The 25th Discworld novel sees the arrival of moveable type to Ankh-Morpork, inspiring William de Worde to found the Discworld's first newspaper, with Sacarissa Cripslock as his fellow reporter and Otto Chriek, a vampire who has forsworn human blood, as iconographer (photographer) and the press run by dwarves.
It's not long before they find themselves up to their necks in trouble, though, when Lord Vetinari, the patrician of Ankh-Morpork, is accused of attempted murder. This opens the way for the election of a new ruler – one more to the liking of a secretive committee of "concerned citizens", who also seem to have links to a Mr Pin and a Mr Tulip, "The New Firm", who can fix all manner of 'problems'.
Huge fun – laugh-out-loud funny on occasion – and with plenty of the satire that Terry Pratchett is famous for. He sends up the world of newspapers, of course, but his other motifs include Watergate and organised crime.
Pin and Tulip are a Tarantinoesque pair, very much cut from Pulp Fiction. Yet it's so typical of Pratchett's skill that, at the end, you actually feel a twinge of pity for Tulip. As always, the author shows the marvellous ability to switch from farce to pathos in a few lines, making you aware, in the process, that he has created characters that you really care about.
Super fun – and with a wonderful sense of it actually having something to say.
It's not long before they find themselves up to their necks in trouble, though, when Lord Vetinari, the patrician of Ankh-Morpork, is accused of attempted murder. This opens the way for the election of a new ruler – one more to the liking of a secretive committee of "concerned citizens", who also seem to have links to a Mr Pin and a Mr Tulip, "The New Firm", who can fix all manner of 'problems'.
Huge fun – laugh-out-loud funny on occasion – and with plenty of the satire that Terry Pratchett is famous for. He sends up the world of newspapers, of course, but his other motifs include Watergate and organised crime.
Pin and Tulip are a Tarantinoesque pair, very much cut from Pulp Fiction. Yet it's so typical of Pratchett's skill that, at the end, you actually feel a twinge of pity for Tulip. As always, the author shows the marvellous ability to switch from farce to pathos in a few lines, making you aware, in the process, that he has created characters that you really care about.
Super fun – and with a wonderful sense of it actually having something to say.
