Reviews

Night Watch by Terry Pratchett

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guillaume_rho's review against another edition

adventurous funny inspiring lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

The thing about me is that I hate stories about time travel. The thing about Sir Terry Pratchett is that he is a genius. In Night Watch, Vimes—through some magical occurrence—ends up travelling to Ankh-Morpork in the past, at a time when his younger self had just joined the Night Watch. Pratchett brilliantly walked the fine line of the tropes in time travelling and made it interesting to see events happening vs. what Vimes remembered them being.

It was very fun to see the city from another time period. Because the Discworld books are standalone stories and mostly self-contained, there isn’t that much that changes in between each of them. Here, we get to meet Vetinari’s predecessor as Ankh-Morpork’s patrician. I won’t say what Vetinari was up to back then, but let’s just say we’ve heard about it, and it all makes sense with his current self. We also get to meet Dibbler and know how is “Cut Me Own Throat” nickname came to be. Details like these were a treat for someone who’s spent the past few years digging through this amazing series.

In proper Pratchett fashion, this story raises questions about a policeman's duty, where the law lies, obeying orders but not agreeing with them, doing things properly, etc. Vimes is very heroic through it all, but we see other characters who need to do better.

bhnmt61's review against another edition

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4.0

Classic Pratchett, which means I loved it but wish his editor had cut 25-30 pages in the middle. Sam Vines gets thrown 30 years back in time with a murderous psychopath. He has to figure out how to survive in the past and how to get back to the future (his present) without letting the bad guy get away. If Discworld has a moral center, it is Vimes, and his theories of justice and law&order are what makes the Watch novels work. You could read this as a stand-alone but you wouldn’t really understand the implications- better to start with Guards! Guards!

clarejc's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark lighthearted tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

wandering_seal's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I've read this book at least once a year for about twenty years and it never fails to hook me in. I feel just as emotional now as I did the first time I read this - actually I think I probably get the story now a lot better than I did as a teen. Certainly I understand the fickleness of memory and the demise of idealism shown here in a way I don't think a teen can.

I adore Vimes, and while I'm not sure this is the story I adore him the most in, it is I think my favourite of his books. His rough, undesired goodness just shines through.

Content Warnings

nacht_squid's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

ME WHEN SAM VIMES

tpollack's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

mirandag908's review against another edition

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funny hopeful inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

whimsicalmeerkat's review against another edition

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5.0

Vetinari is one of my favorite characters in this series and I always like the Watch books.

jackpep's review against another edition

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5.0

By far the most heartfelt of the City Watch novels, this is my favorite Discworld book to date. It is darker than most of Pratchett’s works, a sensation heightened by the brief moments of levity and wisecracking quips from the author. Sam Vimes really shines here. He’s a fantastic character created by a fantastic mind.

wookieeatemyshoe's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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