Review - Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett (Corgi)

Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett
Published by Corgi
Paperback - 432 pages
Published November 1999
Borrowed Copy



Mightily Oats has not picked a good time to be a priest. He thought he'd come to the mountain kingdom of Lancre for a simple little religious ceremony. Now he's caught up in a war between vampires and witches, and he's not sure there is a right side.
There're the witches – young Agnes, who is really in two minds about everything, Magrat, who is trying to combine witchcraft and nappies, Nanny Ogg, who is far too knowing... and Granny Weatherwax, who is big trouble.
And the vampires are intelligent – not easily got rid of with a garlic enema or by going to the window, grasping the curtains and saying, "I don't know about you, but isn't it a bit stuffy in here?"
They've got style and fancy waistcoats. They're out of the casket and want a bite of the future.
Mightily Oats knows he has a prayer, but wishes he had an axe. 

 One of the things I love most about reading Pratchett is that it doesn't matter what reading mood I'm in, or what kind of literary funk I've gotten myself into, I know that I can pick up a Discworld novel and have a damn good time with it. This is true for Carpe Jugulum, the twenty-third novel in the series.

Pratchett satirizes the vampire mythos and the desire for people to break away from tradition (often with disastrous results) in the form of the Magpyr family - a group of 'modern' vampires who aren't content with just nibbling on the odd throat here and there, but choose to get involved and interfere with people. This doesn't end well, as you can imagine.

Although the Witches novels are my least favourite sub-series of the Discworld, I thought that they really held their own in Carpe Jugulum. He plays on the running theme of 'the maiden, the mother and the crone' in witch archetypes to cause conflict within the coven and the introduction of Agnes Nitt (and her alter-ego Perdita) as a fully fledged witch to upset the dynamic. I found Agnes herself to be a little bland as a character, and she didn't add too much to the story. Granny Weatherwax's stubbornness, however, is as charming as it is frustrating, and had me giggling for a good while.

There seemed to be a little too much going on in Carpe Jugulum, and the story would have benefited from having less characters. In particular, the Nac Mac Feegle (think angry, Scottish smurfs) were excellent for the times they were around, but failed to do much of substance.

That aside, Pratchett still brings the funnies, particularly through the grumbling, put-upon form of Igor, the Magpyr's servant. His sarcastic comments and cynical attitude to the 'modern' vampire is much like my own reactions to the Twilight phenomenon, so there's definite common ground there. Also, Carpe Jugulum is darker and more grim than other Discworld novels, dealing with issues of complacency in the face of tyranny and people being treated as objects. Pratchett still manages to put these messages in whilst having you laugh wildly to yourself.

Carpe Jugulum is an excellent parody of (and a slightly prophetic view) of the changing nature of the vampire myth and packs it full of his humour. Whilst it isn't the best that Pratchett has to offer, it's certainly one that you can sink your teeth into.