Scan barcode
creaturebooks's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Religious bigotry
Minor: Death and Torture
mamataur's review against another edition
dark
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Religious bigotry
Minor: War, Emotional abuse, Torture, and Colonisation
alpaca_in_space's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Torture and Ableism
specialbread's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
What an incredible book! This is probably my favorite read of the year if not my favorite book of the last couple of years. The religious satire was so well done and meshed well with the scientific and scholarly satire. I loved reading this book all the way through. There weren't any real moments that I didn't enjoy. This is now the king of satire, and I am excited to read more books by Terry Pratchett. I also really enjoyed the humor in the book that had me laughing out loud multiple times each time I sat down to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
reedmorebooks's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Classism, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Violence, War, Slavery, and Torture
ampharos906's review against another edition
dark
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Violence, Animal cruelty, War, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Minor: Animal death and Slavery
ange99's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Compared to other Pratchett books I found this one a bit grim, although with a more hopeful ending. It just didn't have the light-hearted moments I expected. This was possibly also due to Andy Serkis' delivery - his character voices were varied and enjoyable but his narrator voice was bordering on gloomy. It was ages since I read this so I didn't remember much of the plot. Great cameo appearances by side characters and countries mentioned in other novels.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture and War
questingnotcoasting's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I almost feel like I shouldn't admit this, because I know this is one of the most beloved Discworld books but I just didn't get on with it. I can see it's really clever but I never clicked with it. It probably doesn't help that I'm not really interested in religion, even from a satirical perspective but I didn't think this was as funny as some of the other Discworld books I've read. There are some fun characters though, particularly the Great God Om in the form of a tortoise.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, War, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Torture
eb00kie's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I read this as a young adult and barely remembered it. So I read it again 12 years later as an adult.
I imagine it was groundbreaking for its time but then and now it struck me as a beginner — a precursor to Vimes’ aggressive decency themes. The idea is there, the parallels are there, but it’s less cohesive and too light for the implied torture and deaths it’s peppered with. A bit disjointed and blunt.
Having said that, Brutha is a character with a very well-written arc. Through him, the story of human failings and weaknesses is much easier to empathise than the biblical prophet stories it’s mirroring. The character of Om also underwent an arc, which is even rarer, because it’s less of a shift in personality, which might have felt forced, as a shift in perspective.
The book covers a lot of themes: religion, multi-religion systems, philosophy, layrinths, engineering, the Inquisition, democracies vs. theocracies, gods and free will.
I imagine it was groundbreaking for its time but then and now it struck me as a beginner — a precursor to Vimes’ aggressive decency themes. The idea is there, the parallels are there, but it’s less cohesive and too light for the implied torture and deaths it’s peppered with. A bit disjointed and blunt.
Having said that, Brutha is a character with a very well-written arc. Through him, the story of human failings and weaknesses is much easier to empathise than the biblical prophet stories it’s mirroring. The character of Om also underwent an arc, which is even rarer, because it’s less of a shift in personality, which might have felt forced, as a shift in perspective.
The book covers a lot of themes: religion, multi-religion systems, philosophy, layrinths, engineering, the Inquisition, democracies vs. theocracies, gods and free will.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture and Murder
machenn's review
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Torture