In the first part of The Fifth Elephant<\/i>, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M IN, LET\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S DO THIS. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Discworld<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Well, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m starting my twenty-fourth Discworld<\/i> book today. And after twenty-three of these things, I was ready for some<\/i> familiarity. Indeed, this book employs a few repetitive themes or motfis. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got the massive scope of the introduction, the detached narration, and the hint of something, somewhere, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hiding. Or happening. Or sneaking around. Or plotting. You get the idea. (And usually, I completely forget about it until later.) It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a common method that Pratchett uses for foreshadowing, so not exactly revolutionary or anything. Thus, the fifth elephant must be important, as well as the dwarfen myth that a fifth elephant crashed onto the Disc. (Right as I typed that, a light went off in my head: that must be the reason for the fat deposits in the ground!) The same goes for the sleeping \u00e2\u20ac\u0153thing\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in the wagon. IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S IMPORTANT, I KNOW IT.<\/p>\n
But all is not the same in Ankh-Morpork! I was honestly surprised to get another Watch book so soon after the last one, but I am not complaining at all. Why? Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s changed since the last Watch book:<\/p>\n
These elements of progress are exciting for the reader because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a sign of just how much Pratchett has grown the Watch since they were first introduced. Gods, I can barely fathom just how run down, ignored, and dismissed the City Watch used to be, and now? Meetings with Lord Vetinari all the time. More rigorous patrolling. Departments. Technology. How many people actually work for the Watch these days? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even know!<\/p>\n
The Watch has come a long way, so I understood why Vimes felt so impossibly busy with the job. (Again, what a huge change for his character, too.) However, I am selfishly thrilled about the RIDICULOUS set-up for this book, which Pratchett gives us in the first twenty pages: the dwarfs of \u00c3\u0153berwald have a very important crowning (of the Low King!) coming up. It is vital that Ankh Morpork have a presence so that they can continue to benefit materially from the things that the dwarfs export to other nations. (Including those fat deposits.)<\/p>\n
Guess which Duke has to go?<\/p>\n
Look, on a very base level, I love the idea of Vimes being annoyed. HE\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S JUST SO FUNNY WHEN HE IS UNCOMFORTABLE AND IRRITATED. But I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m actually more<\/i> excited about who he is going to bring along with him:<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I suggest Sergeant Angua, Sergeant Detritus and Corporal Littlebottom.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ah,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Carrot, nodding encouragingly.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sorry?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Vimes. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I think there must have been a whole piece of conversation just then that I must have missed.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A werewolf, a troll and a dwarf,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Carrot. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ethnic minorities, sir.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6but, in Uberwald, they are ethnic majorities<\/i>,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Lord Vetinari. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153All three officers come from there originally, I believe. Their presence will speak volumes.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t recall Detritus or Littlebottom coming from there, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122l blame that on my memory, not Pratchett, and WHO CARES, THIS IS INCREDIBLY EXCITING. Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, I definitely<\/i> did not expect another trip to \u00c3\u0153berwald after Carpe Jugulum<\/i>, but we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re gonna get one AND it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be in the midst of the complicated and dramatic Low King ascension, AND three of my favorite Watch characters will all get to be along for the journey AND Vimes will most assuredly have to wear silly outfits.<\/p>\n THIS IS MY THING. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t wait!!!<\/p>\n http:\/\/youtu.be\/N8ykoRR-VBY?a<\/p>\n Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n – I am now on Patreon<\/a>! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards. I POST A LOT OF CUTE PHOTOS, OKAY. Think of it like a private Tumblr blog that only SPECIAL PEOPLE get to read.<\/b> In the first part of The Fifth Elephant, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M IN, LET\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S DO THIS. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Discworld.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[451],"tags":[463,248,527],"class_list":["post-4138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discworld","tag-mark-reads-discworld","tag-terry-pratchett","tag-the-fifth-elephant"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4138\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n– I have updated my list of conventions and events for the remainder of the year and much of next year. Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page.<\/a>
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often. My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.<\/a>
\n<\/b>– Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a> I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"