Feet of Clay: A Novel of Discworld

“This is fantasy served with a twist of Monty Python, parody that works by never taking itself too seriously.” —Publishers Weekly

Murder! Mahem! Bacon sandwiches! People are dying suspiciously in Ankh-Morpork, and Sam Vimes of the City Watch will find the truth. Another brilliant and hilarious Discworld adventure from beloved New York Times bestselling author Terry Pratchett

For Commander Sam Vimes, Head of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, life consists of trouble . . . and more trouble: a werewolf with pre-lunar tension, a dwarf with attitude, a golem who’s begun to think for itself. Now he’s got the unusual deaths of three elderly Ankh-Morporkians on his hands. It’s murder in Discworld!—which ordinarily is no big deal. The problem is, the deaths do not bear the clean, efficient marks of the Assassins' Guild; there’s an apparent lack of motive, and there’s no trace of anything alive having been at the crime scene. What Vimes does have are some tracks of white clay and more bothersome “clue” thingies that muck up his investigations.

The anger of a fearful populace is already targeting the city’s small community of golems—those mindless, absurdly industrious creatures of baked clay, who can occasionally be found toiling in the city's factories. And certain highly placed personages are using the unrest as an excuse to resurrect a monarchy—which would be bad enough even if their would-be “king” wasn’t as empty-headed as your typical animated pottery.

In addition to quieting the restless populace, Vimes has to find out whodunit—and howdunit too. He’s not even sure what they dun. But as soon as he knows what the questions are, he’s going to look for some answers.

The Discworld novels can be read in any order, but Feet of Clay is the 3rd book in the City Watch collection and the 17th Discworld book.

The City Watch collection in order:

• Guards! Guards!
• Men at Arms
• Feet of Clay
• Jingo
• The Fifth Element
• Night Watch
• Thud!
• Snuff

It's murder in Discworld!—which ordinarily is no big deal. But what bothers Watch Commander Sir Sam Vimes is that the unusual deaths of three elderly Ankh-Morporkians do not bear the clean, efficient marks of the Assassins' Guild. An apparent lack of any motive is also quite troubling. All Vimes has are some tracks of white clay and more of those bothersome "clue" things that only serve to muck up an investigation. The anger of a fearful populace is already being dangerously channeled toward the city's small community of golems—the mindless, absurdly industrious creatures of baked clay, who can occasionally be found toiling in the city's factories. And certain highly placed personages are using the unrest as an excuse to resurrect a monarchy—which would be bad enough even if the "king" they were grooming wasn't as empty-headed as your typical animated pottery.

"Full of sly puns and the lively, outrageous characters his readers expect. . . . This is fantasy served with a twist of Monty Python, parody that works by never taking itself too seriously." - Publishers Weekly

“Both comic and dark, blending high fantasy, twisted storytelling and all manner of wordplay. . . . A fine place to start reading Pratchett.” - New York Times Book Review

“Compulsively readable. . . . Like Jonathan Swift, Pratchett uses his other world to hold up a distorting mirror to our own, and like Swift he is a satirist of enormous talent. He shares with Aristophanes a sense of the comedian’s mission to teach, and with Sophocles a concern to examine the rule of law versus the rights of the individual.” - Sunday Times (London)

“Bubbling with wit and wisdom: both an excellent story and a tribute to beat cops everywhere, doing their hair-raising jobs with quiet courage and determination.” - Kirkus Reviews

“The author’s talent for comedy does not falter as he continues to set the standard for comic fantasy.” - Library Journal