Fantasy

Men at Arms

Men at Arms

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  • Create Date：2021-03-25 14:21:26
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Terry Pratchett
  • ISBN：0552140287
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Summary

'Be a MAN in the City Watch！ 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 Angua （a woman。。。 most of the time） and Corporal Nobbs （disqualified from the human race for shoving）。

And they need all the help they can get。 Because they've only got twenty-four hours to clean up the town and this is Ankh-Morpork we're talking about。。。

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Reviews

Enan Ajmain ，

I don't know if I'm losing my critical thinking， because two books back to back I've given five stars and found absolutely no fault with anything （well， some things， but not important ones）。 Or maybe my reader's luck is in a good swing。 I choose to。。。uh， choose the latter option。Men at Arms is the second book in the City Watch series （which is a sub-series of Discworld， but we don't need to concern us with that）， the first one being Guards！ Guards！Guards！ was all I expected in a tight little pac I don't know if I'm losing my critical thinking， because two books back to back I've given five stars and found absolutely no fault with anything （well， some things， but not important ones）。 Or maybe my reader's luck is in a good swing。 I choose to。。。uh， choose the latter option。Men at Arms is the second book in the City Watch series （which is a sub-series of Discworld， but we don't need to concern us with that）， the first one being Guards！ Guards！Guards！ was all I expected in a tight little package。 It was fun， it was satirical， it played with genre tropes， and it had an amazing character: Captain Vimes。 But even with all that， Guards！ wasn't what I'd call phenomenal。Men at Arms， on the other hand， is a different beast altogether。It has everything you need from a novel: great themes， plot， characters， and writing。 The plot-structure was perfect to me。 And one of the themes at first felt cliche， working on racial prejudices in our world through those in the secondary world， but soon it evolved into a much more integrated part of the story。 That's one of the strengths of Pratchett: he would make up the weirdest stuff and then he could make you believe them if you just give him time。The one or two faults I found were:1。 It wasn't clear who was the protagonist， Carror or Vimes。 Not that there needs to be only one protagonist。 But the structure of the plot hampered these characters a bit because their arcs developed one after another， not with each other。2。 The enmity to camaraderie arc between Detritus and Cuddy was a little bit reminiscent of Legolas and Gimli arc。 But I loved Detritus and Cuddy as well， cliche or not， so who cares。 。。。more

