willfjennings's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-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
3.75
willem's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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
4.0
snappydog's review against another edition
4.0
Probably the biggest and most surprising gap in my reading is that I had, until just now, never read a Discworld book.
Now I have.
It shouldn't come as a surprise that Pratchett's use of words is brilliantly imaginative, often thoroughly silly, and frequently both funny and profound at the same time. The prose, the style I knew he was known for, is always entertaining and... nearly impeccable (I say 'nearly' only because I suspect Pratchett would have thought it highly inappropriate to declare anything completely outside the realm of peccability).
I don't know whether any of the characters featured in this book are ones who'd already appeared in any of the seven previous Discworld books - I assume some of them must have at least had a bit of prior exposure, otherwise those seven books must have had to be very specific about staying only in certain parts of Ankh-Morpork. I didn't ever get a sense that I'd missed out, though, which is something I'd been concerned about; I'd heard that it was OK to start pretty much anywhere with Discworld, and that this was a good jumping-in point, but I was still a bit worried there'd be a bunch of prerequisite knowledge I just didn't have. I needn't have been worried, as it turned out. (I'm sure there probably were a whole bunch of call-backs and jokes I missed, but I didn't notice the loss, so I can't complain.)
It's an entertaining ride for sure, with characters who manage to both play caricatured roles when they need to and feel more nuanced when that's the more appropriate thing. I expect that reading more books in this world will flesh them out even further, and I'm certainly intrigued to follow some of them on more journeys.
If you're wondering why only four stars, I think the main reason is pacing. I don't usually care about things like pacing, actually; I tend to think if something's thematically effective then it doesn't really matter to me whether it's constructed in a way that remotely follows any sort of conventions. And it's not a pacing issue in the sense that I didn't think the story kept moving at the right speed, or anything; no, it's a more idiosyncratic thing, one that might not bother most readers but that really caught me off guard: There are no chapters.
The whole thing is just one long stream of bits of text separated by paragraph breaks or, occasionally, section breaks with a few nice little decorative stars. To me - and, like I say, perhaps not to anyone else, but how am I supposed to write a review based on anyone else's experience? - this made it a little more challenging than it might otherwise have been to absorb the story. There are frequently quite quick switches between places, times, and characters; sometimes you'll see three or four different scenes in the space of two pages, and it's all usually either important or amusing but (and perhaps it's worth noting here that I am not neurologically typical) had the effect of just making it very hard for me to process at times. Which is a shame, because it seems really odd to say that I think I might have enjoyed the book more had it been exactly the same except for the addition of occasional chapter breaks in potentially completely arbitrary places, and yet I think that is the case.
Still, I think I can still say I loved the book, and I definitely want to return to Discworld sooner rather than later. That big gap in my reading needs plugging up, I think.
Now I have.
It shouldn't come as a surprise that Pratchett's use of words is brilliantly imaginative, often thoroughly silly, and frequently both funny and profound at the same time. The prose, the style I knew he was known for, is always entertaining and... nearly impeccable (I say 'nearly' only because I suspect Pratchett would have thought it highly inappropriate to declare anything completely outside the realm of peccability).
I don't know whether any of the characters featured in this book are ones who'd already appeared in any of the seven previous Discworld books - I assume some of them must have at least had a bit of prior exposure, otherwise those seven books must have had to be very specific about staying only in certain parts of Ankh-Morpork. I didn't ever get a sense that I'd missed out, though, which is something I'd been concerned about; I'd heard that it was OK to start pretty much anywhere with Discworld, and that this was a good jumping-in point, but I was still a bit worried there'd be a bunch of prerequisite knowledge I just didn't have. I needn't have been worried, as it turned out. (I'm sure there probably were a whole bunch of call-backs and jokes I missed, but I didn't notice the loss, so I can't complain.)
It's an entertaining ride for sure, with characters who manage to both play caricatured roles when they need to and feel more nuanced when that's the more appropriate thing. I expect that reading more books in this world will flesh them out even further, and I'm certainly intrigued to follow some of them on more journeys.
If you're wondering why only four stars, I think the main reason is pacing. I don't usually care about things like pacing, actually; I tend to think if something's thematically effective then it doesn't really matter to me whether it's constructed in a way that remotely follows any sort of conventions. And it's not a pacing issue in the sense that I didn't think the story kept moving at the right speed, or anything; no, it's a more idiosyncratic thing, one that might not bother most readers but that really caught me off guard: There are no chapters.
The whole thing is just one long stream of bits of text separated by paragraph breaks or, occasionally, section breaks with a few nice little decorative stars. To me - and, like I say, perhaps not to anyone else, but how am I supposed to write a review based on anyone else's experience? - this made it a little more challenging than it might otherwise have been to absorb the story. There are frequently quite quick switches between places, times, and characters; sometimes you'll see three or four different scenes in the space of two pages, and it's all usually either important or amusing but (and perhaps it's worth noting here that I am not neurologically typical) had the effect of just making it very hard for me to process at times. Which is a shame, because it seems really odd to say that I think I might have enjoyed the book more had it been exactly the same except for the addition of occasional chapter breaks in potentially completely arbitrary places, and yet I think that is the case.
Still, I think I can still say I loved the book, and I definitely want to return to Discworld sooner rather than later. That big gap in my reading needs plugging up, I think.
lenci's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
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
5.0
emmeline42's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
audra_spiven's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
starheart's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely fantastic! Beautiful! Wonderful! One of the most hilarious books I have ever read! I just have one small complaint- where's the real proof that Carrot is the heir to Ankh-Morporkh? The concrete proof? Besides the whole stereotypical birthmark, being abandoned in the woods, and all that jazz? They go all out on the whole "real king" business, but since sources tell me Carrot's the real king, how is that going to impact the city? What is Vetinari going to do once he finds out Carrot's real heritage? Does he know Carrot's real heritage? Heck, does CARROT know his real heritage? It's kind of ambiguous if either man knows!
Maybe I'm overthinking this- but I want answers! Gosh, I wish Pratchett was still alive to write more books!
Maybe I'm overthinking this- but I want answers! Gosh, I wish Pratchett was still alive to write more books!
qas242m's review against another edition
4.0
I started reading Guards! Guards! a long time ago and just dropped it for some reason. Recently, I started it all over again and have no idea why I ever put it down.
This book is fun and entertaining, and makes for a light-hearted fantasy story (on the surface). Terry Pratchett understands daily life too well for anything too pedestrian though, and injects that understanding into every page. That means plenty of petty jealousy and characters who look for the lazy way out constantly, and those moments are the best parts.
The comedy isn't over the top this time around, but the Night Watch characters are all interesting personalities. This book takes some common tropes (like dragons being slain by would be kings) and turns them around. There's an almost fourth wall breaking element to the story, where characters discuss these tropes and how they are just supposed to happen, but in this world never do!
I'm not sure about all the other various stories in the Discworld series, but I definitely want to read more of the Watch books.
4 stars.
This book is fun and entertaining, and makes for a light-hearted fantasy story (on the surface). Terry Pratchett understands daily life too well for anything too pedestrian though, and injects that understanding into every page. That means plenty of petty jealousy and characters who look for the lazy way out constantly, and those moments are the best parts.
The comedy isn't over the top this time around, but the Night Watch characters are all interesting personalities. This book takes some common tropes (like dragons being slain by would be kings) and turns them around. There's an almost fourth wall breaking element to the story, where characters discuss these tropes and how they are just supposed to happen, but in this world never do!
I'm not sure about all the other various stories in the Discworld series, but I definitely want to read more of the Watch books.
4 stars.