Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
283rd out of 1,868 books
—
3,698 voters
Men at Arms (Discworld #15)
A Young Dwarf's Dream Corporal Carrot has been promoted! He's now in charge of the new recruits guarding Ankh-Morpork, Discworld's greatest city, from Barbarian Tribes, Miscellaneous Marauders, unlicensed Thieves, and such. It's a big job, particularly for an adopted dwarf.
But an even bigger job awaits. An ancient document has just revealed that Ankh-Morpork, ruled for dec...more
But an even bigger job awaits. An ancient document has just revealed that Ankh-Morpork, ruled for dec...more
Paperback, 377 pages
Published
February 1st 1997
by HarperPrism
(first published 1993)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
One of my favorite trips to Ankh-Morpork. In this Discworld episode, we become better acquainted with Corporal Carrot of the Night Watch. Usually, I prefer the ornery characters, but that Carrot is just so...likeable. Don't worry about getting a sugar overdose from this tale. Pratchett also included murders, riots, failures of justice, and guest appearances by Death and the Librarian (who protects his books with an iron fist). And of course, plenty of social satire.
There was one thing about this...more
There was one thing about this...more
May 10, 2013
Melki
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy,
humorous-fiction
Vimes smiled. Someone was trying to kill him, and that made him feel more alive than he had done in days.
And they were also slightly less intelligent than he was. This is a quality you should always pray for in your would-be murderer.
Murders are rare in Ankh-Morpork. Suicides and assassinations...well, they're a dime a dozen, but genuine murders are pretty darned rare. But DEATH has been busier than usual lately, and it's up to Carrot and Vimes of the Night Watch to figure out what the heck is g...more
And they were also slightly less intelligent than he was. This is a quality you should always pray for in your would-be murderer.
Murders are rare in Ankh-Morpork. Suicides and assassinations...well, they're a dime a dozen, but genuine murders are pretty darned rare. But DEATH has been busier than usual lately, and it's up to Carrot and Vimes of the Night Watch to figure out what the heck is g...more
view all 3 comments
Men at Arms is the second book I've read for the Beach Blanket Bonanza. My husband (whom I originally introduced to Pratchett's books) has been selecting the best of the Discworld books for me to read and I have been enjoying these reading "assignments" thoroughly.
Men at Arms is the next in the "Night Watch" group of books. Vimes is on the eve of his retirement from the watch and about to get married. Meanwhile, bodies are showing up in Ankh-Morpork and a new weapon has been stolen. Carrot and a...more
Men at Arms is the next in the "Night Watch" group of books. Vimes is on the eve of his retirement from the watch and about to get married. Meanwhile, bodies are showing up in Ankh-Morpork and a new weapon has been stolen. Carrot and a...more
The British humor continues as any next installment from Jasper Fforde is absent from the literary scene.
Sometimes people just automatically defer to others. It's as if before any tangible assessment can be made about the merit of an individual they automatically fall into a category of a 'leader'.
Here we go with Corporal Carrot - a 6 foot tall dwarf (he was adopted, but in all aspects raised a dwarf: even a dwarves don't dispute this) of the Night Watch in the fair city of Ankh-Morpork. Killing...more
Sometimes people just automatically defer to others. It's as if before any tangible assessment can be made about the merit of an individual they automatically fall into a category of a 'leader'.
Here we go with Corporal Carrot - a 6 foot tall dwarf (he was adopted, but in all aspects raised a dwarf: even a dwarves don't dispute this) of the Night Watch in the fair city of Ankh-Morpork. Killing...more
Jan 12, 2009
Bill
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anyone who enjoyed Guards! Guards!
