Status
Available
Collection
Publication
HarperTorch (2002), 384 pages
Description
Everybody wants more time, which is why on Discworld only the experts can manage it -- the venerable Monks of History who store it and pump it from where it's wasted, like underwater (how much time does a codfish really need?), to places like cities, where busy denizens lament, "Oh where does the time go?" While everyone always talks about slowing down, one young horologist is about to do the unthinkable. He's going to stop. Well, stop time that is, by building the world's first truly accurate clock. Which means esteemed History Monk Lu-Tze and his apprentice Lobsang Ludd have to put on some speed to stop the timepiece before it starts. For if the Perfect Clock starts ticking, Time -- as we know it -- will end. And then the trouble will really begin...… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member benfulton
I think this is one of Pratchett's best. He's come up with three really intriguing ideas in this one book.
Item 1: The bad guys. When you get this deep into a fantasy series it's really hard to come up with some really original bad guys, but I think the Auditors really succeed, with their insistence
Item 2: The monk Lu-Tze. We learn more about Lu-Tze and his typically Pratchettean upside-down view on life than we have in any previous book. On the one hand we lose some of the fascinating mysteriousness of the monk, but it's worth it on the other to get a better idea of where he comes from and what he does.
Item 3: Time slicing. Just an awesome description of the way Lu-Tze manages to move faster than just about anyone else, and the way a sort of analogy is drawn to finding the quiet space that happens right after breaking the sound barrier is really very elegant.
Throw in what is basically the conclusion of the Susan Sto Helit saga and the usual assorted cast of interesting supporting characters, and you have a unique entry in the unfolding history of the Discworld, and a really enjoyable read.
Item 1: The bad guys. When you get this deep into a fantasy series it's really hard to come up with some really original bad guys, but I think the Auditors really succeed, with their insistence
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that life stops things from being organized and should be snuffed out. This isn't the first time we've met these characters, but the twist here is that some of them get a more first-hand perspective on what life is, and have to cope with the demands of it.Item 2: The monk Lu-Tze. We learn more about Lu-Tze and his typically Pratchettean upside-down view on life than we have in any previous book. On the one hand we lose some of the fascinating mysteriousness of the monk, but it's worth it on the other to get a better idea of where he comes from and what he does.
Item 3: Time slicing. Just an awesome description of the way Lu-Tze manages to move faster than just about anyone else, and the way a sort of analogy is drawn to finding the quiet space that happens right after breaking the sound barrier is really very elegant.
Throw in what is basically the conclusion of the Susan Sto Helit saga and the usual assorted cast of interesting supporting characters, and you have a unique entry in the unfolding history of the Discworld, and a really enjoyable read.
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LibraryThing member reading_fox
Superb, one of his best!
Lobsang Ludd is one of Ludd's lads - foundlings raised by the thieves guild. An unlucky accident and reflex response sees him arrive in the Temple and Valley of Oi Dong high in the mountains where the History Monks ensure that history has happened as it should. Unfortunetly
This features perhaps Terry's best ever device, the Procrastinators - winding in the boring times that humans waste, and passing it on to the interesting times to be spent. There are many fabulous accurate sayings from Susan, always a favourite, as well as the mystic utterances of Sweaper Lu Tze. It doesn't have that many puns but there is great irony and sarcasm.
The undertones here are really clever, again - focusing mostly on just how perculiar humans can be when they set their minds to ignoring the real world. Read laugh and think.
Lobsang Ludd is one of Ludd's lads - foundlings raised by the thieves guild. An unlucky accident and reflex response sees him arrive in the Temple and Valley of Oi Dong high in the mountains where the History Monks ensure that history has happened as it should. Unfortunetly
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the Auditors would prefer that it didn't and are trying again to build the famous Glass Clock that measures time so accurately it can tell the difference between then and now - which would freeze the universe in a perpetual moment, making it much easier to be auditied. Death isn't too keen on this idea as he quite likes humans, and with the aid of Susan and Ludd's amazing time control he battles the forces of greyness.This features perhaps Terry's best ever device, the Procrastinators - winding in the boring times that humans waste, and passing it on to the interesting times to be spent. There are many fabulous accurate sayings from Susan, always a favourite, as well as the mystic utterances of Sweaper Lu Tze. It doesn't have that many puns but there is great irony and sarcasm.
The undertones here are really clever, again - focusing mostly on just how perculiar humans can be when they set their minds to ignoring the real world. Read laugh and think.
