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Quick answer: If you loved Guards! Guards!, read Terry Pratchett's Men at Arms and Night Watch, then Going Postal, Good Omens, Rivers of London and The Eyre Affair. All are funny, clever stories with a sharp eye on human nature and a lot of heart.
Terry Pratchett's 1989 Discworld novel introduces the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, a ragtag police force led by Captain Vimes, as a secret society tries to summon a dragon to crown a king. It is funny, warm and very quotable. The books below offer more Watch stories and other novels that mix comedy, mystery and fantasy.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Ages | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men at Arms | Terry Pratchett | Adult | the next Watch book |
| Feet of Clay | Terry Pratchett | Adult | golems and murder |
| Night Watch | Terry Pratchett | Adult | Vimes in the past |
| Going Postal | Terry Pratchett | Adult | con man reformed |
| Mort | Terry Pratchett | Adult | Death's apprentice |
| The Colour of Magic | Terry Pratchett | Adult | Discworld start |
| Good Omens | Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman | Adult | comic fantasy |
| The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | Douglas Adams | Adult | comic classic |
| Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency | Douglas Adams | Adult | comic mystery |
| Rivers of London | Ben Aaronovitch | Adult | police and magic |
| The Eyre Affair | Jasper Fforde | Adult | literary comedy |
| Storm Front | Jim Butcher | Adult | wizard detective |
| The Princess Bride | William Goldman | Adult | fairy-tale parody |
| Redshirts | John Scalzi | Adult | science fiction comedy |
| Equal Rites | Terry Pratchett | Adult | wizard girl |
1. Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett
A murder in the Watch pushes Vimes to the edge. Funny and moving.
Best for: the next Watch book.
2. Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett
The Watch investigates a series of poisonings. Clever and warm.
Best for: golems and murder.
3. Night Watch by Terry Pratchett
Vimes is thrown back to his youth during a revolution. Often called Pratchett's best.
Best for: Vimes in the past.
4. Going Postal by Terry Pratchett
A con artist is forced to restore the post office. Fast and funny.
Best for: con man reformed.
5. Mort by Terry Pratchett
Death takes on an apprentice. Funny and warm.
Best for: Death's apprentice.
6. The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
An incompetent wizard and a tourist explore the flat world. Funny and inventive.
Best for: Discworld start.
7. Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
An angel and a demon try to prevent the apocalypse. Witty and warm.
Best for: comic fantasy.
8. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Arthur Dent escapes Earth's destruction. Absurd and endlessly quotable.
Best for: comic classic.
9. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams
A detective solves cases by following the interconnectedness of all things. Odd and funny.
Best for: comic mystery.
10. Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
A young constable becomes an apprentice wizard in modern London. Funny and well-grounded.
Best for: police and magic.
11. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
A literary detective chases a villain who kidnaps characters from books. Clever and bookish.
Best for: literary comedy.
12. Storm Front by Jim Butcher
Harry Dresden is a wizard private investigator in Chicago. A classic start to a long series.
Best for: wizard detective.
13. The Princess Bride by William Goldman
A farm boy and his true love face pirates and giants. Witty and loved.
Best for: fairy-tale parody.
14. Redshirts by John Scalzi
Crew members realise they are minor characters in a TV show. Clever and fun.
Best for: science fiction comedy.
15. Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett
A girl is given a wizard's staff. Funny and kind.
Best for: wizard girl.
How We Chose These Books
Every pick is a real, widely available book that shares something specific with Guards! Guards!: its tone, its themes, its pace or the kind of characters it puts at the center. We mixed well-known favorites with a few less obvious titles, and we noted who each book suits best so you can match it to the reader. Where a book belongs to a series, we list the first volume so you can start at the beginning.
How to Choose
For more of the Watch read Men at Arms, Feet of Clay and Night Watch. For other Pratchett choose Mort, Going Postal or The Colour of Magic. For comic collaborations read Good Omens. For similar humour try Douglas Adams or Jasper Fforde. For a police-and-magic series pick Rivers of London. Guards! Guards! is a great Discworld starting point, so any of these is easy to jump into. Discworld readers argue happily about where to start. The Watch series is a favourite entry, along with the Witches and Death novels. You can read each sub-series in order, or skip around, since each book mostly stands alone. The Watch books are also a good entry to Pratchett's world for readers who prefer detective plots. If you enjoy the humour, the audiobooks narrated by Stephen Briggs and Nigel Planer are widely loved. Library copies of Discworld novels are easy to find.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Guards! Guards! about?
A secret society summons a dragon, and the City Watch must stop it.
Who wrote it?
Terry Pratchett.
When was it published?
1989.
Is it a good first Discworld book?
Yes, many readers start with it.
Who is Captain Vimes?
The tired, honest head of the Watch.
How many Discworld novels are there?
Forty-one, in several sub-series.
Do I need to read in order?
No, though sub-series reward reading in order.
What should I read next?
Try Men at Arms.
Is Guards! Guards! a fantasy or a detective story?
Both, with a mystery at its heart.
What is the Watch?
Ankh-Morpork's police force, led by Sam Vimes.