Terry Pratchett was a name I’d heard whispered in book clubs loved for wit, world-building, and intelligent humor. But I’d always hesitated to read.
My friends always urged me: “Start with the Wizards or the City Watch!” But One day, I found myself staring at Men at Arms on a shelf—bright cover, tagline about a police force in a fantasy world, and something about “guns.” I thought to myself; Let's start with this?
That led me into the sprawling, chaotic, lovable world of Discworld, and into a story that felt surprisingly relevant, touching, and deeply entertaining.
Men at Arms is a novel about the City Watch of Ankh-Morpork, the largest city of the Disc, which is crime-ridden, bureaucratic, and magically unique in many ways. Commander Samuel Vimes is attempting to transform his ragtag army into a professional organization. A strange new weapon (a gun), political intrigue, a secret assassin, underground conspiracies among patricians and revolutionaries fall into this mix.
The novel is a composition of:
Colon (Samuel Vimes) in an attempt to modernize his Watch.
Detritus, a new recruit of trolls--powerful, though learning to feel.
Angua, a werewolf sergeant who is struggling with duty and identity.
Carrot is a human being brought up by dwarfs, noble and naive, honest.
Cheery and Nobby, the grumpy old curmudgeons who are traditionalists and sticklers to their routine breakfasts.
They need to prevent an assassin who is attacking high officials, investigate the weapon, handle the situation in which the tension is about to become high, and save the city in the end. In the process they stumble across political machinations, social bigotry, and a heartwarming sense of duty.
From the very first page, this book felt like a discussion. Pratchett is a witty writer whose wit is never mean, but as friendly as a confidant making an amusing comment.
The first thing that caught my attention was humor and insight. I could laugh out loud one second and then philosophize when Vimes thought about what it means to serve justice.
I could not wait to turn the next page because of the scenes like the inner struggle of Angua as a hunter or the endearing nature of Carrot at crime scenes. All characters were real, imperfect and were someone I would invite to have a cup of tea.
And what about world-building? There was life in Ankh-Morpork. The stench of its back-alleys, the clang of hooves, the pandemonium of taverns--I could almost smell the fried potatoes of the canteen of the Watch.
Pratchett asks: What is justice without fairness? Vimes isn’t trying to be macho—he wants a Watch where “right beats might.” That struggle resonated. In our world, that’s still a tough task.
Sam Vimes was one of my favorite characters who was hard-bitten yet caring. His inner dialogue concerning justice, drinking and hope was a pleasure. His slow defrosting on the companionship and modernization front was well deserved and touching.
Men at Arms were like studying with friends. All the pages reminded me of justice, acceptance, fairness and make me laugh at the same time.
It brought home to me that change never is easy, but neither is standing on the line against cruelty. Likewise it made me remember that community is not a matter of sameness, but of shared purpose. That in some cases the rightest thing is not to go with the crust of the earth, but to make a better way.
Also? I began to pray that the police forces of the real world could be more like the Watch: they seek fairness, screw it up, learn, and talk the talk.
Men at Arms is more than fantasy, it is the lesson in the form of fun and mess.
Having read, I felt cozy, pensive, and willing to discuss it once more. It is a book that smacks you right in the heart and the brain and it makes you feel understood, optimistic, and willing to believe in something better.
The last three image was gotten from web:
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