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no_good_wyfe 's review for:
Guards! Guards!
by Terry Pratchett
I know this is a very highly esteemed author. I read his Tiffany Aching books in my teen years and was very fond of them, because of their humor but also the serious underlying themes that sneak through at an appropriate level for children's writing. I've been avoiding the adult-oriented Discworld at large for years because many skims in the aisles of bookstores have given me the sense that Pratchett's humor just doesn't quite click with mine. (Also, too many neckbearded types have pestered me on buses when they see sci-fi novels in my hands with the insistence that I read Pratchett and also probably let them explain him to me and it puts one off.)
I was right - it really doesn't. And because these are primarily meant to be funny books, if the funny is falling flat, there's just too little substance left to really love it. I recognize the skill in the writing, and I was quite fond of a few motifs, and Carrot, and the Patrician. I did laugh twice. But I wish there were more female characters. I wish the humor didn't sometimes interfere with consistency (ie. he says all dwarves are "he", but uses "she" in reference to them frequently, which is the tiniest detail, but irked me). Perhaps it's a case of being determined to oppose the popular opinion, but I just didn't find this spectacular - only moderately good.
I actually wished the somber background themes had been heavier. I just get a sense of the person at the party who identifies as "the funny one" and won't stop dropping punchy one-liners and actually say something. Still, I'm open to reading more. I certainly won't write the Discworld off yet.
I was right - it really doesn't. And because these are primarily meant to be funny books, if the funny is falling flat, there's just too little substance left to really love it. I recognize the skill in the writing, and I was quite fond of a few motifs, and Carrot, and the Patrician. I did laugh twice. But I wish there were more female characters. I wish the humor didn't sometimes interfere with consistency (ie. he says all dwarves are "he", but uses "she" in reference to them frequently, which is the tiniest detail, but irked me). Perhaps it's a case of being determined to oppose the popular opinion, but I just didn't find this spectacular - only moderately good.
I actually wished the somber background themes had been heavier. I just get a sense of the person at the party who identifies as "the funny one" and won't stop dropping punchy one-liners and actually say something. Still, I'm open to reading more. I certainly won't write the Discworld off yet.