Thud (by Terry Pratchett)

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Re-reading my way slowly through Terry Pratchett’s ‘Discworld’ series, I reached ‘Thud’, the 34th series. We bought the hardback edition shortly after it was first published, towards the end of 2005, and I read it aloud to my teenage sons - finishing just before my elder son left home. I hadn’t read it since then, and had entirely forgotten what it was about.

‘Thud’ is one of the ‘Watch’ books, a direct sequel to ‘Monstrous Regiment’, at least as far as Sam Vimes goes. He has a young son now, known as Young Sam, who lights up his world in a way he had not expected. However most of his time is taken up with his work - and tensions are brewing in the city, as the trolls and dwarfs clash. A dwarf has been killed, and a troll club found nearby. Koom Valley day is approaching, and the patrician - Lord Vetinari - is worried that battles might break out in Ankh Morpork.

I’m not sure I followed all the intricacies of the plot, which involved several investigations, a game called ‘Thud’ played on something like a chessboard, and some more dwarf fatalities. There’s a new recruit to the Watch, a vampire known as Sally, who rather likes the look of Captain Carrot. Angua the Watch werewolf dislikes vampires intensely, but finds herself partnered with Sally more than once…and in some unusual predicaments. 

Then there’s a subplot involving the strange Nobby Nobbs, who is going out with a beautiful but very insecure young woman who works as a pole dancer.  And there’s a very important event which Sam Vimes must be present at every evening.  He has a ‘gooseberry’ - a Discworld style electronic organiser, powered by an imp who tries very hard to get Sam to fulfil his obligations.  

For the first hundred or so pages (as with most Discworld books, there are no chapters), I didn’t find this book all that interesting; I was never a huge fan of the Watch books, although I’ve liked them more this time around. But by the time I was half-way through I was liking the character interactions, and even appreciating the storyline, although I didn’t follow everything. I certainly didn’t grasp the rules of ‘Thud’ - perhaps I wasn’t supposed to. 

While some Discworld books could be read as standalones, this one involves a lot of characters from previous books. Although the plot is complete in itself, the characters in the Watch have developed over the course of the books, and it’s better (in my opinion) to read them in order.  

Definitely recommended if you’ve read and liked earlier ‘Watch’ books in the series.

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