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Title: Men at Arms |
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Review of Men at Arms
A Young Dwarf's Dream
Corporal Carrot has been promoted! He's now in charge of the new recruits guarding Ankh-Morpork, Discworld's greatest city, from Barbarian Tribes, Miscellaneous Marauders, unlicensed Thieves, and such. It's a big job, particularly for an adopted dwarf.
But an even bigger job awaits. An ancient document has just revealed that Ankh-Morpork, ruled for decades by Disorganized crime, has a secret sovereign! And his name is Carrott...
And so begins the most awesome epic encounter of all time, or at least all afternoon, in which the fate of a cityâindeed of the universe itself!âdepends on a young man's courage, an ancient sword's magic, and a three-legged poodle's bladder.
Product Description
- Another wild romp through Discworld! Corporal Carrot, a young dwarf, is newly in charge of the recruits guarding Ankh-Morpork. Edward, the 37th Lord d'Eath, has just discovered that Ankh-Morpork, kingless for generations, has a sovereign ruler, who must be convinced that he is, in fact, the King. The fate of Ankh-Morpork rides on a young man's courage, an ancient sword's magic, and a three-legged poodle's bladder.
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Comments for Men at Arms
- Posted on 2008-05-18
Avoid the abridged Discworld audiobooks!
I've listened to "Lords and Ladies" in the abridged and unabridged versions and can only recommend the unabridged.
The person who did the abridging seems to have gone about it by discarding every other chapter from the unabridged book. The story jerked along so confusingly, I wasn't sure at the end what the plot had been about other than Elves coming back from exile. Tony Robinson's reading only added to the confusion, his store of "voices" consisted of "regular voice", "low volume hissed voice", "loud voice". LVHV was used for the Elf Queen and several other characters and was so hard to hear that I often had to back up the track, set the iPod's volume to max and repeat so I could figure out what the dialog was.
Then I got the unabridged version that Nigel Planer reads and realized that "Lords and Ladies" is another triumph for Pratchett! Nigel Planer is a wonder! The witches have voices that sound elderly, female and distinctly individual. Dwarfs have deep gravelly voices and Trolls sound dimwitted and slow. Wizards, the Librarian, every character has his own voice. Planer's only flaw is that young women always sound adenoidal, but it's not jarring and I soon got used to it. Best of all, Planer's reading is always clearly audible.
So, avoid the unabridged versions! I can't imagine what Terry Pratchett was thinking when he greenlighted these travesties. Maybe the publishers told him that people who demand books that can be listened to in one long setting don't care if the stories suck?
Score: 1
- Posted on 2008-02-24
a watch book!
to funny to be real. i don't ask for much more in a discworld novel.
Score: 5
- Posted on 2008-02-17
In which the nature of royalty and obsession is explored
Edward D'Eath by chance becomes obsessed with the royal line of Anhk Morpork, the city watch enjoys the benefits of several directions of integration, Sam Vimes of the Night Watch prepares to retire to a life of comfort and other torments, the harsh and serious nature of clowns is considered, the genteel and sophisticated nature of Assassins is considered, and the fruits of allowing a certifiable genius to run loose with tools are sown.
As an obsessed Assassin works behind the scenes to restore the heir to the royal family of Anhk Morpork to the throne, the unsuspecting presumed heir walks the streets of Anhk Morpork commanding the respect of the crimenal element of the city. This is most unusual as he is a junior Watchman.
An invention of Leonard of Quirm is loose in the city, and as the inventions of madmen and geniuses (and Leonard is both in his own special fashion) are wont to do, it is making mischief.
Sam Vimes is about to marry the wealthiest woman in the city, and the clash of cultures is brilliant social commentary.
And the dogs of A-MP have a leader with a dark vision of the supremacy of canines over bipeds...
This is Terry Pratchett at his best! Discworld is in fine form, reflecting the obsession with royals, gun control, affirmative action, political action, and the dark side of clowns. One of the best of DIscworld.
Score: 5 - Posted on 2007-10-23
Excellent: enjoyable, entertaining, even enlightening
This is probably among the best Diskworld books Pratchett has written. It has it all: rich character development, an intriguing plot that actually kept throwing curves at me, some sarcastic social commentary, and of course, Pratchett's renound rapier-like wit. I'm still laughing at his concept of "retro-phrenology."
As with any Diskworld novel, this one is best enjoyed if you already have a grip on the setting, but if you're new to the series, you can start here with little problem -- though you'll get the sense you're not privy to a number of inside jokes.
Highly recommended.
Score: 5 - Posted on 2007-10-04
Sometimes it's better to light a flamethrower than to curse the darkness.
There's something to be said for reading a series in chronological order, but it seems somehow more in the spirit of Discworld to just read them however they come to hand. This one features the Night Watch (my favorite sub-series) on the cusp of becoming the reorganized and expanded City Watch. Carrot is presently a corporal and trolls and dwarfs are just being added to the roster in the spirit of affirmative action. Captain Sam Vimes is facing both imminent retirement and imminent marriage to Lady Sybil Ramkin, both of which have put him into a strange state of mind. And on top of all that, there has been a mysterious series of murders of guild members, committed with an unknown weapon. Carrot, a six-foot-tall adopted dwarf, gets a lot of play this time, with special attention to his special talent: Everyone likes Carrot because he truly thinks everyone is basically decent underneath it all. As always, Pratchett, a master of stealth philosophy, combines off-the-wall humor and bent puns with thoughtful and humane digressions on the nature of right and good vs. wrong and evil, and what makes a good copper.
Score: 5