Malazan Empire: Werthead - Viewing Profile - Malazan Empire

The anniversary of the Battle of Koom Valley is looming. Everyone knows this was the great battle where the dwarfs ambushed the trolls. Or the trolls ambushed the dwarfs. Tensions between Ankh-Morpork's dwarf and troll communities are rising, so this would be the worst time for a prominent city dwarf to be murdered by a troll. When this duly happens, it gives Commander Sam Vimes of the City Watch a major headache he could do without. Civil war, rioting, protests, urban unrest and delicate political intrigue are distractions for Vimes from his greatest obligation: getting home every night to read his infant son from that tome of great wisdom, Where's My Cow?

Urban centres divided by racial (well, species-al) tensions; demonstrations that some call protests, others riots; cynical demagogues riding the coattails of popularism into positions of power. If there's one thing that Terry Pratchett is, it's timely and topical. Although in this case, Thud! (the thirty-fourth novel in the Discworld sequence) was published twenty years ago, and Sir Terry himself passed away nine years ago. That just goes to show how formidable a student of history and human nature Pratchett was, and how depressingly cyclical human nature is. A joyous escape from the modern world, this book very much is not.

What it is is a formidably well-written, brilliantly-characterised piece of fantasy fiction. By this point Ankh-Morpork's claim to be the greatest fantasy city of all time, convincing in its depiction and detail from top to bottom, had been well-established and Pratchett furthers that here as he surveys the tensions in the city from the lowest rungs of the ladder (via Brick, a confused troll) to the highest (the Patrician himself). I often feel that Pratchett was a writer divided between cynicism and optimism, and that internal war can be felt in these pages. Pratchett has a city divided by class, species, income and politics, but where media is (more or less) responsible and the police mostly free from corruption (though not for want of some trying), although it is amusing that the plot partially resolves because of a copper helping himself to some loot he shouldn't have been touching.

It's also a brilliant bit of worldbuilding, as Pratchett delves into the history, legends and culture of the dwarfs ("dwarves" being an affront to Pratchett's grammatical perfectionism, despite his unabashed love of Tolkien, but "elfs" is an unacceptable step too far for him), with a bit of troll history thrown in as well. In fantasy settings where the traditional species are depicted, dwarfs usually get the short end of the stick (so to speak) but Pratchett fleshes them out here with details of their spirituality, faith, politics and culture.

There are laughs, such as Colon and Nobby's unexpectedly effective side-investigation of an art theft (a bit like asking the Keystone Kops to solve the Great Train Robbery) and Vimes' increasingly convoluted trips home to read to his son before bedtime, but these are held in check by Pratchett's anger at the stupidity of the world. Pratchett motivated by anger can result in terrific art, such as in Small Gods and Night Watch, and though Thud! doesn't quite rise to those heights, it's not a million miles away.

Despite being on the longer side for a Discworld book (at 430 pages, nothing too outrageous), the plot unfolds with verve, Pratchett again demonstrating a mastery of pacing. The resolution gets a bit too metaphysical at times (not Pratchett's strongest suit) but the epilogue section which goes into more detail than normal about the fallout from the latest shenanigans is quite amusing, as well as setting up some ideas which are about to carry the Discworld setting across the technological divide into proto-steampunk. Thirty-four volumes in and Pratchett is still freshening things up and changing gears to try new ideas. It's quite impressive.

Thud! (****½) is one of the strongest Discworld novels, exploring its world and characters with skill and depth (literally, in this case). Remarkably, this is also a Discworld novel with its own dedicated spin-off children's book, Where's My Cow? (not part of the core series, but an interesting curiosity).