It was a young lord's nightmare. Edward, the 37th Lord d'Eath, newly graduated from the School for Assassins (the ideal institution for those whose rank is higher than their intelligence), had made an astonishing discovery. Ankh-Morpork, kingless for generations, and ruled by Disorganized Crime, had a sovereign! The new king just had to be convinces that he was, in fact, a king.

Corporal Carrot had a job.

Lord d'Eath had a Task.

And so began the most awesome epic encounter of all time, or at least all afternoon, in which good and evil, greed and honor, trolls and dwarves, dogs and bells and swamp dragons would clash, crash, toll, bark, shimmer, and simmer. The fate of a city, indeed a kingdom--nay, a very universe!--was to depend on a young man's courage, an ancient sword's magic, and three-legged poodle's bladder.

Don't look so surprised. This is Discworld, where anything can happen.

Which means that everything always does.

“Unadulterated fun.”—San Francisco Chronicle

The fate of Ankh-Morpork and the Discworld itself rests on the unlikely shoulders of newly promoted Corporal Carrot and his hapless charges in the City Watch in this wildly wacky Discworld novel from the legendary New York Times bestselling author Terry Pratchett.

Corporal Carrot has been promoted and is now in charge of the new recruits guarding Ankh-Morpork from Barbarian Tribes, Miscellaneous Marauders, unlicensed Thieves, and other dangerous Discworld denizens. It’s a big job for an adopted dwarf keeping the likes of young coppers Lance-constable Cuddy (really a dwarf), Lance-constable Detritus (a troll), Lance-constable Angua (a woman) and Corporal Nobbs (disqualified from the human race for shoving) in line.

Especially since someone in Ankh-Morpork has been getting dangerous ideas about crowns and legendary swords, and destiny—which points its crooked finger again when an ancient document reveals that Ankh-Morpork has a secret sovereign . . . and his name is Carrot.

It’s the beginning of the most awesome epic encounter of all time (or at least all afternoon), in which the fate of a city—indeed of the universe itself!—depends on a young man’s courage, an ancient sword’s magic, and a three-legged poodle’s bladder.

The Discworld novels can be read in any order but Men at Arms is the 2nd in the City Watch collection and the 15th Discworld book.

The City Watch series in order:

• Guards! Guards!
• Men at Arms
• Feet of Clay
• Jingo
• The Fifth Elephant
• Night Watch
• Thud!
• Snuff