First, I'll give a brief synopsis, then what I liked and disliked about the book.
Okay, the great mystery is who killed two old men, and where is this mysterious clay found at the scene of the crime coming from. Vimes and the watch struggle to solve this, and suddenly, Nobby Nobbses royalty is brought to attention, Cherry Littlebottom joins the watch, and the Angua Carrot relationship is heightened a few more steps. In the midst of all this, Lord Vetinari (a FANTASTIC character) is being poisoned. All these come together in one of the most satisfying climaxes I've witnessed in a Pratchett Book yet.
There, that's out of the way.
The Guard are among the best characters Pratchett has introduced, standing next only to... Death. And even though you don't get to see the Grim Reaper, you'll have to settle for the Grim Squeaker (the death of rats). Anyways, Pratchett, as always, delights the reader with the two most vivid main characters. I'd be speaking of Sir Samuel Vimes, and Nobby Nobbs. Vimes has so much of a Dirty Harry-esque feel to him, and he... ahem... prods buttock so thoroughly that you have to cheer him on. The cigar smoking, teetotaling commander is best portrayed in the opening pages in which a VERY foolish assassin tries to end Vimes's life. Bad move.
Onto Nobbs. Nobbs is such a fantastic character, Pratchett gives him great scenes, the best in my mind being the scene in which a few Puppetmasters are trying to get Nobby to assume his royal position. Through most of this, he is saying, "Vimes would go spare! I can't do that! He'd go spare!"
Okay, here is what I disliked about the book.
Angua is a very weak POV, personally. I understand the need for a strong anchoring character to counterbalance the nuttiness of Nobbs, Vimes, and Carrot, but Angua comes off as too whiny, and her chapters take away from the irreverance that Pratchett infuses his book with. I also felt that Vetinari should have been giving a larger role in the scheme of things, particularly around the mystery involving him. He and Vimes have an excellent scene together at the end, but that is all that really stands out.
My biggest problem, would have to be with the Dragon character. I don't want to spoil any of the plot twists revolving around him, but he is too much of a cut out, with no real idiosyncracies other than his "Ah-ha" in every sentence.
There, thats the review.
On the whole, Feet of Clay really does a great job of keeping you occupied. Its 4 stars is definitely warranted.

Some of the other Pratchett books I've had to give only four stars - because of Feet of Clay. This, to me, was the most memorably enjoyable book in the Discworld series.

A series of brutal, yet inexplicable crimes once again lead Sam Vimes and the Watch down the alleys and backstreets of Ankh-Morpork ... well, not Nobby, because he's been appointed a lord by the Registrar of Heraldry!

For those who relish in the early Pratchett non-stop puns, Feet of Clay has it; like the plot twists? got you covered; like a little message about free will? No problem. You want fries with that?

Anyone who enjoys humor will enjoy Terry Pratchett - people who like a very engaging plot with a surprising ending will really enjoy Feet of Clay. Since you don't really have to read the Discworld books in order, this can be a great starting point - just on the strength of the read. I highly recommend it.

Feet of Clay is a perfect example of why I love Discworld. In Feet of Clay we are once again following the efforts of Commander Vimes of the Watch to develop something like the rule of Law in Anhk-Morpork, largest city on a Discworld. Once again, the Man Who Wouldn't Be King, Captain Carrot, is there to help. Once again the expression "Who watches the watchers?" takes on a whole new meaning.

These books are satires on human habits and mores, a wonderful compendium of the fatuous in human affairs. But there is so much more to them than that. They are great adventure stories, great character stories,and often, great mystery stories.

This book is, don't get me wrong, very funny. No human institution is left unscathed. And believe me, no one scaths like Pratchett. But, like Commander Vimes, Pratchett's apparent cynicism about people hides an abiding love for those who struggle through life, just trying to get along(whether they are human, trolls, dwarfs, werewolves or golems), and an abiding hatred of those who hurt them for fun and profit.

I have watched the development of Terry Pratchett for a number of years now. He just keeps getting better. There has to be a limit, somewhere, I suppose. He has not reached it yet.

And that's enough to get this book four stars straight off. As a longtime Pratchett fan though, I couldn't give it the extra star because it just can't compare with some of his earlier novels. If you're new to Pratchett, it's probably best to begin with the first Discworld novels ('The Colour of Magic' and 'The Light Fantastic') which are both incredible, or the first book involving the Ankh-Morpork Watch, 'Guards! Guards!', also one of his best in my opinion.

Fellow T.P veterans: not as good as 'Feet of Clay', but better than 'Jingo'. As much as I love the watch, it might be good if they were given a rest for a bit. Just how far can Vimes possibly get promoted?

Pratchett rocks. 'The Fifth Elephant' is thoroughly enjoyable, as always. Read it!

I've owned this book for a while and I recently re-discovered it on my bookshelf and I just could not put it down till I'd re-read it. I certainly think the book deserves a re-read or two.

This is a great Discworld book full of details of discworld.

The watch is back. Trouble in the Uberwald sends Vimes, Cherry and Detritus to the coronation of the new Dwarf King. Meanwhile Carrot and Agnes are having some problems, which leaves Sergeant Colon next in line for promotion to head of the watch....

