# Feet of Clay Terry Pratchett (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **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:** 4\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feet-of-clay-terry-pratchett-open-spoilers/665830/41 "2013-08-14T19:58:20Z")
> [@Airk](#): > > This is really one of my favorite Discworld quotes ever. EVER. > > \ > > Feet of Clay is actually one of my favorite Pratchett books, comprising a strong example of what I call “Middle Pratchett” - “Early Pratchett” (Up to, roughly, Guards! Guards!) is when the books are straight up fantasy parodies, and, honestly, are a little flat as a result. “Late Pratchett” (Starting with, roughly, Night Watch) is… significantly less parody, where everything is VERY real with a sort of thin coat of Fantasy over the top. The stuff in the middle is the sweet spot for me. Totally agree with you on the first - it’s one of my favorite quotes, too, and it’s a good maxim. As to the second point, brilliant! Very very true. I loved Night Watch but didn’t love Snuff (though I didn’t hate it either). ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feet-of-clay-terry-pratchett-open-spoilers/665830/42 "2013-08-14T20:13:55Z")
Yeah, I didn’t mean to imply I haven’t -liked- the more recent Discworld books (particularly, actually, the Tiffany Aching books) but that they’re significantly more REAL than his previous works and not as lighthearted as a result. Thus, I like the ‘middle’ books more. All that said, it’s not precise - Going Postal is probably more “Middle Pratchett” than Hat Full of Sky, for example. ---
**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:** [August 15, 2013, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feet-of-clay-terry-pratchett-open-spoilers/665830/43 "2013-08-15T23:38:41Z")
Would this be the place to mention that Pterry’s latest Disk novel is set for an October release? It’s titled “Raising Steam” and involves Moist von Lipwig yet again. I’ll but it and read it, but I’m not holding out much hope. The last couple of novels have been…lacking. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feet-of-clay-terry-pratchett-open-spoilers/665830/44 "2013-08-16T04:55:10Z")
> [@Airk](#): > > Feet of Clay is actually one of my favorite Pratchett books, comprising a strong example of what I call “Middle Pratchett” - “Early Pratchett” (Up to, roughly, Guards! Guards!) is when the books are straight up fantasy parodies, and, honestly, are a little flat as a result. “Late Pratchett” (Starting with, roughly, Night Watch) is… significantly less parody, where everything is VERY real with a sort of thin coat of Fantasy over the top. The stuff in the middle is the sweet spot for me. That’s a great way of looking at it. Sure, there’s some ‘line’ crossing here and there, but a good concept. I had heard the next Moist von Lipwig book in the Industrial Revolution series was going to be “Raising Taxes”, but I guess Pterry changed his mind. I’m looking forward to reading “Raising Steam”. Here’s a link to what seems to be the most current [Discworld Reading Guide 2.2](http://pinterest.com/pin/273523377341457454/) I could find. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feet-of-clay-terry-pratchett-open-spoilers/665830.md?page=2)