Snuff: A Novel of Discworld

“Pratchett . . . has a satirist's instinct for the absurd and a cartoonist's eye for the telling detail."
—Daily Telegraph (London)

“The purely funniest English writer since Wodehouse.”
—Washington Post Book World

Sam Vimes, watch commander of Ankh-Morpork, is at long last taking a much-needed (and well deserved) vacation. But, of course, this is Discworld®, where nothing goes as planned—and before Vimes can even change his cardboard-soled boots for vacationer’s slippers, the gruff watch commander soon finds himself enmeshed in a fresh fiasco fraught with magic, cunning, daring, and (for the reader more than for poor Vimes) endless hilarity. Did he really expect time off? As Vimes himself says in Feet of Clay, “there’s some magical creature called ‘overtime,’ only no one’s even seen its footprints.” Following the New York Times bestselling Unseen Academichals, Terry Pratchett delivers an enthralling new tale from a place of insuperable adventure: Discworld.

Discworld® is a registered trademark.

For nearly three decades, Terry Pratchett has enthralled millions of fans worldwide with his irreverent, wonderfully funny satires set in the fabulously imaginative Discworld, a universe remarkably similar to our own. From sports to religion, politics to education, science to capitalism, and everything in between, Pratchett has skewered sacred cows with both laughter and wisdom, and exposed our warts, foibles, and eccentricities in a unique, entertaining, and ultimately serious way.

At long last, Lady Sybil has lured her husband, Sam Vimes, on a well-deserved holiday away from the crime and grime of Ankh-Morpork. But for the commander of the City Watch, a vacation in the country is anything but relaxing. The balls, the teas, the muck—not to mention all that fresh air and birdsong—are more than a bit taxing on a cynical city-born and -bred copper.

Yet a policeman will find a crime anywhere if he decides to look hard enough, and it’s not long before a body is discovered, and Sam—out of his jurisdiction, out of his element, and out of bacon sandwiches (thanks to his well-meaning wife)—must rely on his instincts, guile, and street smarts to see justice done. As he sets off on the chase, though, he must remember to watch where he steps. . . . This is the countryside, after all, and the streets most definitely are not paved with gold.

Hailed as the “purely funniest English writer since Wodehouse” (Washington Post Book World), with a “satirist’s instinct for the absurd and a cartoonist’s eye for the telling detail” (Daily Telegraph, London), Terry Pratchett offers a novel of crime, class, prejudice, and punishment that shows this master at his dazzling best.

“In short, this is as busy and as daft as any other Discworld yarn, which means it is the quintessence of daft. Nobody writes fantasy funnier than Pratchett.” - Booklist

"A fresh fiasco fraught with magic, cunning, daring, and (for the reader more than poor Vimes) endless hilarity. . . . Pratchett delivers an enthralling new tale from a place of insuperable adventure: Discworld." - Bookreporter.com

“The humor is sharp and the characters are charming, and the plight of the goblins creates moments of genuine pathos that are the highlight of the book.” - Tor.com

“The great thing about such a long sequence is that characters evolve and their relationships thicken, like an old-fashioned stockpot. You can keep adding new ingredients and give the whole lot a stir. In the history of comic fantasy, Mr. Pratchett has no equals for invention or for range. Those who know him will buy this for the set, and those who don’t can do no better than to buy installment No. 1, The Color of Magic (1983) and read right the way through.” - Wall Street Journal

“In the history of comic fantasy, Mr. Pratchett has no equals for invention or for range. ” - Wall Street Journal

“Series followers will delight in this latest entry as it offers them a chance to catch up with Pratchett’s recurring protagonist while enjoying a tight, fast-paced take on the traditional police procedural novel. As often happens, Pratchett’s fun, irreverent-seeming story line masks a larger discussion of social inequalities and the courage it takes to stand up for the voiceless.” - Library Journal

“A triumphant effort.” - The Independent on Sunday

“Like Pratchett, [narrator Stephen Briggs] loves the comic rhythm, sound, and very taste of words-just for their own sake. So order up a tuna-spaghetti-jam sandwich (with sprinkles) and be prepared for a wonderful time.” - AudioFile Magazine

"A lively outing, complete with sly shout-outs to Jane Austen and gritty police procedurals.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Funny, of course, but with plenty of hard edges; and, along with the excellent lessons in practical police work, genuine sympathy for the ordinary copper’s lot. A treat no fan of Discworld—and there are boatloads of them—will want to miss.” - Kirkus Reviews

“Bounding between a wealth of settings and scenarios, Pratchett has forged a wicked roster of heroines and heroes, including several members of ‘the occult community’ and Sam Vimes, a policeman who has risen from the slums of Ankh-Morpork to a dukedom without ditching his street smarts. . . . His first Discworld book may have been a frolic, but his magic has long since been set in strong moral mortar.” - Washington Post