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Summary: BUY THIS BOOK!
Review: This book is the best! It is one of my favorite Discworld books. Terry Pratchett is a brilliant writer and I personally reccomend any of his books. If any book has his name on it, you can be sure it will be one of the best (or funniest) books you have ever read. This book in particular is hilarious!
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Summary: Excellent Book of the Watch
Review: This is the 15th in Pratchett's Discworld series. In this book, Pratchett does a PC-based transformation of the Watch, transitions Vimes from a Captain to a Mr., and, one way or another, brings Carrot into his own. The book also introduces Angua and "fleshes out" (as it were) Detritus a bit more. The book is so good that I keep trying to read it faster and faster just so I can see what's going to happen next (and I've read the book several times now :) ). Excellent book and an essential one to the series.
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Summary: Nice and necessary
Review: Meet Carrot, Angua, Vimes and the other watchmen in their debut performance as they leap into the Discworld. This is the first of the "Vimes" stories, so it is important for a basic knowledge of people you`ll be seeing a lot more of(depending on the humour of old man Pratchett). It`s no less funny than the others, while at the same time introducing detective work into the series as Vimes and his crew bumble along on a sinister case. They are, after all, policemen(no offense to policemen in general). Read it and love it. It`s different, but at least as good as the other Rincewind and Death books.
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Summary: THIS IS THE GREATEST BOOK!...
Review: This is the greatest Discworld book there is!...You have to read it!... (it has that special touch only Terry Pratchett can do...)
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Summary: Even better than the first one!
Review: As can be seen from my review of it, I thought Guards Guards! was a marvelously funny book, and a great homage to the guards in most movies and books who have a very thankless job. Men at Arms, though, surpasses even that.First of all, the ranks of the City Watch are expanded, with Detritus -DON'T SALUTE, the Troll, Cuddy, the Dwarf, and Angua, a woman who's not all she appears to be. Dwarves and Trolls don't get along, which provides the meat to some very funny scenes between Detritus and Cuddy, including a great scene where Cuddy is teaching Detritus how to count. There are even more jokes in this one then there were in Guards Guards (or at least, I laughed at more of them). Captain Vimes is retiring in a few days, which doesn't give the watch much time to figure out who's responsible for all the strange murders happening. Never fear, though, Corporal Carrot is here! The character development in this book makes this so much more than just a funny fantasy. Vimes is really starting to second guess his life. Carrot is maturing greatly, even if he still is plain, simple Carrot. Even Nobbs and Colon grow as characters. In Vimes, you see a character agonizing over who he is and what he is becoming. He's not sure he wants to live the life that's staring him in the face. Yet he's still the take-charge guy he became in the first book. He's the emotional centre of the book and while he's not always involved, his presence is always being felt. All of this sounds dreadfully serious, but it's wrapped in a plot that goes from one hilarious event to another. There were three or four straight pages where I couldn't stop laughing as I read, and every other page had a treat (I just managed to stifle the laughter in order to not disturb my wife's sleep). The mix of comedy and character development is made perfectly. If you have no interest in serious stuff, you can ignore that aspect of the book and just revel in the jokes. I'm moving on to Feet of Clay now, and I'm optimistic. Pratchett hasn't missed with me so far. Do yourself a favour and try this series.
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Summary: Yet another wonderful book by Pterry!
Review: Okay. As a quick synopsis, the Ankh-Morpork City Guard (Night Watch) are having to deal with a very new and very, very nasty weapon. And this is a Bad Thing (TM) because the Night Watch in its entirety consists of a human who was raised as a dwarf, a dwarf with a nasty temper, a werewolf who holds long conversations with dogs, a really fat idiot, a recovering drunk, a troll who knocks himself unconscious whenever he tries to salute, and a.. well, we haven't quite worked out *what* Nobby is yet. This isn't exactly a *mystery*, per se, not in the same way that, say, The Fifth Elephant or Feet of Clay are, because we have a fair idea pretty early on of what the weapon we're facing actually is, even if the Night Watch don't. My personal favorite scene is the one starting in the sewers where Vimes gets the.. um.. probably shouldn't say it here.. anyway. I also like the bits with Leonard, especially when Vetinari's talking to him about the Watch and starts comparing people to clockwork ("And sometimes you have to wind the spring as tight as it will go, and pray it doesn't break.") That was actually a bit creepy, really..
