Name: Guards! Guards!
Rating: 4.17989417989418 (189 reviews)
ISBN: 9780606351157

Terence David John Pratchett

Terry Pratchett

Originally published: London: Victor Gollancz, 1989.

Guards! Guards!

Here there be dragons...and the denizens of Ankh-Morpork wish one huge firebreather would return from whence it came. Long believed extinct, a superb specimen of draco nobilis ("noble dragon" for those who don't understand italics) has appeared in Discworld's greatest city. Not only does this unwelcome visitor have a nasty habit of charbroiling everything in its path, in rather short order it is crowned King (it is a noble dragon, after all...).

Jonathan Stephens

A gift from a friend for the plane ride to The Netherlands. I read it for most of the combined flight time, finished in about 4 hours. Good, interested in the other books but can wait. Enjoyed.

Welcome to Guards! Guards!, the eighth book in Terry Pratchett’s legendary Discworld series. Long believed extinct, a superb specimen of draco nobilis ("noble dragon" for those who don't understand italics) has appeared in Discworld's greatest city. Not only does this unwelcome visitor have a nasty habit of charbroiling everything in its path, in rather short order it is crowned King (it is a noble dragon, after all...). How did it get there? How is the Unique and Supreme Lodge of the Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night involved? Can the Ankh-Morpork City Watch restore order – and the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork to power? Magic, mayhem, and a marauding dragon...who could ask for anything more?

A Novel of Discworld

Nog nooit zoveel gelachen en gegniffeld tijdens het lezen van een boek

Bart Veldhuijsen 

Sarah Sammis

Guards! Guards! is the 8th Discworld series and the first in the City-Watch set. It introduces Vimes, Carrot, et al as recurring characters. In fact, all of the Discworld novels I've selected for this challenge are from the City-Watch set.

Carrot has endeared himself to me, putting himself on my short list of favorite Discworld characters (others include Rincewind, Death and Ook). Carrot is the antidote to the Garions of the fantasy genre. Carrot may start off naive and may be pushed towards his destiny but he manages to make his own life, something most characters in his position never manage (or even attempt).

The book didn't earn a perfect rating from because it suffers from many of things that annoy me about the Discworld books: lack of chapters, plot suffering for the sake of pun building, and lack of segues.

Gavin

Even better than I remembered. Feudal-fantasy satire in the voice of pubs of C20th England, with dragons, wizards and pre-Peel police wheedling, appealing to genetics, sod’s law. An incongruous, dogged self-awareness. 

The prose is quieter (less self-referential and wilfully surreal) than his peers – Adams, Holt, Rankin – and occasionally gets actually wise. Discworld is his noble funhouse mirror of Britain. 

Pratchett is very good at technology fads, social class, the duality of human nature, and the excruciating embarrassment of romance. Everything a growing boy needs. 

(Read aloud)

Stephen Briggs

Some night-time prowler is turning the (mostly) honest citizens of Ankh-Morpork into something resembling small charcoal biscuits. And that's a real problem for Captain Vimes, who must tramp the mean streets of the naked city looking for a 70-foot-long fire-breathing dragon which, he believes, can help him with his enquiries. But there's more - now we get to see Ankh-Morpork in all its glory; illustrations so vibrant you can practically smell and taste the denizens of this delightful city (although with Corporal Nobbs, you might rather wish you didn't have to). All rendered in painstaking detail by Graham Higgins (who feels he now knows altogether far too much about the murky goings on inside Nobbs' head).

Sade A

🖤
Welcome to the Discworld where it's kind of like our world but not really. Guys, i'm really glad i got into this series. Starting can...is definitely daunting. I mean it's got like more than 20 books so daunting might not be the right world to explain the confusion you'd probably have to go through to decide where to start.
I have it on good authority that Equal Rites , Guards! Guards! and Mort are pretty good starting points for the series. As you can see, i'm off to a great start.

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In the city of Ankh Morpork, some people are fed up with the status quo and have graciously thank you very much, decided to right these wrongs. As Captain Vimes who has reluctantly very reluctantly dug himself out of his alcoholic daze asks "What wrongs?", the grievances are aplenty.
✔Paying taxes for one, 
✔leaking gutters 
and 
✔premature baldness.
What ensues, is a bumbling hilarious investigation led by Captain Vimes and his brave although terribly misguided men.
"Responsibility was a terrible thing" - Sergent Colon 

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Pratchett does humour in a way most authors' can't—tongue in cheek, never over the top or forced. His work remains unbelievably relevant & i'm pretty sure, The Discword Novels will remain unsullied by time and continue to age like fine wine.

Most of the stars people 🙂

4.5 stars

Ryan LaFerney

In Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett introduces readers to such fan favorite characters as Captain Vimes of the Night Watch, and his latest recruit, the hilarious Carrot Ironfoundersson, the adopted human son of a dwarf family who comes to Ankh-Morpork to learn to be a man. The Night Watch is a pitiful little enterprise, with only four not-exactly-civic-minded watchmen including Vimes, who spends most of his duty hours drunk, pining over a lost love. Carrot's unwelcome arrival coincides with a power play by the Supreme Grand Master of the Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night. The SGM intends to summon up a dragon to terrorize the city. But as anyone who's read H. P. Lovecraft can tell you, you gotta be careful about summoning powerful beasties from other planes...

