Oh, god, Vlad. One of my biggest literary crushes too.

Vimes. Vimes is Da Man. And the Vimes-Vetinari Show is almost enough to make me write fic, except Sir Samuel would Not Be Pleased. They understand each other so well, except when Vimes is feeling left behind by some sudden left turn of Vetinari's mind.

After Vimes and Vetinari, it's Death, Susan, Agnes, Lady Sybil, Nobby, the Dean of the University--he wanted to ride the motorcycle in "Soul Music" and it was wonderful--Ridcully, Greebo ... Granny Weatherwax I respect, but I suspect she doesn't care if I like her. Nanny makes me want to kick her, the way she manipulates her family.

Monstrous Regiment flew by, for example.

I didn't much like "Monstrous Regiment". I got tired of "Oh, you're a girl, too?" If Vimes hadn't been in the book--though I'm not sure we got an adequate explanation for him being there, other than Vetinari knows if he wants something to work out right, then Vimes better be involved--I wouldn't have finished it. Plus Vimes as diplomat seems un-Vimesian, unless he can twist it to a form of policing, like in "Fifth Elephant," wherein I also learned to love Lady Sybil.

My favorite Pratchett is "Jingo." Vetinari getting to play, a quirky plot, Vimes being, well, Vimes.

Carrot bothers me. We never see inside his head, he's always portrayed as he appears to others. He does know more than one would think, but he's got weird prejudices and you don't know what he's thinking.

For something completely different, has anyone else read "Focault's Pendulum"? I'm just starting it and thinking I need to buy everything Umberto Eco's ever written. Fortunately I already have "Name of the Rose."

For something completely different, has anyone else read "Focault's Pendulum"? I'm just starting it and thinking I need to buy everything Umberto Eco's ever written. Fortunately I already have "Name of the Rose."

I have read it, and adored it. The middle was at times a tough slog, but IMO it was worth it.

has anyone else read "Focault's Pendulum"

Yeap--wow, it's been more than 10 years. Maybe it's time for a re-read. Brilliant book, dizzying stuff. I agree a bulk of the middle is rather difficult to go through, and sometimes I just wanted to shake the book and yell, "y'all are batshit crazy!!", but at the end, it made me happy and sort of exhauted, like I got off a fun, weird-ass rollercoaster ride.

It's reminding--so far--a great deal of the Illuminatus! trilogy, with its hints of deeper secrets and Things Man Was Not Meant To Know.

"Now be careful out there."

My inner pedant won't let me not say, it's "Let's be careful out there."

But Pendulum makes fun of conspiracy theories - and not affectionately (which I love). It has the greatest satire on "Old Dead White Bill not the real author" trope I've ever encountered. That alone would make it worthwhile, but it is a very minor part of the book. (It makes a real argument for the conspiracy theory view being not just wrong, but evil. Er - but it has a great plot and characterization. A lot of fun as well. I just have a quirky way of reading; I always remember the arguments.)

But Pendulum makes fun of conspiracy theories

And you think Illumantus! doesn't? Illumantus! makes fun of everything.

My inner pedant won't let me not say, it's "Let's be careful out there."

Not inner enough! That's okay, I've been MisQuotey O'WrongPhrase all year.