Musing on Feet of Clay

My Discworld Book Number

This is my 24^th Discworld book.

Discworld Serial Number Based on Publishing Date

This is the 19^th book in the Discworld series and was published for the first time in 1996.

Introduction to Discworld Series

Discworld is a fictional world created by writer Terry Pratchett. It is a flat world balanced on the back of 4 elephants; they in turn stand on a giant turtle. The turtle’s name is Great A’Tuin. The names of 4 elephants are Berilia, Tubul, Great T’Phone, and Jerakeen.

Pratchett writes stories set in this world. He has written 41 Discworld books. The genre of these books can be broadly said to be fantasy-satire. 

Discworld is a satiric reflection of our own world. The flat world should be the first indication of the satire. Because in this world things are as people (as in flat-earthers) want them to be.

Magic is strong in Discworld. Light travels quite slowly because of thick magic in the atmosphere. 

In this world different humanoid species (combinedly known as sapients) live together, but not necessarily peacefully.

Premise of Feet of Clay

The books of Discworld series are set in different parts of Discworld with different set of characters and different subjects. Present book’s theme is the City Watch or police department of Ankh-Morpork with an office at Pseudopolis Yard (not unlike Scotland Yard).

“Guards! Guards!” is the first book in the Watch series. If one can pay a fee to the Thieves Guild every month to not to be robbed, what’s the role of the Watch? “Guards! Guards!” follows the City Watch as it gains relevance in guilds infested Ankh-Morpork. In this book, the residents of Ankh-Morpork realise that their city can face danger from many sources other than the criminals under the guilds. There comes the relevance of the City Watch!

The second book in the Watch subseries of Discworld series is Men at Arms. Men at Arms explores the struggle of the Watch in face of reconstruction and imminent departure of Captain Vimes.

Feet of Clay is the third book in subseries. The central plot of the book involves the Watch solving a series of murders while keeping the city patrician Lord Vetinari alive. Meanwhile the golems of the city have gone crazy.

I was already introduced to the golems of Discworld. This book added a lot to my knowledge. In a way it can be said this book is about golems.

Pratchett uses word play for most titles of Discworld. Here the play is on the idiom “feet of clay”, which means a hidden flaw in a supposedly perfect person. The golems in Discworld are made of clay. The title refers to the supposedly perfect golem.

The book is also about inequalities arising from money, power, position, and family name. Someone is considered higher up only because they have the correct family name.  

Few things about golems

1. They are made from clay by humans.

2. They becomes “alive” after words are fed into their brain (or whatever is inside their clay head). This is similar to the creation of digital/artificial intelligence in our world through coding. The operation of intelligence can be manipulated through change in codes. Likewise, the golems’ operation can be managed by managing the words inside their heads.

3. At any moment their head can be opened to read the words. At that point they become frozen. As if life has gone out of them. Although they are never alive. Many aspects, especially this getting frozen part of golems seem akin to the robots of TV series Westworld.

4. The religious leaders and priests are against golems because according to them only Gods can create life. They have declared making golems blasphemous and made the rulers ban it. Whatever golems seen today in Discworld are from pre-ban days, which is years and years back.

5. These remaining golems must be owned by some sapient.

Golem must have a master.

6. Golems can’t talk. They can listen and understand others for most part. They reply by writing on a slate they carry along. They write in all caps in a gothic kind of font. They can nod though.

7. In simple words, golems are like robot slaves. They mechanically follow orders of their masters. But can they develop individuality under the suitable circumstances? Can rules be manipulated to have a golem without a master?

Important Characters

CAPTAIN CARROT

Captain Carrot Ironfoundersson is embodiment of all things good in the Discworld. His sense of duty, honesty and loyalty rubs on others in the Watch. He considers himself to be a Dwarf as he was adopted by a Dwarf couple in his childhood, although he is a very tall human.

COMMANDER SIR SAMUEL VIMES

The leader and mentor of the Watch Samuel Vimes is not happy becoming super rich overnight by getting married to Lady Sybil. He is not satisfied by being a rich socialite. Like a hound he is addicted to sniffing. In his case of course it is sniffing wrong deeds and solving those.

One of his ancestor had murdered the last king of Ankh-Morpork. Although he was a mad and bad king, Vimes are constantly reminded of the regicide by the rich and powerful circle of the city.

CONSTABLE ANGUA

Angua von Überwald is still facing problem in balancing her double life. Yet she can use her unique position to help in investigations of the Watch. She is uncertain in her love life. And has taken over someone under her wings.   

CORPORAL CHEERY AKA CHERI LITTLEBOTTOM

CSI has come to Ankh-Morpork. Cheery Littlebottom is our resident forensic analyst of the Watch now. She uses many alchemy experiments and iconograph to analyse crime scenes. Then she discovered gender and changed her name to Cheri. Dwarfs recognise only one gender. Anyone recognizing them anything but male is frowned on but Cheri dares to be different.

GOLEM DORFL

He is the only way into the unusual things happening with golems in Ankh-Morpork. Can he help in solving the case?

