Review: Thief of Time

Title: Thief of Time
Author: Terry Pratchett
Year of Publication: 2002
Genre: Fantasy/Fiction
Length: 384 pages in the hardcover version
Rating: 3.5/5 – Worth buying second-hand.

Review:

Thief of Time is one of the many Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett. Although this one doesn’t spend all of it’s time in the “charming” city of Anhk-Morpork, part of it is there, and another with the History Monks. Thief of Time also features appearances from Death, of the Four Horseman of the Apocolypse fame, and Miss Susan, his granddaughter by adoption who still managed to pick up powers that aren’t quite those of a human. And teaches elementary school.

The main characters who we see the world through are Jeremy, a young and misanthropic clockmaking genius, and Lobsang, who is a genius apprentice to the History Monks. Jeremy and Lobsang, who don’t meet until near the end of the book, were both seen as children who could not be easily herded like the other sheep, and kept at a distance from the rest. Lobsang in particular is still being taught, and is handed over to legendary Lu-Tze, with the thought that it may keep both of them out of everyone else’s hair.

Lu-Tze is a sweeper, and also a close friend to the Abbott. A small man that one would not normally think to be dangerous, he’s very much like Mr. Miyagi of the Karate Kid movies. For the duration of the book, even though I don’t think much in the way of his racial appearance is mentioned (mostly he’s described as little, old and easy-going), I was picturing Pat Morita (may he rest in peace), wearing a thread-bare robe and wielding a broom. It’s obvious that Lu-Tze is a parody of Mr. Miyagi, and others like him; great, enlightened martial arts masters. Lu-Tze has a flawlessly even temper and good humour, and quotes sayings from a mysterious book, frequently adding the words “and isn’t it written that…” to his sentences. These turn out to be the sayings of a middle-aged woman named Mrs. Cosmopolite, but have a deeper twist when he quotes them.

In Anhk-Morpork, Jeremy is trying to build the perfect clock, with funding provided by a mysterious woman who provides him not only with materials and money, but an Igor to help. Jeremy is aware of a legend in which someone sets out to build an accurate clock, and then captures the personification of time inside of it. Being a logical and sane man (with a certificate to prove his sanity), he doesn’t get the legend or the moral behind it. Building this clock will, of course, mean trouble for the History Monks, who mess with time often. They’ll borrow it from one place, then put it back in another, and an accurate clock would potentially stop time altogether.

There is also a third group called the auditors, which are beings that operate in a hive-mind, something like the Borg from Star Trek. One of them becomes an individual, with the goal of ensuring that the clock is built so time can stop. However, this auditor becomes something unexpected; more and more human, with emotions, cravings, and a body that sometimes acts on it’s own.

Overall, a good book, though lacking in anything specific to recommend it. It’s characters are appealing, while the plot is occasionally confusing or slow. A good choice for fans of fantasy and martial arts parodies.