By Nic Lindh on Monday, 09 October 2006
Thud! is the sound a troll club makes as it bashes a dwarf head, and it’s also the name of a chess-like game where players must take turns playing as trolls and dwarfs in order to win. It is also the sound that begins this eponymous novel, as a dwarf hardliner is beaten to death. The question is, who (or what) wielded the troll club…
The anniversary of the battle of Koom Valley is coming up, the only recorded battle in history where both sides were ambushed and both sides won, and the dwarf and troll communities in Ankh-Morpork are both getting fired up about reliving the battle and finally showing their mortal enemies who’s right.
The Night Watch, with Sam Vimes at the head, is the only force standing between Ankh-Morpork burning and a final battle between trolls and dwarfs.
As always, Terry Pratchett’s name is a guarantee that you are about to read something very special. His Discworld series has been fantastic for years and years, and it’s just getting more solid and impressive with each and every novel. While the whimsy and sheer bloody-minded fun that permeated the earlier novels in the series has gone away and been replaced with a harder-edged commentary on society, Pratchett’s prose is only getting stronger with each novel, and the themes he’s pursuing get darker and more challenging.
If you’re a Discworld fan, there’s no reason to read this review: You’re already on your way to the bookstore; if you’re not, start at the beginning and experience Terry Pratchett’s fantastic series of novels for yourself.
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