jacey | Booklog 59/2022: Terry Pratchett: Guards Guards

The first book of the City Watch sub-series, introducing Sam Vimes of the Night Watch. At the start Vimes is a burnt-out wreck of a man, fast disappearing down the neck of a bottle, but there's trouble stirring in the city of Ankh Morpork. There's always trouble, but this is a different kind of trouble and Sam must step up and sober up if he's to solve the problem of a new lethal weapon - a dragon. The City Watch is a joke, encompassing characters like Sgt Fred Colon Nobby Nobbs, who is barely human, and other characters who are definitely not human, plus Carrot, who is a dwarf despite being over six feet tall. There's political satire as well as humour and some deep character building. It's the beginning of Vimes character arc - my favourite out of all the Discworld characters. This is a good place to jump into the Discworld books if you haven't read any of them before.