This is a great story, full of humor, politics and plot twists. So easy to read I picked up the book and I read it without putting it down. It has more of a political tone compared with the watches last outing (Jingo), which was more of an adventure. The fifth elephant expands the disk word by padding out the dwarfs and giving incite to the Uberwald (expect more books from the Uberwald)

It's a good book if your just coming into the disk world books and a Great book if your following the disk world series

I was blown away by this novel.

I haven't read a lot of Pratchett, two books and a couple of short stories, but I wasn't overly impressed. Sure he's good (I particularly enjoyed his 'Troll Bridge' story) but I've always preferred Douglas Adams or Tom Holt. This book changes everything.

With 'The Fifth Elephant', Pratchett creates a comic masterpiece. He flawlessly weaves humor, both subtle and laugh-out-loud funny, into the framework of an engaging story.

City Watch overlord Sam Vimes travels into a dark and mysterious country to attend the coronation of a new Low King. He discovers that the dwarf's hallowed Stone of Scone has been stolen by unknown nefarious persons. Vimes strives, amidst interference from disingenuous vampires, bloodthirsty werewolves and loyal Igors, to find the sacred Stone.

If that's not enough, Pratchett throws in Fred Colon, Vimes temporary replacement on the Watch, panicking in his new authority. There's the traveling clerk with distinctly un-clerklike skills and the tangled love story between straight-arrow watchman Carrot and werewolf Angua.

After reading through reviews for recent Pratchett books I received the impression that they were steadily declining in quality. If so, this one is a major comeback. An excellent, excellent book. A recent magazine reviewer for F&SF calls this the best Discworld book in a long time. I'll go a step further and call this the best book I've read in months. Pratchett now holds a solid place on my must-read list.

Don't miss this one.

DEATH wants to take a break. So who has to take over the task? A lot of souls out there waiting to be processed, y'know?

Easy. Get an apprentice. Experience not important. Horse, scythe and all the curry you'll ever need.

But dont get too involved with your...eer..'clients'. Thats what Mort did, though. Saved someone who was supposed to die just because he thinks she's cute. But the world doesnt like that. When a person who's supposed to die is still walking around, things begin to turn pear-shaped.

So DEATH (no, Im not shouting) needs to sort things out. But where is he? He joined a conga line and is having a jolly time.

This is where the Discworld books start to become laugh out loud funny. The first three books was okay but 'Mort' is the book where Pratchett finally found his funny bone and infects everyone with the laughing disease.

Those who have yet to start the fun ride through the Discworld and the great city of Ankh Morpork should start their journey here.

Enjoy.

Mort is an awkward boy who is trying to understand about the world. He is chosen to be an apprentice by none other than Death. This is amusing considering that a translation of "morte" is death. This is a fairly typical coming-of-age fantasy with quite a bit of humor.

Terry Pratchett sets the bulk of the novel in his Discworld, which is held on the back of a giant turtle. If you have never read any of the Discworld books, don't worry, you will not be lost here. If you are not a fan of Monty Python/British humor, then you might not get all the jokes and puns. Also, you might not understand why so much is spent on cabbage.

The story is solid. Although the journey of Mort towards manhood is not linear, there are no gaps in the narrative. The flow keeps you involved in the story from beginning to end. I would recommend reading this for a laugh.

Mort, the 4th Discworld book by Terry Pratchett, is one of the funniest Discworld books out there. It's a hilarious book that's missing some of the social commentary that permeates his books later in the series. You don't miss it, though, as you continue to laugh out loud at some of the shenanigans. Only a weak ending prevents it from being the best book of the bunch.

Death takes on an apprentice. Mort, the unlucky chosen one, has a bit of trouble settling into his role. It's not very fun to be present when people leave the mortal coil. One time, however, he spies a princess (who can actually see him as well, even though people aren't supposed to be able to) and is very attracted to her. Unfortunately for him, this attraction leads him to try and change the course of destiny, and Mort finds that it's a lot harder to do then it looks. The princess finds out that it's quite hard to live when you're supposed to be dead. Death doesn't seem to notice all of this as he's busy trying to experience humanity. But when he finds out, Mort may wish he hadn't.

I really enjoyed this book. Death has always been my favourite character in Pratchett's books, so I decided to start reading the books that are actually about him. Mort is the first, and I can now see why I've always liked the character. Death has a dry wit about him, but he's always matter-of-fact when he's doing his job. He tries to impart that onto Mort, with limited success. I like the fact that he always speaks in capital letters LIKE THIS, thus giving him a real presence when you read him. It's even better when he's out learning about humanity, sitting in a bar and lamenting about the fact that he has no friends. The dissonance between this very human feeling and his powerful voice is really neat.

The other characters in Mort are also wonderful. There's Ysabell, Death's adopted daughter who he's obviously trying to pair Mort with. She's feisty, never slipping into the stereotypical female role. Albert shines as Death's servant, a man who's not all he appears to be. When things finally let loose with Albert, it's both powerful and funny how it happens. There's Keli, the princess that Mort tries to save. She's a petulant child, even more so when people can't seem to remember that she's not supposed to be living. Finally, there's Cutwell, the wizard that Mort enlists to help him learn to walk through walls and Keli employs to make people remember her. All of these characters are complete and well-rounded, with none of them missing a beat. Their interactions are marvelous and the jokes come out of the characters rather than at the expense of the characters. Heck, even Rincewind, the incompetent wizard from the first books, makes an appearance!

