Book Review: Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett

Another Discworld Book Club book. It is so fun to reread the books and have a chance to talk about them. I was glad that Moving Pictures finally came up. I wanted to give it another chance to wow me as the first time around I wasn’t convinced. I hoped a different outcome, but no. Holy Wood isn’t for me. What I concentrated on was the backstories for future books for Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler, Detritus, Mustrum Ridcully, and other wizards, but I didn’t care what happened to Victor or Ginger.

While the story isn’t bad, it is coherent, Ankh-Morpork, the wizard, and everything is more in line with the later books and have developed well, I wasn’t engaged. And it wasn’t because of the writing, which has gotten better from the earlier books. The jokes are more refined, and there are several references to old classical movies like Casablanca. And I could look past the fact that the two protagonists were forgettable. But I couldn’t look past that for me this book missed Pratchett’s heart. The satire isn’t there. The usual social-political commentary is weak. I could see glimpses of it here and there. Things like dreams and dangers and powers of moving pictures with idolization, but the story’s fast pace overshadowed them.

I hoped I had missed something the first time around, but I hadn’t. This is a good comedy fantasy book, but not a good Discworld book for me. Not in the way what I look from them.

Thank you for reading!