The Fifth Elephant

(Discworld Novel 24)

By: Terry Pratchett

Narrated by: 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 read in any order but The Fifth Elephant is the fifth book in the City Watch series.

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

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

Critic reviews

'Precisely balanced...excellent set pieces...a cracking comic thriller' (Peter Ingham)

The twenty-fourth Discworld novel

Great narration, interesting story

Nothing to dislike at all. Jon Culshaw is a wonderful narrator.
Loved the storyline.
Next City Watch story already bought.

One of my all time favorites- so much fun!

Terry Pratchett's wonderful cast of characters come to life in this story of redemption and absolute hilarity!

The narration is amazing, each character spins like they've been plucked right out of my brain!

Always a favorite, this Discworld novel gives us a glimpse of the far reaches of the Disc through the Ankh-Morpork lens of Commadre Vimes! One of my favorite audiobook performances!

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.

Igor is a bit overplayed

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