There's more to this book than the characters, though. The plot is simple, but very good. While there's not much commentary in this book, it does make a bit of a statement about how powerful an emotion love can be. It also shows what a curse being human can be, as Death loses himself in the experience. He even lowers himself to become a fry cook at one point, just to see what it's like. No insult intended to fry cooks, but when you're the anthropomorphic projection of an aspect of life, then you have lowered yourself when you start working a kitchen. The plot moves quickly, with little padding. There are no unnecessary characters placed in the book just to make a joke, which is a sin Pratchett starts to commit in later books. When somebody appears, you know they're going to have an impact.

The only bad thing about this book is the ending. It's very arbitrary, and seems to go against the rest of the book. It seems to come out of nowhere, just being used as an excuse to end the book. The final conflict is resolved way too quickly and neatly. It's almost like Pratchett knew how he wanted to end the book, but couldn't figure out how to get there. It makes sense, but only if you reach a bit.

Still, it's well worth the time spent getting to the ending. The jokes are great, Death is wonderful and you'll really love reading about him. I can't wait to read the next Death book and see what happens. This book is a wonderful place to start your Discworld experience, being the start of a subset within the Discworld series. You won't regret it.

The Light Fantastic is the sequel to Pratchett's first Discworld book (The Color of Magic), and I definitely think it's better. The plot is (unlike in The Color of Magic) concentrated on one thing, and the thing is a bright red star that's approaching the disc. The two main characters are Rincewind and Twoflower, the two fellas that fell off the Disc in the previous book, and Twoflower's luggage, a box with weird temper. They experience many things that can only happen on the Disc, and some regular things, like meeting the Disc's greatest hero, the 70 year-old, Cohen the Barbarian, but the main idea of the book is them saving the Discworld from the red star.

Rincewind, an UU (Unseen University) dropout, has one of the 8 great spells the Creator left. The only problem with the spell is, it seems to have a mind of its own, and it tries to talk to him. And whenever Rincewind is in trouble, or a near-death situation (believe me, there's lots of them) the spell tries to say itself. He spends most of his time to save Twoflower from himself and the other part of the time running from people who want to get their hands on the eighth spell.

Twoflower is the Disc's first, and probably last tourist. He used to be an insurance (in-sewer-ants) agent back in his continent. He has quite a lot of money with him, and he keeps them in a box called the luggage. The one thing Rincewind hates about him the most is the fact that Twoflower believes that he can buy anything from anybody, even Death's living room clock.

Another thing pretty much everybody asks is "Should I read The Color of Magic first?" Well, I myself read The Light Fantastic first and still understood everything and got all the jokes. Pratchett does a great job explaining what happened in CoM. But no matter whether you read it first or even last, you're gonna have a great time reading THE LIGHT FANTASTIC, by Terry Pratchett.

Even better than the Colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic takes the reader from the edge of the world to the unimaginable Wyrmberg, from a gingerbreadhouse to the deepest cellars of the Unseen University. A red star is threatening to destroy our beloved Discworld, and who can save it but Twoflower, Rincewind (last seen dropping off the end of the world), an old barbaric geezer, a luggage with more legs than one can count and one of the 8 great spells plus a wonderful array of silly, funny, innovative and original characters.
Still as intriguing as The Colour of Magic, this book is even funnier, but still (luckily) not as ravishingly mad as The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, to which many draw unfair and impossible paralells. This story is very different and holds more suspence wrapped in good fun than any other book I've ever read. Will Rincewind and co. stop the malevolent red star from destroying the Disc? An ingenious ending awaits you, so what are you waiting for! This book is so cheap, you can't afford to miss it.<

After reading "The Color of Magic", I couldn't wait to get my hands on "The Light Fantastic". It picks up where COM left off. Rincewind the failed wizard and the tourist Twoflower continue their journey of the Disc. They also meet Cohen the Barbarian, one of my favorite characters. Meanwhile, Ymper Trymon, a wizard from Unseen University, is trying to find them. A huge star is about to hit the Disc, and all of the Eight Gray Spells need to be said. Rincewind has one of the Spells lodged in his head. If you are new to Discworld, this book is good, but read COM first. It will help you understand LF better. The ending is spectacular and the book is seasoned with fresh humor that can only be compared to a mix of "Monty Python" and Tolkien.
I am currently working on "Equal Rites", the third in the series.

Wyrd Sisters continues the story of Granny Weatherwax, who we first met in the Discworld novel Equal Rites. In this book, Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg have joined with another witch, Magrat, new to the Discworld novels, to form a coven. Magrat has some odd ideas of what witchcraft involves, such as rituals, candles, and herbs, but the other two humor her. We also get a visit from our old friend Death. We also get introduced to some new characters. The old ruler of the kingdom, Verence, was murdered and is stuck being a ghost, bound to the stones of the castle. Hwel is a playwright given the job of writing a play to make the current evil ruler and his wife look better in the eyes of the people. The witches get involved in the royal intrigue, despite wanting to not get involved in matters outside of the coven. The land is unhappy with the new ruler, and the witches know it. Wyrd Sisters abounds with references to Shakespeare, namely MacBeth. Filled with witty dialogue and amusing parodies, the Discworld novels keep getting better and better.

