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Men at Arms
(Discworld #15)
by
'What's so hard about pulling a sword out of a stone? The real work's already been done. You ought to make yourself useful and find the man who put the sword in the stone in the first place.'
The City Watch needs MEN! But what it's got includes Corporal Carrot (technically a dwarf), Lance-constable Cuddy (really a dwarf), Lance-constable Detritus (a troll), Lance-constable ...more
The City Watch needs MEN! But what it's got includes Corporal Carrot (technically a dwarf), Lance-constable Cuddy (really a dwarf), Lance-constable Detritus (a troll), Lance-constable ...more
Mass Market Paperback, 377 pages
Published
May 27th 2003
by HarperPrism
(first published November 11th 1993)
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Start your review of Men at Arms (Discworld, #15; City Watch #2)
“The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.
Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell w ...more
Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell w ...more
Quota policy, by integrating minorities in the already chaotic and dysfunctional City Watch, while a military arms race and intrigues are boiling.
Prejudices and racism are some of the main tropes behind the curtain and this often used elements come to ingenious culminations with the integration of alternative fighters from contrasting fantasy folks. Using the different magic abilities, weaknesses, and natural hereditary enmities as metaphors, the City Watch turns into a multicultural melting pot ...more
Prejudices and racism are some of the main tropes behind the curtain and this often used elements come to ingenious culminations with the integration of alternative fighters from contrasting fantasy folks. Using the different magic abilities, weaknesses, and natural hereditary enmities as metaphors, the City Watch turns into a multicultural melting pot ...more
This is the second book in the City Watch storyline in the Discworld novels. And I have to say, it's probably twice as good as Guards Guards.
All the characters are more fully realized and more compelling. What's more, it's obvious to me reading now that Pratchett has multi-book plans for the central characters: Carrot, Vimes, and Angua.
Detrius also has a pretty strong secondary arc in this one, and we see the begining of some of Pratchett's Troll Vs. Dwarf discussions that come to beautiful fru ...more
All the characters are more fully realized and more compelling. What's more, it's obvious to me reading now that Pratchett has multi-book plans for the central characters: Carrot, Vimes, and Angua.
Detrius also has a pretty strong secondary arc in this one, and we see the begining of some of Pratchett's Troll Vs. Dwarf discussions that come to beautiful fru ...more
Jun 24, 2014
Brandon Sanderson
added it
(This review is from 2006.)
All right, the short of it is I really liked the book. The long of it is, I’m very annoyed at Terry.
Those of you who have been following things here know that I just sold the Alcatraz books to Scholastic. They’re essentially humorous fantasy—evil librarians running the world and all that. I wrote them because I was a little frustrated at the market. I could find funny books (Snicket) and I could find books with good worldbuilding (Pullman) and I could find books with c ...more
All right, the short of it is I really liked the book. The long of it is, I’m very annoyed at Terry.
Those of you who have been following things here know that I just sold the Alcatraz books to Scholastic. They’re essentially humorous fantasy—evil librarians running the world and all that. I wrote them because I was a little frustrated at the market. I could find funny books (Snicket) and I could find books with good worldbuilding (Pullman) and I could find books with c ...more
In the last few weeks the world has not been my friend, among some health issues and a recent string of mediocre books. In times like these, Terry Pratchett is a wonderful antidote to the world’s unpleasantness.
So a fair warning: this review will be yet another love letter to Discworld and his creator Sir Terry Pratchett. There my be some fangirl gushing. Read at your own risk.
————
To me, Men at Arms has always been a bit different from your usual Pratchett’s City Watch books. You see, as Ankh ...more
So a fair warning: this review will be yet another love letter to Discworld and his creator Sir Terry Pratchett. There my be some fangirl gushing. Read at your own risk.
————
To me, Men at Arms has always been a bit different from your usual Pratchett’s City Watch books. You see, as Ankh ...more
Was Terry Pratchett the English Kurt Vonnegut?
Here is another example of playful satire that thinly hides a stinging social and cultural admonishment. In his 1993 Discworld novel Men at Arms (the 15th Discworld adventure and the second to feature Sam Vimes and his City Watch crew) Sir Terry tackles such heavy subjects as racism, sexism, political correctness, class distinctions and the inhumanity of marshal technology but in a decidedly not-too-heavy format; impishly mocking what needs mocking a ...more
Here is another example of playful satire that thinly hides a stinging social and cultural admonishment. In his 1993 Discworld novel Men at Arms (the 15th Discworld adventure and the second to feature Sam Vimes and his City Watch crew) Sir Terry tackles such heavy subjects as racism, sexism, political correctness, class distinctions and the inhumanity of marshal technology but in a decidedly not-too-heavy format; impishly mocking what needs mocking a ...more
May 26, 2016
Ahmad Sharabiani
rated it
really liked it
Shelves:
fiction,
humor,
mystery,
adventure,
literature,
20th-century,
comedy,
fantasy,
science,
young-adult
Men at Arms (Discworld #15), Terry Pratchett
Men at Arms is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the 15th book in the Discworld series, first published in 1993.
