Guards! Guards!
 2023 Penguin paperback edition, designed by Leo Nickolls | |
| Author | Terry Pratchett |
|---|---|
| Audio read by | Tony Robinson (Corgi) Nigel Planer (Isis) Jon Culshaw (Penguin) |
| Cover artist | Josh Kirby |
| Country | UK |
| Language | English |
| Series | Discworld |
Release number | 8 |
| Sub-series | The Watch |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Publisher | Gollancz/Corgi |
Publication date | 1989-11-09 |
| Preceded by | Pyramids |
| Followed by | Eric |
Guards! Guards! is the eighth Discworld novel and the first to feature Sam Vimes and the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. It also introduces the key supporting characters of “Cuttin’ Me Own Throat” Dibbler and Detritus the troll, the latter of whom would join the Watch in their next book, Men at Arms.
Blurb
This is where the dragons went.
They lie...not dead, not asleep, but...dormant. And although the space they occupy isn't like normal space, nevertheless they are packed in tightly. They could put you in mind of a can of sardines, if you thought sardines were huge and scaly. And presumably, somewhere, there's a key...
Guards! Guards! is the eighth Discworld novel – and after this, dragons will never be the same again!
Podcast episodes
Major appearances
These are episodes primarily devoted to discussing this book or the graphic novel adaptation.
| Date | Show | Episode | External link |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-02-10 | Radio Morpork | “Enter the Dragon (and the Coppers)” | radiomorpork.wordpress.com |
| 2018-06-08 | Pratchat | “The Curious Incident of the Dragon and the Night Watch” | pratchatpodcast.com |
| 2019-06-15 | The Death of Podcasts | “Guards! Guards!” | aalgar.com |
| 2019-09-28 | Wyrd Sisters | “Guards! Guards!” | wyrdsisters.podbean.com |
| 2020-11-02 | The Book Life[1] | “Book Review: Guards! Guards!” | podbean.com |
| 2020-03-29 | Desert Island Discworld | “Nate Crowley and Guards! Guards!” | desertislanddiscworld.com |
| 2020-05-12 | Who Watches the Watch | “Wear Your Protective” (1/3) | pinecast.co |
| 2020-05-20 | Who Watches the Watch | “Fear of Monkeys by the Ooking Heads” (2/3) | pinecast.co |
| 2020-05-26 | Who Watches the Watch | “Vimes for Vendetta” (3/3) | pinecast.co |
| 2020-07-06 | The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret | “The Flamey Flame” (1/3) | thetruthshallmakeyefret.com |
| 2020-07-13 | The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret | “Coming Out With A Dragon Under His Arm” (2/3) | thetruthshallmakeyefret.com |
| 2020-07-20 | The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret | “Low Expectangents” (3/3) | thetruthshallmakeyefret.com |
| 2020-07-28 | The Compleat Discography | “Guards! Guards!” | compleatdiscography.page |
| 2021-09-11 | Disc Coverers | “Guards! Guards!” | anchor.fm |
| 2021-11-24 | Nanny Ogg's Book Club | “Guards! Guards!” | fireside.fm |
| 2022-02-02 | The Disc-Course | “Send in the Guards” (1/6) | acast.com |
| 2022-02-16 | The Disc-Course | “Noir Detective to Wife Guy Pipeline” (2/6) | acast.com |
| 2022-03-02 | The Disc-Course | “Ankh-Morpork Ruined My Life” (3/6) | acast.com |
| 2022-03-16 | The Disc-Course | “Dragon Eye Joe” (4/6) | acast.com |
| 2022-03-30 | The Disc-Course | “Nobby Pussy Indulgence” (5/6) | acast.com |
| 2022-04-13 | The Disc-Course | “Rage Pee” (6/6) | acast.com |
| 2022-03-28 | Stuck on Arrakis | "Discworld Book Eight” | buzzsprout.com |
| 2023-01-27 | Just Dads Reading Books | “Guards! Guards!” | redcircle.com |
| 2023-01-31 | Beyond the Bindings | “Guards! Guards! - Discworld 8” | buzzsprout.com |
| 2023-05-09 | I’ve Never Read Discworld | “Book 8. Guards! Guards!” | spotify.com |
| 2023-05-22 | Teaching My Cat to Read | “Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett” | teachingmycattoread.wordpress.com |
| 2023-07-10 | The Comic Literate Podcast | “Guards! Guards! A Terry Pratchett adaptation”[2] | transistor.fm |
| 2023-09-07 | Don’t Read Drunk | “Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett” | buzzsprout.com |
| 2023-12-11 | Adult Book Club | “Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett” | spotify.com |
| 2024-06-22 | Dining Table Discworld | “Guards! Guards!” | podbean.com |
| 2024-11-06 | Canonical Nonsense | “Guards! Guards!” | canonicalnonsense.com |
Other appearances
Episodes where there's significant discussion of the book, but it's not the focus of the episode.
| Date | Show | Episode | External link |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-03-24 | The Pratchett Podcast | “The Pratchett Podcast episode 15” | thepratchettpodcast.wordpress.com[3] |
| 2021-09-02 | Fiction Fans | “Cold Comfort Farm & Guards! Guards!” | fictionfanspodcast.com |
| 2024-03-15 | The Turtle Reads | “Guards, Guards!” | captivate.fm |
| 2024-05-15 | Always Choose Orange | “Guards! Guards! (And How To Write a Character Introduction With Personality)” | redcircle.com |
Adaptations
- There have been three audiobooks: the first an abridged version from Corgi narrated by Tony Robinson; an unabridged version from Isis Audio Books read by Nigel Planer (now available only secondhand on physical media); and in 2023, a Penguin audiobook, released along with the rest of the City Watch books, all narrated by Jon Culshaw with Peter Serafinowicz as Death and Bill Nighy reading the footnotes.
- A radio adaptation was made by the BBC, with a script in six parts by Michael Butt and directed by John Taylor. It was first broadcast on BBC Radio 5 in 1992, narrated by Martin Jarvis. Death was billed as being played by “himself”.
- A comic book adaptation, Guards! Guards! A Discworld Graphic Novel, was published in 2000. It was based on the stageplay adaptation by Stephen Briggs, and illustrated by Graham Higgins.
- The Atlanta Radio Theatre Company performed a live audio adaptation at the Dragon*Con sci-fi convention in 2001. It was adapted by David Benedict and directed by Thomas E. Fuller. Notably John Rhys-Davies played the part of Lupine Wonse!
External links
- Guards! Guards! at the L-Space Wiki
- Guards! Guards! at colinsmythe.co.uk
- Guards! Guards! on Wikipedia
Footnotes
- ↑ Also reviewed Equal Rites in October 2023.
- ↑ This episode discusses the graphic novel adaptation.
- ↑ Post with info only; audio no longer available.