# Are we looking forward to Discworld - Making Money? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 5, 2007, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-looking-forward-to-discworld-making-money/418184 "2007-09-05T23:55:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-looking-forward-to-discworld-making-money/418184/61 "2007-09-20T16:39:30Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] And despite his fearsome reputation, I can only think of one time Vetinari actually took someone’s life: when he killed Lord Snapcase in _Night Watch_. [/QUOTE] You mean Lord Winder. And actually, he doesn’t kill him. He comes up to him, and is about to kill him, but Winder has a heart attack from fright. However, at another point in the story, Vetinari does kill a would be assassin (although not Assassin), who tries to kill Vimes/Keel. He also tells Vimes (back in the present) that he killed four men during the last, Cable Street, battle, which is why he wears the lilac in rememberence of the battle. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-looking-forward-to-discworld-making-money/418184/62 "2007-09-20T22:06:38Z")
Thanks for the corrections, Cap’n! It’s been awhile since I read _Night Watch_. Must be time to revisit it. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2007, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-looking-forward-to-discworld-making-money/418184/63 "2007-09-22T01:58:12Z")
I’ve only just started the book but the exchange about ursury seriously cracked me up. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2007, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-looking-forward-to-discworld-making-money/418184/64 "2007-09-22T04:26:07Z")
My three favorite jokes from the book: “Igorth don’t athk quethtionth.” “Really? Why not?” “I don’t know. I didn’t athk.” Igor rushed to Hubert’s side, pulling a jar out of his jacket pocket. “How many fingers am I holding up?” “Uh… thirteen?” “Good!” and _We’re going to need some bigger notes._ ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2007, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-looking-forward-to-discworld-making-money/418184/65 "2007-09-22T04:59:57Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Amazing] I’m not sure that Gilt was entirely sane. He did, after all, employ an Igor, and Igors don’t generally work for sane people. But I think the ending fit, sort of. Gilt was a lot like von Lipwig…they were both con artists who got caught in their cons, and so the end of the book brings you back around to the beginning. [/QUOTE] But theres an Igor in the Watch. That aside I like Moist because hes normal (I was going to say human but in this context its not the same meaning) I enjoy the Watch books but Vimes is such an insufferable inverted snob and for Sybils sake I wish that she’d leave him for someone a little bit more Sybil centered . And as for Granny Weatherwax she might be a very good and very charitable person but I would rather take my own appendix out rather then spend two hours on a stagecoach with her . And that goes for Tiffany too,its nice to know that there are honest caring people about but I wouldn’t like to spend a journey to Uberwald stuck in a stagecoach with them . ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2007, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-looking-forward-to-discworld-making-money/418184/66 "2007-09-22T19:24:40Z")
Good, Great, Wonderful, Fun, Humorous, but alas too short! Or to translate, I just completed the book. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-looking-forward-to-discworld-making-money/418184/67 "2007-09-23T16:15:29Z")
Finished it last night. Loved it. My favorite joke is still [spoiler]“The smell of banks is always pleasing, don’t you think?” said Vetinari. “A mix of polish and ink and wealth.” “And ursery,” said Moist. “That would be cruelty to bears. You mean usury, I suspect.”[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-looking-forward-to-discworld-making-money/418184/68 "2007-09-23T20:15:17Z")
[QUOTE=Lust4Life] That aside I like Moist because hes normal (I was going to say human but in this context its not the same meaning) I enjoy the Watch books but Vimes is such an insufferable inverted snob and for Sybils sake I wish that she’d leave him for someone a little bit more Sybil centered . [/QUOTE] [uppercrusty sniff] Really! Divorce is something they only do in Quirm! Anyway, the problem isn’t that Vimes doesn’t pay enough attention to Sybil, it’s that Pterry doesn’t. She hasn’t been onstage much since _The Fifth Elephant._ Probably because nowadays she’s a full-time housewife and mother, and you have to be Erma Bombeck to make that interesting or funny. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-looking-forward-to-discworld-making-money/418184/69 "2007-09-24T02:16:16Z")
Not bad…not bad at all. But isn’t this the first book Death isn’t in? My favorite lines upon first reading are "Mr. Lipwig, do I need a button that says TYRANT? and “You’ve found 50-foot-high killer golems now, Miss Dearheart? …I hope you brought enough for _everybody_.” As for Sybil…I find her interesting, but not **that** interesting. I like that Pterry is introducing new characters into the World. Vimes was getting rather played out (even though **Nightwatch** is by far my favorite DW book). As was Granny. ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-looking-forward-to-discworld-making-money/418184/70 "2007-09-24T02:18:41Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] [uppercrusty sniff] Really! Divorce is something they only do in Quirm! Anyway, the problem isn’t that Vimes doesn’t pay enough attention to Sybil, it’s that Pterry doesn’t. She hasn’t been onstage much since _The Fifth Elephant._ Probably because nowadays she’s a full-time housewife and mother, and you have to be Erma Bombeck to make that interesting or funny. [/QUOTE] Perhaps Vime’s little boy can donate a few toys to children on the war torn counterweight continent and Sybil can observe how he marches to the beat of a different drum - I’m not being sarcastic, I love Erma, I’d adore the bastard love child of her writing and pTerry. DEATH would have to be involved, if only to facilitate communication. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-looking-forward-to-discworld-making-money/418184/71 "2007-09-24T04:13:54Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] Not bad…not bad at all. But isn’t this the first book Death isn’t in? [/QUOTE] Death was in it. He showed up at the beginning to usher out the old lady at the bank - whatshername…the one with the crossbows. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-looking-forward-to-discworld-making-money/418184/72 "2007-09-24T04:21:25Z")
