Carpe Jugulum
Ratings97
Average rating3.9
15
Ratings97
Average rating3.9
Carpe Jugulum (Latin for "seize the throat", cf. Carpe diem) is a comic fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett, the twenty-third in the Discworld series. It was first published in 1998.
In Carpe Jugulum, Terry Pratchett pastiches the traditions of vampire literature, playing with the mythic archetypes and featuring a tongue-in-cheek reversal of 'vampyre' subculture with young vampires who wear bright clothes, drink wine, and stay up until noon. (description taken from [Wikipedia][1])
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpe_Jugulum
Reviews with the most likes.
One of my favorites of the Discworld Witches subseries. In no small part because it revolves around Anges, my favorite young witch and introduces my two favorite races, the Nac MacFeegles and Igors. Great story with fun humor. Pratchett loves taking on these pop culture phenomenons, and this was published during the run of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. I love it when Discworld puts their characters up against classic horror monsters, phantom of the opera, vampires, werewolves and so on.
Among the themes of the book, this one is directly stated: Evil begins when you treat people as things. This has an anti-corporate message, as in corporations using the masses to drain their money, for cheap labor, etc. Other themes are the idea of being reborn (the phoenix, Granny Weatherwax returning, the life cycle of the vampire, the notion of what faith is (all conversations with Granny and Oats) and duality or contradiction of mind (Agnes vs. Perdita and Oats knowledge of what he's supposed to believe in vs. what he actually thinks).
Though Granny remains the problem solver, the story is observed through the younger characters, Agnes and Mightily Oats. Granny Weatherwax spends some time dealing with fears of being obsolete, with there technically being four witches in Lancre these days.
Carpe Jugulum's biggest conflict comes out in favor of a traditional approach, which is unusual for the series that generally favors not sticking to tradition. For instance, main villain County Magpyr took a “modern” approach of contracting with his victims, making them into docile farm animals instead of the traditional monstrous approach of hiding in the shadows and coming to his victims at night. Verence's attempts to be a “modern” king and improve the kingdom were largely ignored by the Lancrastrians, who take what they see as a sensible approach at all times.
Perhaps even Pratchett was not immune to being in a contradictory state of mind.
It's a real pleasure to read and reread this series and get more from it each time.
I almost always enjoy a Pratchet and I really enjoy Granny Weatherwax, so this one was fun. The ending went on too long - too much of a good thing - but that is a minor quibble.
Series
41 primary books50 released booksDiscworld is a 50-book series with 41 primary works first released in -422 with contributions by Terry Pratchett, Jan Kantůrek, and 5 others.
Series
6 primary books7 released booksDiscworld - Witches is a 7-book series with 6 primary works first released in 1987 with contributions by Terry Pratchett.
Series
36 primary booksKolekcja Świat Dysku is a 36-book series with 36 primary works first released in 1983 with contributions by Terry Pratchett, Patrick Couton, and 6 others.
Series
15 primary booksWielka Kolekcja Terry Pratchett is a 15-book series with 15 primary works first released in 1983 with contributions by Terry Pratchett and Albert Solé.
