Feet of Clay
Encyclopedia
Feet of Clay is the nineteenth Discworld
novel by Terry Pratchett
, published in 1996. The story follows the members of the City Watch
, as they attempt to solve murders apparently committed by a golem
, as well as the unusual poisoning of the Patrician, Lord Vetinari.
The title is a figure of speech from Hebrew scripture
(see feet of clay
) and the script used in the book to represent Morporkian being written by a golem resembles the Hebrew alphabet
, a reference to golem
s' origins in Jewish mythology
.
of Ankh-Morpork
's guild leaders seek to gradually depose of the Patrician
, replace him with Nobby Nobbs as the new king and rule the city through him.
The cabal order Meshugah, a golem newly-made by other golems in the hope he would be a king and leader for them, to fabricate poisoned candles and have them delivered to the palace. But the golems used an oven rather than a proper kiln to bake Meshugah, which leaves him literally "half-baked". He goes mad, its mind overloaded with all the wishes and propositions of the golem community, and starts killing people.
At this point the City Watch
steps in trying to solve the murders and Lord Vetinari's poisoning. With the assistance of their new forensics
dwarf Cheery Littlebottom, Commander Vimes
and Captain Carrot unravel the mystery.
Carrot and Dorfl, one of the golems, fight and defeat the golem king at the candlestick factory. Afterwards, Vimes confronts the city's chief herald, a vampire, who instigated the whole affair. Dorfl arrests him despite tenuous evidence and Vimes burns down all the heralds' records of the nobility as a sort of punishment.
In the end, Vetinari has recovered completely, Dorfl is sworn in as a watchman, Vimes gets a pay raise, and the watch house gets a new dart board.
! colspan="3" | Reading order guide
Discworld
Discworld is a comic fantasy book series by English author Sir Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle, Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody, or at least take inspiration from, J. R. R....
novel by Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
, published in 1996. The story follows the members of the City Watch
Ankh-Morpork City Watch
The Ankh-Morpork City Watch is a fictional police force within the Discworld series of books by Terry Pratchett. It is based in the city-state of Ankh-Morpork on the Discworld. The Watch was originally two units, the Day Watch and the Night Watch which were combined after the events of Men at Arms...
, as they attempt to solve murders apparently committed by a golem
Golems (Discworld)
Golems in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series are derived from golems in Jewish mythology; early forms of a clay robot, supposedly awakened by a spell or priestly words to do people's bidding....
, as well as the unusual poisoning of the Patrician, Lord Vetinari.
The title is a figure of speech from Hebrew scripture
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
(see feet of clay
Feet of clay
Feet of clay is a reference to the interpretation of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon by the prophet Daniel which is recounted in the Book of Daniel:Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image...
) and the script used in the book to represent Morporkian being written by a golem resembles the Hebrew alphabet
Hebrew alphabet
The Hebrew alphabet , known variously by scholars as the Jewish script, square script, block script, or more historically, the Assyrian script, is used in the writing of the Hebrew language, as well as other Jewish languages, most notably Yiddish, Ladino, and Judeo-Arabic. There have been two...
, a reference to golem
Golem
In Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated anthropomorphic being, created entirely from inanimate matter. The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing....
s' origins in Jewish mythology
Jewish mythology
Jewish mythology is generally the sacred and traditional narratives that help explain and symbolize the Jewish religion, whereas Jewish folklore consists of the folk tales and legends that existed in the general Jewish culture. There is very little early folklore distinct from the aggadah literature...
.
Plot
A cabalCabal
A cabal is a group of people united in some close design together, usually to promote their private views and/or interests in a church, state, or other community, often by intrigue...
of Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which prominently features in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of fantasy novels. As cities go, it is on the far side of corrupt and polluted, and is subject to outbreaks of comedic violence and brouhaha on a fairly regular basis...
's guild leaders seek to gradually depose of the Patrician
Havelock Vetinari
Havelock Vetinari, Lord Vetinari, Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, is the fictional ruler of the city state of Ankh-Morpork in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, a series of over thirty books describing a parallel universe whose main world has reflections of - even more or less subtle jokes about - our...
, replace him with Nobby Nobbs as the new king and rule the city through him.
The cabal order Meshugah, a golem newly-made by other golems in the hope he would be a king and leader for them, to fabricate poisoned candles and have them delivered to the palace. But the golems used an oven rather than a proper kiln to bake Meshugah, which leaves him literally "half-baked". He goes mad, its mind overloaded with all the wishes and propositions of the golem community, and starts killing people.
At this point the City Watch
Ankh-Morpork City Watch
The Ankh-Morpork City Watch is a fictional police force within the Discworld series of books by Terry Pratchett. It is based in the city-state of Ankh-Morpork on the Discworld. The Watch was originally two units, the Day Watch and the Night Watch which were combined after the events of Men at Arms...
steps in trying to solve the murders and Lord Vetinari's poisoning. With the assistance of their new forensics
Forensics
Forensic science is the application of a broad spectrum of sciences to answer questions of interest to a legal system. This may be in relation to a crime or a civil action...
dwarf Cheery Littlebottom, Commander Vimes
Samuel Vimes
Samuel "Sam" Vimes is a fictional policeman from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. As of his latest promotion, his full name and title is; "'His Grace, His Excellency, The Duke of Ankh; Commander Sir Samuel Vimes": When serving as Ambassador for Ankh-Morpork, he is also referred to simply as...
and Captain Carrot unravel the mystery.
Carrot and Dorfl, one of the golems, fight and defeat the golem king at the candlestick factory. Afterwards, Vimes confronts the city's chief herald, a vampire, who instigated the whole affair. Dorfl arrests him despite tenuous evidence and Vimes burns down all the heralds' records of the nobility as a sort of punishment.
In the end, Vetinari has recovered completely, Dorfl is sworn in as a watchman, Vimes gets a pay raise, and the watch house gets a new dart board.
External links
! colspan="3" | Reading order guide