Shelves:
read-and-reviewed,
terry-pratchett-books
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
An assassin works behind the scenes to restore Anhk Morpork to the glory days of kings. The most reasonable way to do this is, of course, with an inventive new weapon in one hand. Only one thing stands in his way… the city watch. With each step this criminal takes the more the watch needs to learn to work together to find him. This is hard when the watch has recently turned unprejudiced, due to the Patricians decree. Trolls, dwarfs, men, and women are all forced to work to work together. Only Co...more
I like all the various Discworld series - the witches, the DEATH books, the wizards* - but I have the biggest soft spot for the Nightwatch (i.e. the series of books about Ankh-Morpork's policemen). I just love the characters. This Nightwatch book was interesting because, as an earlier book, a lot of pivotal things happened - Vimes got married (then promoted), the first non-humans joined the watch - Angua (werewolf), Detrius (troll) and Cuddy (dwarf). I finally found out why Carrot is (probably)...more
Is Corporal Carrot the descendent of kings? Would he care if he knew it? He probably is but he doesn't really care because he's too busy being a very tall dwarf in the City Watch (permanent night shift). The need to accommodate minorities is a much discussed problem in countries which claim to be democratic and welcoming. Pratchett says alright, accommodate this lot! Carrot thinks that Corporal Angua represents the female minority but as she finally has to tell him she actually represents the we...more
I read this by coming down the "list of best terry pratchett books" that google suggested me.
Guards! Guards!, Small Gods and Night Watch were right at the top of all the list google (and goodreads) suggested.
I thoroughly enjoyed all 3 of them. I even wrote reviews for 2 of them at my blog nprasanna.com/books.
But then I have to climb down in the list. That means "Not As Good As The Previous works". Obvious right from the list, isn't it?!
Men At Arms failed to impress me. It was boring at a lot of...more
Guards! Guards!, Small Gods and Night Watch were right at the top of all the list google (and goodreads) suggested.
I thoroughly enjoyed all 3 of them. I even wrote reviews for 2 of them at my blog nprasanna.com/books.
But then I have to climb down in the list. That means "Not As Good As The Previous works". Obvious right from the list, isn't it?!
Men At Arms failed to impress me. It was boring at a lot of...more
Terry writes better than I think. Sam Vimes vies w DEATH for my favorite outré reluctantly tough excellent though ambivalent leader of his slice of existence. Vimes fails up all the time, & struggles constantly w his Stevenson natures - man & beast. Beast will conquer but at expense of man, and in this volume I first met Sam. DEATH is not Vimes' favorite; howevever this Jekyll/Hyde conflict dominates each. DEATH fails downward at his experiments with living human (like his trip to the ta...more
The second of Terry Pratchett's Watch books and probably one of my favorites. The story is basically this: there's a new sort of weapon in town that somebody (most likely a royalty-obsessed Assassin enrolled in his guild's post-grad program) is using to try to off city officials, clowns and eventually the city's watchmen. And there are three new Watch recruits that have been hired as a result of the city's new affirmative action-equivalent hiring policies and need to be shown the ropes. And ther...more
Qué quieren que les diga. Me encanta Terry Pratchett [TP] y me encantan las novelas de Mundodisco. TP se ha inventado un universo fantástico, lleno de ironía y mordacidad. TP fue relaciones públicas de una central nuclear, aunque parece muchas veces por lo que escribe que es físico, y algunos de sus mejores chistes tienen que ver con la física. Pero el universo de Mundodisco es ilimitado; cabe de todo, y todo incita a la carcajada. No se puede sino admirar a un autor que ha creado un universo en...more
I like nearly all Discworld novels which deal with the Night Watch guys (or the Silver Horde), so I enjoyed this one. The story was so-so, a mysterious and dangerous contraption has been stolen, probably by a bloodthirsty maniac or at least a tragically unbalanced individual, so it must be retrieved before the city of Ankh-Morpork is plunged into chaos. Of course all ends well, the good guys triumph and stuff, but there are many jokes and allusions and wordplays to be savored during the journey,...more
- Why I decided to read this book?
