Book Description
In the world of Mouse Guard, mice struggle to live safely and prosper amongst harsh conditions and a host of predators. Thus the Mouse Guard was formed: more than just soldiers that fight off intruders, they are guides for common mice looking to journey without confrontation from one hidden village to another. The Guard patrol borders, find safeways and paths through dangerous territories and treacherous terrain, watch weather patterns, and keep the mouse territories free of predatory infestation. They do so with fearless dedication so that they might not just exist, but truly live. Saxon, Kenzie and Lieam, three such Guardsmice, are dispatched to find a missing merchant mouse that never arrived at his destination. Their search for the missing mouse reveals much more than they expect, as they stumble across a traitor in the Guard's own ranks.
Customer Reviews:
Beautiful.......2007-10-06
It's just darn beautiful...a great work. Isn't it great to be into comics right now?
Wonderful and original.......2007-09-24
This is an excellent book--kind of a combination of Watership Down and Lord of the Rings in a comic style form. Peterson's narrative and art are amazing. His art may be some of the best illustrations yopu will see in any book anywhere.
The whole family will enjoy it, no matter thier age.
the secret lives of mice.......2007-08-18
this littel graphic novel is a fun little read, IMO excellent art and a compelling story, it is he story of guardian mice who remind me of Brian Jaques Redwall as heroic warriors on the smaller scale of graphic novel heroes. i eagerly await the next book.
Slayer's of snakes and mice..........2007-07-24
I just finished reading my copy of this and it is amazing. Quality and originality is hard to find these days and I applaud the creator for an excellent job well done. The art is stunning and the story is fun. Take a chance and pick this up...I did, and it was worth every dime!
See how they run. See how they run........2007-07-19
The quest to locate child-friendly graphic novels is amusingly difficult. You wouldn't think finding quality comics would be so hard. The public perception is that comics are just made for kids anyway, so shouldn't this lead to an abundance of riches? Hardly. You're lucky if you can find three new books a season that aren't parts of already existing series. Now, I had heard of "Mouse Guard" before. While drifting about the most recent Comic Con I took some free samples of the "Mouse Guard" comic books. They were nice items, but too short and shoddy to stand up to serious library circulation. A friend told me they'd be bound together at some point, but I never really believed it and "Mouse Guard" fell out of my thoughts. Months later, I received this in the mail: a beautifully bound edition of six or seven of those comic books, now in a handsome edition. More than library-worthy, "Mouse Guard" is bound to remind kids of Redwall and the like. The feel and the art, however, is vastly different.
Author/illustrator David Petersen puts it like this; Over the years he'd scribble little ideas about this miniscule world. One of the first read, "Mice have a culture all their own; too small to integrate with other animals." The result is a story that would fit right into England circa 1152. An elite guard of mice is trained to protect the travelers in their realm from natural predators. Three of these guards, Kenzie, Lieam, and Saxon, are dispatched to discover why a local merchant went missing not too long ago. In their search for his remains they discover the seeds of a plot to overthrow not only their home of Lockhaven but also the entirety of the guard itself. A mouse claiming to carry the legendary Black Axe is certain that the guard is outdated and plans an uprising to control all the towns and villages. Only by working together can the guards defeat this scourge, finding an unlikely ally to aid them along the way. End matter consists of maps, guides to residences and professions, and (in a very interesting twist) different takes on the characters by fellow artists and illustrators.
First off, I should tell you that the language here has a stilted awkward nature to it. Unlike some other graphic novelists, like Neil Gaiman or Jeff Smith, Petersen's language is brief and to the point. Each chapter of the book begins with a synopsis and encapsulation that brings readers up to speed, even if the action and names become confusing. What the book really feels like, oddly enough, is an English translation. As for the plot, it jumps about a bit but is understandable. Petersen enmeshes you so thoroughly in this world that he sees little reason to fill you in on some of the background details. You never hear of the legend of the Black Axe until you're meeting the mouse who claims that title himself. Similarly, characters are mentioned briefly in passing long before they appear in the book. The result is that you begin to wonder if this is the middle of the saga rather than the beginning. The words are serviceable, but they aren't the lure you're looking for here.
The real draw to the series, as I see it, is the art. Author/illustrator David Petersen received his BFA in Printmaking from Eastern Michigan University, making him the first children's graphic novelist I've seen to utilize that particular art form. This means that everything from the mice to the predators to the pockmarks in a castle's stone is rendered exquisitely beautiful on the page. Petersen constantly shifts his perspective too, sometimes looking up as three mice have a council of war, and sometimes down, as in a fight. The panels themselves expand and contract according to the scene in question. Petersen's very adept at the breathtaking view of an overwhelming enemy. And the colors... oh, the colors. Orange-red autumnal rains and the dusky purples of the woods at dusk are just some of the scenes that grace this book. With great skill Petersen even plays with light, simulating night and the bright blue sky of a day at the beach.
