Carpe Jugulum: A Discworld Novel (Discworld Novels)

The plot is a version of an earlier Discworld novel, Lords and Ladies, with the predatory elves of that novel being replaced here by suave and deadly vampires, and the tiny kingdom of Lancre being defended by its witches. But plot is the least of Pratchett's appeal, and Carpe Jugulum is loaded with marvellous characters (not least the witches themselves, about whom we learn a deal more here), comic touches and scenes of genius, and even some of the renowned down-to-earth Pratchett wisdom (here about the inner ethical conflicts we all face, and the wrongness of treating people as things). Pratchett's vampires are elegant Bela Lugosi types, and they come up against an unlikely but engaging alliance of witches, blue-skinned pixies like Rob Roy Smurfs, a doubting priest with a boil on his face and a magical house-sized Phoenix in a seamless, completely absorbing and feel-good-about-the- universe mixture. Highly recommended. --Adam Roberts

I actually bought this book for light reading, as I had a long train journey to go on with nothing to entertain me. As always seems to be the case with Pratchett's books, I had no idea what was going on for the first 2 or 3 chapters, but once the characters had settled down into their roles I was able to enjoy it much more. I always love the way Pratchett portrays his characters, and Carpe Jugulum is no exception. He manages to tell a story with great wit, humour and clarity, while managing to keep us interested about all the characters. This subtle blend of serious storytelling and hilarious absurdity is very much in the style of the other Pratchett books I have read, and once again I loved it.

Well done Terry. Keep it up!