Edward d'Eath, an Assassin and son of a down-and-out noble family, becomes convinced that the restoration of the Ankh-Morpork monarchy will solve the social change in the city which he blames for his family's humbling.
He researches the history of the royal family and determines that Carrot Ironfoundersson is in fact the rig ...more
Men at Arms is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the 15th book in the Discworld series, first published in 1993.
Edward d'Eath, an Assassin and son of a down-and-out noble family, becomes convinced that the restoration of the Ankh-Morpork monarchy will solve the social change in the city which he blames for his family's humbling.
He researches the history of the royal family and determines that Carrot Ironfoundersson is in fact the rig ...more
Discworld Re-Read project #15. :)
I remembered that there was one particular Watch novel that lunged the entire Watch novels out of the stratosphere in terms of how much I grew to LOVE them. I had forgotten that THIS was that novel.
Vimes was great, but who really stole the show was Carrot. I'll love Vimes a lot more in the future, but for now, Carrot is KING.
Or not. That's a matter of perception and some small debate, all of which Carrot himself will probably have the right precedent and moral ou ...more
I remembered that there was one particular Watch novel that lunged the entire Watch novels out of the stratosphere in terms of how much I grew to LOVE them. I had forgotten that THIS was that novel.
Vimes was great, but who really stole the show was Carrot. I'll love Vimes a lot more in the future, but for now, Carrot is KING.
Or not. That's a matter of perception and some small debate, all of which Carrot himself will probably have the right precedent and moral ou ...more
5 STARS
Fact: I don’t like to read fantasy.
Fact: The very idea of reading a book without chapters seems like hard work.
Fact: I own more than 40 Terry Pratchett novels.
Fact: I have read every Discworld novel at least twice.
Why, you ask?
Quite simply: Terry Pratchett was the funniest writer in the world!
I discovered him by accident. While visiting family one day, I had 15 minutes to kill, so I grabbed the only book I could see. The cover looked somewhat juvenile, but it beats being bored. Two hours ...more
Fact: I don’t like to read fantasy.
Fact: The very idea of reading a book without chapters seems like hard work.
Fact: I own more than 40 Terry Pratchett novels.
Fact: I have read every Discworld novel at least twice.
Why, you ask?
Quite simply: Terry Pratchett was the funniest writer in the world!
I discovered him by accident. While visiting family one day, I had 15 minutes to kill, so I grabbed the only book I could see. The cover looked somewhat juvenile, but it beats being bored. Two hours ...more
So, what do I think ? Well, when I started (in Jan 19) (re)reading these Discworld novels in order (it had been some years since I last read any of them) I started remembering characters from my earlier reads. I remember thinking " oh Rincewind is just excellent", then it was" oh but the three witches are so funny", and of course" DEATH is the best character, and then as you move through the books, you come across the Night Watch and you suddenly realise that they are your new favourite.
This boo ...more
This boo ...more
May 06, 2013
Melki
rated it
it was amazing
·
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
Holy ... this was ... blimey!
I'm used to an awesome level of brilliance by Sir Terry but this novel might have outdone everything I've read about the Discworld so far!
We're back in Ankh-Morpork in this installment, in time for Sam Vimes' wedding to Lady Sibyl (she who breeds dragons). This also means that his retirement is at hand. For a career copper, you can imagine what that prospect means.
Moreover, the Night Watch has increased its ranks slightly thanks to the Patrician's inclusion initiativ ...more
I'm used to an awesome level of brilliance by Sir Terry but this novel might have outdone everything I've read about the Discworld so far!
We're back in Ankh-Morpork in this installment, in time for Sam Vimes' wedding to Lady Sibyl (she who breeds dragons). This also means that his retirement is at hand. For a career copper, you can imagine what that prospect means.
Moreover, the Night Watch has increased its ranks slightly thanks to the Patrician's inclusion initiativ ...more
This was a reread - the last time I read it was so long ago I don't remember:)
Such a good book! This man only wrote good books and he is much missed. Men at Arms has to be a hit with me because it contains so many of my favourite characters. There is Corporal Carrot who was adopted as a child by dwarves but is probably the disinherited King of Ankh-Morpork. He has so much charisma he changes the world just by being in it. Captain Vimes is there too, about to get married and leave the Force and ...more
Such a good book! This man only wrote good books and he is much missed. Men at Arms has to be a hit with me because it contains so many of my favourite characters. There is Corporal Carrot who was adopted as a child by dwarves but is probably the disinherited King of Ankh-Morpork. He has so much charisma he changes the world just by being in it. Captain Vimes is there too, about to get married and leave the Force and ...more
I'll keep this short. If I had to describe what I think about this story in one sentence it would be as if I need more reasons to love the Watch. There are so many highlighted parts that I gave up after a while.
