“Time waits for no one” sing the Rolling Stones, but this rule does not always apply. In Terry Pratchett’s Thief of Time, not only does it wait, it stops completely. I exhort you to steal some time for this book.

The Monks of History on Discworld make sure time is where it needs to be, but when something goes amiss, it’s up to Lu-Tze and his apprentice, Lobsang Ludd, to find the cause. This time someone is trying to create the perfect clock, and when it starts ticking, time will stop, which generally means bad things will happen. Similarly, Miss Susan, the mystic schoolteacher, is on the same quest to keep time from stopping (albeit her course is more indirect because she doesn’t have time-disturbance detecting abilities). Both travelers set out on a journey that pushes them to the edge of reality and usually results in readers’ laughter.

It was difficult to read many pages of this without grinning since Pratchett uses a clever array of characters and situations, including the abbot of the Monks of History. Through every reincarnation he is forced to go though his childhood. Best of all is the method Pratchett uses to tie his humor to a creative story line which is easy to follow.

To conclude, Thief of Time is hard to put down. It combines humor at every turn with danger, adventure, romance and death by chocolate! It takes those hackneyed adventure stories and tells them in a refreshing way. If you love a good laugh, read it today!