Tempus Fugit (Thief of Time - Terry Pratchett)

Member Name: mattygroves10

Product:	Thief of Time - Terry Pratchett
Date:	05/10/05 (258 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: DEATH, the DEATH of Rats, Auditors, and the meaning of Time . Oh, and an Igor.

Disadvantages: VERY complex, LOTS of characters, and I don't like milk.

Come back with me to that strange world, where DEATH is more than a state of (non) being; where magic is real, and where Time really is a woman. The world is a flat disc, and is carried through space on the backs of four elephants, who, in turn rest on A'Tuin, the great turtle.

Come with me to Terry Pratchett's Discworld, via the 26th (!) novel in the series, Thief of Time.

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The Plot(s)
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Oh, my, these are complicated in Thief of Time. In the beginning, there were the riders. There used to be five, but one left citing creative differences. Or something. So now there are four – and you know them – DEATH, War, Famine and Pestilence. The fifth left before they were famous.

In the beginning, there was the story - the observation, the narrative. But, of course, you only hear part of the narrative. What happens AFTER the child notices the emperor's new clothes?

In the beginning, there was Wen The Eternally Surprised. He was a history monk, who realised that each moment was created anew, so that the only appropriate state of being is surprise and joy.

Or...in the beginning, there were the History Monks. They live in the monastery of Oi Dong and are the fighting monks of Wen. "The job of the History Monks is to see that tomorrow happens at all."

Or...we could begin with the midwife. Three times she was called on...by the same man, of the same time. Once, she was a young maiden witch. She'd never attended a birth. The man left. Later, a middle aged, twice married witch. Still, she wasn't the best, and the man left. And finally, Nanny Ogg was summoned to a particularly difficult birth, as by now, she was the best midwife in the world. Yet, it was always the same man...and it was confusing – he always seemed to be in a hurry, and no time between visits seems to have passed for him. Nanny Ogg's time was...compensated for.

Or shall we start with Jeremy Clockson. He is dull. I mean REALLY dull. Oh, he can talk about clocks. He can tell you about the cuckoo clock bird (a bird that makes cuckoo clocks in which to nest), about grandfather clocks, magical clocks, even the "rare Hershebian beetle clocks...but for some reason, he always ran out of listeners before he ran out of clocks". What a surprise. However, he IS good at building clocks. The clockmaker's guild even employee him to do this – so long as he stays away from the guild itself.

<<See, I TOLD you this was complicated!!>>

Jeremy was an orphan raised by the clockmaker's guild. But he clearly has an obsession, above and beyond the call of duty (for which he takes medicine.) He is therefore perfect for the purposes of Lady Myria Le'Jean, who speaks in the third person, and seems strangely...grey. Can anybody remember the Auditors? Those grey beings who loathe disorder. Personality and life assumes disorder. That is bad.

Jeremy (with the help of his assistant, Igor. He has his grandfather's hands. Literally), is asked to build the ultimate clock. The clock that will measure the tick of the universe. That will tick with the smallest amount of time possible between 'then' and 'now'. It will be a glass clock.

It seems there was a myth about a glass clock. Something about Time (the woman) trapped in it. Something about Time (and everything else) stopping. But surely it's a myth?

Or would Lobsang, a novice History Monk be a better start? He can manipulate time – slice it, run between the edges of then and now. He is apprenticed to Lu Tze, the Sweeper; the master, who has his Way (The Way of Mrs Cosmopilite – whose pearls of wisdom include 'it won't get better if you pick at it'). Oh – and his hobby is bonsai mountains.

And, of course, we have Susan. She's DEATH's granddaughter. DEATH runs in the family, sort of.

And, naturally, we have...DEATH BY CHOCOLATE! (I thought that would awaken you chocoholics).

So – the glass clock is being built. It will stop time. The riders will ride, the world will, well...stop. The Auditors will win, and will collect data. It's up to Lobsang, Lu Tze, DEATH and Susan to stop them....and perhaps with a hand from the forgotten fifth horseman. And a pint of milk. And for the rest, read it yourself!

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The Review
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Goodness me, what a long plot summary – and that only covers the very beginning. How complex.

But Time (and time) is complicated. So is the plot!

Because of the complexity, Thief of Time has, in my opinion, neither as much humour, nor as much poignancy of the other Discworld novel I've reviewed (Reaper Man). Nevertheless, it contains some very amusing satire (anyone remember the series with David Carridine – was it Kung Fu?) on martial arts/eastern mysticism films and television, on music (remember the fifth Beatle?), on fairy tales, and on the nature of Time itself.

For example – how often do we say things like 'time flies', and haven't you noticed some days really creeeeeep, yet the months and years seem to fly? If someone 'fixed' time, would we notice, or would we explain it away, logically, to ourselves?

It swipes at the Four (or is it Five?) Horsemen of the Apocalypse – whose side are they on, anyway? And who IS the fifth horseman – what is the primal fear? And who IS that milkman, and how DOES he deliver cold milk to everyone at EXACTLY 7.00 am?

And what are an Auditor's weaknesses? Is life dangerous? Is being individual dangerous?

I know, questions, questions. For answers, you'll have to read the book.

Does it all work out? Is this Terry Pratchett? I don't think I'm giving much away by saying yes, it does. More or less. The cherries ripened in the valley. Eventually.

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Recommendation
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I enjoyed the book, but I do not think it's one of Pratchett's all time best. It's SO complex. Many of the characters are inadequately explored. DEATH only has a fairly small part (my favourite character!). The plots intertwine and separate often and regularly. It can be...well...baffling.

However, Thief of Time is still better than much else that is out there. It is funny, it does explore interesting themes, and, like many of Pratchett's later books, delves into a Discworld character who was hitherto a bit player (Lu Tze had a small, yet important part in Small Gods).

So, for a Pratchett, three stars; for a humorous fantasy book, four.

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The End
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Tick

"Even with nougat, you can have a perfect moment"

Summary: Thought provoking, VERY complex installment in the Discworld series - if you have the time.