In ‘Pyramids’, master storyteller and satirist takes on the
funeral industry, philosophy, and more. Teppic, heir to the throne of
Djelibeybi (which bears more than a passing resemblance to ancient Egypt ),
has just passed his final exam to become a member of the assassin’s guild in
Ankh-Morpork when his father dies in a bit of madness. He returns home to take
on his responsibility, for which he is totally unprepared. Even though he is
king and considered a god, he finds he has no say in anything at all; because
of the high priest, his is merely a ceremonial position. The story is no mere
court intrigue, though; the Djelibeybian custom of building a bigger, more
impressive pyramid for each kingly generation’s resting spot creates havoc when
the new pyramid proves to be so large that it creates a warp in space and time.
Teppic, with the aid of a handmaid and Discworld’s greatest mathematician (a
camel named You Bastard) must put things to rights before Djelibeybi is
destroyed by gods who have suddenly manifested on the physical realm and before
war breaks out between the countries on either side of where Djelibeybi used to
be.
While certainly amusing (the assassin’s final exam is
particularly good), this isn’t one of Pratchett’s stronger stories. It’s
disjointed and a lot of things happen that don’t advance the story- the gods
becoming physical and apparently witless being one of the worst. The characters
aren’t as vivid as in most Pratchett stories. Teppic and Ptraci are likable but
not compelling. The best characters are the dead king and Dios, the power mad
high priest who turns out to be motivated by good. But still, a not so great
story by Terry Pratchett is better than a lot of some authors best stories, so
it’s certainly worth the read.
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