Carpe Jugulum

Rating:
Summary: Funny and fast
Review: Another good book in this consistently funny series. This time Pratchett pokes fun at vampire stories. Although all the books in the series pretty much stand on their own, I'd recommend starting with the first book in the series, The Color of Magic.

Rating:
Summary: What a bloody nuisance
Review: Carpe Jugulum, the 23rd Discworld novel by the ever-amusing Terry Pratchett, introduces vampires to the Disc. Having read the books out of order, and having already read all of the subsequent ones, vampires are old-hat to me. A couple of times, I had to consciously remember that this was the first and that some of the things I knew about them weren't true in this one. That being said, this is another wonderful Discworld book, a notch on his belt that looks rather toothy.

A number of people have commented on the similarities between this book and Lords & Ladies, with the vampires replacing the elves as villains. While I do see some similarities, there are some marked differences as well. Carpe Jugulum, I feel, stands well on its own two feet. There is a completely different purpose behind what the vampires are doing. The Count wants to modernize his people, to get them to overcome some of the "silly" stereotypes about vampires. He doesn't want a dank, gloomy castle with webs all over the place. He doesn't see the hunt as a game where the vampire always loses. He wants to take over in order to protect himself, his family, and his very way of life. If he didn't commit some thoroughly evil deeds in the process, his goal might actually be a legitimate one.

However, he does commit these acts, and thus must be stopped. This is where the book does become a little standard, with an intractable enemy facing the witches and Granny using her "headology" to save the day. I have to admit that what she decides to do is very interesting, and a nice twist on vampire myths in general. I won't reveal what she does, but suffice it to say that she turns one of the typical vampire powers back on itself in a very novel way. The plot is well-told by Pratchett, and for once the ending doesn't actually come out of left field. If you read the characters properly (especially Igor, who is also introduced in this book), then you may be able to guess what happens.

As for the characters, Pratchett again excels. The witches are their normal selves (Magrat is kind of shy but shields a strong backbone when push comes to shove, Nanny Ogg is lewd and crude but always knowledgeable, and Granny is her usual gruff self with a heart underneath which nobody will ever see unless they really look), but the new witch Agnes is also very interesting. She has a second side to herself which occasionally comes out. It is a separate personality, which is invaluable in protecting her from the vampire charms. Mightily Oats is also a hoot, but deep enough that you do start to care about him. His crisis of faith isn't exactly unique, but Pratchett gives him enough differences to avoid making him unoriginal.

The vampires steal the show, though, along with Igor. We have the Count, who is determined to change things. His wife, the Countessa, is going along with him but doesn't really believe in it. The kids, Lacrimosa and Vlad, don't see any point to all this. They just want to feed and play with the mortals. These four argue constantly, as the Count flashes them holy signs to harden them against the effects, makes them stay up during the day, and overall annoys them with his optimism that all of these things can be changed. He's also looking forward to matching wits with Granny, and there are a couple of times where you think that maybe Granny won't succeed. Igor, however, is the best character in the book. The vampires are sure that his lisp and the way he walks is all part of the "game" and that he doesn't need to do all of that. But Igor is a traditionalist, constantly referring to how the old "mathter" used to do things. "The old mathter loved my spider webs." He's a fun character, and I completely understand why Pratchett has used an Igor in almost every book since this one. He truly is a wonderful creation.

The humour is Pratchett at his best, with some innuendo (though kids have either already heard it or wont' get it). The Witches books always seem to contain things like that, and as before, the plot is much more straightforward then is usual in a Discworld book. He seems to like using the "traditional" villains whenever they are involved, perhaps because they are the most "normal" heroes he has created. Sometimes there are some seemingly unnecessary bits, such as the little blue people (Nac mac Feegle) who help King Verence attack the vampires. However, they are hilarious, so I'll forgive the fact that they don't really do a lot in the book. The puns are atrocious (the name of the vampires' castle is "Don'tgonearthe Castle") but I couldn't stop laughing.

If you like Pratchett but don't like the Witches, then this book won't change your mind. But if you haven't tried them yet, give this one a try. You don't need to have read the previous witches books (though it does help). And if you're reading this after reading the next few books, keep in mind that some things you know about vampires just aren't true...yet. What a bloody treat!