This is one of the funniest and most charming books I've read in a while. Terry Pratchett uses the environment of his famous Discworld to tell a story of a coven of three witches (although two will argue it's not a coven) who meddle in the business of royal politics (although all two will argue it's not meddling).

Those who enjoy a funny story will love this book, but those who enjoy a funny story and have read Shakespeare's Macbeth and Hamlet will enjoy it even more. Pratchett does a great job interweaving different aspects of classic plays and fairy tales with the overall plot and flavor of the story, while adding the comedic edge for which he is so well known. And those who have spent even a small amount of time studying modern witchcraft and Wicca will find a few scenes particularly funny.

The story involves the typical royal intrigue and how the smallest twist of fate can change an entire kingdom, and when you throw in Pratchett's three witches, fate is forced to flee in terror. Include travelling actors, a Fool who isn't a fool, a disgruntled ghost, a paranoid king, and a thunderstorm that hopes to one day grow up and be a really big storm, and you're starting to get the idea how wacky things get.

This book is definitely in the top three Discworld novels.

Wyrd Sisters, the sixth Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, is a very funny take-off of MacBeth. The Shakespearean allusions were a bit above my head without reading the online annotations, but even without that I found I was laughing a great deal. Plus, it has an interesting story playing on the old "lost son of a king" cliché.

The three witches are my least favourite of the sub-series that Pratchett has in Discworld. Of course, that's because the other two (City Watch, Death) are so good, not because the witches are bad. They are still well worth the price of admission into their stories. Granny Weatherwax is a curmudgeon of sorts, often speaking of how the new people are "getting ideas" put in their head. "'Modern,' said Granny Weatherwax with a sniff. 'When I was a gel, we had a lump of wax and a couple of pins and had to be content. We had to make our own enchantment in them days.'" She doesn't understand a lot of new things, like theatre. In fact, one of the funniest scenes in the book is when Magrat and Nanny Ogg take her to the theatre and she tries to intervene in what's happening on stage.

Nanny Ogg and Magrat are wonderful creations as well. Nanny is old, but she's a lot more open-minded. She can understand a lot of the new ideas going around. She's also good at what she does. Another great scene is when Felmet and his wife try to torture her. Let's just say it doesn't quite work. Magrat is the young witch, who thinks that symbols are very important. When they try to summon a demon to help them, she's the one who thinks that they need the "proper" ingredients in order to do it, rather than the makeshift ones that the other two bring in. Together, the threesome is a very entertaining bunch.

The incidental characters are marvelous as well. There's the Fool, who only became a Fool because it was a family tradition. He really hates it. There's Hwel, the dwarf who never took to mining, so he became a playwright. Death makes a few appearances as well, also making his stage debut in a riotous manner. There isn't a wasted character in the bunch, and they are all well-rounded individuals who are interesting to read about.

The plot is excellent as well. The only thing that marred it for me was the extensive Shakespearean allusions, and that's only because I didn't understand half of them. There were times when I knew I was missing a joke, which became a bit frustrating. It's one thing to miss a joke and not even see it, but when you see it but don't understand it, it's a bit of a letdown. Still, if it encourages people to go back to the original plays and read them, then so much the better. The book doesn't suffer for all of this, though. It is still a very entertaining read without it.

This is a wonderful beginning to the Three Witches sub-series. I look forward to reading more of them. It's an excellent place to start your entry into Discworld.

Really 4.5 stars, an excellent book!

I admit I am biased - Rincewind is one of my favorite (if not #1) characters. This story has so much - action (and running away), battles, Rincewind, Cohen the Barbarian, the wizards, and exotic locations - this time the Agatean Empire - a lampoon of Chinese and Japanese culture.

Here Rincewind meets Cohen, now to be called "Genghis Cohen," and his Silver Horde.

This is book is very funny in making fun of things "Auriental." Yes, one could be a bit put off, but it is all light-hearted. Basically, the "Red Army" is trying to overthrow the Emperor, but they are little match for Lord Hong, a Auriental Vetinari who wants to use them as an excuse to seize power by seeiming to put down a rebellion that he encourages so that he can be a hero and crush it later. So he helps them contact a "Great Wizard" to help them, since he always likes a challenge. What they all get is Rincewind.

Rincewind meets Twoflower again, and, of course, the Luggage returns to its home. Agatea has lots of Luggages and sapient pearwood, too. How can Rincewind play hero (so his own allies don;t kill him) but also avoid getting killed by Hong and the armies around the capital? How can we ask? Rincewind is expert at running away, and when he can't, usually something turns up at the last minute. Things really heat up when Rincewind discovers the secret of the real Red Army. And of course Cohen helps, too.

Rincewind is his usual drollness. But the best character is the man who plays Cohen's "accountant," trying to teach his barbarian friends manners and civilization. The best lines in the whole book are when he tries to explain to Cohen and friends that when you go to the market you need to actually pay for what you want. It is worth it just for that.

