Sometimes you gotta shut up and pay attention: Sorry, but when you've entertained, amused and jollied up an entire worldful of sapient entities, you *have* to be allowed every now and then to get a bit serious.

Depends on what makes you laugh, I suppose, but this is not *meant* to be a funny book. Pratchett is doing really serious, relevant and overtly political stuff here. The "funny bits" are no more than the comic relief in the best Shakespearean tradition.

Parallels are everywhere here. You don't need to look for them, they are *obvious*. Considering you're no longer allowed to discuss the real problems of the real world without a screaming mob baying for your blood (you even have to be careful what you name your classroom teddy-bear nowadays, for goodness' sake), you write it in parallel. Like what he's done here.

If you don't like serious, then give this one a miss, but it's one hundred per cent worthy and you'd be missing out on something important.