The Fifth Elephant

Fifth book of the original and best CITY WATCH series, now reinterpreted in BBC''s The Watch

''Precisely balanced . . . a cracking comic thriller'' The Times

The Discworld is very much like our own - if our own were to consist of a flat planet balanced on the back of four elephants which stand on the back of a giant turtle, that is . . .

''Well, he thought, so this is diplomacy. It''s lying, only for a better class of people.

They say that diplomacy is a gentle art. That mastering it is a lifetime''s work. But you do need a certain inclination in that direction. It''s not something you can just pick up on the job.

A few days ago Sam Vimes was a copper - an important copper, true - chief of police - but still, at his core, a policeman. But today he is an ambassador - to the mysterious, fat-rich country of Uberwald. Today, Sam Vimes is also a man on the run.

At some point duri