Pratchett, Terry - Guards! Guards!

[oyceter]

Someone stop me! I am eating these up like candy. I don't know what it is, except I just don't feel up to reading anything angsty, emotionally significant, or serious right now, much less anything with a complicated plot.

Anyway, I've been a little wary about starting the Watch books, just because everyone likes them so much.

Carrot Ironfoundersson is told one day that he's not actually a dwarf (which handily explains his two-meter height); he's sent off to join the Ankh-Morpork City Guard with his birthright sword and the knowledge that he was found on a hillside. We all know where that leads....

Meanwhile, Captain Vimes of the Night Watch is trying to either get drunk or stay drunk, the Librarian has to find a missing book, and some suspicious hooded figures seem to be wandering around and siccing a dragon on Ankh-Morpork.

This was much better than I had expected, given the quality of the early Witches and Death books; the plot's coherent, all the parts fit together, the villain is actually creepy (the dragon? is scary! although it has a good point about people), and even though the characters are still more at the caricature stage, Vimes has a surprising amount of depth, considering that this is his first appearance.

Ok, I admit it, I suspect I will be a complete sucker for Vimes. It is his strange belief in people despite his drunk and cynical exterior! And the way he goes "Er" a lot at Lady Ramkin.

I like Carrot and Colon and Nobby, but they're more sketches than full-fleshed people right now; I adored Lady Ramkin, who is awesome awesome awesome; I laughed a lot at Errol the dragon and his strange digestive system; and in general had a good time. The points about humans vs. dragons and imagination and Vetinari vs. Vimes were a little anvilly, but whatever.

I think my favorite parts were Errol, Vetinari's prison, and the strangely charming interactions between Vimes and Lady Ramkin.

And... am already halfway through Men in Arms...

Comments

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

Yay, Vimesey-love!

The rest of the guys do get fleshed out a bit more as the books go on, particularly Carrot. (And I find a lot of the Carrot stuff interesting from the whole biracial/Third Culture Kid angle, because he's so secure in his cultural identity as a dwarf while still acknowledging his human genetics are as plain as, well, his being two meters tall and all that; there's all sorts of fun stuff where he's dealing with both dwarfs and humans who aren't quite sure how to deal with him.)

[octopedingenue]

I had never thought of Carrot quite in those terms before, but DUDE. AWESOME. And throw Angua's cultural background in there as well...

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm coming from a place where the assumptions people make based on my looks are way, way off from my actual upbringing, and dealing with massive cultural disconnects and passing issues after moving from a state where the majority looks more like my mother to a state where they look more like me, but I feel less at home. So really, with that set of goggles, I could hardly help seeing Carrot as a sort of Disc version of a TCK. :)

[oyceter]

Oh, I never thought of Carrot as a TCK! That's really interesting!

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

It gets a lot more blatant in the later books: this time around he's mostly just the innocent hick in the big city, fish out of water sort, but once they start dealing with integration issues in the Watch's hiring practices, and ethnic tensions in the city with increasing dwarf and troll immigration, or folks from other Uberwaldean non-human species, it gets really interesting. It's also fun because Pterry shows "minority" cultures that aren't monolithic -- there are cultural disconnects between the citified Ankh-Morpork dwarfs and the folks fresh-off-the-tunnel from the old country, or disputes over tradition between the Uberwald and Lancre dwarfs...

(And oh, when you make it to The Fifth Elephant, I love the dwarfish take on the "grandfather's old axe" paradox SO SO MUCH...)

[kate_nepveu]

The Watch books do tend towards anvilly.

And Pratchett is _perfect_ cranky-mood reading, so really, might as well plow through them.

[oyceter]

I am so plowing through! Though I decided to give a little break to the Guards books so I'll have more fun when I return (a little break probably being two days, given the rate I'm going). Am reading Maskerade now and loving it though!

[octopedingenue]

Yes, I totally re-read this (skimming to the good parts) yesterday because talking about it with you made me nostalgic. Thanks!

I am in complete agreement with your sucker points re: Vimes. He is all prickles and marshmallow and charming sneaky rattish cunning! (Cynical dirty fighting bastard weak against The Last Puppy In The Shop dragon!) Colon's description of him as being negative-2 drinks sober all the time is awesome. And Sam/Sybil OMG. They are middle-aged and sensible and fierce and in love! OTP 4 LIFE. The bit like "in her own special category, she was quite beautiful; that was the category of all the women in his entire life who had considered him worth smiling at" breaks me.

Vetinari vs. Vimes never stops being anvilly, but in an enjoyable inevitable HERE IT COMES! sort of way. The Watch books are anvils of LOVE!

[oyceter]

Heee, yay!

OMG. I love cynical bastard fighting his kindness toward Errol. But seriously! Errol = so cute!

[oyceter]

Heee, yay!

OMG. I love cynical bastard fighting his kindness toward Errol. But seriously! Errol = so cute!

Oh! And I forgot to mention how much I loved Vetinari and the rats! Awesomeness!

