{"id":13342,"date":"2020-08-07T14:14:25","date_gmt":"2020-08-07T18:14:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=13342"},"modified":"2021-12-29T20:01:24","modified_gmt":"2021-12-30T01:01:24","slug":"the-fifth-elephant-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/13342","title":{"rendered":"The Fifth Elephant"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Fifth Elephant<\/a><\/em> (1999) Terry Pratchett<\/a> (Discworld)<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>A new Low King is about to be coronated in Uberwald, and for some reason, Vetinari has decided to send Vimes (the Duke of Ankh-Morpork) to the coronation.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me see if I\u2019ve got this right,\u201d said Vimes. \u201cUberwald is like this big suet pudding that everyone\u2019s suddenly noticed, and now with this coronation as an excuse we\u2019ve all got to rush there with knife, fork and spoon to shovel as much on our plates as possible?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cYour grasp of political reality is masterly, Vimes. You lack only the appropriate vocabulary.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But he doesn’t have to go on his own.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will not be required to do any negotiating, Vimes. That will be dealt with by one of my clerks, who will set up the temporary embassy and discuss such matters with his opposite numbers among the courts of Uberwald. All clerks speak the same language. You will simply be as ducal as you can. And, of course, you will take a retinue. A staff,\u201d Vetinari added, seeing Vimes\u2019s blank look. He sighed. \u201cPeople to go with you. I suggest Sergeant Angua, Sergeant Detritus and Corporal Littlebottom.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cAh,\u201d said Carrot, nodding encouragingly. <\/p>\n

\u201cSorry?\u201d said Vimes. \u201cI think there must have been a whole piece of conversation just then that I must have missed.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cA werewolf, a troll and a dwarf,\u201d said Carrot. \u201cEthnic minorities, sir.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026but, in Uberwald, they are ethnic majorities,\u201d said Lord Vetinari. \u201cAll three officers come from there originally, I believe. Their presence will speak volumes.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cSo far it hasn\u2019t sent me a postcard,\u201d said Vimes.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Plus, of course, Lady Sybil.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re humming, Sam,\u201d said Sybil, after a while. \u201cThat means that something awful is going to happen to somebody.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWonderful thing, technology,\u201d said Vimes, buttering a slice of toast. \u201cI can see it has its uses.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd when you grin in that shiny sort of way it means that someone\u2019s playing silly buggers and doesn\u2019t know you\u2019ve just thrown a six.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I somehow just realized that although Pratchett often makes fun of Lady Sybil’s place in society, and her position as a “Lady” she is probably the most consistently sympathetic character in the series. She clearly loves Sam, and her Sanctuary for Dragons has always been somewhat ridiculous, but Lady Sybil herself is always kind to everyone, and that makes everything she does sympathetic and nice.<\/p>\n

She’s even nice when she’s teasing Sam.<\/p>\n

“\u2026This stuff\u2026this stuff is spying. I wondered how Vetinari always seems to know so much!\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cDid you think it came to him in dreams, dear?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We also discover a fair amount about Angua’s past, as well as about Dwarf society.<\/p>\n

These are marvelous books for right now. Funny and witty and sarcastic all at once.<\/p>\n

Publisher: HarperCollins
\nRating: 7.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Fifth Elephant (1999) Terry Pratchett (Discworld) A new Low King is about to be coronated in Uberwald, and for some reason, Vetinari has decided to send Vimes (the Duke of Ankh-Morpork) to the coronation. \u201cLet me see if I\u2019ve got this right,\u201d said Vimes. \u201cUberwald is like this big suet pudding that everyone\u2019s suddenly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[194,292,2,41],"tags":[142,141],"class_list":["post-13342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-7-5-10","category-ebook","category-fantasy","category-reread","tag-discworld","tag-terry-pratchett"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-3tc","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":67,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/67","url_meta":{"origin":13342,"position":0},"title":"The Fifth Elephant","author":"Michelle","date":"April 10, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"The Fifth Elephant (2000) Terry Pratchett This book barely talked about elephants at ALL. Instead, it was about the Watch and Commander Vimes, and Captain Carrot and Angua. It also is a good look at how power corrupts, even on a small level. That was probably the most disturbing part\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"Fantasy","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2005\/04\/Fifth-Elephant.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17757,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/17757","url_meta":{"origin":13342,"position":1},"title":"The Fifth Elephant","author":"Michelle","date":"September 21, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The Fifth Elephant (1999) Terry Pratchett (Discworld #24) Sam Vimes is about to have something really terrible happen to him. He's about to become an ambassador. \u201cLet me see if I\u2019ve got this right,\u201d said Vimes. \u201cUberwald is like this big suet pudding that everyone\u2019s suddenly noticed, and now with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/The-Fifth-Elephant.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/The-Fifth-Elephant.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/The-Fifth-Elephant.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":139,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/139","url_meta":{"origin":13342,"position":2},"title":"Where’s My Cow?","author":"Michelle","date":"October 7, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Where's My Cow? 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Vimes has been ordered to take a vacation, but (to the surprise of no one) he managed to find crime\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snuff","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Snuff.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Snuff.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Snuff.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Snuff.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Snuff.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Snuff.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2755,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/2755","url_meta":{"origin":13342,"position":4},"title":"Thud","author":"Michelle","date":"January 29, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Thud (2005) Terry Pratchett I don't know what it is, but sometimes, I think when my OCD is acting up, I have a hard time reading new books, instead going back to old favorites. I think part of it may be a fear that I won't be able to put\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"Fantasy","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Thud.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":524,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/524","url_meta":{"origin":13342,"position":5},"title":"THUD","author":"Michelle","date":"February 24, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"THUD (2005) Terry Pratchett I'm not sure what it is about Terry Pratchett. I'll see a new Discworld book, and think, yeah, he's good, but I'm sure it can't be as good as I remember, and so I'll put off getting or reading the book for awhile, till several have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Thud.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13342\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}