Brilliant foreshadowing or odd coincidence?

[Lyssian]

Not sure if I have to mark spoilers for non-recent books, but there are some for Making Money in my question.



I've been re-reading my favorite Discworld books, generally out of order depending on which the local library has in at the moment. I'm on Thud right now, and I caught on a throwaway line near the beginning where Carrot is giving a rundown of recent events. He starts saying that there's been a burglary at the Royal- and Vimes cuts him off.

Perhaps it's because I had borrowed Making Money just before, but my brain made the connection. Is he talking about Moist breaking into the gold vault? It seems too perfect to be coincidence, especially in DW. I felt quite proud of my brilliant deduction until I looked up the dates, and Thud came out well before Making Money.

So, the question in my mind remains. Awesome foreshadowing for a plot yet unfinished (after all, Thud is after Going Postal, so the bank idea was around) or an interesting coincidence?

 

[Who's Wee Dug]

Pterry seems to do that quite a bit, then later when reading a new book you think I read that before, I think an Idea just lodges itself then become part of the plot maybe several books down the line.

 

[Tonyblack]

Yes, he sometimes writes something as a throwaway line and you can almost see his thought process working at it and then developing it. The Amazing Maurice was a throwaway line in Reaper Man (I think) but it went on to be a book and an award winning one at that. 8)

You could be right about the foreshadowing though - I believe that Terry has a few books on the go at any one time, so it's certainly possible.

 

[Doughnut Jimmy]

Surely in Thud Carrot is on about the break in at the Royal Art Museum isn't he?

 

[Tonyblack]

Surely in Thud Carrot is on about the break in at the Royal Art Museum isn't he?

I never thought of that and I've read Thud dozens of times.

 

[meerkat]

Surely in Thud Carrot is on about the break in at the Royal Art Museum isn't he?

That's what I thought as I read it.

 

[raisindot]

Me, too. The whole point of that conversation is to set up the scene where Vimes tears Colon a new one for not telling him about the theft of Rascal's painting (when it's actually Vimes' fault for cutting Carrot off and not reading Colon's report).

 

[dune]

There's a scene like this in Night Watch as well, where the Times reports on Borogravia invading another country...though Night Watch and Monstrous Regiment are very close together of course.

 

[Tonyblack]

There's a scene like this in Night Watch as well, where the Times reports on Borogravia invading another country...though Night Watch and Monstrous Regiment are very close together of course.

Indeed there is! Terry seldom wastes plots - I bet he recycles his rubbish as well.

Welcome to the site, dune!

 

[fids]

The low King and Dee being women in Fifth Elephant, Sybil doing the fat negociation and Angua doing most of the fighting, then we had Monsterous Regiment.

Its no coinicidence

 

[Tonyblack]

I think that some of Terry's female characters are stronger than his male ones.

 

[meerkat]

Indeed, even Nobby get's in touch with his female side (a bit too much?), but then he likes dressing up, but who knows what Nobby is?

However, getting into drag doesn't make him any stronger!

 

[fids]

You wouldn't mess with the seamstresses either.

A crochet hook to the earhole is not pleasant so I'm told