And yet when the newspaper turns up in other books, it's more in the typical snooping press role you see in movies. Which works, oh yes, people are the heroes in their own stories but it gives The Truth its own dramatic irony and melancholy that there is this one event and one story in which we see De Worde as the sort of hero who gets respect out of a man whose job is literally to dig through a pile of shit to find a bent penny and then he has to become part of the background, doing something important but unappreciated even by the narrative.
Also, if you haven't read the Watch books before reading The Truth then the scene with De Worde deducing the identity of the Watch werewolf becomes a joy on second reading. "Don't worry,Corporal Nobb's secret is safe with me."
You're half laughing at yourself.
I have to admit I like de Worde more than I like Vimes. He just seems a bit less extreme.
One Piece blog Beyond the LampshadeI really admire Pratchett's ability to make the Watch come across differently depending on whether a book focuses on them or just includes them in the supporting cast. When Vimes is the star, his tenacity and unwillingness to put up with bullshit is his prime virtue. When De Worde or Moist von Lipwig is the star, those same qualities make him a sheer pain in the ass who won't let well enough alone.
I thought De Worde came off as a pain in the ass himself in that novel, personally. He totally lost me when he pulled that thing with the odor bomb. He was way more likable in Monstrous Regiment, even though he was supposed to be annoying in that.
edited 21st Mar '12 8:19:33 AM by Justin_Brett
I agree. The book isn't so clear in my mind anymore, but de Worde, and to a lesser extent the major female character (Sansa?), came off as unlikable in the book. The Watch character's come across as more interesting even in that book to me.
That's part of the I believe that Pterry originally intended to do more books starring De Worde but the changed his mind and created Moist instead.
Am I a good man or a bad man?It was the ending that soured the character for me, where De Worde put family loyalty over justice and warned his father to leave town instead of allowing him to face the penalty for such crimes as hiring killers and kidnapping and planning a coup on the Patrician himself. So being exiled to luxury is punishment? This was a "What the Hell, hero?" moment for me.
DeWorde has this idea in his brain that the press is there to challenge the powers that be, and that the Watch is a tool that the Establishment uses to suppress the people, especially the press.
Of course, considering that Ankh-Morpork is ruled by a (benevolent) dictator and that the Watch hates the press, it's not entirely unreasonable of DeWorde to hold that view. Still, thinking of the Watch as his enemy is a mistake and he does seem to grow out of it.
Again, I'm willing to let the protagonists of a story be really stupid; that doesn't make it a bad book or anything. It's good to have faults, it keeps the conflict interesting. I'd hate to have a book where the protagonist is perfect and right about everything and has learned every lesson there is to learn before the book ends.
Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur.Yeah I understand that, and Discworld characters are typically flawed, which Vimes isn't exempt from - but considering people are far more likely to read some of the several Watch books before the one Edward book, it didn't do too good a job balancing out his good traits with his bad ones. Maybe if it had taken place in another city with a police force we didn't know, but when you see the hero rallying against authority that's pretty much benevolent to the extent he does, it becomes kinda silly.
edited 28th Mar '12 8:57:16 PM by Justin_Brett
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Have you read Snuff? Vetinari was finally one-upped by the old lady.
So I bought and read Going Postal, per the recommendations in this thread. It really is fantastic, and now I regret reading Making Money first. I thought Making Money was pretty good, but now that I've read Going Postal, it seems to have watered down the themes and characters in the first book. It also spoiled some of the events for me.
Moist is a great character, but he really needs the moral conflict to shine, and that's simply not present to the same extent in Making Money.
Has anyone seen the television adaptation?
"Doctor Who means never having to say you're kidding." - Bocaj
I agree about Making Money. It had some great ideas (I like the way the conflict was resolved, and the main villain was a great concept, though one that could have been a lot better executed), but Moist had a powerful character arc in Going Postal, and once he decided to go honest he lost the internal conflict that drove a lot of his first book.
The Going Postal mini-series is probably the best adaptation of Discworld I've seen to date. That doesn't make it perfect: it lost a couple of my favourite jokes, though of course that's a taste thing, and the ending had Lord Vetinari acting out of character purely to increase the suspense and create some faux drama that wasn't in the book. Adora gave up smoking at the end because heaven forbid that we portray smoking as cool and sexy. I also felt that the screenwriters misunderstood Moist's and Adora's relationship, turning it from a heartfelt but prickly romance into a standard Hollywood "they love each other but break up over a misunderstanding" wangst-fest.
Apart from those complaints, though, it was far better than any other Discworld adaptation I've seen.
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Nice! You have many good hours ahead of you.
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It's funny, everyone I meet online seems to love Thud. I didn't. I wouldn't go as far as to say that I disliked it, because Pratchett is never not a great writer, but it's one of my least favourite Discworld novels.
(On the flipside, I very much enjoyed Monstrous Regiment, which gets plenty of flak from most fans.)
edited 17th May '12 1:28:40 AM by DoktorvonEurotrash
I like Monstrous Regiment too. I thought it was actually pretty funny. Then again, I sort of saw it as a parody of Mulan and similar stories, rather than as trying to make a statement...
As for Thud!, I remember enjoying it, but aside from a few scenes (the art gallery, The Reveal about Koom Valley, the "Where's My Cow?" slaughter... and I think a vampire was involved somehow) I really can't remember anything about it. So I can't say it left much of an impression on me.

Of those, I've only read Regiment so far, and he's pretty good in that.
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