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lauramclain's review against another edition
4.0
I’m on a quest to (re)read the entire Discworld series in order. I’ve read about 2/3 of them over the last couple decades, but scattered and out of order.
Title: Men at Arms
Publication year: 1993
Discworld # 15, City Watch # 2
Protagonist(s): members of the Night Watch: Captain Vimes, Sergeant Colon, Corporals Nobbs and Carrot, and Lance-Constables Cuddy (dwarf), Detritus (troll), and Angua (werewolf).
Other characters: Gaspode (talking dog last seen in # 10), the Patrician
Antagonist(s): Edward d’Eath (nobleman and assassin)
Locale: Ankh-Morpork
Main plotline: racial tensions run high in the city as the Watch investigates a series of murders.
Themes: racism, classism, speciesism, socioeconomic justice, mental illness
Rating: 4.5 stars
Sam Vimes is my second-favorite character in the Discworld series after Granny Weatherwax. He has an “internal anger of a man who wants to arrest the gods for not doing it right.” I like that.
Title: Men at Arms
Publication year: 1993
Discworld # 15, City Watch # 2
Protagonist(s): members of the Night Watch: Captain Vimes, Sergeant Colon, Corporals Nobbs and Carrot, and Lance-Constables Cuddy (dwarf), Detritus (troll), and Angua (werewolf).
Other characters: Gaspode (talking dog last seen in # 10), the Patrician
Antagonist(s): Edward d’Eath (nobleman and assassin)
Locale: Ankh-Morpork
Main plotline: racial tensions run high in the city as the Watch investigates a series of murders.
Themes: racism, classism, speciesism, socioeconomic justice, mental illness
Rating: 4.5 stars
Sam Vimes is my second-favorite character in the Discworld series after Granny Weatherwax. He has an “internal anger of a man who wants to arrest the gods for not doing it right.” I like that.
dexi's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
wren47's review against another edition
5.0
I think every new book in this series is my favorite. This one really got me with its profoundly rich internal landscapes, which you wouldn't think a book about fantasy assassins and city guards could pull off. It makes so many salient points about people and politics (and life!) with the kind of ease that almost convinces you they were your own ideas in the first place.
Sir Terry Pratchett is singularly good about showing us a person's character as it develops over time, but focused through their actions. I have yet to meet a character that I didn't feel for when their full story was told, and the casually immense moments of emotion are all the more hard hitting because I have been forced to be so fond of every single inhabitant of this world. I was damned angry and shocked at one death, although the way death is handled in this world makes it impossible for me to feel too terribly. Death is almost comfortable in fact, something I can rely and trust in.
Surprisingly, Detritus has become a favorite of mine through this book, and his reaction at the end wrecked me.
Sir Terry Pratchett is singularly good about showing us a person's character as it develops over time, but focused through their actions. I have yet to meet a character that I didn't feel for when their full story was told, and the casually immense moments of emotion are all the more hard hitting because I have been forced to be so fond of every single inhabitant of this world. I was damned angry and shocked at one death, although the way death is handled in this world makes it impossible for me to feel too terribly. Death is almost comfortable in fact, something I can rely and trust in.
Surprisingly, Detritus has become a favorite of mine through this book, and his reaction at the end wrecked me.
shrimpy's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
tamgartrinki's review against another edition
5.0
The staying up late reading the entire second half of the book should be fairly telling in itself, but let me divulge further.
It paces well, with anything that could be considered a lull, and that is a stretch of itself, few and far between. The characters play well, and the banter between all is both hilarious and very believable. The way Pratchet handles death, both as a subject and as a character is fairly light hearted, which allows for there to be real stakes involved but not making the book as a whole darker as it could have been.
As with a few things in life, I am now regretting not getting interested in Prachet when I was first suggested him as an author to chase down.
It paces well, with anything that could be considered a lull, and that is a stretch of itself, few and far between. The characters play well, and the banter between all is both hilarious and very believable. The way Pratchet handles death, both as a subject and as a character is fairly light hearted, which allows for there to be real stakes involved but not making the book as a whole darker as it could have been.
As with a few things in life, I am now regretting not getting interested in Prachet when I was first suggested him as an author to chase down.
joanne_zysk's review against another edition
5.0
When is Terry Pratchett not insanely insightful? He manages to take a current human foible, wrap it up into a fantasy land full of hilarious satire, and make me laugh while by mind is off pondering the deeper meanings of what he's written. It's nearly dangerous, that ability he has. Men At Arms was no exception, just fabulous.
kleonora's review against another edition
4.0
My passion for Discworld borders on the rapturous and as such I have been known to consume entire books in a sitting. For this reason I don't usually bother with reviewing Pratchett, but I did want to transcribe one tiny bit of Men at Arms for posterity.
*begin intellectual property of Sir Terry Pratchett*
"Hright,' said Sergeant Colon, 'this, men, is your truncheon, also nomenclatured your night stick or baton of office.' He paused while he tried to remember his army days, and brightened up.
'Hand you will look after hit,' he shouted. 'You will eat with hit, you will sleep with hit, you-'
'Scuse me.'
'Who said that?'
'Down here. It's me, Lance Constable Cuddy.'
'Yes, pilgrim?'
'How do we eat with it, sergeant?'
Sergeant Colon's wound-up machismo wound down. He was suspicious of Lance-Constable Cuddy. He strongly suspected Lance-Constable Cuddy was a trouble-maker.
'What?'
'Well, do we use it as a knife or a fork or cut it in half for chopsticks or what?'
'What are you talking about?'
'Excuse me, sergeant?'
'What is it, Lance-Constable Angua?'
'How exactly do we sleep with it, sir?'
*end intellectual property of Sir Terry Pratchett*
Right, well I didn't want to oversell it at the beginning but now I think we can all agree that was The Best Thing Ever. There's more where that came from, people. Pick up a Pratchett!
*begin intellectual property of Sir Terry Pratchett*
"Hright,' said Sergeant Colon, 'this, men, is your truncheon, also nomenclatured your night stick or baton of office.' He paused while he tried to remember his army days, and brightened up.
'Hand you will look after hit,' he shouted. 'You will eat with hit, you will sleep with hit, you-'
'Scuse me.'
'Who said that?'
'Down here. It's me, Lance Constable Cuddy.'
'Yes, pilgrim?'
'How do we eat with it, sergeant?'
Sergeant Colon's wound-up machismo wound down. He was suspicious of Lance-Constable Cuddy. He strongly suspected Lance-Constable Cuddy was a trouble-maker.
'What?'
'Well, do we use it as a knife or a fork or cut it in half for chopsticks or what?'
'What are you talking about?'
'Excuse me, sergeant?'
'What is it, Lance-Constable Angua?'
'How exactly do we sleep with it, sir?'
*end intellectual property of Sir Terry Pratchett*
Right, well I didn't want to oversell it at the beginning but now I think we can all agree that was The Best Thing Ever. There's more where that came from, people. Pick up a Pratchett!
weaponizedfun's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyed the three new additions to the watch. Didn't like the demise of one of the characters. Solid Watch novel.
stephaniedh's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of the best books IMO about the city watch. It gives great background for things that are mentioned in other stories, as well as some clever puns. If you've ever heard about the Vimes Boot theory of socioeconomics, this is the book it originates from. There is a lot to love in this book, but particularly with so much of it centered on Carrot. I tend to favor the witches of Discworld, but I do absolutely love the City Watch, too.