Thud!: A Novel of Discworld by Terry Pratchett (MOBI)

Description

Once, in a gods-forsaken hellhole called Koom Valley, trolls and dwarfs met in bloody combat. Centuries later, each species still views the other with simmering animosity. Lately, the influential dwarf, Grag Hamcrusher, has been fomenting unrest among Ankh-Morpork’s more diminutive citizens—a volatile situation made far worse when the pint-size provocateur is discovered bashed to death . . . with a troll club lying conveniently nearby.Commander Sam Vimes of the City Watch is aware of the importance of solving the Hamcrusher homicide without delay. (Vimes’s second most-pressing responsibility, in fact, next to always being home at six p.m. sharp to read Where’s My Cow? to Sam, Jr.) But more than one corpse is waiting for Vimes in the eerie, summoning darkness of a labyrinthine mine network being secretly excavated beneath Ankh-Morpork’s streets. And the deadly puzzle is pulling him deep into the muck and mire of superstition, hatred, and fear—and perhaps all the way to Koom Valley itself.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Such a nice vacation spot. Commander Sam Vimes, his grace is back in all his glory. Dwarfs and trolls itching for trouble. A vampire in the watch? The Low King and more.A wonderful tale of intrigue and murder. Who will get to the secret first, and will the watch solve a mystery with so many twists and turns. What is a cube and where do they come from? So many new things to experience and Lady Sybil along with young Sam are in the middle of so much of it. What about the chicken?I know I read this 1 before but apparently I did not review it. As I’ve stated before all of these are worth reading and this one turned into an extremely fun book.

⭐Always a delight to read pratchet. Too bad we don’t learn in the real world about listening to one another and seek peace Instead of war.

⭐(Disclaimer: Review reprinted from my personal forum…)Well, I’ve read Thud! twice now, and am now re-reading it for the third time (this time bookmarking interesting tidbits). I’ve also read The Colour of Magic (the first book in the series, which actually introduces author Terry Pratchett’s DiscWorld), Night Watch, and Making Money. I can understand why most of these book were bestsellers on the prestigious New York Times list… at least, to readers with some interest in Tolkien-style realms of fantasy. Unlike the Lord of the Rings, though, DiscWorld is written in a gritty, urban style which mocks modern cultural contrivances with a garnish of droll humor and deft comedic timing.My first impression is that Pratchett’s DiscWorld is similar to the Xanth series (Piers Anthony) or The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy “extended trilogy” by Douglas Adams. In all of these cases, the author throws together a variety of unrelated media archetypes (gods, demons, orcs, humans, aliens, porpoises, etc.), and then builds a preposterous universe in which the hapless characters struggle to learn the rules for survival, and not die… not dying, of course, being a reasonable objective.I’m surprised that I’ve never discovered the DiscWorld series before now, though, as I think that author Pratchett spent more time analyzing media archetypes (such as dwarves, trolls, werewolves, vampires, ghosts, magic, time travel, alchemy, spaceships, etc.) then the usual literary goulash slinger. Having determined the broad racial motivations of his cast, he then finds situations in which they rise above their limitations, and behave in surprising (and yet, entirely reasonable) ways (for example, dwarves and trolls are ancient enemies, but both have representatives working the Night Watch (a municipal constabulary)).From the commentary I’ve read of the Internet, the general consensus is that Thud! is the best book in the DiscWorld series. One aspect of Pratchett’s writing which supports this contention (IMHO) is the way in which simple elements foreshadow larger ones.Take the title, for example…Thud!What a boring title. One assumes that it relates to the anonymous murder described on the first page of the first chapter… in fact, Thud! is the first word in the book.It is more than that, though… it is later revealed that Thud! is also a board game featuring an army of dwarves versus a group of trolls. The pieces are dissimilar, in that their basic movements and attack patterns are based on the limitations and abilities of their racial archetypes. The game illustrates (in miniature) the utter racial hostility of dwarves and trolls, summarized by the annual commemoration of the Battle of Koom Valley. Author Pratchett writes:”Koom Valey wasn’t really a place now, not anymore. It was a state of mind.If you wanted the bare facts, it was where the dwarves had ambushed the trolls and/or the trolls had ambushed the dwarves, one ill-famed day under unkind stars. Oh, they’d fought one another since Creation, as far as Vimes understood it, but, at the the battle of Koom Valley that mutual hatred became, as it were, Official, and, as such, had developed a kind of mobile geography. Where any dwarf fought any troll, there was Koom Valley. Even if it was a punch-up in a pub, it was Koom Valley. It was part of the mythology of both races, a rallying cry, the ancestral reason why you couldn’t trust those short, bearded/big, rocky bastards.”This board game appears frequently during the narrative, and is also apparent during the resolution of the major conflict in the novel.Having read so much about the game, I had a mild interest in playing it myself. In fact, it has been developed from the description in the book, and is available from various Internet suppliers.For an intelligent and entertaining reading experience, I recommend the DiscWorld series by Terry Pratchett… and (unlike many of my fellow enthusiasts), I recommend Thud! as a good place to get started with the whole DiscWorld mythos. Enjoy!

