he 30th novel set in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series begins—appropriately enough, considering the title—with a thud. That's the sound a club makes when it smashes a dwarf's head—in this case, in a tunnel below the Discworld city of Ankh-Morpork. All witnesses instantly agree that a troll must have committed the murder, and that the situation isn't a mystery at all. But where there's crime in Ankh-Morpork, dogged City Watch Commander Sam Vimes is certain to turn up sooner or later to investigate, especially if all present agree that they know exactly what happened and that there's really no need for him to get involved. Vimes, the star of a growing number of Discworld books, most recently including Night Watch and The Fifth Elephant, is an incorruptible, implacable lawman who always gets his man. Or troll, or dragon, or imp, or whatever. But as usual, he's juggling far more than the question of a single murder.
For instance, there's the problem of citywide dwarf/troll tensions, which are mounting as the anniversary of the historical Koom Valley battle approaches. With a group of particularly troublesome dwarves stirring up trouble on the streets, those tensions seem likely to erupt in open warfare. Meanwhile, an immense, valuable painting of the Koom Valley combat has been stolen. The City Watch is being audited by a prissy fact-finder. Under pressure from the blood-eschewing vampire League of Temperance, Vimes has reluctantly hired his first vampire cop, much to the horror of werewolf cop Capt. Angua. And then, of course, there's the question of whether Vimes will be home by 6 every evening to read the picture book Where's My Cow? to his 14-month-old son.
Typical of Pratchett's sense of humor, Where's My Cow? becomes a more important plot point than it has any right to be. (It's also been published separately as a picture book "for people of all sizes.") But most of the plot threads cohere into a single neatly wrapped story by the end, and even "thud" takes on a new and even more significant meaning.
Familiar faces, familiar games
Like so many of the Discworld books, Thud! in some ways serves as a mirror on the real world; in particular, the dwarf/troll conflict, with its historical and religious roots and angry modern leaders, has some parallels with the Irish Troubles, though it could almost as easily stand as a metaphor for longstanding conflicts in the Middle East. Pratchett isn't just covering a real situation with a thin layer of artifice, though; the book isn't nearly so simple. Instead, it's another carefully layered mystery that artfully teases readers with hints before explaining anything significant. Pratchett has constructed a number of books in similar fashion recently, and longtime Discworld readers—certainly the best audience for this book, which assumes familiarity with the extensive set of characters associated with the Ankh-Morpork City Watch—will recognize some of what Pratchett's up to when he begins the book with several oblique scenes taking place in various times and places.
Part of the fun of reading Pratchett's books these days comes from watching all those plot threads cohere. But as has been the case with his last handful of books, the central story is skillfully tied together, but the side plots get short shrift. The rivalry between Angua and Sally the vampire cop seems particularly perfunctory, with Angua—a rich and rewarding character in other books—mostly repeating the same few thoughts over and over in this one, until everything is suddenly resolved.
Fans of Pratchett's giddy wordplay and wicked sense of humor may also be disappointed, as Thud! contains little of either by his standards. But Thud! still has all the other hallmarks of Pratchett's best work, from a tricky plot that comments trenchantly on human behavior even when his characters aren't human to by-now-familiar characters who develop further every time they come into view. New readers should back up and start with an earlier and more accessible installment, like the initial City Watch book, Guards! Guards!, but Discworld fans will likely regard this as yet another welcome visit from characters who've become old friends and remain eternally interesting ones.
