# Feet of Clay Terry Pratchett (open spoilers)
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feet-of-clay-terry-pratchett-open-spoilers/665830
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [August 9, 2013, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feet-of-clay-terry-pratchett-open-spoilers/665830 "2013-08-09T20:00:49Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2013, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feet-of-clay-terry-pratchett-open-spoilers/665830/1 "2013-08-09T20:00:49Z")
It’s probably one of my favorite Pterry books of all time. I’m just re-reading it and as always bits of it bring me to tears.
When they are about to smash Dorfl:
“I AM WORTH 530 DOLLARS.”
“That’s all you things think about, money!”
“Money is all you can think about when all you have is a price.”
And the moment when Dorfl becomes free: the words “GOLEM MUST HAVE A MASTER” unable to stand against the Universe.
And the golems made a king to make them free, just like humans do. But the king only led them to ruin and destruction and madness, like so many human kings.
And of course
“WORDS IN THE HEART CANNOT BE TAKEN.”
I wish they would make a movie out of this one. I would love to watch it.
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### Author:  [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2013, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feet-of-clay-terry-pratchett-open-spoilers/665830/2 "2013-08-09T20:03:11Z")
And funny!
“Detritus! Crossbow bolt through the head, if you please!”
“If you say so, sir…”
“\*Its \*head! \*My \*head is fine!”
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### Author:  [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2013, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feet-of-clay-terry-pratchett-open-spoilers/665830/3 "2013-08-09T20:50:03Z")
I think Pixar is the only company that could do justice to the DW novels.
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### Author:  [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2013, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feet-of-clay-terry-pratchett-open-spoilers/665830/4 "2013-08-09T22:13:06Z")
And of course Vimes sees the many, many chems the golems put into their king, and thinks “Poor bastard” as he realizes it went mad trying to reconcile them all.
Angua thinking Carrot has come to propose to her, just as she has resolved to leave for good, only it turns out that all he wanted was her help to fix up the dwarf bread museum… or (for this is Carrot) _was_ that all he meant? :dubious:
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### Author:  [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2013, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feet-of-clay-terry-pratchett-open-spoilers/665830/5 "2013-08-09T22:42:10Z")
> [@Malacandra](#):
>
> Angua thinking Carrot has come to propose to her, just as she has resolved to leave for good, only it turns out that all he wanted was her help to fix up the dwarf bread museum… or (for this is Carrot) _was_ that all he meant? :dubious:
Carrot? It was about the dwarf bread museum. I liked the part where Carrot had Nobbs, or was it Colon, explain to Angua who all those women were that Vimes was giving money to each month.
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### Author:  [@Neverending\_Elbow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neverending_Elbow)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2013, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feet-of-clay-terry-pratchett-open-spoilers/665830/6 "2013-08-09T23:16:07Z")
Me, I love all the puns. The really bad ones from all the coats of arms, and all the others, especially when Detritus comes for a stool sample.
And Cheery is just so wonderfully awkward in this.
And Nobby being groomed for the role of a puppet king and really not getting it.
I don’t think there is a part of this book I don’t like.
Ooh, the college of heralds with the animals they posed for all the coats of arms.
And… I could go on and on.
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### Author:  [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2013, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feet-of-clay-terry-pratchett-open-spoilers/665830/7 "2013-08-09T23:54:08Z")
I think it was the third time I read it when I realised it’s an Asimov _I, Robot_ story.
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### Author:  [@Damfino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damfino)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2013, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feet-of-clay-terry-pratchett-open-spoilers/665830/8 "2013-08-10T00:36:00Z")
Of course there are obvious analogies to the Robot stories . Could you elucidate yours, since I’m a little out of touch .
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### Author:  [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2013, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feet-of-clay-terry-pratchett-open-spoilers/665830/9 "2013-08-10T07:58:25Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#):
>
> Carrot? It was about the dwarf bread museum. I liked the part where Carrot had Nobbs, or was it Colon, explain to Angua who all those women were that Vimes was giving money to each month.
Which was in _Men At Arms_.
And yes, by all visible signs it was about the dwarf bread museum, but note that the upshot was that Angua stayed in Ankh-Morpork even though right up to that point she had been firmly resolved to go home and was making a present of all her dresses to Cherie Littlebottom.
