Paperback, 320 pages
English language
Published Nov. 10, 1991 by Corgi Adult.
‘Vimes ran a practised eye over the assortment before him. It was the usual Ankh-Morpork mob in times of crisis; half of them were here to complain, a quarter of them were here to watch the other half, and the remainder were here to rob, importune or sell hotdogs to the rest.’
Insurrection is in the air in the city of Ankh-Morpork. The Haves and Have-Nots are about to fall out all over again.
Captain Sam Vimes of the city’s ramshackle Night Watch is used to this. It’s enough to drive a man to drink. Well, to drink more. But this time, something is different – the Have-Nots have found the key to a dormant, lethal weapon that even they don’t fully understand, and they’re about to unleash a campaign of terror on the city.
If you read any book about a crime-fighting orangutan librarian, there's a million-to-one chance that it should be this one.
Guards! Guards! Was my introduction to Terry Pratchett, so for me, it maintains a special position in the Discworld canon. But I also think that objectively, it is one of the best Discworld novels and a great place to start.
The world is fleshed out and the tropes are familiar to the average reader without much experience in Fantasy literature.
On this reread, I tried the new penguin audio adaptation and loved it.
I had trouble with other Discworld penguin adaptations, but with Guards! Guards! I had very little trouble adapting to the new character voices.
I learned that playing the audiobook at normal speed allowed me to appreciate the better voice acting.
Recently I had a chat with my friend from China about moral relativism and absolute evil. There I said, perhaps verbatim, "there is no 100% right things, but there are 100% wrong things".
For Pratchett's Patrician, the statement is even stronger. There are no right things at all:
“I believe you find life such a problem because you think there are the good people and the bad people,” said the man. “You’re wrong, of course. There are, always and only, the bad people, but some of them are on opposite sides.”
He waved his thin hand toward the city and walked over to the window.
“A great rolling sea of evil,” he said, almost proprietorially. “Shallower in some places, of course, but deeper, oh, so much deeper in others. But people like you put together little rafts of rules and vaguely good intentions and say, this is the opposite, this …
Recently I had a chat with my friend from China about moral relativism and absolute evil. There I said, perhaps verbatim, "there is no 100% right things, but there are 100% wrong things".
For Pratchett's Patrician, the statement is even stronger. There are no right things at all:
“I believe you find life such a problem because you think there are the good people and the bad people,” said the man. “You’re wrong, of course. There are, always and only, the bad people, but some of them are on opposite sides.”
He waved his thin hand toward the city and walked over to the window.
“A great rolling sea of evil,” he said, almost proprietorially. “Shallower in some places, of course, but deeper, oh, so much deeper in others. But people like you put together little rafts of rules and vaguely good intentions and say, this is the opposite, this will triumph in the end. Amazing!” He slapped Vimes good-naturedly on the back.
“Down there,” he said, “are people who will follow any dragon, worship any god, ignore any iniquity. All out of a kind of humdrum, everyday badness. Not the really high, creative loathesomeness of the great sinners, but a sort of mass-produced darkness of the soul. Sin, you might say, without a trace of originality. They accept evil not because they say yes, but because they don’t say no. I’m sorry if this offends you,” he added, patting the captain’s shoulder, “but you fellows really need us.”
I don't know, and I doubt anyone knows, how burned-out Pratchett himself was on the idea of rafts and how senseless he felt is fighting status quo. But he documented these thoughts precisely and repeatedly, reminding everyone over and over of dangers of totalitarianism and autocracy.
That slice, in modern days, is as relevant as in twenties of the century past, but this is a five-star book because it has everything: love, character development, wit, plot twists, and a massive foreshadowing, which -- I must admit -- I didn't pick up on during the initial reading of the book.
Great story! The members of the Watch are interesting people performing an unappreciated job in Ankh-Morpork. The Librarian's thread of the story was especially good and I'll remember the warning to not mention the M word around him!
What can I say, I have read this book multiple times and it still draws me in and I find new ideas and jokes every time. Its a great place to start reading Discworld novels.
Most surprising read of the year so far for me. I've heard folks sing this book's praises for years, often as they lament that I started my Discworld journey with "The Colour of Magic".
"The books get so much better!"
"Just wait!"
But... I only grudgingly like this book. Pratchett's wit is there for sure, with some fine wordplay and memorable imagery. But I'm used to having some other elements that offset the dry cynicism: Rincewind's bumbling, Granny Weatherwax's stern but good-hearted one-liners, the hilarity of the Nac Mac Feegle. This book just feels full of people who hate themselves, living in a city that hates itself. It's the ugliness of the news delivered with the resigned, cynical snark of the internet age.
I suspect I'll steer clear of the City Watch storyline in the near future at least, and hope that this is just a bump in my otherwise …
Most surprising read of the year so far for me. I've heard folks sing this book's praises for years, often as they lament that I started my Discworld journey with "The Colour of Magic".
"The books get so much better!"
"Just wait!"
But... I only grudgingly like this book. Pratchett's wit is there for sure, with some fine wordplay and memorable imagery. But I'm used to having some other elements that offset the dry cynicism: Rincewind's bumbling, Granny Weatherwax's stern but good-hearted one-liners, the hilarity of the Nac Mac Feegle. This book just feels full of people who hate themselves, living in a city that hates itself. It's the ugliness of the news delivered with the resigned, cynical snark of the internet age.
I suspect I'll steer clear of the City Watch storyline in the near future at least, and hope that this is just a bump in my otherwise thoroughly enjoyable Discworld explorations.
Pratchett never diappoints. This is a fun and fast paced book that flips the stereotypes on dragons, dwarves and guards. It is funny and easy to read, but also strangely profound and filled with revelations about human nature and friendship and love.
But that's Terry Pratchett, always a master of his craft.
Re-Reading some old friends. I still get misty thinking on how Sir Terry left us too soon, but to quote someone-or-other ‘a man is not dead while his name is still spoken’.
One of my top 5 of the series, simply amazing.
(Listened to the audiobook. It may have received a different score if I’d read it.)
The first Discworld where I just plain love everything.
Funny, entertaining - as can be expected of a diskworld novel.
Probably more in the 4.5 region. The actual dragon plot is only okay, but meeting Vimes is great. Vetenari is also a wonderful character. Excited to read more Watch books.
Fun, entertaining, light, crazy. I get the feeling this world gets better as it gets bigger, so I may find some more Discworld in a bit.
Fun, entertaining, light, crazy. I get the feeling this world gets better as it gets bigger, so I may find some more Discworld in a bit.