A very interesting blurb graces the book flap of this title. According to a Mr. Matthew Price of "The Oklahoman," this title is, "An anthropomorphized adventure that will appeal to fans of Bone and The Secret of NIMH." An interesting idea. As I said before, this book is far closer to Redwall in its idea of little mousies with big heavy swords. Yet the series that I was reminded of the most, over and over with this book, was Jill Barklem's Brambly Hedge tales like, Summer Story. Obviously the tone is very different, but the visuals have some distinct similarities. In both cases we get intense views of enormously details mouse societies. Barklem was more concerned with bizarre Rube Goldberglike layouts, but both Petersen and Barklem create meticulously details miniature worlds.
"Mouse Guard" falls into that odd little category of books that are appropriate for kids, but that haven't yet made the leap from the graphic novel geeks to the children's book geeks. I mean, the comic community has truly embraced these stories. The children's librarian community? Not so much. This is the problem small presses like ASP Comics face when attempting to break into the library market. However people find it, "Mouse Guard: Fall 1152" may actually serve a new purpose in the future. Kids that like this series could easily be turned onto "Redwall" as well, if they're not already familiar with it. Whatever the case, Petersen's created a lovely little graphic novel here. Let's hope people give it its proper due.
Amazon.com
There's something about the job that leads (fictional) cops and PIs to drink, which is why booze always seems to be a minor character in the genre. This is certainly the case in Ken Bruen's debut thriller about melancholy Irishman Jack Taylor, whose luck at finding things keeps him in beer money after he's kicked out of Ireland's Garda Siochna. When the mother of a young suicide victim asks him to investigate her daughter's death, Taylor discovers that Sarah Henderson isn't the only teenager to take a long walk off a short Galway pier. His search for the perpetrator gets his best friend killed, destroys his nascent relationship with his client, and sets him up for a final betrayal few readers will see coming. This promising writer doesn't need all the tricky punctuation and excess quotations from other writers to punch up his sharp, lyrical prose, but these are minor quibbles--he's a newcomer to watch. --Jane Adams
Book Description
Praised by critics around the globe, The Guards introduces Jack Taylor, a disgraced ex-cop battling boredom and addiction on the gritty Galway streets. Still mourning the decades-old death of his father, stinging from his unceremonious ouster from the Garda Siochana-The Guards, Ireland's police force-and staring at the world through the smoky bottom of his beer mug, Jack has nothing to look forward to. Nothing, that is, until a dazzling woman walks into the bar because of a rumor about Jack's talent for finding things. A riveting hard-boiled novel fueled by dark humor and stark violence, The Guards kicks off an exceptional new series.
Customer Reviews:
Familiar and unique.......2007-09-21
Bruen doesn't reinvent the murder mystery - he just shifts it's phasing and phrasing. Reading this, you're always comfortable with the genre and shaken by the interpretation. If you love murder mysteries, detective novels, or Irish humor, you'll be at home with this book. A quick read, you find yourself slowing so as not to finish too soon. Can't wait to read the next one...slowly...savoring it like single malt or fine Irish.
Hard Boiled and Then Some.......2007-09-01
I've read dozens of hardcore crime and detective novels over the years, but Ken Bruen's The Guards stands out as one of the most unusual of the lot. I recently became aware of Ken Bruen, who lives in Galway, Ireland, and set this novel there, when I read The Triumph of the Thriller earlier this month. Bruen was listed as one of the best crime writers working in Europe today and The Guards was mentioned as a particularly good place to start reading him.
Jack Taylor, the novel's narrator, is a former member of the Garda Siochana, Ireland's police force, who has attained somewhat of a local reputation for being good at "finding things." He is the closest thing to a private detective that a highly suspicious Irish society will trust to even a small degree. Unfortunately for Taylor, one of the things that he is best at finding is his next bottle of booze and he spends a substantial portion of his waking hours in a less than sober state. Taylor's reputation as a "finder" results in a young woman asking him to investigate the supposed suicide of her daughter and what he learns in the process will forever change his life.
On the surface, Jack Taylor is little different from many of genre's most popular detectives. He is an alcoholic fighting to stay sober in a world that every day confronts him with readily available booze, a man with a history of failed relationships, one handy with sarcasm and wit even when in danger.
