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Men At Arms: (Discworld Novel 15) (Discworld series)

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Pratchett's stories are almost always "good to great", but he really shines with his character dialogue. There is a whole host of new characters added to the main cast in this book, and they are wonderful additions that play off each other so, so well. The watch has to recruit more members as part of an affirmative action initiative, so they bring in a dwarf, a troll, and a werewolf. But one of the main characters doesn't know the werewolf is a werewolf and thinks they have been recruited due to being a female.

Given that comparison, it's not surprising that Vimes keeps our attention more. Perfect characters just aren't compelling in the same way. This is the second book in the City Watch storyline in the Discworld novels. And I have to say, it's probably twice as good as Guards Guards. The Reveal: Edward d'Eath died early in the book and Dr. Cruces is the one who has been committing the murders. Heroic RRoD: In the scene where Detritus goes into low-temperature genius mode, it was so cold that he almost froze to death. There’s a thematic echo here, where Pratchett reuses a line that we last heard coming from Granny Weatherwax, this time giving it to Carrot after Vimes asks about his desire for revenge against Cruces for killing Angua: “But personal isn’t the same as important.” And it’s beautiful because both Carrot and Granny are good people—but really Good with a capital ‘G’—yet they’re different in how they go about their goodness. Being good is innate for Carrot; he doesn’t know any other way to be. Being good is hard for Granny Weatherwax, but she manages it, even when she’d rather not. But they both arrive at the same conclusion.

New in Series

Srinivas, Sitara (2020). STITCHING A NEW NARRATIVE: ENGAGING WITH SUSTAINABILITY IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY (PDF) (Report). Cuddy is repeatedly asked if he's a dwarf. He answers: "It's the nose, isn't it? It always gives me away." Another time he responds "Are you a giant? No? Ah, so I must be a dwarf then." You get the impression that he gets asked that a lot.

Cool Sword: Carrot's nameless blade, which is very specifically and completely non-magical. It's just "bloody efficient" at cutting things, which is more than most Discworld swords, the vast majority of which are magical and thus don't quite exist. In contrast, Carrot's blade is very definitely a sword; the platonic ideal of sword. You can't doubt its existence while you're looking at it. Standing Between the Enemies: Carrot had a truly epic example when he successfully shamed two armies of trolls and dwarves. They were ready to rip each other apart until he came and basically told them to stop it or he'll arrest the lot of them. When it works, the other Watch members are astounded and a little alarmed. The latter incident actually serves as a Godzilla Threshold for how bad the situation has become and that they, The Watch, need to do something about it now.Companion Cube: Detritus, getting carried away with his recruitment-drive for Carrot's militia, swears in a mannequin from a menswear shop. The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money. Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Carrot, specifically when he stuns Vimes with the phrase "Personal isn't the same as important."

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