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deathmetalheron 's review for:
Men at Arms
by Terry Pratchett
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I continue my foray into Discworld with Men at Arms. I've mostly enjoyed my Discworld reads (except Equal Rites, which I why I'm writing this review rather than that one). The Watch cast of characters is pretty gripping to me, and I actually really appreciate Men at Arms for its further development of characters like Nobby and Colon, its introduction of new ones like Angua, and its fleshing out of characters with a brief mention like Detritus. In particular, I found this to be Carrot's novel--he came into his own here, beyond just a goofy joke of him being a "human, raised by dwarves." His personality comes quite into focus and drives the novel.
Vimes and Ramkin take a much lesser role here than they did in Guards! Guards! which I am okay with--they were prominent features of that book and it was nice to shine the rest of the Watch.
Like a lot of what I've seen about Discworld, it starts kind of slow and the overall plods around until Pratchett wants to land on the inciting incident, and after that it's a rootin-tootin good time. The entire escapade with the "gonne" and the general presence of a single firearm in general really creates a preposterous element to it that Guards! Guards! didn't have--the Watch really just ludicrously dealing with the inner Guild politics of Ankh-Morpork (like the Fools' Guild) and the ramifications of trolls and dwarves banging their heads against each other is such a glorious set up. Every Discworld book is funny so far but the Watch novels have been the best at getting me excited over the ongoings of the Disc itself.
Vimes and Ramkin take a much lesser role here than they did in Guards! Guards! which I am okay with--they were prominent features of that book and it was nice to shine the rest of the Watch.
Like a lot of what I've seen about Discworld, it starts kind of slow and the overall plods around until Pratchett wants to land on the inciting incident, and after that it's a rootin-tootin good time. The entire escapade with the "gonne" and the general presence of a single firearm in general really creates a preposterous element to it that Guards! Guards! didn't have--the Watch really just ludicrously dealing with the inner Guild politics of Ankh-Morpork (like the Fools' Guild) and the ramifications of trolls and dwarves banging their heads against each other is such a glorious set up. Every Discworld book is funny so far but the Watch novels have been the best at getting me excited over the ongoings of the Disc itself.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Murder
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Alcohol