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Snuff by Terry Pratchett
A novel of Discworld, continuing the trend of revisiting each of the character sets for a more-continuity-heavy-than-usual go-round. (See also Unseen Academicals, for this with the wizards; and I Shall Wear Midnight, for this with the witches.) The internet is unusually quiet about what he’ll write next—the speculation about a new Moist book or something troll-based both predate Snuff--but I suspect that if there is another Discworld book after this, it’ll be a Death/Susan book in the same vein. Honestly, I think since his diagnosis with Alzheimer’s Pterry has been trying to wrap everything up and give each of his characters a last nod and smile.
And though I’m still totally a fan, none of these have been as strong as his earlier works. They’re very clearly sequels, the editing has been sub-par and the jokes are often recycled. There have been some pacing problems, a couple of continuity hiccups, and even a few odd typos. This book has a badly-balanced subplot with the rest of the Watch, some significance paid to the Summoning Dark that is abruptly dropped, and a large fire near the end that I couldn’t actually figure out what was supposed to be burning or why.
Though I did learn something: Vimes’ butler in this book is occasionally referred to as a batman. I figured this was a bizarre autocorrect or find-and-replace error, but no, apparently it’s a real term for a military butler. So now, to the list of things I would do if I was disturbingly rich, I’ve added “Have my very own batman.”
Or, in a nutshell: If you haven’t read any Discworld, start with the earliest books and, if you love it, work your way here.
As a random note, this is the 6th book I’ve finished this year, and only the second where I didn’t personally know the author or the publisher. Given that I’ve already started Constellation Games (I know both) and should really go back and finish Hickey of the Beast (ditto), that ratio may end up being the more amusing metric.
And though I’m still totally a fan, none of these have been as strong as his earlier works. They’re very clearly sequels, the editing has been sub-par and the jokes are often recycled. There have been some pacing problems, a couple of continuity hiccups, and even a few odd typos. This book has a badly-balanced subplot with the rest of the Watch, some significance paid to the Summoning Dark that is abruptly dropped, and a large fire near the end that I couldn’t actually figure out what was supposed to be burning or why.
Though I did learn something: Vimes’ butler in this book is occasionally referred to as a batman. I figured this was a bizarre autocorrect or find-and-replace error, but no, apparently it’s a real term for a military butler. So now, to the list of things I would do if I was disturbingly rich, I’ve added “Have my very own batman.”
Or, in a nutshell: If you haven’t read any Discworld, start with the earliest books and, if you love it, work your way here.
As a random note, this is the 6th book I’ve finished this year, and only the second where I didn’t personally know the author or the publisher. Given that I’ve already started Constellation Games (I know both) and should really go back and finish Hickey of the Beast (ditto), that ratio may end up being the more amusing metric.