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gossamerwingedgazelle 's review for:
Guards! Guards!
by Terry Pratchett
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Guards! Guards! is the 8th book in the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett and continues with elements that stood out in earlier books: humor, intelligence, some social commentary, and more romance than I would have expected. However, I was surprised to see some dark moments in this book. Really well done!
In some ways, this book is a 1980s cop movie with the grizzled, alcoholic captain and his band of misfits, joined by the fresh-faced and naive new recruit. However, despite the silliness and the references (the moment where the captain says, "Are you feelin' lucky?" was just too good), the characters aren't just cardboard cutouts of guards. They have thoughts and feelings, even if sometimes they are quite goofy.
The setting is really well-developed, balancing what should be depressing, a polluted and corrupt city, with something that ends up being weirdly lovable. Of course, that's pretty much what you could say of the guard as a group and the people on the guard as individuals.
Interestingly, while the overall plot is somewhat cliché, I think the details are actually pretty solid. Nothing goes according to plan for anyone, there are unexpected twists, and we even get what looks at some points like a Happily Ever After.
While all this is great, there were some moments that I was confused by. I had to ask someone who knows better and was told that one, the awesome orangutan librarian, is a recurring character, so if he seems to be awesome without doing as much as you might expect, it is balanced out by his actions in other places. The other one turns out to have been the punchline to a joke that had been way back at the middle of the book. I intend to reread these books, and this confirms that this is mine that will continue to produce for years to come.
So, who should read this book? While you could probably start with this book and be fine, it is probably better to start with earlier ones. That being said, I think that like with many funny books, there is a lot of thoughtfulness and social commentary behind the goofiness. You either need to be into that, or you need to be able to just breeze past the parts that aren't appealing to you. I enjoy the social commentary, and I very much look forward to the next book in the series.
In some ways, this book is a 1980s cop movie with the grizzled, alcoholic captain and his band of misfits, joined by the fresh-faced and naive new recruit. However, despite the silliness and the references (the moment where the captain says, "Are you feelin' lucky?" was just too good), the characters aren't just cardboard cutouts of guards. They have thoughts and feelings, even if sometimes they are quite goofy.
The setting is really well-developed, balancing what should be depressing, a polluted and corrupt city, with something that ends up being weirdly lovable. Of course, that's pretty much what you could say of the guard as a group and the people on the guard as individuals.
Interestingly, while the overall plot is somewhat cliché, I think the details are actually pretty solid. Nothing goes according to plan for anyone, there are unexpected twists, and we even get what looks at some points like a Happily Ever After.
While all this is great, there were some moments that I was confused by. I had to ask someone who knows better and was told that one, the awesome orangutan librarian, is a recurring character, so if he seems to be awesome without doing as much as you might expect, it is balanced out by his actions in other places. The other one turns out to have been the punchline to a joke that had been way back at the middle of the book. I intend to reread these books, and this confirms that this is mine that will continue to produce for years to come.
So, who should read this book? While you could probably start with this book and be fine, it is probably better to start with earlier ones. That being said, I think that like with many funny books, there is a lot of thoughtfulness and social commentary behind the goofiness. You either need to be into that, or you need to be able to just breeze past the parts that aren't appealing to you. I enjoy the social commentary, and I very much look forward to the next book in the series.