And now that I’ve had time to check the thread and see that it hasn’t been covered, what was that crossword clue joke? I didn’t want to spend any time puzzling it out, but I’m sure it was clever. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-looking-forward-to-discworld-making-money/418184/73 "2007-09-24T04:36:12Z")
[QUOTE=Smeghead] Death was in it. He showed up at the beginning to usher out the old lady at the bank - whatshername…the one with the crossbows. [/QUOTE] Ah…I sit corrected. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-looking-forward-to-discworld-making-money/418184/74 "2007-09-24T04:49:19Z")
[QUOTE=Lust4Life] But theres an Igor in the Watch. [/QUOTE] The Watch is commanded by a knurd nobleman who hates the idea of aristocracy, and is captained by a 6’4" tall dwarf who’s in love with a werewolf. Its ranking underofficers are a middle aged, morbidly obese man who spends most of his time guarding large public buildings because he knows no one will steal them, and a most likely human being who will steal anything that isn’t nailed down (and will steal anything that is, if he can steal a hammer first). I’m not entirely convinced the Watch is sane. ---
**Author:** ![Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boulter_s_Canary)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-looking-forward-to-discworld-making-money/418184/75 "2007-09-24T10:18:27Z")
[QUOTE=maggenpye] My favorite moment in the entire series is the scene in _The Fifth Elephant_ where Vimes refuses to make a casual joke about the death of Wolfgang, because that would change the act from policing, to murder (the exact quote would be most welcome). Death (and indeed DEATH) is a very big deal within the story arcs, and joked about when it’s ‘off camera’. [/QUOTE] Glad to oblige, Maggenpye… _There were a lot of things he could say. ‘Son of a bitch!’ would have been a good one. Or he could say, ‘Welcome to civilization!’ He could have said, ‘Laugh this one off!’ He might have said, ‘Fetch!’ But he didn’t, because, if he had said any of those things then he’d have known that what he had just done was murder._ ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-looking-forward-to-discworld-making-money/418184/76 "2007-09-24T14:36:59Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Amazing] The Watch is commanded by a knurd nobleman who hates the idea of aristocracy, and is captained by a 6’4" tall dwarf who’s in love with a werewolf. **Its ranking underofficers are a middle aged, morbidly obese man who spends most of his time guarding large public buildings because he knows no one will steal them,** and a most likely human being who will steal anything that isn’t nailed down (and will steal anything that is, if he can steal a hammer first). I’m not entirely convinced the Watch is sane. [/QUOTE] An apt description, but no longer accurate. Fred is semi-retired now and in charge of the Academy across the street from the Yard, IIRC. And if Vimes ever heard you call him a “nobleman,” he’d more than likely send you swordless into the Shades at midnight. ETA: Wiki says Fred is currently “Custody Officer and Watch Liason Officer.” ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-looking-forward-to-discworld-making-money/418184/77 "2007-09-24T14:53:36Z")
I finished it Saturday, and was avoiding this thread before I read it. My take: Not as fast-paced and entertaining as Going Postal, definitely, which ranks as one of my all-time favorite books now. I loved that book and I loved the Moist character. Unfortunately the nemesis - Lavish - was just weird and kind of annoying, although I did like the end where he was in the “Vetinari wing”. I much preferred Gilt as a villain, as he was shrewd and intelligent and a worthy adversary. Still an entertaining book on the whole, and I really liked the whole subplot of “Moist takes risks when Adora is not around; when she’s there, she’s enough of a risk.” Funny and amusing. The thing with Gladys was a bit…weird. And I agree the plot with the Glooper was weird, and actually resulted in me skimming some of that. I like the usury/ursery joke as well. All in all, I liked it. I will have to re-read it to get the finer nuances, as always, because I always fly through a good book the first time. I agree with Miller and the others by the way, who feel murder is not a commonplace occurence in the Discworld. I also feel most of the people aren’t that different from us, just living in a fantasy world. They’re just as full of bluster, ignorance, arrogance, and idiocy as us. I don’t think however, Death has taken a human life. Has he? I thought he just came to “snip” the end when it had already run its course. And Vimes insufferable? :eek: He is by far one of my favorite characters. I love it everytime he shows up in a Discworld novel. > [@](#): > > Vetinari and Teppic from Pyramids are the only names I can come up with off the top of my head, and I don’t think Teppic ever actually killed anyone. Only a giant Pyramid. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-looking-forward-to-discworld-making-money/418184/78 "2007-09-24T15:12:53Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] And if Vimes ever heard you call him a “nobleman,” he’d more than likely send you swordless into the Shades at midnight. [/QUOTE] One must allow the Duke of Ankh his foibles. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-looking-forward-to-discworld-making-money/418184/79 "2007-09-24T18:55:23Z")
[QUOTE=Smeghead] And now that I’ve had time to check the thread and see that it hasn’t been covered, what was that crossword clue joke? I didn’t want to spend any time puzzling it out, but I’m sure it was clever. [/QUOTE] And I’m sure there’s a pun in the name of the Sudoku equivalent, but it’s escaping me. Little help? (And when will the annotations ever get caught up?) ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-looking-forward-to-discworld-making-money/418184/80 "2007-09-27T23:12:57Z")
[QUOTE=Smeghead] And now that I’ve had time to check the thread and see that it hasn’t been covered, what was that crossword clue joke? I didn’t want to spend any time puzzling it out, but I’m sure it was clever. [/QUOTE] Giving this a bump, because more people will have finished it by now, and I really am curious about this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-looking-forward-to-discworld-making-money/418184.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-looking-forward-to-discworld-making-money/418184.md?page=5)