⭐Thud is a board game played in Discworld. The intersection of how this game relates to the real world – the deadly tribal wars between Dwarves and Trolls – as well as the tribal politics reflected within our own world, is funny, painful, smart and a classic example of why Terry Pratchett is read by so many. If more of us would sit down and play board games with those we disagree with, and learn to play the game from their point of view – we may find an easier path through much that ails us.

⭐The genius of Terry Pratchett in “Thud!” is not his deft blending of serious themes with comedy, nor his light touch while social issues with mystery novels, nor even his wildly inventive worldbuilding. Pratchett is able to do what few contemporary writers are able to do, in that he continues to crank out novels that absolutely function as the latest installment in a serialized long-form novel — elements of “Going Postal,” “The Truth,” all the guards novels, the wizard novels and more all appear in “Thud!” — yet stands alone perfectly well.One doesn’t need to have followed Sam Vimes’ journey from street cop to duke to understand his relationship with the city’s ruler, his wife, his fellow cops or the community. If you have read it, it adds an extra richness to the proceedings, but if you haven’t, Pratchett touches on everything just enough so that even new readers won’t be lost. Every Discworld novel is someone’s first, and if they jump on board with “Thud!” not only will they not be disappointed or lost, they’ll have read a strong comedy that speaks to a number of the major issues of the setting — as well as to the real-world issues of ethnic strife and the ability for ancient history to cause blood to continue to be spilled over the centuries — they’ll likely want to pick up all the other novels as well.For committed Discworld fans, “Thud!” is a romp which finally pulls the dwarf/troll ethnic hatred to the forefront, discusses its roots, its mythical and religious dimensions, how it manifests itself in the realpolitik of Discworld and how it manifests in the teaming streets of Ankh-Morpork. Pratchett isn’t so tied down with his metaphor as to make it possible to draw lines from the conflict to the Middle East or Northern Ireland or Bosnia or any other real world group. Instead, he works on the major elements of all ethnic strife, including demagoguery and the ability of people to suddenly turn on neighbors who were just fine a week before. He also addresses the fairly thorny issue of people not feeling true to their groups unless they manifest these sorts of deep-seated hatreds in a serious way.The story also includes a potential major change for the setting in the closing pages, potentially even bigger than the arrival of the clacks many books back. Even if one isn’t a fan of the dwarf/troll relationship or the guards’ storyline, it’d likely be worth reading the novel just to understand the future changes to the setting, which could potentially be dramatic.”Thud!” is one of Pratchett’s best Discworld novels to date and is enthusiastically recommended for fans of the setting, as well as fantasy novel fans in general.

⭐I love the book. And I will read it over and over.

⭐What can I say, Terry Pratchett was a hilarious genius who is greatly missed. I love his Discworld novels and particularly those based in Ankh-morpork and involving Commander Vimes and the Watch. In Thud! Commandeer Vimes has to deal with a vampire recruit to the Watch, Deep Down Dwarfs undermining his city and street battles between Dwarfs and Trolls who have never forgotten the ancient Battle of Koom Valley. All while getting home each night by 6 pm to read “Where’s My Cow?” with all the right farmyard noises to young Sam. I originally bought and read this brilliant book in paperback and recently bought it on Kindle and read and loved it again. You can always rely on Terry Pratchett to make you chuckle. Plus it is always amazing how much of our present times are reflected in his writing. Enjoy!