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Summary: another great book by Terry Pratchett
Review: I have read every Terry Pratchett book in the Disc book series. This is one of my favorities. I recommend this book and the entire series if you like strange and unusual worlds with magic luggage and wizards.
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Summary: Bad Pratchett is better than nothing...
Review: Pratchett at his worst is light-years beyond Piers Anthony, Robert Asprin, or even the dearly departed Douglas Adams at their best. And this is hardly Pratchett's worst (that would probably be Soul Music or Maskerade). But, this book doesn't crackle and fizz with the subversive humor, satire, and insight into the human condition of his other books. This book is kind of, well, dull in parts. I have to confess that much of that might be my fault... this is a cop's story, a mystery, beyond all else. And, try as I might, I just can't care about mystery stories. However, Carrot and Vimes, two of the Night Watch's finest, are certainly engaging characters and Pratchett does manage to bring his wild humor into a rather mundane mystery story. He is still a sharp-eyed philosopher with a keen understanding of human nature. But I just can't help thinking that this could have been a better book. Maybe the Librarian wasn't in it enough... he can save even the WORST Pratchett book (as Soul Music demonstrates).
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Summary: Nigel Planer brings Discworld to life
Review: If you're read one of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, you don't need to know this is a fantastic read. But Planer's narration also does a marvelous job of bringing the characters to life. The accents and voices are wonderful! If you're driving, jogging, or even folding laundry, this audio narration is perfect for those times when you can't pick up the book and read for yourself.
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Summary: Absolute power corrupts . . .
Review: Of all Pratchett's brilliantly drawn characters, Samuel Vimes stands unique in providing a realistic role model for the rest of us. He's honest, forthright, deeply suspicious of aristocracy, and best of all, despises the idea of kings. The last is important here, for someone wishes the return of the Ankh-Morpork monarchy. And Sam Vimes' remote ancestor, Old Stoneface, executed the last one. Edward d'Eath [how does PTerry come up with these names?!], an impoverished aristocrat, seeks fulfillment of his destiny by restoring the monarchy. Recruiting fellow lords to his cause proves difficult. It's been a long time since the last king, and the Patrician runs the city with commendable, if frightening, efficiency. So Edward embarks on a solitary campaign. Pratchett's inventive mind takes us from the "fantasy" genre into the murder mystery domain. Murder isn't a common event on the Discworld, and its occurrence here creates an intensity of feeling rarely evoked by Pratchett's works. Vimes is particularly irritated by such abhorrent events as murder. Assassination is bad enough, although carefully regulated by its Guild. For Vimes, murder is too arbitrary. It reflects the one aspect of society he resents the most, the exercise of absolute power. He's affronted both as a copper and a man. Partly inspired by Corporal Carrot, Vimes is no longer content having the Watch "let things lie anymore". Forces that used to push a drunken Vimes into the gutter are forces he now resists, even struggles to overcome. It's an inspiring read watching Pratchett give Vimes a new sense of dedication. Vimes has always sought justice, and his recent rise in society and the Watch has given him fresh impetus, and clout, to gain it. However, first he must survive. He's up against a new force. A force of absolute power, without soul or pity - the Gonne. There are other aspects in this book beyond the new Old Stoneface trying to catch a murderer. Pratchett pays homage to the struggle for women's and immigrants' rights in Britain [and elsewhere]. The Watch has been compelled to recruit dwarves, trolls and, um, a woman. Sergeant Colon's attempts to reconcile size, attitudes and anatomy with a traditional human, male, role must bring tears to the eyes of all recruiting sergeants reading it. Pratchett's sympathetic view of Angua pays homage to the efforts of women striving to enter men's realms. But for a novel view of the world we all inhabit, there's few that can out-express Gaspode, one of Pratchett's finest creations. Pratchett possesses a superior ability to create timeless works. Nestled in this library since its publication, this book is taken up as an old friend for repeated enjoyment. There's nothing lost in re-reading Men At Arms - the issues remain timely, the characters worth noting - sometimes emulating, and the wit undiminished. If you're new to Pratchett, this is a fine place to start. If you're coming along in the Discworld sequence, be prepared for an item of exceptional value, something beyond the humorous fantasy of wizards, witches and Mort's employer.
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