Guards! Guards! is a wonderful satire of familiar fantasy tropes and is the story that helped me fall in love with Discworld and Annk-Morpork in the first place. Indeed, Ankh-Morpork really comes to vivid life in this novel. We really get a sense of place in this absurdist dual-city like never before, and the way Pratchett lovingly realizes not only its colorful and ridiculous characters but its neighborhoods, customs, criminal underworld, overcrowded secret societies, what have you. It is a rich and textured setting. No wonder Pratchett was so prolific! 

As silly as this book can be, Pratchett always manages to find a way to criticize the follies of humanity. He was a particularly insightful author possessing a keen insight into human behavior. Little nuggets of wisdom can be found throughout his novels. Guards! Guards! is no different. 

This is a wonderful book by a comic master. It's a must read.

Kirsten Simkiss

As an example of British humor combined with occasional notes of critique about the human way, this book is a 5 star read. As a story itself, I found it quite enjoyable and will happily read on further into the series. This was my first book in the Discworld series, which is quite expansive, and I didn't feel at all lost, which had been one of my concerns. I can't say I connected particularly with any of the characters at this stage, though they do seem a lovable bunch of idiots. I look forward to the implied rise of Carrot to the throne in the future. There were some very insightful, reflective bits in it, but it was mostly fairly predictable plot and goofy characters. It was very cute.

Scott Wilks

This was my gateway drug into Discworld, now I am hooked.

As a huge fan of all things fantasy in all forms of media, especially games and movies, this book hit all the right notes for me.

From a gamer's perspective, this book reminded me of the Baldur's Gate series of games, the world is low-fantasy where the setting is relatable, but with fantasy elements that are recognisable by all, which in turn makes this book very accessible for all types of readers.

Liv Rockwell

Loved the world, loved the sardonic humour. I think I will definitely be reading/ listening to more of Discworld in the future.

This is where the dragons went. They lie... not dead, not asleep, but... dormant. And although the space they occupy isn't like normal space, nevertheless they are packed in tightly. They could put you in mind of a can of sardines, if you thought sardines were huge and scaly. And presumably, somewhere, there's a key... GUARDS! GUARDS! is the 8th Discworld novel - and after this, dragons will never be the same again!

Olivera Mitić

Had anyone asked me one year ago whether Terry Pratchett was an author I'd like to check out, my response would have been: nah. Right now, I have no clue why past me had an aversion towards his works (but let's be honest, the covers could have had something to do with it, since they looked appalling), because present me is HOOKED!

I didn't know this book had been that one thing missing in my life until I'd finally finished it. Reading it felt like going home to...well, to everything. Guards! Guards! had it all- the characters, the action, the humor, the world and, of course, the dragons, and my little heart couldn't have been more chipper. 

I'm still overwhelmed by the fact how many Discworld books there actually are, how much reading lies ahead of me and how much of a genius Pratchett actually was. If only I could read every novel of his at the same time, I'd die a happy fella. The urge to throw myself in his fantastic world is too strong!



*probably my face throughout the entirety of reading the book*

"Never build a dungeon that you wouldn't be happy to spend a night in yourself...The world would be a happier place if more people remembered that." (p. 325)

This is my first solo Terry Pratchett book, after falling in love with Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch. I have to say, after reading this, I must have fallen in love with the bits Terry Pratchett wrote much more than Neil Gaiman.

Anyways, this is a great novel. It started out by making me laugh out loud in the break room, and kept up the wonderful humor along the way. I will say that my hopes were slightly dashed that Carrot didn't fully fulfill the role played out to be, but foreshadowing is keeping me hopeful.

As much as I loved this book, and will likely not stop talking about Terry Pratchett for a while (I've already bought 5 more books in the series) it was not perfect. The ending was a tad drawn out, especially after the dragon was out of the picture. There are some issues with how he contorts sentences sometimes, it can be humorous at times, but at others it can be tiresome and you just want him to spit it out onto the paper.

âe~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.âe(tm) Insurrection is in the air in Ankh-Morpork. The Haves and Have-Nots are about to fall out all over again. Captain Sam Vimes of the cityâe(tm)s ramshackle Night Watch is used to this. Itâe(tm)s enough to drive a man to drink. Well, to drink more. But this time, something is different âe" the Have-Nots have found the key to a dormant, lethal weapon that even they donâe(tm)t fully understand, and theyâe(tm)re about to unleash a campaign of terror on the city. Time for Captain Vimes to sober up.

Vitali Avagyan

Bryan Alexander

(I continue my effort to catch up with the Terry Pratchett craze)

Guards, Guards is a charming bit of comic fantasy. The plot concerns summoning a dragon and what happens next, seen through the eyes of a bunch of characters. The world is Pratchett's medieval fantasy one, a decrepit city with slashes of modernity.

The characters are fun, esp. the librarian orangutang and the devout guard Carrot. What makes it work is Pratchett's style: droll, thoughtful, sometimes drawn out to set up comic scenes. 

To be honest, I had to be in the right mood for this. Most of the time these days my reading is either professional (futures, tech, sociology, demographics, econ, etc), literary, or horror-themed. So it took me a while to string together episodes when I turned to a more whimsical mode. It was worth it.

Guards! Guards!

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