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rainbowrachel 's review for:
Thud!
by Terry Pratchett
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
(This review is copied and pasted from comments I made about the book on Discord. I hope it's still mostly coherent in this new location.)
OK. See. Here's the thing. That one scene? The one where he races home to tell a story to his son? And literally stops traffic in order to do so? Yes, it's cute, and it's fun. I won't deny that. But. It is also -- to my mind -- at the core of everything that is wrong with this novel.
Because it is Vimes at his most complete class traitor. Yes, he's been a nob for a while and is rich as Creosote, but in that moment, he is willing to use his power and influence for personal reasons even as doing so hurts many many other working stiffs. We only directly see the scene from Vimes's point of view, but it isn't hard to detach from the text and zoom out a bit and see everyone else he inconvenienced with that little stunt. How many hundreds of people did he make late for something that was important to them? Were there any other fathers who were heading home to read to their sons, who couldn't get there because of the traffic problems that Vimes and Carrot caused? It seems likely. The Vimes from GUARDS! GUARDS! would have been horrified by this. Or young Vimesy from NIGHT WATCH. Or even younger Vimes growing up on Cockbill Street.
And you could look at things and say that this is a feature not a bug. Characters change. People change. Is it not realistic that someone who used to hate abuse of power would start to accept it more once they were in a position where they actually had the power? For sure. And that could have been an interesting story! But that isn't the story being told here. The consequences are glossed over and we aren't supposed to think about them much. Unfortunately "thinking about things that I'm not supposed to think about" is my jam which is why I'm writing this now.
The whole thing is also out of character for Carrot. This is Carrot who famously believes that "personal isn't the same as important". Who has, in the past, put his duty above his feelings for his girlfriend. Who, in THE FIFTH ELEPHANT, resigned from the watch to pursue his personal goals (rescuing Angua) because he recognised that he couldn't simultaneously serve both masters. And who is here assisting Vimes with something that is deeply personal but ultimately not important.
All of which speaks to my biggest problem with this novel: it lacked an emotional centre. Other parts of the story were great. The generational racial vendetta? That was great. The game of Thud? Great. The side plot about Angua and Sally? Loved it. But it lacked that personal connection to make me really care. Vimes, in this book, just isn't a very interesting character. He has had his character arc. There's no development left. We get a few of the greatest hits of "this is what a Sam Vimes story looks like", but it's hollow now. It's like reading about Hercule Poirot or Superman, for instance.
And the part that frustrates me is how much sense it would have made to retire Vimes. For one, Pratchett had shown a previous willingness to move on from his great creations. He ran out of interesting ways to challenge Granny Weatherwax so he stopped writing new books centred on her and instead moved her to an advisory role for Tiffany, his new witch heroine. And in this case, Vimes would have had a better send-off than Granny got. NIGHT WATCH would have been the perfect last Vimes book. Not only was it Pratchett's magnum opus, it was also a perfect chance to see old Vimes and new Vimes together, to see all his character development in one place. And that one scene? The one about getting home to read for Young Sam? That right there is the blueprint for how Vimes could have been written out. He has a son now. His priorities have changed. He could say -- to Vetinari, to the watch, to himself -- that he was always going to prioritise his son. If there was ever an important case that required him to stay at work but he also had to get back to read to his son, then the work just wouldn't get done.
So as I read, I found myself imagining a different version of the book. One which centres the other members of the watch -- Carrot, Angua, Detritus, Cheery, et al -- as they had to not only deal with Koom Valley and the racial tension and the Summoning Dark, but also had to figure what it meant to run the watch without Vimes. And I do believe that I would have enjoyed that hypothetical book more.
And a part of me is reluctant to say any of this, because who am I to say that Terry Pratchett got this wrong? He was, obviously, an orders-of-magnitude better writer than I am. If I'm sitting here and saying that the book would have been better with less Vimes but Pratchett decided that it would be better with Vimes? Then in all likelihood he's the one who's right. Except for his embuggerance. It's likely that he was suffering some of the symptoms of his Alzheimer's disease by the time he wrote this. Which makes me wonder if maybe I might actually be right? If maybe we might have had a better book otherwise? And then I get thinking of all the other books that we could have had, all the wit and wisdom, all that humanity that was taken from us entirely too soon and I get sad again.
