Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett (First U.S. Edition)

In Ankh-Morpork, the greatest of Discworld's cities, Commander Vimes is determined to stop an unlicensed murderer, and his investigation leads to a vampire dragon, a vegetarian werewolf, and other strange discoveries.

A flat platter of a planet spinning atop the backs of four giant elephants perched on the shell of an immense turtle: it's no surprise that life on Discworld is far from mundane. Pratchett's 17th Discworld novel picks up where his last, Men at Arms, left off, following Ankh-Morpork City Watch Commander Samuel Vimes and his fellow cops as they strive to maintain a semblance of order in a city as infamous for its intrigues as for its ethnic diversity. An elderly priest is killed, then the harmless old curator of the Dwarf Bread Museum is found beaten to death with one of his own exhibits. Investigation reveals a link to the city's golems?silent, tireless workers built of clay and brought to life with magic. There's a rash of golem suicides, and Vimes uncovers a plot that could topple the government. Pratchett's latest is full of sly puns and the lively, outrageous characters his readers expect. Those new to Discworld?which first appeared in Pratchett's The Colour of Magic, 1983?will have no trouble keeping up with the action. This is fantasy served with a twist of Monty Python, parody that works by never taking itself too seriously. Author tour; U.K. and translation rights: Ralph Vicinanza.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Replete with parodies and puns, this second Discworld novel to appear this year finds previous city guardsman Commander Vimes, assisted by dwarfs, trolls, and a female werewolf, determined to solve a murder with a golem as the prime suspect. Wonderfully hilarious; recommended for fantasy collections.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Pratchett brings Discworld, the city of Ankh-Morpork, and Commander Vimes of the city guard back once more, and it comes as no surprise that Ankh-Morpork's assassins and thieves have guilds and that killing or stealing outside guild limits is severely frowned on. So when a nonunion assassin goes to work in the city, Vimes has to resort to various expedients, including hiring a dwarf, one Cheery Littlebottom, to deal with the culprit. Pratchett's humor is as off-the-wall as ever, so the pursuit of the assassin is as witty and nonsensical as ever, and raising the question of a king for the city hints of possible future changes. Pratchett hardly needs to alter his combination of whimsy, satire, and subtly intelligent world building in order to hold on to his many readers and win new ones. Roland Green