I am a big fan of Terry Pratchett's work and the Discworld series in particular and although I have read almost the entire series out of order I have come to love his interesting world of characters, and so I take time to always search the library's shelves for any of them that I have not read. This is how I came across the 15th book in the series 'Men At Arms' and it did not fail to grab my attention and keep hold of it right through the entire adventure.
- Whi...more
I am a big fan of Terry Pratchett's work and the Discworld series in particular and although I have read almost the entire series out of order I have come to love his interesting world of characters, and so I take time to always search the library's shelves for any of them that I have not read. This is how I came across the 15th book in the series 'Men At Arms' and it did not fail to grab my attention and keep hold of it right through the entire adventure.
- Whi...more
Men at Arms, the second installment of the adventures of Samuel Vimes and the fifteenth Discworld book overall, finds the Night Watch hunting down a killer who arms himself with an ironclad sense of righteousness and a new weapon the likes of which Ankh-Morpork has never seen before.
Pratchett’s trademark wit can be found in abundance here, but by this point in the series the jokes are no longer the driving force of the books. The central plot is a police procedural / murder mystery, which might...more
Pratchett’s trademark wit can be found in abundance here, but by this point in the series the jokes are no longer the driving force of the books. The central plot is a police procedural / murder mystery, which might...more
Salah satu dari serial Discworld.
Lokasi: Ankh-Morpork, dengan tokoh utama Corporal Carrot, salah satu anggota (jumlah totalnya cuma 4) Night Watch.
Ditulis dengan begitu ahli sehingga baru membaca 7 halaman, sudah jadi suka betul pada Carrot. Yah, tepatnya seluruh kota (manusia, trolls, dwarves, undeads, animals, bahkan inanimate objects) suka padanya Carrot adalah anak yatim piatu yang diadopsi oleh dwarf dan kemudian tumbuh dewasa setinggi dua meter, namun tetap hidup dengan adat-istiadat dwarf...more
Lokasi: Ankh-Morpork, dengan tokoh utama Corporal Carrot, salah satu anggota (jumlah totalnya cuma 4) Night Watch.
Ditulis dengan begitu ahli sehingga baru membaca 7 halaman, sudah jadi suka betul pada Carrot. Yah, tepatnya seluruh kota (manusia, trolls, dwarves, undeads, animals, bahkan inanimate objects) suka padanya Carrot adalah anak yatim piatu yang diadopsi oleh dwarf dan kemudian tumbuh dewasa setinggi dua meter, namun tetap hidup dengan adat-istiadat dwarf...more
Men at Arms is Terry Pratchett's fifteenth ...woah, really? This is the fifteenth Discwordld book? And I'm not even HALFWAY done with the series yet? And he's still writing them? That's AWESOME!
Anyway, in Men at Arms returns to the metropolis of Ank-Morpork, specifically the Night Watch charged with preventing suicides, such as suicide by strolling through the wrong part of town or saying the wrong thing to any of its inhabitants. Captain Samuel Vimes is relegated mostly a B-story for most of th...more
Anyway, in Men at Arms returns to the metropolis of Ank-Morpork, specifically the Night Watch charged with preventing suicides, such as suicide by strolling through the wrong part of town or saying the wrong thing to any of its inhabitants. Captain Samuel Vimes is relegated mostly a B-story for most of th...more
I had more fun reading this one than any Pratchett book in a while, and that's saying something. After getting bored with Lords and Ladies (I'm not even sure why, I love Granny Weatherwax normally) and quitting in the middle, this was a treat.
Racism, privilege, affirmative action, politics, aristocracy, werewolves, Leonardo da Vinci, and more dead bodies than an Agatha Christie novel--as usual, Pratchett has successfully juggled about thirty thousand topics. In addition to being a whodunit, the...more
Racism, privilege, affirmative action, politics, aristocracy, werewolves, Leonardo da Vinci, and more dead bodies than an Agatha Christie novel--as usual, Pratchett has successfully juggled about thirty thousand topics. In addition to being a whodunit, the...more
Aug 20, 2012
Sarah
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
british-books-challenge
Ah, I'm back at Terry Pratchett, and back in the British Books Challenge 2012.
