The Fifth Elephant
by Terry Pratchett

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Book Reviews of The Fifth Elephant

Book Review: Political Disc
Summary: 5 Stars

In this book, Commander Vimes (a recent addition to the nobility of the city) is sent to attend the coronation of the new Dwarf "King." Vimes is new to all of this "politics" stuff, as he generally sees himself as a cop first, and a good one. He feels out of his element in this new political arena. Of course, that's why the head of the city, Patrician Vetinari, has sent him on this mission. In going to this coronation, Vimes stumbles upon a plot between a family of werewolves and some of the dwarfs who don't quite like the way society is being liberalized (i.e. dwarfs actually showing that they're female by wearing dresses and jewelry, dwarfs going to the city of Ankh-Morpork to find better lives, etc). They plan to disrupt the coronation, and Vimes finds himself having to stop them.

There are two sub plots in the book, one related, and one seeming to be there just to give some characters something to do. The first one involves Carrot and his girl-wolf, Angua. Angua was supposed to go on this mission with Vimes, but she has disappeared. Carrot enlists the aid of the talking dog, Gaspode, to track her. This plot does end up meeting with the main plot, which is a good thing. Carrot is well portrayed, a combination of innocence, grim determination and genuine (if innocent) caring for Angua. You can see in his actions what he thinks of her, even though he generally can't bring himself to say anything. It's a fairly interesting subplot, especially when it ends up dovetailing with the Vimes plot.

The same can't be said for the second subplot, though. It's clearly there just to give some of the other characters a chore. Sgt. Colon, one of the founding members of the Watch (but by no means the most intelligent), finds himself left in charge with Vimes and Carrot gone. This authority, along with a looming paranoia, start to degrade the Watch. He starts watching everybody with a growing intensity, alienating everybody. This plot has its funny moments and involves some of the other Watch characters (Shoe, the zombie; Visit, the religious fanatic; Nobby, the weird one). However, it can't help but feel like filler. I don't know whether it was intended to add to the page count or if it was supposed to give the other characters something to do. Either way, it feels wasted and tacked on.

Despite that, the book is a great addition to the mythos. It's hilarious, with wonderful character moments (a vampire on AA?) and a great plot. Unlike the previous books, there doesn't appear to be an overall message to the book (Jingo was anti-war, for example), but it doesn't suffer from that. Sometimes, you just have to tell a good story, and this one does. Watching Vimes try to adjust to his new life and mission is worth the price of admission alone. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention Detritus, the main troll in the Watch. He is the best character in the series, no matter how much or little he is in it. He doesn't have a very large part in The Fifth Elephant, but he lights up the scene whenever he's in there.

This is a great book. It also stands alone pretty well. While it is certainly better to read them in order, you won't be missing anything if this is the first one. You don't want to miss it.

Summary of The Fifth Elephant

Everyone knows that the world is flat, and supported on the backs of four elephants. But weren't there supposed to be five? Indeed there were. So where is it?...

When duty calls. Commander Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork constabulary answers. Even when he doesn't want to. He's been "invited" to attend a royal function as both detective and diplomat. The one role he relishes; the other requires, well, ruby tights. Of course where cops (even those clad in tights) go, alas, crime follows. An attempted assassination and a theft soon lead to a desperate chase from the low halls of Discworld royalty to the legendary fat mines of Uberwald, where lard is found in underground seams along with tusks and teeth and other precious ivory artifacts. It's up to the dauntless Vimes -- bothered as usual by a familiar cast of Discworld inhabitants (you know, trolls, dwarfs, werewolves, vampires and such) -- to solve the puzzle of the missing pachyderm. Which of course he does. After all, solving mysteries is his job.

Pratchett is always at his best when the comedy is combined with a real sense of jeopardy that even favorite characters might be hurt if there was a good joke in it. As always, the most unlikely things crop up as the subjects of gags--Chekhov, grand opera, the Caine Mutiny--and as always there are remorselessly funny gags about the inevitability of story:

They say that the fifth elephant came screaming and trumpeting through the atmosphere of the young world all those years ago and landed hard enough to split continents and raise mountains.

No one actually saw it land, which raised the interesting philosophical question: when millions of tons of angry elephant come spinning through the sky, and there is no one to hear it, does it--philosophically speaking--make a noise?

As for the dwarfs, whose legend it is, and who mine a lot deeper than other people, they say that there is a grain of truth in it.

All this, the usual guest appearances, and Gaspode the Wonder Dog. --Roz Kaveney, Amazon.co.uk

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