I just finished reading Feet of Clay, by Terry Pratchett. The novel gets off to an excellent start with a mysterious golem sale that ends up at the heart of a coup attempt. The novel features a burgeoning cast of characters that are finally being given a modicum of depth along with social commentary on a range of topics, offering valuable insight where Pratchett was content in prior outings to make a few cheap jokes and beat them to death.

Vimes’ visit to Cockbill Street nicely encapsulates, while also romanticizing, the idea of the hard-working lower class making no headway. “The table might not have any food on it but, by gods, it was well scrubbed. That was Cockbill Street, where what you mainly ate was your pride.”

The treatment of the topic of chosen pronouns is well considered, offering Captain Carrot as a paragon who always tries to understand the point of view of others but can’t immediately see past his own upbringing. I was not aware that there was any significant discussion of chosen pronouns when this novel was written, but surely there was as Pratchett certainly didn’t invent the concept.

The Watch novels remain my favorite series within the Discworld series.