David Roy

Rating:
Summary: Funnier than Lords and Ladies
Review: Funnier than Lords and Ladies, we also get some Igor. The vampires are done well; these are modern vampires ("vampyres,") and there is a reason they tend to resemble Marilyn Manson wannabees. The pixies are great, the young priest is great, and the pop-horror and pop-horror-parody references come thick and fast. Granny Weatherwax features in this one and saves the day as usual, but it isn't quite clear exactly how (she has a talent for "borrowing" in which she can leave her body and take over animals, but in this case she apparently puts a bit of herself into a number of different people; this is a bit too "magical" for my taste, and seems to violate the spirit of Discworld, where magic is real, but has specific limits and constraints). If you don't care about consistency, though, this is not a bad choice.

Rating:
Summary: Funnier than Lords and Ladies
Review: Funnier than Lords and Ladies, we also get some Igor. The vampires are done well; these are modern vampires ("vampyres,") and there is a reason they tend to resemble Marilyn Manson wannabees. The pixies are great, the young priest is great, and the pop-horror and pop-horror-parody references come thick and fast. Granny Weatherwax features in this one and saves the day as usual, but it isn't quite clear exactly how (she has a talent for "borrowing" in which she can leave her body and take over animals, but in this case she apparently puts a bit of herself into a number of different people; this is a bit too "magical" for my taste, and seems to violate the spirit of Discworld, where magic is real, but has specific limits and constraints). If you don't care about consistency, though, this is not a bad choice.

Rating:
Summary: Go for the Throat! Lancre meets the vampires!
Review: Here we return to Lancre. A group of "new-fangled" vampires gets invited by good but naive King Verence. Once there they begin to take over and convince everyone (with a little help from mind control) that their way is best.

Once again, we have Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, Magrat Garlick, Agnes Nitt, and regulars like the rest of the Ogg family and the weird castle servants like the falconer Hodgesaargh. But we also become introduced to new characters with staying power for future books like the Omnian priest Mightily Oats and the seemingly ever-present Igors.

This is not the best book, but it is a LOT better than "Lords and Ladies" and "Maskerade." A good solid 4 stars (of course, this is only my opinion).

Granny and Nanny are always a treat. Agnes and her dual personality were very funny, too. Once again, Granny finds a way to give the vampires a taste of their own medicine. The vampire stereotypes were very funny, especially the lemons (I have not heard of that one before). Igor (and other Igors) very very good, especially the way they refused to act any way but "tradithional." But Igors really come into their own in the book "Fifth Elephant."

The vampires (except the previous "old count" at the end: he was funny, because of his past amicable relationship with the townspeople) were not very lovable or funny: I didn't really like any of them at all, and that was aminor complaint. But even though the plot was dramatic and serious, there were so many individual scenes that made me burst out laughing, especially the stereotypes and the relationship between the Uberwald townspeople and the pervious vampire that they kill every 50 years or so. And stuffing lemons in everyone's mouth was funny, especially when the townspeople kept trying to test Agnes to make sure she wasn't a vampire.

So, all in all, a good book and excellent development of Agnes and the Igors for future books.

Rating:
Summary: Fewer laughs than usual, better story.
Review: I actually read this about a month ago, but for some reason Amazon was not accepting reviews. I guess that is because the US edition isn't out yet. I occasionally have a chance to get the UK edition, which is why I have already read this. Anyway, this was a great book. Not as many laugh-out-loud moments as some of the Discworld books, but it more than makes up for that by having a more engaging and interesting story than most of this series. Obviously, I am a big fan of this series. Given the popularity of vampires in fantasy fiction nowadays, it was perhaps inevitable that Pratchett would put his own spin on the sub-genre. It such a good story that it would've been worth reading, perhaps three stars, with no humor at all. For those who think Terry has been slipping a bit lately, all I can say is read this one. As good as the Discworld series is, my all-time favorite of his was the collaboration with Neil Gaiman, "Good Omens." Wouldn't it be fun to see him do a vampire collaboration with Kim Newman? Just a thought.

