Book:Men at Arms
Men at Arms | |
Co-author(s) | |
Illustrator(s) | |
Publisher | Victor Gollancz |
Publication date | 1993 |
ISBN | 0552140287 |
Pages | 288 |
RRP | |
Main characters | Ankh-Morpork City Watch, Havelock Vetinari, Edward d'Eath |
Series | Watch Series |
Annotations | View |
Notes | Book #15 |
All data relates to the first UK edition. |
Blurb
"Be a MAN in the City Watch! The City watch needs MEN!"
But what it's got includes Corporal Carrot (technically a dwarf), Lance-constable Cuddy (really a dwarf), Lance-constable Detritus (a troll), Lance-constable Angua (a woman ... most of the time) and Corporal Nobbs (disqualified from the human race for shoving).
And they need all the help they can get. Because there's evil in the air and murder afoot and something very nasty in the streets.
It'd help if it could all be sorted out by noon, because that's when Captain Vimes is officially retiring, handing in his badge and getting married.
And since this is Ankh-Morpork, noon promises to be not just high, but stinking.
Plot
Captain Samuel Vimes is forced by Lord Vetinari to take on a group of new recruits for the purposes of ensuring diversity - a dwarf called Cuddy, a werewolf called Angua and a troll called Detritus. Angua becomes involved in a romantic relationship with Corporal Carrot Ironfoundersson, but he does not react well to discovering that she is a werewolf. There has recently been a string of mysterious murders in the city that appear to be connected. Vetinari bans Vimes from investigating the murders in a successful attempt to provoke him into doing so.
The murders have been committed by young a assassin called Edward d'Eath. After researching the city's history and discovering that Carrot is the rightful heir of the throne of Ankh Morpork, he developed an obsessive desire to overthrow Vetinari and restore the monarchy. He committed the murders with the "gonne", the Disc's first and only hand-held firearm, a dangerous invention of Leonard of Quirm that d'Eath stole from the Assassins' Guild. The gonne appears to have a demonic power that tempts people into using it. When d'Eath explains his plan to Dr. Cruces, the head of the Assassins' Guild, Cruces kills him and decides to carry out the plan himself.
The Night Watch intervene to stop Cruces from killing Vetinari, but Cuddy and Angua are both killed in the struggle. Vimes and Carrot then confront Cruces, who reveals to Carrot that he is the rightful ruler of the city. Vimes seizes the gonne from Cruces and finds himself tempted to use the weapon, but Carrot stops him and disables it. Carrot is immune to being tempted by the gonne, which he believes is because he was raised as a dwarf and trained not to listen to tools. He kills Cruces with his sword and buries the remains of the gonne in Cuddy's coffin. Because a werewolf can only be killed with silver, Angua wakes up and recovers the following night.
Vimes holds his wedding with Sybil Ramkin. Vetinari fears that Carrot will use his status as the rightful ruler of Ankh Morpork to blackmail him. When he arrives, Carrot instead presents the Patrician with a plan to reform policing in the city by merging the Day Watch and the Night Watch into a new, modern and effective police force, with more funding and better working conditions. Vetinari agrees; Carrot is promoted to the rank of Captain, while Vimes is promoted to the newly-restored post of Commander of the Watch.
Cover
The front cover features (from left to right) Cuddy, Detritus, Angua, Carrot, Nobby and Colon. Illustrator Josh Kirby neglected to give Cuddy the dwarf a beard. At the bottom right there is a dog, presumably Gaspode.
