I'm reading "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin right now because people repeatedly says it's good. I'm a bit wary though because it's the first book in a series- I hope it's stand-alone. It's good, but it's sort of cheesy... it's very similar in tone to the Farseer Trilogy. You know, gritty "Fantasy Realism" (I invented that term, but now that it's been invented I'll use it a lot), Sex and Violence, a Nameless Evil, People Bickering Over the Succession, the Seven Kingdoms (like the Six Duchies except, LOOKIE! There's another one for Ye Olde Discount Prices!) and of course, Lots of Bastards.

(National Bastard Day- where you show your appreciation for all those bastards who Saved The World.)

Potato on a string! "The Truth" is a good book. Sam Vimes should meet up with Han Solo. I want to see them in a Bastarding Contest. Not.. um.. creating bastards.. but seeing who's the greater bastard. I suspect it's Vimes.. he's a drunkard *and* a "bad cop". That should count for something. Besides, Solo married a princess (if you're into the cheap Star Wars paperbacks anyways), and Vimes only gets a Wagnerian duchess.

"Millenium hand and shrimp! Bugrit!"

Sam Vimes isn't that good in "The Truth." It's because William is outbastarding him.

Quote of the Day: "ELVES STOLE MY HUSBAND!!!"

Also, despite what Andrew says, I seriously doubt ANYONE, Discworld or not, would be stupid enough to saddle 600 pounds of coinage to a horse. ("It's only 600 or so pounds," says Andrew). It's all right for story purposes, but practically, if you were going to frame someone for a crime, and the perpetrator were supposedly an old rich lame man (Aw, my po' Vetinari-poo!!!), you don't put 600 pounds of coinage on a getaway-horse. I mean, there are probably larger coin denominations in Ankh-Morpork than the 1 dollar coin, so that 700 thousand dollars doesn't weigh a third of a ton.