{"id":4846,"date":"2018-12-28T05:00:11","date_gmt":"2018-12-28T13:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=4846"},"modified":"2018-12-25T16:58:01","modified_gmt":"2018-12-26T00:58:01","slug":"mark-reads-thud-part-23","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2018\/12\/mark-reads-thud-part-23\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads ‘Thud!’: Part 23"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the twenty-third and final part of Thud!<\/i>, the future has arrived and it is uncomfortable. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Discworld<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For extended discussion of racism, bigotry.<\/b><\/p>\n

Just drops on a mountain.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

(Just for the record, somehow my Kindle skipped the very small interstitial scene about Methodia Rascal when I turned the page. These scenes always had a full page break on either side, so I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what happened, but that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why I missed it on video. Weird!)<\/p>\n

So, I should start here:\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It would be a lot simpler, Vimes thought, if this was a story. A sword is pulled out of a stone, or a magic ring is flung into the depths of the sea, and with general rejoicing, the world turns.<\/p>\n
But this was real life.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an interesting but necessary way for Pratchett to open the ending of this book. Because as fantastic and exciting as this huge discovery is\u00e2\u20ac\u201dDiamond and Bloodaxe DIED PLAYING THUD!!!!\u00e2\u20ac\u201dit does not really solve anything. It suggests<\/i> a solution, and the message these two kings left behind is a very, very loose guide, but what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so great about this ending is that Pratchett is still basically saying: You have to do the work.<\/p>\n
And work unfolds. As Pratchett puts it, this chaotic valley \u00e2\u20ac\u0153couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be left to its own devices, not anymore,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of many succinct summaries of this entire conflict. If Koom Valley represents this epic racial struggle, then there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the message: you cannot just let it fester and bleed and sit there. It cannot be left to its own devices, and this book has highlighted the many awful things that have transpired since history was lost, changed, and grossly misinterpreted. So, no, nothing is changing overnight, but maybe just the act of trolls working alongside dwarfs without either side breaking into a fight is a step in the right direction. Maybe it will help them understand one another, much like the game of Thud! has done for those who have played it. Even then, as things progress, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still not a path in a single direction. There are always<\/i> going to be setbacks, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why of every memorable line in this split, this one is my favorite:<\/p>\n
But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d never be simple. And for every new generation, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d have to open it again, so that people could see that it was true.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
This struggle remains cyclical. It remains a hard, dirty, and challenging thing, and as we claw ourselves toward real, substantial, meaningful progress, there will always be people desperate to cling on to the past. Or, in the case of this book, people desperate to change perception<\/i> of the past to suit their own needs. Look at the world we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in today, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a reason this book is so relevant right now: because it needs to be opened, because there will always be people who need the reminder of what came before and what could be.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
NEXT UP: Sally!!! The reveal that she is, more or less, a spy for the Low King was not what I had guessed at all<\/i> in the lead up to this resolution. I get it now; Rhys saw the opportunity, and Sally had a personal motivation for doing this, too. That part is just as important, and I really do believe that she enjoyed<\/i> being part of the Watch. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s good at it! So I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad that she gets to stick around, and my hope is that if there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s another Watch book in this series, she gets to play a part in it.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Hmm\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 was this how Vetinari thought all<\/i> the time?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a fun revelation for Vimes, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it? He sees himself as nothing like Vetinari, and yet look at how he handled what could easily be described as an impossibly complicated situation. This moment is in response to Sally\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s attempt to resign and his rejection of it, but there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something else here. In the beginning of the book, Vimes could not even tolerate the thought of a vampire joining the Watch. He barely<\/i> warmed up to it, and yet, here, in the end, there are very few references to her being a vampire, and none of them are all that direct. Instead, Vimes sees her for what she can do and what she can offer the Watch. And isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t that exactly what he should<\/i> be doing, instead of seeing her and judging her as a vampire first?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153And what could we make it do in this city?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
He and Carrot turned questioning faces to Mr. Pony, who shrugged and said: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Everything?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Like the end of Going Postal<\/i>, I feel like this scene serves to give us just the hint of a future storyline. Well, it also allows for a great joke where Vimes says he has everything he wants from Vetinari, and then it cuts to Carrot asking the Patrician for SIXTY new Watch officers. But there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a huge network of tunnels under Ankh-Morpork now that the city owns, and there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a dwarf torque\u00e2\u20ac\u201done of the Devices\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthat can help power\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, anything. So\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 transportation underground? Something CALLED the Underground, perhaps???? Maybe???? LOOK I AM TRYING.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s very modern of you, Nobby,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Fred. He smiled in the gloom. Somehow, the world was back on course.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
So, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not sure I know what the point of this subplot was. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an irony, I think, since Nobby was<\/i> more modern about his opinions towards Tawneee than some of the other characters. And perhaps that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the joke, too; Nobby could be accepting of Tawneee in a million ways, but once he finds out that she cannot cook, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a dealbreaker. So how do folks feel about this? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a little anticlimactic for me, particularly since all the other plots and subplots were resolved much more convincingly.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
What dey had been doin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 down dat hole was makin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 der worl a betterer place, Sergeant Detritus said.<\/p>\n
And it seemed to Brick, as he smelled the food, dat Sergeant Detritus had got dat one dead right.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
And here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a great example of that. The subplot with Brick is SO SATISFYING. Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a character who was largely forgotten by society, who was mistreated or insulted, but was often too sad or too high to ever fully realize how bad things were. And then he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s taken in by a troll who genuinely cares for him, and his whole life changes. Oh, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still work to be done, and Brick\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a fairy tale, either. But Detritus gave Brick a framework in which he could feel meaningful and useful, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all some people need in life. I LOVE BRICK, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M JUST SAYING.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153More important than this<\/i>?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said the dwarf king\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Thud!<\/i> ends on a sentimental note, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s earned, that reveals a new side to a beloved character, that shows us that there are things in the world that are just as important as the fight against injustice. Vimes has<\/i> to read to his son at six, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s become a promise and a moral code. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something so powerful about that. Vimes, who was so furious and angry throughout this book that he attracted a VENGEANCE entity, only wants to give his son tenderness. Love. Joy. To me, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the Guarding Dark at work. Vimes deliberately keeps the darkness inside of him when he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s with Young Sam, and he does it so that his son only experiences the light.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s love, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all.<\/p>\n
Whew, this book was SO GOOD! Next week, we jump into Where\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s My Cow<\/i>, and then move on to Discworld <\/i>book #35: Wintersmith<\/i>! I WAS TRULY NOT READY FOR THUD!<\/i> Oh, wait\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t there an actual version of this that you can play? I feel like I heard someone mention it at the Discworld<\/i> convention. Regardless: thank you. This was a blast!<\/p>\n
https:\/\/youtu.be\/WWEx_5MjxiI<\/p>\n
Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n
– The paperback edition of my debut, ANGER IS A GIFT, is now up for pre-order!<\/a> It comes out on May 7, 2019.\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the twenty-third and final part of Thud!, the future has arrived and it is uncomfortable. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Discworld.\u00c2\u00a0<\/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":[463,248,554],"class_list":["post-4846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discworld","tag-mark-reads-discworld","tag-terry-pratchett","tag-thud"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4846","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=4846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4846\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}