Magpie Fearne ，

I love Discworld and the Night Watch stories are some of my faves。

Sofia ，

One of the brilliant， funny， heart-warming Discworld novels。

Aezmug ，

4。25/5

Neha ，

4。5 ⭐️ rounded up

Steven ，

I've always had a mixed reactions to the works of Terry Pratchett。 On the surface， they have everything I could ever want out of Fantasy works。 A rich vibrant world， distinct engaging characters， dry British humour and serious stakes。 But dig a little deeper and something about some of his work really itches my clackers。And after listening to the audiobook of Men At Arms I think I've got an idea of what that itch is。 Full disclosure， there will be spoilers in order to properly explain by problem I've always had a mixed reactions to the works of Terry Pratchett。 On the surface， they have everything I could ever want out of Fantasy works。 A rich vibrant world， distinct engaging characters， dry British humour and serious stakes。 But dig a little deeper and something about some of his work really itches my clackers。And after listening to the audiobook of Men At Arms I think I've got an idea of what that itch is。 Full disclosure， there will be spoilers in order to properly explain by problems with the book so。。。。HEADS UP！The premise is a pretty typical of the Watch stories。 A murder most foul has struck the city of Ankh-Morpork and Captain Vimes and co are on the case。 What complicates the story is several factors。 First， the Watch has hired several new non-human recruits; a dwarf， a troll and a woman。WEREWOLF！ I MEANT WEREWOLF！And with racial tensions being high between dwarves and trolls， and Vimes not being the happiest flower in the garden， this complicates relations between everyone。 Add into the fact that the murderer seems to be using a weapon that no-one has seen before and you have a powder keg about to go off。So let's get the good parts out of the way first。 As usual， Pratchett's prose is on par as usual， at least in regards to his sense of humour and worldbuilding。 Pratchett has this style that you could probably call something like Lemony Snicket， where he will present a scenario， expand the scenario by exploring the mechanics of it and then wryly comment on the absurdity of the scenario by either dispensing some dry snark or providing some examples of how absurd it is。 When you have Bloody Stupid Johnson being so inept that they can somehow create triangles with three right angles， something is going to pull a chuckle out of you。The characters for the most part are well designed and excellently elaborated on。 Captain Vimes gets some good solid character development/exploration here that demonstrates why he's such a sourpuss all the time， Carrot is shown to be a lot deeper a character than his depiction in Guards， Guards ever was and even the newcomers get some solid development in the time they have。 About the only characters who develop little are Colon and Nobbs and that's only because they're mainly there for comedy。The plot overall is decent， with plenty of twists and turns， a couple of late-game shockers and an ending that feels like a natural progression of the Watch and the series as a whole。 There's not a lot to say about it beyond that and here however is where I found the problems began to start。One of the things you have to know about Men At Arms going in， is that the main plot is not the main focus of the story。 Or at least， it didn't feel that way to me。 Sure， the plot does move along but the main concept of a murder with a mysterious sentient weapon - which turns out to be the Discworld's only existing firearm: The Gonne - doesn't turn out to be as big as a revelation as the story makes it out to be。 Part of that I think is what I think， is one of the problems I have with Pratchett's writing， and maybe even High Fantasy writing in general。 There are a number of sideplots connected to the main narrative， if only tentatively and sometimes the main plot gets so sidetracked by these sideplots that I stopped caring about the main plot。 And the sideplots are a mixed bag as well。 Watching the budding friendship between Detritus （a troll） and Cuddy （a dwarf） is endearing and genuinely heartwarming; which makes Cuddy's death hit that much harder， but then there's Angua （the ww。。。。。werewolf） and her meeting with Gaspode （a talking dog） and that plot can suck farts through a garden hose。Then there's the matter of the main villain。 Of all the spoilers in the story， this is probably the biggest sooooo。。。。。The beginning of the novel sets up our villain as Edward D'Eath， a young naive assassin who wants to restore Carrot to his rightful position as King of Ankh-Morpork。 So he steals the Gonne and presumably starts murdering important people around the city with it。 Except， that's a fakeout。 By the time， we meet the murderer， D'Eath is actually dead and we meet his murderer， the true killer behind most of the killings in the book; Dr。 Cruces， the head of the Assassin's Guild。 But here's the problem for me。 Neither D'Eath nor Cruces were particularly compelling characters。 D'Eath's setup is solid and he's a sympathetic character。 But we barely know anything about him before he's bumped off and Cruces takes his place。 Even his death feels like an afterthought when we finally see his body， especially given that every other character who dies gets a sendoff。 And Cruces feels little more than a typical assassin character that's been driven mad with power。 Don't get me wrong， I like the premise and the twist， but there wasn't enough for me to care about the payoff。 There was too much faffing about prior in the story with all the sideplots and whatnot that when the revelations came， D'Eath and Cruces felt like small potatoes in comparison。And I think that's oftentimes my biggest problem with Pratchett's work when he's off his game。 Narratives that focus on a smaller cast have tighter focus， better narratives and deeper characters， but when Pratchett goes off the beaten path with a large cast and lets them off the leash， things get messy。 Don't get me wrong， Men At Arms is still a solid Discworld story。 It's funny when it needs to be， tense when it has to be and sad when it should be， but the problems that would be minor issues for others really niggle at my shins。 。。。more

wilson ，

Only silver bullets！

Isaac Clarke ，

ხო რამდენი დიადი ფენტეზი პერსონაჟის შესახებ წამიკითხავს， მაგრამ კონსტებლი სტაფილო ცალსახად ტოპ3-შია თავისი დიდებულებით。 მერე რა რო მოუხეშავი， ცოტა მოდებილო， სასაცილო ბიჭის შთაბეჭდილებას ტოვებს， სამაგიეროდ მთელს დისკვორლდზე ყველაზე დიდი ფოლადის კოჰონესი აქვს ტიპს。 ვაიმსს რო ამას ეუბნება - “Personal isn't the same as important。”， წარმოუდგენლად დიდი პერსონაჟია。და ამ ყველაფერთან ერთად წიგნი არის ჯოჯოხეთურად სასაცილო。 ხო რამდენი დიადი ფენტეზი პერსონაჟის შესახებ წამიკითხავს， მაგრამ კონსტებლი სტაფილო ცალსახად ტოპ3-შია თავისი დიდებულებით。 მერე რა რო მოუხეშავი， ცოტა მოდებილო， სასაცილო ბიჭის შთაბეჭდილებას ტოვებს， სამაგიეროდ მთელს დისკვორლდზე ყველაზე დიდი ფოლადის კოჰონესი აქვს ტიპს。 ვაიმსს რო ამას ეუბნება - “Personal isn't the same as important。”， წარმოუდგენლად დიდი პერსონაჟია。და ამ ყველაფერთან ერთად წიგნი არის ჯოჯოხეთურად სასაცილო。 。。。more

