I enjoyed Thud a lot, though I'm naturally inclined towards any of the Watch books. The murder this time almost seemed to be designed by Agatha Christie: the actual murder was in a group fight; the reported murder was only a set up.

If I was going to sum up this book, I would say it is about different groups or "people" who are forced to look beyond the externals or geneneralizations that they have made about other groups in their world. While they are using their generalizations, things like bigotry, prejudice, and even war are accepted.

This is a common theme in his books, for me. (Jingo, Carpe Jugulum, Men at Arms, Monstrous Regiment) He presents us with a character with predetermined characteristics, and then he begins to show the inner person. Paradigms are shaken and prejudices have to be re-examined. In Thud we've got the obvious ongoing conflict between the trolls and dwarfs, which has been fueled by faulty worldviews on both sides. Interestingly, when young trolls and dwarfs play Thud, and begin to try to think like the other guys, a lot of their assumptions about each other profoundly change.

The subplot involving Angua and Sally, and then also Tawnee and Cheery, was still about understanding and communication coming only after people have looked at the inner person. The girls make a lot of assumptions about Tawnee and then have to rethink their beliefs when they discover how she has been viewing herself and the world around her.

Granted, Sally does come across as rather colorless, but maybe this is because she is always having to keep a tight rein on herself. In some ways she reminds me of the vampire in Monstrous Regiment from that standpoint. I would like to see her developed more three dimensionally.

Angua, for me, has always had these inner struggles going on, including her relationship with Carrot. I'm in the process of rereading the Watch series for the umpteenth time, so I'll keep my eye out for specifics as I read.

Her reaction to Sally, as a vampire, wasn't too surprising, since the feud between vampires and werewolves is pretty longstanding. Her feelings were really heightened by the female thing, though. I finally decided that part of her problem was "hormonal" since it was definitely the wrong time of the month for her! Maybe this also accounts for her reaction at the idea of a S.H.O.W.E.R. She never seemed to mind getting clean before, and her reaction was similar to her family's response to a B.A.T.H. in Fifth Elephant. Maybe during a full moon, she's feeling a lot more possessive of Carrot, too.

Interesting idea about the connection between Where's My Cow and the other traditional stories. I probably should read the book again, keeping that idea in mind. By the way, has anyone seen a copy of Where's My Cow yet?
Edit: I just saw TheJackals comments on Where's My Cow in the Boardania section! Fast answer to my question!