Recent Reads

Thud!, by Terry Pratchett. Sam Vimes, the stubbornly straitlaced head of the Ankh-Morpokh city guard, is faced with a touchy and potentially deadly situation. Relations between the city's dwarfs and trolls, never very good, are on the point of exploding into open riot as the anniversary of an ancient battle approaches and a group of fundamentalist "deep-down dwarfs" seems intent on provoking confrontation with their hereditary enemies. A murdered dwarf and an accusation that a troll is responsible may be the final spark, unless the indefagitable Vimes can smoke out the truth. In between episodes of detective work, Vimes tries mightily to keep up with his newfound domestic duties, including most notably the ritualistic daily 6-o-clock reading of an illustrated storybook to his young son.

The blending of Sam Vimes' hardboiled detective outlook and the comical absurdities of the city and its eccentric inhabitants makes for an enjoyable light read.