Terry Pratchett‘s latest paperback “Snuff” is a return for one of my favourite characters Sam Vimes, or His Grace His Excellency the Duke of Ankh Commander Sir Samuel Vimes of the Ankh Morpork Watch. However, for some reason this book didn’t hit the mark with me.
The basic plot involves Sam going on vacation, which in itself is something which appears never to have happened. He is taken to Lady Sybil Vimes ancestral home in the country – the countryside being something that Sam is particularly uncomfortable with. The plot revolves around the basically racist behaviour towards goblins, simple appearing creatures who are kidnapped and murdered.
But for me this is a longer and less punchy story than most of Pratchett’s work, with the interesting bits simply being spaced too far apart to keep me hooked. The humour is dry, the plot plodding and basically I just kept falling asleep. It is nice to have more of the old characters but really I’m not sure it was worth it.
Hi Graham, I think you’re right. I found Snuff to be a book with nuggets of what I love about Pratchett but not a novel stuffed full of joy and intrigue like other work.
It felt a bit like an “extended universe” novel – something written in his setting but by a talented fan rather than up with his best works.