Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Guards! Guards!

The Discworld series was recommended to me by a couple of friends of mine who couldn’t believe I had never read them. They were very passionate about it and their enthusiasm was infectious, so I thought I’d give it a go.

In fact, I said on this very blog that one of my reading goals would be the two subseries that are supposedly the best for newbies to Pratchett, entitled City Watch and The Witches.

Now I’m not too sure I want to.

I can see why he’s attracted such a huge following – Guards, Guards is very humorous and clever – but maybe it was just a little too clever for me.

I enjoyed the beginning of the book immensely – it was very funny, and I admired the way Pratchett deconstructed common (and occasionally not-so-common) fairy tale and storytelling tropes, and the worldbuilding was done beautifully.

But – and this is a big but - it took me nearly two weeks to finish this book and for someone like me who normally takes a week or less, that’s really saying something. I think the reason it took me so long was for two reasons – one, that I could only read it in small doses, and two, that I had to be in the right mood to read it.

The writing style is very self-aware and knowing, and often goes off on tangents – taking a concept that the character is speaking or feeling about, and then expanding on that concept into philosophical musings that (at least to me) were odd, often difficult to understand and did not advance the plot at all.

And the characters? I liked them, and laughed at their various antics, but I couldn’t connect with them. Being able to connect emotionally with characters is something I’m finding more and more often is a dealbreaker for me when it comes to reading fiction.

I really wanted to enjoy this more than I did, because my friends had hyped it up so much – and because I wanted to read more of this series too. But in the end – despite its many good qualities - it was a little too quirky, a little too clever, and a little too knowing for my liking.

I’m curious to know what others think, because I know the Pratchett fandom on Tumblr must be quite large. Do you enjoy this style of writing? Why/why not? And would you recommend that I persist with the Discworld series?

Drop me a line to let me know your thoughts – but please don’t put me in the stocks!

Content Warnings

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book is great fun. I loved the characters, the plot, the humour, and of course the dragons. I would definitely like to read more Terry Pratchett novels after having only read a few so far.

Content Warnings