I've been working my way through the Discworld series in the order of publication, and I must admit the City Watch novels are among my favorites. In "Men at Arms", Pratchett does a great job of transforming the rag-tag group of night watchmen into another Ankh-Morpork institution. I really enjoyed following Vimes and Carrot as they conducted their investigation, and the introduction of our new watch... people... promises more enjoyment in future installments.

Above all, I enjoy Pratchett's ability to blend humorous fiction with poignant social commentary. Though some of these books are over a decade or two old, and perhaps written to juxtapose some then-current event or social dilemma, his novels have that lasting quality that makes them apt regardless of today's world issues. Even today we have problems with gun control and violence, and with this novel Pratchett does what he does best - pokes fun at everyone on all sides.

This definitely ranks in my top 5 of the series to this point.

There aren't enough words in the English language to express my utter loathing and contempt for this book. I had heard that Pratchett was "satirical", "devious", "irreverent", "magical", "entertaining" and "above all funny".

Sadly "Men at Arms" is none of the above. Pratchett is trying to be Douglas Adams and fails at it miserably. This story in particular was trite, condisending, and supremly unfunny. His use of footnotes to make a joke that had no bearing upon the story was...lame, for lack of a better term.

The jokes, reeked of "ho ho ho see how clever I am!" rather than actually being funny. The characters struck me as pale shadows of characters who only grow and change in set and sadly predictiable ways so that they can advance the plot and story rather than being changed by the plot and story.

I can't even say the story was silly lame. It wasn't. It was just lame.

I've listened to "Lords and Ladies" in the abridged and unabridged versions and can only recommend the unabridged.

The person who did the abridging seems to have gone about it by discarding every other chapter from the unabridged book. The story jerked along so confusingly, I wasn't sure at the end what the plot had been about other than Elves coming back from exile. Tony Robinson's reading only added to the confusion, his store of "voices" consisted of "regular voice", "low volume hissed voice", "loud voice". LVHV was used for the Elf Queen and several other characters and was so hard to hear that I often had to back up the track, set the iPod's volume to max and repeat so I could figure out what the dialog was.

Then I got the unabridged version that Nigel Planer reads and realized that "Lords and Ladies" is another triumph for Pratchett! Nigel Planer is a wonder! The witches have voices that sound elderly, female and distinctly individual. Dwarfs have deep gravelly voices and Trolls sound dimwitted and slow. Wizards, the Librarian, every character has his own voice. Planer's only flaw is that young women always sound adenoidal, but it's not jarring and I soon got used to it. Best of all, Planer's reading is always clearly audible.

So, avoid the unabridged versions! I can't imagine what Terry Pratchett was thinking when he greenlighted these travesties. Maybe the publishers told him that people who demand books that can be listened to in one long setting don't care if the stories suck?

to funny to be real. i don't ask for much more in a discworld novel.

Edward D'Eath by chance becomes obsessed with the royal line of Anhk Morpork, the city watch enjoys the benefits of several directions of integration, Sam Vimes of the Night Watch prepares to retire to a life of comfort and other torments, the harsh and serious nature of clowns is considered, the genteel and sophisticated nature of Assassins is considered, and the fruits of allowing a certifiable genius to run loose with tools are sown.

As an obsessed Assassin works behind the scenes to restore the heir to the royal family of Anhk Morpork to the throne, the unsuspecting presumed heir walks the streets of Anhk Morpork commanding the respect of the crimenal element of the city. This is most unusual as he is a junior Watchman.

An invention of Leonard of Quirm is loose in the city, and as the inventions of madmen and geniuses (and Leonard is both in his own special fashion) are wont to do, it is making mischief.

Sam Vimes is about to marry the wealthiest woman in the city, and the clash of cultures is brilliant social commentary.

And the dogs of A-MP have a leader with a dark vision of the supremacy of canines over bipeds...

This is Terry Pratchett at his best! Discworld is in fine form, reflecting the obsession with royals, gun control, affirmative action, political action, and the dark side of clowns. One of the best of DIscworld.