Book Review: Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett

I have been going through an awful time lately, and rereading Feet of Clay has helped me get through it. The beauty of Discworld novels is that while they feel light and entertaining, there is something deep bubbling underneath. Like with Feet of Clay, Pratchett asked questions like Kings! What to do with them? Why do we want them? Do they magically make things better? Or is it the fact that we can push all our worries to them? And blame? That is just scratching the surface. Pratchett asks questions about race, gender, prejudice, and how we define a sentient being and what rights belong to and whom. It is this fell written combination of deeper questions with the engaging, humane story, in this case, of murder that makes life seem more bearable. And you to think that I’m glad someone is asking these questions and making fun at them with characters like Nobby Nobbs (one of my favorite characters, I cannot but to love him,) Vimes, Angua, Carrot, Cheery Littlebottom, Wee Mad Arthur, and Detritus. Feet of Clay is a great book. One of the best Discworld novels.

There is one tiny but, now as I have been rereading the Discworld novels with a rapid speed, I had forgotten how much Watch novels revolve around Carrot’s heritage. I won’t get into details, to spoil the plot. But this book had, in a way, the same theme as Guards! Guards! and Men at Arms twisted into different murder mysteries. I had forgotten that part. Not that the similarity made me enjoy the book less, but the first thought I had when reading farther was “Oh, this again.” But I soon forgot that thought and was sucked into the story and into the characters who had deepened to that familiar level, making me think things like that’s good old Samuel Vimes, yes Wilkins by his side, Nobby Nobbs the cheeky little devil and so on. That tells me as a writer how wonderful Pratchett’s writing is, how he has created his characters to have a soul which will live on.