I love the section with the Patrician musing about the city. It's another chance Pratchett gives us to see into a character's mind, and Vetinari's mind is particularly interesting. And I love the line about how Anhk-Morpork WORKS under his rule. It's not pretty, it's not an especially nice place to live, but it functions. It implies a long history of even worse conditions that make the current state of affairs seem pleasant.

(spoilers for future books)
Vagrerfgvatyl rabhtu, juvyr V nterr jvgu Znex gung Irgvanev vfa'g rivy, V jbhyqa'g tb fb sne nf gb pnyy uvz tbbq, rvgure. Gb zl zvaq, ur svgf cerggl fdhneryl vagb gur Ynjshy Arhgeny pngrtbel. Ur jnf gbb gnyragrq na nffnffva gb or gehyl tbbq, naq gur yvggyr nfvqr nobhg nccebivat bs "arprffnel pehrygl" fhccbegf gung nf jryy.

Va pnfr nalbar'f jbaqrevat, V chg Ivzrf (gnyxvat znvayl nobhg Pbzznaqre Ivzrf, nygubhtu cbfg-Thneqf! Thneqf! vf rabhtu) ba gur yvar orgjrra Ynjshy Tbbq naq Ynjshy Arhgeny. Ur yrnaf gbjneq tbbq, boivbhfyl, ohg ur fbzrgvzrf pbzrf qbja gbb uneq ba gur ynjshy fvqr. "Jub jngpurf gur jngpuzra?" "Zr."

Okay, the comparison to Hiroshima makes this scene much more chilling than it ever had been before. It makes perfect sense, but for some reason is easier to grasp, I guess? Thanks for the chills down my back, anyway :|

Heh, Nobby, what a character. He's definitely teaching Carrot the proper Anhk-Morpork Watch way here.

The two bar scenes are really when I fell in love with Carrot. I'd never considered the difference in how he treats the dwarfs and humans, though. (vague spoilers for future books: Qrfcvgr gur snpg gung uvf cersrerapr orpbzrf n zvabe cybg cbvag va yngre obbxf.) That's one thing I really like about MarkReads. Mark's point of view is so different from mine that he notices things I completely gloss over.

I feel bad for the rest of the Watch during this scene. They just stand there awkwardly, wishing they had the courage to help out, and knowing they don't. Gotta admit, though, I love the part where Detritus comes flying out of the bar.

Oh, Carrot. Ya know it's a very good thing he's so well-built and imposing, cause otherwise he wouldn't have lasted a single night in Anhk-Morpork. (spoilers for future books/the end of this one: Gurer'f nabgure ernfba ur svgf va fb jryy, npghnyyl, ohg jr'yy trg gb gung riraghnyyl...) I love his letters home; hearing about his adventures in his own voice makes them all the more adorable :) (more spoilers: Vf uvf abgbevbhfyl onq fcryyvat n guvat lrg? V pna'g erzrzore jurer zl pbcl bs guvf obbx vf gb purpx. Nygubhtu vg cebonoyl vfa'g, fvapr Znex jbhyq'ir abgvprq naq fnvq fbzrguvat...)

Also Vetinari! Yay! He's a pretty cool guy haha. I like how we're introduced to him in the scene with Van Pew. "Don't let me detain you" makes me laugh every time. (spoilers for future books) Vg'f uneq gb erpbapvyr gur rneyvre nccrnenaprf bs gur Cngevpvna jvgu Irgvanev'f yngre punenpgrevmngvba, gubhtu. V zrna, V haqrefgnaq gung ur'f nyjnlf orra gur Cngevpvna va znva-fgbelyvar obbxf, ohg ur'f fb qvssrerag rira urer naq bayl orpbzrf zber fb va shgher obbxf.

