Metaphorosis Reviews
Written on Jan 20, 2025
Summary
Pteppic, heir to a 7,000 year dynasty and a tiny kingdom, has been sent to Ankh-Morpork to train as an assassin. It's given him some funny ideas about change being desirable....Read more
3 stars, Metaphorosis reviews
Summary
Pteppic, heir to a 7,000 year dynasty and a tiny kingdom, has been sent to Ankh-Morpork to train as an assassin. It's given him some funny ideas about change being desirable. When his father dies and Pteppic receives a sign to come home, his new-fangled ideas clash with the traditions of a rather elderly high priest.
Review
I seem to be having quite a different reaction to Discworld this time around. Books that introduced me to the series, and that I quite liked, now seem halting and disjointed. Books, like this one, that I don’t really remember, seem much more effective. I suppose that then, the novelty worked better on me than the story.
This book has possibly the strongest story so far, in that it doesn’t rely on parody as much, and seems much more self-contained. It’s funny, too; no guffaws, but plenty of chuckles and an occasional chortle. There is a certain amount of repetition of jokes from earlier books. Not a lot, but a little worrying so early in the series.
Unfortunately, a key portion of the resolution relies on deliberate cruelty to an animal. One that’s smarter than all the other characters, but it’s cruelty nonetheless. It ruined what for me had been the best Discworld story so far. For a moderately old, but popular book, there are a surprising number of careless errors in my new e-book version.
Summary
Pteppic, heir to a 7,000 year dynasty and a tiny kingdom, has been sent to Ankh-Morpork to train as an assassin. It's given him some funny ideas about change being desirable. When his father dies and Pteppic receives a sign to come home, his new-fangled ideas clash with the traditions of a rather elderly high priest.
Review
I seem to be having quite a different reaction to Discworld this time around. Books that introduced me to the series, and that I quite liked, now seem halting and disjointed. Books, like this one, that I don’t really remember, seem much more effective. I suppose that then, the novelty worked better on me than the story.
This book has possibly the strongest story so far, in that it doesn’t rely on parody as much, and seems much more self-contained. It’s funny, too; no guffaws, but plenty of chuckles and an occasional chortle. There is a certain amount of repetition of jokes from earlier books. Not a lot, but a little worrying so early in the series.
Unfortunately, a key portion of the resolution relies on deliberate cruelty to an animal. One that’s smarter than all the other characters, but it’s cruelty nonetheless. It ruined what for me had been the best Discworld story so far. For a moderately old, but popular book, there are a surprising number of careless errors in my new e-book version.
