Men at Arms: A Discworld Novel:15

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Smash Cut: Narrative version — it cuts straight from Nobby finding the on switch for the Klatchian fire engine to "They put out the flames eventually". Killer Rabbit: Big Fido, the psychotic Nazi-esque toy poodle. Small militaristic dogs aren't unheard of. See, for example, this poodle . I enjoy all of the Pratchett books, but I most enjoy the City Watch books — more than those that focus on the Wizards, and the ones on the Witches, and on the Industrial Revolution, and on the Gods, and on Tiffany Aching, and on DEATH. Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: Dr. Cruces is the head of the Assassin's Guild and user of the gonne and the terrifying head of the Fools' Guild, Dr. Whiteface.

Beware the Nice Ones: This is the first book to insinuate that there may be just a little something more to Carrot's personality than meets the eye. See also Just Between You and Me below. Death Glare: Mr Cheese the bartender insists that a drunken Vimes has to pay his bar bill. Angua and Carrot merely look at Cheese and he immediately changes his mind. But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet. And we get deeper into the mystery going on here, knowing that d’Eath is dead and someone else has the gonne, that the gonne seems to be talking to its wielder (and using the NRA’s favorite slogan, which is always a comfort), that the stakes for the Disc are unbearably high when we realize that the goal is preventing everyone in the streets of Ankh-Morpork from having a firearm. So next week, we’ll have far more to dig into. Asides and little thoughts: Bjorn, the dwarf who believes in reincarnation. Meaning he'll be Bjorn-again. Made more hilarious the fact that the one making the comment is Death, and he's saying it to a race that generally doesn't understand figures of speech, puns, etc. And Death himself, generally completely unable to get even the simplest of humor and wordplay, is immensely proud of having come up with "Bjorn-again" all by himself.

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Asymmetric Dilemma: Detritus needs to find something to write with. Then he needs to find someone who can teach him how to write.

Roundworld's hermit crab (which can be found on islands like Bermuda) behaves similarly: it has no protective shell of its own, so it utilises the shells of dead land snails. The reason why the hermit crab is one of the sadder species in our world as well is given in Stephen Jay Gould's essay 'Nature's Odd Couples' (published in his collection The Panda's Thumb): the shells that form the crabs' natural habitat are from a species of snail that has been extinct since the 19th century. The hermit crabs on Bermuda are only surviving by recycling old fossil shells, of which there are fewer and fewer as time goes on, thus causing the hermit crab to become, slowly but surely, just as extinct as the snails. Character Development: Compare Vimes and Carrot here to how they appear in Guards! Guards!— right from his first moments in the book, Carrot has significantly more depth than he did in his first appearance. The fact that they see eye to eye on this particular point as Good People is meaningful in the worldview provided by these stories; repetition that’s not for the sake of comedy is never something that Pratchett does lightly. We’re meant to note it and keep it in mind. Asides and little thoughts: In the Discworld series of novels by Terry Pratchett, Sam Vimes is the cynical but likable captain of the City Watch of the fictional city-state of Ankh-Morpork. [1] [2] In the 1993 novel Men at Arms, the second novel focusing on the City Watch through Vimes' perspective, Pratchett introduces the "Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness" through Vimes musing on how expensive it is to be poor: [2] [3] Born Terence David John Pratchett, Sir Terry Pratchett sold his first story when he was thirteen, which earned him enough money to buy a second-hand typewriter. His first novel, a humorous fantasy entitled The Carpet People, appeared in 1971 from the publisher Colin Smythe.Terry Pratchett is fifty and lives behind a keyboard in Wiltshire, where he answers letters in a desperate attempt to find time to write. He used to grow carnivorous plants but now they've taken over the greenhouse and he avoids going in. He feels it may be time to get a life, since apparently they're terribly useful. Carpe Jugulum is the twenty-third novel in his phenomenally successful Discworld series. Anyway, Men at Arms has so many of Pratchett’s great characters: Sam Vimes, Carrot, Angua, Gaspode, the Patrician, the City Watch gang and, yes, DEATH. Terry worked for many years as a journalist and press officer, writing in his spare time and publishing a number of novels, including his first Discworld novel, The Color of Magic, in 1983. In 1987, he turned to writing full time. The heroism here is in resisting any urge to use this sort of weapon at all. The Disc is full of dangerous items that can wound and maim and kill, but Pratchett’s very clear on the difference between these weapons and a firearm—it gives you power that isn’t your own:

Edward d'Eath, an Assassin and son of a down-and-out noble family, becomes convinced that the restoration of the Ankh-Morpork monarchy will solve the social change in the city which he blames for his family's humbling. He researches the history of the royal family and determines that Carrot Ironfoundersson is in fact the rightful heir to the throne. More power than any bow or spear—they just stored up your own muscles’ power, when you thought about it. But the gonne gave you power from outside. Angua's lodgings at Mrs. Cake's have brown oilcloth flooring, brown walls, a brown bed, a very brown painting, and a brown wardrobe, full of * brown, for preference coats; the narration notes that, if you fought your way through, you'd break into a magical fairyland full of talking animals and goblins. Mister Muffykins: Big Fido may have been one... once. He's something altogether different now. Completely batshit, for one.

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Continuity Nod: Though he doesn't make a physical appearance, it's noted that the Dean wanted to join the Watch while everyone's getting deputised, with his habit of getting caught up in the latest fads. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the book—perhaps as much as everyone told me that I would. Now, my Pratchett experience is limited. I tried The Color of Magic when I was younger (I’ve since learned that it is a poor representation of the series) and have Still the Leader: Carrot seems on his way to take both Vimes and Vetinari's potitions in the city. In the end he never tries to take Vetinari's place and actually manipulates Vimes into staying as a leader. He does use the fact that he could do this whenever he wanted as a threat to Vetinari, though. Simple, yet Opulent: Sybil's lifestyle is discussed this way, as well as why expensive boots last so long compared to cheap ones (although Vimes prefers the latter). Dr. Cruces asks Vimes what makes him think he can come in like he owns the place. Vimes's reply is to produce the document that shows that in fact he does own the place.