Mystery, Intrigue, and Exploding Dragons: How Did I Not Read Guards! Guards! Sooner?

Mystery, Intrigue, and Exploding Dragons: How Did I Not Read Guards! Guards! Sooner?

Written by A. Pate

(Title image is a piece of fanart I made a few weeks ago)

I love comedic writing. Haunting thrillers and epic adventures have their place, but you can only take so much melodrama before needing a good laugh. The best books I’ve ever read have been the ones that made me laugh out loud, the ones that have made me stop reading to tell the person next to me what I thought was so funny. This in mind, my dear friend’s descriptions of the works of Terry Pratchett piqued my interest some time ago. (Elanor, I doubt you’ll ever see this, but if you do, hello, thanks for the new obsession.) I enjoy high-fantasy settings, as anyone who’s heard me talk about D&D will know, but I’ve grown tired of the typical YA hero’s journey rigamarole that seems to be a hallmark of the fantasy genre. As such, the idea of a fantasy book with good humor that poked fun at itself was incredibly appealing to me, and after waiting in agony for the single copy of Guards! Guards! at the university library to free up, I was finally able to get my hands on it and enter the Discworld for the first time.

I was not disappointed. Immediately, I grew attached to every one of Pratchett’s characters—Captain Vimes, Corporal Nobbs, Sergeant Colon, Lance-Constable Carrot, and Lady Sybil Ramkin are some of the most entertaining characters I’ve encountered in media in a very long time, each with their own personal eccentricities that ensure boredom is left well outside the pages. Pratchett employs a sort of cleverly pleonastic, matter-of-fact humor reminiscent of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, another one of my favorites. Guards! Guards! does an excellent job of taking fantasy tropes, like chosen royalty and legendary swords, and turning them on their heads in a delightfully irreverent homage to all things fantasy. The mighty dragons of Pratchett’s Discworld, for example, are for the most part around the size of house cats, with digestive systems so precariously balanced that they have a tendency to explode whenever they sneeze too hard.

Another thing about Guards! Guards! that really stood out to me was that, although the entire novel is built on a foundation of sarcasm and deadpan wit, the absurdity of the plotline itself makes it genuinely refreshing and interesting to follow, and the messages it sends about humanity and society are relevant both to the fictional city in which it takes place and the world we live in today. For example, the city of Ankh-Morpork functions on a system of guilds, where even the most dishonorable professions such as thieves and assassins are able to operate above the radar so long as they follow their quotas. This concept is generally very funny, but also provides interesting commentary about the questionable morality of humanity, however hyperbolized it may be. Comedy without a purpose can only go so far, but when coupled with thought-provoking ideas, a truly remarkable story is created.

It can be hard to find a book you love. Sometimes, it can even be hard to find a book you like, but when you do, it’s one of the best feelings in the world. Guards! Guards! was one of the first books I’ve picked up in a while that I’ve actually been excited to read, and maybe the first time ever where reading a book tied to a lengthy series has felt like a blessing rather than a burden. I’m currently reading Men at Arms, the second book in Pratchett’s City Watch series. Though I haven’t had much time for reading in recent months, talking dogs and clown funerals have certainly continued to make Pratchett’s works truly hilarious and remarkable.