Small Gods

Small Gods is a novel by Terry Pratchett, part of his phenomenally popular "Discworld" series. It was published in 1992. Pratchett tells the origin of the god Om, and his relations with his prophet, the reformer Brutha; in the process Pratchett satirises religion, religious people and practices, and the role of religion in political life. The dominant tone is of cheerful cynicism, but the author concludes on an affecting (and effective) spiritual note.

This book is the source of some controversy among Discworld fans, as they cannot decide whether it takes place 100 years before all the other books, or takes place in the same timeframe save for the ending, which is 100 years after. Pratchett himself has never really clarified the issue, and indeed seems to get some amusement out of deliberately not answering. Something of an explanation was provided in Thief of Time, where it is suggested that that two centuries became enmeshed during that period, and so the question is actually unanswerable.