A review by maggie6832
Night Watch by Terry Pratchett

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

4.5

Excellent book!! I love Les Mis, and I appreciated this take on it, with the criticism and the hope. I wasn’t a fan of the whole - if you make a law that weapons are illegal, how are innocent people supposed to protect themselves - as a gun control parallel, it has not aged well. Still, I loved seeing Vimes confront how far he’s come since he started in the Watch and realize what a difference he has made. 

I also loved seeing young Vetinari, and the fact that Vimes wasn’t a revolutionary or on the side of Winder. And the discussion of how “the People” are always more conservative, problematic, etc than revolutionaries or whoever want them to be. Because the issue is that you’re trying to solve the people vs accepting how they are and solving the problems they face. Also! Loved the scene with Vimes sitting in front of the open Watch house and preventing a riot, and insisting the secret police sign for the prisoners, and generally making a nuisance of himself. A hopeful book!!