Editors Reads Verdict
A love letter to martial arts philosophy, the nature of time, and the value of imperfection: Thief of Time is one of the most inventive late Discworld novels, introducing Lu-Tze as a genuinely original comic creation and making a surprisingly moving argument for the importance of now.
What We Loved
- Lu-Tze is one of Pratchett's most original creations — an elderly sweeper of extraordinary competence whose power lies entirely in being underestimated
- The History Monks and their relationship to time are developed with inventive rigour and generate some of the series' most conceptually ambitious comedy
- The novel's philosophical argument — that perfection is lifeless and imperfection is the condition of all meaning — is embedded entirely in character and event
- The Auditors as antagonists get their most fully developed treatment here
Minor Drawbacks
- Lobsang's identity revelation is signalled early enough that it lacks full surprise
- Susan's subplot, while well-executed, is less integrated with the History Monks storyline than the parallel structure implies
Key Takeaways
- → A perfect clock that stops time would stop everything that makes time worth having — perfection and life are incompatible
- → The present moment is the only place where anything actually happens; spending it entirely in anticipation or regret is its own form of theft
- → Wisdom is not the same as knowledge, and the wisest person in a room is not necessarily the one with the most impressive title
- → The Auditors hate life because life is unpredictable — and unpredictability is the engine of everything interesting
| Author | Terry Pratchett |
|---|---|
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
| Pages | 336 |
| Published | May 1, 2001 |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fantasy, Humour, Satire |
Thief of Time Review
Thief of Time is the Discworld novel about time, and it is also, unexpectedly, the Discworld novel about chocolate — a combination that tells you something about how Pratchett’s imagination worked. It is part of the Death sub-series by virtue of Susan Sto Helit’s involvement, but its real centre of gravity is the History Monks: a secret order that maintains the flow of time by, among other things, stealing it from places where people aren’t paying attention and redistributing it where it’s needed.
The premise is characteristically ambitious. The Auditors of Reality — the novel’s recurring antagonists, impersonal forces that resent the messiness of conscious life — commission the brilliant but naive clockmaker Jeremy Clockson to build a perfect clock. A perfect clock, by Pratchett’s physics, would stop time altogether. The History Monk Lu-Tze, who presents himself as a humble sweeper and is in fact something considerably more formidable, is dispatched to prevent this with his new apprentice Lobsang Ludd.
Lu-Tze is one of Pratchett’s great late-period creations. His power depends entirely on everyone underestimating a small, elderly man who smells of soap and sweeps corridors. The comedy of watching experts repeatedly fail to register that he is the most dangerous person in any room he enters never becomes stale because Pratchett keeps finding new ways to construct the gag.
The novel’s philosophical argument — that a perfect world, a world without the friction of imperfection and surprise, would be a dead one — is made through the Auditors themselves: entities so committed to order that they cannot experience the present moment without being overwhelmed by it.
Discworld Reading Order
Thief of Time works as a standalone but rewards familiarity with the Death sub-series. Mort, Reaper Man, and Hogfather provide the best context for Susan’s character.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is "Thief of Time" about?
A clockmaker is commissioned to build a perfect clock that would stop time, bringing the Auditors of Reality one step closer to a universe without the messy unpredictability of life. The History Monks dispatch Lu-Tze, a sweeper with a formidable past, and his new apprentice Lobsang Ludd to prevent it. Death's granddaughter Susan is also involved.
What are the key takeaways from "Thief of Time"?
A perfect clock that stops time would stop everything that makes time worth having — perfection and life are incompatible The present moment is the only place where anything actually happens; spending it entirely in anticipation or regret is its own form of theft Wisdom is not the same as knowledge, and the wisest person in a room is not necessarily the one with the most impressive title The Auditors hate life because life is unpredictable — and unpredictability is the engine of everything interesting
Is "Thief of Time" worth reading?
A love letter to martial arts philosophy, the nature of time, and the value of imperfection: Thief of Time is one of the most inventive late Discworld novels, introducing Lu-Tze as a genuinely original comic creation and making a surprisingly moving argument for the importance of now.
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