Snuff

By: Terry Pratchett

Narrated by: Stephen Briggs

Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

For nearly three decades, Terry Pratchett has enthralled millions of fans worldwide with his irreverent, wonderfully funny satires set in the fabulously imaginative Discworld, a universe remarkably similar to our own. From sports to religion, politics to education, science to capitalism, and everything in between, Pratchett has skewered sacred cows with both laughter and wisdom, and exposed our warts, foibles, and eccentricities in a unique, entertaining, and ultimately serious way.

At long last, Lady Sybil has lured her husband, Sam Vimes, on a well-deserved holiday away from the crime and grime of Ankh-Morpork. But for the commander of the City Watch, a vacation in the country is anything but relaxing. The balls, the teas, the muck - not to mention all that fresh air and birdsong - are more than a bit taxing on a cynical city-born and -bred copper.

Yet a policeman will find a crime anywhere if he decides to look hard enough, and it’s not long before a body is discovered, and Sam - out of his jurisdiction, out of his element, and out of bacon sandwiches (thanks to his well-meaning wife) - must rely on his instincts, guile, and street smarts to see justice done. As he sets off on the chase, though, he must remember to watch where he steps... This is the countryside, after all, and the streets most definitely are not paved with gold.

Hailed as the “purely funniest English writer since Wodehouse” (Washington Post Book World), with a “satirist’s instinct for the absurd and a cartoonist’s eye for the telling detail” (Daily Telegraph, London), Terry Pratchett offers a novel of crime, class, prejudice, and punishment that shows this master at his dazzling best.

©2011 Terry and Lyn Pratchett (P)2011 HarperCollins Publishers

Another great Discworld novel.

Snuff grew on me in the listening. I know we are nearing the end of Sir Terry's run, but this is a strong detailed story with all the fun of the best of the series.

One of Sir Terry’s best, IMHO

I love the Discworld books - all of them. There are, however, a few which are particularly outstanding, and Snuff is one of those.

This story is entirely focused on Sam Vimes; not just The Watch, but Sam in particular. As all Vimes stories do, it features the concepts of justice (goblin rights!), social progress, and personal introspection. (Also, various types of animal poo.)

Wilikins and Sybil both have significant roles in this book, which is a nice change. It’s a “case fic”, as all the Vimes stories are, complete with chase scene, fake-outs, arrests, etc. No old mums were harmed in the making of this book. Even the chickens survive!

The narration is excellent, with Stephen Briggs doing a flawlessly consistent job, as usual. Fantastic story, with enough explanations to get the gist of the characters, even if you’ve never read any other Discworld books.

One of the best

Absolutely one of his best works which saying something profound considering the quality of the rest of the authors works.

So much fun!!!!!!

How can you not love the Vimes series in Discworld? Stephen Briggs is a delight to hear, and an immensely talented vocal performer. I first heard him voice Going Postal, and have been a tremendous fan of his broad spectrum of character voices ever since. Terrific crime adventure novel, with all the rollicking fun of the best on the Disc!!!!

*(My only wish is that Helen Mirren would voice some of Sir Pratchett’s female characters, but that would get rather pricey.)

Very good.

Pratchett's sense of humor makes every line worth the read, but the story in this book builds from a pointless character sketch to a brilliant, satirical work about prejudice and cultural bias before you realize it is doing it. Well worth the read, both for the story and for Pratchett's inimitable writing. The reader is amusing, too.

Gotta love Vimes

This definitely isn't one of my favorites, but I can't not like Vimes. On the downside, it's pretty dark, Fred Colon is remarkably unlikable, and like Vimes, I don't especially enjoy the countryside. On the plus side, Vimes is kickass, Wilikins finally gets rounded out as a character, and young Sam is surprisingly entertaining. Wish we could see him grow up more.

Second best Vimes book

This is the second best Vimes book, after Thud. I suggest that you read this series of Vimes books in chronological order.

Simply Wonderful

I love reading anything by Terry Pratchett, but having Pratchett read by Stephen Briggs takes it to an especially elevated level of enjoyment. I hope the Discworld series continues forever.

Love

Loved it. Any of the city watch books are my favorites of the discworld series.

Fantastic companion during my hour long commute.

This was a great story and I was very sad when it was over. One of the better Sam Vimes stories.