Feet of Clay

Feet of Clay

2012 paperback cover; art by Josh Kirby
Author	Terry Pratchett
Audio read by	Tony Robinson (Corgi) Nigel Planer (Isis) Jon Culshaw (Penguin)
Cover artist	Josh Kirby
Country	UK
Language	English
Series	Discworld
Release number	19
Sub-series	The Watch
Genre	Fantasy
Publisher	Gollancz/Corgi
Publication date	1996-06-06
Preceded by	Maskerade
Followed by	Hogfather

Feet of Clay is the nineteenth Discworld book, and the third in the Watch series. The book introduces several new characters and concepts, most notably Cheery Littlebottom, the Watch’s new “forensic alchemist” and the Disc's first “out” dwarf woman; golems, like Dorfl, who are portrayed like androids, with all the same questions about whether they count as things or people; and Wee Mad Arthur, a city gnome working as a ratcatcher. We also see Vimes dealing with the consequences of his elevation to nobility in the previous book.

Blurb

‘Sorry?’ said Carrot. ‘If it’s just a thing, how can it commit murder? A sword is a thing,’ – he drew his own sword; it made an almost silken sound – ‘and of course you can’t blame a sword if someone thrust it at you, sir.’

For Commander Vimes, Head of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, life consists of troubling times, linked together by…well, more troubling times.

Right now, it’s the latter. There’s a werewolf with pre-lunar tension in the city, a dwarf with attitude and a golem who’s begun to think for itself...and that’s just the ordinary trouble. The real problem is more puzzling – people are being murdered, but there’s no trace of anything alive having been at the crime scene.

Now Vimes not only has to find out whodunit, but howdunit too. He’s not even sure what they dun. But soon as he knows what the questions are, he’s going to want some answers.

Podcast episodes

Major appearances

These are episodes primarily devoted to discussing this book.

Date	Show	Episode	External link
2017-12-13	Radio Morpork	“Go Ahead, Bake My Clay, Punk”	radiomorpork.wordpress.com
2019-10-08	Pratchat	“Arsenic and Old Clays”	pratchatpodcast.com
2020-04-15	The Death of Podcasts	“Feet of Clay”	aalgar.com
2020-09-28	Wyrd Sisters	“Feet of Clay”	wyrdsisters.podbean.com
2021-05-02	Desert Island Discworld	“Dr Beth Singler and Feet of Clay”	desertislanddiscworld.com
2021-10-04	The Compleat Discography	“Feet of Clay”	compleatdiscography.page
2021-08-06	Who Watches the Watch	“Hashtag VimesInari Real” (1/3)	pinecast.co
2021-08-16	Who Watches the Watch	“Please Warn Your Kids About Podcasting” (2/3)	pinecast.co
2021-08-23	Who Watches the Watch	“Comrade Vimes” (3/3)	pinecast.co
2021-10-04	The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret	“I Think It's the Bones” (1/3)	thetruthshallmakeyefret.com
2021-10-11	The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret	“Affable Tyrant” (2/3)	thetruthshallmakeyefret.com
2021-10-18	The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret	“The Inherent Comedy of Towels” (3/3)	thetruthshallmakeyefret.com
2022-06-16	Nanny Ogg's Book Club	“Feet of Clay”	libsyn.com
2022-12-01	Fiction Fans	“Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett”	fictionfanspodcast.com
2024-09-23	I’ve Never Read Discworld	“Book 19. Feet of Clay”	spotify.com
2025-08-20	Dining Table Discworld	“Feet of Clay”	podbean.com
2025-12-01	Discworld Order	“E18 - Feet of Clay”	spotify.com

Other appearances

These are episodes in which there is significant discussion of the book, but it’s not the only or main focus of the episode.

Date	Show	Episode	External link
2025-12-21	Keep Watching	“We Three Things, With Milly: When You Are Tired Of Pratchett, You Are Tired Of Life.”	soundcloud.com

Adaptations

• There have been three audiobook versions of Feet of Clay: the abridged Corgi version, read by Tony Robinson; the unabridged Isis version, read by Nigel Planer; and the unabridged Penguin version, read by Jon Culshaw, with Bill Nighy reading the footnotes, and Peter Serafinowicz as the voice of Death.

External links

• Feet of Clay at the L-Space Wiki
• Feet of Clay on Wikipedia