Thud!

By: Terry Pratchett

Narrated by: Stephen Briggs

Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Commander Sam Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch will be damned if he lets anyone disturb his city's always tentative peace, and that includes a rabble-rousing dwarf from the sticks who's been stirring up trouble on the eve of the anniversary of one of Discworld's most infamous historical events.

Centuries earlier, in a hellhole called Koom Valley, trolls met dwarfs in bloody combat. Though nobody's quite sure why they fought or who actually won, each species still bears the cultural scars and views the other with simmering animosity. Lately, an influential dwarf, Grag Hamcrusher, has been fomenting unrest among Ankh-Morpork's more diminutive citizens. And it doesn't help matters when the pint-size provocateur is discovered beaten to death, with a troll club lying nearby.

Vimes knows the well-being of his city depends on his ability to solve the Hamcrusher homicide. But there's more than one corpse waiting for him in the vast mine network the dwarfs have been excavating beneath Ankh-Morpork's streets. A deadly puzzle is pulling Sam Vimes deep into the muck and mire of superstition, hatred, and fear, and perhaps all the way to Koom Valley itself.

©2005 Terry Pratchett (P)2005 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

• 2005 Publishers Weekly Listen Up Award, Science-Fiction/Fantasy

"Pratchett's fantastic imagination and satirical wit are on full display." (Publishers Weekly)

It isn't fantasy in the first place....

What made the experience of listening to Thud! the most enjoyable?

By any measure and from any point of view, Terry Pratchett is very Very Funny - and most especially because he can be so very VERY GRIM. He had the intangible gift that we appreciate in Shakespeare and Mozart, among others; he is witty on many levels simultaneously and it is less important what his understanding of humor might be because our own is a subset of his, at best.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Every last one of Terry Pratchett's characters are three (or four) dimensional. Each has an entire life, though that life may only have been sketched in three paragraphs over the course of a single novel. In the case of Thud!, Sir Samuel Vimes is prominently featured at the center stage. I have no doubt that Commander Vimes is a great favorite of many. Certainly he has been one of mine – but the fact of the matter is that all of Pratchett's characters are my favorites. I believe in, identify with, and recognize each and every last one of them. I've known them my entire life. This, I think, is Terry Pratchett's greatest gift to all of us.

Have you listened to any of Stephen Briggs’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

In any event, read Terry Pratchett. If you can't, for whatever reason, listen to Stephen Briggs reading Terry Pratchett. I'm deadly certain that Pratchett heard Stephen Briggs in his head when he wrote this stuff in the first place.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Most of us use fantasy as a means to dull our perceptions and escape our lives – Terry Pratchett fantasies bring our lives into sharp focus and shows us where the borders are.

Any additional comments?

It's my own feeling that Jonathan Swift, with his entire life's work, was hinting at the possibility of Terry Pratchett's work. He was right, of course.

Pratchett delivered expertly

Wonderful listen. Perfect for my wife's and my honeymoon. As Pratchett fans, we could not be more delighted!

An enjoyable listen.

Haven't read Pratchett in some time . Was very enjoyable and well read by Mr. Briggs.

Sam the ma’a- uhhh... man!

Love trolls, love Sam vimes! Watch is he best part of the discworld in my humble opinion.

Because Somethings are Important.

This book came out about the time I became a father and it resonated with me in a way that I can't describe. Sam Vimes finally finds that thing that bends his unwavering dedication to the Law, as one of the most complicated plots ever to threaten the Discworld surfaces. Well, Sort of Surfaces. Mostly Underground. Incredibly narrated and probably my favorite book ever. other than Where's my Cow?

Amazing

I lisinted to all of it with ease and it was a great book. I love the characters and the details put in.

Second favorite book ever.

second favorite book ever. right behind the Hobbit.

Where is my cow? sends chills up my spine every time.

Pratchett is always gold

ive never met a Terry pratchett book I didn't love. his imagination and wordplay is unparalleled

Pratchett keeps you in good hands

Thud! is precisely what you can expect from Terry Pratchett. What you can expect from his is, good stuff.

Very solid

not quite as gripping or exciting as some of the other city watch books but definitely solid, entertaining and very memorable. lots of iconic moments. it's a regular 5 but only a Terry Pratchett 4.