Feet of Clay

Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: A mixture of murder mystery, humor, fantasy, and philosophy. Heck, I don't even like half those genres and I thought this book was fantastic. I had never read any Terry Pratchett novels before this book, and not only did I have no trouble getting into the story and understanding it, but I've been hooked ever since. Incredibly well-done - in the complexity and interest of the plot, the character development, the quirky and often subtle use of humor, and the deeper and more serious topics it periodically touches on.

Rating:
Summary: Murder mystery, Discworld style
Review: The Watch is made of the weirdest bunch of cops you can imagine, including werewolves, dwarves, trolls, gargoyles -- and those are the ordinary ones. If you like mysteries in general, and murder mysteries in particular, then "Feet of Clay" is an offbeat story that you might just enjoy.

First a priest is murdered, and found with a slip of paper in his mouth. Then a curator. And Vimes has no idea how this is happening, or why anyone would kill a couple of harmless old men. To make things worse, he learns that the extremely un-royal Corporal Nobby Nobbs may be the rightful king of Ankh-Morpork (if that doesn't warp your view of reality, nothing will), and that the Patrician is being slowly poisoned -- but no one knows just how the poison is being administered.

The answer to the mysteries may lie in the golems: Not-living-but-not-dead creatures made out of clay, who don't speak and always follow orders. Theoretically they can't kill . But they come under suspicion when, inexplicably, they start destroying themselves as the evidence starts to point toward a golem murderer. However, Vimes soon learns that the conspiracy is far more extensive -- and sinister -- than the golems...

"Feet of Clay" is not merely a murder mystery (although it has one of the coolest ways of murdering a person that I've ever heard of). Pratchett also offers some commentary on society, on what makes a person a person. His handling of the golems is remarkably thought-provoking. And their connection to the attempted murder is also very hard to unravel -- you won't guess who or how or why.

This is, in some ways, more serious at times than his other books; one scene has Vimes exploding over the death of a little child and a cleaning lady. But don't think he's abandond his skewed brand of Discworld humor: the rebelling dwarf, the unsuccessful assassination at the beginning, Nobby's outrageous behavior and seven grandmothes, and especially a vampire with self-destructive tendencies (sunglasses tester, garlic stacker, pencil factory worker, holy water supplier). Not to mention the organizer with the little imp inside.

As always, Vimes is the hard-boiled scrap of sanity among the weirder characters. Angua is, unfortunately, much flatter than the weirder characters; Carrot is his usual likable self, while Nobby gets to act more bizarrely than usual as he is accepted into the upper crust as an aristocrat (a thieving, unsanitary one). Detritus is a likable clod, and we get a new character in Cheery Littlebottom, a dwarf female who wants to start looking like one. And Pratchett outdoes himself with Dorfl, a secretive golem who never speaks or changes expression.

While not Pratchett's best, "Feet of Clay" is a solid mystery/fantasy/commentary with plenty of humor and suspense. Definitely worth looking at.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but not the best of Discworld and the City Watch
Review: It started with two old men--a priest and a baker--both murdered. Then the Patrician Vetinari himself is poisoned, but the watch can find no evidence of how he is being poisoned. When a golem confesses, it appears that Commander Vimes and the city watch have solved the case--but the golem confesses to all the unsolved crimes in the city. There is something going on and Vimes can't find the connecting thread. His new forensics officer, Cheery Littlebottom (a dwarf who wants to be seen as female and feminine despite all dwarf traditions) finds evidence of arsenic, but nowhere near Vetinari. Instead, one of the murdered men has arsenic under his finger-nails--this despite the fact that he died because his head was bashed in.

Under Vetinari, the city of Ankh-Morpork has prospered. Vetinari has allowed all races into the city, making it wealthy. He has cut down on the inter-guild sniping, resulting in more of Ankh-Morpork's efforts going into production rather than into wasteful shootouts. As a result, he has scarcely any supporters. Desite history, the people and nobility yearn for a King. Vimes will do whatever he can to ensure that doesn't happen, but what can a watchman do against the power of the guilds?

Underlying the Ankh-Morpork economy are the golems. Golems work endlessly for no pay, taking all of the worst jobs without complaining. This ultimate proletariat isn't even considered alive. Because Vimes is equal opportunity in his contempt, he doesn't mind looking beneath the surface, but still, what possible motives would golems have in overthrowing Vetinari and installing a King?

