tomfairfax's review against another edition
3.0
Many good themes introduced but left half- developed, a symptom of his health. His usual concern for humanity comes through, however.
dimello's review against another edition
funny
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? Yes
3.0
candle_lit_library's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
robotswithpersonality's review against another edition
An absolute joy. Very glad I took my time finishing what I suspect may be the last of my personal list of unread 'serious' Discworld books. The last of those featuring Lipwig and/or Vimes as the lead character, which all deal with more adult themes - in this case, more of the political tensions with the dwarves, fueled by one faction's prejudices and fanatical following of antiquated traditions.
Pratchett has an amazing ability to write those twisted by hate so that you feel more heartache than anger for the way they've damned themselves before they go around damning/destroying other people, because it is so fucking sad when that happens to a being.
Sidebar: I can't remember the last time I found a map in the front of a book so helpful!
Truly a marvellous adventure, with such an optimistic outlook for the future of innovation. I understand the modern tendency to look with a jaundiced eye at the miracles of the industrial revolution, the time of the steam engine, given the pollution and poor working conditions, and the first steps towards mass/over production heralded, but the solar punk future of my dreams is also all about people tinkering, in a healthy way. Innovation doesn't need to be an evil. It's not simply progress for the sake of progress if it can help people, save lives. The best of the Discworld books leave you with hope, and this one did.
Pratchett has an amazing ability to write those twisted by hate so that you feel more heartache than anger for the way they've damned themselves before they go around damning/destroying other people, because it is so fucking sad when that happens to a being.
Sidebar: I can't remember the last time I found a map in the front of a book so helpful!
Truly a marvellous adventure, with such an optimistic outlook for the future of innovation. I understand the modern tendency to look with a jaundiced eye at the miracles of the industrial revolution, the time of the steam engine, given the pollution and poor working conditions, and the first steps towards mass/over production heralded, but the solar punk future of my dreams is also all about people tinkering, in a healthy way. Innovation doesn't need to be an evil. It's not simply progress for the sake of progress if it can help people, save lives. The best of the Discworld books leave you with hope, and this one did.
eklsolo's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
moribookbox's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
mysterious
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? No
5.0
ssung's review against another edition
3.0
this was... really hard to review. this took forever for me to get through, because the first half was so painful to read. pratchett's writing changed a lot over the recent few books (becoming more noticeable with snuff), no doubt due to his alzheimers, becoming far more wordy, and... i'm not sure how to put it, but sharp. angry. pratchett had always been very good at hiding the anger behind the humor, mellowing it with his cleverness and wit in his earlier books, but it was always there. it made for brilliant books, particularly right before and at the time of diagnosis - those were all my favorites - but these recent books it was hard to see the humor when the anger was so spiky sharp.
dialogue changes were the most noticeable in this book; i'd say that pratchett's greatest strength in writing was economy with words, particularly speech; everyone spoke clearly, rarely in monologues. this was not in play, however, for this book; the first half of the book was littered with speeches that took paragraphs. much of the story told, almost, not shown. once the story really got going and swung into the second half did the terry pratchett magic kick in for me, but it's bittersweet. the moist lipwig novels always had the most cameos of other discworld characters in the books, but raising steam covers an enormous swath - i think carrot might've been the only thing that wasn't referenced in the book.
dialogue changes were the most noticeable in this book; i'd say that pratchett's greatest strength in writing was economy with words, particularly speech; everyone spoke clearly, rarely in monologues. this was not in play, however, for this book; the first half of the book was littered with speeches that took paragraphs. much of the story told, almost, not shown. once the story really got going and swung into the second half did the terry pratchett magic kick in for me, but it's bittersweet. the moist lipwig novels always had the most cameos of other discworld characters in the books, but raising steam covers an enormous swath - i think carrot might've been the only thing that wasn't referenced in the book.
ampharos906's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexism, Torture, Blood, Violence, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and War
abranina's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
cedardleland's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
This is really obviously very late Pratchett that didn't get truly edited or finished. Von Lipwig doesn't feel at all himself and there's so much random stuff going on and it's kinda boring rather than funny.