I didn't read the blurb before, and now I see it has a spoiler in it. At least, I enjoyed finding out that particular thing in the book itself.
I loved it.
I rarely listen to audiobooks, but Men at Arms has an excellent narrator (Nigel Planer, but I checked the other one too and he too is p ...more
I didn't read the blurb before, and now I see it has a spoiler in it. At least, I enjoyed finding out that particular thing in the book itself.
I loved it.
I rarely listen to audiobooks, but Men at Arms has an excellent narrator (Nigel Planer, but I checked the other one too and he too is p ...more
“The Librarian considered matters for a while. So…a dwarf and a troll. He preferred both species to humans. For one thing, neither of them were great readers. The Librarian was, of course, very much in favor of reading in general, but readers in particular got on his nerves. There was something, well, sacrilegious about the way they kept taking books off the shelves and wearing out the words by reading them. He liked people who loved and respected books, and the best way to do that, in the Libra
...more
Another lovely installment. I was worried because I thought something bad would happen for Vimes but I needn't have. Delightful and a great attack on the ridiculousness and danger of personal firearms.
Content warnings: death, racism, mild misogyny. ...more
Content warnings: death, racism, mild misogyny. ...more
Mar 01, 2010
Steven Harbin
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
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
The characters in this novel were superb, the plot and its ending was wholesome but not idealistic, and the narration was hilarious. I'm not sentimental about the series yet, but I bet I'll get there eventually. Man, Pratchett is something else. I can't think of an author I've read last that was able to comment on society, provide fleshed-out characters and a good plot, and present it all neatly with great humor. Maybe I just haven't been reading enough?
...more
A great story and funny too. The main character, Corporal Carrot, believes in the inherent goodness in all creatures and comes out of this story as the hero, closely followed by all members of the watch. The dialogue is excellent and the antagonists are beautifully portrayed, even Havelock Vetinari the Patrician.
2013 July 4
Pratchett can write a novel about integration and politics and gun control that keeps one amused and engrossed and thoroughly engaged the whole time. I enjoyed it so much that as soon as I was finished I purchased the next Discworld book I hadn't yet read, Interesting Times, to start immediately.
And as many Pratchett books as I have read and loved at this point, I still find it hard to say why they're so great. There is always plot, often more than enough for several books. In this ca ...more
Pratchett can write a novel about integration and politics and gun control that keeps one amused and engrossed and thoroughly engaged the whole time. I enjoyed it so much that as soon as I was finished I purchased the next Discworld book I hadn't yet read, Interesting Times, to start immediately.
And as many Pratchett books as I have read and loved at this point, I still find it hard to say why they're so great. There is always plot, often more than enough for several books. In this ca ...more
8.5/10
I'm going to say that to date this is the best Discworld novel I've read. The characters are well rounded with a blend of people from the last novel developing further and new additions adding to humour and conflict in equal measure. The plot is well written with plenty of twists and turns and not until near the end did things tie up nicely making it a well driven read.
The layers to this novel were quite something, on the surface this is a murder plot but underneath it is littered with po ...more
I'm going to say that to date this is the best Discworld novel I've read. The characters are well rounded with a blend of people from the last novel developing further and new additions adding to humour and conflict in equal measure. The plot is well written with plenty of twists and turns and not until near the end did things tie up nicely making it a well driven read.
The layers to this novel were quite something, on the surface this is a murder plot but underneath it is littered with po ...more
5 Words: Murder, responsibility, equality, power, change.
This was an excellent audiobook - I think that Nigel Planer did another fantastic job narrating the story.
If anything, I think this is even funnier than Guards! Guards!. I love the City Watch books, and I think this could be my favourite of them. I really do love Carrot and Vimes, they are excellent characters and the observations they make are great. In fact, all of the characters are well rounded and well written, and come to life on the ...more
This was an excellent audiobook - I think that Nigel Planer did another fantastic job narrating the story.
If anything, I think this is even funnier than Guards! Guards!. I love the City Watch books, and I think this could be my favourite of them. I really do love Carrot and Vimes, they are excellent characters and the observations they make are great. In fact, all of the characters are well rounded and well written, and come to life on the ...more
#17 of the Discworld Books and the second of the Citywatch ones. As usual, plenty is happening in Ankh-Morpork in this one. The Night Watch has new recruits, a troll, a dwarf (even though Carrot is one too :)), and a very pretty young woman, Constable Angua (who happens to have another special qualification), all part of an affirmative action plan, initiated by the Patrician. Carrot is now Corporal, in-charge, of them all. On the other side, Captain Vimes is preparing for his wedding to Lady Syb
...more
The second City Watch story in the Discworld series sees an influx of new recruits to the Night Watch, which includes Cuddy (a dwarf), Detritus (a troll) Trolls and Angua (a women) as part of a diversity drive.
