Thief of Time – Josh Kirby Paperback – Letterbox Edition

The universe is, instant by instant, recreated anew. The perfect moment is now. Be glad of it. Assuming now continues.

On the Disc, time is not a river you drown in. It is a stock the History Monks store, slice and pump from places that waste it to cities that never have enough. Sweeper Lu-Tze teaches by not teaching. His apprentice Lobsang Ludd is late for everything and early for the one job that matters. In Ankh-Morpork, Jeremy Clockson is building the first truly accurate clock. Accuracy is the problem. A clock that measures time perfectly can pin it to the wall. When time stops, so does everyone inside it.

The Auditors of Reality would like that. They prefer a universe without the mess of people. Death would not. His granddaughter Susan is already late for class and about to be later for the end of history. Also in the mix: yetis, martial arts, chocolate, Nanny Ogg at the wrong moment, and Ronnie, the fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse, who left before the band got famous.

First published in 2001, Thief of Time is Discworld novel 26 and the fifth book in the Death sequence, after Mort, Reaper Man, Soul Musicand Hogfather. It is Pratchett on clocks, fate and the stubborn human habit of using the seconds you are given. You can read it on its own. Susan and Death make more sense if you already know the household.

This new Letterbox paperback from Penguin uses Josh Kirby’s original cover. Kirby’s last Discworld jacket energy: monks, clocks and time trying not to run out.

• Discworld novel 26
• Death series book 5
• Publisher: Penguin
• Cover artist: Josh Kirby
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 432
• Size: approx. 198 mm × 128 mm × 27 mm