary deterrent or stuffed into the jaws of any creature that only has one head. Ultimately, I’d suggest you stay inside and do something safer, well away from the alarming array of horrors that Mother Nature has seen fit to scatter across the Disc.

I’ve written quite a bit in here about unpleasant creatures that I’ve encountered in my travels, but also included a few snippets from other prominent names in the field. To my disappointment, I’ve met several of the unpleasant experts and most of the creatures between these pages to
boot. I have been chased by seventeen of them, bitten by four of them and partially digested by one of them. However, a few are still on my “to-escape-from” list. No doubt I’ll come across the horrible buggers before long–these things normally happen to me.

I’ve tried to give useful information in addition to the rather dry contents of other so-called “experts”. Mostly, I have added important information about the crucial characteristics like voraciousness, viciousness and venomousness. And number of teeth, which on second thoughts feels like a very vital statistic when you’re doing the dental mathematics up close.

Rincewind

Egregious Professor of Cruel and Unusual Geography
Reluctant Curator of the Curiobiological Museum