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### Author:  [@Neverending\_Elbow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neverending_Elbow)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2013, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feet-of-clay-terry-pratchett-open-spoilers/665830/10 "2013-08-10T14:19:33Z")
> [@Malacandra](#):
>
> Which was in _Men At Arms_.
Pretty sure it was FoC. The bread museum owner/custodian was killed by the golem king for his part in making him - he provided the large oven.
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### Author:  [@Mogle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mogle)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2013, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feet-of-clay-terry-pratchett-open-spoilers/665830/11 "2013-08-10T15:00:16Z")
> [@Neverending\_Elbow](#):
>
> Pretty sure it was FoC. The bread museum owner/custodian was killed by the golem king for his part in making him - he provided the large oven.
Dwarf bread museum was in FoC, explaining why Vimes was giving women money each month was in Men At Arms.
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### Author:  [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feet-of-clay-terry-pratchett-open-spoilers/665830/12 "2013-08-10T15:03:52Z")
This is the first Discworld I read all the way through. (I’d tried to read _The Light Fantastic_, but didn’t like it.) Now I’m a big fan.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2013, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feet-of-clay-terry-pratchett-open-spoilers/665830/13 "2013-08-10T16:30:08Z")
Yeah, Vimes’ payments to the women _had_ to be in one of the first Watch books, since in the later ones, there’s an official pension fund, and Vimes himself is no longer having to scrounge for money for himself (thus removing the personal sacrifice from the payments).
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### Author:  [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2013, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feet-of-clay-terry-pratchett-open-spoilers/665830/14 "2013-08-11T01:52:47Z")
My mistake. Carrot had Nobbs, or was it Colon, explain to Angua who all those women were that Vimes was giving money to each month in the first story Angua appeared in. That would be MAA, where she, and also Detritus and Cubby were Lance Constables.
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### Author:  [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2013, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feet-of-clay-terry-pratchett-open-spoilers/665830/15 "2013-08-11T01:56:16Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#):
>
> This is the first Discworld I read all the way through. (I’d tried to read _The Light Fantastic_, but didn’t like it.) Now I’m a big fan.
Although The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic were the first two Discworld Novels, I don’t think they’re anywhere near the best. For a first DW novel to read, I often recommend “Guards! Guards!”, “Reaper Man”, “Wyrd Sisters”, or “Wee Free Men.”
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### Author:  [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2013, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feet-of-clay-terry-pratchett-open-spoilers/665830/16 "2013-08-11T01:58:25Z")
I love the Watch and the Witch stories: Rincewind, not so much.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feet-of-clay-terry-pratchett-open-spoilers/665830/17 "2013-08-11T16:54:22Z")
The usual recommendation I’ve heard for first one to read is _Small Gods_. There’s less baggage in it of characters and settings the reader is expected to be familiar with.
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2013, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feet-of-clay-terry-pratchett-open-spoilers/665830/18 "2013-08-11T17:25:51Z")
I disagree. Depending on the student, I start them off with either _Wyrd Sisters_ or _Guards! Guards!_ After that they can read _Moving Pictures_ and _Mort_.
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### Author:  [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2013, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feet-of-clay-terry-pratchett-open-spoilers/665830/19 "2013-08-11T19:19:34Z")
Another great humorous moment in FoC is the revelation that the Patrician has long since worked out how he is being poisoned, and is musing over whether he should start giving Vimes hints. He still wants Vimes on the case, because the longer he is on the job, the more important and influential people he will upset, which is the icing on the cake as far as the Patrician is concerned.
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### Author:  [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2013, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feet-of-clay-terry-pratchett-open-spoilers/665830/20 "2013-08-11T19:51:02Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> Yeah, Vimes’ payments to the women _had_ to be in one of the first Watch books, since in the later ones, there’s an official pension fund, and Vimes himself is no longer having to scrounge for money for himself (thus removing the personal sacrifice from the payments).
Found it. Page 213, Corgi Books first printing. " ‘Annabel Curry couldn’t have been much good, for only two dollars,’ said Angua."
I usually recommend _Guards, Guards_ or _Wyrd Sisters_ to start, but _Wee, Free Men_ and _Small Gods_ are also solid choices.
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