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Summary: BCB and MMBU!
Review: In "The Fifth Elephant", Terry Pratchett returns to his "Guards of Ankh-Morpork" storyline, last seen in "Feet of Clay", "Men at Arms" and "Guards, Guards". This time, Sam Vimes--Commander of the Watch and the Duke of Ankh-Morpork--is off to neighboring Uberwald to attend the coronation of the Low King. Uberwald, as fans will remember from "Carpe Jugulum", is inhabited by vampires and werewolves. Of course, nothing goes as planned. The Scone of Stone--the traditional "throne" of the Low King--has been stolen, the dwarves are divided over the choice of Low King, and the Watch is on strike.One of Pratchett's strengths is to make you laugh even as he makes you think. This has been evident in his last several books, especially "Small Gods", and I'm glad he's keeping up the good work. In this book, the questions are many: how do you deal with a werewolf who won't take stop trying to kill you? Should people from different worlds pursue a relationship? Mr. Pratchett even touches on traditional male-female roles (or the lack thereof among dwarves) and the power of faith. Humor is good, but humor that waxes lightly philosophical is even better.
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Summary: Pratchett at his Best
Review: Uberwald is a world of vampires, dwarves, and werewolves, where the most treasured artifact is a stale loaf of bread, where it is legal for a werewolf to hunt you to your death, and where a king can be elected because no one hates him enough. Enter Samuel Vimes, Commander of the Watch in Ankh Morpork, and fall over laughing as he and an assortment of wild characters attempt diplomatics with the barbaric Uberwaldians. I would definitely recommend this book to any of Pratchett's fans, as well as anyone who enjoys a witty book.
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Summary: A Wonderful Read
Review: I bought this book with sweaty palms, ready for a Pratchett experience and I wasnt dissappionted, he delivered and in style. With a gripping crime genre book but with the quirkness of Vimes and the nobility of Carrot made a good story line. This was also one of his more intriquing books, involving more plot lines and a darker look on life, rather then something like Color of Magic or Soul Music where the world is colorful and bright. He made Uberwald a dark and mysterious place and in the same stroke made a mind numbing read.
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Summary: Pratchett's most ambitious novel yet
Review: The Fifth Elephant (not the 5th Element) is not just an enjoyable romp in the fields of satire. It is also a carefully crafted and deeply subtle work of literature. Its several intertwined plotlines may seem formulaic at times, but that's not the point. Don't skim through this one, but savor it a chapter or so at a time. This is thinking humor with a grain of truth in it, that cuts to the heart of real life. The characters are more real than before, in extreme and often poignant situations that demonstrate how good, how bad, and how infuriatingly average we can be. Outstanding, outstanding, outstanding.
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Summary: Larger than Life...
Review: If you haven't read this book then you are as deprived as a fish out of water mate. This is the lastest and best installation of the Guards!Guards! series from PTerry. Besides it being the best, it's also got Vampires, Werewolves and Dwarfs oh my! (But that's another sack of ferrets altogether). Read it.
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Summary: Laugh and Think
Review: Terry Pratchett has, probably, exceeded himself this time. An extremely comic work wich satyrizes our own world in a way that should make us ashamed of ourselves. The Fifth Elephant shows that a masterpiece doesn't have to be dull or boring (as Dickens showed us). At the same time this is probably the most romantic of Pratchett's books, dealing with emotions that are unusual in the Discworld series. I hope Mr. Pratchett will go on making fun of us, and make us look into ourselves through this amazing fantasy collection, for many years to come.
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Summary: The Fifth Elephant- A Return to 'Normality'
Review: After a few books I simply found too philosophical and/or topical Terry Pratchett returns to a form we haven't seen since Maskerade et al. Weaving in many new characters and developing old ones we are brought into an enthralling tale, complete, but not swamped by, Pratchett's links with reality, similar to the way he did in Soul Music. Everyone's favpurote character, Sam Vimes, is the key to this story, and it isn't simply set in the brilliant but increasingly cramped (inspiringly) Ankh-Morpork. It is witty as well as having a good plot and the only disadvantage is that the American cover, although eye-catching is simply not half as good as the British edition.
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Summary: Funny as all He**
Review: Terry Pratchett is back, with a vengeance! After a few lackluster books, The Fifth Elephant returns to the old style that left me rolling on the floor. Plus, there's an interesting bit of philosophy in the book... Some real content under the humor. Nice to see.
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Summary: Pratchett at his best.
Review: I'll be honest, I'm a Pratchett fan, but only if he is writing about Rincewind the Wizard, Death, or Sam Vimes and his merry watchment. All the others have pretty much left me flat, It's almost as if he doesn't know what he's doing when those Characters are not the main characters. Well much to my joy, Pratchett has released another book. This one has Sam Vomes, commander of the Watch, and his merry band along for the ride. Lord Venetari has sent Vimes on a diplomatic Mission to Uberwald. THat's an area full of Dwarves, Werewolves, and Vampires. To add confusion to the whole situation, Carrot has quit the Watch, and Angua has gone missing. The story is a well done who done it, which is what all of the Sam Vimes stories eventually turn into. This one is just as funny as Jingo was, which I loved. If you live humour, and a good read as well, I highly reccommend this book.
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Summary: Best Pratchett Book
Review: I have read most of Terry Pratchett's other books, but The 5th Elephant beats all. It is a guards book that can not be beat. If you've ever even thought about liking Terry Pratchett, buy this book.
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