Thief of TIme

Terry Pratchett's 26th Discworld novel, Thief of Time, has almost the same plot as one of my favorite episodes of Angel. Sort of. It's the end of the world (this happens almost as much on the Discworld as it does in the Buffyverse). This time, it happens to be caused by a clock that freezes time. So once it starts to tick, it never will again, and neither will any other clock. Everyone will be be stuck in a single moment that lasts forever.

The details are different, but the stories are similar enough that I went to look up which one came out first. It turns out both were released in 2001, so this is a bit like Leibniz and Newton coming up with calculus at the same time.

Okay, maybe this plot isn't quite as genius as calculus. But it's certainly enjoyable. Time paradoxes and apocalypses are always fun.

This is definitely one of my favorite Discworld novels so far. Of course, the Death books tend to be among my favorite so there's no real surprise there. We get to see Susan Sto-Helit, who is always a treat. So practical and logical. Lobsang and Lu-Tze, two History Monks with the power to slice time in order to move through it at their own pace, were thoroughly enjoyable characters as well. And the book had a twist that I genuinely did not see coming.

Then there's the fact that they beat the bad guys with the cunning use of chocolate (it caused a sensory overload). I have to love a book in which chocolate helps save the day.

And the cherry on top was this little bit of dialogue during the apocalypse:
"Now it's my turn. Have you got rhythm?"
"What?"
Susan rolled her eyes. "All right. Do you have music?"
"Not on me, no!"
"And you certainly haven't got a girl," said Miss Susan. "I saw Old Man Trouble go past a few minutes ago. It'd be a good idea if you don't bump into him."
Truly, Pratchett is a genius.

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