Rating:
Summary: The new vampyre aproach
Review: It amazes me every time how big Pratchetts imagination is, how he can take all familiar stories and fairytales and give them a brand new aproache...
He does it again in Carpe Jugulum ("seize the troath"), where he taccles vampires who are entering the new century, by calling themselves vampyres, dressing in modern clothes, livyng in a clean castle, eating galic...
The trouble starts in Lancre when king Verence invites all his neighbours, including the vampyres, to the name-giving of his daughter and granny's invitation gets lost...
The vampyres take over the castle, granny is competely under their spell, granny is missing... it doesn't look good... But there also is Agnes/Perdita, who doesn't fall for the vapyre tricks and seeks help in the form of nanny Ogg and a priest of Ohm...

Rating:
Summary: Completely entertaining adventure
Review: King Verence of Lancre is a very modern king who doesn't believe in old prejudices. Since the Uberwald is a near neighbor, it only seems natural to invite a family of vampires to his baby's christening. The vampires are very modern as well. But their modern ideas involve moving out of their old castle and into the much more modern one of King Verence--and of taking over his kingdom. Since they've trained themselves not to mind little things like garlic, religious symbols, or holy water, they might just be a little hard to dislodge--especially since they can control the minds of anyone who comes near them. Unfortunately for Lancre, all the kingdom has to defend it are four witches and a dubious priest of Om.

Author Terry Pratchett delivers a fun-filled adventure. Agnes and the hapless Oats are nicely developed characters with enough complexities to keep a psychologist busy for years. Agnes, the maiden of the witch triad (I know I said four, but it gets complicated) has conflicted feelings toward the handsome vampire Vlad, but then, she's conflicted enough internally so she hardly notices. Pratchett fans will be delighted to see that the faith of Om has made a comeback and that the prophet Brutha really did transform that religion.

Pratchett's Discworld series is filled with stories that take our familiar fairy tales and turn them around. CARPE JUGULUM (seize the throat) retells the story of Dracula, but with a somewhat overweight witch as the love interest, vampires interested in becoming completely modern, and village mobs who can be counted on to riot on command. As always with Pratchett, CARPE JUGULUM delivers plenty of smiles and a few out-loud laughs.

Rating:
Summary: Certainly not a re-write of Lords and Ladies
Review: No-one who has really read this book can find that this is a rewrite of Lords and Ladies. While Lords and Ladies was the weakest book of the whole series and made me somehow dislike the Witches sphere, this one reconciliates me with it. Finally the other witches have stepped out of Granny Weatherwax's shadow. This makes the book far more interesting than e.g. Lords and Ladies or Witches Abroad. The weakness of Granny Weatherwax in this book makes her a more human and less dominant character. While with the other books I nearly feeled that Granny would somehow take over sometime, this one puts her in her right position again. Nanny Ogg, Magrat and especially Agnes finally get the role they deserve.

Beside the Witches theme, the vampire theme has also been treated in an excellent manner. By exaggerating and mixing the attributes usually identified with vampires, Pratchett has created a marvellous satire, only comparable to Pyramids.

Finally, with the priest of Om, the religious theme is again treated in Carpe Jugulum. I was very pleased with that because I think that Small Gods was one of Pratchetts best books and regretted that religious controverse didn't reappear in his following books.

Conclusion: a masterpiece in every aspect

Rating:
Summary: Vampire books are all pretty much the same, except this one
Review: Okay, I have this odd sence of de ja vu when I read a vampire novel, I mean if you read 3 how different can the 4th be? Not this one. It's a beautiful satire and has far too many one liners and jokes like all Terry Pratchett books to really go into. It has Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax two of the witches in Lancre driving out the vampires (sorry, vampyres)who were invited in by King Verence for his daughter's christening. Possibly my favorite bit, was when the older vampires are making fun of young vampires who wear bright clothes and stay up until noon and wear their hair short and tell people that their name is Pam or Agnes.... it's a very funny quick read. I also have a hard time thinking of it being a blow off. There are bits with Granny Weatherwax that make you feel you may have just read somethingg important.