Dispatches from the memory of Books

"Thud!" by Terry Pratchett. This is the latest in his Discworld-series, and as usual it contains scathing satire and social commentary barely coated with a thin layer of fantasy story: The recently urbanized communities of dwarves and trolls of Discworld (a round, flat world, carried on the back of four elephants, which in turn are standing on the shell of a giant turtle...) are fighting in the streets of Ankh-Morpork, as a result of ages-old feuds, bigotry, and yes, racism. Pratchett shows how easy it is to start a war based on hatred, ignorance, malicious gossip and the fear of ordinary people (Ok,ok, dwarves & trolls). As usual, only Commander Vimes of the City Watch seems to be able to see through the lies and deceit, as only an old street-smart copper like him can.

If you haven't yet read anything by this master storyteller, do it now!

Posted by HannesB at 9:58 AM Comments