Scan barcode
A review by remmerich1
Thud! by Terry Pratchett
adventurous
funny
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
4.0
Might just be my mood at the moment but I didn't love this as much as I'd hoped to. The Watch is my favourite subseries, and there were aspects of this that I adored- Vimes' early interactions with the Dark Dwarfs, most of Angua and Sally, Brick, Where is my Cow...
It it felt a little muddled in the middle. It lost me a little, not in terms of what was going on, just in vibe, in tone. Perhaps thats intentional, and on a reread I might realise there's a narrative reason (no spoilers!) but it threw me this time round. Aspects of the ending worked well, but the crux of it didn't quite land for me, it felt a little rushed, a little twee even.
Overall, this is still a solid story, I have yet to read a Discworld novel I wouldn't reread, and there is far worse than this. I just wanted more from it I suppose. Part of it is that growing sadness as I approach the end of Pratchett's works- I want to end on a high, I want the last to be the best, I want to put down the final book and feel... I dont know, something powerful. But of course that's not how literary output works, we don't improve with every new book, some will not land as well as others, some will not, cannot reach the lofty peaks of Night Watch. Perhaps I need to make peace with the fact that my first read through of Discworld is ending, and not burden it with my expectations, desires, fears, and grief.
Anyway, I gave it four out of five, so it's not bad! I wouldn't recommend it as your first Pratchett, but if you're reading through, this is a solid one.
It it felt a little muddled in the middle. It lost me a little, not in terms of what was going on, just in vibe, in tone. Perhaps thats intentional, and on a reread I might realise there's a narrative reason (no spoilers!) but it threw me this time round. Aspects of the ending worked well, but the crux of it didn't quite land for me, it felt a little rushed, a little twee even.
Overall, this is still a solid story, I have yet to read a Discworld novel I wouldn't reread, and there is far worse than this. I just wanted more from it I suppose. Part of it is that growing sadness as I approach the end of Pratchett's works- I want to end on a high, I want the last to be the best, I want to put down the final book and feel... I dont know, something powerful. But of course that's not how literary output works, we don't improve with every new book, some will not land as well as others, some will not, cannot reach the lofty peaks of Night Watch. Perhaps I need to make peace with the fact that my first read through of Discworld is ending, and not burden it with my expectations, desires, fears, and grief.
Anyway, I gave it four out of five, so it's not bad! I wouldn't recommend it as your first Pratchett, but if you're reading through, this is a solid one.