Men at Arms (Discworld)

Vimes needs a new, improved watch and only true Pratchet fans can imagine the trouble such a thing can bring.

Highly recommended just for its dry humour.


Men at Arms- A Review   October 18, 2005
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The sequel to 'Guards! Guards!' and the fifteenth book in the Discworld series, 'Men at Arms' is one of the funniest by Terry Pratchett. In this book the readers are introduced to a host of new recruits to the Night Watch of the city of Ankh-Morpork when they are asked to recruit ethnic minorities, Lance-Corporal Detritus (a troll), Lance-Constable Cuddy (a dwarf) and Lance-Constable Angua (a woman). They also get to learn more about characters from the previous book, including Corporal Carrot and Captain Vimes.

When there is a plot to assassinate the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork using a new and dangerous weapon, 'the gonne', and to restore the rightful king to the throne, which we learnt at the end of the last book is Corporal Carrot, the Night Watch must capture the villain behind it. The storyline is funny with an interesting and original twist although you may find that some jokes are repeated.

My favourite part is when Lance-Constable Angua meets a talking dog called Gaspode who introduces her to another dog, Big Fido. This part of the story is a parallel to Hitler and the Nazis as Big Fido is a dictator of all the dogs in Ankh-Morpork and tells them they must be more like wolves whereas he himself is a poodle, just like Hitler told the Nazis that real Germans should be tall with blond hair and blue eyes but he was short with dark hair and eyes.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Terry Pratchett's other books, however I would also recommend that you read 'Guards! Guards!' first.