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Synopsis
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Review
Terry Pratchett has a seemingly endless capacity for generating inventively comic novels about the Discworld and its inhabitants, but there is in the hearts of most of his admirers a particular place for those novels that feature the hard-bitten captain of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, Samuel Vimes. Sent as ambassador to the Northern principality of Uberwald where they mine gold, iron, and fat--but never silver--he is caught up in an uneasy truce between dwarfs, werewolves, and vampires in the theft of the Scone of Stone (a particularly important piece of dwarf bread) and in the old werewolf custom of giving humans a short start in the hunt and then cheating.
Pratchett is always at his best when the comedy is combined with a real sense of jeopardy that even favorite characters might be hurt if there was a good joke in it. As always, the most unlikely things crop up as the subjects of gags--Chekhov, grand opera, the Caine Mutiny--and as always there are remorselessly funny gags about the inevitability of story:
They say that the fifth elephant came screaming and trumpeting through the atmosphere of the young world all those years ago and landed hard enough to split continents and raise mountains.No one actually saw it land, which raised the interesting philosophical question: when millions of tons of angry elephant come spinning through the sky, and there is no one to hear it, does it--philosophically speaking--make a noise?
As for the dwarfs, whose legend it is, and who mine a lot deeper than other people, they say that there is a grain of truth in it.
All this, the usual guest appearances, and Gaspode the Wonder Dog. --Roz Kaveney, Amazon.co.uk
About the Author
Terry Pratchett is one of the most popular authors writing today. He lives behind a keyboard in Wilt shire and says he 'doesn't want to get a life, because it feels as though he's trying to lead three already'. He was appointed OBE in 1998. He is the author of the phenomenally successful Discworld se ries and his trilogy for young readers, The Bromeliad, is scheduled to be adapted into a spectacular animated movie. His latest book, The Truth, is the 25th novel in the Discworld series.
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- PublisherCorgi Books
- Publication date2000
- ISBN 10 0552146161
- ISBN 13 9780552146166
- BindingPaperback
- Edition number1
- Number of pages459
- Rating
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The Fifth Elephant: A Discworld Novel
Published by
Transworld Publishers Ltd, United Kingdom, London, 2000
ISBN 10: 0552146161
ISBN 13: 9780552146166
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Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
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Paperback. Condition: Good. Fifth book of the original and best CITY WATCH series, now reinterpreted in BBC's The Watch 'Precisely balanced . . . a cracking comic thriller' The Times The Discworld is very much like our own - if our own were to consist of a flat planet balanced on the back of four elephants which stand on the back of a giant turtle, that is . . . '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 book has been read but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact and the cover is intact. Some minor wear to the spine. Seller Inventory # GOR001158595
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The Fifth Elephant: A Discworld Novel
Published by
Transworld Publishers Ltd, United Kingdom, London, 2000
ISBN 10: 0552146161
ISBN 13: 9780552146166
Used
Paperback
Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Fifth book of the original and best CITY WATCH series, now reinterpreted in BBC's The Watch 'Precisely balanced . . . a cracking comic thriller' The Times The Discworld is very much like our own - if our own were to consist of a flat planet balanced on the back of four elephants which stand on the back of a giant turtle, that is . . . '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 book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR001220176
Quantity: Over 20 available
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The Fifth Elephant: A Discworld Novel
Published by
Transworld Publishers Ltd, United Kingdom, London, 2000
ISBN 10: 0552146161
ISBN 13: 9780552146166
Used
Paperback
Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Fair. Fifth book of the original and best CITY WATCH series, now reinterpreted in BBC's The Watch 'Precisely balanced . . . a cracking comic thriller' The Times The Discworld is very much like our own - if our own were to consist of a flat planet balanced on the back of four elephants which stand on the back of a giant turtle, that is . . . '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. A readable copy of the book which may include some defects such as highlighting and notes. Cover and pages may be creased and show discolouration. Seller Inventory # GOR001184911
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The Fifth Elephant: Discworld Novel 24
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