Thief of Time: A Discworld Novel

Terry Pratchett

Oct 2009 · Discworld Book 26 · Sold by Harper Collins

About this ebook

"Philosophical humor of the highest order." — Kirkus Reviews

Time itself is threatened—and it's up to the History Monks to save it in this hilarious installment in Sir Terry Pratchett's bestselling Discworld series.

Everybody wants more time. Which is why, on Discworld, only the experts can manage it—the venerable Monks of History who store it and pump it from where it's wasted, like underwater (how much time does a codfish really need?) to places like cities, where busy denizens lament never having enough of it.

While everyone talks about slowing down, one young horologist is about to do the unthinkable. He's going to stop. Well, stop time, that is, by building the world's first truly accurate clock. Which means esteemed History Monk Lu-Tze and his apprentice Lobsang Ludd have to put on some speed to stop the timepiece before it starts. For if the Perfect Clock starts ticking, time—as we know it—will end. And then the trouble will really begin . . .

The Discworld novels can be read in any order but Thief of Time is the final book in the Death series. The collection includes:

• Mort
• The Reaper Man
• Soul Music
• Hogfather
• Thief of Time

Ratings and reviews

There are definitely some great ideas in this book (the abbot had me in stitches) however for the most part it is rather difficult to follow and gets carried away with anthropomorphic manifestations. Human-form Death is joined by his granddaughter, War, Pestilence, and Time-- what a mess. Its hard to feel any empathy for these immortal characters, playing by their own rules with no discernible purpose to their existence.

Pratchett is the only hyper-prolific novelist I've ever encountered who seems to get better and better at his craft the more he publishes. His latest Discworld novels and the YA trilogy _The Wee Free Men_, _A Hat Full of Sky_ and _Wintersmith_ have been tightly-plotted and hilarious gems. This 2001 entry in the Discworld series does not quite hold up to that standard -- perhaps a novel based on the conceit of time simply offered too many opportunities for random plot permutations, leading to a fuzzy and unconvincing resolution -- but even sub-par Pratchett provides quite a few highly entertaining conceits and clever asides in the course of a light, fast, amusing read.

Terribly funny, had me laughing my socks off like never before

About the author

Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) was the acclaimed creator of the globally revered Discworld series. In all, he authored more than fifty bestselling books, which have sold more than one hundred million copies worldwide. His novels have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he was the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal. He was awarded a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to literature in 2009, although he always wryly maintained that his greatest service to literature was to avoid writing any.