Rating: 
Summary: Not all that
Review: I love Discworld, and 5th Elephant was entertaining, but it doesn't stand out as one of his better books. The giggles are few and far between, and you get the feeling the book carried on for a good fifty pages after what seemed like the true ending.
Rating: 
Summary: A return to form in the Discworld series
Review: Better than Carpe Jugulum, which I read at the same time. (It at least has many more footnotes, which is a sign of quality in any Discworld book.) It features Vimes of the Watch being sent on a diplomatic mission to witness the coronation amongst the dwarves and subsequently to solve a crime with vampires and werewolves about. This seemed to be a livelier and more varied book. Vimes is a fairly interesting character that hasn't been overused yet. And there are some good lines. I seem to remember one about Vimes falling asleep among wolves and awaking, surprised to find he still has his arms and legs-the actual phrasing is a typical Pratchett twist that unfortunately I can't recall.
Rating: 
Summary: It is very Pratchetty
Review: The Fifth Elephant is Practhett at his best. For the uninitiated, the Discworld is a fantasy world, inhabited by all sorts of creatures--dwarfs, vampires, humans, etc, which all have very "human" traits. Pratchett's novels usually focus on one concept/idea which he disects in a very direct, funny way. The Fifth Elephant is about politics, diplomacy and war. Captain Vimes is sent to Uberwald (the country of the dwarves, werewolves and vampires) for the coronation of the dwarf king. He is supposed to be the ambassador of his city, Ankh-Morpork to make sure that the interests of the city and the Patrician are defended. However, someone is trying to sabotage the coronation by stealing a relic with an enormous symbolic meaning for teh dwarves. Vimes has no choice but to go back to his police work and investigate the "mystery"In a typical Pratchett style, the novel is hilarious, yet quite serios. While Vimes and the guards are recurring character in his novels, new readers will have no problem picking the story up and enjoying it tremendously. It is a good crime novel as well. And last but not least, it is full of briliant observations including: "He'd noticed that sex bore some resemblance to cookery: It fascinated people, they sometimes bought books full of complicated recipies and interesting pictures, and sometimes when they were really hungry they created vast banquets in their imagination--but at the end of the day they'd settle quite happily for egg and chips, if it was well done and maybe had a slice of tomato."
Rating:
Summary: The Fifth Elephant
Review: In order to save a kingdom, Commander Vimes of the Ankh-Mor-Pork guard must go to Uberwald and unite a broken country. But while he is gone, the guard falls apart and unlicensed thieves steal from everyone in town. While Vimes is gone he has some problems of his own concerning ruby studded tights werewolves vampires and the Uberwald hierarchy. I recommend this book to anyone who likes humorous fantasy.
Rating:
Summary: Simply the Best!
Review: This book is the best Terry Pratchett book yet! It is realy funny, it has a really good mix of Sherlok Holmes, Lord of the Rings and a huge dollop of humor. A few people I know say that the humor is forced, and there is no good plot, but I don't think so. The plot leaves you guessing right till the end. I have read nearly all the Discworld books, and I have to say this is the best so far!
Rating:
Summary: Beyond the Masks of Lies Lie the Truth
Review: The aford mention title of this review is probably the the closest analogy to Terry Pratchett's "The Fifth Eleplant". This is a commical advanture about the famous Ankh-Morpork's city watch with Vimes, Carrot, Angua, and of course Lady Sybil. Although I have not read some of the newer novels (waiting for the shipping) this is one of the most well developed Guards series of books. The book is enormously humourous, and the character of Vimes is very well developed in this book. In addition, most of the book is about Vimes instead of Carrot and the others. Anyone who find the character of Vimes to be very interesting, then read this book, it is a personal intro that goes deep into the exploration of Vimes. All that is Vimes is revealed here.
As for the storyline, it is typical of pratchett to turn a seemingly simple story of conspiracy, assasination, politics, and fifth elephant into an Epic journey. This is simply a musthave for anyone who is a Pratchett fan.
For those who don't know who Pratchett is, and this is your first book, then buy it. All of Terry Pratchett's book are designed to be read by good readers, and bad readers, by the young and the old, for those looking for a laught and a good story, and those looking for a highly intellectual story. On the backdrop of all of Pratchett's book there is always a few serious issues in human nature and behavior, and he theme his books on those issues brilliantly.
