Night Watch by Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett's *Night Watch* is a masterclass in weaving together humor, social commentary, and thrilling action within the fantastical world of Discworld. This isn't just a fantasy novel; it's a complex character study wrapped in a police procedural, and seasoned with Pratchett's signature wit. At its heart is Sam Vimes, the cynical, world-weary commander of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, who finds himself unexpectedly thrown back in time. This time-travel twist isn't a mere plot device; it's the catalyst for Vimes to confront his past, and in doing so, shape his future and that of the city he has sworn to protect.

One of the most compelling aspects of *Night Watch* is its exploration of what it means to be a "copper". Vimes, a man who has always defined himself by his work and his connection to the streets, is forced to relive his early days in the Watch, but this time, with the knowledge of what is to come. This creates a fascinating dynamic, as he mentors his younger self, a naive and idealistic Lance Constable named Sam, while also trying to navigate the political machinations of a city on the brink of chaos. The novel brilliantly contrasts the "old" Watch, full of corruption and incompetence, with the ideals of a modern, incorruptible force that Vimes has worked so hard to build. The concept of a "Sammie", a watchman who can think for themselves, is a great example of this new, more effective and trustworthy kind of city watch.

Pratchett doesn't shy away from exploring the grim realities of law enforcement. The novel delves into the challenges of policing a city teeming with crime and corruption, where even the Watch itself is not immune to the temptations of bribery. We see the difficulty in maintaining order when faced with a million people and a billion places to hide. Vimes’s struggle with the ethical dilemmas and the compromises required to uphold the law in a morally ambiguous world is a recurring theme. His inner conflict with "The Beast" - his darker, more violent side - highlights the difficult choices that come with the job, especially when faced with someone like Carcer, a criminal with a deeply disturbing and unpredictable nature.

The supporting characters are as richly drawn and captivating as Vimes himself. Carrot, the earnest and unfailingly optimistic captain, serves as a foil to Vimes's cynicism. His unwavering belief in justice and his literal interpretation of the law often provide humorous moments, but his genuine desire to do good makes him a character you can't help but root for. Other notable characters include the newly introduced, modern-thinking Igor, a forensic specialist, and Reg Shoe, a zombie who cares for his community's graveyard. These characters bring depth and humor to the story, highlighting Pratchett’s ability to find humanity in the most unusual of places.

The plot of *Night Watch* is a thrilling race against time. Vimes finds himself trying to prevent a coup and the rise of a tyrannical dictator, all while grappling with the paradoxes of time travel. The city is on edge with political tensions, barricades are being built, and the threat of violence is ever-present. The barricades themselves, described as a ragtag construction of everything from chair legs to doors, become a symbol of the people's resistance. The interactions between Vimes and the members of the Watch as they strategize and plan against the odds highlight the importance of teamwork and solidarity. The book also explores the dynamics between different social groups within Ankh-Morpork, such as the tension between the watchmen and the Unmentionables, or the odd relationship between the city and the various guilds.

Here are some of the key elements that make *Night Watch* stand out:

* **Time Travel with a Twist**: Instead of focusing on the paradoxes of time travel, Pratchett uses it to explore Vimes's character, forcing him to re-evaluate his past and the choices he has made. Vimes is not a passive observer in the past; he is actively changing it and has to come to terms with that.
* **The Nature of the Law:** The novel asks difficult questions about where the law comes from, what its purpose is, and who it should serve. Vimes grapples with the idea of taking the law into his own hands when it is clear those in power are corrupt and out of touch with what people need.
* **The Power of Community**: Despite the political turmoil, Pratchett emphasizes the strength and resilience of ordinary people, who are working together to protect themselves and their communities. The sense of shared purpose and camaraderie among the watchmen, despite their flaws, is one of the book's most endearing qualities.
* **The Absurdity of Evil:** Carcer’s unsettling, almost comical, brand of evil highlights the banality of wickedness. His disturbing laugh and the way he seems to enjoy chaos and destruction add an unnerving element to the book.
* **Pratchett's Humor:** The book is filled with Pratchett's signature wit, which is used not only for comedic effect but also to make insightful commentary on society. The humor helps to balance out the darker themes and makes the book a highly enjoyable read.
* **Moral Complexity**: *Night Watch* does not paint characters as simply good or evil, but rather as a mixture of both. Vimes himself is a deeply flawed man, prone to cynicism and violence, yet he is also driven by a fierce sense of justice and loyalty. The same could be said for many of the characters in this book, making them feel more realistic and relatable.

