Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett – Review

Published: March 17, 2009

Publisher: HarperCollins

Series: Discworld #8

Genre: Fantasy, Humor

Pages: 353 (Kindle)

My Rating: 4 Stars

Synopsis:
Long believed extinct, a superb specimen of draco nobilis (“noble dragon” for those who don’t understand italics) has appeared in Discworld’s greatest city. Not only does this unwelcome visitor have a nasty habit of charbroiling everything in its path, in rather short order it is crowned King (it is a noble dragon, after all…). How did it get there? How is the Unique and Supreme Lodge of the Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night involved? Can the Ankh-Morpork City Watch restore order – and the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork to power?

Magic, mayhem, and a marauding dragon…who could ask for anything more?

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I’ve been wanting to read one of the Discworld books for years now and took the opportunity to pick up Guards! Guards! on sale a few months ago. I’ve heard this was a great place to start the Discworld books and I have to agree with that statement. This was a good place to start!

There’s a cult within the city of Ankh-Morpork trying to raise a dragon to bring about the One True King. The City Watch consists of four people, and three of them have little interest in actually engaging with the unsavory elements of the city. The fourth is Carrot, and he’s a bit unique and takes things quite literally because he was raised in a cave by dwarves. When a dragon keeps popping up and flame blasting people into nothing but vague human shaped outlines on a wall, the City Watch somehow gets stuck trying to stop the thing. 

What follows is a humorous and highly satirical story filled with bureaucracy, One True King prophecies, cults, and a noblewoman with an unusual propensity for very small dragons. The noblewoman was by far and above my favorite character, because who wouldn’t want to spend their inheritance on a lifelong passion project? I see why people love Pratchett, but I have to say I didn’t love it. I was very amused and appreciated the subtle (and overt)  layers of satire but it’s not a book I’m going to shout about from the rooftops. I can see myself reading more Discworld books in the future but I think perhaps I set my expectations too high based on the enthusiasm of so many other readers. Should I continue on with the City Watch books or perhaps try something different?