The Fifth Elephant

April 3, 2000
Acclaimed British author Pratchett continues to distinguish himself from his colleagues with clever plot lines and genuinely likable characters in this first-rate addition to his long-running Discworld fantasy series (Carpe Jugulum, etc.). This time around, the inhabitants of Discworld's Ankh-Morpork have turned their attentions in the direction of Uberwald--a country rich in valuable minerals and high-quality fat deposits. (The fifth elephant, it seems, left all these when he or she crashed and burned in Uberwald at the beginning of time.) Ankh-Morpork's policeman Sam Vimes has been sent there to represent his people at a coronation--and to find the recently stolen, rock-hard and symbolically important (at least to the Dwarf population) Scone of Stone. As he tells Vimes's story (and surrounding ones), Pratchett cheerfully takes readers on an exuberant tale of mystery and invention, including the efforts of a clique of neo-Nazi werewolves to destabilize Uberwald. Along the way, he skewers everything from monarchy to fascism, as well as communism and capitalism, oil wealth and ethnic identities, Russian plays, immigration, condoms and evangelical Christianity--in short, most everything worth talking about. Not as perfect as Pratchett's Hogfather but in the same class, this novel is a heavyweight of lightness. 200,000 ad/promo; 7-city author tour. (Apr.) FYI: At the end of The Fifth Elephant is appended a "handy travel guide" to the "World of Terry Pratchett," including a character guide to the Discworld novels and a Discworld crossword puzzle.

January 1, 2000
It is well known that Pratchett's Discworld is supported by four elephants standing on the back of a giant tortoise. Once there was a fifth elephant, which fell off the tortoise's back and crashed onto Discworld with a mighty impact, leaving behind rich deposits of minerals and fat. Now x86 berwald, the country that has most of the deposits, faces a succession crisis among the dwarfs, because the Scone of Stone, their emblem of kingship, has been stolen. With a motley but effective team of aides, Chief Constable Vimes and his wife arrive as ambassadors from Ankh-Morporkh to solve the mystery and prevent civil war among the dwarfs, werewolves, and vampires of x86 berwald. Vimes needs all the help he can get, as the werewolves, led by one Wolfgang, who would have been at home in the Waffen SS, are busily trying to take over x86 berwald by throwing the other races into chaos. As usual, Pratchett satirizes everything in sight and a few things buried in the subtext, always with a great knowledge of and fondness for his fellow primates, even in their more foolish moments. He never lets a proper tone flag; thus, in the midst of all the satire, Vimes' death struggle with the werewolves is as grim as any thriller's climax, and the growing love between Captain Carrot and Corporal Angua the werewolf is handled straight. Pratchett is now inviting comparison with Kurt Vonnegut, but if he ends up with a reputation equivalent only to that of P. G. Wodehouse, the world will be the better for his having written. ((Reviewed January 1 & 15, 2000))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2000
YA-A book that's part mystery, part action-adventure, and all funny. Someone has stolen the original Scone of Stone from a dwarf vault in berwald and its replica. The new Low King of the dwarves cannot be crowned without it, and the current candidate for the throne is more moderate than certain factions would like. The fifth elephant of the title is the mythical beast responsible for providing the mountains of berwald with their rich deposits of gold, silver, iron and fat-the real reason that dwarven politics matter in Ankh-Morpork. While this is not the best story to begin an exploration of the "Discworld" (HarperCollins), fans of the series will enjoy it.

Copyright 2000 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.