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f_h's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
tomgenue's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
tarawe's review against another edition
5.0
It's been a while since I read this but it's still as delightful as I remember.
joshofmanythings's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
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
5.0
gossy's review against another edition
2.0
This… certainly was a book? Hm.
Pros:
- It’s fun to get more from Moist’s POV!
- I felt very sympathetic towards several of the side characters, even when I disliked certain aspects of their arcs.
- Moist and Adora’s attitudes towards one another are fun.
- Minorest of minor ‘spoilers’: It’s fun to see Vetinari… relaxing a bit, almost? Not in his general attitude of ruling, but he definitely seems to be doing stuff like eating more and (more openly) pursuing things that are fun for him compared to what I remember of him earlier in the series, hah.
Cons:
- This was all just… very disjointed. It’s a common course in Discworld books for the narrative to follow all sorts of wild, off-the-wall concepts that eventually collide in interesting ways towards the end of the book. That’s fine. Most of what was going on in this book wasn’t even all that wild.
But there’s not much… sinew between any of it in this book, not in the way I can normally see in Discworld. In most books, the different (seemingly absurd) threads all actually relate to one another, or at least end up intersecting because of some specific action. In this book, quite a few things seem to just kind of coincidentally happen at around the same time, and then also manage to coincidentally intersect in ways that just happen to cancel one another out.
- There’s at least one massive thing that felt like a straight-up plot hole to me, and once I thought of it I couldn’t unthink it.
- Adora gets sidelined through most of the book, and has barely any meaningful influence on the part of the plot that does involve her.
- This is among the latest of the Discworld books that I’ve read, and I’ll admit to being disappointed at the reminder that Pratchett never really stopped considering fat women and mental illness to be inherently funny. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Pros:
- It’s fun to get more from Moist’s POV!
- I felt very sympathetic towards several of the side characters, even when I disliked certain aspects of their arcs.
- Moist and Adora’s attitudes towards one another are fun.
- Minorest of minor ‘spoilers’: It’s fun to see Vetinari… relaxing a bit, almost? Not in his general attitude of ruling, but he definitely seems to be doing stuff like eating more and (more openly) pursuing things that are fun for him compared to what I remember of him earlier in the series, hah.
Cons:
- This was all just… very disjointed. It’s a common course in Discworld books for the narrative to follow all sorts of wild, off-the-wall concepts that eventually collide in interesting ways towards the end of the book. That’s fine. Most of what was going on in this book wasn’t even all that wild.
But there’s not much… sinew between any of it in this book, not in the way I can normally see in Discworld. In most books, the different (seemingly absurd) threads all actually relate to one another, or at least end up intersecting because of some specific action. In this book, quite a few things seem to just kind of coincidentally happen at around the same time, and then also manage to coincidentally intersect in ways that just happen to cancel one another out.
- There’s at least one massive thing that felt like a straight-up plot hole to me, and once I thought of it I couldn’t unthink it.
- Adora gets sidelined through most of the book, and has barely any meaningful influence on the part of the plot that does involve her.
- This is among the latest of the Discworld books that I’ve read, and I’ll admit to being disappointed at the reminder that Pratchett never really stopped considering fat women and mental illness to be inherently funny. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
boxcar's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
askaglassofwater's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
samphope's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
purringlion's review against another edition
4.0
While the book might not be entirely Discworldish, it revolves around the Patrician and Moist von Lipwig, my undoubtedly favourite DW characters. Their verbal sparring is enough to make the book memorable, if only a little less so than Going Postal.