March 2020 Book Club: Guards! Guards!

Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Strong language



Long believed extinct, a superb specimen of draco nobilis ("noble dragon" for those who don't understand italics) has appeared in Discworld's greatest city. Not only does this unwelcome visitor have a nasty habit of charbroiling everything in its path, in rather short order it is crowned King (it is a noble dragon, after all...). How did it get there? How is the Unique and Supreme Lodge of the Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night involved? Can the Ankh-Morpork City Watch restore order – and the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork to power?

Magic, mayhem, and a marauding dragon...who could ask for anything more?

This was our book club book for March and being stuck at home because of the pandemic, we had to conduct our book club meeting via video chat. This book ended up being just what we all needed. Some laughter and lightheartedness in this time of uncertainty is the best medicine for the soul. This is the first Discworld book I've read, and it was delightfully funny! As a friend of mine put it, it's Monty Python,

meets The Lord of the Rings.

I loved the characters so much. From the 6 foot "dwarf" to the lady who was the expert on dragons, they each were so fun and unique. I know I will never read the whole Discworld series, but I wouldn't be opposed to reading another book in this series if it is as funny as this one. If you've been thinking about trying this series, this book is a good place to start. It's not the first book in the series, but it was pretty self-contained. Plus I hear that there are multiple sub series within this series, and this is the first book in one of them.