Thief of Time
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| Terry Pratchett The Discworld series 26th novel  | |
| Outline | |
| Characters: | Jeremy Clockson, Lobsang Ludd, Lu-Tze |
| Locations: | Ankh-Morpork, Ramtops |
| Motifs: | Wuxia and Martial arts films, Apocalypse, Momo, Matrix |
| Publication details | |
| Year of release: | 2001 |
| Original publisher: | Doubleday |
| Hardback ISBN: | ISBN 0385601026 |
| Paperback ISBN: | ISBN 0552148407 |
| Other details | |
| Awards: | |
| Notes: | |
Synopsis
The Auditors convince a young clock maker, Jeremy Clockson, in Ankh-Morpork to build a perfect glass clock. They do not reveal that this will imprison Time (the anthropomorphic personification) and thereby freeze time (the physical quantity) on the Discworld. Naturally, Death isn't about to let that happen, but since his hands are tied he sends his granddaughter Susan to thwart them.
Meanwhile, in a distant valley, a young apprentice of the History Monks, Lobsang Ludd, and his old teacher, Lu-Tze, called 'The Sweeper', hear that a glass clock is being built. Lu-Tze knows of such a clock's side-effects, since he was sent to prevent a previous clock from being built. He and Lobsang head for Ankh-Morpork to stop Clockson from building it.
The Auditors, meanwhile, are using human bodies to pose as and learn about humans. One in particular, operating under the [[wikt:alias|alias]] Myria LeJean, is quite disturbed by "her" experiences as "she" becomes more and more human by the minute...
Notable aspects
Thief of Time features the neologism Substition (first used by Pratchett in Jingo), a term denoting the opposite of superstition.
- "'No, they're a substition,' said Susan. 'I mean they're real, but hardly anyone really believes in them. Mostly everyone believes in things that aren't real.'"
Translations
- Крадец на време (Bulgarian)
- Zloděj času (Czech)
- De dief van tijd (Dutch)
- Procrastination (French)
- Der Zeitdieb (German)
- Lleidr Amser (Welsh)
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