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Feet of Clay

Feet of Clay

List Price: $6.99
Your Price: $6.29
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A new Discworld book that lives up to the series.
Review: If you're like me, and voraciously read the great British authour Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels as soon as you see them on the shelves of the local bookstore, then there is a genuine cosmic force that will compell you to get this one and nothing I can say will make any difference.

But lately, over the last few entries into the series, that certain colour of magic has been missing from them, which made the early works so great to read. But not to worry...Pratchett is definately in top form with this one, which marks the always hilarious return of the Anhk-Morepork City Watch, headed by 'Sir' Samuel Vimes.

Along with the already well fleshed-out main cast of Watchmen including Corp. Carrot, Angua, Nobbs, Detritus and Fred Colon, we have some new characters, all who jump off the page with Pratchett's expert handling. Even though this is a comic view of fantasy, sort of a Douglas Adams by way of Tolkien, there might be no better weaver of plot and character than Mr. Pratchett.

As usual, the much put-upon metropolis of Ankh-Morepork is in grave peril, this time by a rampaging Golem, out of control and looking for blood. Things are complicated by another crisis as the slow poisoning of the Patrician has Vimes retracing the path of his childhood.

So, as we've come to expect from our previous travels across the Discworld, Pratchett throws in everything but the kitchen sink, somehow managing to stray off in many directions but always keeping a complicated plot, engaging characters, vivid location and a continuing sense of wonder with this world all in the air at the same time.

Trust me. Buy this book. It's worth any price. And that's cuttin' me own throat!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Hilarious mystery, pure fun!
Review: Commander Vimes, Head of Ankh-Morpork City Watch, is used to hunting down illegal crime in the most crowded city of the Discworld. But this time the clues are numerous, as are the answers. If Vimes only knew what the questions were. Two murders: first a dead priest is found with a slip of paper in his mouth, and then a curator of the Dwarf Bread Museum is killed using a loaf of bread. When it turns out that someone even tries to assassinate Lord Vetinari, Vimes finds himself faced with the most puzzling case in Discworld history.

The amazing thing about the Discworld saga is that it keeps getting better. Where the earlier episodes did lack a good storyline, Terry Pratchett now clearly has no problems spinning a complex mystery out on paper. The complexity of the case does easily compare to an Agatha Christie novel and the denouement is as hilarious as it is surprising. I really loved the way Terry constantly makes references to great detective stories and in doing so feeds the reader a plate of really nice red herrings (false clues).

Of course, when the City Watch appears in a Discworld novel it can only mean one thing: absurd humor at its best! I have to admit that the jokes are a slight bit less pungent than in Guards! Guards!, but that is certainly not enough reason to complain. The new character Cherry Littlebottom is a neat addition to the Watch. When Cherry goes on patrol with Angua, not knowing that she truly is a werewolf, you get that kind of chemistry that will blow your socks off.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A Clayfooted Comedy
Review: While Pratchett's Discworld series is surely a powerhouse of creativity and the imagination, this particular installment does little to rise above formula. This edition cannot stand on its own two feet (of clay) because Pratchett fails to add any satirical strength to his bizarre world of werewolves, golems, trolls, dragons, and cross-dressing dwarves. Instead, these strange characters do nothing but add a forced attempt at zaniness to a completely run-of-the-mill mystery story. Does the fanciful Discworld, with its weird creatures and zany goings-on, provide a satirical counterpart to our real world, giving us a way to earn insights into human nature in the way good comedic satire should? Maybe so in the other Discworld novels, but not this one. This volume is little more than textbook comedy that follows the rules of hilarity, but provides few real unexpected laughs. And the comedy is strictly from the Douglas Adams school of slapstick, weirdness for the sake of weirdness, with plot and characterization being neglected in favor of rapid bursts of zaniness. This is still a reasonably enjoyable read, but where's the satirical beef? [~doomsdayer520~]

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: No clay on Pratchett's feet
Review: Feet of Clay is a perfect example of why I love Discworld. In Feet of Clay we are once again following the efforts of Commander Vimes of the Watch to develop something like the rule of Law in Anhk-Morpork, largest city on a Discworld. Once again, the Man Who Wouldn't Be King, Captain Carrot, is there to help. Once again the expression "Who watches the watchers?" takes on a whole new meaning.

