Thud! A Novel of Discworld
by Terry Pratchett
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Book Summary Information
Author: Terry PratchettEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-09-13
ISBN: 0060815221
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Harper
Book Reviews of Thud! A Novel of Discworld
Book Review: A Fatwa on Fundamentalism!
Summary: 5 Stars
Possibly because of the timing (I was reading "Thud" during the repercussions of the British foiling of the liquid-chemical-explosive plot to blow up ten UK-to-US planes), I was struck by the similarity between the "deep-down" dwarves and the fundamentalist/extremist Muslims preaching hatred and killing in the name of "identity" and "life's mission" and "making the world a better place".
There were several references to "city" dwarves who really knew nothing about mining -- in fact, were wholly acculturated to London -- sorry, Ankh-Morpork -- but "felt better" when the listened to the nonsense about how "true dwarfdom" meant never admitting to sunlight. I took these to be a commentary on the problem of "alienated young Muslims", like the native-born Brits who engineered the bus and subway bombings about a year ago. (I'm not quite sure about the trolls -- they do bear a resemblance to those know-nothing neo-Nazi skinheads who enjoy nothing so much as football hooliganism and bar fights, kind of like my redneck cousins who believe their duty is to rough up anybody whose skin is darker than skim milk.)
Unalloyed satire can be too bitter, so the sweetness which overcomes the piercingly accurate, side-splittingly funny portrayal of all the amazing flavors of human frailty is the devotion of Sam Vimes not only to his duty but now to his 14-month-old son. It's this fatherly devotion which keeps his duty from morphing into a fundamentalist obsession with authority and bureaucratic rules. Some dwarves may be cruel murderers and thieves, but then there's Carrot -- and Carrot's father -- to prove that it's people, not principles, or race, or religion, that's what really matters.
Sam Vimes reminds me of my father who was a career Army sergeant -- he has a probably deservedly low opinion of the public he serves. He understands the basic futility of struggling against politics, bureaucracy, human nature and the other Sisyphean boulders of civilization which are about as likely to smash the good as the evil people.
However, because Sam Vimes loves a few people, even with all their faults, he keeps going, doing his best. Let's hope Death gets bored by many more near-Vimes experiences -- and he sticks around a good long time!
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