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A review by crufts
Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
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
How dare Terry Prachett write so many fantastic books...
Although Men At Arms is Book 15 of the Discworld series, you only need to have read Guards! Guards! (Book 8) to understand what's going on. You might be able to read Men At Arms as a standalone, but you would miss a lot of the references.
Times are changing in the Watch of the city of Ankh-Morpork. Lord Vetinari has decreed that the Watch must take on three new "diversity hires": a troll (Detritus), a dwarf (Cuddy), and awerewolf woman (Angua).
The Captain of the Watch (Sam Vimes) is awkward about this, especially considering the eons-old feud between trolls and dwarves. He's even more awkward about his impending marriage to Lady Sybil Ramkin, and the fact that it dumps him into the upper crust of society - a place he has never been, and, to be honest, kind of detests.
Fortunately, young Corporal Carrot, an adopted dwarf who is two meters tall, is there to take all of these changes in his (massive) stride. And when a dangerous weapon is stolen from the Assassin's Guild, it'll take the entire Watch to hunt down who did it, and why...
Does that description make the plot sound very complicated? Honestly, it is. There are a lot of threads woven in - the marriage, the racial feud, the werewolf angle, a romance, the stolen weapon, etc. Both Vimes and Carrot (and arguably even Angua) become the "main character" at different points in the story, and they all get their own character arcs. I was shocked to realize the book is only 377 pages long because so much is accomplished.
Now, usually this kind of thing would have me complaining the book is too "cluttered". But somehow Terry Pratchett pulled it off. Maybe because the book has 4 or 5 acts (with major turning points) instead of a standard 3 acts? In any case, the book never felt overly "busy".
As usual for the Discworld, the characters were a goldmine. Not only do we see adored returning characters (Vimes, Carrot, Lady Ramkin, Lord Vetinari) but we also get some fascinating new ones (Detritus and his unusual trollish mental state, Angua's double life). We also got some great worldbuilding that dives into the Fools' Guild and the Assassins' Guild. And need I even say that there was plenty of Discworld-style humour?
To top it all off, this is the book which introduces Sam Vimes' Economic Theory of Boots, which has gone on to enter popular culture.
Men At Arms is a wonderful book and I whole-heartedly recommend it.
Although Men At Arms is Book 15 of the Discworld series, you only need to have read Guards! Guards! (Book 8) to understand what's going on. You might be able to read Men At Arms as a standalone, but you would miss a lot of the references.
Times are changing in the Watch of the city of Ankh-Morpork. Lord Vetinari has decreed that the Watch must take on three new "diversity hires": a troll (Detritus), a dwarf (Cuddy), and a
The Captain of the Watch (Sam Vimes) is awkward about this, especially considering the eons-old feud between trolls and dwarves. He's even more awkward about his impending marriage to Lady Sybil Ramkin, and the fact that it dumps him into the upper crust of society - a place he has never been, and, to be honest, kind of detests.
Fortunately, young Corporal Carrot, an adopted dwarf who is two meters tall, is there to take all of these changes in his (massive) stride. And when a dangerous weapon is stolen from the Assassin's Guild, it'll take the entire Watch to hunt down who did it, and why...
Does that description make the plot sound very complicated? Honestly, it is. There are a lot of threads woven in - the marriage, the racial feud, the werewolf angle, a romance, the stolen weapon, etc. Both Vimes and Carrot (and arguably even Angua) become the "main character" at different points in the story, and they all get their own character arcs. I was shocked to realize the book is only 377 pages long because so much is accomplished.
Now, usually this kind of thing would have me complaining the book is too "cluttered". But somehow Terry Pratchett pulled it off. Maybe because the book has 4 or 5 acts (with major turning points) instead of a standard 3 acts? In any case, the book never felt overly "busy".
As usual for the Discworld, the characters were a goldmine. Not only do we see adored returning characters (Vimes, Carrot, Lady Ramkin, Lord Vetinari) but we also get some fascinating new ones (Detritus and his unusual trollish mental state, Angua's double life). We also got some great worldbuilding that dives into the Fools' Guild and the Assassins' Guild. And need I even say that there was plenty of Discworld-style humour?
To top it all off, this is the book which introduces Sam Vimes' Economic Theory of Boots, which has gone on to enter popular culture.
Men At Arms is a wonderful book and I whole-heartedly recommend it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Violence
Minor: Alcoholism, Gun violence, and Alcohol
Fantasy racism of ongoing troll/dwarf hostilties appear in the narrative, including some spoken comments.
Sexism is alluded to but does not appear in the narrative.
Violence and gun violence appear briefly during some action scenes.
Alcohol and alcoholism: Despite Lady Ramkin's protestations, Vimes has not entirely given up the drink.
Sexism is alluded to but does not appear in the narrative.
Violence and gun violence appear briefly during some action scenes.
Alcohol and alcoholism: Despite Lady Ramkin's protestations, Vimes has not entirely given up the drink.