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skull_bearerNow, this is a very good book, carrying on Pratchett's trend of slowly weaning off humour to emphasise story (though the humor is still there and chuckle-worthy), and foir any other author, it's would be absolutely fine and dandy and worth the read.
Unfortunately, this is Pratchett, and, like Pixar, he is held to a higher standard than mere mortals.
Good things out of the way first: I love the set-up, how it challenges Vimes by stripping him from his usual support network and dumps him in an unfamiliar place (the countryside). I loved the setting, the confinement of small-town life and the clear class issues. I love, love, love seeing Vimes interact more with Sybil and Sam (Where's My Cow is one of my favourite Discworld books). The Pride and Prejudice references were hilarious.
Now for the iffy bits.
I'm not to sure about the reapperance of the Summoning Dark, on one hand I like the continuity, on the other it seems like it worked mostly as a McGuffin to have Vimes do stuff he couldn't otherwise that was important for the story (although I love the cliumax sequence of him guiding the riverboard when no one else could see). Although there was a sense of threat from it, it never really materialised and so fell a bit flat.
Stratford: Terry, you just ripped off Carcer again. New villains plz.
Vimes' relationship with Willikins was interesting, and fun, but I wish it could have been built up in previous books. It came a bit out of the left field.
The Goblins. Again, I feel bad about this because for anyone else I would have dealt with this with a shrug and a shaken head of 'well tried', but with Pterry it really jars. Pterry has always done a great job with having us empathise with non-humans in his books. Vice-Corperal Cuddy in Men at Arms, Cheri Littlebottom, Detritus (come on, who doesn't love him?) even one note characters such as the Low King and Mr Shine who come in for one book feel real. The goblins... didn't. I couldn't get a feel for them. They clearly have a culture and history, but we never seen more than fragments of it, the little pots seem vitally important, what with the Fred Colon sub-plot, but there's no real pay-off. None of the characters really connect. They feel like vehicles for the main characters to save and become better people. Tears of Mushrooms never really feels real, just a way to show that yo, Goblins are people too. Stinker gets close but we never really get a feel for him, and he disappears in the most head-scratching WTF resolution I've seen for a while. I have no idea what to make of him and it makes no sense.
I don't know what Pterry was trying to parallel with the Goblin plot. It seems very important, whatever it was, but... honestly? It reminds me of Avatar. 2D hated minority peoples need white humans to save them. It's... crude. It's crass. It's patronising. It could have been gotten rid of with some Goblin POVs. It sounds like something Pterry should have parodied.
And it all being made right with a song? That could have worked, but it needed more build up. A problem with introducing Goblins into the Discworld... world so late in the game. Why is Tears so good at the harp? She just is. Everyone is totally wowed by her, even Vetinari, even Lady-Unspellable-Vampire who must have hear a billion harp solos in her very long time. It feels like the sort of resolution which needed a lot more build up.
So yeah, it's good, I read it in no time flat, but it's... yeah. I don't want to say it. It just doesn't... work... the way it used to.
:'-(
Unfortunately, this is Pratchett, and, like Pixar, he is held to a higher standard than mere mortals.
Good things out of the way first: I love the set-up, how it challenges Vimes by stripping him from his usual support network and dumps him in an unfamiliar place (the countryside). I loved the setting, the confinement of small-town life and the clear class issues. I love, love, love seeing Vimes interact more with Sybil and Sam (Where's My Cow is one of my favourite Discworld books). The Pride and Prejudice references were hilarious.
Now for the iffy bits.
I'm not to sure about the reapperance of the Summoning Dark, on one hand I like the continuity, on the other it seems like it worked mostly as a McGuffin to have Vimes do stuff he couldn't otherwise that was important for the story (although I love the cliumax sequence of him guiding the riverboard when no one else could see). Although there was a sense of threat from it, it never really materialised and so fell a bit flat.
Stratford: Terry, you just ripped off Carcer again. New villains plz.
Vimes' relationship with Willikins was interesting, and fun, but I wish it could have been built up in previous books. It came a bit out of the left field.
The Goblins. Again, I feel bad about this because for anyone else I would have dealt with this with a shrug and a shaken head of 'well tried', but with Pterry it really jars. Pterry has always done a great job with having us empathise with non-humans in his books. Vice-Corperal Cuddy in Men at Arms, Cheri Littlebottom, Detritus (come on, who doesn't love him?) even one note characters such as the Low King and Mr Shine who come in for one book feel real. The goblins... didn't. I couldn't get a feel for them. They clearly have a culture and history, but we never seen more than fragments of it, the little pots seem vitally important, what with the Fred Colon sub-plot, but there's no real pay-off. None of the characters really connect. They feel like vehicles for the main characters to save and become better people. Tears of Mushrooms never really feels real, just a way to show that yo, Goblins are people too. Stinker gets close but we never really get a feel for him, and he disappears in the most head-scratching WTF resolution I've seen for a while. I have no idea what to make of him and it makes no sense.
I don't know what Pterry was trying to parallel with the Goblin plot. It seems very important, whatever it was, but... honestly? It reminds me of Avatar. 2D hated minority peoples need white humans to save them. It's... crude. It's crass. It's patronising. It could have been gotten rid of with some Goblin POVs. It sounds like something Pterry should have parodied.
And it all being made right with a song? That could have worked, but it needed more build up. A problem with introducing Goblins into the Discworld... world so late in the game. Why is Tears so good at the harp? She just is. Everyone is totally wowed by her, even Vetinari, even Lady-Unspellable-Vampire who must have hear a billion harp solos in her very long time. It feels like the sort of resolution which needed a lot more build up.
So yeah, it's good, I read it in no time flat, but it's... yeah. I don't want to say it. It just doesn't... work... the way it used to.
:'-(