All in all, a wonderful book and very, very funny - even for a Rincewind book.

"Interesting Times" was the first full Discworld book I read, having been introduced to Pratchett through the "Legends" anthology, and while I liked it well enough, I enjoyed it a heck of a lot more the second time around. Pratchett prides himself on making each Discworld novel a work that can stand on its own, apart from the rest of the series, and while he is mostly successful in this, it can't be denied that familiarity with the older books makes the newer ones go down easier.

In "Interesting Times" Rincewind, the world's worst Wizard, gets transported to a far-off continent where people expect him to be some sort of magical genius. While there he encounters Cohen the Barbarian, a geriatric marauder, who has assembled a small "Silver Horde" of wizened old warriors to conquer the Empire. People discount the old barbarians. What they don't take into account is that most barbarians don't LIVE to be the old kind...

It was a funny book the first time I read it. It was even cute. But after having read the books prior to this one, especially "The Color of Magic," "Sourcery" and "Eric," this book took on a whole new dimension. I now grasped the prior relationships between Rincewind, Cohen and Twoflower, and I no longer read each luggage passage wondering what the heck was going on. It was, simply put, a better book.

So this is a great book and a worthy addition to the Discworld series, but if you haven't read it yet, I suggest reading those other three I mentioned first.

While I've known Terry Pratchett's name for some time now (his collaboration with Neil Gaiman in Good Omens is fantastic) I'd never read one of his books before. I was familiar with the world from an old graphic novel of one of his books (I think Color of Magic) so I didn't feel obligated to start at the beginning.

Interesting Times follows the character of Rincewind on a journey through the Counterweight Continent, the discworld version of the Orient. Rincewind is an interesting character and Pratchett plays him well as a rather powerless wizard who just happens to get by through a sheer amount of luck, and the quickness of his fleeing legs. A pessimistic character, I liked him through the beginning of the book, though by the end his uneagerness to help anyone grew a bit tiresome (though unconciously he tends to help out a great deal.) Rincewind shares the stage, however, with a group of aging barbarians called the Silver Horde who steal the show really. The best bits of the book are the ones involving the Horde. Their lessons on how to be civilized and inability to change their habits.

While I can't rate this in comparison to other Discworld books, I found it highly entertaining, and though, probably not the best place to start the series off. Read some other Pratchett books to aquaint yourself with the world, and work your way up to Interesting Times. It's worth the time.

Even though this might not be one of Pratchett's best books- it is still great to read. It was already mentioned that this is another story "borrowed" from Shakespeare, but I must say that this wasn't the main reason why I enjoyed this book.
Of course, the midsummer night dream turned into a story about Nanny Ogg, Granny Weatherwax and "One happens to be queen soon" Magrat fighting evil elves who want to take over the ramtop- kingdom Lancre is somewhat funny. No doubt Terry could have made a lot more out of this material, but he makes up for it.
Nanny Ogg meets Casanunda again and the "romance" between the witch and the self- announced second best lover of the discworld will have you roar with laughter (unbelievable what Nanny can turn a candlelight dinner into..). Another highlight is surely Archchancellor Ridcully who has been invited to the royal wedding (remember Witches Abroad- Magrat and Verence finally made it to the point, and Verence is already ordering "special" books from Ankh Morpork : "Martial Arts? I'm sure I ordered.. uh, never mind.."). Returning to the ramtops Mustrum Ridcully finds his teenage-love (Granny Weatherwax!!) but he doesn't have a lot of time for romantic memories as the elves keep Granny busy.

After all, Lords and Ladies could have been more than it is, but it still will make you laugh.

I found this Discworld adventure a little disjointed.

Many of Pratchett's others -- in particular, WYRD SISTERS and MEN AT ARMS -- grew, sentence by sentence, chuckle by chuckle, into a delightful read. This one didn't quite match those, in hilarity or in coherency.

However, I would still recommend it. I'm reading these in order, and am having great fun in doing so. That is, after all, the whole point.

Lords & Ladies, the 14th novel in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, is a wonderful return to Pratchett form for me. It is laugh-out-loud funny and a wonderful parody of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. The Shakespeare allusions aren't quite as bewildering as they were in Wyrd Sisters either, which makes it a bit more accessible for the non-Shakespeare fan.

This book was fantastic. It was a very interesting blend of comedy and grimness. In fact, it was probably the most mainstream plot that I've seen Pratchett produce. The conflict between the Elves and Magrat (and the Elf Queen and Granny) is very straightforward and almost chilling. The Elves are relentless in their pursuit of their victims. Magrat has to do some very harsh things to save herself from them. The Elves are almost unstoppable. Then, there is the Granny's confrontation with the Queen, which is very much like other confrontations between heroes and villains. Granny is captured and the Queen is just playing with her. They discuss what's going to happen to Lancre when the Elves take over. The Queen threatens her life. That sort of thing. These scenes are almost terrifying, and that's the first time I can ever say that Pratchett has done that to me.

However, that doesn't take away from the comedy. There are some truly funny scenes in this book that will make you laugh hard. The Archchancellor of the the Unseen University of wizards decides that he should come to the wedding along with a few colleagues (including the Librarian, an orangutan that used to be human before a magical accident). The scenes with the wizards, as usual, are just hilarious. This includes everything from attempting to hire transport (they don't have enough money, so they have to say that the Librarian is a pet) to the Archchancellor's attempts to woo Granny. As they say, hilarity ensues.

