Cheap Carpe Jugulum (Discworld Novels (Paperback)) (Book) (Terry Pratchett) Price

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Customer Reviews of Carpe Jugulum (Discworld Novels (Paperback))

Fewer laughs than usual, better story.
I actually read this about a month ago, but for some reason Amazon was not accepting reviews. I guess that is because the US edition isn't out yet. I occasionally have a chance to get the UK edition, which is why I have already read this. Anyway, this was a great book. Not as many laugh-out-loud moments as some of the Discworld books, but it more than makes up for that by having a more engaging and interesting story than most of this series. Obviously, I am a big fan of this series. Given the popularity of vampires in fantasy fiction nowadays, it was perhaps inevitable that Pratchett would put his own spin on the sub-genre. It such a good story that it would've been worth reading, perhaps three stars, with no humor at all. For those who think Terry has been slipping a bit lately, all I can say is read this one. As good as the Discworld series is, my all-time favorite of his was the collaboration with Neil Gaiman, "Good Omens." Wouldn't it be fun to see him do a vampire collaboration with Kim Newman? Just a thought.

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Strange, Odd and Funny All At the Same Time
Not being a huge fan of fantasy I find it hard to write a review for the occasional Terry Pratchett novel I do read. I enjoy is offbeat look at the real world in translation to his books and enjoy the corny humor that is sprinkled in. However I find myself giving every Pratchett three stars because they all seem to be lacking something. The hard thing is that the something is something I cannot put my finger on.

"Carpe Juglum" or "Seize the Throat" takes place in the land of Lancre. There is great cause for celebration in Lancre since the Queen has given birth to the first child of the royals. In a massive celebration by inviting many guests. The guest include vampires from Uberwald, and everybody knows not too invite a vampire into your castle. Quickly the vampires take over the land of Lancre, and it is up to the witches of Lancre and the weak in faith priest Mightly Oats to save the dayand drive the vampires back or become a servant to there leader.

In total the book is fun and cute in it's own way. Igor the vampire's servant gives the book many laughs. To get in touch with witches a reader might want to try out other Discworld novels with these characters in it. They beginning is a little cloudy and some earlier information will be helpful to any new Pratchett reader

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Funnier than Lords and Ladies
Funnier than Lords and Ladies, we also get some Igor. The vampires are done well; these are modern vampires ("vampyres,") and there is a reason they tend to resemble Marilyn Manson wannabees. The pixies are great, the young priest is great, and the pop-horror and pop-horror-parody references come thick and fast. Granny Weatherwax features in this one and saves the day as usual, but it isn't quite clear exactly how (she has a talent for "borrowing" in which she can leave her body and take over animals, but in this case she apparently puts a bit of herself into a number of different people; this is a bit too "magical" for my taste, and seems to violate the spirit of Discworld, where magic is real, but has specific limits and constraints). If you don't care about consistency, though, this is not a bad choice.