The Fifth Elephant (Discworld, #24)

a novel of discworld

389 pages

English language

Published Sept. 5, 2001 by HarperTorch.

ISBN:
978-0-06-102040-7
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OCLC Number:
46885201

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4 stars (17 reviews)

The flat world is supported on the backs of four elephants. But aren't there supposed to be five? Indeed there are. So what happened to the fifth elephant? An investigation of an attempted assassination leads Commander Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork constabulary on a wild goose-or rather, elephant-chase that will lead him to discover the truth about the missing pachyderm. Everyone knows that the world is flat, and supported on the backs of four elephants. But weren't there supposed to be five? Indeed there were. So where is it? When duty calls, Commander Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork constabulary answers. Even when he doesn't want to. He's been "invited" to attend a royal function as both detective and diplomat. The one role he relishes; the other requires, well, ruby tights. Of course where cops (even those clad in tights) go, alas, crime follows. An attempted assassination and a theft soon lead to …

20 editions

Menos chistes y más trama

4 stars

Cuánto tiempo (demasiado) sin avanzar en mi proyecto de leer todo Mundodisco en orden. Según avanza la saga se va notando que Pratchett (#speakHisName) no se siente obligado a meter chistes constantemente y dedica mayores esfuerzos a la trama y a la construcción de ese universo maravilloso que habita a lomos del Gran A'Tuin. De esta novela destacaría, más allá de su entretenida trama de politiqueos y espionaje, su mensaje de compresión y tolerancia que demuestran una vez más que el mundo es un lugar un poquito más tolerable gracias a Pratchett.

Makes you think

5 stars

This is book is not full of laugh out loud moments or quick jokes, but rather takes the time to tell a really nice and compelling story with Sam Vimes in a heroic starring role. As always with Pratchett, the book is full of references to our own round world and makes you think about our own behaviour more than once

light copaganda, discworld as always

4 stars

something that always strikes me about the portrayal of policing in Discworld is that the Watch is often portrayed as little better than a nuisance. But for Plot reasons there's always a diabolical scheme brewing in the background that needs Vimes's detective skills to uncover. This ultimately serves as a justification for the continued existence of the Watch. Real life, of course, has no Wolfgangs.

divorced from my distaste for cop apologia, though, it's a very good discworld book.

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Subjects

  • Discworld (Imaginary place)
  • Fiction

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