The problem is on Discworld is that trolls and dwarfs don’t tend to get along...
Pratchett’s clever multilayered story tackles racism in Ankh-Morpork, whilst giving the reader a murder mystery as a spate of dead bodies start appearing across the city.
The interaction between all the characte ...more
The problem is on Discworld is that trolls and dwarfs don’t tend to get along...
Pratchett’s clever multilayered story tackles racism in Ankh-Morpork, whilst giving the reader a murder mystery as a spate of dead bodies start appearing across the city.
The interaction between all the characte ...more
This is the second Discworld book featuring the Night Watch, though it is okay to start here. You’ll just get suspicious looks from everyone.
The Night Watch has added some new recruits, thanks to 90s-style political correctness and affirmative action. They find a dead body and find themselves unsure how to investigate.
Murder was in fact a fairly uncommon event in Ankh-Morpork, but there were a lot of suicides. Walking in the night-time alleyways of The Shades was suicide. Asking for a short in a ...more
The Night Watch has added some new recruits, thanks to 90s-style political correctness and affirmative action. They find a dead body and find themselves unsure how to investigate.
Murder was in fact a fairly uncommon event in Ankh-Morpork, but there were a lot of suicides. Walking in the night-time alleyways of The Shades was suicide. Asking for a short in a ...more
The Nightwatch Returns
13 February 2014
Terry Pratchett is now taking aim at the detective fiction in his gonne sights in one of the most amusing Discworld books that I have read to date (though that is a bit of an exaggeration, but this book does sit up there with the best of the series). We now return to the antics of the nightwatch and discover that there have been some promotions (though poor Noddy is not among the ones who have been promoted). The Patrician has also decided to embrace the id ...more
13 February 2014
Terry Pratchett is now taking aim at the detective fiction in his gonne sights in one of the most amusing Discworld books that I have read to date (though that is a bit of an exaggeration, but this book does sit up there with the best of the series). We now return to the antics of the nightwatch and discover that there have been some promotions (though poor Noddy is not among the ones who have been promoted). The Patrician has also decided to embrace the id ...more
RTC. Too bad Hogfather didn't line up with the season in my monthly reread.
One quote of personal interest: ". . . that wanton cruelty to the common comma." Even an old copper appreciates proper grammar. ...more
One quote of personal interest: ". . . that wanton cruelty to the common comma." Even an old copper appreciates proper grammar. ...more
Barely a year has passed since the last idiot in Ankh-Morpork thought they could unleash an unholy hell to help them overthrow the great tyrant ruler of their city state only to find themselves meeting the grinning face of the feline loving Death of the Disc sooner than anticipated and somebody is at it again, only this time with the help of a 'gonne.' Vimes is off getting married and Carrot is inheriting a watch embracing equal opportunities, including the evolution of Detritus the troll in to
...more
Part of the Pratchett reread with the SpecFic Buddy Reads group in 2018.
The Night Watch is expanding with new watchmen being enrolled from the growing minority populations in the city of Ankh-Morpork. But at the same time, Samuel Vimes is looking towards retirement to marry Lady Sybil and become a gentleman of leisure, a future that the Vimes is struggling with. Then a series of murders involving a strange device from the Guild of Assassins occurs and the whole Watch is needed to deal with it.
G ...more
The Night Watch is expanding with new watchmen being enrolled from the growing minority populations in the city of Ankh-Morpork. But at the same time, Samuel Vimes is looking towards retirement to marry Lady Sybil and become a gentleman of leisure, a future that the Vimes is struggling with. Then a series of murders involving a strange device from the Guild of Assassins occurs and the whole Watch is needed to deal with it.
G ...more
Men at Arms is the second book in the City Watch subseries of Discworld. I liked this one better than the first book, Guards! Guards!. The story held my interest much better, and I enjoyed the characters more. Of course, it had a lot of the same characters as the first book, but I thought this one focused on more interesting characters. I like Carrot quite a bit, and we see a lot of him in this book. There are also two new members of the watch, Cuddy the Dwarf and Detritus (don’t salute!) the Tr
...more
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Born Terence David John Pratchett, 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, i ...more
Terry worked for many years as a journalist and press officer, writing in his spare time and publishing a number of novels, i ...more
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“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.”
—
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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.”
“Cats will amusingly tolerate humans only until someone comes up with a tin opener that can be operated with a paw.”
—
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