The first Prachett book I read thanks to my husband and I loved it. It got me hooked. Funny with fabulous characters ( )

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My first Discworld. Finally. I knew it was #8 but I have many friends and family members who are fans and they all say to start in the middle and most said this particular one was the best. And it was very fun. But not nearly as funny as I was expecting. I didn't laugh once. (And I laugh a LOT at Good Omens.) I enjoyed how some aspects were deliberately, affectionately pure formula but then other odds and ends slip in more unpredictably. I could take or leave the pop culture references, though. Gets a little Xanthy. The strongest element by far was the characterization. Much more complex than the plot. Particularly liked Vimes. ( )

When a cult of riff-raff lead by an ambitious man decides that they want to supplant the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork with the "true heir"--to Ankh-Morpork's throne. To pull off their plan they want to plague the city with Dragon attacks to have the "heir"--come and "destroy"--the dragon. However, they do not count on the newly formed team of Samuel Vimes, Lady Sybil Ramkin, and the newly arrived Corporal Carrot.

One of the better Discworld books so far (this is number 8). The series is starting to feel repetitive, though, as the novelty of Pratchett's sense of humor wears off; I probably would have given this 4 or 4½ stars if I hadn't already read seven very similar books. ( )

The first book in the Watch series. Solid fun characters, and an excellent police procedural. Few books in the Watch series get better than this. ( )

The City Watch might be my new favorite Discworld characters. ( )

Early and canonical Sam Vimes and Carrot. Must, must, must read. Would love to have a first. ( )

i Never thought i would say this about anything Terry Pratchett had written but i didnt enjoy this. Its Ok but when held up againsy other diskworld works, it doesnt flow and just isnt as funy, yea you should read it as part of the series, but there are far far better ones. ( )

I love the City Watch series in Discworld - Vimes and Carrot are two of my favorite characters, and seeing their beginnings was wonderful. I couldn't put the book down, even though this is the third time I've read it. ( )

The first of the Watch series, one of Pratchett's best pieces of work.

To put it simply, it's Tolkien with sexual jokes and a lot of laughs. ( )

The first Watchmen book.On later re-reads it's not as good, Terry takes a bit to get going full-steam with the crew, but if you read the books in order, then you'll enjoy it a-plenty. ( )

If you have never entered Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, this is the book that I would recommend you make your portal to high entertainment. Pratchett at his best. ( )

The eighth Discworld novel, and the first in the City Watch sequence. Dorothy L Sayers was the first novelist to try combining the detective story with another genre -- in her case, romance -- while maintining a 'literary' style. Pratchett's City Watch novels attempt something similar with crime and comic fantasy. In "Guards! Guards!" we meet for the first time a group of characters who will become firm favorites: Corporal CW StJ Nobbs, Sergeant Colon and Samuel Vimes. In this first adventure Vimes is still drinking and the Night Watch is about to be wound down permanently. Enter the dragon, Lady Sibyl Ramkin and Lance-Constable Carrot Ironfoundersson (the world's least likely dwarf). Together these three inspire Nobbs, Colon and Vimes to listen to their better angels -- or die in the attempt. ( )

This book was a gift and thusly the first Pratchett book I've ever read. I thought it was a nice, light read in a sort of tongue-in-cheek fantasy style. I enjoyed the crazy dragon lady and the grizzled guard captain. ( )

this is my first terry pratchett book and, after hearing so much about him, agree that pratchett is totally awesome! very british though. but still awesome. as a somewhat traditional sword-and-sorcery person, i thought that this book would be a sarcastic parody of the slay-the-dragon story, but it was intelligently written and FUNNY. loved it. ( )

Eighth in publication order of the Discworld fantasy/humor series, introducting Captain Sam Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork Night Watch, and his newest staff member, Carrot—a volunteer (gasp!) from the Dwarf country, who is human though he was raised by dwarves. And he arrives at a rather auspicious moment. Everyone knows Dragons are extinct, right? So how can there be one terrorizing Ankh-Morpork? Sam and the Night Watch are investigating, the wizards at Unseen University are aghast, and the Librarian is in a tizzy because a book has been stolen from his Library—one titled The Summoning of Dragons! I love the Discworld and these books are always pure escapism for me with plenty of laugh out loud moments, quiet chuckles and awe and incredulity at the brilliance and twisted imagination of the author. This book was no exception! ( )

Plot: As usual for Discworld novels, the story is a conglomerate of twists, turns, side plots and everything suddenly ending up upside down. Plot never matters all that much; it's the scenes that keep interest up.