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LibraryThing member Hamburgerclan
I looked for Night Watch at the Friends of the Library Sale. Didn't find it. Picked up this instead. It's also a Discworld tale. It's also amusing. It's about the building of the perfect clock--which is a bad thing. The first time they built one, time stopped. Fortunately it wasn't exactly perfect,
--J.
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so it broke and time was restored. This latest perfect clock, however, threatens to be new and improved. It must be stopped. Well, more like not started, since you can hardly stop before you start. Unless you're a time traveller or something. But since there's no time traveller here, they need to prevent the startage from, er, starting. You see? Oh, just read the book, already.--J.
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LibraryThing member igor.kh
A humorous fantasy novel set in the Discworld universe, which has over 30 novels in it by now. The is the first book by Prachett that I've read and it will probably be the last. While the book did have a few laugh-out-loud moments, most of the rest was rather bland, obvious, and sometimes forced.
All in all, I'm not inclined to pick up any other books by Prachett.
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This sort of humour is not worty of likes of Douglas Adams and his Hitchhiker series (my golden standard), but then few are.All in all, I'm not inclined to pick up any other books by Prachett.
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LibraryThing member nakmeister
Thief of Time involves the ‘Auditors’ who, continually disgusted at the disorganisation that is life, commission the building of a perfect clock, which, once built, will stop time in it’s tracks, and all life will freeze in a single moment. Then the universe will be tidy. However they
This is Terry Pratchett at somewhere near his best. Unlike many people, I don’t automatically love every book the man’s written, some I don’t find that funny, some are a little boring. This book is neither. It’s a very interesting story, which is enjoyable to read, and funny too. Perhaps not his best book, but certainly one of the better ones. I read it while studying for my accountancy exams, so reading about Auditors being the hated enemy was quite amusing – I’d be tempted to agree!
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hadn’t counted on a strange Monk of Time, Lu Tze, his strange apprentice Lobsang Ludd, and of course, Susan…This is Terry Pratchett at somewhere near his best. Unlike many people, I don’t automatically love every book the man’s written, some I don’t find that funny, some are a little boring. This book is neither. It’s a very interesting story, which is enjoyable to read, and funny too. Perhaps not his best book, but certainly one of the better ones. I read it while studying for my accountancy exams, so reading about Auditors being the hated enemy was quite amusing – I’d be tempted to agree!
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LibraryThing member Jack_Daw
This was almost my last Pratchett book, I hated it, gave up on it as it was so boring. Felt for some time he had actually given up on the discworld books and was happy to just churn out anything knowing people would buy them, have since bought Monstrous Regiment and The Town Watch one and normal
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service has been restored - far better than Thief of Time Show Less
LibraryThing member jayne_charles
Another plot I struggled to follow, but the jokes kept coming so I was happy. The book introduces clockmaker Jeremy who is stated to be a bit anti-social ('he wished he liked people more. If life was a party, he wasn't even in the kitchen'.) Now there's a man I can relate to!!
LibraryThing member gilag
Even with nougat, you can have a perfect moment.
LibraryThing member 391
There is something so satisfying about completing a Terry Pratchett novel - he really takes you on a journey, and the ending is always spectacular and *perfect*. Thief of Time brings back several familiar favorites - Death, Susan and Nanny Ogg - and introduces new counterparts - Lobsang Ludd, Lu
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Tze (who we see briefly in Night Watch and Small Gods) and Myria LeJean. A very, very thoughtful and enjoyable addition to the Discworld. Show Less
LibraryThing member Kaiberie
THIEF OF TIME - a Novel by Terry Pratchett (2001)
LibraryThing member love2laf
I don't know that I can review this one very well, my head seemed completely unable to focus, and I had to stop and go back and re-read pages dozens of times. Chalk it up to a heat wave, and let me just say, a typical, humourous Discworld novel, showcasing Susan "Death" Sto Helit.
LibraryThing member Radaghast
Thief of Time is the first Discworld novel I've read, and it did not disappoint. Going in, my fear was that the novel would be akin to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a parody which fell flat for me. Thankfully, Thief of Time is a satire on our society that is light-hearted and understandable.
The
Pratchett is a skilled writer, and even if you don't care for this style, I suspect he will overcome your skepticism as he did mine.