TL;DR: Book was pretty good, but could have been better.
OK. See. Here's the thing. That one scene? The one where he races home to tell a story to his son? And literally stops traffic in order to do so? Yes, it's cute, and it's fun. I won't deny that. But. It is also -- to my mind -- at the core of everything that is wrong with this novel.
Because it is Vimes at his most complete class traitor. Yes, he's been a nob for a while and is rich as Creosote, but in that moment, he is willing to use his power and influence for personal reasons even as doing so hurts many many other working stiffs. We only directly see the scene from Vimes's point of view, but it isn't hard to detach from the text and zoom out a bit and see everyone else he inconvenienced with that little stunt. How many hundreds of people did he make late for something that was important to them? Were there any other fathers who were heading home to read to their sons, who couldn't get there because of the traffic problems that Vimes and Carrot caused? It seems likely. The Vimes from GUARDS! GUARDS! would have been horrified by this. Or young Vimesy from NIGHT WATCH. Or even younger Vimes growing up on Cockbill Street.
And you could look at things and say that this is a feature not a bug. Characters change. People change. Is it not realistic that someone who used to hate abuse of power would start to accept it more once they were in a position where they actually had the power? For sure. And that could have been an interesting story! But that isn't the story being told here. The consequences are glossed over and we aren't supposed to think about them much. Unfortunately "thinking about things that I'm not supposed to think about" is my jam which is why I'm writing this now.
The whole thing is also out of character for Carrot. This is Carrot who famously believes that "personal isn't the same as important". Who has, in the past, put his duty above his feelings for his girlfriend. Who, in THE FIFTH ELEPHANT, resigned from the watch to pursue his personal goals (rescuing Angua) because he recognised that he couldn't simultaneously serve both masters. And who is here assisting Vimes with something that is deeply personal but ultimately not important.
All of which speaks to my biggest problem with this novel: it lacked an emotional centre. Other parts of the story were great. The generational racial vendetta? That was great. The game of Thud? Great. The side plot about Angua and Sally? Loved it. But it lacked that personal connection to make me really care. Vimes, in this book, just isn't a very interesting character. He has had his character arc. There's no development left. We get a few of the greatest hits of "this is what a Sam Vimes story looks like", but it's hollow now. It's like reading about Hercule Poirot or Superman, for instance.
And the part that frustrates me is how much sense it would have made to retire Vimes. For one, Pratchett had shown a previous willingness to move on from his great creations. He ran out of interesting ways to challenge Granny Weatherwax so he stopped writing new books centred on her and instead moved her to an advisory role for Tiffany, his new witch heroine. And in this case, Vimes would have had a better send-off than Granny got. NIGHT WATCH would have been the perfect last Vimes book. Not only was it Pratchett's magnum opus, it was also a perfect chance to see old Vimes and new Vimes together, to see all his character development in one place. And that one scene? The one about getting home to read for Young Sam? That right there is the blueprint for how Vimes could have been written out. He has a son now. His priorities have changed. He could say -- to Vetinari, to the watch, to himself -- that he was always going to prioritise his son. If there was ever an important case that required him to stay at work but he also had to get back to read to his son, then the work just wouldn't get done.
So as I read, I found myself imagining a different version of the book. One which centres the other members of the watch -- Carrot, Angua, Detritus, Cheery, et al -- as they had to not only deal with Koom Valley and the racial tension and the Summoning Dark, but also had to figure what it meant to run the watch without Vimes. And I do believe that I would have enjoyed that hypothetical book more.
And a part of me is reluctant to say any of this, because who am I to say that Terry Pratchett got this wrong? He was, obviously, an orders-of-magnitude better writer than I am. If I'm sitting here and saying that the book would have been better with less Vimes but Pratchett decided that it would be better with Vimes? Then in all likelihood he's the one who's right. Except for his embuggerance. It's likely that he was suffering some of the symptoms of his Alzheimer's disease by the time he wrote this. Which makes me wonder if maybe I might actually be right? If maybe we might have had a better book otherwise? And then I get thinking of all the other books that we could have had, all the wit and wisdom, all that humanity that was taken from us entirely too soon and I get sad again.
TL;DR: Book was pretty good, but could have been better.