As a writer of satires with fantasy settings, Pratchett obviously draws upon traditional satirical devices as well as conventions established in the fantasy genre. His "Discworld" novels, for example, include the standard complement of Elves, Dwarves, Trolls, and the like, although he reinterprets them in a number of ways. Although the practice of including such elements in fantasy genre pieces may be traced to J. R. R. Tolkien's influence, it would be misleading to characterize Pratchett's use of them as Tolkienian; Pratchett is satirizing the fantasy genre as an institution in itself. The author whose work appears most similar in style and direction to Pratchett's is Douglas Adams—both are marked by exuberant use of word-play, and both use genre fiction (science fiction in Adams's case, fantasy in Pratchett's) as a vehicle for social satire.

Although Adams created a science-fiction setting for his Hitchhiker's Guide...