Discworld Read Through 19: Feet of Clay

Added: 2026-05-11

[00:00:03][music] [music] >> Welcome back everyone. I'm the book guy and today we're continuing our read through of the Discworld series. We're up to book number 19, Feet of Clay. This is yet another City Watch book, only the third of them and I'm very excited to be getting to the stage of the Discworld read through where it's like every second book is a City Watch book cuz they're one of the best. But before we get into it, let me just remind you the rules for this video series. We're doing Discworld is episodic, which means you can read the books or watch any of my videos in any order you like without any trouble there. There's also not going to be any spoilers in the video, but it will be a little bit like a movie trailer where I'll show you a couple of things about the book in order to entice any of you who haven't read it to give it a try. Sound good? So this is the third City Watch novel. Let's just remind you of the reading order. We have Guards! Guards!, Men at Arms, Feet of Clay, Jingo, The Fifth Elephant, Night Watch, Thud!, and Snuff. Yeah, eight City Watch books. It's the biggest of the subseries within Discworld and we're only up to number three. In Feet of Clay, Vimes and Carrot are back and they are better than ever. We've got a couple of our old favorites within the City Watch returning in this one like Nobby Nobs, Fred Colon, Angua, and Detritus.

[00:01:22]And we've got a couple of new members who show up from this book onwards such as the iconic Cheery Littlebottom, Wee Mad Arthur, and the Golem Dorfl. In this book, they're trying to solve two different cases. One is that there's a murder that seems to have been committed by a Golem which should be impossible.

[00:01:40]And it looks like someone is trying to kill the Patrician, the the leader of the city, or patrician if you prefer.

[00:01:47]Sorry, some people get really intense about saying it's patrician not patrician. You put the wrong emphasis on the wrong syllable. You know what I mean. It doesn't matter that much. Calm down. Okay. So, the story itself. So, Sam Vimes is now the commander of the watch, like the supreme leader. And Carrot is the captain. And between the two of them, this dynamic duo is doing a better job than ever of expanding this group of misfits into a proper crime-fighting force to keep the city safe. Teen Titans. However, strange things are happening with the golems of the city. It seems that these creatures who are born of clay and who obey the instructions that are written into their clay are desperate for work and some of them are disappearing from the job at the same time and asking for days off. And some of them are turning up dead. And some of the people who build golems are turning up dead. Something's going on there. Also, the Patrician, the lord and supreme leader of Ankh-Morpork, has been sick for over a week. And Sam Vimes begins to suspect that there is a plot on the ruler's life. It's definitely an act of treason. Someone's trying to do do him in. Except there is no signs of tampering anywhere. And so, how can Sam Vimes figure out who done it if he doesn't even know what they've done? So, there's so many characters in the City Watch books and that's one of the the real joys of it. It's just seeing all these characters interact with each other. Now, like all City Watch books, it's very much a Sam Vimes and Corporal Carrot story. However, from this point onwards, the story starts focusing on the characterization of all the other characters. And so, the uh the character work is spread out a little bit more.

[00:03:23]So, I think some people will find that you don't get quite as much attention on Sam Vimes and Carrot as you would like.

[00:03:28]But there's still a lot of character work done over over the the the whole group. That was well said.

[00:03:34]But don't worry, there's still lots of Sam Vimes and he really is the best. And it's not just my opinion who says that.

[00:03:39]So, Sam is really confident in himself at this point in the story. Where in previous books he was doubting himself or ready to give up. By this point, he is just going for it. He is a ball of rage and fury and he's ready to kick butt in the most chaotic good way possible. Ah, so this is the book where I think Constable Angua really steps up and becomes a major point of view character for the City Watch books. So this is a slight spoiler for the previous one, but she is a werewolf.

[00:04:06]>> Gasp. And she has been keeping that secret, but now she's kind of at the point where she's using those abilities to help the watch. And it's very, you know, satisfying to see her grow in that area. In fact, she works with Corporal Carrot in this book very much. So a lot of his character work is seen through her eyes. She admires him, but this is the book where we also see her getting frustrated with him because yes, he's very good and idealistic and he believes the best in everyone, but he's also so damn inflexible and rigid in his thinking and he can't really tolerate other people's opinions. Angua is also very uncertain in this book if there is a place in the City Watch for her as a werewolf. There are lots of people on the watch who still don't know she's a werewolf and kind of intolerant of her and her entire species. This book also introduces Cheery Littlebottom. So he is a dwarf and he's very much the forensic evidence guy and he's brought on to work this case. And he's just happy to be on the force, but it's very quickly revealed that he is actually a she. And Cheery is a dwarf and like all dwarves, they're expected to look like a man at all times. And thanks to Angua and Ankh-Morpork, she's starting to feel more confident in coming out as herself.

[00:05:15]And yes, she has a coming out storyline.

[00:05:17]Yes, queen. We also have the comic relief characters. So Fred, Fred Colon, Nobby Nobbs, and Detritus. Detritus is my favorite. He's just He's just so blunt. It's refreshing. But Nobby in particular gets a lot of development in this book because there's a rumor going around the city that there is a VIP working in the City Watch and everyone starts to think it's Nobby. So suddenly, he's invited to all these fancy balls and does fine dining and we start to see what a strange little man he really is.

[00:05:47]That's a strange little man. Now, as for the plot lines, I actually think this is possibly one of the best mystery plot lines in all of the City Watch books because the clues are right there from the beginning. It's so clever. So, this read-through video series we're doing, this is my second time going through the books. The first time I read this the reveals completely surprised me. The second time I read it, I was like, "Oh my goodness, the clues are right there right from the start. They're so obvious. How did it take me so long to realize it?" He's not that bright. But that's the sign of a perfectly executed mystery where it's impossible to see it coming, but in hindsight it makes total sense and it's hard to ever wonder, you know, how it how you missed it. So, there are really two big mysteries in this. We have Vimes investigating the Patrician and Carrot is investigating the Golem. So, we have two big plot lines going in different directions.