The
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plot is impossible to explain, as part of the entertainment value is how it unfolds in the story. Basically, a group of heroes are trying to stop time from stopping, if that makes any sense. The characters are diverse, from the granddaughter of Death (a schoolteacher) to a monk whose idea of zen teachings come from practical sayings (i.e. for is it not written "I wasn't born yesterday.") Like most Discworld novels from what I understand, you do not need to have read any Discworld book to get what's going on.Pratchett is a skilled writer, and even if you don't care for this style, I suspect he will overcome your skepticism as he did mine.
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LibraryThing member Eat_Read_Knit
The Monks of History make sure that there's enough time in the places where it's needed - and when Jeremy Clockson starts making a clock which will keep time with the universe (and thus stop time), it's down to Lu Tze and his apprentice Lobsang Ludd leave the monastery, find the clock and stop it
Incredibly funny and incredibly profound. Any description will barely scratch the surface of this book - but any novel that seamlessly mixes quantum mechanics, eastern philosophy and death by chocolate has to be a winner.
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before it starts.Incredibly funny and incredibly profound. Any description will barely scratch the surface of this book - but any novel that seamlessly mixes quantum mechanics, eastern philosophy and death by chocolate has to be a winner.
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LibraryThing member gercmbyrne
Terry Pratchett is a god who walks among men. The entire Discworld series is a joy and only a strange mad creature cursed by gods and man would refuse to read and love these books!
LibraryThing member ronincats
The last in the series featuring Death and Susan, at least for the time being! This group of books is one of my favorite Discworld series, and TOT did not disappoint. The Auditors reappear with their usual intent of reducing the Universe to numbers and measuring and counting things and getting rid
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of that unpredictable squishy life stuff, especially humans. And this time it devolves to all-out war. Death has to go scare up Pestilence, Famine, and War out of their comfortable niches, and the Fifth Horseman even gets called up, while Susan is her usual no-nonsense self (the scenes of her actually teaching in her classroom are among the most hilarious in the book) and gets a love interest. Much fun, much action, great way to while away a couple of evenings! Show Less
LibraryThing member geertwissink
Once again a very entertaining Disc World novel. My favorite character still stays Death, who's THUNDERING VOICE always enlightens the scene. With a special appearance of his sidekick the Death of Rats. The story about a two young men, a glass clock, highly powerful creatures in search for order,
' And they are told: 'Wen considered the nature of time and understood that the universe is, instant by instant, recreated anew. Therefore, he understood, there is in truth no past, only a memory of the past. Blink your eyes, and the world you see next did not exist when you closed them. Therefore, he said, the only appropriate state of the mind is surprise. The only appropriate state of the heart is joy. The sky you see now, you have never seen before. The perfect moment is now. Be glad of it.'
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the granddaughter of Death and a funny monk unravels quickly to the end. And I even started to look different at Time after reading this book! Too bad the First Scroll of Wen the Eternally Surprised isn't available in our world. But fortunately some words survive through Pratchetts books: ' And they are told: 'Wen considered the nature of time and understood that the universe is, instant by instant, recreated anew. Therefore, he understood, there is in truth no past, only a memory of the past. Blink your eyes, and the world you see next did not exist when you closed them. Therefore, he said, the only appropriate state of the mind is surprise. The only appropriate state of the heart is joy. The sky you see now, you have never seen before. The perfect moment is now. Be glad of it.'
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LibraryThing member CharlesFerdinand
Not one of his best. At the start it relies heavily on Pratchett's mannerisms, and the plot could have been better. Still, it has Susan Sto Helit in it, and the character of Lu Tze by itself makes the book worth reading.
LibraryThing member carlosemferreira
Can you ever give Pratchett less than 5/5? I am yet to find one of his books that isn't astonishing, startling, witty and impossible to put down. Another masterpiece.
LibraryThing member woollymammoth
Not one of my favourite practices, but I still like it, it is Pratchett after all.
LibraryThing member Neilsantos
This is a hoot of course. Don't need to buy it, A has this one.
LibraryThing member ClicksClan
I'm currently onto my twelfth book of the year, so not doing too badly on my target to read fewer books. I clocked in a massive 145 last year, this year I'm taking my time and going a little steadier on them. Which is nice. Also about 100 of those books last year were pure fantasy, I'm trying to
Before I started reading this, I was sure I'd already read it. Of course, I was mistaken, this one was entirely new for me. As I've been working through all the Discworld books (in order) I've been coming across lots that I've either read before (but largely forgotten the plots of) or had started but for whatever reason never finished. I've now hit a point where most of the books that I will be reading, will be rereads (because I read them as they came out), which makes me a little bit sad because there's really nothing like reading a Terry Pratchett book for the first time and was nice to know that there were loads that I was yet to discover.