And more Vimes! I'll be honest: I didn't much like Vimes at this point. He seems a little too film-noir parody for my taste here, which I think was the idea, given the alcohol and flickering hotel sign. (spoiler for future books) Ivzrf vf nabgure punenpgre jub trgf zber vagrerfgvat yngre va gur frevrf, rfcrpvnyyl bapr ur orpbzrf gur ivrjcbvag punenpgre sbe gur Jngpu obbxf. Ol Avtug Jngpu, ur'f bar bs gur zbfg jryy-qrirybcrq naq pbzcyrk punenpgref va gur frevrf. Pneebg fgvyy orngf uvz bhg sbe zl gbc sni, gubhtu. Nyfb ur'f whfg cynva njrfbzr bapr Lbhat Fnz pbzrf nybat! "GUVF VF ABG ZL PBJ!" vaqrrq, unununun

Yay, Carrot! (spoilers for future books) Pneebg vf jvgubhg qbhog zl snibevgr punenpgre va nyy bs Qvfpjbeyq. Ur'f abg fb zhpu va guvf obbx, ohg ur ernyyl pbzrf vagb uvf bja va Zra ng Nezf naq yngre. Ur'f fvzcyr ohg abg havagryyvtrag. V ernyyl yvxr ubj ur oraqf gur ehyrf va yngre obbxf. Ur'f fgnlf fbyvqyl ba gur fvqr bs tbbq, ohg ur'f pregnvayl farnxl sebz gvzr gb gvzr, naq V ybir vg :) I could go on, but it's late here, so I'll save the rest of my fangirling for later lol :)

I really like how the dragon works in this book. It definitely does show the power of belief on the Discworld. To be honest, one of the things that draws me into this world is the way Pratchett twists the conventions we expect from various genres of literature. We accept that summoning dragons is possible, but it's usually complicated. The example that comes quickest to mind right now is Bahamut from the Final Fantasy series. It (he?) is one of the most powerful summons in most games, but also one of the last the player gets. (Okay, that's a terrible example; but again it's late, and I'm tired.) But here it's easy--just concentrate on dragons and dragons will appear! (spoiler for this book) Gbb onq gur qentbaf va guvf pnfr nera'g whfg fhzzbaf gung oynfg gur onq thlf jvgu ynfref. Cbbe Jbafr; V ernyyl qb srry fbeel sbe uvz ol gur raq bs gur obbx.

Yay, Guards! Guards! Gur svefg bs gur Jngpu obbxf! Here's where we'll meet most of my favorite Discworld characters :)

I agree that Pratchett is amazing at dialogue. He really does have a knack for writing scenes that would be a lot of fun to read out loud. This Elucidated Brethren scene is one of the best, but there are some great ones in other books too. That's part of what makes this series so much fun to read!

Also, minor spoiler from the future (since I'm writing this after Part 4 of this book):
Znex'f pbzzrag gbjneqf gur raq bs gur ivqrb gung "...vg'f tbaan trg bhg bs unaq ol yvxr gur svsgu cneg bs guvf obbx..." vf vaperqvoyl npphengr, fvapr V'z cerggl fher cneg 5 vf tbaan or jurer gur Jngpu rapbhagref gur qentba...

Ya know, I've always liked Rincewind, but I've never really cared for Twoflower. No real reason; I've just always thought he's kind of annoying. He's certainly entertaining though, with his insistence on seeing a Real Anhk-Morpork Tavern Brawl with Real Hublander Barbarian Heroes (TM). Jnvg, jurer'f Qvooyre? Ur'q gbgnyyl genqrznex gung naq fryy gvpxrgf naq purnc G-fuvegf naq fbhiravef! UN! (Lrf, V xabj ur qbrfa'g fubj hc hagvy yngre, ohg fgvyy...)

Lrg ntnva jvgu gur rneyl vafgnyyzrag jrveqarff va guvf obbx: V yvxr gur jnl gur urebrf ner punenpgrevmrq yngre va gur frevrf orggre. Yvxr va 'Gur Ynfg Ureb', jurer gurl'er fgvyy xvaq bs cnebqvrf, ohg fgvyy znantr gb frrz urebvp.

Nyfb, sberire naq rire urnq pnaba gung gung'f Serq Pbyba jub fubjf hc nf n erq-snprq Jngpu Fretrag gurer. Nygubhtu jub'f gur Jngpu Pncgnva jvgu gur Cngevpvna? Zl svefg gubhtug jnf Ivzrf, ohg ba npghnyyl er-ernqvat gur frpgvba, V'ir qrpvqrq vg'f Znlbaanvfr Dhvexr (sebz 'Thneqf, Thneqf' naq V guvax 'Avtug Jngpu', znlor? Pna'g erzrzore sbe fher...)

