Thud! (Discworld)

By Terry Pratchett

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Average Rating: (See all 6 reviews) Format: Hardcover, 368 pages Published In: United Kingdom, 01 October 2005 Koom Valley! That was where the trolls ambushed the dwarfs, or the dwarfs ambushed the 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, he must unravel every clue, outwit every assassin and brave any darkness to find the solution. And darkness is following him. Oh...and at six o'clock every day, without fail, with no excuses, he must go home to read 'Where's My Cow?', with all the right farmyard noises, to his little boy. There are some things you have to do. About the Author TERRY PRATCHETT is the acclaimed creator of the bestselling Discworld series, the latest of which is Going Postal, and now Thud!. He was appointed OBE in 1998. Prizes A brand new Discworld novel, about an ancient feud Publisher: Doubleday ISBN: 0385608675 EAN: 9780385608671 Dimensions: 23.0 x 15.0 centimeters

If you have read a number of the other Discworld novels, you will realise that Koom Valley has been mentioned more than a few times as the reason (or at least one of them) that there are serious tensions between dwarves and trolls. Dwarves and trolls do not get along, and they get along even less when one of the dwarf leaders is killed, and it is up to the city watch to find out why - and they find out a fair amount about Koom Valley (why it was fought and who really 'won') whilst they do so. A great addition to the Discworld novels.

Set in Discworld, and continuing the City Watch sub-series, this book follows the Watch as they try to solve the case of a murdered dwarf, who was also a community leader known for his inflammatory rhetoric. All the signs seem to point to a troll being the murderer, and tensions between the two races, always high, are now reaching boiling-point as the anniversary of the Battle of Koom Valley, an historic battle between the trolls and dwarves, approaches. Sam Vimes and his Watch are given the task to not only find the killer, but also oversee the city and make sure that this racial antagonism is kept to a minimum; no mean feat.

This is a truly excellent addition to the Discworld series, wonderfully hilarious and yet at the same time dealing with serious and relevant themes with sensitivity and finesse. The racial animosity, inflammatory community leaders and insular sub-sections of the community are all too familiar, but they are portrayed very well and with sympathy and understanding, and on top of that, Pratchett manages to keep the laughs coming as well (though to be sure there are less of those around than in previous books). There’s a lot of great character development too. A great, hugely entertaining book that should definitely be checked out. Very highly recommended.

I really enjoyed this installment from terry pratchet, I already had 'Where's my Cow?' and loved how this was incorperated with Thud. I particullary liked how this story was about people overcoming their differences, by respecting the differences and acknowledging that both sides may have been a little bit wrong.

I read this book in one sitting, which demonstrates both its entertainment and its easy reading. Essentially I saw this as a very strongly politically motivated book with a very clear moral of tolerance and understanding between ethnic groups. While I somewhat agree with the message, I felt that the views were very simplified and the ending was painfully optimistic about the world. I also feel that Pratchett has essentially said the same things in other books like Jingo and The Monsterous Regiment. While fans of the Discworld series and people looking for a light and entertaining read will no doubt enjoy this book, I think it offers very little beyond the surface value.

Honestly I found this to be one of pratchett's weaker efforts. It seems that the character vimes has lost much of what made him interesting origionally and become a kind of superman in this book. While he does have some weaknesses his character is now too bland.

The plot was servicable enough, but it felt as if it was just a remix of a bunch of old elements and jokes that Pratchett has already used. Pratchett seems to have found a formula that has worked for his past watch novels and reapplied it here - talk about the watch becoming all PC and the add another race, with various 'funny' consequences arising.

While this book is ok, Pratchett has done much better work, and it might just be worth rereading that instead of getting 'Thud'.

This book is beyond good. While its not as easy going for the new reader as Going Postal, Thud! is multi layered entertaining story telling at its best. Along with the great hum,our present in all of Terry Pratchetts writing, Thud! has a fantastic murder mystery, political intrigue and powerfull imagery going for it. Every time I read a Pratchett book I think "it can't get any better than this". The I read the next one and I think exactly the same thing.

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