In conclusion, *Night Watch* is a brilliant novel that offers far more than just a fun fantasy read. It's a deep and thought-provoking exploration of duty, justice, and the power of individual choices. Pratchett uses the Discworld setting to shine a light on the human condition, with all its flaws and triumphs, making this book one that will stay with you long after you've turned the final page. Whether you're a longtime fan of Discworld or new to Pratchett's work, *Night Watch* is a must-read. It's a truly exceptional novel that demonstrates why Terry Pratchett is considered a literary genius. ( )

This is one of Pratchett’s best books. Although he’s thought of as a comedian, it’s also one of his most serious books.

His main regular hero, Samuel Vimes, is thrown back in time about thirty years, to the darker days of his own youth, when Ankh-Morpork was ruled by a paranoid tyrant and was about to rebel. It’s a dangerous, almost lawless place, and this is an edgy, absorbing story, hard to put down; it won the Prometheus Award in 2003, which must have come as a bit of a surprise.

It’s interesting to fill in some of the history of Ankh-Morpork and to meet various familiar characters when they were young.

I deduct a star for Pratchett’s tendency to moralize, which I find a bit intrusive, and for the business with the monks, which I think could have been handled more briefly and neatly (or perhaps even completely omitted).

Terry Pratchett has a tendency, especially in his later books, to make points about morality and politics, which I think a novelist should try to make in a more inconspicuous manner. Furthermore, I have the impression that he has strong opinions about decency but lacks a well-defined ideology and morality. On the political front especially, he dodges the question by conveniently providing his modern Ankh-Morpork with a relatively benign dictator aided by a chief of police with a heart of gold (Samuel Vimes). This is a good solution only if such unlikely people manage to work their way to the top. When they die, what then? ( )

In one timeline, I read this in 2015 and it was a total miss even though I had an affection for the character of Sam Vines. It quite possibly had to do with an attempt I was making to understand Pratchett and appreciate him as much as his fans do by reading the series in order.

In another timeline, 2021 to be exact, I started re-reading with an enthusiastic book buddy, trading off a hyper-Pratchett-esque indy book that was exhausting me with Three Stooges antics and fourth wall-breaking asides.

In the second timeline, a mere six chronological years, one pandemic, and approximately four hundred emotional decades later, I realized what a lovely--yes, you read that right, I called Pratchett 'lovely'--meditation on aging, responsibility, consequences, and history this was. It is very much a swan song of a book, an ode to prior characters who often make brief but important appearances, whether in their young or aged selves. It is a book that will no doubt land better with the aged reader who can viscerally feel Vimes' perspective:

"You’re not me, he thought. I don’t think I was ever as young as you. If you’re going to be me, it’s going to take a lot of work. Thirty damn years of being hammered on the anvil of life, you poor bastard. You’ve got it all to come."

I realized as I was reading Pratchett that my earlier book was so focused on being funny that it failed to contrast or highlight with an emotional counter-point. Here, Pratchett has the occasional extreme such as farcical bragging or ridiculous incompetence, but also contains all these other emotional notes and sad histories.

Surprisingly, there's also quite a bit about political unrest and revolutions, particularly unsettling in its accuracy to a tumultuous 2020.

“No. The *protest* was over the price of bread, said Vimes’s inner voice. The riot was what happens when you have panicking people trapped between idiots on horseback and other idiots shouting “yeah, right!” and trying to push forward, and the whole thing in the charge of a fool advised by a maniac with a steel rule.”

Bringing to mind all the protests of 2020.

"People said things like “Quite possibly we shall never know the truth” which meant, in Vimes’s personal lexicon, “I know, or think I know what the truth is, and hope like hell it doesn’t come out, because things are all smoothed over now.”

Bringing to mind the lack of accountability post insurrection.

But the most insightful commentary on politics was yet to come:

“Vimes had spent his life on the streets and had met decent men, and fools, and people who’d steal a penny from a blind beggar, and people who performed silent miracles or desperate crimes every day behind the grubby windows of little houses, but he’d never met The People.

People on the side of The People always ended up disappointed, in any case. They found that The People tended not to be grateful or appreciative or forward-thinking or obedient. The People tended to be small-minded and conservative and not very clever and were even distrustful of cleverness. And so, the children of the revolution were faced with the age-old problem: it wasn’t that you had the wrong kind of government, which was obvious, but that you had the wrong kind of people.

