Men at Arms

 

By Terry Pratchett

Times are changing in Ankh-Morpork. The Patrician has ordered the Night Watch to become more representative of the citizens of the city, resulting in three new hires, Cuddy, a dwarf; Detritus, a troll and Angua, a woman (and a bit more). Captain Vimes doesn't quite know what to think about this new direction for the Night Watch. But it is hardly his problem any more as he will shortly be marrying the richest woman in Ankhj-Morpork, Lady Sybil and his working days will soon be  behind him. Of course, it will be quite an adjustment for Vimes, going from being so poor that he used to line his boots with cardboard when they wore out because he couldn't afford new ones to having anything he wants just by asking for it.

Lady Sybil has a passion for swamp dragons and runs a sanctuary for them and she is worried about the disappearance of one of her dragons, Chubby. So she asks Vimes to keep an eye out for Chubby as he makes his final patrols. And he does find Chubby, or what is left of him. Someone used Chubby to blow a hole in the wall of the Assassin's Guild. All that is left of the little dragon is its blue collar.

It soon become clear that the explosion was used to gain access to a weapon in the Guild's possession, a weapon that they were supposed to have destroyed in the past. This weapon, the "gonne" is unique in a world were explosives are only used in fireworks. And the person who stole the "gonne" has a demented plot to restore a king to the throne of Ankh-Morpork, and his chosen king is the clueless and innocent Night Watchman, Corporal Carrot. And one of his first victims is the ruler of Ankh-Morpork, the Patrician himself.

This is one of Pratchett's best stories, in my opinion. Vimes finally gets the breaks he deserves and three fun, new characters are added to the watch, Cuddy, Detritus and Angua, with the possibility of even more strange policemen in future stories like zombies and vampires. Plus the story introduces us to Gaspode, a scruffy little street mutt, who, as a consequence of sleeping too near the Unseen University, has acquired the ability to talk, even though most humans refuse to hear what he says. 

Some of my favorite Discworld stories are about the adventures of  the Night Watch and this story is one of my favorites of the Night Watch series.

Review by Publishers Weekly.