Thud! [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

That is just about the scenario found in "THUD", Terry Pratchett's latest roller coaster ride through Discworld. The origin and outcome of the ancient Battle of Koom Valley between the Trolls and Dwarves has been obscured and the subject of much debate; but, the lingering and long-lasting hatred between them means they are always one spark away from renewed battle.

Grag Hamcrusher is what you might call a Dwarf extremist. Emerging from the depths he rails against those dwarves who have risen close to the surface. He intimates Dwarf residents of Ankh-Morpork who have made accommodations to a life lived above ground. Hamcrusher is a zealot who would like nothing better than to renew a holy war against the hated Trolls. As Thud opens Hamcrusher has just been murdered, thud "being the sound the heavy club made as it connected with the head". The initial evidence, a troll club found near the apparent murder scene, seems destined to bring their historic enmity to a boil. It is up to Commander Vimes and the Watch to find out who killed Hamcrusher and try to avoid a war that could destroy Ankh-Morpork.

The Patrician, not surprisingly, has complicated matters for Vimes. Bowing to pressure to increase the diversity of the Watch, Vimes is obligated to hire his first vampire, a very young, very attractive lady named Sally. This serves to increase the tension in the Watch most notably with Angua, the Watch's werewolf. Sparks fly and the claws are drawn as Angua senses that Sally is more than a bit interested in Captain Carrot. The Patrician has also seen fit to bring in a pencil pushing bureaucrat to audit the Watch's operations. This all serves to make Commander Vimes' own emotional fuse as short as the one keyed to the Trolls and Dwarves.

It is never a good idea to reveal too much of the plot in a review. This is particularly the case for the Discworld books where Pratchett has twists and turns on every page. Needless to say, events race from pillar to post. The furtive nature of the Dwarves, whose emotions are as submerged as the Dwarves themselves and the rather stoic nature of the Trolls (with the exception of Shine who appears to be one droll troll) has Vimes feeling as if he is trying to complete a jigsaw puzzle without any visual image of the puzzle he is trying to solve.

Two elements of Thud put Thud for me in the highest rank of Discworld books. First, we are given very full, textured look at Commander Vimes. The reader is exposed to the growing disconnect between his controlled, outward demeanor and his emotionally charged interior that seem to grow increasingly more uncontrolled as the plot develops. It is both compelling and more than a bit scary. It brought Vimes to life in a very realistic way. Second, I thought the ending was one of Pratchett's best conclusions.

Thud is a great addition to the Discworld series.

Into the quietly seething mixture of Ankh-Morpork peoples there arrives a new element. For years, the dwarfs have scrambled up out of the deep dark of their mines to emigrate to Sam Vimes' city. They've become the city's largest "minority group". While boisterous, dwarfs are generally well behaved. Clashes with their ancient enemy, the trolls, have taken little real toll of either group. The deep dark of those mines, however, contain a secret. A secret treasured and sought by elements of dwarf society who consider themselves guardians of its value - the "grags". Nothing offends a grag as much as encountering someone who has "seen the light". These guardians scorn the "short humans" who have abandoned traditional dwarf values in Ankh-Morpork's materialist environment. One of those "traditional values" is the cause of the ancient clash in Koom Valley.

A Discworld legend in its own right, the Battle of Koom Valley is one of those "We won!" - "No, we won!" myths so many societies possess. Each side ambushed the other. Both sides shamefully ran away at its conclusion. Legends inspire spin-off myths and Koom Valley is no exception. There's even a massive painting depicting the confrontation. And a "sign" is supposedly hidden away in the daubs of paint. Or someplace. It's hard to tell, however, since the 50 feet of canvas has been taken from its frame. Vimes, who might be goaded into solving that crime, hasn't the time. He's busy investigating a murder that didn't happen. And learning to cope with a new recruit - one representing the last minority group entering his City's population.

It takes a split personality to appreciate Pratchett fully on a first reading. One side can inhale the wit and surprises Pratchett produces in all of his stories. The other side can take pause and note the graceful nuances that represent deeper human values. Are the grags just fantasy characters? Or are they mullahs, rabbis or even ministers from the Southron Baptist Convention? If dwarfs, golems and trolls in the City Watch are "all coppers", are the citizens of Ankh-Morpork just citizens? Should the distinctions and customs of various groups be allowed to set aside or modify the City's Law? How meaningful are "ethnic traditions" and who is allowed to decide what these shall be? Pratchett, with astonishing frankness, wraps these questions within his usual framework of wit and hilarity. But when you've recovered your breath from laughing, you will find the questions still there.

Those who are new to Pratchett may find this book a bit confusing. The characters, developed and portrayed over many volumes, have clearly depicted, individual personalities. The new reader, along with Mr A.E. Pessimal, may well ask "What is Corporal 'Nobby' Nobbs for?". Many of us are still wondering. But no Pratchett reader would give up the man who carries a certificate to prove he's human. And all will welcome this new, worldly, version of The Auditors. The new reader will meet Angua and may puzzle over her reaction to Sally. The established reader will gain an entirely new view of this officer - and be reminded that Gaspode forecast aspects of canine behaviour several books back. All these twists and arabesques demonstrate once more, if it needed buttressing, that Pratchett, even after so many Discworld books, remains a master of innovation and surprise. New and faithful readers of Pratchett will combine to applaude this outstanding work. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]