A tortoise hurtles towards the ground, death imminent, courtesy of being released from a great height by an eagle.

Because Pratchett is no ordinary writer, the tortoise currently undergoing freefall is of course no ordinary chelonian. It is instead the Great God Om inhabiting an unusual disguise, and trying to save the country of Omnia from the threats of other religious powers. It’s a god-eat-god world as Pratchett wryly observes.

Any devout aficionado knows that each novel explores some central theme, and in this extremely satisfying tome the serious topic of religion is examined, dissected, discoursed and ridiculed in his unfailingly humorous way.

We join Om as he seeks help for his mission of mercy and with typical levity Pratchett writes:

And it came to pass that in time the Great God Om spake unto Brutha, the Chosen One: “Psst!”

The character of Brutha, a simple monk, represents the epitome of good. He is a paragon of virtue, and is ultimately what the positive side of religion entails. Brutha, as with all the best heroes, is a reluctant one, but we can warm to his simplicity and honesty.

Goodness needs a counterpoint, which means that evil comes alive in the shape of Vorbis, who also becomes embroiled in the affair. He’s an “exquisitor”, meaning a man in charge of the inquisitors, and Pratchett reaches back to the time of the Spanish Inquisition to create a character singularly unpleasant, but absorbing at the same time.

The marvelous thing about each Discworld novel is the enormous range of new and old characters we meet. Each individual is always so well described, and always so unique yet somehow so familiar to our own lives in the real world. Discworld is a fantastical environment, but the people and creatures are not so dissimilar from our own.

None of Pratchett’s stories ever fail to disappoint, they move swiftly and simply and they flit between scenes long enough to enjoy and quick enough to retain interest. Small Gods is no exception, and in fact was an exceptional read. Despite my atheism, it firmly remains my favourite of all the Discworld books, simply for the greater number of belly laughs, smiles and Pratchett’s incisive and sometimes curmudgeonly insights.

I’m not going to tell you how the novel ends, no reviewer should ever do that (although some do), but I found the final passages of Small Gods to be actually very profound and moving.