Don't Stop the World, I Don't Want to Get Off
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Terry Pratchett has become one of the most popular authors alive today and his popularity is richly deserved. But not even with his fertile mind could ever have envisaged the heights to which his Discworld series would rise. This book was first published in 1989 the same year as Pyramids and is number eight in the Discworld novels. In this the audio version, the voice of Tony Robinson is an inspired choice, with just the right intonations for each character.
You would think that a fantasy world full of trolls, zombies, witches, vampires would be an alien concept to most readers. Werewolves and dwarves in the Ank Morpork city watch. Wizards running a university. All this born in the mind of one of the funniest author's writing today. Surely this style of writing would have a limited readership? But no the books are loved by anybody and everybody and are read by people who would not normally allow fantasy fiction anywhere near their book shelves. This is the Discworld of Terry Pratchett.
Guards! Guards! features some of my favourite Discworld characters. The books transports the reader into the world of the Ankh-Morpork Night Watch. The Watch contains lots of characters new to the Discworld series of books and what characters they are. Captain Sam Vimes, leader of the Watch, Corporal Nobby Nobbs, Sergeant Colon and Corporal Carrot, the tallest dwarf in history at 6 foot in his stocking feet. These are just a few of the new characters that grace the pages of this book. They are so well written that they all seem like old friends long before the book has finished.
The loose, very loose storyline to this plot is the fact that a book called The Summoning of Dragons has mysteriously gone missing from Unseen University. This coincides with the fact that a fire breathing dragon has been causing mayhem in the city. Dragons are the speciality of Sybil Ramkin, who keeps a number of swamp dragons as pets. "Just be firm with them," is her best advice.
Any books that can make me laugh out loud have got to be good and these books certainly do that. It is virtually impossible to describe them to people who have never read any of them. So if you need cheering up, or just enjoy a good laugh, buy one now. This one is one of my favourites but they are all terrific.
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