Feet of Clay

By Stephen Briggs and Terry Pratchett

Someone is killing Lord Vetinari, Patrician of Ankh- Morpork. No one knows who, no one knows why and, worst of all, no one knows how – he just gets weaker and weaker.
But it’s not just Vetinari – across the city, people are being murdered, but there’s no trace of anything alive having been at the crime scene. Commander Vimes, Head of the City Watch, is a man who hates ‘clues’. He and his team must question everyone – the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker. In a city teeming with vampires, werewolves, dwarfs with attitude and golems, Vimes must solve the crimes and save the Patrician.
As all children know, the way you get into a fantasy world is by accident… You go into the wardrobe, looking for somewhere to hide and – bingo. And that’s how Stephen Briggs found Discworld.
In 1990, he wrote to ask Terry if he could stage Wyrd Sisters. That was the first time anyone, anywhere in the world, had dramatised Terry’s work. He had no idea it would go any further than one play (possibly two). But it did. So far, he has now adapted, staged and published twenty-two plays.
He and Terry also worked together to produce the original Discworld Maps and Diaries, Nanny Ogg's Cookbook, The Discworld Companion (now called Turtle RecallThe Wit & Wisdom of Discworld.

• Language: English
• Publisher: OBERON BOOKS Ltd
• Release date: Feb 10, 2015
• ISBN: 9781783196944

Stephen Briggs

Stephen Briggs lives in Oxfordshire and has been involved in the world of amateur dramatics for many years. Oxford Studio Theatre Club staged his adaptations of Wyrd Sisters, Mort, Guards! Guards!, and many others. As well as compiling The Discworld Companion, The New Discworld Companion, and, now, Turtle Recall: The Discworld Companion . . . So Far, he has also co-authored the Discworld Diaries, the Mapps, and voices the UK and US Discworld audiobooks.

Reviews for Feet of Clay

[lilibrarian · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Part of the Discworld series. There's an unauthorized murderer in Ankh-Morpork. Vimes and his police crew of human and other creatures are working to solve it.

[electrascaife · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Pratchett takes on golems, the myth of nobility, and werewolf/human relationships. A fun entry into the series. Like many of the other characters, the Patrician is really growing on me, and the Watch are by this point old friends.

[kmajort · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Read this book years ago.... one of my favorites from the DiscWorld. Lots of fun on audio!

[kaitanya64 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is probably my fifth book in the Discworld series and my third of the "guards" books from that series. I always find Pratchett's humor refreshing and his mysteries, while taking place in a fictional universe, are well-constructed. In this novel, Vimes, commander of the City Watch, must solve a series of murders that are especially puzzling because they do not appear to have been committed by Guild of Assassins members and yet they appear to be planned and targeted. Further, the Patrician of the city is suffering from a slow poison that cannot be identified, one of the watch's newest members is suffering a gender identity crisis, and Nobby discovers he may be a member of the nobility. Confusion, hilarity and a few deep thoughts ensue.

[kewnoe · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Quality Pratchett. Crime-mystery.

[jbarringer-2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This story is a highly entertaining murder mystery, involving golems, arsenic, and a plot to overthrow the government of Ankh-Morpork and replace it with a puppet King.

[florabundi · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Solid, never fails to sweep the reader along with his imagination. Magic and mayhem all through the book, yet serious ideas are offered. A golom who is only alive as long as someone puts words in his head-can he become his own person? Lots of scheming to become more powerful by most of the citizens of this town. Pratchett makes politics amusing.

[bragan_8 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My partial re-read of the Discworld series continues with the third of the City Watch books, Feet of Clay. In this one, some murders have been committed and golems are clearly involved somehow. Also, someone is poisoning the Patrician. And Corporal Nobby Nobbs has been identified as having aristocratic blood, which is startling, since it's hard to tell by looking at him whether Nobby even has human blood.The story in this one isn't quite as exciting, perhaps, as the last two. It is, after all, lacking in dragons or terrifying new weaponry. But it's a really good, solid police procedural-type mystery, laced (of course) with humor and some gentle-but-firm social commentary. And the last fifty pages or so put a huge grin on my face. Pratchett, in addition to all his other talents, really knows how to bring together an ending in a way that leaves you feeling deeply happy about the entire book. I also very much like the way he handles the golems. And there's some great character moments, especially for Commander Vimes.Basically, all and all, it's yet another highly satisfying Discworld reading experience. One of these days, maybe, just maybe, I'll re-read one of these and decide it's not quite as good as I remembered it, but today is definitely not that day.

