Rating: 
Summary: One of Pratchett's finest
Review: Unlike the Hitchhiker's Trilogy from the late Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett's Discworld books have managed to stay fresh and original through not a mere five, but 27 installments. The reason for this, I think, is that Pratchett uses the format to its fullest potential, creating several groups of characters that he visits time and again, never having any single group act as the star of the entire series, and using it to tackle diverse subjects without ever repeating himself."Men at Arms" is the second Discworld book to focus on Captain Vimes and the men -- um... humans... er... beings -- of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch (the first being "Guards! Guards!") and it has firmly cemented these characters as my favorite recurring heroes in the Discworld universe. Time is running out for Captain Sam Vimes -- because he's getting married. Furthermore, his beloved night watch is being tampered with by higher-ups calling for "greater diversity" in the hirings, forcing him to welcome trolls, dwarfs and women into the group. To make matters worse, someone has stolen a strange new weapon from the assassin's guild and is using it to kill people. Vimes, Carrot, Nobby and the gang have to find the murderer and save the day. Funny, yes, but also particularly poignant in light of recent events in the Washington D.C. area. I read this book a few months ago, before the unpleasantness began... this may be just the thing to help you cope.
Rating:
Summary: Imense Intellectually Satirical Book
Review: Although "Men at Arms" is a highly entertaining and humourous police story, it also deal with several social issue in an intellectually satirical way. This book deal with some very serious historical delima regarding the classic case of the stranger hero who is the long lost king of some kingdom.
This book is one of the latter in Terry Pratchett writing career when he has fully develop his Discworld story structure. All of Pratchett's latter books deal with some major social issue that exist in historical or modern time. He deal with them in a highly intellectual manner using extremely complex humourous satirical technique.
All of the latter books are very funny, and intellectually charllenging. To the reader with some historical knowledge of the jokes and anecdote provided by Pratchett, his book is intriging. I would advise anyone with interest in the real world as well as those looking for a great piece of literature to read Pratchett.
This is a great book about a young copdude who would be king, little dragons, and a world where science, magic, fantasy, and who know what else is mixed. The story line is interesting and funny, character very well developed. Books rarely come better than this. Pratchett is underappreciated because virtually no American (beside myself) know of his work, not even well read english professors!
Rating: 
Summary: I hate Carrot.
Review: Now, I know a lot of people like Carrot, but the fact is, I've never liked typcial hero characters, they always come off too flat for me, and Carrot is a generic hero character. The worst thing is, he was a pretty good character in "Guards Guards!", but he loses the innocent touch that made him endearing in GG!, and turns into a generic hero here. This shouldn't be a problem, due to the prescence of Vimes and the return of Gaspode (who is even funnier here than he was in Moving Pictures, his first appearance), and a slew of new characters, and other characters getting new dimensions to their character (like Detritus), and Nobby, but most of the book focuses on Carrot and Carrot only, and I can't say I liked that. It's a shame, because otherwise, this is a really good book. Someone gets his hands on a strange new weapon and is killing people with it. the Night Watch follows the case, with new members Cuddy, Angua, and Detritus, in addition to the older members, Carrot, Colon, Nobby, and Captain Vimes. Vimes, however, is going to be married to Lady Ramkin, Carrot follows the case. The other members tag along for good measure (although there are some good sequences with Cuddy and Detritus). Gaspode the Wonderdog shows up to help. The plot runs along smoothly for the most part, except when Carrot gets seriously involved, and the whole clown thing was kind of contrived. This is a mystery story, which is good. I like mysteries. Overall, if you can get over the prescence of Carrot (or better ye, if you end up liking Carrot, which many people did), you'll enjoy this book a lot. And that's all I can say, so have a nice day.
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious!
Review: I couldn't stop laughing. Terry Pratchett has an undisputable talent to point out the obvious in a funny and entertaining way.
This book is about Captain Vimes of the Night Watch & his last case before his wedding. There is a murderer on the loose in Ankh-Morpork & Vimes is trying to solve the mystery with the help of his Watch...um...Men. Add into the mixture a 2 meter righteous dwarf, exploding dragons and a troll & a dwarf permanently fighting! The result is non stop action.
Read it it's a treat.
Rating:
Summary: Imense Intellectually Satirical Book
Review: Although "Men at Arms" is a highly entertaining and humourous police story, it also deal with several social issue in an intellectually satirical way. This book deal with some very serious historical delima regarding the classic case of the stranger hero who is the long lost king of some kingdom.
This book is one of the latter in Terry Pratchett writing career when he has fully develop his Discworld story structure. All of Pratchett's latter books deal with some major social issue that exist in historical or modern time. He deal with them in a highly intellectual manner using extremely complex humourous satirical technique.
All of the latter books are very funny, and intellectually charllenging. To the reader with some historical knowledge of the jokes and anecdote provided by Pratchett, his book is intriging. I would advise anyone with interest in the real world as well as those looking for a great piece of literature to read Pratchett.
This is a great book about a young copdude who would be king, little dragons, and a world where science, magic, fantasy, and who know what else is mixed. The story line is interesting and funny, character very well developed. Books rarely come better than this. Pratchett is underappreciated because virtually no American (beside myself) know of his work, not even well read english professors!
Rating:
Summary: Not the Best of the Watch Sequence
Review: A disgruntled aristocrat steals a mysterious weapon (a rifle) from the assasin's guild and inflicts a reign of terror on Ankh-Morpork as he becomes a sniper. Features more of Carrot; Carrot and Angua get together. The minor characters (Nobby, Detritus, etc.) are also featured extensively. Has some funny and twisted material on the Clown's guild and the city's gargoyles. Not quite as tight as the others, and a bit too much of a morality play on firearms, so it gets demoted slightly, but essential if you're now hooked on the Night Watch stories.
