Men at Arms

12th May 2023:


If Guards Guards was about saving a city, that didn't have much worth, from a dragon, then men at arms sets our protagonists against saving a city from its own vices. 

I can imagine in any other series or book Vetinari's way of letting things be would be explained away by character quirkiness and left to its own devices.

Men at arms throws itself full force into the problem. 

It questions again and again, what does it mean to let things be if the system works. Is no change at all the only way to make things function in a stable environment? Then should everything be changed?

Sir Terry Pratchett never gives out solutions in addressing these question. In fact there's no solutions every provided at all. 

He just shows the reader what a person can do if they allowed themselves and others a moment of empathy. 


I honestly never expected at all that the book would go in the direction of ethnic differences but it did and everything was depicted so brilliantly. I couldn't believe the time it was written in with how well done it is and had to look at the publishing date twice. 


My one teeny tiny grip was just Lady Sybil. I wanted to see how she would address Vimes' silent disgruntlement. But I can also see why the relationship is not addressed because the book is more about individual struggles than focusing on romance. 

Final rating: 5/5