Katherine Smith ，

Very good！ One of my favorite Discworld books thus far。 Dynamic and quirky characters， clever situations， great humor， and a very tasteful little love story tucked in the midst。 I adore Carrot and Angua， clever Vetinari， pragmatical Vimes， and Nobby is always a hoot to read。 I really enjoyed the diversity of characters and various conflicts and alliances。 I loved watching everybody grow and develop。 Will read again。 Will read more in the series。

Andreia ，

This was such a fun read！ I loved the new characters and the plot。 I liked how there was more information about the fools' and assassins' guilds and how poor Vimes had to deal with the nobles。 However， I think the character that shined the most in this book was Carrot and I really liked how he dealt with the crime at hand and his cute relationship with Angua。 This was also the first time that I really really enjoyed Vetinari。 Now I get why the City Watch is one of the most beloved series among f This was such a fun read！ I loved the new characters and the plot。 I liked how there was more information about the fools' and assassins' guilds and how poor Vimes had to deal with the nobles。 However， I think the character that shined the most in this book was Carrot and I really liked how he dealt with the crime at hand and his cute relationship with Angua。 This was also the first time that I really really enjoyed Vetinari。 Now I get why the City Watch is one of the most beloved series among fans。 I have read "Guards！ Guards！" and was a bit disappointed by it since I expected more after hearing it was a favorite。 This one delivered。 Overall， a great book and one of the best Discworld novels I have read so far。 I just wish there was even more of Vimes trying to adapt to his new life。 。。。more

Michael ，

Its funny， yes， but the story is also entertaining and the characters are just so well-developed。 A great example of good， simple storytelling

Enrique Camacho ，

Ta bastante guapo

CJ ，

Fantastic。 Terry PratchettI just may be one of my favorite mystery writers， as well as a fantasy writer。So many things to love， so many thoughts on the unfairness of economics （Vimes boots theory， look it up）， classism， racism， and morality。 Plus there's romance， kingliness， tons of humor， and dogs。I love Carrot so much。 He's an amazing character。 This is one of the top Discworld books。 Fantastic。 Terry PratchettI just may be one of my favorite mystery writers， as well as a fantasy writer。So many things to love， so many thoughts on the unfairness of economics （Vimes boots theory， look it up）， classism， racism， and morality。 Plus there's romance， kingliness， tons of humor， and dogs。I love Carrot so much。 He's an amazing character。 This is one of the top Discworld books。 。。。more

NerwSlowa ，

Wygląda na to， że coraz mocniej wchodzimy w klimaty typowo kryminalne。 Tym razem jednak w mieście， w którym obok siebie mieszkają magowie， trolle， krasnoludy， wampiry， wilkołaki， ludzie i niezwykle inteligentne orangutany。Bardzo， bardzo， bardzo mi się to podoba， ta część nawet bardziej niż "Straż！ Straż！"。 Chyba znalazłam swoje nowe comfort książki na polepszenie dnia， tygodnia i życia。 I mogłabym się rozwodzić nad tym， jak wspaniała jest kompozycja， jak doskonale korzysta z różnych gatunkowych Wygląda na to， że coraz mocniej wchodzimy w klimaty typowo kryminalne。 Tym razem jednak w mieście， w którym obok siebie mieszkają magowie， trolle， krasnoludy， wampiry， wilkołaki， ludzie i niezwykle inteligentne orangutany。Bardzo， bardzo， bardzo mi się to podoba， ta część nawet bardziej niż "Straż！ Straż！"。 Chyba znalazłam swoje nowe comfort książki na polepszenie dnia， tygodnia i życia。 I mogłabym się rozwodzić nad tym， jak wspaniała jest kompozycja， jak doskonale korzysta z różnych gatunkowych tropów i jak świetnie jest to wszystko przetłumaczone， ale głównie chciałabym zauważyć， że jest to po prostu doskonała rozrywkowa literatura。 Hurra <3 。。。more

