for me this has to be the worst book in the series. However I would love to see a book about following an Assassin Student throught his training, maybe a flashback over the life of Vetenari (spl)

I think at the time it was considered, in literary circles, to be the best written of the Discworld books.

oh well it goes to show I have no sense of taste

I always feel that it was just a bit of a marching time book, as he had to write it instead of wanting to write it. IMO

Wasn't there quite a lengthy part about Vetinari as a trainee assassin in Night Watch ?

I couldn't disagree more about the quality of Pyramids - a standalone book that encapsulates so many ideas and humor - TP's minds must have been quite literally buzzing with thoughts that he tried to cram in - my favorite books are the Guards sequence but I loved this one (to the extent that I have it on audio cd in my car) and it was also the book that totally got Mrs. Randywine into the whole discworld universe (probably due to her love of all things egypt-ish).
I think also that over several books too much has been written about the assasins school to allow a novel to be largely based there, there would be considerable duplication and redundancy.

Cheers

R.

I suppose that as the Assasins are potrayed as the compertant part of the city, to have humour with them would be a bit degrading for them

Pyramids wasn't the best book of the series, but it was still pretty good. The part about Quantum acounting cracked me up.
edit: because Pyramids was the only thing that should be italicized.

my user name came from the book. he was Chidder's servant on the ship. thats one of my favorite parts when he gets embarresed after Ptraci looks at his tattoos. i laugh every time i read it.

I think Laughing Fire has it down perfectly. Dios is on this endless cycle. Terrible man, but still you can't help but feel sorry for him.

Its time travel and he makes the same journey over and over setting forth the rituals and then going back and doing it again, thats the joke in that he will never die and continoe to live it all over again.