Men at Arms (first published 1993) is discworld novel number 15, and the second focused on the Night Watch. It is set about a year after Guards! Guards! , where Captain Vimes and his crew were up against a huge dragon. This time, the enemy is not even of flesh and blood.
It all starts with the crazy mind of an aristocrat (and assassin), who wants a king for Ankh-Morpork, and who, by coincidence, recognises the current h...more
Men at Arms (first published 1993) is discworld novel number 15, and the second focused on the Night Watch. It is set about a year after Guards! Guards! , where Captain Vimes and his crew were up against a huge dragon. This time, the enemy is not even of flesh and blood.
It all starts with the crazy mind of an aristocrat (and assassin), who wants a king for Ankh-Morpork, and who, by coincidence, recognises the current h...more
I liked this one even more than Guards! Guards!, partly because the plot is a little more interesting (there's something of a mystery), and partly because knowing the characters makes their appearances that much more fun. I think what I admire most about Pratchett is his respect for his characters. He never mocks or humiliates them. Even the villains have some dignity, and the humor of the book isn't at the expense of others.
Again, he surprises me with his depth and consideration of some really...more
Again, he surprises me with his depth and consideration of some really...more
Pratchett can be somewhat hit or miss for me, but this book is a big hit. It's the second book following the members of the Night Watch of Ankh-Morpork as they get three new members due to an inter-species outreach program and go on to hunt a new and terrifying killer in the city, a notable achievement in its own right for a city which boasts a school for educating assassins.
I'd read a few Discworld books before this one, the first time. that first time and every time since, I've found myself s...more
I'd read a few Discworld books before this one, the first time. that first time and every time since, I've found myself s...more
Men at Arms finds political correctness overtaking the City Watch and Captain Vimes less than enthusiastic about his forthcoming retirement. But after all, when a man weds a Lady, even the earthy and honest Lady Sybil Ramkin, Society has certain expectations. For one thing, he certainly cannot continue to spend his evenings pounding the cobbles of Ankh-Morpork like any common man of the Watch. Besides, Corporal Carrot is turning into a real leader of men
A very wry look at the world of technology, bigotry, and politics as seen through the eyes of Terry Pratchett. This one involves the Night Watch, and the forthcoming (forced) retirement of Sam Vimes as he prepares to marry Lady Sybil. He doesn't want to leave the Watch, but politics are pushing him to it, and he's hating it. Especially the high society that he's being forced into. That's making all sorts of conflict, especially as Corporal Carrot is trying to integrate three new members of the W...more
It's great to catch up on old Discworld books, because now I know the origins of certain people and things. In this nutty tale, I found out how Corporal Carrot became Captain Carrot. It had the wedding of Sam Vimes and Sybil. The tale of Angua and how she showed her true colors. And how Detritus the troll is actually quite brilliant, as long as his brain is chilled.
The tale centers around the theft of a gonne and what it does to the law and order (or disorder) of Ankh-Morpork. Captain Vimes is r...more
The tale centers around the theft of a gonne and what it does to the law and order (or disorder) of Ankh-Morpork. Captain Vimes is r...more
The Discworld novels are pretty much the best thing ever. Pratchett's not gonna win any awards for his prose, but he is hilarious and insightful and generally just a blast to read. They started as a sort of parody of the fantasy genre, but have since turned into really brilliant satire of, well, everything.
This particular novel is part of the Watch series, following the exploits of the city guards. The characters are some of my favorites, especially Vimes and Carrot. The story begins as a standa...more
This particular novel is part of the Watch series, following the exploits of the city guards. The characters are some of my favorites, especially Vimes and Carrot. The story begins as a standa...more
Mar 14, 2010
Steven Harbin
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people who like fantasy, humor, satire
I'm probably biased, but I'm come to love everything I've read so far by Terry Pratchett, so perhaps my 5 stars should be taken with the proverbial "grain of salt". Still, I enjoyed this one immensely. The Discworld books sometimes have series within the overall series that follow a group of characters. This book is the 2nd in what I call the "Guards" series, following the Night Watch of Ankh-Morpork which is led by Sam Vimes.