Rating:
Summary: I LUV TERRY PRATCHETT - SO SOULD U
Review: If you like books with humour, fantasy, mystery, crime, and even a bit of romance, or any one of the above, The Fifth Elephant is the book for you - u know how they say all books have a begginning, a middle and an end? Well, i'm not sure where the middle of The Fifth Elephant is, becuase so many things are haappening at once. You think you've found the answer to the mystery but then something else happens and it all changes. One of those books u can never put down, however hard you try. It has many plots going at once, so u never get bored, and all of the characters have thier own personal history, sometimes revealed, sometimes hidden, but always there. The beggining starts off merely really, really good, then it gets better and better. And better. And BETTER!
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Summary: The ultimate in Pratchett nonsense
Review: On the subject of writing, Terry Pratchett was once quoted as having said "I can't imagine any way one person on his own can have more fun" or something similar to that. He's been writing since he learned how to hold a pen, and has (apparently) never stopped. The Fifth Elephant is one of the classic Pratchett masterpieces. Wholly, completely, utterly, inventively insane, irreverent, witty and satirical, it shows why Pratchett is King of the genre.
If you've not yet introduced yourself to any Pratchett books, let me give you a quick history of Discworld. Pratchett's crazy world is supported by four elephants standing on the back of a giant tortoise. Once there was a fifth elephant, but it fell off the tortoise's back and crashed onto Discworld, leaving behind rich deposits of minerals and fat and the interesting philosophical question: when millions of tons of angry elephant come spinning through the sky, and there is no one to hear it, does it, philosophically speaking, make a noise? And that's about as philosophical as Discworld ever gets..... or is it? Pratchett, in a quiet, humorous way, poses questions about, and satirizes just about any subject you can imagine. Anything from opera to the meaning of life, from local government to religion. (Oh dear, I do hope those reviewers who insist on denouncing J.K.Rowling and Philip Pullman as the anti-christ aren't reading this. They'll be chipping away at Terry Pratchett next!)
When I tell you that the famous Samuel Vimes, commander of the Ankh-Morpork city watch, is sent to represent the city at the crowning of the new Dwarvish Low King, you won't be surprised to learn that Vimes hates politics and has no talent for diplomacy whatsoever. His idea of dealing with a diplomatic incident is to head-butt his way through it. It doesn't help that his assistants are a werewolf, a troll, and a dwarf. Meanwhile, Captain Carrot has fallen in love with Corporal Angua (also a werewolf), and a duplicate of a Dwarven artifact is stolen (a piece of stale bread).
Can't get much more ridiculous, can it! Oh yes it can. Pratchett loves the ridiculous as he gently mocks everything in sight (always with a great knowledge of and fondness for his fellow primates, even in their more foolish moments). Consider yourself well and truly ordered to GO AND BUY THIS BOOK.
Rating:
Summary: Vimes is simply wonderful..
Review: ..and his performance in this book is no exception. He's been sent to Uberwald as a diplomat, a role he really does not want to play. However, when the dwarfish Scone of Stone is stolen, he gets to play a role he likes so much more- pulp-detective-fiction star. Not that this one's always pleasant- before the book's half over he's been arrested for touching the dwarfs' Low King and is being hunted down by werewolves. Meanwhile, back in Ankh-Morpork, Angua's gone missing, Carrot resigns to go look for her, and Sergeant Colon becomes Acting Captain Colon, a job he totally and utterly botches. How did the Scone get taken? By who? And why is it so important that that clerk didn't catch an orange?
Rating:
Summary: Vimes Rules!
Review: Pratchett's Disc World series started out as a very silly (and very funny) fantasy series in which the plot did little more than give him a setting for his Pythonesque sense of humour. However, as the series has progressed, his characters have become better developed and so have his storylines. The Rincewind stories still tend to lean towards the earlier, sillier days, but in books like the Fifth Elephant the humour has become more subtle overall (although there is still silliness and laugh-out-loud humour), and has also started to become more satirical, making fun of society and its faults and making brilliant psychological observations. The stories centering around Vimes, captain of the City Guard, have become the best series-within-a-series, especially the scenes in which he interacts with the Patrician, a character straight out of Machiavelli. As with most Vimes stories, there is a lot of genuine suspense and a great mystery tale although the focus in this book is more on political intrigue. The book is set in Uberwald, a land straight out of old horror movies set in Europe or like the black forests of fairy tales, filled with Vampires, Werewolves and Dwarves (with the usual Pratchett twists). Not only that, but Uberwald is a land without laws where Vimes' position in the Ankh-Morpoork city guard is meaningless. We also get to learn more about Angua's (the female werewolf's) family and history as well as see some developements in her relationship with Captain Carrot. A brilliant and highly entertaining mix of fantasy, humour, satire and suspense, this book is highly recommended.
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