Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Re-Read 4/29/24:

Slow and easy into the fantasy trappings, only to realize it becomes -- as I've found out 3 other times before -- a hilarious police procedural that skirts the edge of satire and slams us in the face with sweet idealism.

Welcome to Ankh-Morpork. Watch for dragons.


Original Review:

Dragons and kings and cross-dressing night watch. What can go wrong?

Meet Terry Pratchett, who can turn anything, and I mean, anything, on its head. :)

On this re-read, what I remember to be a less funny book than the Watch novels that came after it suddenly becomes a rich and nostalgic ride including dwarf bread, or in this case, CAKE. Decent, law-abiding folk versus the deeply corrupt populace. And don't just ask Mr. Cut Me Own Throat. He's suspicious.

I love all the tropes and the way Pratchett deals with them. The whole novel is tongue-in-cheek and it's a slight bit more delightful (IMHO) than all the rest of the novels that came before it. Indeed, it's this one that sets the tone for all the rest.

And so the transformation of Ankh-Morpork commences. :)

Upping this by a star.

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