Well Guarded (Guards! Guards! - Terry Pratchett)

Member Name: 87degrees

Product:	Guards! Guards! - Terry Pratchett
Date:	12/01/06 (55 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: funny, gripping, entertaining

Disadvantages: None

This Discworld books are set on a flat, circular world that's carried on the back of four elephants, which stand on the back of a giant turtle called Great A'Tuin. The series is comedy, poking fun at many of the more serious fantasy series out there. This doesn't prevent there being a great deal of depth to the characters and interest in the plots.

Although the Discworld books belong in the same world, and frequently use the same places as backdrops for the actions, there are various groups of characters. There are books focussing on the wizards of the Unseen University. Others have Death (and later his granddaughter) as the principle character. There are some that are stand-alones, with no knowledge of previous books required.

Guards! Guards! is the first book to feature the Ankh Morpork City Watch as the main characters. As such, you won't be expected to know anything about the world or the characters.

The World

The Discworld is flat, with a warm, tropical Rim around the edge and an icy mountain range, the Ramtops, in the centre. The Ramtops are very magical and tend to produce witches and wizards. There are dwarves and trolls living there, as well as humans. At the very centre is a tall mountain. Here is Dunmanifistation, the abode of the gods. The gods don't play a large part in this story, but they tend to be mentioned in most of them. The gods are created by their believers, so tend to act like people would if they could get away with it.

Most of the action takes place in Ankh-Morpork. This is the largest city on the disc and the smelliest. Through its heart runs the river Ankh, which is so poluted that it is nearly solid. The ruler is the Patrician Havelock Vetinari. He is a very dangerous man, and very good at organising people. He has now organised the city's crime into guilds. Assassins and thieves now have official guildhouses, schools and quotas. If there is too much theft in the city, Vetinari now knows where they all live...

The City Watch used to be the police force, but law enforcement has been taken over by the guilds. This means that the Watch are largely useless. The employees are those who can't find jobs elsewhere.

The Plot

Carrot is a human who was found and raised by dwarves. However, at six foot tall, he was struggling to survive in mines build for people half that height. His parents decided that it would be better if he went to live amoung humans. The only human they know is an old man, who remembers his grandfather talking about the glorious life in the Watch. Not realising how much times have changed, Carrot is sent to Ankh-Morpork as the Watch's newest recruit.

A secret organisation, sick of the way the city is run, and mainly the fact that other people have all the money, decide to try and bring back the golden age of kings. They are manipulated into bringing a dragon into the city by magic. However, when they lose control of the dragon, someone must stop it and the Watch are the only ones willing to try.

The Characters

Captain Samuel Vimes is in charge of the Watch. He's enormously cynical and has been let down by life so many times that he doesn't bother to try anymore. Now he is a drunken wreck who doesn't care much about anything. However, when his city is threatened, he realises that maybe he does care after all.

Carrot is extraordinarily literal minded, which makes him a very amusing character. He is also a little inexperienced in the ways of the world, which lead to confusion when he rescues a 'seamstress'. Above all, he has a steadfast belief that everyone is a good person deep down and a strong desire to help make the world a better place.

Colon is an old copper. Generally a good person, but a little tarnished because of experience of living in Ankh-Morpork.

Nobby is apparently human, though he has to carry identification of his species. He is a thief and everyone knows it. He is loyal to Vimes and to the city.

Lady Ramkin is the richest lady in Ankh-Morpork, but doesn't act like it. She is obsessed by swamp dragons, four foot long dragons. She breeds them and runs the Sunshine Sanctuary for Sick Dragons. She is glad to help out the Watch when the noble dragon appears.

Overall

The book is extremely funny, but the plot is compelling as well. The characters are as believable as any fantasy characters are able to be. Seriously flawed, they are nevertheless likeable and the reader will find themselve rooting for them.

I would highly recommend any book in the Discworld series.

Summary: Highly humorous fantasy and adventure, but one with a serious view of the world