Craig Jones ，

If you know Terry Pratchett， you probably love his work。 If you don't， it's both Monty Python silliness， Lord of the Rings mythology with endearing characters and hilarious misadventures！ If you know Terry Pratchett， you probably love his work。 If you don't， it's both Monty Python silliness， Lord of the Rings mythology with endearing characters and hilarious misadventures！ 。。。more

Rozarka ，

Perfektní kniha s perfektním překladem。

Robert ，

More hilarious hijinks by the growing City Watch crowd。

Fosterjenkins ，

One of the better Discworld books I read to date。 Maybe I just like detective stories。

Anthony ，

I want to preface this review by saying that I usually prefer reading serious books - whether it's epic fantasy， non-fiction or a thriller。 This is the first time I read comedy/parody。 I was skeptical at first but since so many are praising Terry's writing， and the Discworld in general， I give it a shot。Low and behold - I liked it。 Very early on I saw what people liked about it。 It's a light-hearted and well written book。 It's what I would imagine a 'casual' would look like as a book。 Not only t I want to preface this review by saying that I usually prefer reading serious books - whether it's epic fantasy， non-fiction or a thriller。 This is the first time I read comedy/parody。 I was skeptical at first but since so many are praising Terry's writing， and the Discworld in general， I give it a shot。Low and behold - I liked it。 Very early on I saw what people liked about it。 It's a light-hearted and well written book。 It's what I would imagine a 'casual' would look like as a book。 Not only that but Terry also managed to tie all the ridiculousness into an interesting story with an enticing plot。I'm rarely able to read before bed - epic fantasies make me all excited and hyped up while non-fiction books require too much focus。 This book sits in the sweet spot and I pretty much read the entire thing before bed。 All that said， I still prefer the serious fantasy books that get me all involved and excited， or the non-fiction ones that help me learn new things。 That's why I simply cannot give it a 5 star rating。 4。5 / 5 。。。more

Drew Warren ，

Another fun read。 The men of the Watch are all really funny characters， and I like reading through their silly banter and dynamics。 The jokes in this book hit pretty well。 The multiple， intersecting storylines worked pretty well， but the story got a little messy and confusing towards the end。 Still good though。

Rob ，

One of the better Discworld books！ A tremendous amount of witty puns and humorous situations for a story focused on The Watch！ I'm always impressed with Pratchett's ability to weave such funny， yet intricate tales， based on other stories and lore and this was certainly another one of those stories to reinforce that appreciation of his work and this series。 One of the better Discworld books！ A tremendous amount of witty puns and humorous situations for a story focused on The Watch！ I'm always impressed with Pratchett's ability to weave such funny， yet intricate tales， based on other stories and lore and this was certainly another one of those stories to reinforce that appreciation of his work and this series。 。。。more

Matthew ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Wasn't sure this book was fair to the character of Vimes， who got suddenly sidelined for about half the book and ultimately contributed very little。 Also felt that the final third had some oddly out if place storylines eg the dog supremacists。 Overall good but not quite as good as Guards Guards Wasn't sure this book was fair to the character of Vimes， who got suddenly sidelined for about half the book and ultimately contributed very little。 Also felt that the final third had some oddly out if place storylines eg the dog supremacists。 Overall good but not quite as good as Guards Guards 。。。more

Michael ，

Still one of my favorites on Discworld。 I think this was the era when Pratchett was at his best， both hitting the emotional and psychological wisdom along with comedy and - something rarer， restraint。

Christian Anderson ，

I really enjoyed book 2 of Commander Vimes though I feel that so much is lost by not have Stephen Briggs narrate。 Vimes is definitely not at full force yet but the rest of the crew is great。

Briar ，

Not a great fan of Sir Terry。 I think I always want his books to be something they're not in terms of both tone and style。 Also the way he writes mysteries is frustrating to me because I like trying to figure out what's going on and I don't think his writing lends itself to that。 Anyways this was pretty good and also sometimes tragic and sometimes funny it just wasn't for me。 Not a great fan of Sir Terry。 I think I always want his books to be something they're not in terms of both tone and style。 Also the way he writes mysteries is frustrating to me because I like trying to figure out what's going on and I don't think his writing lends itself to that。 Anyways this was pretty good and also sometimes tragic and sometimes funny it just wasn't for me。 。。。more

