Thief of Time

Inhoud

It was only a matter of time before Terry Pratchett would win the minds and hearts of America. Already a worldwide sensation and Great Britain's indisputable number one author, this intellectually audacious and effortlessly hilarious writer sold more hardcover books in the United Kingdom during the previous decade than any other living novelist. His novels have reigned supreme on English bestseller lists since before the Iron Lady left Downing Street, and though some things have changed since then, Pratchett, thankfully, continues to pen insightfully irreverent tales set in a world a lot like our own -- only different.

Celebrated as one of the keenest practitioners of satire and parody at work today -- alongside Kurt Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, and Carl Hiaasen -- Terry Pratchett commands a loyal and ever-increasing number of readers and appreciative critics from coast to coast in our own country. As he skewers all aspects of modern life -- and especially our sacred cows -- Pratchett makes us laugh and challenges us to think. And he's at his sharpest, most uproarious best in Thief of Time.

Everybody wants more time, which is why on Discworld its management is entrusted to the experts: the venerable Monks of History, who store it and pump it from where it's wasted, like underwater (after all, how much time does a codfish really need?) to places like cities, where harried citizens are forever lamenting, "Oh where does the time go?"

And while everyone always talks about slowing down, one clever soul is about to stop. Stop time, that is. For good. Going against everything known (and the nine tenths of everything that remains unknown), a young horologist has been commissioned to build the world's first truly accurate clock. It falls to History Monk Lu-Tze and his apprentice Lobsang Ludd to find the timepiece and stop it before it starts. For if the Perfect Clock starts ticking, Time -- as we know it -- will stop. And then the trouble will really begin.

A superb send-up of science and philosophy, religion and death (after all, isn't that where time stops, for most of us, anyway?), and a host of other timely topics, Thief of Time provides the perfect opportunity to kick back and unwind. So don't put off till tomorrow what you could do today. Read Thief of Time. Right this minute. Because tomorrow may not come. (You'll have to read the book to find out why. This is a Terry Pratchett novel, after all.)

Tick...

Bespreking

When you have some time to kill...

Of course, it is only a clock, a machine devised with the sole purpose of telling time. Yes, it is an accurate clock. An extremely accurate clock to say the least. But why would it do any harm. It wouldn't be stopping time, would it? No way. Or it must be that it's located on the Discworld, a place where time is slow to wake-up and has some strange habit disappearing when needed the most. When Jeremy, an excellent craftsman although quite a bit estranged from realty, decides to make the perfect clock, he is doing more than just killing time... a lot more.

Where does he keep getting those great ideas? This time Terry Pratchett takes his readers on a trip through the quantum space of time. Although many characters excel in doing a great return performance -like the pieced-together Igor and Death with his entire family- it are the new players that steal the show. Lu Tze and his apprentice Lobsang Ludd show us how much fun you can have with keeping it humble. No wonder they resonate so well with things that will make you think about Buddhism. But certainly the most hilarious newcomer must me Ronnie, or previously known as the fifth Horsemen of the Apocalypse. But do not bother him too much, because he has to finish his milk round before his customers get annoyed.

The Thief of Time is again an excellent showcase of the talented and versatile Terry Pratchett. A must read for anyone with some time to kill.