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steamypmcgee's review against another edition
5.0
Broke my heart just as much as when first read ths as a kid.
Haven't really liked the other time travel/loop plots (Last Continent, Thief Of Time) but this one knocked it out of the park. There were no "just because" plot points, it was coherent and I was fully invested.
Tension feels like its reaching a crescendo fairly early on on the book and it really has you on edge for the whole ride. I felt as tired as the protags by the end of it.
Highlights for me was Comrade Shoe trying to spread communism, and his death scene.
Haven't really liked the other time travel/loop plots (Last Continent, Thief Of Time) but this one knocked it out of the park. There were no "just because" plot points, it was coherent and I was fully invested.
Tension feels like its reaching a crescendo fairly early on on the book and it really has you on edge for the whole ride. I felt as tired as the protags by the end of it.
Highlights for me was Comrade Shoe trying to spread communism, and his death scene.
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
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
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
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.
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.
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Torture, Police brutality, Murder, Pregnancy, and War
Minor: Animal cruelty, Mental illness, and Alcohol
nacht_squid's review against another edition
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
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
mirandag908's review against another edition
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
5.0
Vetinari is one of my favorite characters in this series and I always like the Watch books.