After the events of Guards! Guards! the Watch is being expanded, both...more
After the events of Guards! Guards! the Watch is being expanded, both...more
As an assassin works in an attempt to restore Anhk Morpork to way it was in the days when it was ruled by kings, the 6-foot dwarf (he was adopted) steps in as Captain of the Ankh Morpork City Watch. Captain Carrot takes his role, and the role of the Watch, very seriously, and when people start to die mysteriously, he amps up his guard, adds new species to the guards, and tries to assume the leadership role that was recently – almost – vacated by Vimes.
One of the best – and most irritating – thin...more
One of the best – and most irritating – thin...more
After reading 'Men at Arms' I caught myself wishing I could spend one day in Terry Pratchett's head because I have no idea how it functions. Don't get me wrong, I generally don't know how a human head functions, but Pratchett's mind and imagination must be something special to come up with all these non sequiturs, amusing dialogues and unbelievably, ridiculously silly, laugh-out-loud metaphors and similes.
It's safe to say that 'Men at Arms' is so far my favourite book in the Discworld series (we...more
It's safe to say that 'Men at Arms' is so far my favourite book in the Discworld series (we...more
This book was a re-read for me and was quite hilarious. It is the second book in Pratchett's night watch series. In this book they have had to put into practice the new affirmative action hiring process in the night watch and so the new recruits include a dwarf, a troll, and a women. The beginnings of these characters is probably my favorite part about this book. The cultural misunderstandings and conflicts, how they are dealt with among the watch and among Ankh-Morpork City as a whole are inter...more
Oct 07, 2012
Lizzie
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Lizzie by:
borrowed from Evan.
This, friends, is a 2.5-star book, that I am rounding up. I could round it down. But let me tell you about my feelings! Because ratings, as always, are to me a method of achieving inner peace with my book.
Reasons this book deserves two stars:
- It... isn't very good! As a novel. The structural wisps involving the villain Edward were confusing instead of intriguing, and somehow heavyhanded at the same time since you see where it's going -- you just can't identify the gob of plot he left there on...more
Reasons this book deserves two stars:
- It... isn't very good! As a novel. The structural wisps involving the villain Edward were confusing instead of intriguing, and somehow heavyhanded at the same time since you see where it's going -- you just can't identify the gob of plot he left there on...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goodreads Librari...: ISBN: 9875661570 | 3 | 27 | Dec 02, 2011 10:31pm |
Sir Terry Pratchett sold his first story when he was thirteen, which earned him enough money to buy a second-hand typewriter. His first novel, a humorous fantasy entitled The Carpet People, appeared in 1971 from the publisher Colin Smythe. Terry worked for many years as a journalist and press officer, writing in his spare time and publishing a number of novels, including his first Discworld novel,...more
More about Terry Pratchett...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“Cats will amusingly tolerate humans only until someone comes up with a tin opener that can be operated with a paw.”
—
95 people liked it
“Something Vimes had learned as a young guard drifted up from memory. If you have to look along the shaft of an arrow from the wrong end, if a man has you entirely at his mercy, then hope like hell that man is an evil man. Because the evil like power, power over people, and they want to see you in fear. They want you to know you're going to die. So they'll talk. They'll gloat.
They'll watch you squirm. They'll put off the moment of murder like another man will put off a good cigar.
So hope like hell your captor is an evil man. A good man will kill you with hardly a word.”
—
20 people liked it
More quotes…
They'll watch you squirm. They'll put off the moment of murder like another man will put off a good cigar.
So hope like hell your captor is an evil man. A good man will kill you with hardly a word.”
