Chris's review of Night Watch

Night Watch (Discworld)
by Terry Pratchett

Chris's review

rating:

bookshelves: fantasy, pratchett, time-travel

status: Read in March, 2007

Pratchett books are like potato chips - can't read just one.

The Discworld books are broadly arranged into four groups. The Death books look at what it means to be a human being, the Wizard books are about how we deal with the universe at large, the Witches books are about how the individual fits into the rest of society, and the Watch books are about how we deal with being part of a system. Having been a poli-sci major, I tend to enjoy the latter group the most.

The main character of the Watch books is Sam Vimes, once a captain of the night watch, now a Duke and the Commander of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. He's got a wonderful wife who's expecting their first son. He has everything to lose, and, thanks to a bolt of lightning on the roof of the Unseen University library, he nearly loses it all.

He's sent back in time 30 years to when the Night Watch was an ineffective organization, the city's leader was a paranoid madman, and the citizenry was ready for revolution. Into all o...more Pratchett books are like potato chips - can't read just one.

The Discworld books are broadly arranged into four groups. The Death books look at what it means to be a human being, the Wizard books are about how we deal with the universe at large, the Witches books are about how the individual fits into the rest of society, and the Watch books are about how we deal with being part of a system. Having been a poli-sci major, I tend to enjoy the latter group the most.

The main character of the Watch books is Sam Vimes, once a captain of the night watch, now a Duke and the Commander of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. He's got a wonderful wife who's expecting their first son. He has everything to lose, and, thanks to a bolt of lightning on the roof of the Unseen University library, he nearly loses it all.

He's sent back in time 30 years to when the Night Watch was an ineffective organization, the city's leader was a paranoid madman, and the citizenry was ready for revolution. Into all of this comes Sam Vimes, who has to take the role of the sergeant who played a pivotal role in the unrest, John Keel. And part of John Keel's job is to be to make sure the young lance-constable Sam Vimes grows up to be a good copper. Under normal circumstances, this would be hard enough, but with the city about ready to explode and the government run by corruption, this is an even harder job.

I always enjoy reading the Sam Vimes stories, mostly because, of all the main characters that Pratchett uses, he's the one that has the most growth. He goes from being a drunken captain in Guards! Guards! to a Leading Member of Society and ambassador in Thud!. In this book, he's fighting for a great many things at once - his wife and child, his city, his fellow officers and, literally, himself.

He also has some of the best scenes - at one point, he barges into the headquarters of the city's Secret Police and finds the torture chambers. After blackjacking the torturer, he runs into the adjacent room, grabs the little man he finds there, and roars, "And what does daddy do at work all day, mister?" What with all the recent arguments about the U.S. torturing terrorist subjects, about whether it's warranted or not, or even actually happens, I think that phrase should be hung up in every office at Gitmo and should be memorized by every intelligence officer in the CIA.

Politics is always important, and occasionally funny. With Terry Pratchett, they're both....less

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Chris's review of Night Watch

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