But two things make The Guards different from the bulk of crime fiction being written today, the first being Bruen's writing style. The novel's prose is sparse, relying on short scene after short scene to move the plot along rather than on surrounding action scenes with the details of an intricate plot. Each scene is presented through the eyes of Jack Taylor and the reader's sense of what is happening is limited to only what Taylor sees or remembers from his own past. Bruen doesn't always hold himself to standard punctuation and is very fond of producing lists in place of simple sentences. For example,
"My clothes were
Washed
Ironed
Folded
at the end of the bed."
Too, many of the scenes are preceded by one of the author's favorite quotations from the works of other crime writers such as Elmore Leonard, Walter Mosley, Ed McBain and George P. Pelecanos.
The second thing that makes this novel so unusual is how unimportant the plot really turns out to be in the long run. This novel is more about character development and the relationships of the characters than it is about the investigation that Taylor undertakes on behalf of the grieving mother. And it works beautifully. Jack Taylor is an unforgettable character who takes his rightful place among the Spencers, Robicheauxs, Spades and Marlowes of the literary world.
The Guards.......2007-04-05
Overall I enjoyed reading this book, but Bruen's writing style is different and I found it sometimes difficult to follow. Because I was a captive audience and it's all I had to read at the time, I plowed through it and actually enjoyed it. To be fair, this is his first novel I read so maybe the second one will be easier.
Battle with the Bottle.......2007-01-14
Irish alcoholic and ex police officer, Jack Tyler, has made visiting bars and getting drunk his daily activity, and there was barely any room for anything else. Then one ordinary night, a woman comes in with a request for him, to solve her daughter's apparent suicide so it would be ruled as a murder. Jack takes the case, and when he is attacked because of it, he's sure there is more to the suicide story. While doing the few investigative activities that he could fit in between heavy drinking, he and Ann, the suicide girl's mother, share a short romance that goes up in flames. Jack goes clean and sober, but new challenges arise as a "friend" of his tries to throw him off the wagon.
When I started this book, it was confusing and hard to read, but it gets easier as it goes. Though I was highly unsatisfied with the mystery end of the book, the drama of it was relatively good. We get to see Jack's battle with drinking, while circumstances give him every reason to pick up the bottle. We get to get into his head and live his entire life, while also seeing the important people around him die of tragic deaths. The ending, which is rather predictable, is also enjoyable.
Considering that this is the first book by this author, I would give him a chance in a few years when his writing improves. After 10 years of writing, I'm sure he will be a huge bestseller, but for now, he still needs to learn what works in crime fiction and what doesn't.
tortured excellence.......2006-11-11
As with all of Ken Bruen's mysteries, this is a dark tale with complicated characters who keep one turing the pages.
Amazon.com
On September 5, 1938, DeFoe Russet helps hang a new show at a tiny Nova Scotia museum. He doesn't even pay much attention to the eight new paintings from Holland; he'll have time enough to take them in later on. After all, the buttoned-down 25-year-old is one of two people at Halifax's Glace Museum paid to watch out for the art, to stop people from getting too close to it. But DeFoe also knows that "as a guard you had emotions. You got to know paintings better than you got to know the people in your life. Speaking for myself."
The other guard--and the man who raised him after his parents died in a zeppelin crash when he was 9--is his Uncle Edward. Edward is certainly not the steadiest fellow employee or familial influence. He devotes his nights to drinking, poker, and charming women at the Lord Nelson, the hotel where both men live, and his days to hangovers, somnolence, and generally harassing museumgoers. DeFoe, at least, is a model employee. Yet his personal life cannot be quite so regulated, and for the last two years he has been frustrated in his relationship with a caretaker at the local Jewish cemetery. He seems to expend most of his energy anticipating Imogen Linny's moods, assessing the power of her headaches, and banging his head against her nocturnal mixed messages and philosophizing. As the novel progresses, Imogen also grows increasingly obsessed with one of the newly arrived paintings, Jewess on a Street in Amsterdam.
Soon, DeFoe puts his career in jeopardy for Imogen, stealing the picture for her--though this is only one of the mysteries at the heart of Howard Norman's strange and startling third novel, The Museum Guard. Through DeFoe's eyes, we, too, begin to understand the allure of the painting, in which a woman pushes a bicycle and holds a loaf of bread, the shop window behind her filled with toothbrushes. "The toothbrushes made me laugh. They quickly put me in a good mood," he recounts. "But then I looked close up at the Jewess's face; I was sunk from that mood in a second. Because it struck me as a face of desperate sadness. Those are my own words. I stood as close to the painting as I could without touching it. Me--a guard. I reached out then and touched the woman's face. And I did not flinch back my hand or warn myself."