[ponygirl2000.livejournal.com]

Someone stop me!

Your reviews are too fun for anyone to try and stop you. Besides you can't stop until you reach Night Watch because that is pure concentrated Vimes-love.

[octopedingenue]

And then you have to keep going to Thud! Because it has an exclamation point in the title!

[shewhohashope.livejournal.com]

But 'Guards! Guards!' has two. And it did it first.

Plus I found Thud! disappointing, aside from Sam's adorableness.

[oyceter]

Heeee!

Um yeah. I am a little afraid that I will have gone through most of Discworld before the end of the year, which is... uh. I am so eating these like candy.

[shewhohashope.livejournal.com]

I love me some 'Guards! Guards!', I like to look back at the journey that Vimes and Sybil and the Watch have made.

It's a toss up between this one and 'Night Watch' for my favourites. But I tend to think of almost every Discworld book as my favourite in it's own little category, as I think I've already said this about 'Lords and Ladies', 'Mort', 'Reaper Man', 'Witches Abroad' and 'Wyrd Sisters'. 'Jingo' also has a special place in my heart as the first Watch book I ever read, but then I feel like I'm being unfair to 'The Fifth Elephant' and 'Men at Arms' (it's like CSI: Ankh Morpork. But funny).

I'm re-reading Mort at the moment. My preference for Ysabell (and Mort) over Susan still stands.

[oyceter]

Hee! I love Lords and Ladies so much! But I started Maskerade yesterday and am also filled with love for it!

[larryhammer]

I'll stop anyone who tries to stop you. Keep going! You can do it!

---L.

[oyceter]

Oh, trust me, it is so not slowing down ;).

[maeve-rigan.livejournal.com]

Funny! I'm in the midst of Thud! right now. I haven't read all of Pratchett, but whenever I feel the need for something entertaining, yet well-done, a Discworld book fits the bill.

[oyceter]

Yeeees! Which is why I think I've been reading so many of these. My brain wants the vacation without having to sacrifice standards.

[shati.livejournal.com]

I don't know why either, but when my brain is totally fried and/or I'm in the middle of about 40 different novels for class, Discworld is the only thing I can keep down read. They go down so easy! Um, I think I'm stuck on an eating metaphor. Anyway, yay for more Discworld reviews! I started Discworld for the fluff and the funny, but somewhere along the line it turned into reading for Vimes and Granny Weatherwax and anvils I can't even mind because I agree with them.

[oyceter]

They really do go down so easy! They're a little anvilly, but I don't care because I agree with them, and it is good to have untaxing reading that doesn't make me feel like I have to forget all my politics to enjoy them.

[seaya.livejournal.com]

I haven't read this book, but I did see a play based on it, and that was very amusing :).

[oyceter]

O_o. I want to see! I am curious as to how they did the dragons!

[seaya.livejournal.com]

Well, it was in 1998, in Edinburgh, Scotland. One of the dragon's was a puppet, and then when it flew off, the mating was just sound :).

Also, Carrot had a sight gag about "polishing his helmet" which was very amusing. :)

YAY!

[seraphcelene]

Terry Pratchett books are unnervingly charming. Nothing to deep or complicated and very easily consumed. I just saw that there's a new one out and I've missed quite a few, I think, in recent years. You are, however, inspiring me to re-discover my adoration.

Some of the books, of course, are better than others (I don't think that I ever actually made it through Small Gods), but they really are generally entertaining.

Re: YAY!

[oyceter]

They are so like candy! And they are just very entertaining and comforting and easy to read without making me want to spork myself.

[raucousraven.livejournal.com]

Ooh, the Watch books. I do love Vimes, from a distance, and with extreme caution. Should your crankiness continue, and your reading streak keep pace with it, do consider checking out The Last Hero. Parts of it are clunky (yes, I know, not news), but the overall plot is one I find charming. Plus, the illustrations. Oh, the illustrations -- the "lapdragon breeds list" alone never fails to lift my most stygian mood.

[oyceter]

Ooo illustrations! I flipped through Art of Discworld on Sat. and was completely amused by how Vetinari looked like I thought.

[londonkds.livejournal.com]

Most people come down on either Wyrd Sisters or Guards!Guards! as the point where Pratchett clicks. I pick the former, but GG is fantastic.

[oyceter]

I bounced off WS a little though I think right now the Witches books are my favs. But yeah, GG is pretty fantastic, especially as an intro.

[azdak.livejournal.com]

Also, I feel someone must put in a good word for the Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night and their rancorous resentment of oppressive vegetable sellers.

Not to mention "Oh, you think you're so clever, so in-control, so SWAVE, just because I've got a sword and you haven't!"

Yup, I'm definitely feeling the Pratchett love.

[oyceter]

Heee, yes! I laughed very much at them, and especially the mixed-up codewords.

[oracne.livejournal.com]

"It's a metaphor of human bloody existence, a dragon. And if that wasn't bad enough, it's also a bloody great hot flying thing."

[oyceter]

Hee, yes.