[00:06:35]Vimes is very much going through the castle looking at every nook and cranny within the Patrician's living quarters and he's investigating every single person who works there and it's this big complex elaborate conspiracy trying to figure out what is going on. It's all connected. And then Carrot is investigating all the Golems and he's sort of questioning whether these Golems are people or property. It's this idea of do laborers actually have human rights? But also, if the Golems are just Golems, can they actually commit murder?

[00:07:07]Is it the person who made the Golem responsible or the person who wrote the instructions inside their head? Oh, that is a really tough question. But like all Discworld books, this one's got a lot of deeper themes and these ones are really fascinating. There's a lot to really chew on here. So, for one, the question of are Golems alive comes up a lot. I mean, there's this beautiful quote and just to brace yourself, this might be one of the best quotes in all of Discworld where someone says about a Golem, "He's just made of clay." And Sam Vimes responds, "He thinks he's alive and that's good enough for me." Oh, it's that simple, isn't it? Yes.

[00:07:43]>> [laughter] >> Yep, that forgive me for a moment. I just stare into the abyss and process that. But another big theme is the power of words. So, these golems are brought to life by the words that are in that are etched into their clay. And if those words are changed, does it change who that golem is? And if you take away those words, does it does it take away what makes a person a person? And yet, once again, here's another brilliant line that's going to blow your freaking mind. One of the most famous quotes in Discworld is words in the heart cannot be taken. Right, and I just adore this line that you know, governments might try to ban books or or control what you're allowed to say, but the words that live in our heart can't be touched.

[00:08:26]No one can take that away from us. It's just a powerful message. I absolutely adore it. The other big theme in the story is Cheery's story of coming out.

[00:08:34]Now, there's a few ways you can interpret this one. You can read it very much as this is a woman who has to live in a man's world and therefore has to act like a man in order to fit in. So, sort of like the classic Mulan story of a woman dressing like a man. It also reads as a trans story, as a transgender person coming out and accepting who they truly are. They even have discussions around changing their pronouns and changing their name in order to have a more feminine sounding name that reflects who they really are. But this story line is handled with such intense beauty. It's one of the best of these stories I've ever seen. There's this beautiful line that sums it up so well.

[00:09:10]When you've made up your mind to shout out who you are to the world, it's a relief to know that you can do it in a whisper. Oh, hang on. That's uh That's hit my tear trigger. Stop it. But that's very much the experience of coming out. The idea that you can do it quietly with just one person who you know is going to accept you. And that's the beauty and the comfort of it. That you can shout who you are to the world in just a whisper. Another theme is how people respond to Cheery coming out. So, this would be a question of allyship, how to be an ally. Cuz we have one character who was just deeply supportive and is there as the biggest cheerleader and anything you need, we're going to do it and it's going to BE GREAT. YEAH!

[00:09:51]>> [screaming] >> THEN WE have other characters who are just completely no reaction. You know, just totally neutral about it. They even say, "Why are your lips red?" "It's lipstick, sir."

[00:10:02]"Oh, all right then." And that's it. So, that just no reaction. And then that's kind of comforting in its own way. It's like, "Oh, it's no big deal." Like, yeah, that's actually a pretty valid response. And then there are other characters who don't have a good response at all, who are like, "Excuse me, you're a dwarf. You should act like a dwarf. This is not how dwarfs behave."

[00:10:20]And they even insist on using the wrong pronoun even when other characters correct them on it. Like, "Wow, that's yeah, he went there." Like, this book was published 30 years ago in 1996 and it sums up the issues of today just like with precision. Yeah, Pratchett was ahead of his time, man. But one of my favorite themes in this book is that every character has some form of prejudice. It's incredible. They respond really well to one thing. Like, they might be really receptive to golems having rights, but then they might not like that Cheery wants to have rights, you know? And and they they change their minds on these things all the time. And no one has it all together. And actually absolutely love this. I think there's a common belief in the world that the world is divided between the racist people and the non-racist people. And I don't think that's accurate. And Pratchett suggests this idea that we all have prejudice and we all have things that we need to unlearn and learn and that's okay. That we can be good people in some areas and still be, you know, people who need to learn something in another area. And that's the human experience. That's so cool!

[00:11:26]So, in closing, I will say that Feet of Clay is a very unique story within the City Watch series because in this one, the whole city is not in danger. Like we had a evil dragon trying to take over, and then we had an assassin who was killing off the leaders of the city. In this one, it's a pretty almost small-scale murder mystery without that those huge stakes. But it's also an extremely complex mystery. Like there's so many layers to it. All the clues are there from the start. It's a satisfying puzzle to see unravel. And I think that's the advantage of having a murder mystery where it's all taking place in one location. Because it's very focused into a needle point of exactly what the story is meant to be. I think Feet of Clay in many ways is a perfect example of exactly what the City Watch books are all about. But that's all from me. I'll be back very soon to talk about another Discworld book. In the meantime, I hope you'll check out my books, The Immortal Investigations, an urban fantasy series.

[00:12:19]I also have an online shop and a Patreon, which you can check out if you want to support the channel. Or just subscribe if you want another book review to show up in your newsfeed at some point soon. I'm The Book Guy. I'll see you later. I hope you enjoy a good book today, and I hope it's a Discworld book. I'll see you soon. Bye.

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