Howard Norman's protagonist would probably be able to pull himself back; this is a man who calms himself down by ironing endless white shirts. And he fully intends to keep the same job for the next 30 years. But those around him lack his instinct for order and seem to be pushing him toward the grand, self-destructive gesture. News of Hitler's advances on Europe also make him realize "how small Halifax had become." Imogen, too, feels her life a confinement, but her reaction is more extreme. She literally wills herself to become the woman in the painting. In one bizarre scene--and Norman has a knack for turning the extreme into the everyday--DeFoe finds her filling in for the usual museum guide. Speaking in an unconvincing Dutch accent and dressed as the Jewess, Imogen tells a group of increasingly puzzled women her version of events. "While he painted me, we fell in love. Just weeks before, with my parents' death, I had become estranged from my very soul. My marriage to Joop Heijman helped me to reconcile. And now you know my deepest secrets." Edward's assessment is as wry as ever, and spot-on: "Life in Halifax used to be so simple, didn't it, DeFoe?"
As Imogen's identification grows, she is resolved to go to Amsterdam and "reunite" with the painter. Howard Norman writes with such persuasive oddity that it's no surprise when those closely allied to the Glace Museum find themselves moving this futile, intrusive, and dangerous plan along. The Museum Guard is an unsettling examination of a group of people (with very odd names) who let themselves get too close to art--and perhaps to life. --Kerry Fried
Book Description
Orphaned by a zeppelin crash at age nine, DeFoe Russet was raised in a Halifax, Nova Scotia, hotel by his magnetic uncle Edward. Now thirty, DeFoe works with Edward as a guard in Halifax's three-room Glace Museum. He and his uncle disturb the silence of the museum with heated conversations that prove them to be "opposites at life." Away from the museum, DeFoe courts the affection of Imogen Linny, the young caretaker of the small Jewish cemetery. Everything changes when Imogen, inspired by the arrival of a painting, Jewess on a Street in Amsterdam, abandons Halifax for the ennobled life she imagines for the painting's subject—even amid the growing perilousness of being a Jew in Amsterdam. Set against the impending events of World War II, The Museum Guard, the second book of his Canadian trilogy, explores the mysteries of identity and self-determination, and the desire to step out of the ordinary into an alluring and dangerous sphere of action.
Download Description
An exquisite and harrowing novel drawing together the mysteries of identity and self-determination and the ominous aura of Europe in the late 1930s.
Customer Reviews:
Reality meets the unreal........2006-07-18
Two of the three main characters in this curious book, Edward and DeFoe Russet, uncle and nephew, are guards at a small art museum in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in the late 1930s; both have rooms in the same hotel. Imogen Linny, the third character, and DeFoe's lover when she feels like it, becomes obsessed by a modern Dutch painting on loan to the museum, "Jewess on a Street in Amsterdam." This alters her relationship to both men and, more seriously, calls to her own part-Jewish heritage, starting her out on a journey from which there may be no return.
The pre-Holocaust themes are powerful, but I find it difficult to tell whether the book is intended as a realistic novel or a fable. We are certainly meant to feel that the approaching menace of Naziism is real. And yet the book has a simplistic, self-obsessed quality reminiscent of Kazuo Ishiguro's use of closed worlds (especially in THE UNCONSOLED). While no museum, no hotel could run like those in the book, and none of the social or business interactions ring true, the alternative reality is not clearly established either. It is a difficult balance that, for me, never fully comes off.
Roald Dahl for Adults.......2006-02-26
Reading the Museum Guard reminded me of the work of Roald Dahl, whom I'd read as a child. The author, Howard Norman, has a knack for creating characters that are awkward and strange, yet strangely familiar. Between the wide eyed appeal of the narrator, Defoe Russet, and the ne'er do well of his uncle, Norman has created an instant classic that will harken adult readers back to a time when reading Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Danny, The Champion of the World were at the top of their summer reading list.
Either you love it or you hate it.......2005-09-21
After reading all the reviews and the novel, I've come to the conclusion that you either really love the novel or you hate the novel. There seems to be little room in between. As for me, I belong to the group that did not enjoy this novel and its hard to pinpoint why.
I thought the author did a great job with the tone of the novel, a sort of sparse, dead, dreary tone. But during some moments of the novel, I wanted some kind of emotion and felt little from the characters. Even when Edward died or the scene when DeFoe smashed up Helen's house.
All the characters were so strange in their thoughts and actions, I just could not relate to them. I did not understand what caused Imogen's identity crisis, why DeFoe loved her so much, why Helen and the museum currator took it upon themselves to plan and take her to Amsterdamn. And why did everyone think stealing the painting, even for a night, was a great idea? And in what way did Edward, DeFoe's uncle, love Imogen too? I didn't think he loved her, I just thought he was a jerk to get involved in Imogen and DeFoe's relationship and then flaunt it when he'd practically raised DeFoe.
