Customer Reviews

Thief of Time

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I admit to enjoying Terry Pratchett very much. I've read all 26 Discworld books. I've got the juveniles and the early experiments like _Strata_. Perhaps the best part of reading so much of his work is that I can see how he has grown and evolved as a writer. _Thief of Time_ is an extremely sophisticated book and, while not his funniest, is plainly his best yet.

Early Discworld books were comedy monologues strung together by a plot. Sometimes a pretty thin plot. As just one example, a whole page was required to set up the famous "felonious monk" pun in _Soul Music_. The early stories tended to be pretty much a structure to support the jokes. Sure, there was more, but it was mostly for laughs.

Somewhere between _Hogfather_ and _Carpe Jugulum_, Pratchett brought his writing to a new level. It's controversial among some of his fans, but the newer books raise deeper issues and work at multiple levels. There are still lots of laughs - you can't read about a raven named "Quoth" without smiling - but there's also a terrific, compelling story to be told. While the humor in _Color of Magic_ could be sophomoric - remember when the imp ran out of the color pink when Rincewind and Twoflower visited the Whore Pits? - there is nothing even slightly sophomoric about the plot or jokes in _Thief of Time_.

This story involves the ongoing struggle between Death and the Auditors, the use and abuse of time, quantum physics, the Monks of Time (appearing for the first itme since _Small Gods_) and the peculiar and completely different aptitudes of two very different young men to manipulate time. As an unexpected bonus, you learn why there are those nagging inconsistencies across the Discworld novels; it turns out its not Terry's fault at all... Oh, and the whole Kung Fu/Mystic Masters thing gets the Pratchett Treatment.

On the Discworld, natural forces and even unnatural forces are personified. Death is a person. Well, maybe three persons, but I don't want to spoil anything. The Auditors - roughly, the heat death of the universe - are more or less persons. Time, as it turns out, is a person. And each of those Personifications has most of the foibles of humans. After all, humans invented them.

Trust me, it all makes perfect sense.

This is a terrific book. Highly recommended. You don't need to know anything about Terry Pratchett, the Discworld or Susan Sto Helit to appreciate this book. I disagree with other reviewers who say that we won't read Pratchett 25 years from now. We will, for the same reason we read Jonathan Swift, Mark Twain and other great satirists: their skewed view of their times that they present helps us understand our past. They help us understand what it means to be human.

The Discworld truly is a mirror of our world and, while it is mostly a fun house mirror, it's still possible to know without doubt what it is you are seeing in that distorting mirror. And it makes you laugh.

Rule 1: Do not act incautiously when confronting a little bald wrinkly smiling man.<.

Jeremy, a young clockmaker who has always managed to stay just this side of insanity (except for once) finds that he has been enlisted to build a clock that measures time perfectly. He and his assistant Igor attack the problem with zest, never realizing that this perfect clock will stop time forever. It is a plot by the Auditors to rid themselves of human beings.

In a monastery far, far away, where the Monks of History live, young Lobsang, finds he has been apprenticed to the fearsome Lu-Tse, chief janitor, and master of the Way of Mrs. Cosmopilite. Lobsang is assign to Lu-Tse because he seems to be able to steal at the speed of light and always knows the answers to the wrong question. This remarkable pair soon discover that time is being meddled with. They set off to Ankh-Morpork (where everything happens) to put a stop to the putting a stop to time.

Finally, young Miss Susan, instructor at the Frout Academy, and direct descendant of DEATH himself, receives an assignment from her grandfather. You guessed, if time stops, DEATH is out of business. Riding Binky the pale horse, accompanied by Quoth the raven and the Death of Rats (SQUEAK), she too heads for Ankh-Morpork to avert THE END.

Suffice it to say, there is no way to adequately describe the plot of a novel that combines Taoism, a genuine apocalypse, and the fine art of chocolate making between two covers. Pratchett skates from profundity to sarcasm with the kind of facility that comes from writing 26 Discworld novels. Satirizing both the universe's self appointed counters of beans and monastic cults without being offensive to either is another sign of Pratchett's mastery. His plotting is tighter than ever, and he has succeeded in taking some of his oldest shticks and making them seem fresh and new. Even Nanny Ogg makes an appearance.

I am tempted to call this his best yet. I only hesitate because he has written so many that I can no longer remember all of them. But I will never forget the twisted wisdom of Mrs. Cosmopilite, or the strange uses Lu-Tse puts it to. It is simple impossible to go wrong with "Thief of Time." As with most of Pratchett's Discworld series it stands on it's own quite well. If you are a fan of dry wit and a bit of slapstick you will be unable to put it down.

