Guards! Guards! (Discworld)

I suppose this was a good start. Having read the Wizards and Death books before I did expect a bit more, but it did improve once the plot and characters were established. Looking forward to Men At Arms (book 2) now that introductions are over with.

Sorry, I just don't think Terry Pratchett is funny. This was recommended to me as the funniest Pratchett book. He seems to try to emulate Douglas Adams and Monty Python, and it just doesn't work. The characters have no depth either. Any joke that's somewhat funny is ruined because he overdoes it. It seems he's writing for a skit or a movie, yet it's a book, so the style doesn't work. This was my last valiant attempt to enjoy a Pratchett novel (I read 4 other books by him & didn't care for them), and I will not try again.

Disc world... It's not for everyone. Maybe the 'fractured cliche' humor was super original when this was written, but it's just another form if cliche now, and requires a lot more effort and artistry than Terry put into these books if you want to make it shine.

I love this book, an introduction to the indefatigable Sam Vimes and his motley watch.

However, the formatting for my Kindle was very poor. There was a blank line between every paragraph, which, to a reader, normally indicates a passage of time. It was difficult to get into the flow of the narrative with that.

The font for Death was too small to read as well.

Guards! is one of the pivotal pieces in the Pratchet subset involving Sam Vimes. I was bitterly disappointed by this version; Tony Robinson isn't a bad narrator, BUT his choice of voices to use for everyone from Lady Sibyl to Nobby to (especially irritating) Colon make you long for Stephen Briggs to make it all better. He just doesn't get it, to the point that I wonder if he's read the book, or only got handed the short version, like an actor at an audition. The recording is a mess; the volume fluctuates on the cd to the point that you have to hand babysit the controls, and since this is one of the ways I relax and get to sleep, it's useless. On top of that, "Abridged" is not the right word for gutting much of the local color and small incidents that set Pratchet apart and make his fans--who are many-feel so strongly about his work. He has no equal in the genre, nor does Stepehn Briggs have any rival in narrating his work. Accept no substitutes. I'm sending my copy to good will and waiting till a better version comes along.

I decided to try reading something entirely different for a change, so I tried discworld. I know I'm in the minority in saying this but I couldn't wait to finish this book. I don't understand why this is such a popular series because I was bored to tears. It took all of my self control not to rip this book in half and throw it in the trash can! I finished it just to make sure I didn't miss out on a good ending. It never came !
No offense to anyone who likes reading discworld but this series is just not my taste in reading. I didn't find anything funny or interesting at all. I gave it a fair shot but this was my first and last discworld book. The story was terrible and I should get a metal for finishing this book.
I wanted to like this series but I just couldn't get into it. Most of the books I read, I can't wait until I can get back to the story. This book made me dread reading it. There's no way I'd attempt reading another discworld.

Eighth in the overall Discworld fantasy series and the first in the Ankh-Morpork City Watch — I suspect the Watch are gonna be fun to watch!

"'Don't you worry about Thieves' Guilds. This is all you have to do, you walk along the Streets at Night, shouting, "It's Twelve O'clock and All's Well."'
'What if it is not all well…'
'You bloody well find another street.'"

My Take
Oh, lord! Pratchett is having way too much fun poking away at idiots and incompetents, and then the Supreme Grand Master who becomes "slightly annoyed at this unusual evidence of intelligence".

Bean soup. This passage makes you laugh even harder as Pratchett spoofs spy passwords and the Women's Institute (and other special interest groups), ROFLMAO. Then there's the very realistic look at inn-sewer-ants, organized crime, snooty people, charades, Casablanca, fairy tales, Clint Eastwood, capitalism, regularizing thieving and begging, corruption and graft, The Three Musketeers, and football chants, lol.

A majority of the laughter comes in Carrot's interactions with everyone around him. This boy is so naive and literal; he thinks everyone is as nice as he is. He's so nice, he "nices" people into being decent. Okay, not all of 'em. The really funny bits include Carrot's insistence on actually *shock* enforcing the law!!! That boy will arrest anyone and anything.

Pratchett finally explains why it is that dwarfs always seem to wear chainmail, carry axes, have surly, choppy names, and drink all the time. Makes sense to me. And it explains "today's" youth…*eyebrow waggle*…

I do love Pratchett's explanation of how the Patrician works. We finally discover why the city works as it does. And it does make sense in a weird way. I'm thoroughly intrigued by his character and look forward to reading more about this contradiction of a leader. He sure does know his psychology. Just look at how he founded all those organizations seeking his downfall. As for his time in prison, oh man, ROFLMAO. Again.

Pratchett makes a good point here:
"—we never burned and tortured and ripped one another apart and called it morality."

Oh, gawd. There's Vimes reminiscing about wanting a puppy. And then you read on to learn why…oh, just ick! 'Course, he does finally get a pet…when Lady Ramkin gives him Errol. Who turns out to be a girl.

"Some daft creature rolls on its back, [the dragon] disembowels it. That's how they look at [submission]. Almost human, really."

"It's the Ankh-Morpork way. If you can't beat it or corrupt it, you pretend it was your idea in the first place."

The Story
A king. That's what the Supreme Grand Master wants. A king he can manipulate, rule through. All he needs is a major disaster to fly over the city and then for a hero to show up.

And all it takes is an earnest young man and a thumping great Valkyrie of a woman to bring heart back into a corrupt squad of guards.

The Characters
The Night Watch has…
…disintegrated down from hundreds to just three guards. It took the Patrician years to ensure that the Watch is a bunch of incompetents commanded by a drunkard. And it's where Carrot's parents want him to work when they send him off to the city.

The very naive Carrot Ironfoundersson is a young country bumpkin bearing an ordinary, nothing special sword who is about to become a lance-constable. His parents were dwarfs who brought him up with a high degree of morality. What are they thinking to send Carrot to Ankh-Morpork!?! Minty Rocksmacker is the dwarf Carrot is sweet on. Mr. Varneshi is a human who trades with the dwarfs.

The alcoholic Captain Samuel Vimes commands the night squad with Sergeant Frederick Colon and Corporal "Nobby" Nobbs, Carrot's new partner, as part of his remaining men. Sergeant Hummock is part of the day squad. Herbert Gaskin recently died. They'll name their newly acquired mascot Errol after Nobby's brother.

Ankh-Morpork is…
…the largest city in Discworld and ruled by the Patrician, Havelock, Lord Vetinari. Skrp is his servant rat. Lupine Wonse, a.k.a., Lupin Squiggle, is the patrician's secretary. It's a city where bucket chains form to pass lumps of river to fight fires.

The overwhelming Lady Sybil Ramkin, of one of Ankh-Morpork's oldest families, breeds swamp dragons, Drago vulgaris. Some of her dragons include Lord Mountjoy Gayscale Talonthrust III of Ankh, Dewdrop Mabelline Talonthrust the First who likes to have his belly rubbed, Moonpenny Duchess Marchpaine who is gravid, Moonmist Talonthrust II has a Best of Breed ribbon, Talonthrust Vincent Wonderkind of Quirm, a.k.a., Vinny, Lord Mountjoy Quickfang Winterforth IV who is the hottest dragon in the city, and the defective Goodboy Bindle Featherstone of Quirm who becomes Vimes' and the guards' new mascot (his sire was Treebite Brightscale, who was owned by Lady Brenda Rodley, the Dowager Duchess of Quirm). Rosie Devant-Molei runs the Sunshine Sanctuary.

Dragons are classed according to their age: a pewmet ranges from birth to eight months; From eight to fourteen months, he's a cock; then a snood; and, eventually, a cobb which is a two-years or older male dragon. Draco nobilis means "noble dragon".

The Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night is…
…one of the many societies that abound in Ankh-Morpork. The Supreme Grand Master has his own plans — think of him as a Hitler. Brother Fingers has a way of not paying. Brother Doorkeeper works at a bakery where Master Critchley oppresses him. Don't even get me started on those oppressive landlords! Brother Watchtower, Brother Plasterer, and Brother Dunnykin (his family thought swineherding was a posh job) are more of the members.

"'We never intended this,' he said weakly. 'Honestly. No offence. We just wanted what was due to us.'
And DEATH said, 'CONGRATULATIONS.'"

The Guild of Thieves, Burglars and Allied Trades is…
…a respectable, sort of, union in Ankh-Morpork with the job of regulating theft. Urdo van Pew is the president. Cut-me-own-throat Dibbler sells anything that will fit in a suitcase, especially if it fell off the back of an oxcart. Bengy "Lightfoot" Boggis is a capo de monty in the guild. Thief Third Class Zebbo Mooty is behind on his quota…and then dead.

Unseen University is…
…the premier college of wizardry in Discworld. The Library is the greatest assemblage of magical texts anywhere with thousands of volumes of occult lore. And those books are alive! The Librarian is an adult male orangutan, who used to be a wizard.

"A good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read."
Damn, lead me to it!!

The Mended Drum is…
…the most disreputable tavern on Discworld. Detritus is the troll who works as a bouncer. Charley is in charge the night Carrot arrests him. Nork the Impaler, Big Henri, and Grabber Simmons (one of the most feared bar-room fighters in the city) are part of the riot inside.

Sham Harga runs Harga's House of Ribs. Master Greetling is the head of the Teachers' Guild. The Duke of Sto Helit rules a neighboring country. Jimkin Bearhugger runs a whisky distillery. Lobsang is one of the monks up in the Ramptop Mountains. DEATH turns up for anyone who dies. Mrs. Rosie Palm is the nice lady who runs The Shades, a "boarding house". Reet is one of the "ladies" who works there. The Balancing Monks are one of the very few public institutions which provide medical assistance.

The Cover and Title
The cover of the book I read is a primarily orange-y cartoon with a pretty summer blue sky over a paved ground where Lady Ramkin is tied down on a huge sacrificial stone and surrounded by trolls, guards, and the populace of Ankh-Morpork — and all terrified at the dragons coming in for the kill. The author's name is large and at the top in an embossed reddish-copper Gothic font while the title is at the bottom in a white embossed all-caps serif.

The title intends to capture your attention, the flavor of those poor corrupt watchmen, and is Wonse's battle cry: Guards! Guards!, who are useless as all get out.

"Guards! Guards!" is a entertaining page turner with it's mesh of twisted tropes, hilarious characters, and engaging plot. Terry Pratchett's first Guards book seems to be where he begins hitting is stride as a fantasy humorist.

Pratchett introduces the hero-versus-dragon plot as well as the numerous no-so-hero material veteran guards dealing with an enthusiastic recruit to Ankh-Morpork's City Watch (Night squad). The veteran-versus-rookie dichotomy is given a humorous spin in the Criminal Guild run city that soon finds it's only hope of salvation from the a new King Dragon in the detested Watch. Pratchett misdirects the reader into believing the 6'6" dwarf Watch recruit Carrot (he's adopted) only to turn the attention to Captain Sam Vimes who begins investigating incidents related to when the dragon first appears. The new characters are wonderfully portrayed and several previously seen but never full developed characters are given space to be fully rounded out while not taking away from the overall story.

As I got closer to the end of "Guards! Guards!", I found it increasingly harder to put the book down during my work breaks and lunch, which to me is the sign of a book that I have to read again and again in the future.

What a delightful book! The writing is so distinctive, and unlike the previous Discworld book I read (Maskarade) this one makes me want to go on and really read more of these books. (Any recommendations on which one 'comes next'- I know there's an 'order' and an "Order," but y'know... help a kid out!) There were a couple moments where I literally laughed out loud, very hard, and I'm always down for that, plus there's always the nice little moments where Pratchett sneaks in some Human Wisdom that are very lovely. I definitely want to spend more time in this world!

In Guards! Guards! By Terry Pratchett, the Night Watch of Ankh-Morpork is introduced in all its non-existent splendor and my version will start will roll call.
Captain Samuel Vimes starts out drunk, thinking of the city as something that kicks you somewhere but ends up semi-sober and recovering a respect for proper law-enforcement.
Sergeant Fred Colon is rotund and born to be a sergeant. He is very good at surviving the streets as opposed to policing them.
Corporal Nobby Nobbs is presumed to be human but is a strange combination a person with street smarts and the morals of a petty criminal, not above putting the boot in when an opponent is down on the ground.
Lance Constable Carrot Ironfoundersson is a 6 foot plus dwarf (by adoption) and the strangest thing the watch has ever seen, a volunteer. His father by adoption asks and receives some advice from the local peddler and Carrot is sent off to the big city to “be made a man”. Carrot has trouble believing he is one of “the big people” but being human does not prevent his dwarfish virtues from shining through.
These are the men, who with the help of Lady Sybil Ramkin, will save the city from the dragon that was dragged here by the Illuminated and Ancient Brethren of Ee. Prepare to laugh and enjoy as Mr. Pratchett introduces the most inept yet effective group of lawmen found anywhere in the Multiverse.

This early Discworld novel introduces the character Sam Vimes and the rest of the City Watch, although it's clear that author Terry Pratchett was still figuring out who they would be at this point. Here the Watch investigates the sudden appearance of a dragon in their city, and the political satire is heavy-handed but effective as the citizens are unwilling to speak out against the deadly creature even as it declares itself king and demands human sacrifices. It's not really an instant classic, but it's a solid foundation for this set of characters.

I was introduced to Pratchett's words only recently -- late in my reading career -- by author Henry Gee, who then stood back to watch the mental explosion. He was on to something, alright. Long aware of Mr. Pratchett's name, legions of fans and occasional witty quote, I had no idea how all-encompassing his writing could be. Guards! Guards! is my introduction to the author's beloved Discworld and my key to future submersions as well. It is a perfect tonic for our times and our silly culture offering big, heaping helpings of wry humor, cynicism and sarcasm. In my case, particularly, it came at a perfect time for a fan of George R.R. Martin's work suffering withdrawl until his next volume is released and in desperate need of comedic relief. Pratchett's novel takes place on the fetid, dysfunctional streets of a major city where a benevolent (?) dictator is about to be replaced by something much worse. Not even human, but sadly, in so many ways, completely expected. Dragons, it turns out are people, too. Misunderstood, subject to soul-numbing stereotyping and completely consumed by gastric issues. Filled with memorable characters, malapropisms, idiocy, greed and bad wardrobe choices, this book will keep you in stitches throughout and give you plenty of occasions to reflect on where our priorities lie. Don't wait. Hie thee to a bookseller and purchase this book. You sanity may well depend upon it.

Terry Pratchett is easily my favourite author of all time! What's more, the Discworld may just be my favourite fantasy world of all time. It so happens that the very first Discworld book I read was Men at Arms, which is actually the second book in Discworld's so called "City Watch" series (this book is the first in that series). Still, I was able to suspend disbelief and "pretend" that many of the things that were assumed in Men at Arms hadn't happened yet.

This book is all about dragons and kings, which Pratchett describe in his typical humourous style. It's laugh-a-page, and I simply could not put it down. Over the past few weeks while I've been reading it I've had some pretty late nights, resulting in me being quite unable to get out of bed in the mornings, and often arriving to work quite late.

I would've rated this book five stars, but for two points where the book moved a little slowly for my liking. Yes, only two - the pacing is otherwise brilliant! About halfway through the book I began to think that it was getting a bit long in the tooth and I thought it should just end. Thankfully, I pushed through, and it was like a whole new story started, a "sequel" if you like. Then around 85% of the way through, the story was over but there were still loose ends to tie up. I caught myself thinking "Yeah, I know all this stuff is necessary, but we all know what happens next, and who ends up with whom. Just finish already!"

Once again, I'm glad I pulled through, though: there are one or two surprises in the wrap-up that I found quite entertaining!

If you like fantasy (or even if you hate it), and love comedy, Terry Pratchett's your man! And this book is a decent place to start reading the City Watch series. Highly recommended!!

As always, Terry Pratchett gave us a richly imagined world full of detail, depth, meaning, and hilarity. He fed us wisdom with a spoon full of laughter. And though his flesh has ceased to be his casing, he lives on in every word and every heart that loves his works. He certainly does in my heart. The world is a poorer place for his loss, but he enriched it so much while he lived and I hope that he comes back to us in another casing to share the beauty of his soul with the world again. Thank you, Mr. Pratchett, wherever you may be.
Guards! Guards! gives us a rich look into the the beginning of the Watch in Ankh Morpork. It is a masterfully crafted tale of redemption which takes us from the bottom of a bottle to the pinnacles of society and of human aspiration. Anything else I could say about the story at this point would be spoilers, except for this: Be careful what you wish for.
I LOVE THIS BOOK!

I became a fan of Terry Prachett when I listened to Thud on audio. I love any of the stories relating to The Watch. Commander Vimes and all his guards have so much character. I decided to read all of the books regarding The Watch in order. Guards! Guards! is the first. I was completely surprised by the description of the characters as they differed completely from my own assumptions. I wish it had been done on audio. His books on audio are very well done and bring the characters to life. My husband loves Thud, but does not like to read. He said he may just have to pick a book up and read Guards! Guards!

Update: I did find the audio for Guards! Guards! but the price is close to eighty bucks. That is more than I usually pay for an audio book. It is the unabridged version narrated by Nigel Planer. Has anyone purchased this audio cd set? I don't want to spend that much money if the quality is poor. Also, the cd's ship from the United Kingdom. I know dvd's from there do not always work here due to region settings or something like that; is it the same way with cd's?

My husband handed me this book; I remember giving him this dubious look as if to say, "Why would you hand me a fantasy book with such a silly title?" I pretty much only read classic literature and non-fiction at the time. I can actually recall sitting in one of the over-sized chairs at the book shop helplessly laughing as I read past the fourth page. I know a woman was looking at me like I was crazy but I just kept reading and giggling like a fool.

This is not a work of fiction that will force you to look at life in new light and question your existence. Instead, it will lightly nudge you to see if you can stop standing in your own way and while it's doing that you will find yourself caught up in strangely recognizable characters and chuckling. Pratchett has a delightful wit and for his prolific career he has managed to make very few books that didn't bring me joy. This is the first of his "Guards" series and if you do not enjoy it then you really had to work hard to dislike it.

I've read perhaps a dozen of the diskworld books. Out of them, this is my favorite other than perhaps Going Postal.

This is a comedic fantasy novel set in the city of Ankh-Morpork, in Pratchett's medieval-ish Discworld. This novel focuses around the night watch of the city watch, now down to a mere four souls to 'watch' all of Ankh-Morpork and its million corrupt inhabitants.

The book is told largely from the perspective of Captain Vimes, appropriately starting with him so drunk he can barely complain about the injustice of his life in the city. It also introduces us to Carrot Ironfoundersson, the 6'6" son of a dwarf king, the only volunteer to join the city watch in living memory. Along with the rest of their colleagues, the city watch trips across the trail of a dragon incinerating select targets in the city, such as a vegetable stall.

Frankly, it's a lot easier to go read the book than to make your way through a summary of it. Suffice it to say, the writing is smooth and entertaining, the story novel to say the least (no pun intended), and the characters are quiet interesting.

It's a quick read, well worth a few hours of your time, and will entertain anyone with a sense of humor.

My main introduction to the Discworld came through the books concerning the Watch, initially Captain Vimes, Nobby, Colon, and the new recruit, a 6'6 dwarf who may be the true heir to the Ankh-Morpork. In later books the Watch will expand to include some of the best characters in Terry Pratchett's nutty universe, as the equal opportunity force makes room for werewolves, trolls, (normal) dwarves, zombies, and vampires. But this book is the bare bones beginning, with Vimes unmarried (though he meets his future wife in this book), the group with only the tiniest number of members. Seven subsequent Discworld books (or around a third of all following novels) would deal with the Watch primarily, and they make minor appearances in several others. While the most popular character in Pratchett's books is almost certainly Death (followed by the Librarian), the City Watch books are probably the most popular series of books.

I love this book as much for the many deliciously whacky twists as for the introduction of my favorite group of Discworld characters. The whole conceit of a dragon becoming the King of Ankh-Morpork is simply delicious. And the wonderful way that the Librarian is utilized ranks among his best appearances in any of the books. He even briefly becomes a member of the Watch!

The thing that most fascinates me about the Discworld books is that while no one book is all that great, as a group they simply get better and better and better. As you delve more and more deeply into the books, the more delightful they become. Before embarking on this complete reading of the Discworld books in order of original publication, I had read about a third of all the books, all of the Watch books and a few odds and ends. I had always sensed a deep background in the books that I was definitely missing a lot and it has been a lot of fun having all the nooks and crannies filled in.

Well this is the third of Pratchett's "Discworld" books I've read and probably the last one I'll read for a bit as I have some other stuff to do. Anyway, "Guards! Guards!" was another entertaining and quick read, though I couldn't help thinking it bore a lot of similarities to the later "Going Postal" which I read first. It wouldn't surprise me if many of Pratchett's nearly 40 Discworld books are very similar because in my experience authors develop a certain way of doing things and so do I, although I don't consider myself a true "author" at this point, just a hack writer.

But enough about me and vague generalizations. "Guards! Guards!" is about the laughably inept City Watch, who work the graveyard shift ringing a bell, shouting "all is well," and trying to stay out of the way. This is because the Machiavellian head of the metropolis of Ankh-Morpork, Lord Vetinari, has essentially legalized crime by unionizing thieves and assassins and giving them strict quotas. The head of the City Watch's night shift, Captain Sam Vimes, comes from that Bruce Willis mode of cops in that you can usually find him in a bar or in the gutter afterwards, stinking like a bar.

Things begin to change when a "dwarf" named Carrot arrives from the mountains. Carrot really isn't a dwarf, he's a human taken in by the dwarves since he was a baby and his parents were murdered. When he arrives in Ankh-Morpork he starts throwing the book (figuratively and literally) at the criminal element in the city despite Vimes and his lieutenants telling him to chill out. Meanwhile, a real crime is being purpotrated by a secret society trying to take control of the city by summoning a dragon. They get a lot more than they bargained for and now the only ones who can stop it are the City Watch with the help of the Lady Raskin, one of her pet swamp dragons, and an orangutan librarian.

I think the good thing about this off the bat is that while the book is funny and the cops are inept, they aren't really "Keystone Cops" so much as guys who really don't have an important job and are well aware of this so they just don't care. Some of the plot is predictable but the main twist at the end I didn't really see coming. Like the other two Discworld books I've read (and I'll bet it is the same for most) it features a lot of subtle comedy that makes it laugh out loud funny. As I said earlier, at some point I'll get around to reading more of these because they are high-quality reads that are fun and cover serious topics as well.

Also, as far as comparing this to "Going Postal" they both start off with the "hero" who isn't a hero by any stretch (drunken cop vs. con man) who is embroiled in a much larger game and somewhat reforms, in the process meeting a lady who isn't necessarily a "lady" in terms of decorum. Like I said, I'll bet a lot of the other books in the series follow a similar pattern, but it's a good pattern so that's not really a bad thing.

That is all.

This is not the best book Terry Pratchett ever wrote. Nor is it the first. However, if you're going to read Pratchett's books (and you really should. He's a brilliant author!) I would start with this book.

"Guards! Guards!" introduces some of my favorite characters, including Sam Vimes, Fred Colon, Corporal Nobbs, Carrot Ironfounderson and Lady Sybil Ramkin.

Lord Vetinati was introduced in an earlier book, but only played a cameo role. His role in this book is much larger and his character is fleshed out much more.

The introduction of these characters are how the stories about the Ankh-Morpork night watch all began. Sam Vimes and his ineffective coppers undergo a transformation, starting in "Guards! Guards!" and continuing in "Men at Arms", "Feet of Clay", "Jingo" and "the Fifth Elephant".

By the time we get to "Thud", Sam Vimes's tiny, ineffective group of less than five men has grown to more than one-hundred. And they're not ineffective anymore. They're skilled, dedicated and results oriented professionals who respect Vimes (who has stopped drinking and become addicted to police work). Although not all of the watchman are "men" strictly speaking. There's several trolls, several dwarves, some gargoyles, a zombie, a werewolf, an Igor and a vampire.

You'll have to read thru several of Pratchett's books to get to that point, but you start with "Guards! Guards!" That's where it all starts.

A foul and eldritch plot is afoot in Anhk-Morpork! A clever hidden hand is attempting a coup d'etat against the Patrician, manipulating disgruntled secret societies, stolen magic, and popular opinion to replace him with a figure head king who will front the hidden power behind the throne. The plotter summons a great dragon (long believed extinct) in an attempt to control it to create a panicked situation in the city where the sham king can ride in to save the day, and thus be swept into power by popular acclaim, replacing the discredited Patrician. Once loosed, however, the dragon demonstrates that it has its own agenda, and the situation rapidly spirals out of control. Scariest of all, only the beleaguered Captain Sam Vimes and the ranks of his pathetic, despised, and largely ineffectual Night Watch can save the city from its doom.
Thus begins another Discworld adventure, as Terry Pratchett once again uses his wickedly sharp wit and insight to skewer real world foibles and pretensions with the mirror of his fantasy world. This time around he targets the myriad ways in which public opinion and action is manipulated by those in power, those seeking power, and those resisting power. We grin as he shows us the plotter manipulating the petty jealousies of small men into the service of his cause, all the while making them feel that they are great men serving noble ends. We chuckle knowingly as we see the crowds of Anhk-Morpork easily swayed by staged events and spectacle, jumping herd-like onto the monarchy band wagon. And we fall apart in stitches as he shows us the absurdity of sloganeering resistance to real, ruthless power (chanting "The people united will never be ignited!" to a dragon). Along the way, he makes us smile as Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler shows how certain commercial interest don't give a wit for who is in power so long as they can still make a buck, and Lady Ramkin illustrates the peculiar tendency of the aristocracy to immerse and lose themselves within a world they create out of odd hobbies and odder causes.
Pratchett is at his most insightful when creating the dynamic tension between Sam Vimes, Captain of the Watch, and the Patrician, ruler of the city. Vimes is a good man, who wants to make the world (or at least his city) a good place, but despairs at his lack of power to accomplish that goal, and is often driven to the bottle by that despair. The Patrician is a clever man who has gained power through shrewdly manipulating the world as he finds it, using a practical cynicism about the nature of how things are in order to make his city work rather than making it good. In `Guards! Guards!', Pratchett shows us how these two men sometimes need each other, illustrating the value of both attitudes and approaches, depending on the circumstances.
`Guards! Guards!' is among the best of Pratchett's Discworld series that I have yet read. The characters he creates or revisits here are outstandingly well done and memorable. Also, he begins to come into his matured voice here, as he shifts from the light lampooning he used in previous Discworld books into a fully fledged satirical style that may be the sharpest and funniest we have seen since Swift. If you have not yet been introduced to Pratchett's Discworld, this is a fine place to begin, and if you are already a fan, you must not miss this one!

Theo Logos

I read the Colour of Magic a long time ago, and while it was funny, I didn't really appreciate it. I haven't really had the chance to go back and read more Pratchett until I picked up the City Watch trilogy at the local library. Guards Guards! is the first book to feature the Watch, and it is a great introduction to them.
The book hits the ground running with wonderful take-off on the idea of pass-phrases to get into a building. I couldn't stop laughing, especially because my wife and I have a running joke similar to this from something she read on USENET. Pratchett takes it about 10 steps further, though, and he does it with flair. Pratchett then continues the hilarity, even when he's making some good points on the human condition (like the human ability to do horrible things to each other). Just when things start to seem a little slow, he'll let loose with another bit of either silliness or wit, such as a Clint Eastwood riff that's simply wonderful.
As many people have said already, this is a book about those characters in most other novels who's job it is to die or be bonked on the head at the hands of the hero. This book celebrates them, gives them a personality and a reason for being other than to be cannon fodder. This time, instead of being just the downtrodden, they are also the heroes.
Vimes is an interesting character, a man who starts out as a man who totally despises what he has become. He loses himself in drink because, as head of the City Watch, he's nothing. He gets no respect from anybody (not even his men), and he doesn't have anything to really live for. In comes Carrot, a "dwarf" (actually, a human who was raised by dwarfs, and still considers himself one, even though he's over 6' tall) who comes to the city actually volunteering to be a member of the watch. Carrot's a simple man who's devotion to the rule book starts to rub off on Vimes himself. Between that and the attentions of Sylvia Rimken, the richest woman in the city and somebody who looks past Vimes' outer shell, he starts to become the man of integrity that he's always wanted to be.
That all sounds a bit heavy, but it's really not in this book. Pratchett is a master of making good points underneath all of the jokes, but if you don't want to think about things too much, the laughs are still worth the read. The other two characters, Colon and Nobs, are good for that. Colon is the sergeant who has been married for years mainly because of carefully arranges schedules that make it so he and his wife only see each other when they pass at the front door. Nobs is a very strange man who uses his position to steal things (though Carrot changes that pretty quickly). Carrot tries to arrest everything in sight, to often hilarious results. His introduction to the city at one of the local watering holes is simply hilarious.
All in all, this is a book that is well worth reading. As it's the first in the City Watch books, you certainly don't have to have read the previous Discworld books to understand what's going on. It takes a couple of fantasy cliches and turns them on their head. You won't be able to look at dragons the same way again after reading it.

This is a review of the entire "Watch" series, not just GUARDS! GUARDS!, which is the first novel of the series and the first Pratchett book I ever read. In the first two, GUARDS! GUARDS! and MEN AT ARMS, Sam Vimes meets and marries the Dragon Lady, Sibyl Ramkin, and we get the most loving satire of a formidable upper-class old maid that I've ever read. Their romance is as unlikely and as touching as the one between Death and Miss Flitworth in REAPER MAN.
I loved the affirmative action developments in the second book, though the dragon plot in the first one seems almost superfluous compared to the evolution of Vimes' character from the time we meet him drunk in the gutter to the changes Sybil helps bring about -- and we read the subsequent Watch novels in wonder as Sam goes on to become a reluctant knight, then a duke and an expectant dad. Equally fascinating are Angua the werewolf and Cheery Littlebottom the dwarf, two of the new "men" at arms whom we get to know better in each book. Even Carrot, who is usually too good to be interesting, starts to develop some fascinating flaws in THE FIFTH ELEPHANT.
That's the joy of the Watch novels, as well as the Witch and Death ones, and a few one-shot protagonists like Teppic in PYRAMIDS. Here are people who change and evolve, in other words, people who come alive. (Even Death does -- wonderfully.) Although the password scene at the beginning of GUARDS! GUARDS! is one of Pratchett's funniest, there is none of the sneering and lampooning that make the Rincewind stories tedious. I am ever so glad that this was the first Pratchett book I read; had it been one of the Rincewind stories, chances are I'd never have gone back to the PRA's on the bookstore shelves.

Many die-hard Pratchett fans hold up "Guards! Guards!" as the high point of the Discworld series. I haven't read them all, but this one is certainly a contender. Introducing the city watch of Ankh-Morpork and a host of delightfully screwy minor characters, this book amply demonstrates Pratchett's talent for cramming different modes of writing into a single story.

It begins when a mysterious character leads a secret society on a mission to summon a dragon as part of a plot to rearrange the city government. It continues when Carrot, a towering dwarf, arrives to join the watch. Conflict soon erupts when Carrot attempts to enforce the letter of the law, being the first person in several generations to do so. Also the Librarian is one the trail of a missing book, a case that he'll eventually solve in most unusual fashion.

In the dragon storyline, Pratchett manages to celebrate and criticize formula fantasy at the same time. "Guards! Guards!" also delivers pointed commentary on law enforcement, politics and the type of people who become politicians, hobbyists, angry mobs, the literary community (look for a hilarious footnote on the eccentricities of bookstore owners), and much more. And he includes some darn fine comedy, especially in the first half. In some later books such as "Feet of Clay" he tries to do too much and occasionally loses some threads of the story. But in "Guards! Guards!", the world's greatest literary juggler manages to keep exactly the right number of balls in the air for the whole time. The result is a delight to read.

Where Dragons come from and how they can benefit an urban renewal effort, the multitude of unique secret and enlightened orders, the character of swamp dragons, and Lady Ramkin's wisdom on the nature of officers. Dragons great and small star in this work and the Librarian thinks the situation is pretty hairy (takes one to know one...). It is a terrible thing when the figgin (small raisin scone) is threatened.

Through all this, the poor illegitimate who risks his neck every night for an unappreciative public is given his due. The city watch, the flat-foot officers of the law have been driven to drink and they never stopped to thank the city or tip the driver. Then a young lad from the mountains with a crown shaped birthmark and a sword joins them. Then the richest person in the city becomes enamoured of the Captain of the Anhk Morpork Night Watch (#177). And a swamp dragon named Erol, well, finds a rather creative way to use the notorious flame of dragons. Somehow, this motley crew called the Night Watch saves the city.

Five stars, barely. The structure of the story wasn't quite Pratchett's best, but the character development, some of the vignettes, and Lady Sybil's description of Colonels, Majors, and Captains picked up the slack. Many good points, but the end seemed somewhat abrupt, and not as complete as other works. I can still stand to read it again though.

In my humble opinion, the novels about the city watch are the most consistently excellent subset of the Discworld novels, and well worth reading in order. This is the first, and introduces Vimes, an interesting character destined for great things. This book is also a great introduction to Pratchett's humor; where most fantasy novels would give us impressive, glittering beasts with no grounding in physics, in _Guards! Guards!_ we first meet "real" dragons, the swamp dragons: noisy, gurgling creatures capable of eating anything flammable and producing flame via worrying chemical reactions in their complex, gurgling digestive tracts. Unfortunately this also endows them with an unnerving tendency to explode messily when startled. The "noble dragon," by comparison, summoned by magic, seems rather unreal -- how could a creature that heavy actually fly around? But that is the point: the city watch books are the least magical of the Discworld novels, and this means they are not as outrageously funny as some of the others, but they are the most grounded and convincing satires about _this_ world. We meet Lady Sybil, who will be the great woman behind Vimes, helping him to become a great man, and Carrot, a human raised by dwarves who is an innocent abroad, without prejudices, and an oddly heroic born leader. All together it is quite a mismatched crew, but somehow it all works, and watching the whole crew lurch to life is entrancing.

(*definition contained herein)
Like "Wyrd Sisters" before it, "Guards! Guards!" takes a well-known tale, and changes its focus. While "Wyrd Sisters" looked at MacBeth through the eyes of the three witches, "Guards! Guards!" looks at the genre of heroic fantasy, only the hero is not who you'd expect it to be. Terry is now two-for-two when trodding down this particular deconstructionist path.
The guards of the Watch are the henchman you've seen in a Bruce Lee movie, who each take their turn trying to stop Bruce, all to similar degrees of failure. They're the stormtroopers in the Star Wars series. They're the no-name actor who accompanies Kirk, Spock, and Bones down to the alien planet in Star Trek. They are anonymous and ineffectual, chameleonlike in their ability to fade into the scenery. Or at least that's how the conventions of the genre treat them. In Pratchett's hands they transcend their fate, move to the lip of the stage, and save the day.
It is such a pleasure to follow the character development of Captain Vimes and his men, Nobby, Colon, and their new protégé Carrot. There are some sublime moments where they learn to understand the conventions of the genre, and use it to their own benefit. My favourite occurs when they have to hit the "voonerable" spot of a dragon with an arrow, and deduce that a million-to-one shot is always successful in times like these. So what do they do? They conspire to make the shot more difficult (standing on one leg, wearing a blindfold, etc.) to make the odds worse, therefore being more in their favour! It is such a joy to try and traverse through such a minefield of ridiculous logic.
The story, now that I look back on it, is told in two parts. The first is pretty standard fare: a disenchanted "citizen" wants to install a puppet monarch. They unleash a dragon on the city, for if the dragon is slayed by a hero that hero will be crowned as king by public demand. Only of course things go wrong. The second half of the book shows how wrong. I'm not going to ruin it, but needless to say that things take a very surprising turn through a chain of events that to my mind is unprecedented in fantasy literature.
And of course there are more classic Pratchett comedy set pieces. The best of the bunch being when The Librarian (if you're not familiar with this wonderful creation, I'll tell you that the Librarian was magically transformed into an Ape, and never wanted to change back) tries to impart the name of a magic book, and can do so only through a hilarious game of charades. Also, there are a series of scenes near the beginning where we are introduced to a secret underground brotherhood, made up of a gallery of dim disciples whose mistakes and pettiness nearly cause their leader to have a stroke. And just try and use their secret password. It's a wonder anyone manages to show up for the meetings!
This, along with the aforementioned "Wyrd Sisters", is the most complete of the Discworld books I've read. It scores high marks for its comedy, parody, pop culture references (look for the Sam-Vimes-as-Sam-Spade clues subtly sprinkled throughout the narrative), action sequences, suspense, drama, and even its shadow of a love story. I understand that there are at least four more books in the Watch series, and I can't wait to get at them.

In some ways, it's undoubtedly easier to keep track of events in Discworld if you read Pratchett's books in order, but jumping back and forth in the series is probably more in the spirit of things. This one is the first to feature the City Watch of Ankh-Morpork, Capt. Sam Vimes commanding. I had just finished reading *The Fifth Elephant*, written more than a decade later, and I have to say there are a few continuity errors -- but who cares. Here, we get to observe Vimes's first meeting with Lady Sybil Ramkin, breeder of swamp dragons and his future spouse, and we get some insight into the personality of the Librarian of Unseen University. We also meet Carrot, the six-and-a-half-foot-tall adopted dwarf, on his first introduction to the Watch. We see just how thorough and careful a hold Lord Vetinari has on the city. And we learn about the actual workings of dragons, how they create that fiery breath and so forth -- and why they so often have an abbreviated life span. As always, the author combines peculiarly bent Brit humor with a wise and witty take on serious social issues (in this case, the tendency of the People to go along with the loss of their own freedoms in embracing monarchy). However, as a lifelong librarian myself, I'm annoyed that Pratchett saw fit to reveal to the uninitiated the nature of L-space.

Terry Pratchett has to be a very lucky man. He has created his own amazing and humorous little world in which he can engross himself with tales of dragons, murderous villains and ape librarians. He uses this world as a wonderful foil for poking hilarious and sometimes stinging observations about the world we live in and create for ourselves. When he's done he can collect his check. Unlike the fantasy worlds created by Tolkien, Rodenberry or Lucas, Pratchett doesn't obsess over the particulars of his creation. There are no guides or histories one needs to reference; just a little bit of an introduction in the back of his books for beginners. For that I was thankful, but I really didn't need the guide to appreciate the storytelling ability of Terry Pratchett.

Guards! Guards! Is a riot. It tells the story of a man raised by dwarfs who becomes a member of the local law enforcement as that group mingles with magicians, dragons, aristocrats and the palace guards. My only difficulty with the work was its English accent. I suppose it's my fault for being American. I'd recommend this work to just about anybody, and Pratchett has guaranteed himself a lifetime reader with this book.

Who but Terry Pratchett could have created a copper like Sam Vimes? Years of "mystery" novels have given us the image of witless, plodding, unimaginative policemen, easily bested by private detective geniuses. When we first meet Sam, he falls right into the stereotype, as well as into a gutter. He doesn't even have the sense to come in out of the rain. That's because his senses have been dulled by Old Bearhugger's - an elixir well suited to numbing the brain to life's injustices. And justice, or the lack of it, is a persistent theme in Sam's life.

Sam's a copper. Policemen are there to enforce the law. In this case, the Patrician of Ankh Morpork has arabesqued normal law enforcement with the creation of Guilds. There's an association of thieves, of burglars, of prostitutes, even of murderers. The latter are known as Assassins - the taking of life is a gentleman's business, not something to be left to the rabble. Against all logic, the Patrician's plan works - the Guilds keep order within their own ranks. That leaves Sam with little to do - and the elixir's appeal is irresistible.

A murder, unlike anything the Assassins might perpetrate, confronts Sam with a novel situation. Assassins, while neat, leave more than a pile of smoking ash in their wake. Nor do they leave such arcane clues as a footprint resembling a raptor's claws. A mystery, indeed. One which could lead to the City terrorized by an unprecedented threat - the arrival of a giant dragon. Neither Sam nor his boss the Patrician want the City subjected to that kind of threat. It's not controllable. It doesn't fit into the design. And it's bloody dangerous.

In pursuing his quarry, Sam wends his way to a home for sick and abandoned dragons. Run by the city's richest . . . umm . . . woman?? If any Pratchett character evades description, it's Sybil Ramkin. We know she's rather Valkyrian, well bred, and consumed with a fervour for swamp dragons. We don't know how old she is [although her family line reaches far into the past], and although matronly in mien, she's not a widow, grass or otherwise. Vimes, a product of the City's Shades [and a few gutters], is daunted, but not overwhelmed. A relationship, however unlikely, builds.

Pratchett draws a fine set of characters in this book. The City's Night Watch, with its cast of unlikely, but wholly believable, characters is introduced. Including a dwarf two metres tall, Carrot Ironfoundersson, who's come to the City to become a Man. Colon, "one of Nature's Sergeants". Nobby Nobbs, whose species remains uncertain. And another whose species is unquestioned, but whose fitness for the City Watch requires further scrutiny. And always, there is Vimes. Vimes, confronted by a dragon metres long and with tonnes of mass, still has an edge. The dragon wants to be king of Ankh Morpork. And Vimes' ancestor, Old Stoneface, once held similar views of justice about kings . . .

Pratchett has a hack at a number of sound, established, institutions. His swipe at the powers of the British Trade Unions through Ankh's Guild system is classic. A traditional association, the Mechanics' Institute, is wonderfully portrayed in the workers' cabal meeting to summon the dragon. It may seem foreign or exaggerated to an American audience. Rest assured it's right on the mark. Pratchett's Patrician shows how effective and subtle the exercise of true power can be. Even in the direst circumstances, his unique personal information network works for him.

For those who are new to Pratchett, this is a fine place to start. PTerry's descriptive wit will keep your attention. It may even grant you some new forms of language. How many of you know a runt dragon is "a total whittle"? How would you play charades with a Librarian? Why does hiring a troll for a pub change the job description from "bouncer" to "splatter"?

For the long-term Pratchett aficionado there are new treasures to enjoy, new concepts to prompt reflection. There are those well-versed in the Discworld Pantheon who rank the Patrician among their favourites. Others rejoice in Sam Vimes as a credibly drawn figure, worthy of imitation [if you can afford the Bear Hugger's]. The cast is impeccably drawn, the story vintage Pratchett. Whether your collection of Pratchett is accumulating randomly or in sequence, this one will fit in admirably and will suffer from being taken from the shelf repeatedly for fresh enjoyment.
[stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada, March 11, 2001]

I remember the first time I read this book. My friend lent
it to me going on about how amazing it was. He was right.
Terry Pratchett's discworld series is probably the most
succesful series of comedy novels ever in the U.K./Ireland/
Australia. They are kind of like Monty Python mixed with
Tolkien. They are classified as fantasy but don't let that
scare you away. They are just piss takes on modern society
and damn it they are funny! I have lent Guards! Guards! to
around 12 people. All of them loved it. All of them ran out
and borrowed/bought the rest of the discworld series. They
are all just so good! I'll tell you how universal they are;
My grandmother even likes Discworld novels.
Guards! Guards! is about a dwarf who finds out that the
reason he is six feet tall is because is human. His name
is carrot(because of the shape of his body not the colour of
his hair). He joins the Night Watch in Ankh-Morpork. A city
where even the thieves have a guild(they give you a reciept).
The watch is led my Captain Vimes. A man who drinks to forget
about his drinking problem. His fellow guards; Nobby(disqualified
from the human race for shoving), and Colon. At the start
their only problems are trying to stop Carrot arresting
thieves and assasins, and trying to stay upright. But then
a dragon comes along and spoils everything...
I suggest very strongly you read this book. Then it's
sequel Men at Arms. Then ALL the other Discworld novels.
You will never look back.

This is a great book. I have not read Terry Pratchett before and did so after hearing of the many comparisons between him and Douglas Adams, the British funnyman who penned the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books. You need to know that I greatly appreciate zany British humor. If you don't, this may not be the book for you.

Guards! Guards! is one of many books that take place on Discworld. While this is not the first book of the Discworld series, you do not need to read any of the earlier books to enjoy this one.

This book introduces the city watch. A bumbling apathetic group of city guards who's exclusive duty it seems is to ring a bell every hour and say all is well, even if all is horribly unwell.

One such unwell event is the visit of a large and destructive dragon which claims itself king. Will the city watch rise to the occasion or head for the tavern for a pint. Perhaps a bit of both.

Pratchett is an amazingly funny author and the best part is he weaves an excellent story as well. It's rare to find this kind of balance. I don't know if anyone could read this book and not smile (and quite possibly laugh out loud!). Enjoy.

It's hard to think of anywhere this book fails. The patrician is only lightly penciled in, but the 'skeleton' is most definitely there. Vimes and the rest of the watch are solidly introduced, along with Sybil, CMOT DIbbler, and our favorite monk---- (eeek) APE librarian (oook). The arc is clear, the jokes are fresh (unlike CMOT's meat pies), and the story is wrapped up in the typical Pratchett complexity (boy does meet girl, and they do head off into the sunset together)

It's exactly where you should start if you want to read any of the later Nightwatch stories -- and it's also a great standalone novel.

The Ankh-Morpork Night Watch is a disgrace, its lack of talent offset only by the Patrician's distain for normal police work, relying as he does on the self-interest of the thieve's guild to keep crime under control. From alcoholic Captain Vines on down, the Watch exists but doesn't really act. When an occult band comes up with the idea of summoning dragons to change the Ankh-Morpork leadership, the Night Watch is the last place anyone would look for a hero. Which is lucky because what they get isn't a hero--exactly.
Author Terry Pratchett keeps the laughs coming in this Discworld-set adventure. Captain Vines, a recurring character in the series, is well developed as a sympathetic and interesting character. The romantic element adds to the humor and to the story as well.
Combining knee-slapping humor with a solid adventure is often difficult, but Pratchett manages without breaking a sweat. Fans of the DiscWorld series will definitely want to add this one to their must-read selection. GUARDS! GUARDS! is also a great place to start reading Pratchett novels as it introduces many of the important characters.

When we first meet the Night Watch, it is in a state of decay. Captain Sam Vimes spends most of his time in taverns, bars, saloons, etc. and Sgt. Colon and Cpl. Nobbs spends most of their time avoiding anything that might lead to police work and Nobbs looking for chances to partake in the exact opposite. Enter Constable Carrot, a human raised as a dwarf and a new recruit and the appearance of the first "real" dragon in hundreds of years and you now have the birth of one of Discworld's best components. The storyline works as both adventure (some thrilling battles with the dragon) and comedy (Nobbs and Colon's becoming heroes in spite of themselves and Carrot's steadfast adherence to the laws of Ankh-Morpok) and Vimes' growth as an individual over the course of the novel is gratifying. This is a must read book for any Discworld fan as it sets the stage for many adventures to come and brings a lot of Discworld's characters into focus for both Pratchett and the reader.

I've decided he's too good and too prolific for me to write a brand new review every single time I read one of his books. Discworld currently has 34 titles and every one of them will probably knock your socks off. His mind bubbles and flashes like a boiling pot of electric eels, and I simply can't get enough of his writing.

A reviewer has compared him to Geoffrey Chaucer. He reminds me more of Douglas Adams, or perhaps S Morgenstern. Great company, isn't it? He's an extremely skillful and imaginative writer, damn funny, clever and observant to boot. He's also very easy to read. A master of characterization, and if there's anything else you like about reading that I didn't mention here, assume I simply forgot. He's awesome.

Another reviewer mentioned Jonathan Swift and PG Wodehouse. Why such hallowed company? Because Pratchett belongs there! Truly, I'm enjoying my quest to read every book in the series. You should do the same, and begin your quest at the library because he's got to be there. He's awesome!

Yet another reviewer said Jerome K Jerome meets Lord of the Rings. Yeah, that works too.

Why do we, as reviewers, compare authors to other authors? Because it's easier than thinking. In the case of Terry Pratchett, it's probably because we'd otherwise wind up quoting the guy. He's so unique that we just don't know how else to cope with his greatness. Even this paragraph sounds like foamy drool raving, doesn't it? That's how all readers react to Pratchett. Reviewers simply don't have the good sense to keep it to themselves.

I could call his writing fantasy, but I could likewise call what Douglas Adams wrote science fiction. In both cases, I wouldn't be wrong, but I'd be neglecting so much and just totally missing the point. A rare few authors transcend a genre to such a degree that you know they're shouting out, loud and proud, a big fat "Bite me!"

I love Terry Pratchett's writing, and I completely understand why some folks refer to him as their favorite author. Or favourite, I should say, since we're being British. He's one of those authors that makes you want to grab whoever's in hearing range and start reading passages aloud. I'm simply thrilled that there's such an extremely talented and prolific author who's been working for years without me being aware of him. Now I have much catching up to do, and I will love it.

Terry Pratchett is so prolific an author that I keep thinking that I've read everything only to discover I missed something. This last visit to the shelves revealed that I had managed to overlook Guards! Guards! -- possibly by believing that I had already read it. Chalk it up to a senior moment or two. This is embarrassing, because this particular volume provides the background for several story arcs that became increasingly important in the ensuing history of Ankh Morpork.

The first of these is the appearance of Carrot Ironfoundersson who would one day become Captain Carrot. Carrot has been raised as a dwarf, but at 6'5" his parents can no longer pretend to not notice his differences (and dating issues were coming up). The decision is made to send Carrot to Ankh Morpork to enlist as a City Guard. Carrot makes his appearance, and, to everyone's embarrassment, starts to actually arrest people who are breaking the law. The second newcomer is Lady Sybil Ramkin, who is to become Mrs. Sam Vimes one day. In Guards! Guards! her dedication to the raising of swamp dragons provided Vimes with vital information about the real problem -- the impossibility of a giant, fire breathing dragon in the sky (and on the throne) of the grubbiest city to ever float over a turtle's back.

An evil plot is hatched in the city, a book is stolen from the University Library, and in the meeting room of a tiny cult a dragon is summoned from the alternate universe where they have been tidily packed away. Four times summoned, then a pretend slaying puts an impostor on the empty throne, the head of the cult becomes the chief advisor, and Lord Vetinari is deposited in his own prison. But dragons, once summoned are not so easily gotten rid of, and Ankh Morpork finds itself desperately looking for virgins. It's up Vimes, and Lady Sybil, and Carrot, and the rest of guards to find a solution. I shouldn't leave out the presence of a really angry ape and an omnivorous supersonic reptile, either.

In the spectrum of Pratchett's writing, Guard! Guards! is well above average, but for all its imaginative plotting and details it doesn't quite click the was a book like Small Gods does. Even so, it covers so much material important to the series as a whole that it is a must read. An eminently readably must read at that, probably rereadable as well. The comedy is good, with Carrot's innocence and literal nature providing yards of material for puns and sight gags. Anyone planning to conjure a dragon will find it just the remedy for all those hours spent poring over a stolen spellbook.

I just recently got to Guards! Guards! after having read all the books regarding the Watch essentially bakcwards. It has to get a four because in this, the first of the Watch books, Pratchett gets a little lengthy on detail - not that this is bad. In comparison, there are more jokes and the pacing is quicker in the later books.
Completely discarding this trivial observation, "Guards!Guards!" is a great starting point of entry into Discworld. It's a story of the everyday working stiffs on Ankh-Morpork's Night Watch, featuring their captain, Sam Vimes. He's tired, he drinks too much, and he just doesn't know when to let things drop. And when a dragon shows up and starts frying people, Sam doesn't ask when or where, he asks, "Why?"
Setting himself apart from all other fantasy authors, Pratchett's writing, more satire than fantasy, is ever-engaging, smart, and downright plain funny. And no Tolkein-aping, thank you. Pratchett's world has a vigorous astrigent quality - just the thing for snapping you out of that overwrought D&D model.
So what are you waiting for? You will like Terry Pratchett. You will like Sam Vimes, Carrot, Nobby, and even the Patrician. You'll only hate yourself for not starting sooner.

This book was just plain fun. It has a decent plot, solid characters, chuckles galore, and Pratchett's usual rapier wit skewering various social subjects. I especially liked his portrayal of an inept secret society.

I'm reading the series out of order, so I had a good idea how this one would end already, but I'm not complaining. It was fun, for instance, to get introduced to later series mainstays as Carrot and Sybil, plus get a glimpse of Vimes before he cleaned up his alcoholic act. If you're a Discworld veteran, you'll probably enjoy these for the same reasons I did; if you're just starting out, it's a good intro primer.

The only thing keeping me from giving G!G! 5 stars was the ending (re: the dragon) seemed a bit rushed and unsatisfying, but I also realize it did work out rather well and could have been handled worse. Still, the rest of the novel made up for this minor gripe.

Highly recommended; not his best, but definately one of his better.

I was told that Terry Pratchet resembles in his style of writing Douglas Adams and that he is very funny too. So I decided to read one of his many books about the Diskworld. And it turned out that those rumors about people dying out of laughter while reading Pratchett are the mere truth. There were lots of funny, ironical and absurd situations that made me smile or laugh.

The story takes place in Diskworld main city of Ankh-Morpork. A guild is lead by a person who plans to summon and control dragon and later make him disappear so that his protege can take the throne pretending to have killed tha dragon. The City Watch should defend the city. However the Watch is obsolete because the Patrician Lord Vetinari has legalized guilds of criminals which in their turn are responsible to keep crimes in decent count. A young and sturdy lad named Carrot that still believes is a dwarf, volunteers and joins the Watch with enthusiasm to chase every criminal. Captian of the Watch is one of the main characters who in the face of the danger from the Dragon (who becomes king) decides to do all he can to save the city. The woman presence is in the face of Lady Ramkin (far away from beautiful woman, away even from woman) whose hobby are little swamp dragons, one of which eventually fights the evil Noble Dragon.

As a whole the story is very interesting and dinamyc. Characters are well developed, each with his unique characteristcs - from the very naive Carrot to the extremely witty Patrician Lord Vetinari. What surprised me pleasantly is that through the funny plot there are numerous lines that can be interpreted in serous ironical way. While reading a person could very often be able to make parallel to the real world and possibly get a moral for hismelf.

Reader thoughts
I love the Terry Pratchett humor, so tongue-in-cheek. I liked the ideas of trans-dimensional travel, a bad sorcerer trying to steal a dragon, tiny dragons bred for fancy ladies, a 6 ft dwarf visiting the city, a guard captain who's not allowed to do his job, and even the orangutan librarian. I loved the million-to-one chance issue.

I didn't care for all the innuendo, however. Nothing was explicit, but there were a lot of "jokes" (and I use that term loosely) about various body parts or professions or activities.

I didn't like that I didn't know who the main character was and that I never really got to know one person well. I sort of know the captain, sort of know Carrot, sort of know the bad sorcerer, sort of know the tiny dragon owner lady, and sort of know a few others. Who was I supposed to cheer for?

Writer thoughts:
A lack of an MC bothers me, and I expect it bothers other readers. I can't put myself in the story unless I know where I'm supposed to be. Maybe there is no MC so that I have many entry points (I could be a guard captain OR a 6 ft dwarf OR the bad sorcerer), but it left me feeling like I had none.

"Guards ! Guards !" is the eighth book in Terry Pratchett's hugely popular Discworld series and is the first to focus on Sam Vimes and Ankh-Morpork's City Guard. Although the City Guard was once a fine and noble profession, it has fallen by the wayside in recent years. Once, there had been hundreds of members : as the book opens, the City's Night Watch is staffed only by Sam, Sergeant Fred Colon and Corporal Nobby Nobbs. Like the Night Watch itself, Sam has also fallen on hard times. Having started drinking to forget (it was possibly something to do with a woman), he now drinks to forget the drinking. Despite his faults, though, he's a likeable cynic who has a well-developed sense of fair play and identifies with the underdog.

Things start turning around for Sam and the Watch in "Guards ! Guards !". The force sees a dramatic rise in numbers with the arrival of Carrot Ironfoundersson. Orphaned as a baby, Carrot had been taken in by the dwarfs and raised in a gold mine. Until shortly before he left home, he didn't realise he was human - he'd always thought he was just tall for his species. His adoptive father decides it's best for Carrot to spend some time with other humans and 'manages' to secure a position for him in the Ankh-Morpork City Guard. Carrot, on his arrival, is viewed with some amazement : an actual, honest volunteer. He takes things very literally (as dwarfs tend to do), is very innocent (he wouldn't know what to do with a seamstress if one fell into his lap) and a lot of the humour comes from his utter confusion.

The problem for Sam and the Night Watch is presented by the Unique and Supreme Lodge of the Elucidated Brethren. Well, actually, the problem is its mysterious (and big-headed) Supreme Grand Master, an ambitious and manipulative individual. (The remaining members are bitter, vitriolic, small-minded, jealous, resentful and a bit stupid. As a result, they're very easy to manipulate). He's devised a Machiavellian plan that will involve the removal of the Patrician (Ankh-Morpork's tyrant) and lead to the restoration of the monarchy. Unfortunately, his plan involves the controlling of a very dangerous dragon - to that end, Brother Fingers has managed to 'acquire' De Malachite's book on summoning dragons from the Unseen University's library. For some reason, it doesn't seem to bother him that the book is badly burnt.

This is the first of the Discworld books to feature Sam and the City Guard. As a result, it's a pretty good starting point if you've never read any of the other Discworld books before and want to see what you're missing. Pratchett's books are always very funny and this one gets better as it goes along. Definitely recommended.

Discworld really doesn't get any better or funnier than this. For the first time in the series, we get an extended up-close view of life in the remarkable city of Anhk-Morpork. We are introduced to such wonderful characters as Captain Vimes of the City Watch and his singular subordinates Nobby, Colon, and the giant dwarf (adopted) Carrot; the formidable Lady Ramkin; and Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler. The remarkable fashion in which the Patrician Lord Vetinari runs the city is explained in some detail, we begin to really get to know the Librarian of Unseen University (who was of course turned into an orangutan some type back as a result of a magical accident), and Pratchett gives us a basic rundown on the theory of L-Space under which all libraries work and are magically connected.
Everyone knows that dragons do not exist, not the type of giant mythical creatures who fly around breathing fire all over the place. Thus, it comes as something of a surprise to people when Anhk-Morpork begins experiencing incidents of the body-melting variety; such a perpetrator can only be dismissed for so long as a giant wading bird, however. It seems that a group of unimportant have-nots has been wooed into a secret society bent on teaching the haves a lesson or two by magically summoning a dragon to carry out their wishes. Naturally, things get out of hand, and the dragon finds a way to establish permanent residence in reality. Declaring himself king of the city, preparations are made to turn over treasure and begin sacrificing maidens. The City Watch has long been nothing but a joke in town, especially after the establishment of proper guilds virtually eliminated illegal illegality, and Captain Vimes and his men have no desire to enforce the law anyway, unless enforcing the law somehow involves drinking copious amounts of alcohol. Young Carrot (who has just found out he is a human and not a dwarf after all, all six and a half feet of him) amazingly volunteers for the Watch and actually tries to enforce the law, thereby causing a bit of controversy at first. Then the dragon business comes along, and the City Watchmen take it upon themselves to try and overcome the wossname since no one else, aside from the noble swamp-dragon enthusiast Lady Ramkin, seems to offer much resistance at all (even when extolled by Sergeant Colon's rally cry "The people united can never be ignited!"). Of course, the odds of solving such a crisis as this are a million-to-one; odds of a million-to-one guarantees success, as everyone knows, and the problem comes in making sure your plan's chance of success does not miss the mark; it can't be a thousand-to-one or even 999,999-to-one odds because you've never heard of anyone succeeding with those odds against them, now have you?
There is so much that goes to the very heart of the Discworld in this novel that one cannot begin to list it all here. Captain Vimes and the City Watch members are some of the most human characters in the series, and they also happen to be very funny. Virtually everything about this book is terribly funny. The only question I have about this novel is how in the world the inept wizard Rincewind managed to be completely absent from such a dangerous situation as the one represented by the dragon to the city. It's really best that he does not appear in these pages, though, as it would take something away from the incredible appeal of the City Watch characters. If ever a Discworld novel were required reading, it would have to be Guards! Guards! If you can't enjoy this book, then Pratchett's Discworld series is not for you.

This is a particularly enjoyable Discworld novel. I've read about 10 so far--started with a few at random, and then decided the only sensible thing was to start at the beginning and read them all in order. "Guards, Guards!" has some memorably funny bits (you'll never hear the phrase "It's a million-to-one chance, but it just might work!" quite the same again.) But more importantly, it has believable character development. Our initially disaffected band of watchmen rise to the occasion. Pratchett has created a lovable band of misfits, and in the end they each in their way get to help save the day.

One mark of good writing in the fantasy genre is that you want to go there. For me, this is the first Discworld novel that rises to that level. I'm waiting for Lady Ramkin to invite me over for tea. Perhaps I can help muck out a swamp dragon stall or two while I'm there.

I don't like to do things easy. I picked up this book in an airport on a business trip. I had never read Terry Pratchett before, but had heard him mentioned by some people that I work with. All I can say is that they are correct! The book was filled with vivid characters that made me laugh. It included a dragon that wasn't quite right, and alcoholic and some bad guys. Seems simple doesn't it? Well this author has created a world with it's own rules. All of the above characters are woven into a tapestry that takes a comical look at a society of laws. There is a message in there somewhere and when I finish wiping the tears of laughter from my eyes I'll figure it out. It is now my understanding that there are 20 something Discworld books and I will have to find them all now. Guess my business trips will be covered for the foreseeable future.

The reason, I think, that Pratchett has managed to keep Discworld viable after over two dozen novels while other series seem to fade after four or five is that Pratchett continually introduces new characters and new tracts in his Discworld books -- Rincewind, Granny Weatherwax or Death, for instance.
"Guards! Guards!" is the first book to follow the adventures of Captain Vimes, and is easily as good as any other Pratchett has written. Our stalwart quartet of well-meaning bufoons provides an incredibly entertaining satire of medieval sword 'n sorcery epics -- you know, the kind where the boy finds a magic sword or slays a dragon and is therefore crowned king, regardless of any actual qualifications he may have.
I am attempting to work through the Discworld novels chronologically, so I don't know if Vimes, Carrot, Nobby and Colon show up again in this series. But I certainly hope so. Pratchett has rapidly ascended my all-time favorite authors list.

For my money this is the best book that Pratchett has written in the Discworld series. You get so many great elements added to the story: the alcoholic Vimes, Nobby and Colon, Carrot, the Patrician, Sybil Ramkin, and of course Errol the abnormal dragon.
This book is a great place to pick up the Discworld series, if you haven't read any of the others don't feel threatened by it being the...like 9th book. A whole new cast of characters is introduced along with the wonderful Ankh-Morpork. It's more than just a comedy about a dragon running through the streets. (With Pratchett nothing is that easy.) It has some serious commentary on Law and on human behavior. I see Pratchett as a kind of teacher, who hides his lessons in his hugely entertaining stories.
All that said, buy this book!! I apologize for all of you who will read it and need to read the rest of the series as soon as possible. It will cost you some money (he's got somewhere around 26 Discworld books alone) but you may end up thanking me.

This was my sixth visit to Discworld, and the most enjoyable stay so far. This is the first of the �City Watch� sub-series, which fans often nominate as their favorite. These stories focus on the criminally understaffed city guards of Ahnk-Morpork (four employees total), lead by the depressed, sotted, but nearly heroic Captain Vimes. Pratchett gets a lot of heroic fantasy parody material out of this concept, but it also gives him a chance for good character work. In this novel, he also plays around with the stereotypical fantasy dragon and has quite a blast with it (excuse the pun). The story construction is the best I�ve read from Discworld. Unfortunately, I�ve noticed that my attention always begins slipping in the last third of any Discworld novel; Pratchett�s ceaseless comic parading eventually becomes wearisome after two hundred pages of it. Nonetheless, the series continues to strengthen with each episode I read, and I'm eager to read more of the City-Watch series.

This is the eighth Discworld novel and the sixth I have read. Why does it seem that they are getting better? Is it that I simply can't remember how good the previous ones were?
The story is set around the city guard, led by Captain Vimes, who is a composite of many well-known detectives/cops that we are familiar with. He is a cynical, bumbling alcoholic, but goodhearted and ultimately heroic in all his failings as he goes about saving the kingdom from a usurping dragon. The supporting characters are just as entertaining and fully developed, including the librarian (oook!)
Needless to say, I highly recommend this one. It was at times hilarious, thought provoking (I'm not kidding), suspenseful (the last half of the book is set at a blistering pace) and overall a brilliant satire. Pratchett gives us a scathing commentary on the human condition while providing us with superb entertainment.

This is the first book in the long "Ankh-Morpork City Watch" series.
A small group of people conjure up a dragon, hoping that a heir to the throne of Ankh-Morpork will come up and kill it, thereby being crowned king. Someone does come up, but can't do anything when the dragon appears again, this time crowning itself king. Now it's left to the City Watch to try to fix things.
As in most Pratchett books, the characters make the book. The Watch consists of 3 men, and one new addition, Carrot Ironfounderson. The three people are each different and very much the same. There's Nobby, the only person that needs an ID to prove that he's a human, Colon, and Vimes. The main character is Carrot, a 6 foot tall dwarf who just moved to Ankh-Morpork seeking glory in being a watchman. You can't really say much about the Watch, you just have to read the books to understand it, but they're arguably the funniest characters Pratchett has ever written.
This book hasn't been republished in the US since 1989, and is a long awaited reprint. It's definitely worth it, even though most other City Watch books are better.

I've read quite a bit of Mr. Pratchett's work for at least two decades now. Always a sound read, but 'Discworld' really hits it out of the park in my opinion. I picked up 'Mort' on the advice of my son and struggled to put it down, except to catch my breath or rest aching ribs.
Rich detail for the city and settings provides a sturdy platform for Pratchett's usual effortlessly crafted humor (think neighborhood watch- meets -dragon, and all that could ensue!).
Carrot and the Librarian turned what might have been predictable characters into fantastic counterpoints to the rest of a well-realized cast.
Cannot look at my wife's teapot the same way again.
Never disappointed by Mr. Pratchett, and 'Guards' was no exception. Well done, sir.

I truly enjoyed the Discworld books, even stinkers like "Moving Pictures", but I'll be the first to say Pratchett was somewhat limited by that which he mocked.
Sure, it was side-splitting, but in all I think he wrote a much better novel in "Guards! Guards!" due to the fact he had worked the landmarks of the genre out of his system: Lankhmar, Melnibone, etc. From here on out, Discworld was a purely Pratchett creation.
I often found myself holding my breath for a laugh, only to have it startled away by a brilliant and innovative (still funny, don't get me wrong!) take on what are the many formulas and conventions of the fantasy genre.
If you're a fan of excellent plotting - believe me, there are some truly surprising twists here - and some sterling comedy writing, I give this book a high recommendation. I would even say you can jump straight into Discworld with this novel, and work your way either way up or down the soft continuity of the Discworld novels.
Oh, and there's a game - if you own a Playstation, rent it out or buy it. It's a laugh riot!

I love Pratchett and his humour. I only wish I could spend more time in his Discworld series without needing a break from the quick wit and detailed imagery. Love his work to death.

I listened to the audio version and Nigel Planer did a great job, again. Always funny, always well paced with excellent comedic timing.

A dragon appears on Ankh-Morphor and the member of the night watch have to save the city.

It was funny, the secret society invoking the dragon and their funny names and their petty revenge schemes, Carrot and his law concept and lack of understanding of metaphor is a nice detail.
And the twist of how they got rid of the dragon.

Fun as always

I always love a visit to Ankh-Morpork, and this is one of my favorite trips. There's heaps of little details about the city, along with the absurdities of dragons and career choices. Definitely a must-read-and-snorfle for anyone who enjoys the Discworld.

I think that the above reveiws have covered almost everything in the book but I think Vimes deserves more mention than just as the head of the Watch who happens to be a drunkard. Vimes is probably the best, most 'human' character Pratchett ever created and this is a classic introduction.Though Pratchett is not known for sentimentality, the moving parts about Lady Ramkin and Vimes ("Here's lookin' at you, kid") are unforgettable. It's true, Pratchett *does* care for his characters, and you can't help but do the same, especially when it comes to Vimes. Signed, a Vimes fan (you can guess, can't you?)

A dragon appears on Ankh-Morphor and the member of the night watch have to save the city.

It was funny, the secret society invoking the dragon and their funny names and their petty revenge schemes, Carrot and his law concept and lack of understanding of metaphor is a nice detail.
And the twist of how they got rid of the dragon.

Fun as always

I always love a visit to Ankh-Morpork, and this is one of my favorite trips. There's heaps of little details about the city, along with the absurdities of dragons and career choices. Definitely a must-read-and-snorfle for anyone who enjoys the Discworld.

I think that the above reveiws have covered almost everything in the book but I think Vimes deserves more mention than just as the head of the Watch who happens to be a drunkard. Vimes is probably the best, most 'human' character Pratchett ever created and this is a classic introduction.Though Pratchett is not known for sentimentality, the moving parts about Lady Ramkin and Vimes ("Here's lookin' at you, kid") are unforgettable. It's true, Pratchett *does* care for his characters, and you can't help but do the same, especially when it comes to Vimes. Signed, a Vimes fan (you can guess, can't you?)

This book, long out of print, introduces Pratchett's best heroes, Sam Vimes and Carrot, and sets up the adventures to come. To my surprise, the plot in here holds its own against those in later Vimes novels, and the large space given to the supporting cast is a delight to those who know Colon and Knobby, Vimes' deputies, from later books where they share the guardhouse with a much larger cast. I read the Guards book out of order, and now feel like I should re-read them in order. The whole subseries, even the anticlimactic "Fifth Elephant," stand out from the rest of the Discworld books. Discworld is almost always good. Vimes is even better.

I just re-read this book because I have, um, a crush on Captain Vimes, and not just because I know he's well on his way to being promoted whether or not he likes it. Vimes is one of the most likable characters ever written and I find any book with him in it infinitely enjoyable.

Terry Pratchett is a great humourist with razor-sharp perception. The Discworld books that feature Vimes and the Nightwatch are, in my mind, the strongest of them all, and this novel, in which those immensely memorable characters are introduced, is without doubt one of my favourites.

Highly recommended to those new to Pratchett or those existing fans who haven't found this book yet.

G!G! is the brilliant introduction to Sam Vimes and the Night Watch (eventually the City Watch) of Ankh-Morpork. Fencing (sort of), fighting (rather one-sided), torture (only a little bit), revenge (maybe some), giants (my, but Carrot certainly is tall), monsters (dragons and trolls count, right?), chases (when the Night Watch runs away), escapes (see previous), true love (sort of), miracles (one in a million chance)...
Sam Vimes and Carrot Ironfoundersson are my two favorite characters on the whole Disc, after Death. I just have to love this book, mostly because it gave us the characters. It sets the stage for the later books, and the City Watch subseries is the most dedicated to internal consistency and continuity among all the Discworld books. This is an essential book to see the beginning of the rise of the Night Watch and Sam Vimes, and it really sets the character of Carrot. The literal-mindedness of Carrot in this gives one an even deeper appreciation of some of the later jokes surrounding him.

This book is a wonderful, fun romp through the imaginative world of Terry Pratchett. Pratchett has created a fully-fleshed out universe called Disc World full of unique characters and individual voices. I would say if you enjoyed "Hitchhiker's Guide," then you will enjoy "Guards! Guards!" and the equally fun "Men at Arms."

This was the first book I ever read in this series. And I thank the book club that I belonged to back in the day for their policy of shipping out novels if you didn't respond in time. Since then I have read them all, from Colour of Magic to Monstrous Regiment, with side forays into Truckers, Diggers, Wings, Strata, the Science of Discworld series and of course the children's books. The Amazing Maurice and his educated Rodents, and Wee Free Men. Thus do I consider myself somewhat of an expert of the author and this book still ranks as my likely #1 or at the very least in the top five. As to others opinions? I just bought my sixth copy of it, the former five were all lent to friends who just happened to 'misplace' it. Bunch of thieves, and I didn't even get a reciept. The City Watch series of novels are my favorites. Perhaps in part because, through all the humor and fantasy, there is a reflection (distorted) of the urban life I live. I really wish that TP would become as popular in the US as he is in the rest of the world. Then perhaps I wouldn't need to have the new novels mailed to me from South Africa. In general I would say to a new reader, start wherever you want. Any book can be your introduction to the Disc. But from personal preference, start with the Watch, and the Watch starts here.

Terry Pratchett is creative, funny, and entertaining. The characters he creates are curious, yet belieavble mirrors of ourselves or others whom we may have met. The Captain of the Night Watch, Nobby, Carrot, and others interact in ways that are both funny and have you falling in love with the characters. Even the Lord of the City is a villian you can love, watching the man manipulate what happens under his control like a master chess player. All the characters have depth, which is hard to so in such a short story, but Pratchett pulls it off with no problem whatsoeven. Two thumbs and two big toes up for this one!!!!! Well worth the money.

This is IMHO one of the best of the Discworld series. Guards! Guards! is filled with all the wry humor that makes Mr. Pratchett so enjoyable to read, and has very real elements of basic human struggles (alcoholism, job respect and many other problems) that we or someone we know deal with everyday.

While reading this the characters are so real and yet so funny, you don't know whether to laugh at them or cry for them.

Terry Pratchett is one of the few authors that can make me laugh out loud. With this book, the laughter was non-stop.

This is the 8th in Pratchett's Discworld. Alternatively, it's the 1st book in the Watch subseries ("Guards! Guards," "Men at Arms," "Feet of Clay," "Jingo," "The Fifth Elephant," "Night Watch," and "Thud!"). An excellent book which introduces the Watch (specifically, and most importantly, Carrot and Vimes). It also fleshes out both the Librarian and the Patrician some more. All of these become very important in later books, so reading this one is not only great fun, it's also essential to the series. I rate it at 5 stars out of 5.

Guards Guards! is an amazing book. It's the first Discworld book to take place solely in the smelly city of Ankh Morpork, and Ankh Morpork being one of Pratchett's greatest creation, this book already has a charm of its own. The plot focusses on the Night Watch, a group of three drunken men. A "dwarf" who has firm beliefs about the law. He unfortunetely doesn't realize that in Ankh Morpork, there's such thing as "legal crime" so he goes about arresting thieves guild members, and Vimes has to teach him how Ankh Morpork works. Meanwhile, some cultists are trying to summon a dragon in an effort to take over the city...
The best character is Captain Vimes. When the book starts out, he is at the bottom of the pecking order of the city. He begins to straighten up, though, and near the end, he is a competent and witty officer of the law. There's a good part where Vimes has two men put in jail, and when he is told that the jail isn't very strong and that the prisoners will eventually be able to break out, he responds "I hope so, because the very first drain we come to, you're going to drop the key down it."
The other characters have their ins and outs. Vimes is the star of the show, but the rest of the Night Watch has its moments. Lord Vetinari, ruler of Ankh Morpork, is also a good character. His dark philosophy and strange opinions on how to run the city make the book even more fun to read. And the dragon just makes it better.
So overall, GET THIS BOOK, it's one of the best in the Discworld series, and should not be missed.

I'm torn between 3 stars and 4 stars. I can't quite give it four because it's not groundbreaking or outstanding in any way. It doesn't have any particularly interesting artistic merit. But three stars might be too few, after all it's a pretty entertaining read .... so let's say 3.5. ... In any case, the first ten or twenty pages I wasn't real impressed - it seemed like the author trying to be another "Douglas Adams" without nearly the same wit or brilliance. But I warmed up to the story and the humor, and quickly got absorbed in the characters and plot. All in all it's an easy, lighthearted and entertaining read, and I would recommend it as "light fare" to anyone who likes fantasy and sci fi.

This book is dedicated to all the guard-characters in fantasy-novels. Most of the time these characters only appear as an obstacle to the hero of the story, and most of the time they either don't survive the first scene in which they appear, or end up with a chandelier on their heads, in the more classical versions.
This book takes the perspective of those poor suckers.
Poor suckers indeed, trying to uphold nonsense like law and order in a city like Ankh-Morpork. The story starts out with the introduction of a new member of the guard, Carrot, a quite naive, but simplistically honest and brave young man, raised by dwarfs. The scene where his parents tell him he's not a dwarf is an absolute masterpiece parody on adoption-drama.
As brave as Carrot is, as pathetic is the rest of the guard. First, there's captain Vimes, who takes on the main role in the rest of the story. Though basically a good guy, he's been brought down by his alcohol addiction. Then there's Colon, the gravitationally challenged sergeant of the guard. And last but not least Nobby, whose exact appearance is never fully described, but he's supposed to be the ugliest, filthiest and nastiest excuse for a human being there is.
These poor suckers take on a struggle against an occult society (whose members are society's ultimate losers) trying to summon a dragon from their dimension. The story is very entertaining and involves some very onorthodox views on classical fantasy, like all discworld-novels. Dragons are no longer majestic monsters, but either badly designed, self-destructive walking chemistry-sets, or impossibly sadistic giants.
Less entertaining are the attempts on parody, like captain Vimes holding a dragon like a gun, quoting Dirty Harry ("how many times has he thrown flames? Five? Six?"). In this discworld-novel these parodies are sometimes just too obvious and over the top.
This was the third disworld-novel I read, The color of magic and The light fantastic being the first and second. Although G!G! is generally regarded as superior to Pratchett's earlier work, I have too say I enjoyed the first two novels better. G!G! lacks the feeling of exploration I felt while reading those, since the entire story takes place in Ankh-Morpork instead of being a quest across the whole of discworld. The humor on the other hand is less "silly" and can be appreciated after rereading.
All in all a very entertaining book, with heart-warming characters, ingenious plot twists and a great sense of humor.

This sort of slid in as a new series.. the guards, the hereditary rebel, the lost king.. what an explosive mix. as the series goes on we realise the guard - the NIGHT WATCH - are the strongest and most sustainable of all Pratchetts series. Loved it. Not to be missed

What a funny, satisfying book. Some of Pratchett's books are funny-once, but this is one that I think will stand up to a lot of rereading. It is silly and full of puns, but it has a warm heart and a thoughtful subtext.

The eight discworld book is a definite improvement on the last couple, and certainly funnier. Much as with everything else in the discworld, the cops are useless, and really don't want to have to work too hard or do much at all. Turning up, having lunch, or supper, or whatever, and then going home is fine with them.

Cults and dragons get in the way, though, and they have to do some policing while Pratchett happily spoofs the cop genre.

That's the question on the minds of the citizens of Ankh-Morpork, Discworld's most cosmopolitan city this time. Their people are calling for a king to be installed on the throne again (well, some people are, most don't care at all), and roylaty fever has swept the kingdom...that is, until the king to be is exterminated by the very thing he was supposed to kill - a dragon.
And not just Morpork's usual harmless swamp dragon, either. We're talking full-on, building burning, princess-eating, elephant wrestling sized dragon here...and to make matters worse, because it's a Draco Noblis (Noble Dragon), the dragon itself is soon on the throne...and it's up to the city watch to do something about it.
This is probably my favorite of the Discworld series so far. It's well paced, funny, and best of all makes you want to pick up more of the series just to see the characters come back. A fantastic read, and I recommend it to everyone!

For a long time, the City Watch has been ruined and what was once many men is now three. Captain Vimes the drunkard kind hearted leader. Corporal Nobbs, know one really knows his species. And Sergent Colon, shy, timid and has a letter relationship with his wife.

And now we get to Carrot. He was raised by dwarfs and has just entered Ankh-Morpork and has just joined The City Watch. Then sudenlly a dragon is terrorizing the city and it's up to the City Watch to save the city. A story full of Dragons, mystery, accion, flatulent fire and summonings.

I REALLY enjoyed this book. It was funny, and it was just plain great. I really liked the Carrot character becuase of his charisma and his personality.

A DEFINITE FOUR STARS.

I'm a huge fan of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series; it's my "guilty pleasure." I started with this one and then had to read all of the books. But this remains my favorite. Wickedly funny and inventive, down to the almost-real bumper sticker: Honk if You Love Dragons. My only question for the author would be: Are the Dragon Breeders based on dog breeders or cat breeders?!

Continuing the Terry Pratchett method of taking tropes and using them to tell an interesting story Guards! Guards! tells the story of a diposed...someone and how sometimes the best career isn't what destiny had in mind.

Just reread this book. It's not my favorite in Pratchett's Discworld series, but it's still darn good.
One comment worth making. Up to this point, most of the books in the series can be read as stand alone stories. After this point, Pratchett depends more and more on the same cast of characters. You really need to know their history to make sense of the story (and more importantly to catch some of the jokes).

Right now I'm so in love with Pratchett that I'm not sure I can be completely objective about this. But, I really liked this one, the drunken captain, the confused gnome man, all very well-constructed, clever, and appealing. It's amazing how well Pratchett can introduce the occasional deep thought into work which is uniformly pleasurable and fun.

I laughed out loud 8 or 9 times while reading this book, which hauls off and includes social, psychological and philosophical commentary for good measure. I'd be reading along, and I kept bursting out laughing, closing the book and wiping tears from my eyes -- and my significant other would look at me and say, "again?"

I love all of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, but this is the one I pick to "turn people on" to the rest of them. It introduces Sam Vimes and develops the characters of the Watch as well as Vetinari and Ankh-Morpork (which is a city but, let's face it, a character too).

Excellent intro to Discworld and Pratchett's unique brand of philosphy and humor mixed together.

This is the first Discworld book I read and 24 books later it is still my favorite. The plot is so twisted, and the characters well developed, its a must read! It is a fun series to read and I would recommened to everyone to read this one first. You don't have to read the series in order. Each book can stand alone although there are several "mini-series" of books in the whole series. Guards! Guards! is full of humor yet thought provoking. While you enjoy the story you also realize the point that Mr Pratchett is making about problems in our own world. So buy it now! And enjoy!

I have been making my way through the Discworld series, and I have really enjoyed it. I thought this book was the weakest of the series. I started and stopped reading this one several times before reading all the way through this time. By no means is this book bad. This book is witty, amusing, and sometimes laugh-out-loud-funny, but it is not as funny as the other Discworld novels.

Guards Guards introduces several new characters: the men of the Night Watch, including their dispirited captain, Vimes; Lady Ramkin, a mountain of a woman who raises swamp dragons and has designs on the captain; and Carrot, a giant young man who was raised by dwarves. A few familiar characters also make an appearance, such as the librarian of Unseen University, who is an orangutan.

An enjoyable story, but I cannot rate it any more highly in comparison with the other superb Discworld novels.

Even though this was the first Discworld novel I ever read it has inspired me to want to read the entire series. Terry Pratchett has a unique and humorous style of bringing Fantastic Fiction to life. The characters all have magnificent personalities and he writes the dragon with true menace. A must read for any fantasy lover.

The sense of irony and satire that have made Pratchett famous are in full display, in a mockerie of current government, and previous autocracies, and also in the fact that people are eager to follow anyone with a bit of charisma without even asking. Pratchett's cartoon of our world is always fascinating and fun to read.

This is typical of Pratchett's taking-the-piss style; the scene about the secret societies and their passwords has me grinnig even as I'm writing this, you can easily see John Cleese getting madder and madder! If this is your first encounter with Terry's books, then read on, if not: I rest my case, you know what to expect

This is the first Discworld story I have read. I was fairly skeptical as I stopped reading the fantasy genre years ago due to the similarity between most fantasy stories. This book was well written over all, the main characters were well fleshed out, and the story was not the typical "swords & sorcery" that is what I think of for fantasy. The sub plots melded together well, and were interesting without detracting from the main plot-line. There was plenty of humor as well, both human & dragon. It was a book I would be ok with my 11 year-old son reading, but it also entertained me without being predictable or boring. If Terry Pratchett's other Discworld boks are this well-written I will have to start reading them. I am definitley willing to try another one to prove the theory.

I just want to let you all know that you don't have to pay 75 Ankh Morpork or US dollars for this b-OOOK! (ahem) book. The soft cover version is available (at least in April 2009) from the store in Canada at the store.ca. I got my copy of the b-oook for 16 dollars plus shipping. The shipping was faster than I thought it'd be. Just select regular shipping.

I have read all but the latest two or three of the novels (I am English but now live in the US, my mom sends the English ones to me!) and I have to say that along with Mort, Guards!, Guards! is the best of an amazing series. We all have our favorite characters but who can resist Carrot, Vimes, Colon and Nobby! The story is excellent, the characters wonderful, the humour laugh out loud funny and even when you know whats coming it can still raise a chuckle. How can an author write such humour and yet still leave us caring about what happens to each of his creations like they were our best friends? Long live the Discworld and all of its inhabitants!!

A nice job of illustration here. One excellent swamp dragon. The artist has pretty much captured the right feel for the usual silly Pratchett story about bumbling incompetence, and sheer luck, and other such things. How do a bunch of completely useless cops stop a dragon, and an evil politician and a summoning cult? Luckily they do have some help.

Nobody writes fantasy with such outlandish humour and wise-cracks as Terry Pratchett and Bob's Your Uncle!

I've been introduced to Mr. Pratchett's Discworld books by a colleague of mine a few months back. I decided to get Guards! Guards! just to get a slightly detailed insight on the highly enjoyable and satarical creations of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.

All I can say is that I truly enjoyed every page of this novel, right down to those wierd dictionary-like descriptions at the bottom of certain pages. :)

If you would like to read a novel that will tickle your bone like crazy, then pick up a Terry Pratchett Discworld book. You will not be dissapointed. It might in fact brighten up your day or the whole week or the entire month once you've done reading this novel.

Highly recommended to those who have a good sense of humour!

If you have ever read any of Terry Pratchett's novels of the "Discworld" you must read Guards, Guards. It's the ulimate "Discworld" introduction. If you have never read any of the "Discworld" novels you must start here. His intellegent humor and wit are unmatched. From exploding dragons to giant dwarfs, this book will have you believing that the world really is flat, or at least wishing Christopher Columbus was wrong. This is where Sci-Fi, Humor, Fantasy and Adventure come together in an addictive way that it will leave you searching out new titles of the "Discworld." Terry Pratchett's style is unmatched and indescribable. You must read it to believe it!!!

I wouldn't pay over thirty bucks for the audio book. You can get it cheaper on itunes. In fact, you can get a better price on any of the Pratchett audio books on itunes. Too bad Stephen Brigs hasn't gotten around to narrarating the entire series. Planer is okay but I'll always perfer Brigs.

but Guards! Guards! is WONDERFUL. You don't even have to read it before the other Watch books; I'd got through all the Watch cycle from Men at Arms to The Fifth Elephant before getting hold of this one and I actually think I appreciated it more. Although, being used to the Vimes of the later books, it *was* a bit depressing to see his first appearance..

It's been a while since I've read a book that makes me want to laugh out loud, but this one was it! This is the first book by Terry Pratchett I've read (although I've heard of him and looked at some of the books he's written) and I was not disappointed. In fact, I may have to see what other books our library here has of his!

Of all the Discworld story lines, The city Watch are some of the best, and Guards! Guards! not only introduces you the the City Watch, but to Discworld itself. If a story of the underdog coming out on top is your kind, then this is a great book for you. The characters interactions and plot is just increadible. Humorous and believable. And the following books (Men at Arms, Feet of Clay and so on) allows you to watch the characters grow and how the City Watch once again became an important part of Ahnk-Morpork.

Like many other people, I didn't get to read this one until after I read The Fifth Elephant, Men at Arms and The Truth, which were released in paperback before this one. I read half the book in one sitting, and found it to be quite good.
Oh yeah, and don't miss the Dirty Harry callback. Probably the most hilarious part of the book, in my opinion.

If you have never read a Terry Pratchett book (oh the delights that await you), start your journey here. The streets of Ankh-Morpork await you, with some of Pratchett's greatest and most vibrant characters and scenarios. You'll find parodies aplenty here, with winks and nudges to books, films, and society's ways. Here, villains are real people as are good guys and everyone else (well, everyTHING else, if you count the Librarian and the dragon, but you'll find that out fast enough). Expect fantastic things but also expect them to be incredibly lifelike. And lastly, be prepared to laugh. Lots.

This book is one of the funny discworld series. Terry Prachett is a writing genius and his imagination knows no bounds. This book is very funny and is a great introduction to Discworld. The city of Ankh-Morpork is akin to New York but about 100 times worse. The badness is overlooked by the amount of comedy avalible in this city. The book is the first with the Honorable Carrot Ironfoundersson who is one of the best charaters ever. And In This Book Here Be Dragon not trying to Hassle you and Sell You Souvenirs

This is my favorite Discworld book, because it is the most complete. Pratchett's humor is here, as always, poking fun at society, people and fantasy, but Terry has also put together a great cast of characters and a solid story, which he doesn't always do.

Whenever I recommend a friend to start reading Discworld or anything Terry Pratchett, "Guards! Guards!" is always the first stop. It's Pratchett's trademark humor in a more down-to-earth setting than any of the previous books, and the cast of the Night Watch is easily his best crew in terms of dialogue and banter.

I had never read the City Watch series - my interest has always been more focused on Death and the Witches - but boy, am I glad I read this book! Sam Vines is a much more fascinating character than I expected, as are his fellow Watchmen. Now on to the others - I can't wait to see how Sam and Sybil turn out!

This has to be the best discworld book I have read. It is the first book including the watch and contains characters such as Corporal Carrot and Captain Vimes. It is a brilliant book and I would cretainly reccomend it.

The better of Mr. Pratchett's books contain more than a jot of commentary on human nature, and a strongly ethical bent. "Guards! Guards!" covers the ground quite well, in the vein of "Catch-22" and the Retief series by Keith Laumer, and adds a dose of Machiavellian manuvering. Excellent and quite accesible!

I wasn't sure if I'd like this one, but right after I got it it had me on the floor laughing. If you want to know how the Watch got started, <Plus a good laugh on the side,> this is the book to read.

This is a wonderful book on its own, and serves is a great introduction to the Guards series of Discworld books. It's also early enough in Pratchett's series that a new reader will not be overwhelmed by the "in jokes". For readers already familiar with the series, Pratchett has created a set a ordinary non-heroes who rise to perform heroic deeds, while poking fun at police fiction from Dragnet to Dirty Harry.

I've enjoyed all of the first eight Discworld books, but I enjoyed this one the best. Pratchett does a masterful job of weaving the main characters (human and not) together and keeping the story from getting stale or predictable. The Librarian also gets a chance to shine. A great fun read!

My stomach hurts. This is the best of the Discworld novels (and I've read them all) The colour of magic and Light Fantastic are in a class of their own being the first two but Guards Guards is a brilliantly written classic of this genre.

There are two books in the diskworld series that stands out before all others: "Guards! Guards!" and "Reaper Man". In Guards! the reader has the exquisite pleasure of following the exploits of the hopefull new recruits in the Night Watch. Meaning, the recruits the Day Watch in Ankh-Morpork passed over... I really would not spoil your enjoyment of this book by revealing too much beforehand. Suffice to say that this is one of Terry Pratchetts Masterworks.

The first book in the "Guards" series is clearly one of Pratchett's earlier works. His writing hasn't achieved the polish that wins him fans and praise from every corner yet, leaving the reader unsure if they would like to try another book by him. If you haven't already met Vimes, Carrot, the dwarves, trolls, and werewolf of the Watch you might want to read the next book in the series first, then come back to this one. You will have missed the meeting of Vimes to his wife, and her habit of keeping odd dragons, but other than that you won't have lost much. This book feels as though it doesn't know what it wants to be yet, or who the character's really are. Later in the series the Guards books become more mystery-esque, here it's straight adventure, and the character's personalities aren't clearly set out yet.

This book is one of my absolute favorites... if you're new to the series, it's a great one to start with! Ah... good ol' Ankh-Morpork... (that's a thing I've noticed... usually in the books where Pratchett first introduces the charaters, the charater development is super. It kinda fades after a while, but the books are among the tops of the tops, in my opinion... but that's just me.)

I read this on the train and it made the trip very enjoyable, thank you Terry Pratchett! It has all his classic and quirky trademarks and had me chuckling a little too enthusiastically for some of the other passengers, but I couldn't care less, great book!

Terry Pratchet rocks! After reading (and collecting) every one of David and Leigh Eddings'books (that I am aware of) I was looking for an author that would come close to their uncanny mix of satire and fantasy. And boy did Terry Pratchet fit the bill!!!! If you like fantasy with a little bit of gut-splitting humor mixed in then definately go for this one!!!!

Well, obviously everybody liked this one more than I did. Of course it deserves more than three stars in general, but not comparing to others in the Discworld. It just didn t catch me. But, see for yourself, you ll be trough in no time.

The story is excellent, and one of my favorites. The problem with this 10-CD set is the recording: the initial 15 minutes of first disc contains static that makes the sound difficult to hear. The seventh disc contains 8 or 9 "holes" of silence at random intervals, and tapers off at the end in garbled sound.

Given a choice of narrator, I'd prefer Steven Briggs, but Nigel Planer does a passable job, and even excels with Lady Ramkin's voice.