I don't want to sound too negative about this novel. I think for me it just wasn't my type of novel. There were just too many questions left unanswered and too much analysis and symbolism.
A Rather "Novel" Novel.......2004-01-16
In late 1930's Nova Scotia, a young man named Defoe Russet works as a muesum guard in Halifax , has difficult relationships with his wayward Uncle that raised him(who also works there)and as well as a Jewish girlfriend, Imogen( a care-taker at the small Jewish cemetary nearby).The book seems to be about that until The author weaves into an interesting tale centering around a Dutch painting that arrives at the tiny Glace Museum and how it affects Imogen,who can only be properly described as rather neurotic,as she(too) closely identifies with the painting titled "Jewess On A Street In Amsterdam" As a result, she makes a strange,life-threatening decision to actually become the woman in the painting,first by dressing like her,then making a very risky voyage to Amsterdam to live as the "Jewess" in the painting. The terrible news from overseas being dictated urgently by a popular radio personality only makes her more unbalanced and eager to assume this new life. Though a bit pedantic at times,this is an intriguing,and overall unsettling,tale,with flashes of dry humor. A unique book that will make you think.
Coming of age in 1930s Canada.......2003-04-25
After finishing this wonderful novel, I felt like I had "discovered" a new author. Actually, Howard Norman has been writing since the early 1980s and published his first novel, The Northern Lights, in the late 80s. I was drawn to this book by its title (I work in a museum) but fell in love with it for its quirky characters. It seems that Norman's characters are often forged by tragedy. The parents of DeFoe, the young museum guard, were killed in a Zeppelin accident when he was a boy. He develops a close relationship with his often-drunk uncle Edward, but even closer ones with many of the women that pass through Edward's life, including Imogen, the caretaker of a Jewish cemetary, whom DeFoe and Edward both pursue, though in radically different ways. Be warned, there may be a moment in this novel when you will detest all three of these characters; but forge ahead, because at least two of them will redeem themselves. Don't think of this as just another novel with "quirky" characters. They certainly are quirky, but in ways that make them real rather than caricatures. I was left feeling somewhat troubled about Imogen and the reasons for her crisis, which drives the latter part of the book, and the determination of the people around her to sacrifice everything for her, but that is only a minor complaint. Above all, this is a coming of age story, mainly for DeFoe, who is a product of arrested development due to his parents' untimely deaths, but also for Edward, Imogen, and even--you will see--for the world.
Product Description
In Mouse Guard, mice struggle to live safely and prosper among all of the world's harsh conditions and predators. Lush full color small press comic book story telling, in an unusual 8 x 8 inch format.
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Guards! Guards!
Stephen Briggs , and
Graham Higgins
Manufacturer: Gollancz
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ASIN: 0575070714 |
Book Description
Some night-time prowler is turning the (mostly) honest citizens of Ankh-Morpork into something resembling small charcoal biscuits. And that's a real problem for Captain Vimes, who must tramp the mean streets of the naked city looking for a seventy-foot-long fire-breathing dragon which, he believes, can help him with his enquiries. But there's more - now we get to see Ankh-Morpork in all its glory; illustrations so vibrant you can practically smell and taste the denizens of this delightful city (although with Corporal Nobbs, you might rather wish you didn't have to). All rendered in painstaking detail by Graham Higgins (who feels he now knows altogether far too much about the murky goings on inside Nobbs' head).
Customer Reviews:
Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03
A nice job of illustration here. One excellent swamp dragon. The artist has pretty much captured the right feel for the usual silly Pratchett story about bumbling incompetence, and sheer luck, and other such things. How do a bunch of completely useless cops stop a dragon, and an evil politician and a summoning cult? Luckily they do have some help.
Average customer rating:
- Good book
- Not Free SF Reader
- THE place to start reading Discworld books
- Great book!
- Beware Dragons Who Eat Their Pot
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Guards! Guards! (Discworld Novels)
Terry Pratchett
Manufacturer: Doubleday Books
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ASIN: 1568651937 |
Book Description
Here there be dragons...and the denizens of Ankh-Morpork wish one huge firebreather would return from whence it came. Long believed extinct, a superb specimen of draco nobilis ("noble dragon" for those who don't understand italics) has appeared in Discworld's greatest city. Not only does this unwelcome visitor have a nasty habit of charbroiling everything in its path, in rather short order it is crowned King (it is a noble dragon, after all...).
Customer Reviews:
Good book.......2007-10-11
Minimum Maturity Level - Teen
Mild language (Couple S-words at worst). Mild violence.