⭐Every Pratchett fan has their favourite series e.g. maybe love the Witches but tire easily of Rincewind (as I do).Without question my all time top 5 novels feature the Watch. I think Sam Vimes must be one of the most interesting characters created. At times he comes across as a sort of Discworld version of Gene Hunt! Upright, honest (mostly – I do love his sparring with Vetinari). Men (I suspect) identify with him and want to be like him whereas women (I know) are possibly rather envious of Lady Sybil! There is something reassuring about Sam Vimes being a copper in your town.To reveal anything about the plot is totally spoilerific – I mean why would you read ‘Where’s my cow?’ and skip straight to the end – you’d miss all the best noises. However I must make a special mention of the ‘NEAR VIMES EXPERIENCE’ – I woke up half the train stifling snorts of laughter. Got to love the big guy with the scythe.At heart, and the reason for the success of the series and characters, the novels are quite simply cracking crime stories, with characters you care about. Yes there is a veneer of the fantastic due to the setting and Discworld mythology but they stand up in comparison to the best of ‘normal’ crime fiction. Feet of Clay remains my personal favourite but Night Watch and Thud are close behind. Best to read them in order so you understand the full backstories of Vimes and his full supporting ‘cast’ but read them you should… Highly recommended.

⭐No. Really, the children’s games mentioned as an aside did it. This book is just the thing to read when you could do with a laugh.Lady Sybil is very like someone that I know; I hope that she remembers me and laughs too. If you are reading my review I hope that you see how much Lady Sybil is loved.Those book is filled with the signature shaggy dog jokes and the logical illogical thoughts that most people look forward to be reading in any Terry Pratchett book.

⭐I agree with all other reviewers that say this is an excellent book and that Terry Pratchett has achieved literature. I have read and re-read this several times and found it funny, moving, tense, fascinating, un-put-downable all at once. The development of the female characters; Angua in particular, was particularly satisfying as was the development of Sam Vines and his domestic situation.I thought, reading this, that Terry Pratchett was approaching a pinnacle of writing and I just love these books set in and around the wonderful city of Ankh-Morpork. More of this, please!For those of you who have not read it and want a reason to read it:the story centres around a conflict not unlike that of the Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. A centuries old issue that really should no longer be fought over is resurrected relentlessly by those dwarves and trolls that are no longer living in their ancestral lands. This threatens the stability of their adopted city, Ankh-Morpork, and it is down to Sam Vines, commander of the City Watch, to put a stop to it – which he does in hilariously convincing fashion.However, it does not end here because the whole issue that started this conflict off in the first place is about to be explored and its true nature discovered – a truth that will rock the very foundations of the belief systems of both Dwarf and Troll …Oh, and you will be introduced to the best children’s book ever written – and get to see the Librarian again; both of which have to be worth the price of the book at the very least.This is a very good one in the series and if you just want to read one, try this – you won’t be disappointed.

⭐This is what ‘Monstrous Regiment’ wanted to be, but fell short of.Satire should, above all, be funny. In ‘Thud’ Pratchett once again finds his stride. He openly mocks the modern world (on all sides) and its political correctness, ignorance and doctrine whilst keeping the literary, if not literal, tongue firmly in the cheek.The pace doesn’t let up with the winning formula of an angry, confused Commader Vimes racing against time to solve a murder and prevent imported cultural bigotry from turning his city into a battleground. With the establishment bending over backwards to accomodate Dwarf and Troll beliefs at the expense of its resident population, it seems the Law has become an afterthought and is in danger of being superceded by minority (rapidly becoming majority) rights. This book gets nearer to the knuckle than a shrink-fit glove and turns the harsh light of sheer common sense onto a subject that tries to hide underneath a web of twisted values, lies, deception and hereditary ignorance. Sound familiar?With his usual dollop of gentle humour, engaging characters and sheer fun, Terry Pratchett is back on the path of excellence. Whilst his recent apparent penchant for political and social commentary may not appeal to some, ‘Thud’ does it all with a smile and good old-fashioned fair play for all. The book is also, thankfully, without the uncomfortable awkwardness or tedious plot of ‘Monstrous Regiment’. Fans of the City Watch will enjoy this one.P.S. Two nubile, naked, girls together in a sloppy pile of mud? Yes, it happens.

Keywords

Free Download Thud!: A Novel of Discworld in MOBI format
Thud!: A Novel of Discworld MOBI Free Download
Download Thud!: A Novel of Discworld 2009 MOBI Free
Thud!: A Novel of Discworld 2009 MOBI Free Download
Download Thud!: A Novel of Discworld MOBI
Free Download Ebook Thud!: A Novel of Discworld