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Thud!

Spent a few precious minutes reading some of Terry Pratchett’s latest book, Thud!, which has a section smacking of the “What have the Romans ever done for us?” skit from Monty Python’s The Life of Brian:

“War, Nobby. Huh! What is it good for?” [Sergeant Fred Colon] said.

“Dunno, Sarge. Freeing slaves, maybe?”

“Absol— well, okay.”

“Defending yourself against a totalitarian aggressor?”

“All right, I’ll grant you that, but—”

“Saving civilization from a horde of—”

“It doesn’t do any good in the long run is what I’m saying, Nobby, if you’d listen for five seconds together,” said Fred Colon sharply.

“Yeah, but in the long run, what does, Sarge?”

Everything I’ve read so far is classic Pratchett. Just the right level of nonsense to peel a day’s screen-gazing away from one’s synapses.

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