Thief of Time

[Editor's Note: The following is a combined review with NIGHT WATCH.]--Discworld is a world that defies description. The dry wit of Pratchett is apparent in each series installment, and the same characters pop up now and then. The simple is complex (and vice versa), and the humor is dry and smart. THIEF OF TIME, a finalist for the 2002 Audie Award for science fiction, like many books in the series, is reminiscent of theater of the absurd. Pratchett take the idea of time management into Discworld and has fun with it. NIGHT WATCH deals with topics that are a bit more everyday--crime, cops, people up to no good--but in Discworld they're unlike anything else. Stephen Briggs's voices add dimension to the characters while avoiding exaggeration. He brings out the satire without compromising the subtlety of the humor. Although the review copy of NIGHT WATCH had phantom voices, the distraction was minimal. This series is meant to be read aloud. J.E.M. 2003 Audie Award Finalist (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine

April 9, 2001
Here we go again! In the newest appealing installment of the Discworld series, Pratchett (The Truth) takes on religion, time and... kung-fu movies? The cast includes Death; Miss Susan, Death's granddaughter; Jeremy Clockson, a clockmaker; Lobsang, a novice monk; and Lu-Tze, a sweeper at the temple of the History Monks. When a mysterious lady asks Jeremy to make a clock that is perfectly timed (even to the last tick), trouble begins—it seems that such a clock would have the power to stop time completely. There would be no yesterday, no tomorrow, no next minute; in fact, everything and everyone would stop in its tracks. It's up to Miss Susan, Lobsang and Lu-Tze to figure out who in the end has decided to build the dangerous clock and how to stop him before the world crashes to a halt. Along the way we learn Rule One: "Do not act incautiously when confronting a little bald wrinkly smiling man," which is a very good lesson to learn. We also find out that Lobsang has more in store for his future than to be an apprentice monk. The story includes a quick nod to James Bond flicks with Qu, the monk who supplies gadgets to Lu-Tze and Lobsang, and at the end of Time the four (no, make that five) horsemen of the Apocalypse get to ride out for a jaunt. You don't need to catch all the in-jokes to enjoy the fun. Agent, Ralph Vincinanza. 6-city author tour.