[catym_14 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Someone's poisoning the Patrician, the golems are revolting and to top it all off a dwarf has joined the Watch. A dwarf who's acting (shock, horror!) like a girl! Vimes is in a flap, Carrot is imperturbable, Nobbs is (much to his dismay) in the aristocracy, and Colon is neck-deep in something distinctly smelly that probably shouldn't be mentioned in polite company.A very entertaining part of the Discworld City Watch series.

[ritaer_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Another attempt to install a king in Ankh-Morpork coincides with a disturbance among the golems of the city.

[ravenwood1984 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In Feet of Clay Vimes has satisfactorily resolved his questions about career and home, Carrot has risen to the post of Captain himself, and most of his fellow guards seem to have settled in. Then the head of the Dwarf Bread Museum (one of Carrot's favorite places in the city) is found beaten to death by one of his own loaves and that's just the first in a series of mysterious murders. Even the Patrician finds himself poisoned

[kittycunningh-815148 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is one of my favorites, tied with Small Gods.

[spooks101-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Together with Aaron-Dembski Bowden's 'Soul Hunter', Terry Pratchetts The Watch series, in particular 'Feet of Clay', are the books that got me into writing. Sir Pratchett's unique brand of humour but also his talent for writing crime in a fantasy world, are what got me started on my own humble endeavour's.

Feet of Clay was the first Watch series book I ever read and I keep going back to it. It's funny, but is also a proper crime novel as the story takes the various characters through twists and turns of a criminal investigation taken to it's climatic and unexpected conclusion. An exceptional example of fantasy and crime fiction expertly woven together.

[isotropicjoseph · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Fortunately, Pratchett's word play compensate for his plots. I enjoyed the first third, got annoyed with the stupidity of his characters in the second, and finished the remainder only because there was no other book at hand.

That being said, I bumped this story up from two stars to three because of one word: egotestical. Brilliant.

[leslie398 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

While I enjoyed this 3rd book of the City Watch, it wasn't as humorous as the first two. I am glad Captain Carrot still has his trademark simplicity though.

[quibee · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One of the better Discworld noves, following Vimes and the Watch.
There's a plot affot to remove the Patrician and Vimes has to work hard or the replacement the plotters have in mind will be too much to bear. Also a closer look at golems.

[lukerik-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This novel is just chock full of ideas, and the scenes overflow with such a range of commentary on the real world I won't even try to enumerate them all. As with previous Watch books it deals with modern urban politics but here it's allied to a real mystery plot. There's lots of funny stuff (finding out WHY Nobby jumps through the window is a favourite of mine) but this is essentially a novel serious in it's intent - and no worse for being so.

[patiencefortitude · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The first book I read on a Nook. Interesting, both for the story and the experience. Still somewhat torn on Nook vs Kindle... Don't love the glowing Nook screen.
Do need to remember that I love Terry Pratchett's silly prose.

[nancyno5 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The best Night Watch book!!!!

[sageness · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Nice to finally get to use a GLBT interest tag in this series.

I'd like to give this 3.5 stars. Some bits made me laugh out loud, but some of the structural issues detracted some from my reading.

[dlmorrese · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Re-reread April 2015.

There are two story threads connected by a pivotal plot point in this book: The city's golems are behaving strangely and someone is slowly poisoning Lord Vetinari. Sam Vimes is on the case....

But this is Pratchett, so you know there is more to it than that. This Discworld reflection focuses on self-determination, the meaning of life, what it is to be human, oppression, prejudice, the economic effects of mechanization, and contrasting ideas of what makes for good governance.

It's also a story that, despite some heavy ideas, is lighthearted and thoroughly enjoyable.

I highly recommend it.

[cheryl_in_cc_nv · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I do wish I liked this series more. Some are great fun, some just don't work for me.

[altheaann · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One of the most enjoyable Discworld books I've read (although they're all pretty good!) In this one, Pratchett takes on the murder-mystery genre. Although it's still quite funny, it goes beyond just humor, presenting the reader with a well-plotted tale...

It's later in the series, so Discworld is in a sort-of-Industrial-Revolution state, and the undead feature prominently as well (I think they were introduced in 'Carpe Jugulum'?)

Someone in Ankh-Morpork has been killing harmless old men, and the various and eccentric characters of the Watch are on the case in search of Clues. At the same time, it seems someone has been slowly poisoning Lord Veternari, and the golems of the city (like the golems of Jewish lore, clay figures imbued with the semblance of life, in Discworld used as 24-hr labor) have been acting in a suspicious manner....

Subplots abound... Will Angua the werewolf and Captain Carrot work out their interracial relationship? Will Cheery Littlebottom the dwarf realize her inner femininity? Will the low-brow Corporal Nobbs truly be accepted as one of the peers of the realm?