This is the twenty-sixth book in Terry Pratchett's series on the Discworld--a flat world, supported on the back of four massive elephants riding on the back of a planet-sized turtle, anything hilarious can happen here, and eventually does. In this book, the Auditors are out to tidy up that messy little loose end called "life" with the help of a very special clock. Death (capital "D", he's the man, or rather the anthropomorphic personification) is ever their enemy, and he recruits his granddaughter, Susan, to stop them. However, Susan isn't alone; Lu-Tze (800-years-old and one of the greatest of all History Monks) and his apprentice Lobsang Ludd (whose command of time is astounding for one so young) are hot on the case, and some of the Auditors seem to have an agenda of their own.

Once again, Terry Pratchett has pulled a great story out of the recesses of his fertile imagination. His command of the language, and his flair for clearly running concurrent storylines, is as strong as ever, and make this a gripping story. This is the fifth Death book, after Mort, Reaper Man, Soul Music and Hogfather, and well worth the cost.

I strong recommend this book. (By the way, in this book you find out that death by chocolate is indeed a possibility.)

For the Perennial Pratchett Fans: This book is firmly in the Death series. Death and Susan have to save the world. Again. Is anyone keeping track of how many times the world has almost been destroyed?

For the New readers: This book stands on it own well enough. Regular fans will already know Death, War, Famine, Pestilence, Susan, Nanny Ogg, Igor, Lu Tze, and the Way of Mrs.Cosmopilite they are old friends and we are happy to see them again. But Pterry gives enough information so new readers are not lost. Just know that if you like them you can read more about them without waiting for another book.

So what is it about?

The Auditors have hired Jeremy, a man with a perfect sense of time, to build a glass clock that will stop time.

Lu Tze and his apprentice Lobsang Ludd of the History Monks are on a mission to stop the clock.

Susan is working as a school teacher until Death puts her to work saving the world. (Nanny Ogg has a cameo as the world's best Midwife)

Death is having a hard time getting the other three Horsemen to Ride Out for the Apocalypse.

And then there is the Fifth Horsemen, Ronnie, who left before they got famous.

All the stuff about the History Monks is one continuous joke about Kung Fu movies.

The Five Horsemen lend themselves to Beatles references but also to any rock band where some members are more famous than others.

Susan seems to have developed a Chocolate dependency. It is nice to know that Pterry understands these things.

The American edition cover is hideous, they could not have made it more ugly if they tried. Are they actually trying to lose business?

The British cover is the usual Josh Kirby (in case your are wondering it depicts the History Monks' time storage vault,. The little yellow figures are monks. They are getting buckets of water and yak butter out of storage wells to cool and grease the time spindles)

Terry Pratchett's Discworld books are staggeringly funny, yet contain an element of poignancy. This book is no exception, I had it read within 5 hours of receiving it. Fortunately Pratchett's books are worth at least a couple of reads. I always define Discworld books in terms of the characters. This book fits into the Death category as Death and his Granddaughter Susan Sto Helit are among the main characters. Susan is a schoolteacher in this book and her conversation with the soppy headmistress of the Froud Academy and creator of the Froud Method of Learning by Fun is a riot. The Death of Rats (SQUEAK), the Raven (got any fresh eyeballs), Nanny Ogg and an Igor (yeth marthter) also figure in this story. Particularly prominent is the sweeper (no one notices the sweeper) monk Lu-Tze, who creates bansai mountains with small shovels and mirrors to focus the sun. As far as I know, this character only appeared in one other book, Small Gods, and its a pleasure to see him again. I also thouroughly enjoyed Susan's classroom, Death's Gentleman's Club, Jeremy Clockson's lab, Igor's method of arrival, the Auditors' corporeal confusion and the Five riders of the Apocalypse, Death, Famine, War, Pestilence and the fifth, who left before they got famous. In a typically Pratchettian description, back then Death was Death, of course, but Famine, War and Pestilence were only Localized Crop Failure, Scuffles and Spots. If you haven't read a Discworld book, there is no need to read them in order, they all stand by themselves and this is as good of a one to start with as any of them. If you have read Discworld books before, you already know this one is another must read.

Pratchett has been on a roll since "Fifth Elephant," following several, by Pratchett's standards, lackluster and mediocre offerings such as "Jingo" or "Last Continent" (I know, I know: such a statement will lead the jingoists among you into heightened fits of indignant choler and impassioned vilification. But come on, after 26 Discworld novels let's admit not every outing can be a singular stroke of genius), rapidly turning out three outstanding novels in a row, "Fifth Elephant" followed close on the heels by "Truth" and now "Thief of Time." While some might argue that Pratchett has abandoned his earlier and more forthright humor, I would agree that his plotting has become marvelously much tighter, and his sense of satire increasingly deft and subtle. Yes, the puns and parodic gymnastics continue, but no longer are they providing the main support to Pratchett's compositions. Instead, the author is providing more and more layers of depth to his novels, probing and exposing existential and ontological issues in ways only glimpsed or hinted at in his earliest novels.

