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lj_crook 's review for:
Guards! Guards!
by Terry Pratchett
Like many, I made the mistake of starting my Terry Pratchett/Discworld experience with The Colour of Magic. Despite a few entertaining moments, it didn't really compel me to read more of his novels. At some point, however, I must have picked up another and enjoyed it, for as a teen I read about eight or nine Discworld stories. The mix of wonderful pastiche with entertaining plots, plus the witty footnotes, left me with fond memories.
Guards! Guards! is my first Discworld novel as an adult, and I was pleased to find that it stands up well. As a teen I appreciated the gentle mocking of fantasy tropes, but now I find it is the societal satire that tickles me more. Pratchett provides us with a great cast of characters including Carrot, who is learning about metaphor, and the amoral Patrician, who is under no illusions about what running a city actually entails.
Just when you think you know where the plot is going Pratchett will perform a sleight of hand, and the jokes come thick and fast. What I enjoyed most of all is the freshness and vibrancy of his language, however: there are sentences in here that have never come close to existing before:
Charred and blazing wreckage rained down around the distillery. The pond was a swamp of debris, covered with a coating of ash. Out of it, dripping slime, rose Sergeant Colon.
He clawed his way to the bank and pulled himself up, like some sea-dwelling lifeform that was anxious to get the whole evolution thing over with in one go.
Nobby was already there, spread out like a frog, leaking water.
'Is that you, Nobby?' said Sergeant Colon anxiously.
'It's me, Sergeant.'
I'm glad about that, Nobby,' said Colon fervently.
'I wish it wasn't me, Sergeant.'
I look forward to reading more of these quirky, memorable books.
Guards! Guards! is my first Discworld novel as an adult, and I was pleased to find that it stands up well. As a teen I appreciated the gentle mocking of fantasy tropes, but now I find it is the societal satire that tickles me more. Pratchett provides us with a great cast of characters including Carrot, who is learning about metaphor, and the amoral Patrician, who is under no illusions about what running a city actually entails.
Just when you think you know where the plot is going Pratchett will perform a sleight of hand, and the jokes come thick and fast. What I enjoyed most of all is the freshness and vibrancy of his language, however: there are sentences in here that have never come close to existing before:
Charred and blazing wreckage rained down around the distillery. The pond was a swamp of debris, covered with a coating of ash. Out of it, dripping slime, rose Sergeant Colon.
He clawed his way to the bank and pulled himself up, like some sea-dwelling lifeform that was anxious to get the whole evolution thing over with in one go.
Nobby was already there, spread out like a frog, leaking water.
'Is that you, Nobby?' said Sergeant Colon anxiously.
'It's me, Sergeant.'
I'm glad about that, Nobby,' said Colon fervently.
'I wish it wasn't me, Sergeant.'
I look forward to reading more of these quirky, memorable books.