I'll admit that this one did get a little bit confusing in places. I invariably get confused at one point or another during a Discworld book, but if I relax and go with the flow, the little tangles work themselves out in the end. The fact that this one was dealing with time travel and [spoiler] two people who were actually one [end of spoiler] kind of meant that getting confused somewhere along the way was to be expected.
I was thrilled to discover that this book featured Susan, Death's granddaughter. I'm a major fan of Susan and I love how she's progressed a little bit in each book (now she's a teacher, rather than a governness). I would have loved to have been in her class at school, I'm sure.
I always find it amusing that the Sky adaptation of Hogfather as totally changed the way I picture her. Michelle Dockery is just how I see Susan now, I can't help it. I know when I read Soul Music for the first time I had a definitely mental picture of what Susan looked like. Unfortunately, I've now completely lost that in place of Michelle Dockery's version of Susan, not that it's a bad change, of course.
It was also good to learn more about The History Monks. There have been mentions of them before, but it was good to finally learn more about them. In true Terry Pratchett style there's a lot of information about them. It helps to make it all seem that little bit more real, or at least, as real as things get on a world carried through space on the backs of four elephants standing on a turtle.
At the beginning of the book, I was expecting to find the bits with The Auditors a bit tiresome. They always annoy me in Hogfather. I realise that it's kind of the point of them but I was hoping that I'd seen the last of them then. They actually grew on me in Thief of Time though, I kind of felt sorry for them in the end. But it does prove that chocolate is the solution to all of life's problems.
One of the only problems I have when reading Terry Pratchett books is selecting the quotes to write up in my book journal. I allow myself five per book (unless I can make my writing teeny tiny enough to squeeze in a sixth) and sometimes I only manage four, especially if some of the quotes are a bit on the long side. With the Discworld books sometimes I end up with less purely because I can't decide between several different quotes and it seems fairly to not take any of them, rather than elevate one to a higher status than the others. So I decided to include all four of my favourite quotes in this entry, because it was too difficult to choose.
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break away from that a little this year (slightly unsuccessfully, I think), but that didn't stop me from selecting Terry Pratchett's Thief of Time as my third book of the year.Before I started reading this, I was sure I'd already read it. Of course, I was mistaken, this one was entirely new for me. As I've been working through all the Discworld books (in order) I've been coming across lots that I've either read before (but largely forgotten the plots of) or had started but for whatever reason never finished. I've now hit a point where most of the books that I will be reading, will be rereads (because I read them as they came out), which makes me a little bit sad because there's really nothing like reading a Terry Pratchett book for the first time and was nice to know that there were loads that I was yet to discover.
I'll admit that this one did get a little bit confusing in places. I invariably get confused at one point or another during a Discworld book, but if I relax and go with the flow, the little tangles work themselves out in the end. The fact that this one was dealing with time travel and [spoiler] two people who were actually one [end of spoiler] kind of meant that getting confused somewhere along the way was to be expected.
I was thrilled to discover that this book featured Susan, Death's granddaughter. I'm a major fan of Susan and I love how she's progressed a little bit in each book (now she's a teacher, rather than a governness). I would have loved to have been in her class at school, I'm sure.
I always find it amusing that the Sky adaptation of Hogfather as totally changed the way I picture her. Michelle Dockery is just how I see Susan now, I can't help it. I know when I read Soul Music for the first time I had a definitely mental picture of what Susan looked like. Unfortunately, I've now completely lost that in place of Michelle Dockery's version of Susan, not that it's a bad change, of course.
It was also good to learn more about The History Monks. There have been mentions of them before, but it was good to finally learn more about them. In true Terry Pratchett style there's a lot of information about them. It helps to make it all seem that little bit more real, or at least, as real as things get on a world carried through space on the backs of four elephants standing on a turtle.
At the beginning of the book, I was expecting to find the bits with The Auditors a bit tiresome. They always annoy me in Hogfather. I realise that it's kind of the point of them but I was hoping that I'd seen the last of them then. They actually grew on me in Thief of Time though, I kind of felt sorry for them in the end. But it does prove that chocolate is the solution to all of life's problems.
