Rating: 5/5
Review:
One of Pratchett's best
This is perhaps one of Terry Pratchett's less well-known
Discworld novels, but I think it is one of the best – which may be all that
need be said, really, but for the record:
Carpe Jugulum features the Witches, as vampires arrive in
Lancre and take over the country. These
are very *modern* vampires who have overcome many of their old vulnerabilities
and want to use their immense power to enslave the country so they may exploit
and kill people – but in an oh-so-orderly and civilised fashion while
convincing everyone that it's in their best interests. It is, of course up to Granny Weatherwax,
Nanny Ogg, Magrat (now Queen Magrat) and Agnes Nitt to stop them. Things don't go as you might expect, and a
genuinely thrilling and at times truly scary story develops.
Pratchett manages his usual miraculous combination of a
superbly gripping story, real laugh-out-loud humour and important
insights. Carpe Jugulum was published in
1998 but, twenty years on, might arguably be read as an allegory of the
behaviour of some current multinational companies. It certainly celebrates the individual and
has plenty of Pratchett's wonderfully clear-eyed and humane insights into more
intimate human issues. The opening
scenes, for example, with Granny Weatherwax visiting a difficult birth and what
she says about choices are among the most powerful in any of the Discworld
books, I think – and yet characters like Igor, the Wee Free Men and Hodgesaargh
(not to mention Nanny Ogg) add wonderful humour and wit while quietly making
some very serious points.
In short, this is a great read and very, very warmly
recommended.
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