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THE
FIFTH ELEPHANT Sam Vimes, Chief of Police and Duke of Ankh has a new job. The Patrician is sending him to Uberwald as an ambassador to oversee the crowning of the new King of the Dwarfs and to settle trade agreements. Aeons ago there were five elephants supporting the Disc but one of them fell to earth and created the precious minerals in the mines and the rich deposits of fat. But it is also the home of werewolves, vampires, dwarves and trolls all of whom hate each other and are keen for war. They don’t like Ankh Morpork or their fellow country folk who have gone there for a better (or at least different) life. There are no proper maps, nobody is friendly and it is very cold and snowing. Back in the Watch both Carrot and Angua go AWOL and Colon is left in charge – not a recipe for success. Somehow Sam has to save the situation and keep in one piece – not an easy task. This is the twenty-fourth novel in the best-selling Discworld series. I enjoyed the many amusing digs at such varied things as Wagner, Tolkein, all other fantasy novels featuring dwarves, horror films, and even Chekhov (no not the one from Star Trek). The immigrant inhabitants of Ankh-Morpork behave like their stereotypical counterparts in less fantastic fiction as well as real life – either raving about the wonders of the Old Country but not actually wanting to go back there or cherishing fond memories and wanting to retire there when they have made good. Some of Pratchett’s later work has lost much of its sharp and witty satire but he is back on form with it here and there is plenty to entertain. |