Saturday, 22 July 2023 10:26 pm
Book Review: Night Watch
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deckardcanineRather a generic title for a Discworld entry, telling us only that it would focus on the Ankh-Morpork City Watch again. That was all it had to do to draw me in, since I like Sam Vimes stories, but it does little justice to the plot. Which, for once, Harper describes well on the back, neither spoiling nor deceiving.
At the start, Duke Vimes expects his wife to give birth any day now, but that's hardly the only thing on his mind. He's after Carcer, a serial killer who manages to stand out even amid the scum of a crime capital, partly by killing watchmen and partly by projecting an extraordinarily convincing air of innocence when he wants to. Thanks to a thunderstorm over the wizards' academy, both Vimes and Carcer are sent back in time about 30 years. The secretive History Monks partly explain it to Vimes, saying they won't be able to send him back right away. His first priority is to bring Carcer back to the proper present alive (good luck filling out the paperwork otherwise), which won't be easy, since Carcer doesn't take long to make friends among corrupt authorities. That said, Vimes has the expertise to get quickly "promoted" to sergeant-at-arms under the alias of his onetime mentor, John Keel. Before he gets another crack at Carcer, he'll try to prevent a historical rebellion from being as tragic as he recalls, despite the monks warning that history "finds a way."
This is the first I've seen of Ankh-Morpork before the rise of Lord Vetinari. I can't say for sure that he made it better, but at least two previous patricians were definitely worse. Sadly, I find the city less exaggerated in light of today's patterns.
Part of the fun is in Vimes interacting with younger versions of many acquaintances, including himself, who was then a naive constable. (Narration often calls him "young Sam" for clarity.) Don't you wish you could guide your past self? Some characters aren't so different, but Nobby Nobbs is a child so small and filthy he's barely recognized as human.
Then of course, there's Vimes' challenge in remembering what would happen soon, what hasn't yet, and what he shouldn't know yet. You can bet he perplexes others, but at least they find him interesting. And given how awesome Vimes has become, he rather needed to be forced outside his comfort zone.
Once again, I don't recommend starting your Discworld experience with this volume. Not that you couldn't follow the gist of the story, but a number of callbacks would go over your head. I'm sure I missed a few myself.
Still, I enjoyed it a lot. Pratchett's way with words is in fine form herein, as when he describes watchmen as having the morale of damp gingerbread. I even rather appreciate his political views implied within the satire.
Maybe someday I'll read Men at Arms so I can witness Vimes' wedding. In the meantime, I've picked up a non-fantasy from my parents, A Man Called Ove.
At the start, Duke Vimes expects his wife to give birth any day now, but that's hardly the only thing on his mind. He's after Carcer, a serial killer who manages to stand out even amid the scum of a crime capital, partly by killing watchmen and partly by projecting an extraordinarily convincing air of innocence when he wants to. Thanks to a thunderstorm over the wizards' academy, both Vimes and Carcer are sent back in time about 30 years. The secretive History Monks partly explain it to Vimes, saying they won't be able to send him back right away. His first priority is to bring Carcer back to the proper present alive (good luck filling out the paperwork otherwise), which won't be easy, since Carcer doesn't take long to make friends among corrupt authorities. That said, Vimes has the expertise to get quickly "promoted" to sergeant-at-arms under the alias of his onetime mentor, John Keel. Before he gets another crack at Carcer, he'll try to prevent a historical rebellion from being as tragic as he recalls, despite the monks warning that history "finds a way."
This is the first I've seen of Ankh-Morpork before the rise of Lord Vetinari. I can't say for sure that he made it better, but at least two previous patricians were definitely worse. Sadly, I find the city less exaggerated in light of today's patterns.
Part of the fun is in Vimes interacting with younger versions of many acquaintances, including himself, who was then a naive constable. (Narration often calls him "young Sam" for clarity.) Don't you wish you could guide your past self? Some characters aren't so different, but Nobby Nobbs is a child so small and filthy he's barely recognized as human.
Then of course, there's Vimes' challenge in remembering what would happen soon, what hasn't yet, and what he shouldn't know yet. You can bet he perplexes others, but at least they find him interesting. And given how awesome Vimes has become, he rather needed to be forced outside his comfort zone.
Once again, I don't recommend starting your Discworld experience with this volume. Not that you couldn't follow the gist of the story, but a number of callbacks would go over your head. I'm sure I missed a few myself.
Still, I enjoyed it a lot. Pratchett's way with words is in fine form herein, as when he describes watchmen as having the morale of damp gingerbread. I even rather appreciate his political views implied within the satire.
Maybe someday I'll read Men at Arms so I can witness Vimes' wedding. In the meantime, I've picked up a non-fantasy from my parents, A Man Called Ove.