Guards! Guards! (by Terry Pratchett)

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A few years ago I thought I would (gradually) re-read Terry Pratchett’s lengthy Discworld series, but I stopped after the seventh. This is possibly because I looked at the eighth - ‘Guards! Guards!’ - and had a vague memory of not much enjoying it.

We acquired this book back in 1996 and I’m sure I read it soon afterwards, but it’s possible that I have not re-read it at all - and my memories of books read over twenty years ago are often wrong. Sometimes, too, my tastes change over the years and decades.

So this time round, I determined to plough through it… and found myself enjoying it thoroughly. What an incredible writer Terry Pratchett was! The book is about the Ankh Morpork guard, or rather the night watch part of it. It consists of three people when the story opens; the fourth had met an untimely demise not long before the book opens.

Sam Vimes is the Captain of the guard, and is an intelligent thinking man who spends most of his time drinking or hungover. His second-in-command, Sergeant Colon is large and well-meaning, but not particularly bright. Then there’s Nobby, who doesn’t smell very good and barely meets the requirements to belong to the human race - but is full of unexpected ideas and talents.

Meanwhile, in the mountains far away a dwarf couple apply to send their adopted son Carrot to Ankh Morpork to train as a guard. They think this is a very important profession, and they have had to acknowledge that Carrot, who is over six feet tall, really doesn’t fit into the dwarf community.

Carrot is very honest, quite literal in his understanding, and filled with enthusiasm about keeping law and order. So part of the book is about his gradual assimilation into the guard.

But it’s also about dragons, and a secret society who don’t like how the city is run. It’s really the first book where the Patrician, Lord Vetinari, starts to develop character, and also the first book that’s essentially political satire. Some of the commentary is surprisingly relevant, such as how the poor and downtrodden can be enthusiastic about rich and heartless rulers…

As with most of Pratchett’s books there are amusing asides, casual classical and Biblical references, and plenty of action. There’s even a rather low-key and unexpected romance.

This is the first of the ‘watch’ books in the Discworld series, and I’m very glad I have finally re-read it. Definitely recommended.

Review copyright 2019 Sue's Book Reviews