Snuff is the final chapter of Terry Pratchett's City Watch series, and it is populated by all of my favourite characters, lots of humour, a sound moral foundation, and a ridiculous plot - in other words, I loved it.

Sam Vimes, his wife Sybil, and their small son Sam go to Sybil's ancestral estate for a fortnight's vacation. Sybil has tea with all her friends in the countryside; young Sam studies natural history, with a central focus on poo, and Sam himself investigates murder, slaughter, kidnapping, and smuggling, and turns his holiday into a near-deadly venture. Nobby and Fred, Lord Vetinari, Carrot and Angua, Cheery Littlebottom, and one of the Nac Mac Feegles populate the pages and make them a delight. Of course, there is a happy ending: Pratchett always excelled at winding things down exceptionally.

This book pulled me out of a gloomy state, made me chuckle, and caused me to order more Discworld books from Amazon. I discovered that I do not own the entire City Watch series, but I will by the end of June. That is another happy ending, this one devised by me. ( )

D (Bad).

The chief of police on vacation vs goblin trafficking. Two books away from finishing this series, I am giving up. This book is problematic to a shocking degree, even compared to Thud. But what's finally making me give up on Pratchett is how badly written his later books are becoming. This is a rough draft, not a publishable novel.

(Feb. 2024) ( )

Enjoyable book, nice story, and the Discworld is still very interesting, but the fun and humour of the first Discworld books aren't there anymore. Shouldn't surprise me after 39 books.... ( )

Back to his greatest - loved this one, as I love Vimes and his storyline. ( )

This was a slow start for me - I've only read two or three other discworld novels ever - I nearly gave it up about halfway through. I'm glad I continued. There is of course an entertaining story, but there is plenty of social commentary buried within the tale. A solid 3.6 and worth the read if you are curious. ( )