Product Description

Time is of the essence in Terry Pratchett's twenty-sixth Discworld novel.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9724 in Books
• Published on: 2002-05-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
In Thief of Time in the great stinking metropolis of Ankh Morpork, an obsessed clockmaker receives an unusual commission from an excessively beautiful woman whose feet do not touch the ground; strict school-teacher Susan finds herself summoned by her grandfather, Death, to do him a favour; the monks who manage the even distribution of Time find themselves with a recalcitrant novice; and dairyman Ronnie Soak muses on his glory days, when he was the Fifth Rider of the Apocalypse, the one who left before they got famous.

Terry Pratchett's Thief of Time, confronts Discworld and a variety of its defenders with an insidious menace; never before has the phrase "The End of History" had quite so sinister a sound. As always, the sometimes startlingly surrealistically original, sometimes comfortingly groan-worthy, jokes are underlain by some intensely complex ideas and tight plotting. Susan makes a reappearance as one of Pratchett's more interesting heroines; the sinister Lady LeJean is one of Pratchett's most interesting villains, particularly once we learn the answer to the mystery about her.

There is an attractive darkness to much of the humour here--Pratchett is often at his best when at his darkest.--Roz Kaveney

Charles Spencer, Sunday Telegraph
‘In a better world he would be acclaimed as a great writer rather than a merely successful one…This is the best Pratchett I’ve read’

Peter Ingham, The Times on Saturday
‘Reads with all the polished fluency and sure-footed pacing that have become Pratchett’s hallmarks over the years’

Customer Reviews

Clever, funny but meaningless
This was my first Pratchett book and I still don't know what all the fuss is about. It was clever in a schoolboy sort of way and funny in parts but by the end I found it rather tedious. TP has an amazing imagination and he takes us on a fantastic tour - but ultimately it is just froth - fun, lightweight and meaningless.

new to Pratchett
This is the first Pratchett novel that I've read but I have to say that I'm very impressed and will definitely be repeating the experience. I found it a very quick read, which here is a compliment rather than anything else, because the storyline was so fast-paced without skimping on detail. It was frequently very funny and got a fair few laughs. Very satisfying and had a brilliant ending.

'If the first one was nougat it didn't count'
When I first borrowed this book I set it aside for quite some time, but when I actually read it I got really interested in it. I think my favourite part was the chocolate philosophies, which cropped up a few times. Another advantage was that it had Susan in it, who is my favourite character in the series, but what I really liked about it was that she meets Nanny Ogg, which, as is pointed out, is an education in itself.
In this volume Susan is a schoolteacher, and seems to develop a more caustic side than in her previous chronicles - as well as a weakness for chocolates (unless they contain nougat)
This time, however, a new descendant of an anthropomorphic personification (I pride myself on actually knowing what the words mean) is introduced - this time the son - or sons - of Time. The plural is a bit complicated and I won't go into it, but his name is Lobsang Ludd, but he didn't appeal to me as Susan did and thus I hope he won't crop up again in the series.
And there are other characters making an appearence - this time the Auditors (featured in Reaper Man and Hogfather), this time assuming human form (and going by names of colours a la Resevoir Dogs - e.g. Mr. orange, Miss taupe and Mr. Dark Avocado - I personally think that there should have been a Mr/Miss Off-White.)
I found the plot a bit difficult to follow and I'm still not sure I've got the hang of it, but I quite liked it. Most of it, anyway.