Discworld. A young man comes home from assassin school to rule his tiny, backward desert kingdom, with an agenda that starts with building his father's pyramid and then goes on to a few novel ideas like plumbing.

Others have said this book marks the point in the series where Pratchett stopped writing parody and started writing richer, more layered satire. I can see that, but I can also see it took a few books to get there. This book is almost -- almost as funny as later books, almost as richly charactered, almost as well-plotted. Pratchett does take aim at some pretty hefty themes here – tradition and religious dogma – but I just recently read his fantastic Monstrous Regiment, so I happen to know he does a better job of it later.

Still, you know, Discworld. Yay.