Excellent book! Best of the Guards series so far. ( )

Who is poisoning Vetinari and how? Are there ~gasp~ female dwarves in the Watch? Who is the Earl of Ankh? Are golems things or people? This novel has some funny moments of course but I enjoy the characters finding their identities the most. ( )

Another solid Discworld novel. Humorous, but also able to explore issues of gender & prejudice in the world. I thought that the development of Cheery, a new character, was especially enjoyable. ( )

Something is afoot in the great city of Ankh-Morpork. Two murders seemingly unrelated. Golems who appear to be misbehaving. And to top it all up, the Patrician has been poisoned (although he still lives).

Fear not, for the City Watch and its commander Sam Vimes are on the case.

In the third installment of Terry Pratchett’s City Watch storyline, and the nineteenth novel overall in his Discworld universe, Pratchett introduces yet more ethnic groups into the City Watch and provides us with the most unlikely of replacements for Ankh-Morpork’s Patrician.

One of the continuing plotlines for Ankh-Mopork is the absurdity of its ruler, Havelock Vetinari. A former member of the Guild of Assassin’s, holds the city in what can only really be called a vicelike grip. That being said, he finds himself the _target of many attempts on his life and position, although is never really at any harm from them. He runs the cities underworld like he runs the business world, saying that the only sort of crime he likes is organized crime; organised by him!

Naturally, Commander Vimes, once again promoted as a result of the previous books ending (Men at Arms which in my opinion, is a superior novel),. He's on hand to help Vetinari out, although it’s obvious halfway through that Vimes’ involvement is purely academic. Carrot (the true heir to the throne of Ankh-Morpork) and his girlfriend and fellow officer, Angua join Vimes in trying to solve the crime.

As noted: This story isn’t as good as Men at Arms was. And I'm told nothing compares to Night Watch. But I did enjoy that it introduced us to the Golems (who will show up in one of my favorites, Going Postal) as well as the watch's new forensics expert dwarf Cheery Littlebottom (she was pretty funny).

Interesting side note: The title is a figure of speech from Hebrew scripture and the script used in the book to represent Morporkian being written by a golem resembles the Hebrew alphabet, a reference to golems' origins in Jewish folklore.

In Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated anthropomorphic being that is magically created entirely from inanimate matter (usually clay or mud). The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing.

As usual, Pratchett serves up an entertaining story full of sly puns, witty historical/mythological references, and philosophical musings all in the guise of fantasy. Having just read Men at Arms, this novel and its plot just wasn't as fascinating to me, as the plot of the previous book. Still, any Pratchett is worth your time. ( )

http://pro-libertate.net/20160723/302-read-feet-clay ( )