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In Thud, Vimes comes up against the ingrained prejudice between Dwarfs and Trolls, encapsulated by Koom Valley. Referenced in several earlier Discworld novels, this is the battle where both armies managed to ambush each other. Like much of Discworld lore though, this little throwaway quip ... Read review
Koom Valley - that was where the trolls ambushed the dwarfs or the dwarfs ambushed the ... more
trolls. It was far away. It was a long time ago. But if he doesn't solve the murder of just one dwarf Commander Sam Vimes of Ankh-Morpork City Watch is going to se...
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Koom Valley. That was where the trolls ambushed the dwarfs, or the dwarfs ambushed the ... more
trolls. It was far away. It was a long time ago. But if he doesn't solve the murder of just one dwarf, Commander Sam Vimes of Ankh-Morpork City Watch is going to see it fought again, right outside his office.
With his beloved Watch crumbling around him and war-drums sounding, Commander Sam Vimes ... more
must unravel every clue, outwit every assassin and brave any darkness to find the solution. And darkness is following him. At six o'clock every day, without fail, with no excuses, he must go home to read "Where's My Cow?" to his little boy.
Koom Valley! That was where the trolls ambushed the dwarfs, or the dwarfs ambushed the ... more
trolls. It was far away. It was a long time ago. But if he doesn't solve the murder of just one dwarf, Commander Sam Vimes of Ankh-Morpork City Watch is going to see it fought again, right outside his office. There are some things you have to do.
Koom Valley? That was where the trolls ambushed the dwarfs, or the dwarfs ambushed the ... more
trolls. It was far away. It was a long time ago. But if he doesn’t solve the murder of just one dwarf, Commander Sam Vimes of Ankh-Morpork City Watch is going to see it fought again, right outside his office.
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Advantages: One of my favourite Discworld novels Disadvantages: Fans of the earlier books may be uneasy with the more mature style
...damn it.
Thud is a fine entry in the Discworld canon, although in some respects it has been overlooked in favour of newer characters in Going Postal and Making Money. It bears repeated readings, and for added enjoyment, you can also get a copy of 'Where's My Cow?', the picture book that Sam reads to his young son throughout the novel – the illustrations to which make it abundantly clear that actor Pete Postlethwaite (Brassed Off, Jurassic ... more
For the past hundred years or so, Mr Terrance Pratchett of Wiltshire has been producing a whimsical series of novels concerning the exploits of divers personages upon a celestial body which resembles in many ways our own Terra, save but for the trifling datum that it is a flat disc carried by four mighty elephants, who labour under their not inconsiderable burden whilst being borne through the firmament by a giant turtle.
Readers have matured alongside this giant of prolificness as these merry adventures have developed from joke-a-minute fantasy spoofs into challenging tracts for our times which happen to contain trolls and vampires.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the development of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. Going from a ragtag crew of misfits and petty criminals in ‘Guards! Guards!’, the Watch has gone from being a one-note gag about crap guards in fantasy novels, through a phase of detective fiction parody and has finally developed into an exploration of the Discworld’s most psychologically real character, Sam Vimes.
Next to the cowardly wizard Rincewind, and even the grumpy possibly evil witch Granny Weatherwax, Vimes looks like Hamlet taking a wee over Simba from the Lion King. A recovering alcoholic full of murderous rage and bitterness held in check by his allegiance to the cause of justice. It sounds like any number of stock literary detectives, but Sam Vimes stands out by being a truly nasty piece of work. He is very much a product of the crime-infested streets he seeks to protect.
In Thud, Vimes comes up against the ingrained prejudice between Dwarfs and Trolls, encapsulated by Koom Valley. Referenced in several earlier Discworld novels, this is the battle where both armies managed to ambush each other. Like much of Discworld lore though, this little throwaway quip has escalated to become a surprisingly subversive plot element. With references to civil war between extremist minority groups and parades through the other group’s turf this can only be the Discworld’s answer to the darkest days of sectarian-torn Belfast, not to mention religious tensions that threaten peace throughout cities all over the world, but the point is never nailed home and so the novel can be enjoyed agenda-free.
