One of Sir Terry's later books -- maybe his last? -- Snuff carries on the humorous Discworld tradition, with just a touch of thought. In this case, we have a species that is disgusting. They smell horrible, they save their earwax, mucus and other body secretions, they dress in filthy rags, and are incorrigible thieves. Even goblins don't respect goblins. So, when a bunch of goblins are taken away on the grounds that they are vermin, the locals don't say anything, although there is something somehow wrong about it. Then again, the local pub has a mounted goblin head over the bar.

Ankh-Morpork police commander Sam Vimes and his wife Lady Sybil, in the area on vacation, don't see it that way. A murder on the property gives Sam a chance to do some investigation, digging up some serious muck along the way.

Bringing this to the BCinDC meet-up at La Madelaine on King Street in Old Town.

I am finding the book I am currently reading interesting, but a bit heavy and slow, so I figured I would be in the mood for something a bit lighter next. I grabbed this at today's get together because it fit that description, and because the recent news of Pratchett's passing reminded me of how many of his books I still need to read.

Sam Vimes, commander of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, and (by marriage) Duke of Ankh, is not the type of person who relishes the chance to escape his everyday life. In fact, he appears to consider the very idea of a vacation to be a subtle form of torture. But his wife insists that the family visit her ancestral home and that Sam take some away from the job of protecting the city, so Sam goes. However, almost as soon as he arrives at their country estate, be begins to sense that something is going on, something of questionable legality, something that merits investigation. And before he knows it, he is drawn into an adventure that makes him a hero and changes the status of an entire race of creatures.

Pratchett has returned to Discworld and dishes up an exciting mystery story filled with some of our favorite characters (although, sadly, Death does not make an appearance in this one). While the underlying story is a moderately straight forward mystery, it has some twists that could only happen in Discworld, and the story is embellished with Pratchett’s usual satirical commentary on contemporary issues. In this case, we explore the dehumanizing effects of stereotyping a class of individuals, and the impacts it can have in extreme cases. There is also a great deal of reflection on the role of law in maintaining peace and order, and about the role of law enforcement and the proper loyalties of officers of the law.

I didn’t find this book to be quite as “laugh out loud” funny as some other Discworld books, but nonetheless it was thoroughly entertaining, and leaves me looking forward to my next visit to Pratchett’s imaginative world.

This book will be available at tomorrow's BC-in-DC meeting in Old Town Alexandria.

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Picked this up from the BCinDC meetup's book pile. Who can resist a Discworld novel!? And one that I haven't read yet. Thanks for bringing the book!