This is not, in fact, a book about how the various concepts of the Discworld could actually work. It's a book about how real-world science works, interspersed with the Discworld wizards accidentally creating our universe. I'd have liked it a lot better if the "real-world science" in it wasn't old-earth evolution.
The parts with the wizards were fun, though! Basically, the Unseen University's nerds built a nuclear thaumic reactor, which kicked out so much excess magic that they had to burn it off or risk blowing up the Discworld. So Hex (UU's magical computer thing) funneled all that magic into a mostly-defunct create-a-magicless-universe project, which was scrapped for the sheer amount of magic it would take.
I ended up mostly skimming the "science" parts to get to the Discworld parts.
Were this a videogame, I'd rate it: A soft T15+ for swearing and sexual references.
2 stars. Too much evolution.
Favorite lines:
...uranium-235 is mixed up with ordinary uranium (uranium-238), and getting it out is like looking for a needle in a haystack when the needle is made of straw.
Page 23.
'Perhaps you would care to say a few words, sir?' said Ponder.
'Yes.' Ridcully looked thoughtful for a moment, and then brightened up. 'Let's get this over quickly, and have lunch.'
Page 27.
(Endnote: This book was published two years after the first Harry Potter book, in which Dumbledore also features in a "say a few words" gag. I can neither confirm nor deny that the one inspired the other.)
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