Guards, Guards!

1989

The City Watch of Ankh Morpok - the, well, one can't say the best.

In truth, they are the dregs and the Night Watch are the dregs of the dregs and their commander, Captain Vimes, is in severe danger of reaching the bottom of this life as he drinks his way to retirement. However, things begin to alter when a new recruit is signed up.

The City welcomes all those who join the Watch whether due to circumstances or personal conviction. The Night Watch consists of the former rather than the latter except when a young lad comes from the dwarf mountains. He's a bit tall for a dwarf - almost six and a half feet rather than the more traditional four. At first he finds it hard going; after all he seems to believe that the Law is there to be upheld and almost his first act is to arrest the Guildmaster of the Thieves Guild, which gave Lord Vetinari, Patrician of Ankh-Morpok, a slight attack of amusement.

However, things are getting back to normal when a sudden slew of unusual deaths sweeps through the city. Usually preceded by a hot bright flame.

Investigating, Vimes finds old instincts bringing him back from the boundaries of catastrophe as he moves through all reaches of Ankh-Morpork society studying the small swamp dragons whose major fault seems to be that they go off with an awful bang when they are disturbed. He becomes aware of an organised plot and when the appearance of a big dragon causes the citizens of the city to overthrow the Patrician and reinstate the King he's quite sure, but by then, he has been relieved of command.

As the new King is just about to be crowned, things go a bit er... dragon shaped.

Things become even more exciting after that and it's up to the intrepid members of the Night Watch to put out the fires, both metaphorical and literal but it's left to an unusual saviour to drive off the dragon!

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