Book Review: Snuff by Terry Pratchett
The Latest DiscWorld Novel: Snuff
Snuff is a novel in the Watch series, which features the Ankh Morpork City Watch, led by Sam Vimes, a copper of the old school, who grew up poor and stayed poor until he fell in love with one of the richest women in Ankh Morpork, or, indeed, in all of Discworld, the redoubtable Lady Sybil. Now, Sybil is insisting that the Vimes family (Sam, Sybil and their son, young Sam) take a vacation - they will tour her estates.
But there's crime everywhere, and when you're a copper like Sam Vimes, you have to investigate.
Vimes starts off by investigating what looks like a smuggling ring, led by the son of the rather pathetic Lord Rust. But it turns out they are also trafficking in Goblins (Discworld doesn't have racism, they have specism). Goblins are reviled by many, and regarded as vermin by some - even Sam Vimes isn't that fond of them at first - but they talk. In fact, they beg for mercy. So, soon, Sam Vimes is defending them. And he doesn't care who he offends while he's defending them.
Snuff by Terry Pratchett also has lots of fighting (featuring the Vimes' amazing butler, Willikins), boat chases, rescues, and philosophizing. We see young Sam Vimes get a little bigger (in earlier Discworld novels, he was a baby or toddler, now he's a little boy) and we learn more about the Vimes' relatonship (you do NOT want to mess with Lady Sybil).
As often, Terry Pratchett uses satire and humor to point out some truths; in Snuff he does so very well. Here, his particular targets are racism and classism. They get skewered, and who doesn't want to see that?
This isn't quite the top level of Pratchett (I'd say his best are Small Gods, Going Postal, Thud and Monstrous Regiment) but Snuff very darn good. And, although Pratchett is suffering from early onset Alzheimer's, there is no sign of that in this book.
Highly recommended (but don't start with this one; read some other Discworld novels first.
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Published by Peter Flom
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5 Comments
Post a CommentSounds interesting, thanks!
Nice review. It reminds me of a funny statement made by Alfred Hitchcock. In a recent rerun of the Alfred Hitchcock hour, Hitchcock remarked that the inspector will begin his investigations of the recent murders soon as he locates his seeing eye dog. LOL!
Nice review.
I'll take your advice and start out with some other novel.
Nicely Written, thank you