Ankh-Morpork City Watch series reading order

A plan for the whole series

9 volumes, 3,562 pages, about 65 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 3 months.

• From volume 2 on, the number of ratings falls most before volume 8, “Thud!” (by 28%). Plan your break after volume 7, before the series plans it for you.
• Readers scored volume 5, “Jingo”, below its predecessor (8.2 after 8.5). If you slow down there, that is on the book, not on you. From volume 6 the form returns.

Stages

4 stages, with 3 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around February 16, 2027, about 3 weeks later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 120 habout 4 weeksby November 24, 2026

   • 1. Guards! Guards!1989 · 378 pages · 7 h
   • 1.5. Theatre of Cruelty1993 · 320 pages · 6 h
   • 3. Men at Arms1993 · 377 pages · 7 h
2. BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by December 3, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 215 h20 daysby December 23, 2026

   • 4. Feet of Clay1996 · 382 pages · 7 h
   • 5. Jingo1997 · 416 pages · 8 h
4. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by December 27, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 315 h20 daysby January 16, 2027

   • 6. The Fifth Elephant1999 · 415 pages · 8 h
   • 7. Night Watch2002 · 400 pages · 7 h
6. BreakI'm Glad My Mom Died · Jennette McCurdy · 320 pp. · score 8.96 h, by January 26, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
7. 4
   Stage 416 habout 3 weeksby February 16, 2027

   • 8. Thud!2005 · 398 pages · 7 h
   • 9. Snuff2011 · 476 pages · 9 h
8. The end of the series

   February 16, 2027

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.

Does the series hold up

Shape of the series: a drop at the end. The last scored volume (8.0) has the lowest score in the series.

Best volume: Night Watch (8.8, 634 ratings). Weakest: Snuff (8.0). From volume 2 on, the biggest drop in the number of ratings is between volume 7 and 8: 28%. The series is complete; you can read it start to finish with no waiting.