The thing that is in many ways amazing in the continued development and improvement of Pratchett's writing is that it is accomplished within the format of formula. Pratchett writes in a manner and structure that is linearly and closely linked to his earliest novels, repeatedly returning to previous tropes and conventions yet, with the exception of a few novels, continually refining, expanding and reinvigorating his formulas, somehow able to keep them for the most part fresh and engaging. Even when he turns to what is an obvious cliched stereotype---the wise, old self-effacing Eastern monk/sweeper Lu-Tze and his naive apprentice---Pratchett is able to reinvest the character and role in a guise at once familiar and inventively rendered. In the hands of anyone else the figure of Lu-Tze would come off trite and outworn, but Pratchett is somehow able to re-infuse the character with significance and fresh perspective despite the anticipated behavior and acting out of a role long cliched and tired.

As in most Pratchett novels, we revisit old and fondly remembered characters---Death and his granddaughter Susan, the Four---no Five---Horseman, Nanny Ogg, the Igors and, not seen since "Small Gods," the Monks of History. But the book is centered---if any book by Pratchett can be said to have a center---around the not quite brotherly reflections, Jeremy Clockson and Lopsang Lud, the nature of Time, identity and how we measure it (oops, I used a grey word), the end of the world and, perhaps most importantly, the delights and unavoidable, passionate consumption of chocolate. And this is just skimming a summary. It might be argued that in "Thief of Time" Pratchett explores more than in any previous novel---I can't recall absolutely for certainty---and does so with a subtlety and skill not before accomplished.

That said---floating out on a limb alongside Quoth the Raven, or mayhaps digging a pit with Death of Rats...Squeak!---as is apparent from any reading of Pratchett's many reviews, the author's fans---a legion continuously and rightly growing---all have individual and highly vocalized opinions as to the best of Pratchett's work. Regardless, they are almost all good, and well above the standard lining the retailer's shelves. If you haven't read Pratchett before, you're in for a rollicking thrill, and if you have, no need to fear you'll be disappointed. Another marvelous outing from our contemporary Swift.

Start with the most unlikely characters you might think of:
-- A kindergarten teacher,
-- The horsemen of the Apocalypse,
-- A psychotically sane watchmaker,
-- A sanely psychotic lady who's passionate about toast,
-- A little bald guy with a broom,

and a few others, with some very peculiar relationships between them. With Pratchett writing, things don't always go as planned. When the end of the world comes, the Horsemen are fighting against it. A good thing, too, or that kindergarten teacher would give them a good talking to and they'd all wish the world had ended.

With Pratchett, the plot almost doesn't matter. It's the getting there, the play of words and the play of characters against each other. Even into the third dozen of this series, Pratchett sustains energy and interest.

If you haven't read any other Discworld books, this stands well by itself. If you have visited Discworld before, this brings back familiar characters and brings forth some new ones. It's just as good either way.

//wiredweird

Of the fifteen or so books I've read in the Discworld series, this is the most esoteric and metaphysical -- and, perhaps for that reason, it tends to drag in the middle, when Pratchett is having to come up with explanations and the main characters are mostly on the road. The plot revolves around the Monks of Time, ensconced in a monastery way up in the high mountains near the Hub. Their job is to see that things happen. Not merely the "right things" -- just things. They've learned how to move time from slack periods in history to those points where it's really needed. And perhaps the most important person in the monastery is not the 800-year-old abbot (presently enduring an infantile reincarnation) but the 700-year-old lowly sweeper, Lu-Tze, who takes under his wing a novice named Lobsang, an orphaned ex-thief from Ankh-Morpork, who turns out (of course) to be very important to the survival of Time itself. Because there's a young clockmaker in the city who is about to construct a crystal clock with the ability to stop the progress of time. All this happens because the non-human Auditors want everything nice and tidy. My favorite character this time, though, is Miss Susan, whom we've met before. She's DEATH's granddaughter and she shares a certain number of his abilities (even though she's adopted, but genetics works in more ways than one), which she uses mostly in her job as a grade-school teacher. This is not one of Pratchett's best efforts, especially for his later work, but it's still far, far from being a waste of time.

Thief of Time, the 26th Discworld novel written by Terry Pratchett, is much more metaphysical than most of the previous books (other than Small Gods, perhaps). The book is so full of ideas that it's almost bursting, which has both its good and bad points.

This is yet another winner by Pratchett. It's nowhere near as good as The Truth, the last Discworld book I read. However, it is really good. Pratchett deals with a lot of large issues, such as the nature of time and space. He's never really been this metaphysical before. Even Small Gods was a bit minor compared to this. It can get a bit confusing at times, which is one strike against the book. If you're not that interested in these kinds of issues, then the book can drag a little. It's still worth it, though, for the many riffs on other, less "grand" things. There's a James Bond riff, a comment on the state of the educational system, even a parody of martial arts movies. You will find yourself laughing despite yourself.