Yasser Maniram ，

Funny， deeply interesting， and entertaining for fans of dwarves， trolls， clowns， assassins， and those trying to live in polite society in general。 I enjoyed the personalities of the various characters along with the plot。 I would rate the dialogue and characters as being of substantially better quality and interest than the storyline plot however。 With that being said， it was nicely wrapped up。

Elin Streiffert ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I love this book！ Probably the best Discworld book。 At least top 3 so far。 All the books about the night watch are good。It is very funny。 But also so much deeper。 The socioeconomic commentary is brilliant。 I love how every character， except for maybe Nobby but he is still brilliant anyway， gets to grow and have things that they are good at。 Carrot is not just a naive boy who thinks he's s dwarf， he is a leader now。 Vimes is actually really smart and with the right resources he can shine。 Cuddy a I love this book！ Probably the best Discworld book。 At least top 3 so far。 All the books about the night watch are good。It is very funny。 But also so much deeper。 The socioeconomic commentary is brilliant。 I love how every character， except for maybe Nobby but he is still brilliant anyway， gets to grow and have things that they are good at。 Carrot is not just a naive boy who thinks he's s dwarf， he is a leader now。 Vimes is actually really smart and with the right resources he can shine。 Cuddy and Detroitus are my favourites。 How they go from disliking each other to being such a fun duo。 Angua also gets to be more than just a pretty face which she starts out as。It's kind of weird how Pratchett likes to reuse stuff from previous books。 He often does two books where the second one is really just the same as the first one but in a new place。 This one takes a bunch of elements of the book Witches abroad。 There Magrat is supposed to get married and she worries about her new life as royalty and how it will affect her and if she is ready to give up her identity as a witch。 In this one Vimes is supposed to get married and he worries about his new life as a nobleman and how it will affect him and if he is ready to give up his identity as a Watchman。 The main difference between them is that Magrat has to give everything up， while Vimes gets to be a commander and still have a purpose in his life beside being married。Also of course there has to be a woman who is related to by what she looks like。 Here she is very beautiful and that is what all the men notice about her。 。。。more

Mr Andrew Hayden ，

My personal favouritePratchett's take on ethnic equality。 A great mix of adventure， politics， mystery， suspence， fantasy and comedy。 The second Night Watch story expanding the group witches recruits to represent some of the Ankh-Morpork minorities。 Joining Vimes， Colon， Nobby & Carrot are a troll， a dwarf and a woman？？？ With just days to retirement Vimes must disobey his superiors to solve the case。 A story containing assassins， clowns， warring factions， murders， romance and a talking dog is a f My personal favouritePratchett's take on ethnic equality。 A great mix of adventure， politics， mystery， suspence， fantasy and comedy。 The second Night Watch story expanding the group witches recruits to represent some of the Ankh-Morpork minorities。 Joining Vimes， Colon， Nobby & Carrot are a troll， a dwarf and a woman？？？ With just days to retirement Vimes must disobey his superiors to solve the case。 A story containing assassins， clowns， warring factions， murders， romance and a talking dog is a fantastic mix of genres that just works。 。。。more

Emma ，

Actual rating is a 3。5Men at Arms had all the elements I've come to expect from Terry Pratchett -- lovable characters， social commentary， snarky footnotes， and some fun hijinks。 This one wasn't quite as funny as some of the other Discworld books but was still an entertaining read。 I particularly enjoyed getting to learn a bit more about Carrot and Angua as they haven't played as large of a role in other City Watch books I've read。 Actual rating is a 3。5Men at Arms had all the elements I've come to expect from Terry Pratchett -- lovable characters， social commentary， snarky footnotes， and some fun hijinks。 This one wasn't quite as funny as some of the other Discworld books but was still an entertaining read。 I particularly enjoyed getting to learn a bit more about Carrot and Angua as they haven't played as large of a role in other City Watch books I've read。 。。。more

Monica ，

Ah ahnk-morpork。 City of a thousand stories。 I think this is one of my favourite。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Men at Arms

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Men at Arms&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Men at Arms&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0