The Fifth Elephant: Summary and book reviews of The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett, plus links to an excerpt from The Fifth Elephant and a biography of Terry Pratchett.
The Fifth Elephant A Novel of Discworld
by Terry Pratchett
Hardcover: Mar 2000,
321 pages.
Paperback: Apr 2001,
400 pages.
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, and what happened to the fifth elephant is only one of the many perplexing mysteries solved in this new novel by today's most celebrated fantasy humorist.
Terry Pratchett's profoundly irreverent Discworld novels have been number one bestsellers in England for more than a decade, securing him a position in the pantheon of satire and parody alongside Kurt Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, and Carl Hiaasen. Pratchett's fame, like his imagination, is now going global--if such a term can be used in connection with an author whose creation is so uncompromisingly (though no longer quite so unfashionably) flat.
Which brings us back to the missing mythical pachyderm. The Fifth Elephant begins, like so many of Pratchett's satirical inventions, with an invitation. This one is both royal and engraved, requiring that Commander Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork constabulary attend as both detective and diplomat. The one role he relishes; the other, well, requires ruby tights.
Where cops (even those clad in tights) go, crime of course, follows--and an attempted assassination and a theft soon lead to a desperate chase from the low halls of Discworld royalty to the legendary fat mines of Uberwald, where lard is found in underground seams along with tusks and teeth and other precious ivory artifacts.
Vimes's "elephant" adventure is as profound as it is hilarious, sending up every aspect of modern life from royalty (a British specialty) to bureaucrats (inescapable anywhere), from cops (especially those unusually dressed) to criminals (who, like fools, have their own guild), from fantasy literature to satire itself.
The world is busy discovering Terry Pratchett. Shouldn't you be doing your part?
San Francisco Chronicle
Unadulterated fun. Pratchett parodies everything in sight.
Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
Consistently, inventively mad . . . wild and wonderful!
Library Journal
The latest installment in Pratchett's popular Discworld series features sendups of politics and communications technology, along with a hearty dose of cosmic comedy and genuine slapstick humor. Suitable for newcomers to the series as well as regular series followers.
The Times (London)
Other writers are now mining the rich seam of comic fantasy that Pratchett first unearthed, but what keeps Pratchett on top is--quite literally, the way he tells them.
A. S. Byatt
Discworld is more complicated and satisfactory than Oz. Truly original. Pratchett creates a brilliant excess of delectable detail!
Elizabeth Peters
If I were making my list of Best Books of the Twentieth Century, Terry Pratchett's would be most of them.
Recent Reader Reviews
Rated of 5
by Tobie
As a long-time Pratchett fan, I loved the way this book kept three or for seperate plotlines going simultaneously, as well as giving us another look at some old favorites like Angua, Carrot, Vimes, Cherry, etc. The plot twists and mystery going on... Read More
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of 5
by Tobie
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