Rating:
Summary: More superior Pratchett set in the Night Watch
Review: Captain Sam Vimes is about to become wealthy, married, and retired from his career in the City Watch. When a strange explosion occurs in the Assassins Guild, it really isn't his business--especially when Vetinari, the Patrician, specifically orders him to stay clear. Vimes's common sense wars with his self-defined duty and duty wins--at least until Vetinari calls him in for a second appointment (nobody wants a second appointment with the city's strange and nearly omnicient leader). For Vimes, the bottle is the way out. But Corporal Carrot isn't about to let a little thing like Vetinari's orders keep him from donig the right thing (Carrot always does the right thing) and pushes on in Vimes's absence. MEN AT ARMS tells the story of the fundamental reshaping of the City Watch under the combined influence of Vetinari, Vimes, and Carrot. The Watch is expanded from all-human to include dwarves, trolls, and a beautiful werewolf. Vetinari's policy of constructive anarchy may allow the city to work after a fashion, but a watch made up of misfits from all walks of life can certainly help. The novel is a near-continuation of the very fine GUARDS! GUARDS! Author Terry Pratchett combines puns, outrageous and over-the-top action, and real insights into humanity in ways that keep the reader laughing and thinking at the same time. Both Vetinari and Carrot are admirable, but both are also beyond most of our reach. Vimes, in contrast, is every-man. His dilemmas are those that all of us must face. That Vimes can rise (and sometimes fall) to the occasion brings some hope that any of us could do so too. Pratchett's work is at its best when it uses Discworld as a backdrop for the actions and decisions of its all-too-human sapients, and MEN AT ARMS is a fine example of exactly this.
Rating:
Summary: Tightly packed humour with a great story-line
Review: Captain Samuel Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Guard is about to be married to Lady Sybil Ramkin, an incredibly rich woman who is totally into Dragons. Because Lady Ramkin finds the current job of her fiancé too dangerous -clearly forgetting that being blown to smithereens by a sick dragon is not commonly known as a 'safe' job opportunity- Captain Vimes decides to retire and dedicate his life to Dragons and other so-called 'nobilities'. Subsequently, a new league of City Guards has to be found and trained. In these modern times it is fashionable to be ethnically correct and in the true spirit of this trend: Lance-constable Detrius (a troll who hits himself unconscious if he salutes), Lance-constable Cuddy (a 'short'-tempered dwarf) and Lance-constable Angua (most of the time a woman) become the new recruits. When a series of murders leads to a strange theft of an even weirder weapon, their first ordeal is about to start. To make matters worse, the culprit seems to be a troll and... not everyone is happy about this. Men at Arms is the second Discworld novel to feature the Night Watch (Vimes, Colon, Carrot and Nobby); the first one is Guards! Guards! These two books certainly belong to the highlights of the Discworld series. Their characters are so colourfully rich and funny, that actually they do not need a strong plot to entertain the reader. Nevertheless Terry Pratchett has delivered with Men at Arms one of his strongest story-lines. It reads like a good suspense novel where you can actually try to find out actually who did it - you won't succeed, of course, but that's part of the fun, isn't it. It's not without reason that Captain Vines sometimes sounds like Inspector Columbo. A lot of funny sidekicks make their appearance: Death tries to become a more 'complete' person, Leonard de Quirm has problems naming his numerous inventions, the speaking dog Gaspode finds a girlfriend, Captain Quirke of the Day Watch shows what the word stupid really means and many, many others. Ever wondered why trolls count like this: one, two, many, many-one, many-two, many-many? Then you simply must read this book!
Rating:
Summary: Carrot comes into his own!
Review: This book is one my favorite and, I believe, one of the best of Pratchett's Discworld Series. I can say it in one word: Carrot! He is one of my favorite heroes on the Discworld (only Rincewind and Nanny Ogg compare with Death a close third). As usual, Carrot comes through with flying colors. There are just so many interesting things in this book: the plot about the "gonne," Leonard de Quirm (and the way he acts with the Patrician), Cuddy the dwarf and Detritus the troll, the silly guildsand their ridiculous presidents, Carrot and Angua, I could just go on. Especially good was the troll-dwarf issue, the way they had to work together to interview the guilds without making complete fools of themselves and just basically get along. Also, it is funny how intelligent trolls get in low temperatures. The plot alos makes for a nice mystery story. Pratchett really worked on this one. We start out with a 4-man watch and end up with one over 60 people! The Watch really grows up and will add many laughs to future stories. One of the best: a must read.
Rating:
Summary: Funnier than I could ever have imagined
Review: I wonder if Discworld fans ever feel like they are in on a big happy secret, that people who think "fantasy" genre novels are beneath them aren't entitled to know. I guess I used to be one of those naysayers. My inherent interest level in dragons and trolls is not that high. But "Men at Arms," the first Pratchett novel I've ever read, is the funniest most entertaining read I've had in years, in ANY genre. My only problem now is that I want to go right out and read the other 20+ novels ASAP, but fear I will lose my job because I am reading them under my desk at the office, and lose my husband because I wake him up laughing so hard while reading in bed. BTW if you want a real treat, try this (or other Pratchetts) on audio CD/cassette/download. The fellow doing the reading (Nigel Planer?) is a riot. Plus, if you listen in your car on the way to work, you can keep your job and your spouse.
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