Because of an island that had suddenly risen from the sea, the powerful commercial city Ankh-Morpork and the empire of the deserts Klatch start a war. Well, actually, they try to, the official reason being that the brother of the prince of Klatch has been assassinated while in official visit in Ankh-Morpork. The problem is that Ankh-Morpork exists thanks to and for commerce. The dwarves that work in the city create high quality weapons, which are obviously sold. Incidentally, the biggest buyer lately was Klatch… Ankh-Morpork also has the best school of assassins of the entire Discworld, with students from all the countries - and some of the best are, well, Klatchians. And though, the aristocrats feel obliged by their family history and their own pride to go to war, sure that the Klatchians would run away as soon as they would see the ankhmorporkian army. The end is, as usually, other than the logical, predictable one. In the leading roles, the Guard’s commander, Sir Sam Vimes, the Patrician’s chase dog; sergeant Colon, the typical average cop, and corporal Nobby Nobbs, supposed to be human; captain Carrot, son of a king and raised by dwarves, facts that make him loved and respected by everyone, and also always honest and serious; his girlfriend, Angua, werewolf from a high family of Uberwald, now agent of the Guard; Leonard of Quirm, a caricature of da Vinci; Ahmed 77 hours, factotum of the Klatchian prince; and of course, the Patrician, lord Vetinari. Unfortunately, the charm of Pratchett’s books is lost when one writes about it, because he uses more the comic of language and names, the irony and sarcasm more than the comic of the situations.