The Fifth Elephant: Discworld #24

Terry Pratchett's Discworld is custom-made for audio. Even though I own and have read (and re-read) every one of his Discworld novels, listening to them lets me experience them with the fullness of leisurely thought and imagination.

With my purchase of The Fifth Elephant, we now own all 22 of Terry Pratchett's titles that have been released by Audible.com, and would be extremely grateful if Audible would add the missing titles as soon as possible

For once they knighted the right man in Sir Pratchett. This 'Watchmen' audiobook and its fellows are the perfect antidote to the boredom of commuting or queues. The escapades of Sir Samuel Vimes and his cadre, this time in out of Ankh-Morpork and into the werewolf-ridden steppes of Uberwald, are as always not just fantasy, or fiction, or humour, but ethics and science and sociology and pathos.
Unlike a few other reviewers, I prefer Mr. Briggs's narration/direction to Nigel Planer's: the female characters no longer sound like the Kray Brothers, and there is a Welsh cadence in the voices of dwarves of all heights, look you.
Warning: listening to this in public will draw strange looks as you laugh out loud.
I look forward to the next 'Watchmen' audiobook.

I really miss Nigel Planer. It takes a good hour to 'get into' Mr Briggs. But once I adjusted to the characters new voices, I was engrossed in this wonderful fantasy. The story examines new characters and gives some interesting personal developments. Plots within plots and fanciful fun really make this another entertaining book in the series.

I had put off getting this discworld book because the name and description just didn't interest me. What a surprise it was to find that it is now one of my favorites in the 'Sam Vimes' books. He travels with his wife into political intrigue and exciting experiences with werewolves, vampires, and dwarves. There is also a great side plot of sorts between Capt. Carrot & Lt Angula. I am about to listen to it a third time...
(please excuse any mispellings in the names since I only get the audiobooks)

As usual, this Discworld book is wonderfully done. Stephen Briggs uses a number of accents that convey cultural meaning in this world as well as they might in the Discworld. He also chooses voices that are spot-on the characters as I imagined when I was reading the book. Detritus sounds like I think a troll might, whereas in previous audiobooks he might sound like an enthusiastic Scotsman.

even though I am not a native english speaker, I widely enjoy this book. It starts off a bit surrealitically, like a childbook, and from there on it gains ground with every minute. all what you know about how people deal with each other is illustrated in the characters of the plot. It is witty and funny as well. And the narrator is great, with what I believe to be an english accent and with lots of varieties in his voice with regard to intonation and dialect. Really good reading and literature !!

This is one of my favorite Discworld novels. It features "the watch" which is always a recipe for success plus the story line is excellent. I was a fan of Nigel Planer's narration but I think Stephen Briggs is also excellent and he brings the characters to life in this story.

I once walked into a book store and asked for something by a writer like Clive Cussler. The answer was, "There is no one like Clive Cussler". Well, that describes Terry Pratchett perfectly. Be warned, once you start reading, or listening to, his books, there is no known substitute. The Fifth Elephant is not his best, but it is far better than anything else available. The only tiny complaint I have is that I wish that he would stick with Nigel Planer as the reader for all his books.

Gave a four rather than five stars only because it took a good hour or two to adjust to Brigg's reading style and voices. Great Story, but I must say I really miss and prefer Nigel Planer's narration.

I own a couple of memberships and have enjoyed many books but none are as delightful on audio as those of Discworld. Intelligent, witty, clever, outrageously entertaining--it took me forever to try these books (I hate things other people rave about) and now am glad they are there to enjoy now. I've listened to everything from old time radio to . . . at night and while travelling. None is more enjoyable than Pratchett. I think this was the best novel after the first two but I rate them all 4 or 5 stars.