Previous Reading Required - Minor
To get the full effect on some of the humor. It's a good idea to have some background on some of the characters. As an example, prior knowledge on the character Death will tell you that he always speaks in capital letters without quotes. Otherwise, you may not get the punchline till later.
Reading Level - Average
Easy to understand what's going on for the most part. The dialog is along the lines of British Comedy. If you ever watched "Shaun of the dead" or "Hotfuzz" then you'd know what I mean.
Rate of Development - Fast
The story develops quite quickly so you are not having to read through a bunch of character development.
The Story - Good
The city of Ankh-Morpork is being plagued intermittantly by a dragon. But dragons do not exist! Needless to say, there is sufficient evidence that a dragon does exist and is running amok in the city. How did it get there? Where is it's lair? What does it want? This sounds like a job for Captain Vimes of the City Watch. The City Watch comprised of 4 men. Vimes, Nobby, Colon, and Carrot the a six foot six inch dwarf (adopted human).
My Suggestion - Recommended
This book is funny in its own way. British humor, I always thought is fun listen but also watch. Here, you kind of have to envision the whole skit happening in fluidity. I found myself having to reread a paragraph every now and then to get the right idea of the comedy in play. It becomes very entertaining to hear the banter between Nobby and Colon. Some of it being nonsense but Pratchett makes it entertaining. The characters all have personality and it shows in the writing - how they talk, walk, and act.
Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03
The eight discworld book is a definite improvement on the last couple, and certainly funnier. Much as with everything else in the discworld, the cops are useless, and really don't want to have to work too hard or do much at all. Turning up, having lunch, or supper, or whatever, and then going home is fine with them.
Cults and dragons get in the way, though, and they have to do some policing while Pratchett happily spoofs the cop genre.
THE place to start reading Discworld books.......2007-07-23
My first Discworld book was The Colour of Magic. I left it mid-way (despite being a Pratchett fan from reading the Johnny Maxwell trilogy) to not come back to Discworld until a year later.
This time I picked up Mort, got hooked and went on to read a couple of others books in the DEATH sub-series. Then I picked up Guards! Guards! to have some variation, and have thus ended up thinking why wasn't I recommended Guards! Guards! by friends who have read Pratchett as the first book to read in Discworld. I wouldn't have lost a year of NOT reading Discworld books if I was told to read Guards! Guards! at the very first.
Guards! Guards!, despite not having those singularly memorable one-liners, has an ensemble of characters that are a joy to read about. It is astonishing that Pratchett wrote 350 odd pages on a plot that where it all boils down to is: a dragon as a king of a city. Absurd, but it is really remarkable how that single abstract concept can be used to develop characters that would eventually prove to be some of the most famous of all Discworld books.
Pratchett's crafty humor that satirizes everything under the sun, minute traits that we humans would miss in ourselves so very often, is all there as well. Together with the incredible cast, this makes Guards! Guards! one of the best Discworld books I've read so far, and the very first I'd recommend a Discworld newbie to pick up.
Great book!.......2007-07-14
It's been a while since I've read a book that makes me want to laugh out loud, but this one was it! This is the first book by Terry Pratchett I've read (although I've heard of him and looked at some of the books he's written) and I was not disappointed. In fact, I may have to see what other books our library here has of his!
Beware Dragons Who Eat Their Pot.......2007-04-06
Terry Pratchett is so prolific an author that I keep thinking that I've read everything only to discover I missed something. This last visit to the shelves revealed that I had managed to overlook Guards! Guards! -- possibly by believing that I had already read it. Chalk it up to a senior moment or two. This is embarrassing, because this particular volume provides the background for several story arcs that became increasingly important in the ensuing history of Ankh Morpork.
The first of these is the appearance of Carrot Ironfoundersson who would one day become Captain Carrot. Carrot has been raised as a dwarf, but at 6'5" his parents can no longer pretend to not notice his differences (and dating issues were coming up). The decision is made to send Carrot to Ankh Morpork to enlist as a City Guard. Carrot makes his appearance, and, to everyone's embarrassment, starts to actually arrest people who are breaking the law. The second newcomer is Lady Sybil Ramkin, who is to become Mrs. Sam Vimes one day. In Guards! Guards! her dedication to the raising of swamp dragons provided Vimes with vital information about the real problem -- the impossibility of a giant, fire breathing dragon in the sky (and on the throne) of the grubbiest city to ever float over a turtle's back.
An evil plot is hatched in the city, a book is stolen from the University Library, and in the meeting room of a tiny cult a dragon is summoned from the alternate universe where they have been tidily packed away. Four times summoned, then a pretend slaying puts an impostor on the empty throne, the head of the cult becomes the chief advisor, and Lord Vetinari is deposited in his own prison. But dragons, once summoned are not so easily gotten rid of, and Ankh Morpork finds itself desperately looking for virgins. It's up Vimes, and Lady Sybil, and Carrot, and the rest of guards to find a solution. I shouldn't leave out the presence of a really angry ape and an omnivorous supersonic reptile, either.
