This is one of my favourite Discworld stories and it was very enjoyable again this time. There are lots of clever references to films and Hollywood lore. It cleverly sends up our obsession with fame and with the frenzy that comes with the movies and it is incredibly funny. It also introduces some of my favourite charachters who – thankfully – reappear in later books.

The story starts when the last keeper of the gate dies without a successor. That is when the Holy Wood magic starts to seep out into the land. Very soon, many individuals are affected by wild ideas that seem to come from nowhere. Thomas Silverfish, an alchemist, discovers the Discworld equivalent of celluloid, Victor Tugelbend, a student wizard who is careful never to pass his exams, becomes a leading man in the style of Errol Flynn or Clark Gable, Cut-Me-Own Throat Dibbler starts dreaming about grand passions, forbidden romances and, of course, 1000 elephants.

Then there are the animals who have been sleeping in the Holy Wood hills who suddenly discover they can talk and think. Along with a cat, mouse, rabbit and duck, there is Gaspode the Wonder Dog – in my opinion, one of Pratchett’s greatest comic creations. (Apparently Pratchett had originally wanted Gaspode to die at the end. Thank goodness he changed his mind.) Gaspode is wonderfully sarcastic, torn between his wolfish instincts and the need to be loved by a human. Pratchett then presents us with the perfect foil to Gaspode in Laddie who truly is a wonder dog in the eyes of everyone apart from Gaspode who despairs of his stupidity.

Other characters that are introduced in this novel are Ridcully, the arch chancellor of the university who manages to avoid assassination attempts. He is loud and brash and prefers hunting to magic. Quickly, he starts to drive the Bursar crazy, the beginning of a long and tortured relationship. None of the previous arch chancellors really stood out which may be why none of them survived more than one novel. Then there is Ponder Stibbons who is really just comic relief in this novel but has a great Discworld journey ahead of him.

Like the best of the Discworld novels, this is funny, clever, has so many real world references you couldn’t possibly spot them all, it’s exciting and you root for the characters. As if this wasn’t enough, there are moral points to be taken about fame, about specatating and about generally treating people well. It’s astonishing really, that it flows so well and is so easy to read. Excellent from start to finish.