Author Terry Pratchett keeps the laughter coming in this story. Although FEET OF CLAY lacks the character development and nuances of some of the other Discworld stories (see our review of the BooksForABuck.com 2002 SF Book of the Year NIGHT WATCH), it an enjoyable short read. Vetinari, Vimes, and Captain Carrot all show moments of brilliance and manage to do so in amusing ways. Carrot's bumbling affair with the were Agula continues as Agula continues to wonder what she should do and Carrot continues inviting her to Dwarf Bread exibits. Fans of the Discworld series will find FEET OF CLAY an important addition to the series. If you are new to the series, you might consider starting with one of the other novels (NIGHT WATCH or GUARDS! GUARDS! would be excellent places to start).

Rating:
Summary: Weird, Whacky, and wonderful (sorry for the alliteration)
Review: This wild, weird and whacky novel (17th in the Discworld series)features a collection of whimiscal (another "w" word) characters, including a dwarf, a werewolf, and a vampire dragon, along with several golems and humans. It begins as a murder investigation in a strange place called Ankh-Morpork. I would recommend starting with the Colo[u]r of Magic, instead of "jumping in" down the line, like I did. It might have helped me understand the characters better (thus, resulting in a fifth star). However, I look forward to reading The Light Fantastic and Guards! Guards! If one likes the late, great, Douglas Adams, or any of the other authors of this type, one might like Terry Pratchett.

Rating:
Summary: brilliant. what do you expect?
Review: Ankh-Morpork City Watch - despite its growing ranks of dwarves, trolls, gargoyles, werewolves and "normal" (as much as they can be called that) folk - is getting increasingly snowed under. The more recruits enrolled, Sir Samuel Vimes is discovering, the more crimes seem to be uncovered.

Someone is poisoning the Patrician, and Vimes is growing increasingly frustrated because he just can't figure out HOW... And someone is murdering harmless old men. First, there is the old priest Father Tubelcek, who at least died with a glow in his eyes. And then there is the curator of the Dwarf Bread Museum, battered to death with one of his own exhibits. But, perhaps most disturbing of all, the golems - the solemn men of clay who aren't really alive, work all day and all night and never harm a soul - have started to commit suicide...

And it's not as if the Watch hasn't got problems of its own ...there's something odd about the new dwarf recruit. There's a werewolf suffering from pre-lunar-tension. And, having discovered that he is actually the Earl of Ankh, Corporal Nobby Nobbs is busy hob-nobbing with the nobs.

Vimes finds himself faced with the most puzzling case in Discworld history. There are Clues throwing themselves up all over the place, and they only cloud the issue. Plus, Sam is finding that, for all the answers lying about the place, he can't for the life of him think of the question...

All the more ominous is the fact that the real truth may not really be out there at all, but that it might be in amongst the words in the head...

First, lets get one thing out of the way. It's hilarious. But of course it is, it's Terry Pratchett. There are some passages that have you chuckling to yourself, and there are others that strike you down helpless with a big belly-laugh. And then, (and these are my favourite) there are those that cause you to laugh jocularly, but then to take a step-back, awed, at the sheer TRUTH of what some of his humour illustrates to us, and the almost unbelievable cleverness of what he's saying and the way he's said it. The mirror he puts up to our own society enables us to laugh at it, to recognise it's curiosities and, sometimes, its shocking flaws.

His plots are brilliant, and this one more-so than most. Like his other books, it's a fantasy of the Discworld, but unlike his others, it's also very much a crime/mystery story. And a darned ingenious one it is, too. I've not ever come across a more astoundingly clever way of poisoning someone in all the books I've read that normally fall into the crime/mystery genre. (And that is a LOT.) His characters are wonderfully well-drawn, and Sam Vimes is one of the most fascinating investigators of crime since Inspector Morse or John Rebus.

To be honest, any point in the series is a fine a place to begin (and make certain that you DO begin it. You'll not regret doing so, believe me. Well, and his sales figures) as any other, because you're guranteed to want to re-read them all anyway, but it may take you a couple of books to get used to the style. If you balk at anything other than reading a series through rom its beginning, then by all means do so. You'll reap the rewards. But if you're not all that bothered, try a couple from the beginning of the series - perhaps The Colour of Magic and Mort - and then read Feet of Clay.

Rating:
Summary: Further proof of Pratchett's brilliance
Review: Many others have gone on about how funny Pratchett's work is. Certainly, this is true, his work is some of the best comedy in existence, and this book is no exception. But his humour should not overshadow the other aspect of pratchett's writing; his brilliance. This book isn't just great comedy, if you look close you'll also notice that he has created an excellent detective novel, in fact I'd put this on a level with any agatha christie or sherlock holmes book any day, if not higher, i think Pratchett does better work in areas like character developement and action.
The man is more that just a funny writer, he has range and depth. I believe that while he certainly has single, distinctive style, he is capable of excelling in any genre he should choose to write in, God help us all if he ever decides to write a strictly "serious" novel, although if you strip away the jokes from this or many of his other books, you'll see that he already has.

