Second paragraph of third section:
He became aware of what seemed to be thoughts in his head. They went something like this:
The second of the City Watch subsequence in the Discworld series. As I work through the Pratchett novels in order of popularity, I suspect that I’m going to find that I’ve already read all the really good ones, and although Men at Arms is funny and passionate, the two most overt bits of satire somewhat miss the mark, or perhaps have aged less well since 1993 than some of PTerry’s other work.
His spoofing of affirmative action surely came from a place of love and respect, but it lands rather awkwardly in a 2025 where the US government is stripping away DEI policies to the cheers of conservative forces at home and abroad. (Also, stupid people are not always automatically funny.)
And the idea that society faces utter collapse if fire-arms are to be allowed to exist at all, well, yes, one can see the point and the target, but it’s a bit heavy-handed; it’s effectively finger-wagging at the Americans for allowing their country to get so screwed up by the supposed Second Amendment rights. Sure, that’s not all it is; there’s also a bit of the loss of innocence of embracing any new technology, though later Discworld books are more enthusiastic about the embracing.
Anyway, still a good read, if not quite as superlative as some of the others in the series. You can get it here.
Next up: Feet of Clay.
The Colour of Magic | The Light Fantastic | Equal Rites | Mort | Sourcery | Wyrd Sisters | Pyramids | Guards! Guards! | Eric | Moving Pictures | Reaper Man | Witches Abroad | Small Gods | Lords and Ladies | Men at Arms | Soul Music | Interesting Times | Maskerade | Feet of Clay | Hogfather | Jingo | The Last Continent | Carpe Jugulum | The Fifth Elephant | The Truth | Thief of Time | The Last Hero | The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents | Night Watch | The Wee Free Men | Monstrous Regiment | A Hat Full of Sky | Going Postal | Thud! | Wintersmith | Making Money | Unseen Academicals | I Shall Wear Midnight | Snuff | Raising Steam | The Shepherd’s Crown