All this, and there's also a few plugs for civil rights, animal rights, and a reasonable work day!"

[booksfordinner · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Pratchett is always great fun and I try and read one of these each year at some point. Not my favorite of his books but still very good. I think I'll read a non-night's watch book next to get back to some of the other characters I haven't seen in a while like Rincewind, etc.

[catherinestead · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Someone's poisoning the Patrician, the golems are revolting and to top it all off a dwarf has joined the Watch. A dwarf who's acting (shock, horror!) like a girl! Vimes is in a flap, Carrot is imperturbable, Nobbs is (much to his dismay) in the aristocracy, and Colon is neck-deep in something distinctly smelly that probably shouldn't be mentioned in polite company.A very entertaining part of the Discworld City Watch series.

[teckelvik · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This starts the golem thread that runs through sub-sequent books set in Ankh Morpork. It also has the Dragon King of Arms and heraldry, which the Great Britain College of Arms mined to great effect in creating a coat of arms for Sir Terry. It's a solid entry as a guards mystery. Vimes is still a major player in the day to day watch, resisting being forced into management. Carrot is growing less naive, but still honorable and true. Vetinari is, well, the weak link, in my view. Granted, AM needs a ruler so twisted that corkscrews look to him for advice, but he's a bit too omniscient here. How did he know in advance what would happen, and plan for it? I get that we're supposed to wonder and be amazed, but he usually has something to start with. And I didn't like that he allowed old Mrs. Easy and "Our William" to die. In addition, I missed Sybil. Vimes mentions her, but she is one of the best characters in the series, and I was sorry that she didn't get any time on page.

[drhapgood · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Discworld books continue to be an enjoyable read. This is the third book focused around the city watch, which keeps expanding its ranks to all races . . . except vampires. At risk of repeating myself, I enjoyed it, it was funny, yadda yadda yadda. This book was especially interesting while addressing the question of what constitutes a living being. These books continue to be a combination of humor and deeper philosopical questions, and I continue to keep with the series.

[sharoncville3579 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Terry Pratchett's Discworld books are laugh-out-loud funny and great science fiction/fantasy, but mostly they provide interesting, thought-provoking commentary on facets of our culture. Feet of Clay is about the use of Golems in the city of Ankh-Morpork, the city of all cities that is featured in many of the Discworld novels. What this one is really about is slavery and the dehumanization of people-- a race of people-- when it is convenient or economically advantageous for society to pretend that there is no need for equal rights. This is a topic that Sir Terry visits frequently in his books, but this one is particularly compelling.

[scottcholstad · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I've read most of the Discworld novels now and have loved some and enjoyed most. Feet of Clay is now my favorite. This book has it all! First of all, it's a City Watch series book, which I love, so that's good. Then, there are mysteries to be solved. Two old men have been murdered, presumably by golems, and Lord Venitari is being poisoned. Someone has to save the day! And it's the City Watch, led by Commander Sir Sam Vimes, followed by his loyal group of Captain Carrot, Angua, Detritus, Colon, and Nobbs. Additionally, there's now a new member of the watch, an alchemist, Cheery Littlebottom. His job is forensics. His role in this book is to bring up questions of minorities and gender identity. Because this dwarf is actually a she -- Cheri. It's pretty funny to watch her progress to wearing lipstick and so on while the male members of the Watch look on, not knowing what to think.The golems, hard working "things," are going crazy in this book. We find late in the book that they have banded together to create a golem king, but it turns out to be really crazy, hence the crime sprees. However, other people are banding together to discuss succession should Vetinari so unfortunately cease to exist. The leaders of the community want a yes man in place, someone who will do what they're told to do because they're too stupid not to. But they've got to have some royal blood somewhere. Enter Corporal Nobby Nobbs. He's found out he's an earl, due to odd lineage, and is treated as such by the upper crust, who try to talk him into becoming king. But he's pretty dense and it doesn't work out as planned.Vimes still has to find the poisoner. Could it be the Dragon, a vampire who maintains the history of the royal families of the area? Good question. Vimes will answer it too. We don't see Death in this book much, if at all, and he's my favorite Discworld character, so that's unfortunate, but there's so much action and suspense in this novel, that it more than makes up for it. This is Pratchett at his best and I strongly recommend it.

[fiverivers_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

What one might expect from Terry Pratchett: whacky humour, intimately realized world, twists, turns and nefarious deeds. In short, another installment of escapism at its best.In this Discworld edition, Pratchett returns to our stalwart policing crew, The Watch, who become embroiled in a series of dastardly murders, the question of what makes a thing a thing with rights, or just a machine, and the examination of class structure. All of this told with intelligence and aplomb.