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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
It’s a crime that there’s not an accompanying animated adaptation to every discworld novel
“Someone out there was about to find that their worst nightmare was a maddened Librarian. With a badge.”
My first Pratchett book - finally!
Had no idea what to expect, apart of course from the author’s huge reputation, which did worry me a little. What if I didn’t like it?… Pfew! I DID like it :O)
The first thing that hit me was Pratchett’s writing style, full of metaphors, puns and irony. What looks like silliness is in fact very clever and comical. The play on words and cliches (as well as many brilliant one-liners) catches you unawares, and yes, I did laugh out loud many times.
“Thunder rolled . . It rolled a six.”
However much I liked the humour, I don’t think I would have liked a novel just with that. Thankfully, Pratchett delivers. Guards!Guards! is also a crime story of sorts, a parody really of a police procedural, with deaths and mysteries. The addition of many clins d’oeil to classics of the genre (for instance Sherlock Holmes, Dirty Harry and Casablanca) was just the cherry on the cake. The plot borrows from fantasy/ traditional mythology too, subverting everything.
Which leaves the characters. Colourful? Indeed! Vimes is perfect as the ‘investigator-who-lost-his-ways’ or perhaps who never had them, and Carrot steals the limelight with his naive and adorable view of life, both personalising the two main strands of the story. In fact, I liked all of them, Nobby Nobbs, Sergeant Colon, the Librarian and Sybil Ramkin, especially the dynamics between all of these. Priceless!
“But all this business about kings and lords, it's against basic human dignity. We're all born equal. It makes me sick.'
'Never heard you talk like this before, Frederick,' said Nobby.
'It's Sergeant Colon to you, Nobby.”
My first Pratchett book - finally!
Had no idea what to expect, apart of course from the author’s huge reputation, which did worry me a little. What if I didn’t like it?… Pfew! I DID like it :O)
The first thing that hit me was Pratchett’s writing style, full of metaphors, puns and irony. What looks like silliness is in fact very clever and comical. The play on words and cliches (as well as many brilliant one-liners) catches you unawares, and yes, I did laugh out loud many times.
“Thunder rolled . . It rolled a six.”
However much I liked the humour, I don’t think I would have liked a novel just with that. Thankfully, Pratchett delivers. Guards!Guards! is also a crime story of sorts, a parody really of a police procedural, with deaths and mysteries. The addition of many clins d’oeil to classics of the genre (for instance Sherlock Holmes, Dirty Harry and Casablanca) was just the cherry on the cake. The plot borrows from fantasy/ traditional mythology too, subverting everything.
Which leaves the characters. Colourful? Indeed! Vimes is perfect as the ‘investigator-who-lost-his-ways’ or perhaps who never had them, and Carrot steals the limelight with his naive and adorable view of life, both personalising the two main strands of the story. In fact, I liked all of them, Nobby Nobbs, Sergeant Colon, the Librarian and Sybil Ramkin, especially the dynamics between all of these. Priceless!
“But all this business about kings and lords, it's against basic human dignity. We're all born equal. It makes me sick.'
'Never heard you talk like this before, Frederick,' said Nobby.
'It's Sergeant Colon to you, Nobby.”
Took me a little while to get used to the tone and get invested. Glad I finished it, but definitely one of the weaker of the night watch series.
How can one accurately express the experience of reading a Terry Pratchett book ? It's like no other, unrivaled. His skill and mastery with words, the way he shakes witticisms and metaphores out of his sleeve like it's nothing are unparallelled.
As is my wont, I highlight especially funny passages in the books I read, and it has gotten a bit out of hand again, with me highlighting multiple lines per page, or complete paragraphs. I even highlighted about an entire scene because it was so damn funny. (If you're reading it, or have read it, it's the scene where the dragon materializes on the square and Lady Ramtop decides to teach it lesson).
Apart from being funny as hell, he still manages to make the characters, cartoonish as they may be, grow on you. Just like in the Witches storyline, the main characters are so vivid in personality that you can't help but fall in love with them. From the stern Captain Vimes, over the righteous tree-trunk of a man (dwarf?) Carrot up till the battleship of a woman, Lady Ramtop. Everyone of them a gem. I highly recommend the audiobook for this one too, as the narrator does the voices and accents absolutely perfect.
Some parts I found especially funny and had me laughing out loud
This book is the first part of the storyline of the watch, and I'm happily looking forward to reading more about them. 5 stars, without a doubt.
As is my wont, I highlight especially funny passages in the books I read, and it has gotten a bit out of hand again, with me highlighting multiple lines per page, or complete paragraphs. I even highlighted about an entire scene because it was so damn funny. (If you're reading it, or have read it, it's the scene where the dragon materializes on the square and Lady Ramtop decides to teach it lesson).
Apart from being funny as hell, he still manages to make the characters, cartoonish as they may be, grow on you. Just like in the Witches storyline, the main characters are so vivid in personality that you can't help but fall in love with them. From the stern Captain Vimes, over the righteous tree-trunk of a man (dwarf?) Carrot up till the battleship of a woman, Lady Ramtop. Everyone of them a gem. I highly recommend the audiobook for this one too, as the narrator does the voices and accents absolutely perfect.
Some parts I found especially funny and had me laughing out loud
Spoiler
“It’s not that,” said Colon. “It’s Carrot. He’s arrested the dragon.”
To his shame, Vimes realized that his legs were going to have nothing to do with any mad dash to drag her back. His pride didn’t like that, but his body pointed out that it wasn’t his pride that stood a very reasonable chance of being thinly laminated to the nearest building.
"It's eyes were the size of really big eyes"
Up on the dais the High Priest of Blind Io, who last night by dint of elaborate ecumenical argument and eventually by a club with nails in it had won the right to crown the king, fussed over his preparations.
This book is the first part of the storyline of the watch, and I'm happily looking forward to reading more about them. 5 stars, without a doubt.
Not very well suited for audiobook, the narrator is amazing but I can’t keep the characters straight
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Pratchett is back on form with another installment of the Discworld - I've been reading these in release order and I think this is contending to be my favourite of the stories so far. As far as fantasy and comedy goes, it's got everything. Dragon filled skies, Laurel and Hardy style dynamics, smooth character development, dramatic twists and an orangutan "ooook". After a bit of a low point with the previous book 'Pyramids' (personally wasn't fond of it) I was skeptical of continuing my journey. I'm glad i did. Of all the books so far I couldn't help but feel this would make an excellent stand alone live action movie. Maybe some day. If you're looking to get into Pratchetts works but don't want the commitment of reading them all. 'Guards! Guards!' Is an absolute MUST!
This book really gripped me right from the start and had me laughing out loud so much. Many times I did not want to put it down, but the twists in it I was not expecting and the characters were so well developed and also so lovable, could not get enough of Errol, he was so cute and the Librarian just his short words the narrator of the audiobook did his voice so well that many times I was just laughing because of how funny the phrases were narrated by him.