Okay, so I know I said I was gonna comment regularly, but I couldn't find my copy of this book, and I wanted to read along. I finally found it hiding behind another book on my shelf, and now I'm all caught up yay!

Anyhoo, I'm with all the other people talking about how fascinating the opals are. I love shiny things, and I'm always drawn to the use of gemstones in magic spells and such. Also (spoiler for Daine's books) Jrera'g sver bcnyf n guvat va gur frpbaq bs Qnvar'f obbxf? V xabj vg jnf fbzr xvaq bs bcny gur onq thlf jrer zvavat vafvqr gur ohooyr guvat.

I really do like how Tunstall treats Beka here, and throughout this book so far. He's fairly open and trusting, and a lot easier to like than Goodwin--not that I dislike Goodwin. Tunstall just captured my heart so much quicker. Juvpu znxrf Znfgvss fb ubeevoyr! Jul jbhyq lbh oernx zl urneg, Ghafgnyy?!?

Spoilers below here for Discworld, btw, cause I wanna discuss a possible parallel:

V yvxr ubj Pbehf va gurfr obbxf unf fb znal fvzvynevgvrf gb Naux-Zbecbex. V zrna, pregnvayl, gurl'er abg gur fnzr, naq Cvrepr naq Cengpurgg unir qenfgvpnyyl qvssrerag jevgvat fglyrf naq gurzrf gb gurve jbexf. Ohg, jr fcraq n ybg bs gvzr jvgu cbbe, inthryl pevzvany sbyx va obgu pvgvrf. Va snpg, fbzr bs gur qrfpevcgvba bs Pbehf sebz n pbhcyr frpgvbaf ntb--jura Orxn jnf jnyxvat nebhaq gur Ybjre Pvgl--pbhyq snveyl npphengryl qrfpevor Naux-Zbecbex sebz fbzr bs gur yngre Qvfpjbeyq obbxf.

Fnzr guvat tbrf sbe gur Cebibfg'f Qbtf naq gur Avtug Jngpu cbfg-"Thneqf, Thneqf". Rira gur cybg bs gur avtug jngpu obbxf naq Orxn'f obbxf ner xvaqn fvzvyne--pevzr abiryf naq zheqre zlfgrevrf nobhaq va obgu frevrf.

Yay, Discworld! Definitely one of my favorite book series, although I haven't read all of the books--probably only about half of them. And it's been a long time since I've read any of the early books except "Guards, Guards", so these will be kind of blind for me for a bit.

I remember being just as confused as Mark the first time I read this book. I love how Pratchett just throws you into this ridiculous world without really explaining anything. Eventually, most things make at least some sense, but it takes a while in a lot of cases. I also love the random asides he throws in, like the comment about not knowing what the Elephants think about. Also footnote jokes are a thing

Anyway, even though my favorite books are rather far off--they include "Men at Arms", "Jingo", "Thud!", "Snuff", "Unseen Academicals", "Going Postal", and "Small Gods" in no particular order--I'm still super excited for this series!

V rfcrpvnyyl pna'g jnvg hagvy Znex trgf cnfg gur rneyl obbxf--juvpu ner znvayl cnebqvrf bs gur snagnfl traer (vs njrfbzr cnebqvrf)--naq zbirf bagb gur zber erprag barf. Orpnhfr gubfr ner gur barf V ernyyl rawbl. V zrna, gurl'er fgvyy shaal naq qrsvavgryl unir funqrf bs cnebql, ohg gurl nyfb frrz zber yvxr fgnaqnybar fgbevrf guna cnebqvrf hfhnyyl qb. V rfcrpvnyyl ybir gur obbxf gung gnxr cynpr va Naux-Zbecbex (vs lbh pbhyqa'g gryy sebz zl yvfg bs snibevgrf) naq gung qrfpevor ubj gur pvgl npghnyyl jbexf. Nyy bs gur jbeyq-ohvyqvat Cengpurgg qbrf va yngre obbxf ernyyl snfpvangrf zr.

Oops, sorry. I'll fix it. (Can I edit posts? I'll just delete this one and repost, but I'm curious)