The Fifth Elephant

Discworld, Book 24

De: Terry Pratchett

Narrado por: Jon Culshaw, Peter Serafinowicz, Bill Nighy

Brought to you by Penguin.

Over 1 million Discworld audiobooks sold – discover the extraordinary universe of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld like never before.

'Well, he thought, so this is diplomacy. It's lying, only for a better class of people.

They say that diplomacy is a gentle art. That mastering it is a lifetime's work. But you do need a certain inclination in that direction. It's not something you can just pick up on the job.

A few days ago Sam Vimes was a copper - an important copper, true - chief of police - but still, at his core, a policeman. But today he is an ambassador - to the mysterious, fat-rich country of Uberwald. Today, Sam Vimes is also a man on the run.

At some point during his ambassadorship, things went very wrong. It's snowing. It's freezing. And if Vimes can't make it through the forest, with only his wits and the gloomy trousers of Uncle Vanya (don't ask), there's going to be a terrible war.

There are monsters on his trail. They're bright. They're fast. They're werewolves - and they're catching up.

The Discworld novels can be listened to in any order but The Fifth Elephant is the fifth book in the City Watch series.

'Precisely balanced . . . a cracking comic thriller' The Times

©1999 Terry and Lyn Pratchett (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Igor is a bit overplayed

One of my favorite Discworld novels, but the various Igors can get difficult to understand.

Another fun policing adventure

Another beloved book of the watch. So much fun to listen to all the adventures of the characters as they get more fleshed out and developed

Dreary Narration

Love Pratchett, and the story is interesting and clever, but the narration just sucks the life out of it. There is no energy; everything is delivered with an air of exhaustion. Pratchett can be laugh-out-loud funny but not when delivered like week-old bad news.

Brilliant writing. Narrator’s voice was difficult to understand for several characters.

As much as I loved the story, I found the (very talented) narrator’s vocal work frustrating. I think he worked so hard to ensure that all the characters had a unique voice that it actually did a disservice to the story. Several characters were VERY difficult to understand through the uniquely distinct voices the narrator created. This was particularly frustrating for a Pratchett novel, as I feel like several of his witticisms were lost through the haze of over-the-top character voice quirks. Sometimes, less is more.

Igor’s almost ruin the recording.

I enjoyed most of the book but the performer doesn’t know how to do a lisp. Igor was annoying to listen to and difficult to understand. It was bad enough that it greatly reduced my enjoyment of the book.

Sir Terry does it again

Another great addition to the Disc World series. Pratchett fearlessly dives into a topic that even a quarter century later, we're just beginning to understand. There's never been a better time to listen to this story.

Another incredible entry.

Another incredible story. Narration was excellent. Like coming home to old friends again and again.

Another great commander Vimes book

I love this book. It’s one of the best stories in the commander Vimes series. The only book in this series I like better is night watch. I listened to this series when it was originally narrated by Stephen Briggs and fully enjoyed it. However, I have to make a criticism of John Culshaw’s performance here his voice for the Igor is very difficult to understand. He’s got a wonderful deep voice, but sometimes it’s just too deep and difficult to follow.

Great Reading

I usually don’t care for new or different versions, but Penguin has done well in its casting. Characters are well voiced, and the narrator understands the intent behind Commander Vimes and company.

Love the narration

Love the Discworld Series. My favorite all time Series. The narrator was amazing. On to the next in the series