Reviews for Guards! Guards!
Review - Guards! Guards!
Why I read the book: I’m reading them all.
What the book was about: Lupine Wonse works for the Patrician, but he’s not satisfied. He wants to be the power behind the throne. He steals The Summoning of Dragons from the library and calls one into being. His plan is to have his nephew fight the dragon and, at the appropriate time, send the dragon back to the nether regions. It appears to work at first, but then the dragon has other ideas. It follows the trail of magic and comes back on its own. It takes over the throne and creates havoc.
Meanwhile, Captain Vimes of the four-man city police force, decides to investigate. He starts at the home of Lady Ramkin, who breeds smaller, tamer swamp dragons. Lady Ramkin gives him Errol, a small pet dragon. Errol sees the larger dragon and decides to take things into his own hands.
The dragon chooses Lady Ramkin as his first virginal feast. Vimes and his men run to the rescue, but it is really Errol who saves the day. He has figured out how to rewire his plumbing to make the flames shoot out his rear. He leads the dragon on a mighty chase. It turns out the dragon is a she, and it soon falls in love with Errol. The two fly off to parts unknown. Vimes and his men are heroes, order is restored, and the Captain and Lady Ramkin are an item.
What I liked about the book: It was as good as any of them. Vimes and his force of city guards are fun.
What I didn’t like about the book: I think I’m burnt out for now on Terry Pratchett. I’ll read the rest, but I’m going to give him a break. It was actually something of a chore to get through this one.
The most interesting quote:
“I believe you find life such a problem because you think there are the good people and the bad people,” said the man. “You’re wrong, of course. There are, always and only, the bad people, but some of them are on opposite sides.”
He waved his thin hand toward the city and walked over to the window.
“A great rolling sea of evil,” he said, almost proprietorially. “Shallower in some places, of course, but deeper, oh, so much deeper in others. But people like you put together little rafts of rules and vaguely good intentions and say, this is the opposite, this will triumph in the end. Amazing!” He slapped Vimes good-naturedly on the back.
“Down there,” he said, “are people who will follow any dragon, worship any god, ignore any iniquity. All out of a kind of humdrum, everyday badness. Not the really high, creative loathesomeness of the great sinners, but a sort of mass-produced darkness of the soul. Sin, you might say, without a trace of originality. They accept evil not because they say yes, but because they don’t say no.
That was how you got to be a power in the land, he thought. You never cared a toss about whatever anyone else thought and you were never, ever, uncertain about anything.
Recommendation: I gave it a 7. It might have been an 8 if I were more in the mood for Pratchett.
What the book was about: Lupine Wonse works for the Patrician, but he’s not satisfied. He wants to be the power behind the throne. He steals The Summoning of Dragons from the library and calls one into being. His plan is to have his nephew fight the dragon and, at the appropriate time, send the dragon back to the nether regions. It appears to work at first, but then the dragon has other ideas. It follows the trail of magic and comes back on its own. It takes over the throne and creates havoc.
Meanwhile, Captain Vimes of the four-man city police force, decides to investigate. He starts at the home of Lady Ramkin, who breeds smaller, tamer swamp dragons. Lady Ramkin gives him Errol, a small pet dragon. Errol sees the larger dragon and decides to take things into his own hands.
The dragon chooses Lady Ramkin as his first virginal feast. Vimes and his men run to the rescue, but it is really Errol who saves the day. He has figured out how to rewire his plumbing to make the flames shoot out his rear. He leads the dragon on a mighty chase. It turns out the dragon is a she, and it soon falls in love with Errol. The two fly off to parts unknown. Vimes and his men are heroes, order is restored, and the Captain and Lady Ramkin are an item.
What I liked about the book: It was as good as any of them. Vimes and his force of city guards are fun.
What I didn’t like about the book: I think I’m burnt out for now on Terry Pratchett. I’ll read the rest, but I’m going to give him a break. It was actually something of a chore to get through this one.
The most interesting quote:
“I believe you find life such a problem because you think there are the good people and the bad people,” said the man. “You’re wrong, of course. There are, always and only, the bad people, but some of them are on opposite sides.”
He waved his thin hand toward the city and walked over to the window.
“A great rolling sea of evil,” he said, almost proprietorially. “Shallower in some places, of course, but deeper, oh, so much deeper in others. But people like you put together little rafts of rules and vaguely good intentions and say, this is the opposite, this will triumph in the end. Amazing!” He slapped Vimes good-naturedly on the back.
“Down there,” he said, “are people who will follow any dragon, worship any god, ignore any iniquity. All out of a kind of humdrum, everyday badness. Not the really high, creative loathesomeness of the great sinners, but a sort of mass-produced darkness of the soul. Sin, you might say, without a trace of originality. They accept evil not because they say yes, but because they don’t say no.
That was how you got to be a power in the land, he thought. You never cared a toss about whatever anyone else thought and you were never, ever, uncertain about anything.
Recommendation: I gave it a 7. It might have been an 8 if I were more in the mood for Pratchett.
Reviewed by Roger on 2006-07-26 11:22:51