The annual Koom Valley protests and marches and riots are a bit intense this year, possibly provoked by the presence of hard-line ‘deep down’ Dwarfs who are excavating beneath the city and don’t recognise Ankh-Morpork law. Vimes has to deal with a Watch falling apart from the inside as its trollish and dwarfish members struggle to reconcile their racial and professional identities, as well as the usual business of solving a politically-charged murder. This time round, however, Vimes’s crime-busting is impeded by the presence of Young Sam, his toddler son who demands to be read to every evening on the stroke of six.
Young Sam is important because it shows a human side to a character that occasionally veers a little too close to being Judge Dredd in tights. Although Vimes has been happily married since the end of his second adventure, his relationship with his wife was perhaps unwisely summed up as ‘Love was a dicey word for the over 40s’. While a lot is left unsaid between our hero and Lady Sybil Ramkin, her blind acceptance of her husband’s devotion to duty means that she never really casts much light on his character. A comfortable marriage is very boring for readers, but a young baby who will make a workaholic lawman charge across town, leaving chaos in his wake... that creates conflict, which is the essence of drama, as any GCSE theatre studies student will tell you.
The Watch wouldn’t be complete without its coppers though. Carrot the almost-Dwarf (he’s seven foot tall, but apparently that doesn’t matter) and rightful King of Ankh-Morpork bobs along for the ride but doesn’t do a huge amount considering the story centres on the dwarfs – a slight hint that Pratchett is a bit bored of this character, I felt. Instead, his werewolf girlfriend gets a nice little subplot getting to know a new vampire copper, Sally.
At the same time, Detritus the troll forms a paternal bond with troll junkie Brick. This largely consists of hitting him. Nobby Nobbs has also got a girlfriend in the improbably beautiful shape of a Discworld lapdancer.
These subplots are a little more, well, SUB than usual. The reader is never left in any doubt that this is Vimes’s story, and it’s a rare moment where we are in anyone’s head but Vimes. To me, this increasing adoption of Sam Vimes as the preferred central character tells you all you need to know about Pratchett as an author. In the early days of pastiche and spoofery, you had Rincewind the wizard reacting against the genre and being terribly cutting about all the cliches around him. The witches were a step up, commendably solid characters sending up their fantastic surroundings by prodding them with distinctly earthy logic. But Vimes is a bad-tempered man with a family and a devotion to justice. He skewers the fantastic things around him with caustic wit and bitterness, but purely from his professional perspective as a policeman. It’s just better writing, God damn it.
Thud is a fine entry in the Discworld canon, although in some respects it has been overlooked in favour of newer characters in Going Postal and Making Money. It bears repeated readings, and for added enjoyment, you can also get a copy of 'Where's My Cow?', the picture book that Sam reads to his young son throughout the novel – the illustrations to which make it abundantly clear that actor Pete Postlethwaite (Brassed Off, Jurassic Park 2) is the physical inspiration for Vimes.
Advantages: Its a Discworld book Disadvantages: Waiting to get your copy of any new book.
Any book that starts "Thud.....That was the sound the heavy club made as it connected with the head. The body jerked and slumped back". You know you are in for a good read. For the book to be a Discworld book, then you are in for a treat.
1983 saw the start of a publishing phenomenon, The Discworld by Terry Pratchett. For those poor souls who have been living somewhere else since then, some quick background information may be in order.
The Discworld ... ...reality and is carried through space on the backs of four rather large elephants who in turn stand on the back of a rather large space going turtle. This is a world where magic exists, magic as practiced by Wizards and Witches, It is also a place of Trolls, Dwarfs, vampires, werewolves, zombies, golems, hero's, barbarians and men (including Nobby Nobbs)
The largest and possibly greatest city on the Discworld is Ankh Morpork. This is a city that ...
