Real Review: Snuff by Terry Pratchett

Link:  Snuff
Terry Pratchett is the most consistent writer to ever work in the fantasy genre. He has for decades, pumped out novel after novel of exceptional quality. I'm sad to say that this has come to an end. Some have called Pratchett's latest entrees into the Discworld mythos uneven. Moments of the same quality fans expected and others where the magic just seems to be absent, the words streaming along without any heart.

"Snuff" is not longer just uneven as can be said about "Making Money" or "Unseen Academicals". "Snuff" is instead...just plain odd.

The writing feels blocky. The dialogue is labored. The jokes just fall flat. I didn't laugh once...a first for Discworld. Actually...I rarely even enjoyed the novel. It felt like work to get through. The characters were hollow...Vimes felt...weird. The other guards felt tacked on. Exposition was explained and reexplained. The same jokes were told twice or even thrice.

Worst of all...I skimmed.

This probably hasn't been a very helpful review. I've written probably a thousand words that I've promptly backspaced out of existence. It's a hard to say bad things about an author you love, especially an author who has always respected the readers as much as Pratchett has.

But...got to tell the truth. Didn't like "Snuff". Will not reread "Snuff". It's hard to think of a Discworld novel I dislike more.

Two stars.