Tag: The Fifth Elephant

Book Review – The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett

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The Fifth Elephant

The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett is the 24th novel in the author’s Discworld series and the fifth novel in the “City Watch” sub-series. Sam Vimes, commander of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, lives a life fraught with danger, pursuing hardened criminals throughout his notorious and modern city and dodging assassins sent by those with distaste for such a committed man of the law. He is about to face his toughest challenge, however, when made to step into his role as a Duke and play ambassador to the mysterious and filthy-rich country of Uberwald, a place that follows its own rules in deference to the various figures who hold power there. Politicking may not be his forte, but with a sacred dwarf artifact going missing and murders piling up, a no-nonsense policeman may be just what the place needs, if only he can keep the wolves from snapping at his heels.Read More »

Top 5 Books I Read in 2023

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It’s that time of year again where I start reflecting on the past year’s reading endeavours and determine which among them were my favourites. As always, this isn’t about books that came out in 2023, just the ones that I enjoyed the most among all the books that I finished, listed in no particular order.

Surprisingly, I found this list a little more difficult to put together than normal, as somehow I didn’t really have the pool of books to pull from that I thought I did. Though I made a great effort to get a lot more comics read, I didn’t actually read much more novels than last year, and unfortunately I think there were a few more middling books than is usual for me. In any case, let’s get to this year’s list.Read More »

WWW Wednesday – January 3, 2024

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WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

Nothing at the moment! I’m between books, taking some time to cool off in the new year.

Recently Finished

The Fifth ElephantThough it took until pretty much the eleventh hour, I finished reading The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett during New Years. Though I took time away from the blog to visit family for the holidays, I actually got a fair amount of the book read while I was away, which is uncharacteristic of me. Still, it wasn’t quite enough to stop me from needing to read up until the last minute, but I’m happy I got it done all the same. Though I don’t like it as much as others, my opinion on this novel really turned around, despite taking a little while to get going. Ultimately, I just needed to be a little patient, as the first half of the novel did lay a solid foundation and build toward something really compelling. I love how much he’s able to make this world funny, yet have the funny little details matter beyond just being humour.

Reading Next

The Employees (2)At the moment, I don’t really have a solid plan for what I want to read next. I kept alluding to a book I would maybe squeeze in at the end of the year, and obviously I did not do that. That book was The Employees by Olga Ravn. It’s a short science fiction novella about the crew of a ship, both organic and synthetic alike, becoming fixated on strange objects they take onto their ship. The story is told in employee memos and reports, which sounds like a really interesting format, and it also looks like it won’t take me long to read at all, so I’ll hopefully get through it soon now that I have a clean slate. Other than that, I still want to read All My Friends Are Creeps by Count D. soon, since I’m borrowing it from a friend.

Until next time, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – December 20, 2023

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WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

The Fifth ElephantThough I had the reading time I expected this week, I only read about another 100 pages in The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett; I was really hoping I would get through more of the book than that, but I was exceptionally sleep-deprived that day, so I only had the capacity for so much. To be honest, I’m not sure how I feel about this outing regardless. At almost 200 pages in, it doesn’t really feel like the story has gotten started, it just feels as if we’re still building up to something. Maybe I will come to better appreciate the slow burn later on, but right now I wish I had a firmer understanding of what’s going on and what’s at stake. So far, the only thing with any real substance is the subplot surrounding Fred Colon serving as acting captain while Vimes and Carrot are gone, resulting in the other members of the Watch forming a police union.

Recently Finished

Paper Girls 6I’m happy to report that over the weekend I finished reading the sixth and final volume of Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughn and Cliff Chiang. I really enjoyed the way this wrapped up, especially in how it felt a little more subdued. There was plenty of spectacle to be had, but by far the most tension I felt was after their time travel adventure had already been concluded. I was desperate for any and all signs indicating what might be in store for these girls after the conclusion of the book. All in all, it was really bittersweet and ambiguous. I don’t tend to get emotional while I’m reading very often, but this ending definitely had an effect on me. In some ways it rehashed some of the events of the first volume, which I’m happy to say I remembered enough about to spot some differences, but I’m also especially determined to read through the series a second time now to better appreciate it.

Reading Next

All My Friends Are CreepsI think I might read All My Friends Are Creeps by Count D., a poetry collection that a friend of mine let me borrow after I talked to them about how I often struggle with reading poetry. I can already tell it’s poetry I’m going to enjoy, and the art is really appealing to me too. Though it’s a pretty monster-oriented book overall, I’m thinking I’m going to try and count this as a Christmas ghost story of sorts, since I’ve not really committed to anything else for the holiday. I expect that this won’t take me long to finish either.

Until next time, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – December 13, 2023

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WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

The Fifth ElephantI’ve made a fair amount more progress in The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett; I’m nearly at 100 pages in, though it still feels like the story is in its preliminary stages. Vimes has finally set out for Uberwald with Sybil and his retinue in tow, but it’s not gone much further than that yet. It seems the city watch back in Ankh-Morpork will still have plenty to do while he’s gone though, as a robbery and a strange murder remain unsolved. I’m curious how it will all tie together with Vimes’s diplomatic mission. Some detail has been given on what the fifth elephant is supposed to be, which seems to be dealing more with it as an idea than something literal, though there does seem to be a suggestion that one actually did exist. I don’t know why, but I assumed the story would be about it more actively, like as an active, existing entity. I’m sure this is a lot more interesting. Knowing more sure does make the cover funnier too.

