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4.29 AVERAGE
4.29 AVERAGE
This is one of my top 5 favorite books by Terry Pratchett. Fantastic book!
I listened to this book before bed and kept laughing and falling asleep. Might have missed a large chunk of it...
Liked it enough to put it on my daytime reading list...
This review might be updated later...
Liked it enough to put it on my daytime reading list...
This review might be updated later...
One day.
That's what it took me to read this book. I've read other books in one day, but allow me to give you some context. I'm currently on a restricted diet to prepare for an upcoming screening to ensure my cancer is still in remission. This diet leads to a loss of energy and makes me sleep a lot. I picked up this book when I got out of bed on Sunday and stayed up until just after midnight reading it (to be fair, I didn't read the entire time, but I needed to complete the book before going to bed). My work self yesterday was exhausted, but I have no regrets (although I did sleep about 10-11 hours Monday night).
While most of the other books in the series have been enjoyable (I won't lie, there were a few that were slogs), it has been worth it for the ones that are gems. Those other books serve as great background context for books such as this.
Characters: 5*
This book goes beyond the other books in this series in terms of character development. While other characters tend to evolve over an entire book, our protagonist Polly manages to grow and learn within the course of a single story. Plus, this book had the return of a few of my favorite characters from the other books in the series.
Plot: 5*
This book managed to stay focused on the primary plot without a ton of side plots that sometimes detract from Discworld stories. Yes, there was a secondary plot, but it was much more of a palette cleanser and it did serve to move the primary plot forward.
Universe: 4.95*
While the universe of Discworld is a vast and wondrous one and this particular story did an excellent job filling in the corners of that universe, if I had any qualms at all about this book, it was that it didn't move the needle forward in the exploration of the universe. The universe itself did impact the story line, but it was much more of a background player than in other books that I love. It didn't detract from the story at all - it just didn't really move the story forward.
Bonus category - the ending: 5*
One area that I frequently am slightly annoyed by - even in the strong Discworld books - is the ending. This book ends well. No sudden endings, no loose plot threads, no confusion. It was clean and it was satisfying.
And, as is my custom on books by [a:Terry Pratchett|1654|Terry Pratchett|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1235562205p2/1654.jpg], here are my favorite quotes:
“The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to the presence of those who think they've found it.”
“Do you think it's possible for an entire nation to be insane?”
“The enemy wasn't men, or women, or the old, or even the dead. It was just bleedin' stupid people, who came in all varieties. And no one had the right to be stupid.”
“It's not lying when you do it to officers!”
“Good or bad, do it as you. Too many lies and there's no truth to go back to.”
“[The pamphlet] was very patriotic. That is, it talked about killing foreigners.”
“Anyway, why would you trust anything written down? She certainly didn't trust "Mothers of Borogravia!" and that was from the government. And if you couldn't trust the government, who could you trust?
Very nearly everyone, come to think of it...”
“...felt questing eyes boring into her. She was embarrassed, of course. But not for the obvious reason. It was for the other one, the little lesson that life sometimes rams home with a stick: you are not the only one watching the world. Other people are people; while you watch them they watch you, and they think about you while you think about them. The world isn’t just about you.”
“I want to eat chocolates in a great big room where the world is a different place.”
“Sooner or later all things are numbers, yes?”
That's what it took me to read this book. I've read other books in one day, but allow me to give you some context. I'm currently on a restricted diet to prepare for an upcoming screening to ensure my cancer is still in remission. This diet leads to a loss of energy and makes me sleep a lot. I picked up this book when I got out of bed on Sunday and stayed up until just after midnight reading it (to be fair, I didn't read the entire time, but I needed to complete the book before going to bed). My work self yesterday was exhausted, but I have no regrets (although I did sleep about 10-11 hours Monday night).
While most of the other books in the series have been enjoyable (I won't lie, there were a few that were slogs), it has been worth it for the ones that are gems. Those other books serve as great background context for books such as this.
Characters: 5*
This book goes beyond the other books in this series in terms of character development. While other characters tend to evolve over an entire book, our protagonist Polly manages to grow and learn within the course of a single story. Plus, this book had the return of a few of my favorite characters from the other books in the series.
Plot: 5*
This book managed to stay focused on the primary plot without a ton of side plots that sometimes detract from Discworld stories. Yes, there was a secondary plot, but it was much more of a palette cleanser and it did serve to move the primary plot forward.
Universe: 4.95*
While the universe of Discworld is a vast and wondrous one and this particular story did an excellent job filling in the corners of that universe, if I had any qualms at all about this book, it was that it didn't move the needle forward in the exploration of the universe. The universe itself did impact the story line, but it was much more of a background player than in other books that I love. It didn't detract from the story at all - it just didn't really move the story forward.
Bonus category - the ending: 5*
One area that I frequently am slightly annoyed by - even in the strong Discworld books - is the ending. This book ends well. No sudden endings, no loose plot threads, no confusion. It was clean and it was satisfying.
And, as is my custom on books by [a:Terry Pratchett|1654|Terry Pratchett|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1235562205p2/1654.jpg], here are my favorite quotes:
“The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to the presence of those who think they've found it.”
“Do you think it's possible for an entire nation to be insane?”
“The enemy wasn't men, or women, or the old, or even the dead. It was just bleedin' stupid people, who came in all varieties. And no one had the right to be stupid.”
“It's not lying when you do it to officers!”
“Good or bad, do it as you. Too many lies and there's no truth to go back to.”
“[The pamphlet] was very patriotic. That is, it talked about killing foreigners.”
“Anyway, why would you trust anything written down? She certainly didn't trust "Mothers of Borogravia!" and that was from the government. And if you couldn't trust the government, who could you trust?
Very nearly everyone, come to think of it...”
“...felt questing eyes boring into her. She was embarrassed, of course. But not for the obvious reason. It was for the other one, the little lesson that life sometimes rams home with a stick: you are not the only one watching the world. Other people are people; while you watch them they watch you, and they think about you while you think about them. The world isn’t just about you.”
“I want to eat chocolates in a great big room where the world is a different place.”
“Sooner or later all things are numbers, yes?”
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The narrator for the audiobook is stellar.
I got really busy and had to take long breaks while reading so I got a bit confused / lost with the plot etc.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes