Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
Guards! Guards! is Terry Pratchett’s eighth Discworld novel and the first to feature the Anhk-Morpork City Watch. Guards! Guards! is among the best of the Discworld novels and is a possible entry point for readers new to Pratchett’s body of work.
Underfunded and disrespected, Captain Vimes’ City Watch has seen better days, but new recruit Carrot Ironfoundersson is about to change all of that. Raised by dwarves, Carrot hopes to make a difference in Discworld’s corrupt city, and even goes so far as to arrest members of the Thieves’ Guild. Though he often makes life difficult for Captain Vimes, Sergeant Colon, and Corporal Nobbs, Carrot’s loyalty to law and order inspires the Watch with the purpose of protecting the people of Anhk-Morpork.
Thanks to the plotting of the Unique and Supreme Lodge of the Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night, the people of Anhk-Morkpork have never been in greater need of protection. The Elucidated Brethren are a secret society plotting to overthrow the Patrician of Anhk-Morkpork. They magically summon a dragon to create unrest, but quickly lose control of it. Instead, the dragon takes over the city and begins demanding human sacrifices and gold as tribute.
It will take a one-in-a-million response from the City Watch to save the day. Can they do the math?
As with all of Pratchett’s novels, there are many one-liners, and my favorite is drawn from the protest against the dragon’s rule:
“The people! United! Will never be ignited!”
Although Pratchett is acknowledged as a talented humorist, he is an undeniably skilled fantasy writer. Many readers enjoy the Witches and Rincewind novels, but Pratchett brings his game to a new level in his creation of the City Watch. His satiric targets (here including buddy cop stories, secret societies, and the use of dragons in fantasy) are focused and work well together to create not only a humorous read, but also an exciting and interesting one. More than anything else, Pratchett has taken the time to create comparatively nuanced, round characters in the City Watch.
The Discworld novels make for a sprawling series and new readers may find themselves confused over where to start. Some of his early novels feel a little unpolished, but with Guards! Guards!, Pratchett has clearly found his stride. For its enjoyable characters, amusing plot, and its memorable humor, Guards! Guards! is a must-read Discworld novel.
Discworld — (1983-2015) Discworld is a satirical fantasy world created by Terry Pratchett to poke fun at 1980s fantasy novels. Since then, they’ve evolved so that they now make fun of everything. Mr. Pratchett explains Discworld: “The world rides through space on the back of a turtle. This is one of the great ancient world myths, found wherever men and turtles are gathered together; the four elephants were an indo-European sophistication. The idea has been lying in the lumber room of legend for centuries. All I had to do was grab it and run away before the alarms went off… There are no maps. You can’t map a sense of humor. Anyway, what is a fantasy map but a space beyond which There Be Dragons? On the Discworld we know There Be Dragons Everywhere. They might not all have scales and forked tongues, but they Be Here all right, grinning and jostling and trying to sell you souvenirs.” The Discworld novels are presented here in publication order. To read more about the Discworld “arcs” and reading order, see this Wikipedia article.
Discworld for Kids:
That’s easily one of my favorite Discworld novels. AND it introduces my single favorite character in the series, Havelock “Don’t let me detain you” Vetinari.
I agree. The guards books are my favorite of all the Discworld books.
I’ve heard a lot of people cite the Guards books as their favorites. As much as I appreciate the Granny and Rincewind, I suspect that the complexity of the City Watch characters is what sets the Guards books apart.
Ryan
I’m someone who enjoys humour in books but Pratchett book is the first satire that I’ve ever read. The humour seeps into the characters and the plot, which at many times are very ridiculous, and I think that’s what Pratchett was trying to achieve, I have to read for some time before I was used to it. Pratchett was able to weave the story that the humour doesn’t come as awkward and out of place. The characters are amazing. The flaws of the characters are shown very clearly and used very good. The plot of this book is not predictable even if the ending is a tiny bit of a letdown. Another thing that I want to say is that this book has the most memorable city. It’s distinctive and unique that no other book that I’ve read ever have because they focus on the world rather than a city. I can say for sure that I shall read his other books soon.