Skip to content

The Fifth Elephant

The Fifth Elephant

FantasyHigh Fantasy
Pages
416
Published
1999
Language
English

Synopsis

Sam Vimes is sent to Uberwald as Ankh-Morpork's ambassador — an appointment he did not want, for a culture he does not understand, at a moment when the Uberwald political situation is on the verge of catastrophe. Werewolves, dwarfs, and vampires are all jockeying for power. Someone has stolen the Scone of Stone, the sacred symbol of dwarf kingship, and without it the coronation cannot proceed. A novel about diplomacy, cultural collision, and the moment when Sam Vimes the policeman meets Sam Vimes the politician.

Prose complexity
6/10

Vibe

FunnySatiricalGrittyTense
Anti-HeroCourt IntrigueMorally GreyFish Out of Water

Genres

Fantasy High Fantasy Comic Fiction Humor

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

Sam VimesProtagonist

Thrust into the role of diplomat in a foreign country, discovering that his policeman's instincts are both an asset and a liability in Uberwald.

Wolfgang von ÜberwaldAntagonist

A werewolf supremacist who wants Uberwald to remain closed to outside influence and is willing to use political assassination to achieve it.

Lady MargolottaSupporting

An Uberwald vampire of enormous political intelligence — and Vetinari's chess correspondent, which tells you something about her capabilities.

AnguaSupporting

Returns to her homeland of Uberwald, where her family history complicates her identity as a member of the Ankh-Morpork Watch.

Nobby NobbsSupporting
All characters in The Fifth Elephant

Frequently asked questions

  • Do I need to read other Discworld books before The Fifth Elephant?

    While part of the Discworld series, The Fifth Elephant is a standalone story within the Watch sub-series. Readers new to Discworld can start here, though familiarity with Commander Vimes and the Ankh-Morpork City Watch from earlier books will enrich the experience.

  • Is there a TV or film adaptation of The Fifth Elephant?

    The Fifth Elephant has not been directly adapted into a film or television series. However, other books featuring the Ankh-Morpork City Watch characters have received adaptations.

  • When was The Fifth Elephant published?

    First published on 1 November 1999 by Victor Gollancz. It is the twenty-fourth Discworld novel and the fifth City Watch book.

  • What real-world inspirations influenced The Fifth Elephant?

    Terry Pratchett drew inspiration from various real-world political and cultural elements for Uberwald, including Eastern European folklore, vampire myths, and the complexities of international diplomacy and resource control, particularly concerning oil and gas.

  • What is the Fifth Elephant?

    According to Discworld lore, the world is carried by four elephants standing on the Great A'Tuin. But fossil evidence suggests there was once a fifth elephant that crashed into the Disc — its rendered fat became the great fat deposits (and fat-based industries) of Uberwald. The title is a geological metaphor for a secret history that shapes the present.

  • What is the Scone of Stone?

    The Scone of Stone is the sacred seat of dwarf kingship — a cheese-shaped lump of stone on which the Low King of the Dwarfs sits at coronation. Its theft triggers the political crisis of the novel.

  • Is The Fifth Elephant a good entry point to the Watch sub-series?

    Not the best. The novel assumes familiarity with Angua, Carrot, and Vimes's development across Guards! Guards!, Men at Arms, Feet of Clay, and Jingo. Starting there is strongly recommended.

  • What does the novel say about diplomacy?

    Vimes's entire career has been built on the principle that people should follow the law regardless of who they are. Diplomacy, as practiced in Uberwald, runs on exactly opposite principles. The comedy and tension of The Fifth Elephant comes from watching Vimes try to be a policeman in a world that runs on privilege, rank, and who you know.

Read all 3 reviews