Men at Arms
by Terry Pratchett (Victor Gollancz, 1993)
audiobook read by Nigel Planer (Isis, 1996)
A consistently funny mystery scripted like a jigsaw puzzle. The sidelining of Vimes affords space for the new watchmen (Angua, Detritus, Cuddy) to shine, and for Carrot—so often reduced to a walk-on support role—to have his day in the sun.
The Fifth Elephant
by Terry Pratchett (Doubleday, 1999); audiobook read by Stephen Briggs (Isis, 2000)
A relatively dour instalment that, uncharacteristically, loses a little upon re-reading. As per many City Watch stories, much rests upon Vimes’s world view (good) and a slow-burning mystery (muddled). The grating Fred Colon subplot serves only to highlight the paucity of humour.