These books are satires on human habits and mores, a wonderful compendium of the fatuous in human affairs. But there is so much more to them than that. They are great adventure stories, great character stories,and often, great mystery stories.

This book is, don't get me wrong, very funny. No human institution is left unscathed. And believe me, no one scaths like Pratchett. But, like Commander Vimes, Pratchett's apparent cynicism about people hides an abiding love for those who struggle through life, just trying to get along(whether they are human, trolls, dwarfs, werewolves or golems), and an abiding hatred of those who hurt them for fun and profit.

I have watched the development of Terry Pratchett for a number of years now. He just keeps getting better. There has to be a limit, somewhere, I suppose. He has not reached it yet.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: "We may not get all his jokes, but it's funny enough."
Review: This novel follows the storyline in "Guards! Guards!" and "Men at Arms". I use 'storyline' loosely, because each novel is a stand-alone volume in quirky, highly sarcastic humor.

References range from the classic (Plato's allegory of the cave), to the modern (downsizing).

As a Pratchett fan who has been disappointed with the Discworld volumes from the last 5 years or so (U.S. release dates), the storyline is very satisfying. We continue to see the humanness in the characters, with very modern problems we face (well, perhaps not all of us have a vampire toying around with our life, but I'm starting to suspect...).

The story centers on new-character Dorfl, an old golem. I won't give any spoilers away, but he reminds me of Brutha, tackling themes of religion, the purpose of life, and basically, what makes us human - Even if a lump of baked clay isn't strictly human.

All I have to say is, I alternated between audible chuckles, to satisfying smiles (my favorite), to ohoh, are those tears in my eyes. It's a feel-good book, but lest that turn you off, it's not simplistic Hollywood-style sappy.

If you have never read Pratchett before, here's my recommended list:

The Colour of Magic.
Guards! Guards! -> Men At Arms -> Feet of Clay.
and my personal favorite..
Small Gods.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Worth Addition to the Watch Sequence
Review: I enjoyed especially the College of Heraldry and the bad jokes and Latin puns found on the heraldic devices. This is the kind of comic detail that is hard work, but really fleshes out Discworld. Introduces Cheery Littlebottom, who is apprenticed to Angua. Fleshes out Angua and life in the Patrician's castle. Introduces us to the golems of Discworld, and the interesting moral dilemmas inherent in a labor uprising and civil rights movement among beings that are essentially animated pottery.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Lots of fun!
Review: Mr. Pratchett beats his own records with every new Watch book.
This one is no exception. It starts interesting and just gets better with every paragraph.
The book is almost too funny - with the scene of employing a dwarf applicant or another one when Carrot is stopping unlicensed thieves.
Pratchett achieved an impossible goal - he wrote a touching book about simple people's persistent lack of luck, about the idiocy of the so called higher classes, about death, nature of humanity, duty, watchmen solidarity - and he did make it screamingly funny.
Read it. You'll laugh your head off.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Funny funny funny
Review: but it will rock your world when all is said and done. Somehow Pratchett keeps up the humor and intriguing plot while bringing up some questions about fundamentals like moral agency. The supporting characters flesh out a novel that is a pleasure to read. You will be pulling for Vimes as he pieces together a puzzle of a mysterious, unauthorized assassin who leaves strange footprints. You will cheer at the unexpectedly powerful ending.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Outstanding reader-actor on audio. Highly entertaining.
Review: Thoroughly enjoyable, laugh-out-loud funny. One of Pratchett's best novels. The CD audio version read by Nigel Planer is wonderful! Nigel Planer does an excellent job of giving zany voices to the zany characters. The reading is closer to acting.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Funny, engaging plot
Review: Funny book with an engaging plot. A fun fast read with a good story and twisted sense of humor. Have fun.


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