Snuff by Terry Pratchett
Review by Daisy
Now being a big fan of Terry Pratchett I always look forward to his new works - this was in no way a let-down.
This is one of the Discworld stories centred around Sam Vimes and the Night Watch. In it, Sam has gone on holiday with his wife and son, much to his disgust. However, being the copper that he is, he manages to find a crime in the middle of bucolic countryside. And this time, it's the big one - murder. After a slight scuffle with some of the village inhabitants Commander Vimes agrees to meet the blacksmith at midnight on top of the hill. He is accompanied by Willikins, his gentleman's gentleman who is very good with a comb in a tight situation! Once there, he discovers the little finger of someone in a large pool of blood. The story continues as he is arrested and then trains the village constable in 'real' policing whilst uncovering all sorts of dirty deeds in the country!
Pratchett does what he is fab at in this book. He uses fantastic situations to throw relief on everyday issues of major importance in such a way that you are hard pressed to argue with him. Here, his focus is the Goblin race and their treatment as garbage and outsiders, all the while making you grin as you see him leading others to his solutions. Sybill and her ancestry come to the fore in this story and Young Sam has a fuller role in this tale, too. Not to mention the harp-playing Goblin girl...
I would definitely recommend this to readers of Mr Pratchett, maybe not as an introduction to the series as it assumes a fair amount of background knowledge of the characters, but oh so worth the read.
Published
07/05/2011
Publisher
Doubleday
ISBN
9780385619264http://www.amazon.co.uk/Snuff-Discworld-Novel-39-Novels/dp/038561926X
Now being a big fan of Terry Pratchett I always look forward to his new works - this was in no way a let-down.
This is one of the Discworld stories centred around Sam Vimes and the Night Watch. In it, Sam has gone on holiday with his wife and son, much to his disgust. However, being the copper that he is, he manages to find a crime in the middle of bucolic countryside. And this time, it's the big one - murder. After a slight scuffle with some of the village inhabitants Commander Vimes agrees to meet the blacksmith at midnight on top of the hill. He is accompanied by Willikins, his gentleman's gentleman who is very good with a comb in a tight situation! Once there, he discovers the little finger of someone in a large pool of blood. The story continues as he is arrested and then trains the village constable in 'real' policing whilst uncovering all sorts of dirty deeds in the country!
Pratchett does what he is fab at in this book. He uses fantastic situations to throw relief on everyday issues of major importance in such a way that you are hard pressed to argue with him. Here, his focus is the Goblin race and their treatment as garbage and outsiders, all the while making you grin as you see him leading others to his solutions. Sybill and her ancestry come to the fore in this story and Young Sam has a fuller role in this tale, too. Not to mention the harp-playing Goblin girl...
I would definitely recommend this to readers of Mr Pratchett, maybe not as an introduction to the series as it assumes a fair amount of background knowledge of the characters, but oh so worth the read.
Published
07/05/2011
Publisher
Doubleday
ISBN
9780385619264http://www.amazon.co.uk/Snuff-Discworld-Novel-39-Novels/dp/038561926X