Hello, it's Reviewsday Tuesday, it's time for a new episode of Discworld Discourses,
And today I am going to be talking about Thief of Time
Which is the 26th book in the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett, first published in 2001.
In this book, which is the fifth in the Death sub-series,
A young clockmaker is hired by a mysterious woman to build a perfect glass clock,
And young Lopsang Ludd is apprenticed to Lu-Tze, a History Monk.
Thief of Time is I think the first Discworld book that I ever picked up many years ago
Because we randomly had it in our house, it was the only Terry Pratchett book I had access to for a long time.
But I don't think I got very far into it, I certainly don't remember reading the whole thing at that stage,
I think I found it too confusing.
And it wasn't until I read it properly as part of the full series that I really enjoyed it.
So this reread is the second time of me properly reading the book
But it's the third time that I have picked it up.
I would say that it's one of the more complicated Discworld books.
It's a book about time and the manipulation of time, and there's a lot of philosophy in it.
Characters don't over explain things so the reader has a bit of work to do
And I felt like I was sometimes struggling to keep up.
And we also have three parallel stories going on, which I enjoyed.
Although as with all Discworld books, and all Terry Pratchett books, it is full of wit,
It's not, I would say, one of the laugh out loud Discworld books,
So I'd say that between it being one of the more complicated books and also not one of the funniest,
It's maybe one of the Discworld books which isn't so rewarding
If you're not already invested in the Discworld and the world and the characters.
Although I'm sure there are plenty of people who read Thief of Time
As their first Discworld book and had a lovely time,
I personally wasn't one of those people
And wouldn't generally recommend it as being your first foray into the Discworld.
Thief of Time I think is a great book for characters and it's one of my favourite things about it.
We don't have too many main characters as well which is very helpful.
I was very happy to be back with Susan and Death.
I love all of the stuff with Susan's classroom and her teaching methods,
And I also really enjoyed the Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
And Nanny Ogg's cameo as well, I had completely forgotten that she was in this book.
I also really liked Lopsang Ludd as a character.
He's one of those one-off characters that I really got involved with.
And Lu-Tze even more so, I love Lu-Tze as a character, I think he's a great creation.
I was less invested in the Jeremy Clockson part,
But by the end of the book I really liked Lady LeJean
And just the whole concept generally of the Auditors getting overwhelmed by human bodies.
There's some really great stuff in this book.
I would say that I never felt like there was a ton of jeopardy,
It never felt particularly to me like the world was ending.
It was missing for me that excitement, that wanting to read on all the time.
But it was still a good enjoyable read.
I think I enjoyed the book slightly more the last time I read it
But I think some of my enjoyment last time came from the surprise
Of loving the book when I had previously not understood it at all,
Whereas this time I knew that it was good and that I liked it so it didn't have quite the same impact .
All that said, I will give Thief of Time 4.1 out of 5.
To me it's more of a rewarding read than it is an easy read,
But I still think it's a really good read.
I'd really love to know what you think about Thief of Time if you have read it.
Some facts about this book.
This is the final Death book, although he as a character appears in pretty much every Discworld book.
But it's our last time with Susan unfortunately,
Which I'm sad about because she's one of my favourite female characters in the Discworld series.
Thief of Time is the final Discworld book with a cover by Josh Kirby.
Marco Soto was named after the winner of a charity auction
Who won the chance to have their name used in a Discworld book.
If you liked Thief of Time, what should you read next?
If you haven't read them yet, I would recommend the previous Death books,
Especially Reaper Man and Hogfather.
If you're up-to-date though with the Death series then maybe Night Watch could be a good place to go
Because it's another one that plays around with time.
If you didn't get on so well with Thief of Time,
The next Discworld books are The Last Hero and The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents
So they could be both fun places to try.
That is it for today, my next Discworld discourse will be on 18th February
And I will be reviewing The Last Hero.
This is my copy of The Last Hero. I don't think I'll be taking this one on the train.
The full list of Discworld books and when I'm planning on reviewing them will be linked in the description below.
Thank you so much for watching, let's move across to the end screen.
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I hope you have a fantastic day and I will see you soon!