In the spectrum of Pratchett's writing, Guard! Guards! is well above average, but for all its imaginative plotting and details it doesn't quite click the was a book like Small Gods does. Even so, it covers so much material important to the series as a whole that it is a must read. An eminently readably must read at that, probably rereadable as well. The comedy is good, with Carrot's innocence and literal nature providing yards of material for puns and sight gags. Anyone planning to conjure a dragon will find it just the remedy for all those hours spent poring over a stolen spellbook.
Product Description
They are only Wisconsin Militiamen and boys, farmers, loggers, tradesmenuntil General John Gibbon dresses them in the Regular Army uniform and issues them those big black hats. From that moment forward, the Baraboo GuardsCompany K of the Second Wisconsin Infantry Regiment of the Federal Army of the Potomacare known on both sides of the lines during Americas Civil War as the fierce Black Hats of the Iron Brigade. This is the story of men of Wisconsinhardy, independent, tough, willing to fight for nation and honor, but always determined to return (should they live through their terrors of battle and the onslaught of disease)to the peaceful land from which they came. The story takes the reader into dusty camps, along on endless marches, and to the front of the assault columns during the main battles of the Civil War in the East. John Driscoll writes with the authority gained over more than fifty years in studying, writing about, and speaking about the Civil War. His sense of military operations and Civil War history is unimpeachable, his depiction of sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of war convincing. Every reader with an interest in the Civil War will be captivated by this rousing story, as will anyone who loves a swift-moving and satisfying historical novel.
Average customer rating:
- Baraboo Guards
- Good in some respects and terrible in others.
- An excellent piece of military fiction!
- An enthralling tale of comradeship,combat and courage
- Gregory J. W. Urwin Review in CIVIL WAR HISTORY.
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The Baraboo Guards: A Novel of the American Civil War
John K. Driscoll
Manufacturer: Prairie Oak Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Customer Reviews:
Baraboo Guards.......2003-05-27
Worth reading as a portrayal of some aspects of Civil War soldier life. Driscoll does battle pretty well, and daily life better. He understands the community nature of a company.
He's not great at social mentalities, though. However earthy they may have been, I can't imagine 19th century people as promiscuous as this--particularly the well-bred judge's daughter, who would have ruined her entire life if she acted the way she does here.
Characters are fairly well-done with the above reservation, though I found Murphy as "wise Irishman" a bit too familiar. Sentence-level writing doesn't particularly shine.
Good in some respects and terrible in others........2001-10-09
I read this book for a class, and while it was valuable simply for the insight it gave me into the nature of the Civil war and the things men went/go through, I had a few major complaints about this book.
Driscoll is a formor military man himself, and I believe his own experiances have strongly colored his image of what the 2nd Wisconsin (Baraboo guard) would have been like. Problem is, the Culture of the 1990's is not the same as the 1860's. Added to that was poor reasearch.
Wisconsin is a State with a strong German history (I live here and have German ancestors). A great many German (and scandanavian) Lutherans and protestants settled there, fleeing from turmoil in Europe. It was from these folk that the Baraboo guard would have been formed. Many of these people would have been very religous, and would have taken their faiths and their morallity seriously.
While I don't doubt that the stress of war would put preasures on men which would make them loosen a little on their morals, Driscoll didn't give them any morals to begin with. The whole bunch of them were a lot of loud-mouthed swearing heathans, from day one to the end of the book, an image that is grossly inconsistant with the reality of Wisconsin at this time.
Another thing that bothered me was the Guard's Leautenant, going and having sex so readily with his love interest, and then her father knowing and not caring at all about it. While this might be common in today's world, the world of the 1860's wasn't so forgiving to young society women who indulged in "Free Love."
Getting past the gross historical cultural problems in this book, it was pretty historically accurate, and not an awful read. I don't think I'd bother reading it again.