I think Pratchett does a nice job of balancing everything in this one. If you've read my review of Small Gods, you'll know that I thought that it was missing the humour that is Pratchett's trademark, and it suffered a bit. This time, though, he's got the mix right. There is plenty to laugh at, but there is plenty of subtext as well for the serious reader. I really enjoyed reading about Lu-Tze and the sacred text that he follows which is based on the words of a boarding house manager ("Ah, but is it not said, `There is a time and place for everything?'"). This isn't just funny, but turns a series of cliches on its head.

Pratchett doesn't forget the characters in this book, either. In fact, it's so full of characters that sometimes they start stepping on each other. All of them have their funny hook. The Abbott of the monastery, who is immortal only through serial reincarnation (and right now he's just been born again so he's got a baby's urges), is probably the funniest. There's also Susan, who has come to terms with the fact that being the granddaughter of an anthropomorphic projection isn't all it's cracked up to be. She wants to lead a simple life as a teacher, but she finds out that sometimes you have to get involved in things in order to make the world go right.

There are really too many characters to mention all of them, but suffice it to say you'll be entertained by them all. They are all unique characters with wonderful character hooks that get you to care about them. There's a nice mix of characters we've seen before and new characters as well. Don't worry, though. All of the returning characters are explained enough that you will be able to follow along. There is a tiny reference to Small Gods as pertains to Lu-Tze, but it's not that important if you don't get it.

The plot of this book is very large. At 427 pages, it's very long for a Discworld book, as Pratchett has a lot to say on the subject. There are times that it drags, and unfortunately one of those times is when everybody's in the thick of the problem. There are some funny moments in that sequence, but for some reason the book seems to come to a screeching halt occasionally and it takes a while to get going again. There are one or two other sequences where this happens as well (such as when Lobsang stops a timestorm from getting out of hand). In retrospect, I can see the value of these scenes, so I don't think of this as padding. The writing just lets it down so that it feels like padding as you're reading it.

The concepts in this book, though, are marvelous. I love the idea of taking time from somewhere it's not needed and putting it where it is needed (have you ever wondered, "where has the time gone?" It probably got used somewhere else while you were doing something boring). I loved most of the metaphysical and philosophical issues that Pratchett addressed. If this isn't your thing, then I think you'll still be entertained by the book. Perhaps you can just skim through the philosophy. If you do, though, you will miss a lot of the meat of the book.

I highly recommend this book with the above caveat. However, while everything is explained within the book, I would certainly not recommend that you start reading the series with this one. It's not necessarily typical of the Discworld books, and there's a lot of stuff that you won't get the nuances for if you haven't read at least some of the other books. The rest of the series is worth it, though, so I definitely suggest you do that.

Terry Pratchett's wit, erudition and sheer volume of words & ideas will continue to amaze, long after he retires from Discworld writing. Even so, as he got up to the two dozen mark, some of us began to suspect that perhaps he was at last tiring of his creation. He never ran out of fresh ideas, but the way the ideas coalesced into novels started to seem mechanical. It wasn't so certain as before that he was affectionately disposed towards his lead characters. The same bit-part actors began constantly to put in cameo appearances (e.g. the irritating talking dog, the meat pie man, and so on), and to deliver the same predictable punchlines ("on-a-stick", "woof", Death talking "IN CAPITAL LETTERS", etc). For a time, even at best, it looked like writing by numbers. Worse still, the plots sometimes only worked because of holes in the narrative, essential connections between people or actions that the author withheld from the reader in a slightly contrived way (check it out for yourself if you don't believe me). Of course Pratchett remained entertaining - I think he finds it quite hard not to be - but it made me look back nostalgically to "Equal Rites" and "Small Gods".

The good news is that "Thief of Time" is a triumphant return to form. The plot runs like clockwork. The wit, simultaneously affectionate and bitingly ironic, is delivered with beautiful timing. The lead characters are gently heroic, and the villains chilling, even as they are comic. The tragi-comedy runs particularly deep with Lady LeJean, the poignancy of whose inner turmoil (and I don't want to spoil things for anyone who still has the book to look forward to) has been tackled with special warmth and compassion. She ranks as one of the finest creations in Pratchett's entire body of work.

I'm not going to waste your time or mine recycling the plot. Suffice it to say that once again the Universe is in danger of imminent demise. Once again, Pratchett develops a further strand in the cosmology of a universe that works according to the science and superstitions of our medieval ancestors. Yet another cinematic genre is held up to satire (this time the Kung Fu tradition). And once again, Pratchett makes some deceptively deep observations about the world we ourselves live in.

This is Pratchett's best book for some years. Even allowing for the fact that there as always quite a few in-jokes for long terms fans, this would be as good a place as any for a new reader to start.