Thud!: A Book Review

So I finished reading this book last night (well the early hours of this morning to be precise), and I figured I'd get writing this review out of the way before I make a start on my study course. Thud! by Terry Pratchett is a Discworld novel, and the 30th in the series to date. I'll state from the beginning that I'm not a fan of a lot of the Discworld books. I am however, a big fan of the novels that feature the Ankh-Morpork City Watch though (Guards Guards, Men At Arms, Feet of Clay, Jingo, The Fifth Elephant and Night Watch). The other main characters that books are themed around are the Lancre Witches which I find too hit and miss (Wyrd Sisters, Lords and Ladies and Carpe Jugulum are good, Witches Abroad and Maskerade are not!); Death (Mort, Soul Music and Hogfather are good, Reaper Man is fucking terrible... ohh and I prefer the cartoon of Soul Music to the book); and Rincewind the Wizzard (don't even get me started on how much I hate this character). Plus there are many stand alone novels which again of the ones I've read are hit and miss (Small Gods and The Truth were good though).

This is a novel about my favourite Discworld character, Commander Sir Samuel Vimes, the Duke of Ankh, leader of the City Watch and an all round tough as old boots policeman, who is constantly overwhelmed by what goes on around him. This is the seventh City Watch novel, and the character has come a long way from the lonely drunkard of the first, to lead a small (but growing) army of watchmen who do their best to keep order in the squalid metropolis that is Ankh-Morpork. In this case the Watch are up against the anniversary of the Battle of Koom Valley, an event that happened hundreds of miles away and thousands of years ago, and yet every year divides dwarves and trolls into two camps intent on refighting the conflict.

Needless to say such a battle in a city with large populations of both races would cause an unholy amount of damage and that Vimes cannot allow. Still if he had just one thing to worry about, then Vimes wouldn't have a problem, he is nothing if not doggedly single-minded. Unfortunately he has the murder of a prominent dwarf rabble rouser to sort out, a painting has gone missing from the museum, the watch is being audited by Mr A.E. Pessimal at the behest of the Patrician (the cities benevolent dictator), he has had to allow a vampire to join the force in the interests of racial equality (Vimes HATES vampires), ohh and at 6pm everyday without fail he must read the book Where's My Cow? (complete with all the proper animal noises) to his infant son, because he promised that he would.

Thankfully Vimes has the considerable (and very varied) talents of his beloved Watch to call upon to help him, from his deputy Captain Carrot Ironfoundersson (a 6' human raised by dwarves, who knows everyone in the city it seems), Angua (a female werewolf and Carrot's girlfriend), Cheery Littlebottom (a female dwarf forensics expert), Nobby Nobbs (human with a certificate to prove it), Detritus (a troll with a very large crossbow called the Piecemaker), and Fred Colon (who's been coppering for so long he doesn't know how to do anything else).

The book is very well written as should be expected from Mr. Pratchett, one of the best satire authors writing today, and Ankh-Morpork nicely sends up aspects of modern society whilst in its own twisted way following them. This was a joy to read and I'm eagerly looking forward to the next City Watch novel now, as the ending of this one promises some radical changes are in the near future for the city, and it will be interesting to see how the Watch (and Vimes) adapt to that. I'm giving this book top marks, 5/5. Any book that keeps me reading till 3am because I have to finish it deserves nothing less!