Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't Stop the World, I Don't Want to Get Off, 11 April 2008
Terry Pratchett has become one of the most popular authors alive today and his popularity is richly deserved. But not even with his fertile mind could ever have envisaged the heights to which his Discworld series would rise. This book was first published in 1989 the same year as Pyramids and is number eight in the Discworld novels. In this the audio version, the voice of Tony Robinson is an inspired choice, with just the right intonations for each character.
You would think that a fantasy world full of trolls, zombies, witches, vampires would be an alien concept to most readers. Werewolves and dwarves in the Ank Morpork city watch. Wizards running a university. All this born in the mind of one of the funniest author's writing today. Surely this style of writing would have a limited readership? But no the books are loved by anybody and everybody and are read by people who would not normally allow fantasy fiction anywhere near their book shelves. This is the Discworld of Terry Pratchett.
Guards! Guards! features some of my favourite Discworld characters. The books transports the reader into the world of the Ankh-Morpork Night Watch. The Watch contains lots of characters new to the Discworld series of books and what characters they are. Captain Sam Vimes, leader of the Watch, Corporal Nobby Nobbs, Sergeant Colon and Corporal Carrot, the tallest dwarf in history at 6 foot in his stocking feet. These are just a few of the new characters that grace the pages of this book. They are so well written that they all seem like old friends long before the book has finished.
The loose, very loose storyline to this plot is the fact that a book called The Summoning of Dragons has mysteriously gone missing from Unseen University. This coincides with the fact that a fire breathing dragon has been causing mayhem in the city. Dragons are the speciality of Sybil Ramkin, who keeps a number of swamp dragons as pets. "Just be firm with them," is her best advice.
Any books that can make me laugh out loud have got to be good and these books certainly do that. It is virtually impossible to describe them to people who have never read any of them. So if you need cheering up, or just enjoy a good laugh, buy one now. This one is one of my favourites but they are all terrific.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
FABRICATI DIEM, PVNC !, 15 April 2006
"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.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant!!!, 21 April 2004
Guards! Guards! Is one of the BEST Disc world novals - Not THE best,that's got to be reserved for Night Watch - but still an excellentintroduction to the unforgetable characters of the Ank-Morpork CityWatch.
The best bit? Vimes standing in the doorway to the SunshineSanctury with a loaded Dragon wearing a shift saying, "What you've got toask your self is - Are you feeling Lucky??" You've GOT to read it!!
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