Which Guards! Guards! recording should you buy?

A common place to start Discworld, sold as a current full recording and an old abridgement under the same title.

Disclosure: links on this page to Audible, Amazon and Audiobooks.com are affiliate links — if you sign up or buy through one, we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. More about this

Guards! Guards!Terry Pratchett · 2 Audible UK recordings compared

Short answer

Jon Culshaw. This is often recommended as the book to begin Discworld with, so it is a particularly bad one to accidentally buy abridged.

The recordings, compared

NarratorLengthTypeNotes
Jon Culshaw, with Bill Nighy, Peter Serafinowicz and Ben Aaronovitch Our pick13 hrs 29 minsUnabridgedThe current recording. Culshaw reads the City Watch books.
Tony Robinson3 hrs 14 minsAbridgedFar shorter than the current recording.

Compare these on Audible →

The recording we recommend is also on Audiobooks.com — the same Jon Culshaw reading, listed at 13 hrs 24 mins when we checked on 11 September 2026. Their one-credit plan is listed at £7.99 a month before applicable taxes, and its credits expire after three months — the two models compared. We earn a commission on that link.

The rest of the series