Guards! Guards!
Ratings526
Average rating4.2
I never read any Pratchett when I was younger, and tried out The Colour of Magic some years ago, never advancing beyond the early pages. Only this year I somehow found myself in the proper mood for it — I had read enough of Pratchett to kind of trust that he would probably be up my alley, only if I just had the patience.
I decided to give the series a go, and since I wanted to read all the books anyway, considered reading them chronologically to be the best approach. It would be interesting to see the development of the world and of Pratchett as a storyteller. And it would be nice to collect those beautiful hardcover editions in the Discworld Collector's Library.
I didn't think the first two were as bad as some have made them out to be, and Mort is an early classic I'll very likely revisit often. Sourcery was the one with which I lost my gusto and had to abandon the project for a while, and perhaps because I was reinvigorated doing other things, I was thoroughly impressed with Wyrd Sisters and what follow, namely Pyramids and Guards! Guards!. I'm only starting Eric next. With these books I felt I was somehow entering the world of Pratchett's fans in the sense where they so highly credit not only his wit and narrative abilities, but also the deep humanity and life he gives his characters. I think this last bit was obvious very early on, I'd say that now that I've advanced a bit further on along the journey through all the novels, The Colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic and Sourcery exhibit a certain streamlined simplicity in how the story unravels that doesn't hold up well in comparison to these later books I've read.
I'd say I fell in love with his wit and how much he seems to care for his silly characters from the onset, but now his writing has reacher a level on which it's no longer so much work. The returns are imminent, and they are plentiful.
Either this was not the ideal book to read at 6 am on the train each morning, or perhaps my expectations were just a bit too high. Which is weird, because I normally appreciate humor like this, and I found characters like Carrot and Vimes very endearing, and I also found it clever at times. Yet for some reason I just didn't connect that much with it, or at least not as much as I would have liked. Which is pretty frustrating for me as I can't exactly pinpoint why that is.
Great characters, amusingly sardonic narration, and a certain cynical optimism about human beings. I'm glad I gave Discworld another try, having been less than thrilled with The Color of Magic and The Light Fantastic.
Executive Summary: I've had numerous people tell me this is the Discworld book to start with, and now I know why. Easily my favorite so far. 4.5 stars.
Full Review
My Discworld read continues, and finally I come to infamous Guards! Guards! I know there are fancy diagrams and details on all the different ways you can read Discworld, but I prefer publish order. I've enjoyed all of the Discworld books so far, albeit some more than others. I generally seem to enjoy the Rincewind books less than I have the rest.
A popular consensuses among several of my friends who have been reading Discworld for years seems to be that the City Watch books are the best and I should have started with this book. I can see why now. I'm only one book in, but I suspect these may become my favorites as well.
Like all the Discworld books I've read so far, this one was very quotable and had numerous laugh out loud moments. However something about this book elevated it above the previous seven for me. I'm not exactly sure what.
I love that the guards hate to be guards, and prefer not to do their job if at all possible. All of the guards are pretty enjoyable, but I especially like Carrot. I'll be curious to see what sort of character development Mr. Pratchett has in store for him (if any). The contrast of the big hulking human raised among dwarves who is so naive as to the point of obliviousness is highly amusing. Especially the fact that he has to be told he's not a dwarf. I also love the hints as to his real identity that I suspect will never go anywhere, because he's perfectly content at being a guard.
The other highlights for me were the Librarian and the Patrician. They both had some great parts. We've seen some of the librarian in the previous books, but this is the first real interaction I recall with the Patrician. He's largely been mentioned in name only thus far.
The story of this one was really enjoyable as well. Some of the previous books were funny at times with memorable characters, but the story was slow or disjointed. I liked the investigation into the cult of idiots by a Captain who'd rather be drunk. There were some great surprises along the way.
Overall this book is clever, funny, and just downright enjoyable. I'm looking forward not only to the next Discworld book, but I'm especially looking forward to the next City Watch book.
Loved it! First Terry Pratchett book I have read- people have been recommending him to me for years. Will definitely read more.
Guards! Guards! is the first Pratchett book where I can see why he became as popular as he did. The first two Discworld books, in my opinion, were okay but nothing amazing. The Witches series with Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg was a step in the right direction. Guards! Guards! is the first Discworld Night Watch sub-division novel; Pratchett introduces some truly memorable characters. The Night Watch themselves are a rag-tag bunch of city guards who because of the sanctioned Thieves Guild don't do anything much at all.
The author turns his dry humour, slapstick and quotable dialogue up to eleven, for example:
“... the food was good solid stuff for a cold morning, all calories and fat and protein and maybe a vitamin crying softly because it was all alone.”
And
“There was a thoughtful pause in the conversation as the assembled Brethren mentally divided the universe into the deserving and the undeserving, and put themselves on the appropriate side.”
The plot maintains a sprightly forward momentum. It involves a political conspiracy gone wrong, kings, tyrants, maidens, dragons, magic and unlikely heroes. It also involves million-to-one chances too (this will make sense when you've read the book).
Recommended for people who enjoy fantasy, even if you don't generally enjoy fantasy.
Probably the first book since The Colour of Magic to really fire on all cylinders.
This is a good Discworld book, but not one of my personal favourites. It's an important one in the context of the whole series, because it introduces Samuel Vimes, Fred Colon, Nobby Nobbs, Carrot Ironfoundersson, and Sybil Ramkin. It also has good scenes for Lord Vetinari and the Librarian.I like the writing, but the overall plot fails to appeal to me. The main villain is rather unimpressive, and the character of Sam Vimes is not yet fully formed on his first outing; although Sybil makes a good debut.The connection between the younger watchmen shown in extended flashback in [b:Night Watch 47989 Night Watch (Discworld, #29; City Watch, #6) Terry Pratchett https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320518310l/47989.SY75.jpg 1712283] and the watchmen in this book is rather shaky; naturally enough, as [b:Night Watch 47989 Night Watch (Discworld, #29; City Watch, #6) Terry Pratchett https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320518310l/47989.SY75.jpg 1712283] was written much later and couldn't have been anticipated at this stage.