Coloneljohn 31.10.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Thud - Terry Pratchett
Advantages: The return of The Watch! Disadvantages: None
We start, not unusually for Pratchett, with the mysteries. In Feet of Clay we began 9000 years ago in the deeps; in Wyrd Sisters we began with the traditional incantations on the heath; this time we begin with not one, but two extracts from what we can only assume to be "the holy book" ~ or rather the holy books, because on the disc as on earth there is always more than one way of looking at things.
"The first thing Tak did, he wrote himself
The ... ...who mountain crush him no
Him who sun stop him no…"
So say the sacred words of the dwarfs, and of the trolls.
Meanwhile back in the present day on Discworld: "Thud"
"That was the sound the heavy club made as it connected with the head….as the dwarfs say, where there is trouble you will always find a troll.
The troll saw."
For those not familiar with Discworld search under Terry Pratchett on this site and read any or all of the reviews, you'll ...
hiker 17.12.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Thud - Terry Pratchett
Advantages: Funny, poignant, a return to form. Disadvantages: Lesser characters poorly realised, prior knowledge of Discworld required.
Sam Vimes is on the trail of a Dwarf killer. He has to find the murderer and quickly otherwise it will be Koom Valley all over again but this time in his city. The Dwarves and Trolls have an age old grudge and it takes little to stir up the racial hatreds of the two races on this, the anniversary of the battle were it officially all started. Plagued by an undercurrent of Politics, board games and dwarf law can Vimes find the killer and more importantly ... ..."Thud" is Terry Pratchett's thirty second Discworld novel in a vast and wide ranging series that is set firmly in the realms of fantasy yet bears resemblance to our own reality. Based on a Disc shaped world were anything is possible Pratchett has created a complex World were Wizards rub shoulders with trolls and humans with Vampires. Were his novels vary from many others in the fantasy genre is in the humour, observations and parody prevalent in ...
Shortsharpshock 03.01.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Thud - Terry Pratchett
Advantages: Another Discworld Book (no spoilers) Disadvantages: Not enough shelf space
...Terry Pratchett of late but Thud is almost like Pratchett of old. With another return to one of Terry's much loved characters the Guards. Thud sees the formidable Duke Vimes in turmoil. Years ago in Koom Valley Trolls and Dwarves came to blows. Some say it was the Dwarves some say it was the Trolls who started it. However, it's all happening again but this time its on Ank-Morpork soil. Brief outline for non readers : Discworld is full of, Dwarves, ... ...can read it in sections. Thud comes under the "Guards" and should be considered as an addition to their stories. I would recomend that firts time readers to discworld who might want to read this book should start with Guards Guards. That said all the books can be read as stand alone stories as they all start and finish in the same book. There is no cliff hangers to get you to buy the next book. Please consider them all as "Once upon a time. . . . ...
Michael_Dyer 30.10.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Thud - Terry Pratchett
Advantages: Light read, comical, makes it easy to 'escape from the real world' Disadvantages: I didnt find any
'THUD!' is part of the discworld books by Terry Pratchett, this is the first book I have read by this author and found that not reading any of his other work did not effect my understanding or enjoyment of this book.
'THUD!' is set in Ankh-Morpork, a city under the strain from the long drawn out history of Koom Valley. Koom Valley was a battle fought long ago between Trolls and Dwarfs, but it is unknown to them who actually won this battle. A painting ... ...be a secret. a clue, hidding in the painting......but when the painting dissappears from the art gallery the Watch realise that this myth must be true and head in search of the culprits before it is too late.......
The Watch is the police force that operates in Ankh-Morpork. Head of the Watch is Commander Sam Vimes, a dedicated, honest man who is famous for bring justice and respected by all. Every 6pm prompt he arrives home to his son where he ...
lizzyangel666 28.03.2007 (30.03.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Thud - Terry Pratchett
