captaind's Full Review: Terry Pratchett - Night Watch
In years to come, I wonder if the same debate will rage about Terry Pratchett as Shakespeare – i.e., was he in fact several people? He writes with such authority on a huge number of subjects and in such a variety of styles that it’s quite incredible. Even just within the Discworld novels, though they are set on the same planet and can all be defined as “fantasy humour”, there is such variation in style and subject matter that it’s amazing.
Take “Nightwatch”, for instance. Starring Stan Vimes, Commander of the City Watch and also Duke, it is one of only two Discworld novels (the other is “The Fifth Elephant”, which also stars Vimes) that has such a good plot and is written with such pace and power that you could take the humour out and still end up with a great book. Others, like “The Truth”, “Soul Music”, and “Moving Pictures”, are great books that are masterpieces of parody and satire. “The Light Fantastic” is pure fantasy, “The Last Continent” and “Pyramids” feature cultural humour heavily, while “Mort” is just plain crazy. But the thing is, whatever subject Pratchett writes about, from the music trade in “Soul Music” to assassins’ and police techniques in the book I’m about to review (honestly, I will get there eventually – unlike some people I don’t write reviews that are simply lists of related titles…), is written with detail, clarity, and above all accuracy. By the time you’ve read about 20 of the Discworld books, you’ll know exactly what I mean here. It’s phenomenal.
So get on with reviewing the book, already…
Okay, okay. Here it is. “Nightwatch” begins with Sam Vimes getting ready for the day, being annoyed that the political nature of his high office prevents him from doing the regular chasing of villains and pacing the beat any more, and getting ready to commemorate an event from the past, involving the Sergeant who taught him everything he knows about being a policeman, John Keal. When he pulls rank in order to personally close in on a notorious criminal named Carcer, a strange anomaly in the thaumalogical (magic) atmosphere in the area (well it is near Unseen University, where all the Wizards practice their art…) sends them both careering back in time. And then… well, you’ll have to find out for yourself as I’ve only just avoided this being a spoiler as it is!
Though I said you could take out the humour and still be left with a great book, the real beauty of Pratchett’s writing here is the subtle combination of humour and tension. It’s balanced absolutely perfectly, with the result being one of the most enjoyable reads of all the Discworld books, although not the funniest. The subject of time travel is dealt with in perhaps as logical a way as I’ve seen anywhere, and while it’s impossible to avoid paradoxes, there’s nothing here that seems obviously paradoxical. It also allows one of the best characters in the whole Discworld series to be brought in, Lu Tze (known to most as “Sweeper”). Lu Tze is a “History Monk” – these go around trying to make sure that things happen. (It’s hard to explain…) The interplay between Vimes and Lu Tze is superb, with each trying to out-think the other. Carcer the criminal is a good character – smart, unscrupulous, and thoroughly dislikeable.
The one thing I would say is that you really would not want to read this as your first Discworld book. The reason I say this is that, as this is set in the past due to the time-travel thingy, you are introduced to young versions of many characters – Vimes himself, Nobby, Vettinari, Fred Colon, etc. These will mean nothing to you if you’ve not got to know them in the present but are soooo good if you already know these characters well! There are several new characters as well, my favourites being the “Aunts” – but you’ll have to find out for yourselves who they are and what they do as half the fun is in the surprise aspect when they first appear in the book.
Of course, Ankh-Morpork (the capital city, where the whole book is set) is described in its past state as well. The significance of the changes is described to a large extent, but again you really should have read some of the previous Discworld novels to see it in the present first. (“Soul Music” is pretty good to this, but “The Truth” may be the best one specifically for reading about Ankh-Morpork). The parallels with a certain city called London are clearly there for people who’ve lived in there / know about its history to see, but are not overtly called to your attention. So it’s a case of you either know it or you don’t. Whichever way, the descriptive prose is wonderful without ever getting too bogged down in detail that it slows down the action.
Final Verdict
This is a wonderful book, and I have no reservations whatsoever recommending it to anyone. However, I do recommend that you familiarise yourself with other Discworld novels first. In particular, reading “The Fifth Elephant”, “The Truth”, and “Thief of Time” will introduce you to all the main characters in “Nightwatch”.
One moment City Watch Commander Sam Vimes is fighting a ruthless murderer. The next, he s thrown back 30 years in time when the Discworld city of Ankh...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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