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Carpe Jugulum

Carpe Jugulum

FantasyHigh Fantasy
Pages
384
Published
1998
Language
English

Synopsis

The king of Lancre has made a diplomatic error: he has invited vampires to attend his daughter's naming ceremony, and they have taken this as an invitation to stay. The Count Magpyr and his modernized, reform-minded vampire family are immune to all the traditional defenses — garlic, holy water, crosses — and plan to take over the kingdom. Granny Weatherwax, shaken by a perceived slight and less certain of herself than she has ever appeared, must face a threat that cannot be defied with willpower alone.

Prose complexity
6/10

Vibe

FunnyDarkSatiricalTense
SurvivalMentor FigureReluctant HeroFound Family

Genres

Fantasy High Fantasy Comic Fiction Humor Paranormal Science Fiction

About the author

T
Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) was an English author best known for the Discworld series, a sequence of forty-one comic fantasy novels set on a flat world carried through space on the backs of four elephants standing on a giant turtle. Across four decades, the Discworld grew from a parody of sword-and-sorcery fantasy into one of the most sustained works of social satire in English literature, examining politics, religion, science, gender, race, capitalism, and the nature of stories themselves. Pra...

Characters

Granny WeatherwaxProtagonist

The Disc's most powerful witch at her most vulnerable — facing vampires who have adapted to everything she would normally use against them.

Count MagpyrAntagonist

A modern, rational vampire who has trained his family out of their traditional weaknesses and regards old-fashioned monsters as embarrassingly inefficient.

Mightily OatsSupporting

An Omnian priest full of religious doubt who ends up in the middle of the vampire crisis — and finds that faith, when it finally arrives, can be a weapon.

Nanny OggSupporting

Holding things together while Granny is off her game — and more perceptive than usual about what is actually happening to the old witch.

Magrat GarlickSupporting
All characters in Carpe Jugulum

Frequently asked questions

  • When was Carpe Jugulum published?

    First published on 4 November 1998 by Victor Gollancz. It is the twenty-third Discworld novel and the sixth (and final) Witches book.

  • What does the title mean?

    'Carpe Jugulum' is a mock-Latin phrase meaning 'seize the throat' — a vampiric twist on 'carpe diem' (seize the day). It captures the novel's central joke: vampires who have modernized themselves into efficiency.

  • Is Carpe Jugulum the last Witches book?

    It is the last book to feature the complete coven of Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Agnes Nitt together. Granny Weatherwax appears again in The Wee Free Men (as background) and has a central role in The Shepherd's Crown (2015).

  • What makes the Magpyr vampires different?

    The Count Magpyr has systematically trained his family to overcome every traditional vampire weakness — they have been desensitized to garlic, holy symbols, and sunlight through deliberate exposure. This makes them much more dangerous than conventionally monstrous vampires.

  • What is Granny Weatherwax's vulnerability in this novel?
  • Do I need to read other Discworld books before this one?

    While this novel is part of a recurring sub-series featuring the Lancre witches, it is written to be accessible as a standalone story. Readers unfamiliar with the previous books may miss some character history, but the plot remains self-contained and fully understandable.

  • How does this book relate to the broader Discworld series?

    This is the twenty-third entry in the overall series and the sixth focused on the witches of Lancre. It serves as a thematic exploration of belief and modern versus traditional archetypes within the established world.

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