The Nome Trilogy

Did You Know?

• The books are set in the same fictional town of Blackbury as Pratchett's Johnny Maxwell novels.
• The earth-moving machine in Diggers is called Jekub in the UK version, CAT in some US editions, and Big John in others.
• Pratchett said there could be another book about the Nomes, but none had been announced as of his death.

Themes

Pratchett had earlier explored the idea of small people in his first novel The Carpet People and in a 1973 serialized story that he later described as an earlier version of Truckers. The trilogy's main theme is the struggle of challenging society's accepted beliefs when confronted with new information. This recurs through changes in the scientific establishment, political establishment, religious beliefs, accepted history, and family values of the Nomes. The title The Bromeliad, used for the collected trilogy in the US and some UK editions, refers to a story told in Diggers about frogs living their entire lives inside bromeliad flowers, a metaphor for the Nomes' experience.

Plot synopses

Masklin, a 4-inch Nome, lives with his friend Grimma and the remaining elders of a dwindling tribe in a grass verge by a motorway service station. After a fox kills two elders, Masklin persuades the group to escape on a truck, bringing with them The Thing, a small black cube that has been the tribe's symbol of authority. Ejected, the Outsiders wander until The Thing accidentally recharges near an electrical cable. When asked its primary mission, Masklin tells it to keep the Nomes safe and get them home.

Main characters

The elderly Outside Nome leader Torrit, also called Old Torrit, was charged with protecting the small sentient computer known as the Thing, which is part of the Ship. His death is noted early in Diggers. Masklin, a brave and adventurous Outside Nome, has a female counterpart named Grimma, who holds feminist views. Gurder, a religious store Nome, eventually becomes the abbot. Angalo De Haberdasheri, a store Nome fascinated by the Outside, welcomes the Outsiders. Dorcas del Icatessen, the most scientifically minded Nome, studies electricity. Granny Morkie, a fearsome elderly Outside Nome and healer, delights in predicting disaster. The Nomes worship Arnold Bros. (est 1905) as a godlike founder. Shrub leads the Floridian Nomes and can control geese. The Abbot of the Stationeri dies of old age in Truckers, succeeded by Gurder. Duke Cido de Haberdasheri, Angalo’s father, leads the Haberdasheri. The Nomes also believe in the benevolent spirit Bargains Galore and the bogyman figure Prices Slashed.

Adaptations

A stop motion animated series of Truckers was produced in the UK by Cosgrove Hall Films. In 2001 DreamWorks acquired the film rights and planned a single film combining all three books, to be directed by Andrew Adamson. Danny Boyle was later attached to direct Truckers in 2008, but the project fell apart due to financial problems.