The characters are simply wonderful. It is such a difference between this book and Equal Rites. Not only are they very funny, but you start to care for them as well. Great strides are made in character development. Magrat finally learns what she can do when she's pushed, when she stands up to the Elves. Granny learns to respect Magrat just a little bit. Nanny learns about Casanunda, the world's second greatest lover ("I try harder"). All of the witches seem a bit less testy, but still well within the character established for them in earlier books. Even the wizards get some development, which doesn't happen very often. You learn a bit about the Archchancellor in this one as well. Usually, the wizards are just around for comedy relief.

Probably the best character, though, is Simon. He's one of Nanny Ogg's sons, and he's basically everything at the castle. He's the army, he's the servant, he's the herald, etc. His attempts to get his mother and the other witches to follow royal protocol (like letting him announce their presence to the King) are very funny. Even he gets some development, though, as he learns what it is to be a leader when he has to lead a rag-tag band against the Elves.

There is only one thing wrong with this book. The ending, again, is a bit lack-luster. This time, it's also a bit anti-climactic. It doesn't exactly come out of nowhere, as there is a bit of a set-up. However, I think it still needed a bit more. I applaud Pratchett for trying to turn the clichéd ending to something like this on its head, but I think it needed a little more support.

As far as the characters and the plot go, though, this was a classic book. Not quite as good as Reaper Man (I don't know if he'll ever be able to top that), but still very high up on the list. And ignore what Pratchett says at the beginning of the book. While it does continue straight on from the previous book (which I haven't read), it is still very understandable without that. In his little blurb at the beginning, Pratchett gives you all of the information you will need to understand this one.

If you can't find Reaper Man, this one also makes an excellent entry into the Discworld universe.

Terry Pratchett is without a doubt one of the most gifted writers to grace the world of literature. His Discworld novel, 'Soul Music', is the most entertaining book I've read in many years. This is the story of Susan Sto Helit- boarding school student, granddaughter of Death, and acting CEO of the family business. When Death joins the Klatchian Foreign Legion to forget (in general), Susan has to take up the scythe and fill in for a time. Not particularly well suited for the job, Susan refuses to collect the life of Imp Y Celyn- a young man who along with a dwarf trumpet player and a troll percussionist, has introduced Music With Rocks In to the good people of Ankh-Morpork. Imp has been influenced by a magical guitar with a life of it's own, and given birth to 'Rock' music. Susan feels it's not right for Imp to 'live fast and die young', and this upsets the balance of nature on Discworld. Assisted by Albert- Death's manservant, and the Death of Rats- Susansets out to find her grandfather and try to set things right. Music With Rocks in has upset every aspect of society in Ankh-Morpork, much like rock'n'roll in 1950's America. The wizards of Unseen University are under a spell like nothing anyone has ever seen. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the whole fantasy/sci-fi genre, but Pratchett's Discworld novels are more akin to flights of fancy... enjoyable on many levels. His works leave the reader with a pleasant sense of fulfillment that few authors can approach. You never find yourself wishing things turned out differently than Pratchett's vision, like so many other novels today. This splendid work has to be read to fully grasp the beauty of it's complex fluidity, and the humorous footnotes are fantastic. I would recommend Terry Pratchett's 'Discworld' series to anyone- they are a pleasure to read and finished far too soon.

In this Discworld installment, PTerry definitely did a great job on the characters, of which there is no shortage. One of my favorites is Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler, who is a business enterpreneur. Also, Corporal Nobbs and Sergeant Colon of the city watch shared some pretty funny exchanges. Another of my favorites is the Librarian, an orangutan (don't ever call him a monkey), who runs the University library. This book was also the first time I encountered Mustrum Ridcully. Every character, from the Band With Rocks In roadie Asphalt to Qouth the raven, is done in a way that individualizes them greatly. Next, I'd like to talk about the plot. There are several subplots: Death tries various ways to forget his past, Susan takes on Death's role, Ridcully and the University wizards get crazed for Music With Rocks In, and Imp Y Celyn, a Llamedese bard, gets his life takenover by a magic guitar. PTerry weaves these plots together to form a gigantic plot, which heralds a long, exciting, 300-page book

Here we are again. Death, the skeletal fellow who goes around wearing black robes, carrying a scythe, riding a pale white horse (named Binky), and TALKS LIKE THIS, has once again grown tired of the job and gone to try to forget things by joining the... um... (glancing at a piece of paper) the Klatchian Foreign Legion.

That's an in-joke about how NOBODY in the Klatchian Foreign Legion can remember anything.

...so, his granddaughter Susan inherits the job accidentally.

Meanwhile, the young bard Imp y Celyn starts to make it big when he finds a magical guitar and music takes over his soul. He changes his name to Buddy...

...and, in positively classic Pratchett style, the two plotlines come together in a rush of magic, energy, and Music With Rocks In!

