Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

Guards! Guards!

By Terry Pratchett

There are Guards... and there are guards... sometimes the situation just needs to force one to become the other. The city watch in Ankh-Morpork was a bit of a joke. With the Thieves Guild monitoring leagal theory and illegal thevory themselves... and the Assassins Guild also watching there line of work... there leaves a lot less work for a normal hard working man to sort out. And when you do stick your nose into trouble threes not a lot you can do with only three other men to back you up. The general populous had stopped respecting the city watch and so had the city watch themselves... until Carrot arrived. 

A Dwarth who was lacking a bit of the hight requirement to be truly a Dwarth went to the city to be a Guard. He came proudly, with a very simple, old sward, a book of laws and a Protector. By the time he got to the city he knew the book of law's better than anyone... which proved complicated in arresting people since they didn't know there was a law against that which they were doing... 

This is a story about a group of men proving there value to a different society. They learn themselves why they are important to the city at the same time they are showing the city that they are important. The story diffidently feels <i>older</i> compared too many other disk world books. From what i can tell its the 8th book written and the first introductions of the City Watch characters, which would be why it feels this way having read other books about them first. 

I would have liked it if the main story was resolved by them axially arresting the bad guys (instead of the bad guys getting destroyed by there own actions) just because it is about the importance of the City Watch doing there job and all that but they did get to do some real policing, as well as become a much more prominent force in the city by the end of the story.