Guards! Guards! | Terry Pratchett | A Very Very Very Funny Novel And Bob's Your Uncle!

Guards! Guards! | Terry Pratchett | Very enjoyable diversion

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Guards! Guards!

	Guards! Guards! Terry Pratchett HarperTorch, 2001 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 78 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A Very Very Very Funny Novel And Bob's Your Uncle!

Nobody writes fantasy with such outlandish humour and wise-cracks as Terry Pratchett and Bob's Your Uncle!

I've been introduced to Mr. Pratchett's Discworld books by a colleague of mine a few months back. I decided to get Guards! Guards! just to get a slightly detailed insight on the highly enjoyable and satarical creations of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.

All I can say is that I truly enjoyed every page of this novel, right down to those wierd dictionary-like descriptions at the bottom of certain pages. :)

If you would like to read a novel that will tickle your bone like crazy, then pick up a Terry Pratchett Discworld book. You will not be dissapointed. It might in fact brighten up your day or the whole week or the entire month once you've done reading this novel.

Highly recommended to those who have a good sense of humour!

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Very enjoyable diversion

Terry Pratchett has to be a very lucky man. He has created his own amazing and humorous little world in which he can engross himself with tales of dragons, murderous villains and ape librarians. He uses this world as a wonderful foil for poking hilarious and sometimes stinging observations about the world we live in and create for ourselves. When he's done he can collect his check. Unlike the fantasy worlds created by Tolkien, Rodenberry or Lucas, Pratchett doesn't obsess over the particulars of his creation. There are no guides or histories one needs to reference; just a little bit of an introduction in the back of his books for beginners. For that I was thankful, but I really didn't need the guide to appreciate the storytelling ability of Terry Pratchett.

Guards! Guards! Is a riot. It tells the story of a man raised by dwarfs who becomes a member of the local law enforcement as that group mingles with magicians, dragons, aristocrats and the palace guards. My only difficulty with the work was its English accent. I suppose it's my fault for being American. I'd recommend this work to just about anybody, and Pratchett has guaranteed himself a lifetime reader with this book.

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Discworld

I've decided he's too good and too prolific for me to write a brand new review every single time I read one of his books. Discworld currently has 34 titles and every one of them will probably knock your socks off. His mind bubbles and flashes like a boiling pot of electric eels, and I simply can't get enough of his writing.

A reviewer has compared him to Geoffrey Chaucer. He reminds me more of Douglas Adams, or perhaps S Morgenstern. Great company, isn't it? He's an extremely skillful and imaginative writer, damn funny, clever and observant to boot. He's also very easy to read. A master of characterization, and if there's anything else you like about reading that I didn't mention here, assume I simply forgot. He's awesome.

Another reviewer mentioned Jonathan Swift and PG Wodehouse. Why such hallowed company? Because Pratchett belongs there! Truly, I'm enjoying my quest to read every book in the series. You should do the same, and begin your quest at the library because he's got to be there. He's awesome!

Yet another reviewer said Jerome K Jerome meets Lord of the Rings. Yeah, that works too.

Why do we, as reviewers, compare authors to other authors? Because it's easier than thinking. In the case of Terry Pratchett, it's probably because we'd otherwise wind up quoting the guy. He's so unique that we just don't know how else to cope with his greatness. Even this paragraph sounds like foamy drool raving, doesn't it? That's how all readers react to Pratchett. Reviewers simply don't have the good sense to keep it to themselves.

I could call his writing fantasy, but I could likewise call what Douglas Adams wrote science fiction. In both cases, I wouldn't be wrong, but I'd be neglecting so much and just totally missing the point. A rare few authors transcend a genre to such a degree that you know they're shouting out, loud and proud, a big fat "Bite me!"

I love Terry Pratchett's writing, and I completely understand why some folks refer to him as their favorite author. Or favourite, I should say, since we're being British. He's one of those authors that makes you want to grab whoever's in hearing range and start reading passages aloud. I'm simply thrilled that there's such an extremely talented and prolific author who's been working for years without me being aware of him. Now I have much catching up to do, and I will love it.

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In which the nature of Dragons, noble and vulgar, is considered as is the role of the City Watch

Where Dragons come from and how they can benefit an urban renewal effort, the multitude of unique secret and enlightened orders, the character of swamp dragons, and Lady Ramkin's wisdom on the nature of officers. Dragons great and small star in this work and the Librarian thinks the situation is pretty hairy (takes one to know one...). It is a terrible thing when the figgin (small raisin scone) is threatened.

Through all this, the poor illegitimate who risks his neck every night for an unappreciative public is given his due. The city watch, the flat-foot officers of the law have been driven to drink and they never stopped to thank the city or tip the driver. Then a young lad from the mountains with a crown shaped birthmark and a sword joins them. Then the richest person in the city becomes enamoured of the Captain of the Anhk Morpork Night Watch (#177). And a swamp dragon named Erol, well, finds a rather creative way to use the notorious flame of dragons. Somehow, this motley crew called the Night Watch saves the city.

Five stars, barely. The structure of the story wasn't quite Pratchett's best, but the character development, some of the vignettes, and Lady Sybil's description of Colonels, Majors, and Captains picked up the slack. Many good points, but the end seemed somewhat abrupt, and not as complete as other works. I can still stand to read it again though.

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You don't need to be on your guard for this book!

Terry Pratchett continues with his witty and entertaining Discworld series, where the planetary disc rides on the backs of four elephants standing on a turtle traveling through space.

After that, you should expect anything!

This is my second Discworld book, following Mort. I don't know whether Mort was written before or after Guards! Guards! And it didn't matter! I can see Pratchett's style... a lot of new characters and hints at old characters and events.

In Guards! Guards!, Carrot finds out he isn't really a dwarf, and is sent off to the big city for fame, fortune, and a non-dwarf mate. He takes life and his job a little more seriously than his peers, and when an "extinct" dragon appears, he is the man on the spot.

Young Adult literature, for the young at heart.

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