Night Watch (Discworld, #29; City Watch, #6) in Beyond Reality

Jun 27, 2007 Wealhtheow rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, humor

The first time I read this book was in my college bookstore. I pulled it from the shelf to try the first few pages. At some point I sat down. And then the book was over. It was impossible to even look up from the page until the tale was done.

I've reread the book several times since then; it's never any less enthralling. It's best read if you're already a little familiar with Anhk-Morpork and the police who patrol it, to give backstory (future story? since this set in the past to much of the Disc ...more

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Oct 16, 2012 Shanshad Whelan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: re-read, fantasy, books-i-own, urban-fantasy, series

I think this is Pratchett at his best right here. It certainly is some of the best Vimes character work. A few of Pratchett's books have certain scenes that make me tear up. This one has quite a few--and many, many places where I simply want to quote whole paragraphs. Marvelous, profound and so undeniably human. Thank you, Mr. Pratchett, for this book. ...more

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Jul 28, 2010 mina rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Tips: Baca dulu minimal 2 buku Discworld dari subserial City Watch (lebih baik lagi kalau sudah pernah membaca subserial lainnya).

Buku ini adalah salah satu dari subserial City Watch dalam dunia Discworld, dengan the usual lovable characters: Vimes (or should we say John Keel?), Colon, Nobby, Reg, Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler, Vetinari, the "seamstresses" (and the real seamstress). Oh, dan ada Archchancellor Ridcully dari Unseen University (melayang bersama bak mandinya) dan sekilas muncul the ador Tips: Baca dulu minimal 2 buku Discworld dari subserial City Watch (lebih baik lagi kalau sudah pernah membaca subserial lainnya).

Buku ini adalah salah satu dari subserial City Watch dalam dunia Discworld, dengan the usual lovable characters: Vimes (or should we say John Keel?), Colon, Nobby, Reg, Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler, Vetinari, the "seamstresses" (and the real seamstress). Oh, dan ada Archchancellor Ridcully dari Unseen University (melayang bersama bak mandinya) dan sekilas muncul the adorable Librarian.

Itu adalah 25 Mei, hari di mana beberapa anggota City Watch memasang bunga lilac di helm atau armor mereka, dan tak seorang pun memberi penjelasan kenapa. Hari itu juga, Lady Sybil Vimes sedang bersiap untuk melahirkan putra pertama mereka. Pada hari itu, gara-gara mengejar-ngejar psikopat pembunuh bernama Carcer sampai ke atap Unseen University yang selalu sibuk dengan percobaan magic-nya, Vimes, bersama Carcer, terlempar mundur bersama waktu ke Ankh-Morpork 30 tahun yang lalu, di jaman ketika the Patrician-nya adalah Winder, the paranoid corrupt. Vimes, tanpa disengaja (atau sudah ditakdirkan?) mengambil identitas sebagai John Keel (mau bagaimana lagi, saat itu younger version of Vimes sudah berada dalam the old Night Watch), dan sesudah dijanjikan untuk dikembalikan ke dunianya di masa depan oleh the highest ranking monk, the Sweeper (Lu-Tze), Vimes bersedia tetap tinggal selama 4 hari dan bertindak berdasarkan instingnya yang biasa untuk mengatasi masalah politik yang akhirnya berakhir dengan Revolusi dan jatuhnya Lord Winder.

Tentu Vimes tahu segala sesuatu tentang sejarah masa itu, dan dia bisa melakukan banyak hal agar bencana tidak terjadi. Pertanyaan yang selalu muncul apabila ada cerita seperti ini adalah: kalau kita mengubah sesuatu di masa lalu, apakah masa depan akan berbeda? Banyak kontemplasi Vimes dalam buku ini yang kalau kita baca di buku filsafat mungkin membosankan, tetapi berbeda sekali bila ditulis oleh Pratchett.

Pada akhirnya, kita memahami makna bunga lilac tersebut, mengapa hanya Vimes, Nobby, Colon, Reg, Dibbler, dan Vetinari yang memakainya. Oh, dan ada bonus tentang masa muda Vetinari. Buku yang ditulis sangat indah, sehingga patut mendapat nilai 6/5. Khususnya bila kau sudah membaca judul-judul lain dalam subserial ini. Aku punya firasat ini adalah my most favourite of Discworld books. Setiap buku Pratchett bisa dibaca berulang-ulang (terutama sesudah range pengetahuan dan genre buku yang kita baca semakin luas) dan kita selalu bisa menemukan layer baru, parodi baru yang tidak kita sadari sebelumnya.

"All the little angels rise up, rise up..." *tears* ...more

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Jul 23, 2011 Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-fiction

Probably the least pretentiously timey wimey book involving time travel and accompanying paradoxes that I've ever read.

I think it's interesting that Vimes clearly loves Lady Sybil - you can tell by the way he acts - but no romantic girly mushiness is shown on screen. Well, hardly any. I wonder if that's authorial choice, consciousness of the likely demographics of the readership, or both. ...more

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Jul 11, 2012 Jo rated it really liked it

Shelves: bbc-100-books, reading-aloud, lenny-s-books

Aargh, I just managed to delete my entire review! I think this is because I'm the only person in the world who doesn't like these Discworld books much. I've noticed that every time I try to say something a bit negative, my phone reception goes, the emergency bell goes off at work, and now, poof, my review has vanished. This isn't a coincidence - I think the universe, broadly, loves Pratchett, and wants me to stop moaning.

Anyway, I'm not going to write it all out again. Probably it would only be ...more

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Oct 06, 2009 Lisa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: from-the-public-library

A darker Discworld novel. I think Sam Vimes is one of the great fictional characters.

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Jan 28, 2009 Shanshad Whelan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: re-read, fantasy, books-i-own, urban-fantasy, series

Probably one of my favorite Pratchett books. This reread is a must before starting back at work. It's darker than some of his others in the same series, but he handles it well. Vimes is ultimately such a fascinating character to read about that every time I read this it feels fresh.

4/11--reread this once more. It's still one of my favorites. And since I just listened to the Les Miserables music again, I was even more in tune with some of the references. ...more

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