Guards! Guards!

Discworld, Book 8

By: Terry Pratchett

Narrated by: Nigel Planer

Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's Summary

If you find yourself ruminating on questions like "Where have all the dragons gone?" then this is the story for you. Explore the crazy, creepy land called Discworld, where you'll discover that the dragons aren't asleep or dead - they're dormant, packed in like huge, scaly sardines. Join in the search for the key to their closed-in, comatose world in this eighth fantastical Discworld novel.

Please note: This is a vintage recording. The audio quality may not be up to modern day standards.

©1989 Terry and Lyn Pratchett (P)1995 ISIS Publishing Ltd

A continuous joy

There are very few books that deserve to be revised. Guards Guards, the first of the Night Watch Discworld novels is one of these few. With the classic performance of Nigel Planer it felt like bounching into an old and beloved friend with whom one has lost contact many years ago. Planer's voice and the late Sir Terry Pratchett's "serious" humour still makes an excellent escape from the rush and turmoil of everyday life. This audiobook is a golden oldie to be revisited every once and again.

Absolutely phenomenal writing

Loved the descriptions. Amazing humor that makes me burst out laughing on regular bases. Narator nails the presentation.

What great fun !

Where does Guards! Guards! rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It is definitely one of the better books. It rolls along with the occasional laugh out loud segment and frequent guffaws.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Its hard not to like all the characters. Pratchett develops his characters as if they were real people. I do like Sam Vimes though. He's an interesting mix of the alcoholic veteran and the suddenly energetic action hero - surprising himself as much as the reader.

What does Nigel Planer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Inflection, accents and delivery pace all bring the characters to life and the events are vested with excitement you might not discover just reading it yourself. There are very few readers I think I'd trust with a Discworld book and Nigel is great.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not especially. This is a light tale that gallops along exuding fun, humour and wrapped around a cracking good story.

Any additional comments?

Yes. As much as I admire Nigel Planer, I do wish the voice he used for Sam Vimes had suited the character a little better. The voice is a little nasal and somewhat dull. Vimes is many things but he's certainly not stupid.

Soon to be removed from store

Pratchett was a comedic genius. Monty Python-esk, joyful, witty, human and hope giving.

Unfortunately, the producers have begun replacing the original recordings. See "Hogfarther" for e.g.

Nigel Planer was hand picked by Pratchett because his narration truly captures the british serious yet silly humor. To replace this with a childrens fairy tale grade narrator is a crime upon art.

Get them while you can.

great story, terrible narrator

Loved the story. The narration is horrible. The pacing is bad any time the characters are speaking. The "voices" of the characters were obnoxious, cartoonish, and dissapointing.

HILARIOUS and so Superbly Self Aware

Loved the book! As a fan of fantasy, it is refreshing to find a charming critique in a classic I have just discovered for myself.

great book, exceptional reading and great humor

Nigel absolutely nailed narrating this book!

this book has amazing humor, made me laugh out loud many times!
I really enjoyed the characters and the setting!
this was my first diskworld book and I look forward to continuing my journey through this wild bizarre and fascinating world!

you'll have some laughs, many laughs!

Gaurds Gaurds as it should be

I've read the book before and absolutely love Sir Terry Pratchett. the narrator though nailed the voices and characters and did the story justice and then some. My whole family listened to it over several long car trips and it made the journeys an unexpected pleasure.

A whole other world

So quirky and fun! I went for a little getaway and I’ll be back for the wit.

Great story, not a fan of the narrator.

Love the story but the voices that Nigel does sins more like making fun of everyone then doing actual voices.

Eminently Re-readable

I love the characters in Terry Pratchett's books, Lady Sybil is wonderful - I imagine her like a ship in full sail, although each of the Discworld novels follow on from eachother, they are equally brilliant as 'stand alone' stories. I do feel strongly that Terry Pratchett is a brilliant man, and that his humour is intelligent and pokes fun at the stupidities of our human race!

absolute classic

brilliantly introduced into the night watch story line and the brilliantly cynic Sam vimes!!! classic

Fabulous!

Beautifully written, brilliantly read with real character infused by Nigel Planer. Absolutely Hilarious. Only let down but rubbishy sound quality of old "audiobooks - when are we going to get cd quality?

Good, but not the best of the series

Guards! Guards! is one of the earlier discworld books and is the first time we are introduced to the City Watch making it their first in that line of books set in the discworld.

This is a fantastic story and it is well read, however the truth is that Planer is not as good at the unabridged recordings as Briggs and as a result I have lowered my score.

There is also the fact that as this is an early Guards book its just not as fleshed out as some of its sequels and as a result I cant really give it five stars because doing so would cheapen the five star novels from later on in the series.

If you love Discworld you will love this (I did), however while listening to it just remember that there is far better to come

Hilarious town tales are some of Prachett's best!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Another great book from Sir Terry Prachett full of humour and sarcasm worth spending a credit for! "Guards! Guards!" gives you a "what's going to happen next?!" feeling through the whole story and so much more. This book shows the author's humour at its best through the events, names of the main characters and a liberal sprinkling of twists.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Guards! Guards!?

The dragon of course! Yes, there are dragons "stuck like sardines" who creep into the Disc...

Which character – as performed by Nigel Planer – was your favourite?

Nigel Planer gives another great performance and choosing one character performed by him doesn't do the justice. Imitating all the different guards in the story and giving them their own personalities is an art in its own, elevating this to a great audio book.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

This book breaks the stereotypes as no other and shows the hidden simplicity of happiness in the human nature. This especially shines through in Carrot's actions - one of the guards. His story wound through the events of the book show Prachett's unique style and his compassion to the world and its people.

Excellent despite not loving Terry Pratchett

I never thought that I would say this about a Terry Pratchett book, it was very amazing! I really loved it,I think I got onto the wrong foot with Terry Pratchett, but I could never get into his books then my brother made me listen to this one and I loved it, I couldn't put it down and have loved the entire series, really worth a read whether you are a Terry Pratchett fan or not.

Hilarious. Brilliant. Timeless.

I've been working my way through the Terry Pratchett 'Discworld' audiobooks and this is by far my favourite story as of yet. Nigel Planer is equally the perfect narrator - humorous, creative and a conjurer of so many vital, vivid characters. Give it a listen!

one of my favourites

you can't hold a better mirror to our world. oh and it has a bloody great big dragon in it.

Happy listening

Where does Guards! Guards! rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of Terry Pratchett's disc world greats.

What other book might you compare Guards! Guards! to, and why?

Well there is about 3 other books in the disc world colletion that centre's around the the night watch.

What aspect of Nigel Planer’s performance might you have changed?

There are parts where the gap between words is too long or short where it has been cut.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

any part about Knobby knobs.

Any additional comments?

Read all the disc world colletion.

The story of the Watch begins here.

Excellent book. Sam Vimes and the watch are my favourite thread in the Discworld universe, acting as a good satire and showing of Pratchett's ability to write a mystery/thriller. This is a good book to chose to get into reading Discworld. Men at Arms coninues the story of the Watch and Sam Vimes.