Characters: It's the introduction novel for the Night Watch, and sketches out a lot of Ankh-Morpork's city characters. They're simpler here than in later books, but the groundwork is laid especially for Vimes. Also, the Patrician gets to play.

Style: It's still close to the group of early Discworld novels, with a more screwball approach and obvious jokes but not as much hidden, on-going satire.

Plus: It starts off the Watch subseries and lays down the basics for Ankh-Morpork's inner workings. Nice commentary on aristocracy.

Minus: Compared to later city-based novels, it lacks a lot of atmosphere.

Summary: A good starting point for Discworld newcomers, and an entertaining read. ( )

My first of the Watch books, and very good it was. All the characters, especially Vimes were extremely well-drawn, as can be expected of Pratchett. More of a straightforward plot that other Discworlds I've read, and it was only the stronger for it. ( )

I didn't particularly care for this book, my first read by Terry Pratchett. I didn't like the way it meandered on and on without any chapter breaks. I've heard so many people rave about this author I will give other books of his a try but this one was a struggle for me to get through to the end. ( )

Another change of direction for the Discworld novels as this one centres on the entirely entirely non-magical group, the nightwatch (police) and their perspective on Ankh Morpork. The characters of Lady Rampkin, who is a wonderful caricature of middle aged British female aristocracy, and Corporal Carrot, a polite, pedantic 6 foot plus "dwarf" who doesn't realise he's actually the king of the city, are incredibly funny and entertaining. It went on a little at the end (Pratchett seems to have problems ending his novels sometimes), but otherwise was lots of fun and very inventive, as per usual. ( )

I don't know if I'm being kinda harsh with my rating but I found it was really hard to get into the book. Admittedly, this is the first discworld / terry pratchett book I've ever picked up and I found it a bit confusing. However, I did enjoy the humour throughout the book and it's opened up a whole new world to me. I supposed that's the whole point of the book. I'm not in any rush to pick up the next discworld book though. ( )

In this novel, Pratchett introduces the Watch, who are required to save the day when the city is menaced by a dragon. This also introduces the character of Sybil Ramkin, last scion of one of the city's noble families; and gives a human face to the Patrician, Vetinari. The Watch, originally composed of caricatures, has subsequently matured and become great favourites of Pratchett's public. ( )

The Night Watch catches a dragon. Enter Carrot (apparently, the long lost king--to be continued)

It is hard for me to review any Discworld book as a single work, and this book in particular will be difficult. I've pretty much read the Watch series of Discworld books backwards, which is no way to do things, I know. Rather than following Vimes from the gutters to the top, I started reading where he already was on top, and have now, finally, read of his beginning in the gutters.

Guards! Guards! follows the sorry remains of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, specifically the Night Watch, as the city is attacked by a dragon. The City Watch has dwindled into insignificance since the formation and legitimisation of the Thieves' Guild, and at the beginning of the book, the Night Watch consists of just three members, led by the alcoholic Captain Samuel Vimes. For the first time in recent memory, a volunteer has joined the Watch, a young dwarf from the mountains called Carrot, who disrupts the life of the city by going around arresting people and enforcing laws. To make life even more interesting, a secret cult is summoning dragons as part of a plot to overthrow the Patrician and install a king.

Like I said, it is hard for me to review this as a work unto itself, I can't help but filter my impressions through all the other Discworld novels I've read. Would it be as enjoyable without the love for the series and the world already established? I'm inclined to think: yes.

Pratchett is a master with the language. Watching a wordsmith like this play is pure entertainment. In addition to his firm grasp on the language, he is also a master satirist and humourist. I have yet to read a book by him that isn't hilarious, and this one caused me to break down in laughter at several points. Some of his earlier books are heavy on the laughs and lighter on the plot, but this isn't one of them, and remains suspenseful as well as funny.

As for the characters, I'm slightly at a loss. Having read backwards, I know how many of them turn out, and am not entirely able to tell whether I would have cared much about them if I read this cold. I suspect I would, Vimes at least is interesting whatever he does, though maybe somewhat less so here than in later books. Other characters are definitely well painted, such as the awesome Lady Ramkin.

Ultimately, it is hard to recommend any one Discworld book, they are all so intertwined and building upon each other (and yet, somehow, also completely able to stand alone). Having read the others makes this more enjoyable, but having read them in order would have made the others more enjoyable still. I cannot do anything but recommend it to everyone, though I would also recommend starting the series from the beginning if you haven't read Discworld before. ( )