History Literature / GuardsGuards

* ShapedLikeItself: A description of the streets of Ankh-Morpork at night includes "thieves thieved" and "assassins assassinated."

The eighth {{Literature/Discworld}} book and the first to feature the City Watch, one of the most popular of the major character groups/themes in Pratchett's creation, plus the first appearance of [[HonestJohnsDealership C.M.O.T. Dibbler]], though as a one-note gag character. It is also notable in that it is the first of the Discworld books in which Patrician Vetinari is the [[MagnificentBastard Magnificent]] [[TheChessmaster Bastard]] we all know and love, though he is notable more easily frustrated than [[TheStoic the stoic of later books]]. Up until this point Pterry was still working out the character, and aspects of the final product appeared in other books, but ''Guards! Guards!'' is the first book in which the character is recognisable as he exists now.

* ApocalypticLog: The end of The Summoning of Dragons is a charred lump.

* SecretCircleOfSecrets: The Unique and Supreme Lodge of the Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night is a mystic secret society.

** "There must be a million stories in the naked city, thought Vimes. So why do I always have to listen to ones like these?" is a reference to ''Series/NakedCity''.

* NotSoDifferent: Showcased with Vimes and Vetinari, without their knowing it, when the scene transitions from one man's thoughts to the other, and they're thinking along the same lines.

* SquareCubeLaw: Lampshaded. Sybil specifically points out that you can't just scale things up and have them work the same way. Justified by the dragon [[AWizardDidIt using magic to support itself]]. Real dragons are the size of dogs... and so [[RealityEnsues chemically combustible]] that they tend to blow themselves up rather than burn villages down.

* AffluentAscetic: Despite being one of the wealthiest women in the city, Sybil doesn't live a particularly extravagant lifestyle. Near the end, Vimes also meets a group of scruffy older ladies wearing first-quality clothing, and he identifies them all as dragon breeders. One of them chats with him and hands him a grubby, worn out card, revealing she's the Dowager Duchess of Quirm. Sighing, he acknowledges that there's a kind of poverty only the ultra-wealthy can afford.

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: After saving a woman, Carrot is invited to stay with her at Mrs. Palms'. "She kept waking me up and asking me if I wanted anything but she didn't have any apples." Dwarfs in general are extremely literal minded.

* AdventurerArchaeologist: Mentioned, in the form of "smart bastards whose idea of a day's work was prising the Ruby Eye of the Earwig King out of its socket."

** Brother Dunnikin's contribution to the first set of magical items for dragon-summoning is an amulet that supposedly protects him from crocodile bites. The Supreme Grand Master sneers at buying such a thing in a temperate city. Later he misses a meeting of the Brethren because...he's been bitten by a crocodile. The Supreme Grand Master insists this is just a coincidence.

* ConservationOfNinjutsu: the [[{{Mooks}} Palace Guards]] believe that being asked to take out a single man means certain defeat for them, as he might even [[ChandelierSwing swing from the chandelier]]. Fortunately for them, Vimes isn't feeling heroic. And there's no chandelier.

-->'''Death:''' [[AC:Congratulations.]]

* FemaleMonsterSurprise: Many characters are suprised when [[spoiler:the dragon]] is revealed to be female.

* NoodleIncident: Apparently all three of the remaining Night Watch officers had, as some point before Carrot came along, ran afoul of Detritus and his fists. Nobby's GroinAttack is an attempt at repaying the troll for his encounter.

%%* BigBad: [[spoiler:The Dragon goes from enigmatic plot device to this when it declares itself king of Ankh-Morpork.]]
%%** DragonAscendant[[note]][[{{Pun}} Literally!]][[/note]]
%%** BigBadWannabe: [[spoiler:Lupine Wonse]], who ''wanted'' to be TheManBehindTheMan but winds up as this ''at best''.

%%* BizarreAlienLocomotion: What [[spoiler:Errol]] managed to come up with.

%%* BreakThemByTalking: See HumansAreBastards, below.

%%* [[DefeatMeansFriendship Defeat Means A Little More Than Friendship]]: [[spoiler:Errol and Her Majesty]].

%%* DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler:Lupine Wonse, a.k.a the Supreme Grand Master]]'s ultimate fate is

%%* TheIllegible: Lupin Squiggle, Sec'y, pp.

** Nobby, talking smack to the Palace Guards, comes up with things like "doggybag", "doucheballs", and "slimebreaths"... and "[[GettingCrapPastTheRadar motherbreath]]".

* StealthPun: [[WorldOfPun Several]], two notable GettingCrapPastTheRadar instances including the example under JustLikeMakingLove and Vimes' lamentation on the cruelties of Nature: "No wonder they call her a mother..."

* UnfamiliarCeiling: This happens to Vimes.

** The repeated references to terrible things happening to people's "figgins". Given that an actual figgin is a pastry stuffed with raisins, it's not hard to miss the implication.

* WorthIt: A variant, where the person responsible doesn't think the line. Vetenari, after a talk with the head of the Thieves Guild, thinks that seeing his aggravation is actually worth it.

* NotSoDifferent: Showcased with Vimes and Vetenari, without their knowing it, when the scene transitions from one man's thoughts to the other, and they're thinking along the same lines.

* ProportionalAging: It's noted when describing Carrot's life early one that dwarf children aren't mature enough to be told about sexuality and reproduction until they hit puberty, at about age fifty.

* YouKeepUsingThatWord: The Brethren's oath is full of words their leader just thought sounded suitably impressive without meaning anything; he's rather amused that they all take it very seriously and never ask what they mean. A footnote then explains that they're all real words on the Discworld and defines them, rendering the oath utter gibberish. Roasting someone's figgin (a pastry stuffed with raisons) becomes a running gag for the rest of the series.

** Colon mis-quotes up this line from Dumbo: [[Disney/{{Dumbo}} "I've seen a housefly. I've even seen a greenfly. But I ain't never seen a dragon fly."]]

* BlackAndBlackMorality: The Patrician explains his worldview to Vimes in this way:
-->"I believe you find life such a problem because you think there are the good people and the bad people. You're wrong, of course. There are, always and only, the bad people - ''but some of them are on opposite sides''."

The eighth {{Literature/Discworld}} book and the first to feature the City Watch, one of the most popular of the major character groups/themes in Pratchett's creation, plus the first appearance of [[HonestJohnsDealership C.M.O.T. Dibbler]], though as a one-note gag character. It is also notable in that it is the first of the Discworld books in which Patrician Vetinari is the [[MagnificentBastard Magnificent]] [[TheChessmaster Bastard]] we all know and love (though he is notable more easily frustrated than [[TheStoic the stoic of later books]]. Up until this point Pterry was still working out the character, and aspects of the final product appeared in other books, but ''Guards! Guards!'' is the first book in which the character is recognisable as he exists now.

** When the heroes refuse to slay the dragon because Vetinari doesn't have a daughter to give her hand in marriage, Vimes mention he ''does'' have an aunt. This was never referred to again until ''Literature/NightWatch'', years later and mostly set before this book, when Vetinari's aunt Lady Roberta Meserole is a significant character.

* PosthumousCharacter: "Leggy" Gaskin, who is killed shortly before the start of the book and we first meet Vimes on the way back from his funeral. The character would later make a minor appearance as a young man in ''Literature/NightWatch'' when Vimes travels back into his own past.