I very highly recommend this book to anyone with... well, anyone with a willpower rating of above 10, which is what you need to move.
As Death would likely say, DON'T FORGET. I CAN'T ANYWAY, SO IT'S NOT A PROBLEM. BUT YOU HUMANS...

And you don't want to miss the Death of Rats who goes around saying SQUEAK.

Sourcery, the fifth Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, has many of the problems that Pratchett's earlier books had but shows a few signs of his breaking out into the Pratchett that I'm familiar with. Considering that Mort was the fourth book and was very good, I can only say that Sourcery is a step back, however. For the most part, it's a very hard 270 pages to get through.

While I give Sourcery two stars, it is a better book than Equal Rites, the only other Discworld book that I gave two stars to. It's much more like 2.75 stars, if that were possible. This is for three reasons: The Librarian, Nijel the hero in training, and Conina, the thief who finds Rincewind. The Librarian is an ape who used to be a human wizard, until a magical accident lost in history turned him into an ape. He found that he likes it better as an ape, and has refused any attempts to turn him back. When Coin comes to take over, the Librarian must safeguard all of the magical texts in the University before Coin can destroy them. It's amazing how much characterization that Pratchett can give him when the only thing he can say is "Oook." However, his actions give him a certain nobility. He safeguards the Patrician of the city when Coin turns him into a lizard. While he's barricaded himself in with his books, he's not above showing Rincewind what he needs to do in order to save everything.

Conina and Nijel are the other two saving graces. Pratchett does great things with his characterization of these two. Conina is a thief and warrior who wants to hide her lineage and just be a hairdresser. However, the fantasy conventions of her profession are too powerful for her. When she's surrounded, she can't bring herself to surrender, no matter how much she wants to. Instead, she must kick some tail. She's very dismissive of Rincewind when she finds out how incompetent he is, but she still feels responsible for him and helps him out whenever she can. Nijel is young warrior still getting his feet wet in this hero business. He has read the manual, but he doesn't have much practical experience. When things start to get out of hand, he always retreats to what the book says. His naivete is very touching at times, and very funny at other times.

The only bad thing about the two of them, and this brings to mind the first problem in the book, is the "romance" that starts between them. Conina finds herself drawn to Nijel, and Nijel to her. In Nijel's case, it's obviously a bit of the warrior convention: the hero gets the girl, who falls all over him. However, it doesn't fit Conina's characterization at all, and the scenes where they make eyes at each other just seem too unbelievable. Then Pratchett seems to dismiss the whole thing, having Conina make a couple of harsh comments to Nijel. Finally, at the end, it comes back again, out of the blue. It feels completely arbitrary.

The characterization of the rest of the cast is almost as bad. None of the other characters are really developed. Coin and the wizards fulfill their roles, but that's about it. The wizards are scheming back-biters, but that's the extent of their characters for the most part. The Sariph of Al Khali is fairly one-note as well, playing the stereotypical Sultan of Arabia with harem who, while he compliments women extensively, is only interested in them telling him stories. He's not very interesting, and I didn't find him very funny. Every time there's a woman present, he finds himself making lavish compliments ("Has anyone told you that your neck is as a tower of ivory.") He drinks a lot. But that's about it. There is a genie who is amusing at times ("Let's do lunch!"), but he starts to wear thin as well after awhile. Rincewind is just Rincewind, a coward who ends up doing the job despite himself. I have never really cared for him that much (with the exception of The Last Continent) because I don't find him that funny. And the intelligent luggage is just annoying, and it doesn't do anything interesting in this book. It just takes up space.

Other characters are in the book just for the jokes they can provide, a failing that happens a lot with early Pratchett. The Four Horsemen are the best example. While the most prominent member is hilarious as always (Death, of course), the other three are there just for a long-running joke about being in a bar and forgetting what they're supposed to do. While it's amusing for a time, it starts to grate when Pratchett keeps coming back to them and the same thing occurs.

All in all, this book is one to skip unless you're a completist. It's too bad, too, because Rincewind as a concept is interesting. However, of the four Rincewind books I've read, only one has been any good. I'll be giving the other two a try, but I'm not holding my breath.

What do you get when the eighth son of an eighth son has an eight son? A thaumaturgical headache that's too big for his britches, is what.

In Terry Pratchett's discworld, wizards are like your uncle that builds stuff in the basement: you wouldn't want to be left alone with him, but boy! can he do some cool stuff! And when they are fired up by a powerful young Sourcerer, they decide that the Disc is better off in their hands. The only problem is "their hands" means their own and no one elses', even another wizard. Fortunately, to battle this powerful youngster, the Disc has Rincewind, the most inept and ill-equipped wizard of all time.

Like many of the earlier Pratchett books, Sourcery is a pretty basic plot, with a lot of jokes sprinkled throughout. There are some great bits with Death, the Apocralypse (think apocryphal + end of the world, because no one can agree on when it's coming) and the Ice giants were a hoot. After having moved on to prefer the books involving the Watch (Men At Arms, Feet of Clay) and the Witches (Lords and Ladies, Equal Rites, etc.) I was glad to read a Rincewind book that cast him a little deeper than a mobile panic attack, even though that's what he is.

You don't necessarily have to have read the prior four books, but why not start at The Color of Magic? Then, you can enjoy Sourcery a little more fully, then want to read all of them like I did.

