More and more I find myself giving these Discworld books 4 stars. Honestly, I'd probably be giving them all a 5 if I wasn't always expecting the next one to be better than the last.

This book is the first in a long time (if you've been reading them in the order they were published) to feature a one-off protagonist. For a while there, Pratchett was fully immersed in the various "main plots" of the Discworld series, and I think this is a nice refresher.

This one's "main idea" is the newspaper. It's not quite like other one-offs have been, where a disposable cast of characters stumbles upon a tiny glimpse of the 'Roundworld', whereupon, according to the magical and highly-unstable nature of the Discworld, the influence grows out of proportion and a mini apocalypse threatens to wreak havoc. This is a more subtle seeding; it's to really juice the fruit of satire and cultural references without getting the pulp of an overblown and nearly over-used threat to humanity (and dwarfdom? Trollishness? etc). I laughed when Lord Vetinari asks William if this newspaper will somehow rip a gaping hole in space-time. That's the thing; Pratchett is always willing to make some humorous commentary, even if it's at his own expense.

I found Pratchett's portrayal of Commander Vimes from the outside slightly disconcerting. I'm not sure if Pratchett has his character as viewed by others spot on, or if I'm just not used to 'seeing' him that way.