As soon as you saw people as things to be measured, they didn’t measure up.”

If that doesn't say something about all groups, than you didn't read it very well.

A quite excellent, if occasionally melancholic re-read, at least from the 2021 timeline perspective. May we all return to the timeline where there's someone we love (but I'll pass on the baby).

Many, many thanks to Nataliya, her enthusiasm and her insights!

The first timeline review: (spoiler for length, not actual spoilers.
Thud! Thud!

In one timeline, that’s the name of another Pratchett Discworld novel (the 34th, apparently).
[b:Thud!|62530|Thud! (Discworld, #34; City Watch #7)|Terry Pratchett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320495268l/62530._SY75_.jpg|819104]

In another, that’s the sound of me marching to my own drum.

In yet another, that’s the sound the vegetables thrown by my book-loving friends make when they hit my hard head.

Because, honestly, this was in between the “okay” and ‘liked it” kind of read for me. Given my GR friend average rating of 4.52, I’m missing something. Most likely, it is books one through five in the Night Watch sub-series of Discworld. I did read at least two Vines books, Men at Arms, and possibly Feet of Clay. Or maybe it was that other timeline, because it was a really, really long time ago, and Vines was almost all I remembered (remember, I told you: “I often have only foggy details stored.”)

Night Watch: A Discworld novel in which guardsman Sam Vines learns that Time Travel is Confusing. Currently a Baron, with time occupied more by meetings than by feeling the city stones beneath his feet, Sam Vines is thrown back into history as he attempts to catch a serial killer. In an unusual twist, Vines will have to play mentor to young Sam. Certainly interesting, at times philosophical, it definitely has a feel-good aspect that helps it go down easily. The trouble is, much of the story has to do with the history of the city of Ankh-Morpork and the various politicking of the rulers and those propping them up, and the Night Watch’s own role in keeping the peace. Certainly a worthwhile topic, particularly at this time in American history (I can’t speak to other countries), but the message is incompletely rendered to those unfamiliar with Discworld’s intricacies.

The upshot?

Don’t listen to me, unless you haven’t read any of the Discworld books.

Thud! ( )

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/night-watch-by-terry-pratchett/

I thought that I read all of Discworld, but I was wrong; this was published in November 2002, and I started tracking my reading quite carefully around then and began actual book blogging a year later, so I think I’d have noted it – and more crucially, I don’t remember encountering any of the plot points before.

Samuel Vimes, the head of the Watch, is yanked back through time to the early part of his career while pursuing a criminal, and finds himself roped into leading the earlier version of the Watch at a moment of civic unrest. He successfully engineers a de-escalation of the conflict, resulting in the elevation of Lord Vetinari to leadership of the city, and returns to his home timeline in the nick of time to help Sybil deliver their child.

There are some tremendously effective moments here. At the beginning we see the Watch, and several others, commemorating the moment by gathering in the graveyard of the Small Gods, but we readers are not told what this is all about until it becomes clear to us througout the book. The scene sets an emotional tone for what follows, very effectively.

The clash between security forces and peaceful (if politically radical) protesters has a lot of precedents. Pratchett would have known the Amritsar Massacre scene from Gandhi, but writing in 2002, he would also have known of the two films about Bloody Sunday that came out earlier that year. The discussion of barricades is also a callback to Les Miserables – Victor Hugo spends an entire chapter on the subject. Most of all, of course, he gives his fictional clash the same name as the famous 1936 confrontation between fascists and anti-fascists in London, the Battle of Cable Street. You are left in no doubt about what side Terry Pratchett was on.

I’m surprised that it took me so long to get to this, but very glad that I did in the end. ( )

10/10
Although I have yet to read a Discworld book that I didn't love, I have to admit that my favorite books are the Watch and the Death books.
So, here we have Commander Sam Vimes of the City Watch, literally sent back in time. He has several responsibilities and there is some typical Watch action (and inaction). But the strength of this book is the up close, personal, and long look we get of Vimes--how he thinks, what he feels, who he is. With quantum stuff thrown in. And a few glimpses of a young Vetinari.
Luckily for me, I have several unread Pratchett books still on my shelf. Might need to schedule a return visit to Discworld soon. ( )