ampharos906's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, War, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Death
Minor: Misogyny and Police brutality
pprescott's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia, Racism, Murder, and Violence
Minor: War and Police brutality
crufts's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Thud! is the 34th novel in the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett, and the 7th novel about the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. I would recommend reading the earlier Watch books first to get the background - at least Guards! Guards! (#8) to have the Watch introduced, and Men at Arms (#9) to meet Angua and Detritus.
Work never rests for the City Watch of Ankh-Morpork, led by Commander Sam Vimes. As the anniversary of the Battle of Koom Valley approaches, a historic battle between dwarves and trolls, ethnic tensions in the city are growing.
What could be worse than that? Only the theft of a famous painting depicting the battle, stolen from under the noses of the art gallery.
And what could be worse than that? A dwarf religious/cultural leader has been murdered, and clues suggest that a troll did it.
Can Vimes and his Watch find and apprehend the murderer before inter-species riots break out in the streets of Ankh-Morpork?
I enjoyed Thud! from start to finish, constantly wanting to know what would happen next. For starters, it's basically a murder mystery investigated by the Watch, which made for a fascinating plot. It's also very funny, as we've learned to expect from Terry Pratchett, but it still involves serious themes like racial tension and civil integration in an interesting way.
Like the previous novel Men at Arms, there are a lot of moving parts, but the novel didn't feel overly crowded or cluttered.
As far as great characters go, we're spoiled for choice. A bevy of beloved returning characters appear, including Lady Sybil Ramkin, Cpt. Carrot, Sgt. Angua, Sgt. Detritus, Sgt. Cheery (I haven't read her book yet! Gotta get around to reading Feet of Clay), photographer Otto Chriek, wizard university Chancellor Ridculley, Lord Vetinari, etc. It was impressive that the author was able to keep track of all these people and factions running around the city!
Speaking of characters, I liked that the women characters had important roles. Cpt. Carrot contributes to the investigation, but I liked that he was not able to solve everything - a lot of crucial tasks fall to the three Watch ladies (Cheery, Angua, and Sally the newly-hired vampire) since they all have nightvision and much of the investigation is underground. I wasn't completely interested by the Angua/Sally feud but admittedly it did seem in-character for them.
Finally, Commander Vimes being a dad was adorable.
Work never rests for the City Watch of Ankh-Morpork, led by Commander Sam Vimes. As the anniversary of the Battle of Koom Valley approaches, a historic battle between dwarves and trolls, ethnic tensions in the city are growing.
What could be worse than that? Only the theft of a famous painting depicting the battle, stolen from under the noses of the art gallery.
And what could be worse than that? A dwarf religious/cultural leader has been murdered, and clues suggest that a troll did it.
Can Vimes and his Watch find and apprehend the murderer before inter-species riots break out in the streets of Ankh-Morpork?
I enjoyed Thud! from start to finish, constantly wanting to know what would happen next. For starters, it's basically a murder mystery investigated by the Watch, which made for a fascinating plot. It's also very funny, as we've learned to expect from Terry Pratchett, but it still involves serious themes like racial tension and civil integration in an interesting way.
Like the previous novel Men at Arms, there are a lot of moving parts, but the novel didn't feel overly crowded or cluttered.
As far as great characters go, we're spoiled for choice. A bevy of beloved returning characters appear, including Lady Sybil Ramkin, Cpt. Carrot, Sgt. Angua, Sgt. Detritus, Sgt. Cheery (I haven't read her book yet! Gotta get around to reading Feet of Clay), photographer Otto Chriek, wizard university Chancellor Ridculley, Lord Vetinari, etc. It was impressive that the author was able to keep track of all these people and factions running around the city!
Speaking of characters, I liked that the women characters had important roles. Cpt. Carrot contributes to the investigation, but I liked that he was not able to solve everything - a lot of crucial tasks fall to the three Watch ladies (Cheery, Angua, and Sally the newly-hired vampire) since they all have nightvision and much of the investigation is underground. I wasn't completely interested by the Angua/Sally feud but admittedly it did seem in-character for them.
Finally, Commander Vimes being a dad was adorable.
Young Sam pulled himself up against the cot’s rails, and said “Da!” The world went soft.
The pacing was very good overall, although was a section near the end (after the climactic scenes where
Spoiler
Vimes is rampaging under Koom Valley, and then they play the Cube audioExcellent novel, another must-read for Discworld fans.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Racism, Drug abuse, Religious bigotry, Violence, and War
Drug abuse: A character is addicted to several fantasy drugs ("slab", "scrape", etc), played for humour.Violence, war: The historic battle of Koom Valley.
Murder: The premise of the murder mystery.
Religious bigotry, racism: Fantasy racism between the dwarves and the trolls.
anidharker's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Death, and Violence
e_flah's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Thud! had everything I want in a Terry Pratchett book -- funny social commentary, lovable characters, and writing that's easy to get swept up by.
In terms of Discworld books, Thud! was more on the plot-driven side. The rising tensions between the dwarfs and trolls made for an engaging read. The City Watch characters were great as always, which was the perfect complement to a gripping plot. Pratchett does an excellent job showing these reoccurring characters developing both within individual books and across the longer City Watch Discworld arc.
In terms of Discworld books, Thud! was more on the plot-driven side. The rising tensions between the dwarfs and trolls made for an engaging read. The City Watch characters were great as always, which was the perfect complement to a gripping plot. Pratchett does an excellent job showing these reoccurring characters developing both within individual books and across the longer City Watch Discworld arc.
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence and Death
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