"I get vertigo just listening to tall stories," says the inept wizard Rincewind at one point. He'd have a serious Jimmy Stewart moment if he ever tried to make his way through this story. It's classic Pratchett and classic Discworld for sure. But not as well developed as the previous books in the series.

Pratchett concocts a menacing figure in Coin, the 9-year old eighth son of an eighth son (making him a sourcerer) who comes to Unseen University (where wizards learn their trade) in an attempt to rule the world. But Coin's magic, which we are to believe is all-powerful, comes off as little more than glorified parlour tricks. Not really menacing at all. Still, the sniveling cowards the make up the elite professors of the university are a treat to read about, and save most of those scenes.

Rincewind returns, after dominating "The Colour of Magic" and "The Light Fantastic" while making a brief cameo appearance in "Mort". Here, he has a history of unwanted adventures behind him, and Pratchett uses this world-weariness to give Rincewind a cool demeanor that he didn't have in the other books. Sure, he's still cynical and pessimistic and cowardly, but with a touch of the fatalist about him. Without that addition, the character would become stagnant and boring. Kudos to Terry for an inspired bit of tweaking. On the other hand, Rincewind's constant companion The Luggage is little more than window-dressing here. He (it?) doesn't really do much, except remind us of his (its?) finer moments in previous books. Joining these two Discworld staples on their adventure are Conina the Barbarian (remember her father Cohen from "The Light Fantastic"?), a warrior princess who'd rather be working in a salon; Nijel (the Destroyer son of Harebut the Provision Merchant if you please) who learned about being a hero from a book, and is on his first gig here; and Creosote, an ignorant sovereign who's more concerned with poetry and drink than ruling his kingdom. Also, watch out for the run-in with a lamp genie that sets new standards for parody, and the continuing development of the character of the Librarian, who gets to do much more than chomp bananas and say "Ook".

"Sourcery" is probably the weakest overall of the Discworld books I've read so far. That being said, it's still a fine and fun adventure filled with many humourous moments, and well worth the read.

Vampires have invaded Lancre and any fan of Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick won't be disappointed with their adventures. Magrat has gone through some pleasing changes, and Agnes ("She that calls herself Perditax") has become a very interesting addition to the coven.

_Carpe Jugulum_, like all the other Discworld novels, is not simply straight-forward fantasy, or just an amusing read. It's difficult to review a Discworld novel because they manage to be both amazingly funny and poignant at the same time. There are some truly beautiful moments in this book, and I cried with laughter more than once on reading it.

If you enjoy humorous fantasy, you'll never find anything as remotely funny as Pratchett. If you're tired of having your intelligence insulted by the usual, tired fantasy plot devices and characters and don't mind thinking, I heartily suggest this book and all the other Discworld series.

Pratchett's previous book, "The Last Continent", about the Disc's equivalent of Australia made me lose faith in one of Britain's most talented authors. It seemed that he'd finally run out of steam, wallowing in old characters without trying to do anything new but (as you can probably tell by the 5 stars above) it seems he's back on form.

It seems that just about every passing mythological creature wants to mess with Lancre these days. They're fighting tooth and nail (and fang and talon) to take over. Following on from the elves of "Lords and Ladies" are a family of vampires who have decided that their kind should stop lurking around in the shadows and living in impractical gothic mansions and take over Lancre, with the rest of the world to follow. No longer happy with how things are, they've decided to enslave the humans of the Disc (they obviously don't believe in free-range food). Sadly, they make the mistake of starting with a certain small county starting with "L"...

Whereas in "Last Continent", Pratchett seemed to forget about character progression (aside from poor Ponder Stibbons), he's back on form here. Agnes Nitt stops being a slightly more tough version of Magrat and becomes a fully fledged character in herself, whilst Granny's put through the emotional wringer again. As well as bringing back the old familiar (in both senses of the word) characters, CJ also brings in some new people - a priest who's lacking in self-confidence and a stereotypical igor being two of the most memorable.

In fact, there are only a couple of problems with the book, starting with the aforementioned igor character - in a world where Pratchett seems desparate to supply explanation for every odd occurance (how gods are 'made' in "Small Gods" or how an aerodynamically dragon can fly in "Guards! Guards!) the idea behind a community where people are sewn together from their relatives' body parts just doesn't feel... right (it makes for some pretty good jokes though). Likewise, there's a grey area as to exactly who's been turned into a vampire by the end of the book.

But it quotes a Beautiful South song, so that's okay.

Still, it's great to see Pratchett back on form. Welcome back, sir.

Okay, I have this odd sence of de ja vu when I read a vampire novel, I mean if you read 3 how different can the 4th be? Not this one. It's a beautiful satire and has far too many one liners and jokes like all Terry Pratchett books to really go into. It has Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax two of the witches in Lancre driving out the vampires (sorry, vampyres)who were invited in by King Verence for his daughter's christening. Possibly my favorite bit, was when the older vampires are making fun of young vampires who wear bright clothes and stay up until noon and wear their hair short and tell people that their name is Pam or Agnes.... it's a very funny quick read. I also have a hard time thinking of it being a blow off. There are bits with Granny Weatherwax that make you feel you may have just read somethingg important.