Characters
Main characters
Minor characters
- Bauxite
- Beano the Clown
- Big Fido, Chief Barker of the Dog Guild
- Blenkin, servant of the d'Eath residence
- Boffo the Clown
- Chubby the swamp dragon
- Coalface
- Cornice-overlooking-Broadway
- Doctor Cruces, head Assassin
- Silas Cumberbatch, former town crier
- Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler
- Lord Downey, then assistant head Assassin
- Edward d'Eath
- Duke of Eorle
- Gaspode
- Sir George
- Gayheart Talonthrust a swamp dragon
- Bjorn Hammerhock
- Leonard of Quirm
- Queen Molly
- Lord Monflathers
- Lord and Lady Omnius
- Captain Quirke of the Day Watch
- Sybil Ramkin
- Lord Rust
- Mr. Scant
- Lady Selachii
- Sendivoge, Alchemist Guild secretary
- Thomas Silverfish, head of the Alchemists
- Viscount Skater
- Abba Stronginthearm
- Lord Venturi
- Willikins
- Dr. Whiteface
Cameos and Mentions
- Kings and Queens of Ankh-Morpork (ancestors of Carrot's):
- Queen Alguinna IV
- Queen Coanna
- King Paragore
- King Veltrick III
- King Tyrril, ruled in AM 907
- King Webblethorpe the Unconscious
- Famous Architects:
- Capability Brown
- Bloody Stupid Johnson
- Intuition De Vere Slade-Gore
- Sagacity Smith
- Mrs. Cake
- Cheese (the pub owner, not the rotting of milk)
- Cumblethigh, a dwarf
- Death
- Mr. Flannel
- Gimlet Gimlet
- Hamslinger, a dwarf
- Sham Harga
- Deranged Lord Harmoni
- Here'n'now
- Grabber Hoskins
- Ironfoundersson
- Jimi, God of Beggars
- Sergeant Kepple
- Lorenzo the Kind
- Lettice Knibbs
- Cumbling Michael
- Mr. Morecombe, Ramkin family lawyer
- Bundo Prung
- Ruby
- Laughing Lord Scapula
- Reg Shoe
- Dribbling Sidney
- Mad Lord Snapcase
- Gerhardt Sock
- Grabpot Thundergust
- Stoneface Vimes
- Homicidal Lord Winder
- Zorgo the Retrophrenologist
- Sgt Wimbler
- Carbuncle
Locations
- Ankh-Morpork
- Street of Alchemists
- Borborygmic Lane
- Brass Bridge
- Broad Way
- The Bucket
- Cable Street
- Elm Street
- Filigree Street
- Gleam Street
- Grope Alley
- Hubwards Gate
- Knuckle Passage
- Mormius Street
- Patrician's Palace
- Phedre Road
- Post Office
- Pork Futures Warehouse, along Morpork Street
- Pseudopolis Yard
- Quarry Lane
- Rime Street
- River Ankh
- Scoone Avenue
- The Shades
- Sheer Street
- Shirt Alley
- Short Street
- Lady Sybil's Sunshine Sanctuary for Sick Dragons
- Three Lamps Alley
- Unseen University
- Whirligig Alley
- Zephire Street
- Copperhead
- Dunmanifestin (mentioned)
- Koom Valley (mentioned)
- Quirm Manor, presumably in Quirm?
Things and Concepts
- A Slow Comfortable Double-Entendre, drink
- Guilds of Ankh-Morpork
- Battle of Koom Valley
- Dwarfs
- Swamp dragons
- Flameless Gripe, swamp dragon disease
- "Gathering Sweet Lilacs"- folk dance
- Gargoyles
- Gimlet's Hole Food Delicatessen
- C.M.O.T. Dibbler's Genuine Authentic Soggy Mountain Dew
- The Gonne
- Hermit Elephant
- Iconograph
- The Inhumation Bell
- The March of the Idiots, clown anthem.
- Monarchy
- Twurp's Peerage
- Herbalist Plants:
- Eyebright for eyes
- Phallicus impudicus
- Spleenwort for spleens
- Teethwort for teeth
- No. 1 Powder- gunpowder
- Rats
- Retrophrenology
- Thighbiter's The Ankh-Morpork Succession
- Trolls
- Velvet Gown
- Ankh-Morpork City Watch
- Wellcome to Ankh-Morporke, Citie of One Thousand Surprises
- Werewolves
- Jimkin Bearhugger's Whiskey
Annotations
When he and Carrot have chased down and arrested Dr Cruces, Vimes ineffectually fights the blandishments of the Gonne as it insists that he must kill Cruces and take the power to himself. Cruces, remember, has just seemingly killed Angua: the natural tendency of a policeman who has just seen a fellow copper killed is not going to be one mercy and forgiveness. Vimes is eventually shocked out of the killing mood by Carrot, and lowers his weapon.
This evokes an episode in hard-man cop show The Sweeney[1], where Flying Squad copper Inspector Regan, in a rage after seeing a copper shot, almost has to be physically disarmed by his sidekick Sergeant Carter before he realises he has almost stepped over the invisible line, and taken out irrevocable rough justice on a cornered criminal. Note that the junior, subordinate, copper takes the lead in both situations.
External links
Men at Arms Annotations - The Annotated Pratchett File
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