Discworld Noir (Feet of Clay - Terry Pratchett)

Member Name: dididave

Product:	Feet of Clay - Terry Pratchett
Date:	16/11/04 (101 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Characterisation, In depth plot, No prior knowledge required (rare)

Disadvantages: A little plodding

Feet of Clay is the nineteenth Discworld novel. Set on a flat world populated by Wizards, Dwarves, Trolls and Golems it is a place were anything can happen and often does. However, what makes this and every other Discworld novel different is that this world strangely mirrors our own. Royalty and the aristocracy are pompous; politicians self-serving and policeman necessary but loathed. Indeed the Worlds major city Ankh Morpork seems not dissimilar from London or New York.

This novel is the third in what many consider “The Watch Series” of books as it centres on Ankh Morpork’s police force known as “The City Watch”. The Patrician is being poisoned, nobody knows how or why but Sir Samuel Vimes Commander of the Watch is determined to find out. Meanwhile, there are a number of strange murders occurring around the city. Who would want to kill a Priest and the owner of the Dwarf Bread museum? Why are Golems committing suicide? And is Corporal Nobby Nobbs, the only human who carries a letter from the Patrician bearing “Certified human being” really next in line to the throne?

Feet Of Clay is a bizarre novel in that it is has an almost film noir feel to it. Sam Vimes plays the hard-nosed detective with considerable cynicism and lack of political correctness. There is a darkness and atmosphere to this tale seldom seen in a humorous fantasy novel and it adds depths to the conspiracy theory style plot.

This novel as with the majority of Pratchett tales borrows heavily and parodies brilliantly several other works from fiction, stage and screen. The Golems are portrayed as lifeless machines with several references to “I Robot”; the book not the film; “Terminator” and “Robocop”. This novel succeeds in poking fun at the seriousness of the sci-fi genre with several sideswipes at Star Trek as Pratchett has always portrayed the Dwarves in his novels as angry, little Klingons.

"Today Is A Good Day For Someone Else To Die!"

A classic quote from Vimes in this novel regarding dwarves is:

"Just because someone's a member of an ethnic minority doesn't mean they're not a nasty small-minded little jerk [...]"

However, Pratchett does have some serious points to make in this tale. He takes several pot shots at the Monarchy and the Political system and asks serious questions regarding when is something considered alive. A regular them for Pratchett also seems to be to mock organised religion in general and in this novel it seems to be the turn of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the form of Constable Visit The Infidel With Explanatory Pamphlets. Pratchett’s genius is in being so direct yet inoffensive. He is all encompassing in his scorn so no one group can feel left out.

The characterisation in this novel is particularly pleasing. Pratchett is renowned for making presumptions that the reader will characterise his cast themselves. In this novel he actually describes his motley crew of heroes, anti-heroes and villains. Vimes’s history is delved into and the relationship between Captain Carrot and Sergeant Angua is developed. It is nice to see Pratchett writing something that isn’t purely plot-driven but actually has some substance to it. All to often readers are left to fill in the gaps and for a change, in Feet Of Clay this is not the case.

As ever Pratchett is hilarious in both his observations and one liners. His cast of characters are my personal favourites and it is nice to see Death in any novel (the anthropomorphic personification not the event). The pace to this novel can be slow at times due to the change in style for Pratchett in his characterisation but the plot is gripping and reads like a parody of an old-fashioned murder/mystery novel with Captain Carrot the Watson to Vime’s Sherlock Holmes.

At 414 pages this is a longer read than many of Pratchett earlier works but benefits for it. Perhaps a bit heavy for those used to the out and out belly laughs of a “Wyrd Sisters”. Nonetheless a worthwhile read and with the increased characterisation it has the added bonus of not needed any prior Discworld knowledge.

ISBN 0-552-14237-9
Price £6.99 Paperback
£5.59 from Amazon

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