An excellent piece of military fiction!.......1999-06-05
A successful novel in my opinion, must first & foremost, create a desire in the reader to know the trials, tribulations & ultimate fate of the main characters. In this book the reader truly cares! The book enjoys a good number of larger than life characters who suffer unbelieveably cruel adventures, with varying degrees of fortitude, that enthrall the reader more & more as the book develops. One hundred innocent souls are cajoled by the jingoism of the local politicians in Sauk County, Wisconsin, to volunteer to go niaively off to a far-away war in which they had little idea of the motives for the same, & even less idea of the savagery they would ultimately be exposed to. Innocence is often the first casualty of war & the battle of First Bull Run quickly kills off the innocence of the Baraboo Guards. Their development from raw recruit to seasoned veteran is hard & wearisomely achieved. At each charnal house battle, characters who are dear to the readers' heart inexorably bite the dust. As battles commenced I found myself crossing my fingers to protect those I had become most endeared to. To no avail! The book is historically accurate in all aspects. The uniforms, equipment used, etc. The timing & circumstances of the civil war battles. Action is rousing & clearly related. Wounds are painfully described & deaths keenly felt. I found the slightly thin love affair that runs through the book, a little unsatisfactory, but I'm probably being too much of a nit-picker. This book moves along at a cracking pace. Whilst not exactly a joy to read, it is certainly a worthwhile & rewarding experience. I heartily congratulate the author & unhesitatingly recommend the book.
An enthralling tale of comradeship,combat and courage.......1999-01-01
An excellent tale of the Iron Brigade from its origins to the final terrible days at Gettysburg. Often tragic, but filled with incredible and descriptive acounts of combat from Bull Run to Cold Harbor. Driscoll captures the physical and emotional struggles, the heroics, the cowardice and the brutal aspects of war. The core of the story follows several men through the darkest days of the war, their sufferings, their fears, the comradeships they develope and the unit pride as members of the Iron Brigade. The story has an excellent ending. I would like to see Mr. Driscoll do another novel on the Irish Brigade. Overall, an exciting and enjoyable read. But the characters could have been detailed and fleshed out a bit more. I would recommend this novel to anyone intrested in this period.
Gregory J. W. Urwin Review in CIVIL WAR HISTORY........1998-05-07
Review by Gregory J. W. Urwin, University of Central Arkansas, in CIVIL WAR HISTORY, Volume 44, #1 (March 1998): The Iron Brigade was one of the hardest-fighting and most respected infantry formations in the Army of the Potomac, distinguishing itself in savage actions at Brawner Farm, South Mountain, Antietam, and Gettysburg. The brigade's members took an almost perverse pride in being Westerners in a predominately Eastern army. In combat, these rugged sons of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana exhibited an unyielding tenacity that prompted some observers to question whether such men could be composed of ordinary flesh and blood. But their valor carried a terrible price. The Iron Brigade suffered a higher percentage of its troops killed and mortally wounded than any other brigade in the Union army. Its sad and heroic story is the stuff of which legends - and good novels - should be made. The Baraboo Guards is John K. Driscoll's moving account of a fictional company in the Iron Brigade's oldest regiment, the 2d Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. The story opens in May, 1861, as a hundred men from Sauk County assemble at the town of Baraboo to depart for their regimental rendezvous at Madison. They soon board a train for Washington, D. C. and receive a harrowing baptism of fire at the First Battle of Bull Run. In the months that follow, the 2d Wisconsin is joined by the 6th and 7th Wisconsin and the 19th Indiana, although nearly another year would pass before the brigade would receive a chance to prove its mettle in battle. (The 24th Michigan was not assigned to the Iron Brigade until October 1862 after the slaughter at Anteitam.) A Civil War buff since 1961, Driscoll has written a fitting tribute to the Iron Brigade by focusing on the trials of a single company. Many outstanding war novels are essentially studies in male bonding, but Driscoll is to be commended for recognizing that the men of the Iron Brigade were already closely bonded before they ever put on uniforms. The Baraboo Guards repeatedly highlig! hts the fierce local pride that explains why so many Civil War units sustained such fearful losses and kept coming back for more. Driscoll's descriptions of training, camp life, picket duty, and combat are livid and completely believable. The book also features some shrewd character sketches that explore both the noble and ignoble sides of human nature. Although Driscoll throrughly researched the Iron Brigade's history, he occasionally lets his characters lapse into modern slang, which clashes with the period tone of his finely crafted prose. A few of the commands shouted by Driscoll's officers smack more of the eighteenth century than the drill manuals of the Civil War era. Like Michael Shaara in The Killer Angels, Driscoll also finds it necessary to invent a worldly wise, midle-aged Irish veteran to teach his green Wisconsins volunteers the fine points of soldiering. Driscoll's Michael Patrick Murphy (an ex-Marine, like his creator) is even more of a rogue than Shaara's Buster Kilrain, but he remains an unmistakably derivative device in what is otherwise an original and memorable historical nove.
Average customer rating:
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Captured Off Guard: The Attack on Pearl Harbor (Graphic Flash)
Donald B. Lemke
Manufacturer: Stone Arch Books
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Binding: Library Binding
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ASIN: 143420443X |
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