She liked to keep dragons

Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett.

Terry Pratchett is always safe. I've long been a fan, and I don't think there's anything of his that I haven't liked. Sure, there have been the occassional books that I haven't enjoyed as much as the others, but I've still liked them. Even in those books there has been enough to draw me back for a second reading.

Guards! Guards! isn't my favourite of the Watch books -- and I've read them all apart from Night Watch -- as it seems to lack the complexity of the later ones. That said, it is very funny and still a pretty good book. It was nice, having already met the watch's core characters, to see how they met (how, for instance, Sam and Sybil get it on).

As I've said, the plot itself is relatively simple; without spoiling too much, a dragon is terrorizing the city and the watch, which has become rather redundant, has to work out what's going on. It's simpler than the later Watch books, but it's also funnier, and a good start to the series.

Later . . .