Guards! Guards! (Discworld Novels)

I own all of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. I would review each one, but as any Pratchett reader knows, is a helluva lotta books. So rather than spend the next month writing reviews, I'll review the author instead... Terry Pratchett effortlessly weaves political, social and religious satire deftly in every novel. His background as a publicist for a British nuclear power plant also...more

I own all of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. I would review each one, but as any Pratchett reader knows, is a helluva lotta books. So rather than spend the next month writing reviews, I'll review the author instead... Terry Pratchett effortlessly weaves political, social and religious satire deftly in every novel. His background as a publicist for a British nuclear power plant also allows him to warp the reality of his world with surprising tidbits of "real world" scientific information, under the guise of religion or magic. His characters are plucked out of our social conciousness and are far more complex than many you would find in a fantasy novel. Each book adds a new dimension to both the people and the places in which they live and you are drawn into a fully-fleshed world full of politics, intrigue and just good fun. Intelligently written, and full of the most wonderfully whimsical prose, each novel works well on its own, but much better when read as a piece of a much larger puzzle. I highly recommend Pratchett to anyone who wants a fun, yet thought-provoking reading experience.   hide

Not one of the top echelon of the Discworld books, IMO, although Pterry's second-best is still far better than most. The dragon makes for a great villain, and this book also introduces the weirdly symbiotic relationship between two key characters, Captain Samuel Vimes of the Night Watch, and the Patrician, Havelock Vetinari.

Another enjoyable and clever piece of work, skewering a host of fantasy cliches (million to one chances, city guards' life expectancy, heroic Kings) but also starting to branch out into other genres, specifically, taking a poke at detective cliches. All in all, good fun.

Almos as well read by me as Guards Guards!, this is a good introduction for anyone who is uninitiated in the discworld. Follow the AMCW (Anch Morpock City Watch) as they bring the watch into the centurary of the fruitbat! - Loved this damm book. Satirical, witty, and with characters you will fall in love with.