Snuff (Discworld Book 39) by Terry Pratchett

Rating 4.5 out of 5
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 670 KB
Print Length: 382 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 038561926X
Publisher: Transworld Digital (October 13, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B00563M11M

Vimes is back! but he is a man living on the edge, his time is up, he is going on a holiday. Sybill, Vimes and young Sam are off to the Ramkin country estate for some fresh air and relaxation. Vimes is miserable, and at a loss until a Goblin girl is murdered on his property. Then the local blacksmith disappears and someone tells Vimes he CANT do something (which goes down about as well as a ferret does in trousers). This all adds up to Vimes doing what he does best being a police man and chasing the bad guy.

Snuff deals with some heavy themes wrapped up in the guise of fantasy. The Goblin race is subjected to some terrible treatment which to me seemed to mirror how colonists in the 1800's treated Indigenous cultures in their colonised lands. Pratchett has tackled racism (or specisim as it happens to be in Discworld) before but this book seemed to really drill the point home. The darker theme though is not off putting and it suits the subject matter. Also Vimes is darker in this book but more because he is grappling with what is right or wrong and how far can you go for the "right" cause.

Having said that Terry Pratchett was able to tell the story with humour, word puns, satire, and "life" observations. The best example of this is how Pratchett manages to capture, and bring humour too; the mind of a six year old boy (obsessed with poo). But Practhett also mange to shed bring humour to the interactions between husband and wife, and interactions between the elite and servants. I found myself laughing and chortling in many places.

This is not a City Watch novel, it is more of a Sam Vimes novel. The rest of the City Watch do not feature much in this book, we really only see a glimpse of the beloved characters of Carrot, Angua, Nobbs, Colon, Cheery, (and Detritus is not there at all). Wee Mad Arthur though left his mark even though he was a minor character. As always the Nac Mac Feegle steal the show (literally if they work out how) and Wee Mad Arthur was such a laugh. He was easily my favourite characters.

As with all Discworld books you dont necessarily have needed all the books before it. But it is a very good idea, especially in this book as it refers to events that happened in the book Thud! which will spoil Thud! for you if you have not read it yet.

I have seen reviews which criticise the direction Pratchett took with this book. I personally dont have a problem with. It showed the internal struggle Vimes has been moving towards for a long time as he tries to reconcile his old life and who he thinks he is, with his new life and what others think he is.

In all honesty I think the last few Discworld books have been getting better. But after writing 39 books there are bound to be some in there that don't quite shine as well as the others. I really hope we get to see a Rincewind or Witches novel again soon.

Extras
Here is an interview of Terry Pratchett talking about all of his books, some potential spoilers here if you have not read the series.

Unseen Academicals (Book 37) by Terry Pratchett

Rating: 3 out of 5

"He tugged on the big woolly hat with the pink pompom on it. 'They are so very pink, Mister Trev. We must be bursting with machismo!'.

Football has come to Ank-Morpork and its not the old football the people on the street know and love. This is the new football that has rules, is fast paced, and you are not allowed to kill your opponent. The University must win one game to retain their special monetary fund that helps sustain their way of life. Only it wont be easy because they have to play by the rules and not use magic, and wizards don't normally play by the rules.

While the main story revolves around football you do not need to be a fan or knowledgeable on the game. Unseen Academicals looks at the phenomenon of football and satirises it. There are also other stories entwined into the football theme like celebrity, unrequited love, fashion, racism, and even politics. As always Pratchett has done a wonderful job looking at these themes and portraying their essence.

This book introduces a lot of new characters such as Mister Nutt, Glenda, Juliet, Professor Hix and Trev. We also see a swag of the old characters like Ridcully, Vetinari and Rincewind. Professor Hix was a fascinating character being the designated "evil" professor of the Department of Post-Mortem Communications at Unseen University. Nutt is also an interesting character and very endearing. I think Nutt could potentially become a staple of the Discworld series and a fan favorite. Glenda the night cook is a strong and clever character. All of these characters I would love to see in future books.

It pains me to say this but I did not enjoy this book as much as previous Discworld novels. I really like Terry Pratchett's books and have never struggled with one before. This book just didn't draw me in till about halfway through. I found the various threads at the start too distracting and a little long winded. There just didn't seem to be the concise direction usually found in Pratchetts books. When they merged together though my interest in the book grew. There were no real laugh out loud moments, but I did chuckle a few times, and even smiled at some scenes. However I have seen on the interwebs this book getting far more favorable reviews so maybe it was just me and I was not in a head space to truly enjoy this book.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad book, it's an interesting read in terms of story development for Discworld. If you are a fan of the series it is worth the read purely to learn more about Discworld, and your favorite characters. This book seemed to signal a shift in the Discworld universe, changes are on the way. There is something happening in Uberworld politically, and the Koon Valley Accord is progressing between the dwarfs and trolls.

This is a book for Discworld fans. People new to the series do not start here. I dont believe this is the best example of Pratchett's work. As previously mentioned I have read other reviews on the net and this book seems to have divided fans into those who love this book and those who dont. I seem to sit firmly on the fence. I enjoyed some aspects of this book and would recomend it to fans, but at the same time there were some parts I struggled with and can safely say this is not one of my favorites.