Rating:
Summary: The golems have their day!
Review: Once again we have an excellent City Watch story. I don't think it's as good as "Men at Arms," but still very nice, worth reading and watching the Watch "evolve." It's always interesting to see the new recruits.

This book deals with golems - pretty interesting (and strong!) characters. There are really at least 2 main plots. We see a plot to poison Patrician Vetinari with arsenic in candles - what a novel concept - and Vimes needs to solve it. Also, the golems, their heads (literally) full of good ideas (and rules) - try to build a king, but too many laws and rules drive him crazy to the detriment of nayone within range of him.

This book is full of goo and mud - plenty of action in the poorer, grimier parts of the city that you don't often see (except for the beggars). The story also shows a lot about heraldry and coats of arms. It is funny when Vimes wants to know why he is not allowed to have one and how he gets back at the "King of Arms."

The Watch is wonderful as usual - many different species make for interesting dynamics. But read it to learn about the golems - I found their "culture" fascinating.

All in all, and very done work by Pratchett. Go and read it.

Rating:
Summary: Funny and Serious
Review: Once again Terry Pratchett has written a master work. This story is a dual story. First: The antics of the city watch which consists of zany characters. Think of abbot and Costello meets Frankenstien. Two: the story of what happens when man tries to play god. The city watch must find a killer that is not part of the assasin's guild. This is not good for business allowing non-union members to freelance. Pratchett does a remarkeable job of exploring the Frankenstien myth with a bunch of loose screws. This is a very serious subject that is cut with biting humor. How bad things happen with the best of intentions. Commander Vimes has become one of my favorite characters in the discworld series. Any book he is the main character is on the more serious side in nature, but there is still plenty of humor. Well worth the read.

Rating:
Summary: Another Excellent Book of the Watch
Review: This is the 17th in Pratchett's Discworld series. In this book, Pratchett uses the continuing development of the Watch to produce more of a Mystery novel than usual (and poke fun at the genre at the same time). In the process, he introduces a new race of creatures, give Carrot girl problems, increases the visiblity of Nobby, and starts a bit of an upheaval in Dwarf circles with Corporal Littlebottom. An excellent book.

Rating:
Summary: The Watch returns
Review: First, I'll give a brief synopsis, then what I liked and disliked about the book.
Okay, the great mystery is who killed two old men, and where is this mysterious clay found at the scene of the crime coming from. Vimes and the watch struggle to solve this, and suddenly, Nobby Nobbses royalty is brought to attention, Cherry Littlebottom joins the watch, and the Angua Carrot relationship is heightened a few more steps. In the midst of all this, Lord Vetinari (a FANTASTIC character) is being poisoned. All these come together in one of the most satisfying climaxes I've witnessed in a Pratchett Book yet.
There, that's out of the way.
The Guard are among the best characters Pratchett has introduced, standing next only to... Death. And even though you don't get to see the Grim Reaper, you'll have to settle for the Grim Squeaker (the death of rats). Anyways, Pratchett, as always, delights the reader with the two most vivid main characters. I'd be speaking of Sir Samuel Vimes, and Nobby Nobbs. Vimes has so much of a Dirty Harry-esque feel to him, and he... ahem... prods buttock so thoroughly that you have to cheer him on. The cigar smoking, teetotaling commander is best portrayed in the opening pages in which a VERY foolish assassin tries to end Vimes's life. Bad move.
Onto Nobbs. Nobbs is such a fantastic character, Pratchett gives him great scenes, the best in my mind being the scene in which a few Puppetmasters are trying to get Nobby to assume his royal position. Through most of this, he is saying, "Vimes would go spare! I can't do that! He'd go spare!"
Okay, here is what I disliked about the book.
Angua is a very weak POV, personally. I understand the need for a strong anchoring character to counterbalance the nuttiness of Nobbs, Vimes, and Carrot, but Angua comes off as too whiny, and her chapters take away from the irreverance that Pratchett infuses his book with. I also felt that Vetinari should have been giving a larger role in the scheme of things, particularly around the mystery involving him. He and Vimes have an excellent scene together at the end, but that is all that really stands out.
My biggest problem, would have to be with the Dragon character. I don't want to spoil any of the plot twists revolving around him, but he is too much of a cut out, with no real idiosyncracies other than his "Ah-ha" in every sentence.
There, thats the review.
On the whole, Feet of Clay really does a great job of keeping you occupied. Its 4 stars is definitely warranted.