Recently Finished

The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess 11Over the weekend I finished the 11th and final volume The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess by Akira Himekawa. The final fight against Ganondorf made for some great moments, especially with some more fan service involving the Hero’s Shade, aka the Hero of Time. There was also more attention paid to the romantic angle between Link and Midna without deviating away from the ending of the game, which I also appreciated. A marriage between narrative elements of this and the quest in the game really would be something. I couldn’t help being a little disappointed with this though, as it was really just the final fight and then the story quietly wrapping up. I can’t help but feel it would’ve been more impactful if all of this had been included in volume 10 for a grander finale (and a nice round number of volumes).

Reading Next

I still have plenty of time to finish reading Paper Girls, and I may have time to squeeze in a final small book too, I just want to prioritize The Fifth Elephant before I commit to anything. With the year winding down part of me is fine with just quietly finishing what I’m already working on with reading. We’ll see.

Until next time, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – December 6, 2023

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WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

The Fifth ElephantThough I didn’t give myself quite as much time with it as I was hoping, I started The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett on Monday, the next novel in the Discworld series that I need to read. I’m only about 50 pages in, so the story has barely started, but so far this book sees us back with Vimes and the City Watch of Ankh-Morpork. It seems Vimes is going to have to play diplomat more than copper in this book, however, as he is being sent as an ambassador to Uberwald. I’m really excited that Uberwald is a part of this story after being featured so heavily in the previous novel. I don’t expect things to be too referential, but its giving some enjoyable connective tissue between the two.

Recently Finished

Paper Girls 5Over the weekend I read through the penultimate volume of Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughn and Cliff Chiang. Thankfully, I’m reading it close to the last volume, so I’m having no issues following what’s going on. This volume has us seeing greater and greater signs of all of the elements of the story weaving into each other, which has really got me wanting to do a reread at some time in the near future. I especially have a feeling that reading the beginning of the story will be significantly different the second time around. With the way things are coming together, I can’t help but hope some of these girls are able to change their fates, even though everything points to that being outside of possibility. Hopefully by next week I’ll know how everything pans out.

The Lost WorldOn Monday I finally finished reading through The Lost World by Michael Crichton, which continued to be weaker than the first novel, though the final third of the book had enough action going for it that it was at least fun. I think it’s hilarious that Ian Malcolm ends up with a messed up leg and high on morphine for a significant portion of this novel too. Also, compared to the film, Sarah Harding is really badass in this novel and all around had stronger characterization than the other characters; though the novel isn’t really “about” any one person, I wish it had spared more focus on her. Overall, I think this book’s problem is that the plot was just too weak; this may be a little ungenerous, but I feel Crichton didn’t put much effort into contriving a reason for people to be mucking about on a dinosaur island again.

Reading Next

I’ve gone over my near-future reading plans a lot now, so expect more Paper Girls and Twilight Princess manga soon, maybe by next week. I don’t want to state the last book I might read this year, in case I have to push it to January.

Until next time, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – November 22, 2023

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WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

The Lost WorldI got a respectable 100 pages or so further into The Lost World by Michael Crichton with the extended reading time I had available to me earlier in the week. I really need to start putting more time into this book at other points throughout the week though so that I can get it finished up sooner. I’m liking this novel fine, but the dryness of Crichton’s writing style is more apparent here than it was with the first book, which definitely had its own moments with that. I’m honestly finding myself a little bored with it so far, as the characters spend of lot of time lecturing to each other and there isn’t much conflict to speak of at the moment. Hopefully things will pick up as different parties presumably start to clash. There’s a lot of emphasis on the topic of extinction and how the dinosaurs allow them the opportunity to study it as a natural phenomenon, and I’m curious about how this may work into the narrative.

Recently Finished

Shut Up Slow Down Let Go BreatheOver the weekend I made myself read through Shut Up Slow Down Let Go Breathe by Marcus McCann; that sounds a lot more harsh than I mean, though, as I had trouble getting into it as I predicted. This is no fault of the poet, I just have trouble getting into a lot of poetry. I had the same problem reading an Emily Dickinson collection. I was determined to read through the whole thing, however, as it wasn’t very long and I want to push myself outside of my comfort zone at least some of the time. Overall, I enjoyed it well enough. Some of the poems managed to break through and resonate with me too, so I’m glad I was able to take something away from the experience despite how I struggle with the medium. I even took a photo of a couple of pages so I can revisit them.

Reading Next

The Fifth ElephantI’m realizing that there really isn’t a lot of time left in the year, so I’m going to have to make some concrete decisions about what I want to finish before 2024. So, I know that the next full-length novel I want to read is The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett. I may not meet all the goals I set for the remainder of this year, but I want to at least achieve this one (catching up on all the Discworld novels I owned at the time I set the goal). There are some other shorter books I’m going to try to squeeze in too, but I definitely want to make sure I read this one.

Until next time, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.