(no subject)

[skygiants]

I am so close to the end of my great Discworld reread! Three more books and then I'm ALL CAUGHT UP.

But today it is time to talk about Thud, which . . . hmmm. I remember really liking Thud when it first came out, especially after being less than one hundred percent impressed with Going Postal -- I think because it fit my impression of How Discworld Books Went for comfort reading, which Going Postal did not at the time -- and now my feelings appear to have switched?

It's not that I didn't enjoy Thud, but -- well, and maybe this is a function of reading all the books so soon after each other, because it's like . . .

THUD: Guess what! Dwarves have wacky fundamentalist customs and don't want to integrate with Ankh-Morpork society!
BECCA: Oh, wait, again?
THUD: No, I mean different and EVEN MORE fundamentalist customs!
BECCA: I repeat: again?

Like, without even attempting to look at the Dwarves vs. Trolls Isn't Racial Hatred Terrible storyline through any kind of critical lens, I'm just kind of tired of dwarvish customs and society being retconned for use as the Metaphor Of The Week! I realize it is an exercise in futility to complain about continuity in Discworld, but NONETHELESS.

I am also -- and I never thought I would say this -- a little tired of The Power of Vimes' Internal Policeman, because, yes, okay, we know.

Which is not to say the ending doesn't work, because yes, the image of dead kings playing board games is super powerful, FINE, Terry Pratchett, you got me there. And it's not that I don't enjoy Angua, Sally and Cheery's Night Out, although that basically feels like extended fanfic about The Watch Girls Having a Night Out, but I'm okay with extended fanfic, I guess. And every time Sybil appears onscreen and/or reveals an undiscovered talent I am sent into a spin of wild delight. So I enjoyed Thud, there are lots of things I enjoyed, but . . . I'm okay with almost being out of Watch books.

Comments

[skygiants]

Hah, it is SUCH an abuse of power! They SHUT DOWN TRAFFIC ON A MAJOR THOROUGHFARE. How many people didn't get home to read to their kids that night because some douchebag shut down traffic on a major thoroughfare?

I like Fifth Elephant, but as was said above I think this book just kind of . . . redoes Fifth Elephant in a lot of ways, a little bit less coherent and a little bit worse.

[kate_nepveu]

I also suspect that this book will be worse when it come to gender--_5E_ is actually pretty interesting in this regard, though I have qualms about whether (spoiler) is a tragic trans character--but I think the fact that I was surprised by the good bits of _5E_ indicates that it's only getting worse from here on out.

[skygiants]

Yeah, I side-eye that development in 5E a little too. But, like -- 5E was better than I respected in that regard, and this one . . . kind of honestly ignores that whole issue, which is probably for the best, but then you get a whole lot of dubious Wacky Funtime Slapstick Shenanigans with Sally and Angua's Night Out, and a recurrence of that archetype of The Beautiful Dumb Girl Who Makes Bad Dating Decisions so . . . there is all that. >.<