Pyramids

Pyramids Terry Pratchett Date: 31 July, 2001   —   $6.99   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Fantasy

This is one of the stand-alone Discworld novels, with characters Pratchett never found the need to revisit. Pteppic is the crown prince of Djelibeybi, a narrow country along the banks of a river that seems preserved from the dawn of time. The kings are gods who make the sun rise, and are entombed in time-retarding pyramids upon their deaths.

Teppic (as his name soon becomes) isn't too keen on the idea, actually. He's gone off to study at the Assassin's Guild of Anhk-Morpork, and gained all manner of useful skills thereby (such as dodging deadly traps and scaling sheer walls.) He's going to need all the skills at his disposal when his father dies— and when his father's pyramid starts changing the country itself.

This is not a bad yarn, though it pales in comparison to many of Pratchett's other novels. It doesn't hold my attention very well, perhaps because a tale of a sleepy country is fundamentally incapable of sustaining Pratchett's breakneck pacing. Oh, well.