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Book summary and reviews of Snuff by Terry Pratchett

Snuff by Terry Pratchett

Snuff

A Novel of Discworld

by Terry Pratchett

  • Critics' Consensus:
  • Published:
  • Oct 2011
    416 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

For nearly three decades, Terry Pratchett has enthralled millions of fans worldwide with his irreverent, wonderfully funny satires set in the fabulously imaginative Discworld, a universe remarkably similar to our own. From sports to religion, politics to education, science to capitalism, and everything in between, Pratchett has skewered sacred cows with both laughter and wisdom, and exposed our warts, foibles, and eccentricities in a unique, entertaining, and ultimately serious way.

At long last, Lady Sybil has lured her husband, Sam Vimes, on a well-deserved holiday away from the crime and grime of Ankh-Morpork. But for the commander of the City Watch, a vacation in the country is anything but relaxing. The balls, the teas, the muck - not to mention all that fresh air and birdsong - are more than a bit taxing on a cynical city-born-and-bred copper.

Yet a policeman will find a crime anywhere if he decides to look hard enough, and it's not long before a body is discovered, and Sam - out of his jurisdiction, out of his element, and out of bacon sandwiches (thanks to his well-meaning wife) - must rely on his instincts, guile, and street smarts to see justice done. As he sets off on the chase, though, he must remember to watch where he steps.... This is the countryside, after all, and the streets most definitely are not paved with gold.

Hailed as the "purely funniest English writer since Wodehouse" (Washington Post Book World), with a "satirist's instinct for the absurd and a cartoonist's eye for the telling detail" (Daily Telegraph, London), Terry Pratchett offers a novel of crime, class, prejudice, and punishment that shows this master at his dazzling best.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. [Snuff is a] lively outing, complete with sly shout-outs to Jane Austen and gritty police procedurals." - Publishers Weekly

"In short, this is as busy and as daft as any other Discworld yarn, which means it is the quintessence of daft. Nobody writes fantasy funnier than Pratchett." - Booklist

"Funny, of course, but with plenty of hard edges; and, along with the excellent lessons in practical police work, genuine sympathy for the ordinary copper's lot… A treat no fan of Discworld - and there are boatloads of them - will want to miss." - Kirkus Reviews

"Like Pratchett, [narrator Stephen Briggs] loves the comic rhythm, sound, and very taste of words - just for their own sake. So order up a tuna-spaghetti-jam sandwich (with sprinkles) and be prepared for a wonderful time." - AudioFile Magazine

"A triumphant effort." - The Independent on Sunday (UK)

"Thirty-seven books in and... Discworld is still going strong... and doing so with undimmed, triumphant exuberance." - The Guardian (UK)

This information about Snuff was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Terry Pratchett Author Biography

Sir Terry Pratchett is the acclaimed creator of the global bestselling Discworld series, the first of which, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983.

In all, he is the author of fifty bestselling books. His novels have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he is the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal. He was awarded a knighthood for services to literature. Worldwide sales of his books now stand at 70 million, and they have been translated into thirty-seven languages.

Pratchett's latest novel, Dodger is out now. Other new publications include a collection of short fiction works, entitled A Blink of the Screen and The Compleat Ank-Morpork – a guide to Discworld's premier city, which includes a street map, trade directory and gazetteer.

Sir ...

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