One of the only problems I have when reading Terry Pratchett books is selecting the quotes to write up in my book journal. I allow myself five per book (unless I can make my writing teeny tiny enough to squeeze in a sixth) and sometimes I only manage four, especially if some of the quotes are a bit on the long side. With the Discworld books sometimes I end up with less purely because I can't decide between several different quotes and it seems fairly to not take any of them, rather than elevate one to a higher status than the others. So I decided to include all four of my favourite quotes in this entry, because it was too difficult to choose.
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LibraryThing member Colona
Just when I think I'm reading Terry Pratchett for fun, I find myself mulling over the ideas he presents. Time. How do we see time personally? How do we imagine history? Don't we cover up the holes in history? Don't we spend time, waste time, agonize over the use of time while it drains away? What
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is a perfect moment? And while some of Pratchett's characters wrestle with time, others are figuring out what it means to be human. Having a body that has orifices, various demanding needs, and necessity of "I"? And, finally, being Pratchett, there's chocolate. Show Less
LibraryThing member paulmorriss
I've just read this for a second time. The fact that I didn't realise I read it before says more about me than how good the book is. Terry Pratchett's books are of a consistently high quality. I think they are, at their heart, either about science or anthropology. This one is about science - and
This story also introduces the auditors who keep an eye on the universe. With several other great characters, and lots of cultural references thrown in, you've got a great read.
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time in particular. With the idea that you can move time around - from places where it isn't needed much, like the middle of the sea, to where you want lots of it - you've got a lot of scope for adventure. This story also introduces the auditors who keep an eye on the universe. With several other great characters, and lots of cultural references thrown in, you've got a great read.
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LibraryThing member Kyniska
My introduction to the Discworld universe and quite an entertaining one. I have a little trouble with Pratchett, since he can be tedious at times, but my persistence paid off in this case. After a slow start, the book was intelligent, engaging, unusual, and frequently laugh-out-loud hilarious. An
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altogether rewarding venture. Show Less
LibraryThing member pussreboots
Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett is the 26th Discworld book. It's also the thematic prequel, if you will, to The Long Earth.
Lu Tze, a Monk of History, has taken on a new pupil, Lobsang. Together they must prevent the End of Time. Helping out is Susan, now working as a teacher, and still as ever,
The man everyone is after is Jeremy. He can do to time what Joshua can do with the stepwise Earths. I point this out because Lobsang the automaton claims to be a reincarnated Tibetan. Mind you, he says he was a motorcycle repairman in Tibet, but if he's really as human as he claims, he can lie.
But I'm getting ahead of myself and Pratchett as Thief of Time was published eleven years before. And of course we can't ignore Stephen Baxter's role in the creation of The Long Earth.
Nonetheless, Thief of Time isn't about a multiverse of multiple Earths. It is instead about a multiverse of multiple Discs, all being mucked about by a devious clock, it's maker, and lots of wibbly wobbly timy wimy bits (minus the Doctor, his TARDIS, or any of his companions).
As with the majority of the Discworld books, this one lacks chapter breaks. Like Thud, the breaks are all marked with something relevant to the plot. Here it is a TOCK, the counting down of the clock to doomsday.
Lu Tze, a Monk of History, has taken on a new pupil, Lobsang. Together they must prevent the End of Time. Helping out is Susan, now working as a teacher, and still as ever,
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frustrated by the fact she's Death's granddaughter.The man everyone is after is Jeremy. He can do to time what Joshua can do with the stepwise Earths. I point this out because Lobsang the automaton claims to be a reincarnated Tibetan. Mind you, he says he was a motorcycle repairman in Tibet, but if he's really as human as he claims, he can lie.
But I'm getting ahead of myself and Pratchett as Thief of Time was published eleven years before. And of course we can't ignore Stephen Baxter's role in the creation of The Long Earth.
Nonetheless, Thief of Time isn't about a multiverse of multiple Earths. It is instead about a multiverse of multiple Discs, all being mucked about by a devious clock, it's maker, and lots of wibbly wobbly timy wimy bits (minus the Doctor, his TARDIS, or any of his companions).
As with the majority of the Discworld books, this one lacks chapter breaks. Like Thud, the breaks are all marked with something relevant to the plot. Here it is a TOCK, the counting down of the clock to doomsday.
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Subjects
Awards
Audie Award (Finalist — Science Fiction — 2003)
Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction (Shortlist — 2002)
Locus Recommended Reading (2001)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2001-01-20
ISBN
0061031321 / 9780061031328