DRAGON KING OF ARMS

This vampire has been crafting coat of arms for important families of the city since centuries. He has strong class prejudice. Also he has a twisted sense of humour which he expresses with puns.  

SERGEANT COLON

Frederick “Fred” Colon is one of the oldest member of the Watch. He has decided to retire at the end of the month. And you know in cop dramas what happens when a veteran decided their plan of retiring soon! Either they die or their retirement plan gets cancelled. Which is it for Colon?

CORPORAL NOBBS

Nobby Nobbs is human but somehow everyone treats him like a sub-human. Everyone always expects the worst from him and worst of him. But is there more to him than meets the eyes?

HAVELOCK VETINARI

Patrician Lord Vetinari rules over Ankh-Morpork with iron fist. He gives out a cat stroking super villain vibe but in reality his most vicious attack has been passing sarcastic remarks (maybe). He is diplomatic, intelligent can gauze next 10 moves of the opponent. He always approaches problems in unique ways. One may disagree with him but his unique ways always work.

By the way, what will happen to Ankh-Morpork after Lord Vetinery dies? Who would be a suitable successor? Why is not he grooming anyone? Is it because he is a vampire and immortal?  

WEE MAD ARTHUR

In the book I got introduced to yet another specie of Discworld, gnome. Wee Mad Arthur is a gnome. He is only six inches high. He supplies rats to dwarf restaurants. He is a pure business man is quite focused on money angles in every event.

DEATH

As we know Death talks in all caps and takes away souls of the dead. He is gentle, nice, kind, and fair. In this book the writer tells us Death has an obsessive personality.

Above all Death is a fun person. He has clapped back to Benjamin Franklin’s oft quoted line about death and taxes being only certainties of life.

I am death, not taxes. I turn up only once.

Themes

Like the other Watch series books, Feet of Clay has themes of mystery, cop drama, and understanding people who are different than you are.

The main theme of this particular the Watch series book, like written above, is the philosophy about golems. Golems are man made but imitates us in many ways. Then how to treat them and what are their rights?

Vimes is always a champion for the downtrodden or at least he sees their point of views, being one of them growing up. On the other hand, he resents many marginal species. Although over the years he has been becoming more understanding. He is the main representation of class and “being different” discussions, which are central to the Watch series.

The bottom line of these discussion is always the power-centre. Lord Vetinary is the power-centre of Ankh-Morpork currently. But some creatures want to uphold the centuries old class divisions. The oligarchy prefers a puppet ruler, who should also fulfill their prejudice for the correct family name.

It is not that, some evil people are only prejudiced. No one is above prejudices.

The so-perfect Carrot can’t take it when Cheri openly comes out as a female dwarf.  

Well, I would have thought she’d have the decency to keep it to herself…I mean, I’ve nothing against females. I’m pretty certain my stepmother is one.

It is as if Pratchett foresaw the prejudice against any expression of non-cis gender in current time. And also Carrot has a stepmother? I thought he has a pair of foster parents.

Coming back to the prejudices, Cheri herself is not above prejudices. Angua is angry most of the time for the prejudice she suffers as a werewolf, yet she is also prejudiced against some. 

But the difference between “evil” people and good people is , good people are constantly evolving and trying to understand people who are not like them.

I never noticed before  reading Maskerade that the centuries have names in Discworld. As we know currently it is the Century of the Fruitbat and in a few years it will be the Century of the Rat.

Some more quotes I Loved

That’s an interesting way to describe geography.

…geography is only physics slowed down and with few trees stuck on it..

Now Summer sounds like a bird, it goes to Southern Hemisphere for winter.

Summer is a moving creature and likes to go south for the winter.

You need to give a spin to events in your life.

Definitely a receding scalp here. Less hair to comb but, on the other hand, more face to wash…

Now this is a great wisdom in communication.

Rumour is information distilled so finely that it can filter through anything.

And the second take

That’s rumour for you. If we could modulate it with the truth, how useful it could be…

The truth of an alcoholic (as in Vimes)

…one drink is too many, two is not enough…

Vimes apparently doesn’t like Sherlock Holmes

And he distrusted the kind of person who’d take one look at another man and say in a lordly voice to his companion, ‘Ah, my dear sir, I can tell you nothing except that he is a left-handed stonemason who has spent some years in the merchant navy and has recently fallen on hard times.’…when exactly the same comments could apply to a man who was wearing his old clothes because he’d been doing a spot of home bricklaying for a barbecue pit, and had been tattooed once when he was drunk and seventeen…What arrogance! What an insult to the rich and chaotic variety of human experience!

My Two Pennies

I love reading the Watch series because I love Ankh-Morpork despite all its shortcomings (by the way I have a theory the city might be image of our own Delhi). The backdrop of the series is Ankh-Morpork. And also the series features always the patrician Lord Vetinari, who is one of my favourite characters in the series. Unlike many other Discworld books, Feet of Clay can be read as a standalone. So fresh readers can also enjoy this book.